Error handling and representation in a computer-aided design environment

• US 7,168,012 B2
• Filed: 02/20/2002
• Issued: 01/23/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 11/24/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Autodesk, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Autodesk, Inc.
• Inventors: Linscott, Kevin M., Ford, David J., Clauss, James M.
• Primary Examiner(s): BADERMAN, SCOTT T
• Application Number:
  US10/081,446
• Publication Number:
  US 20020083377A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,798 Days
• Field of Search: 714/57, 714/46, 714/38, 714/48, 717/125, 709/318
• US Class Current: 714/57
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0706 the processing taking place on a specific hardware platform or in a specific software environment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0769 Readable error formats, e.g. cross-platform generic formats, human understandable formats
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0781 Error filtering or prioritizing based on a policy defined by the user or on a policy defined by a hardware/software module, e.g. according to a severity level

Abstract

The invention includes computer instructions that operate to generate a failure indication upon encountering a failure during an operation performed for a user design. The instructions further operate to automatically facilitate a user in determining a solution for the failure. As a result, the invention provides improved error reporting and recovery.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

recognizing an occurrence of one or more software events that result in at least one of an error or a warning;

storing an indication of the error or warning in an error/warning storage structure; and

returning a result from a function call that indicates that the error/warning indication has been stored in the error/warning storage structure, wherein subsequent function call returns are not required to store error/warning indications resulting from the event causing the stored indication.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein storing an indication of the error or warning includes a thin wrapper class structure.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

displaying a general message based on one or more error/warning indications stored in the error/warning storage structure.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

expanding the general message to provide additional error/warning information in response to user input.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

indicating a design element causing the error or warning.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the function call is for a first function, the method further comprising:

adding information to the error/warning indication stored in the error/warning storage structure, the information reported from a second function that called the first function.

7. A machine-readable medium having stored thereon sequences of instructions, which when executed by a processor cause the processor to:

recognize an occurrence of one or more software events that result in one of an error or a warning;

store an indication of the error or warning in an error/warning storage structure; and

return a result from a function call that indicates that the error/warning indication has been stored in the error/warning storage structure, wherein subsequent function call returns are not required to store additional error/warning indications resulting from the event causing the stored error/warning indication.

8. The machine-readable medium of claim 7, wherein the sequences of instructions that cause the processor to store an indication of the error or warning further comprise a sequence of instructions including a thin wrapper class structure constructor.

9. The machine-readable medium of claim 7, further comprising sequences of instructions, which when executed by the processor cause the processor to:

display a general message based on one or more error/warning indications stored in the error/warning storage structure.

10. The machine-readable medium of claim 9, wherein the general message is expanded to provide additional error/warning information in response to user input.

11. The machine-readable medium of claim 7, further comprising sequences of instructions that cause the processor to indicate a design element cawing the error or warning.

12. The machine-readable medium of claim 7, wherein the function call is for a first function, further comprising sequences of instructions that cause the processor to;

add information to the error/warning indication stored in the error/warning storage structure, the information reported from a second function that called the first function.

13. An apparatus comprising:

means for recognizing the occurrence of one or more software events that result in one of an error or a warning;

means for storing an indication of the error or warning, in an error/warning storage structure; and

means for returning a result from a function call that indicates that the error/warning indication has been stored in the error/warning storage structure, wherein subsequent function call returns are not required to store additional error/warning indications In the error/warning storage structure.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the means for storing an indication of the error or warning comprise means for constructing a thin wrapper class structure.

15. The apparatus of claim 13, further comprising means for displaying a general message based on one or more error/warning indications stored in the error/warning storage structure.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the general message is expanded to provide additional error/warning information in response to user input.

17. The apparatus of claim 13, further comprising means for indicating a design element causing the error/warning.

18. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the function call is for a first function, the apparatus further comprising:

means for adding information to the error/warning indication stored in the error/warning storage structure, the information reported from a second function that called the first function.

19. A method comprising:

detecting at least one of an error or a warning in a first function;

reporting an error/warning message from the first function to an error/warning storage structure;

storing the error/warning message in the error/warning storage structure;

adding information to the error/warning message stored in the error/warning storage structure, the information reported from a second function that called the first function; and

returning a result from a function call for the second function indicating that the error/warning message is stored in the error/warning storage structure.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the second function calls the first function and the first function returns a result to the second function indicating that the error/warning message is stored in the error/warning storage structure.

21. A computer program product, tangibly stored on a computer-readable medium, comprising instructions operable to cause a programmable processor to;

detect at least one of an error or a warning in a first function;

report an error/warning message from the first function to an error/warning storage structure;

store the error/warning message in the error/warning storage structure;

add information to the error/warning message stored in the error/warning storage structure, the information reported from a second function that called the first function; and

return a result from a function call for the second function indicating that the error/warning message is stored in the error/warning storage structure.

22. The computer program product of claim 21, wherein the second function calls the first function and the first function returns a result to the second function indicating tat the error/warning message is stored in the error/warning storage structure.