Interactive domain configuration

• US 7,685,571 B2
• Filed: 08/27/2003
• Issued: 03/23/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 08/27/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Tillmann, Nikolai, Schulte, Wolfram, Grieskamp, Wolfgang
• Primary Examiner(s): VU, TUAN A
• Application Number:
  US10/650,238
• Publication Number:
  US 20050050519A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,400 Days
• Field of Search: 717/101, 717/104, 717/107, 717/114, 717/115, 717/116, 717/126, 717/112, 707/103.R, 707/10, 707/1, 707/6, 707/104.1, 709/226, 709/203, 709/219, 719315-316, 719/328, 715/536, 715/513, 379/201.12, 379/221.07
• US Class Current: 717/126
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3672 Test management
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/74 Reverse engineering; Extracting design information from source code
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/75 Structural analysis for program understanding

Abstract

Described herein are methods and systems for interactively configuring and producing a data domain for various data structure elements of a computer program. A domain configuration manager is described which interactively receives domain configuration information corresponding to a data structure element, reads a reflection of the program and produces a data domain according to domain configuration information. The domain configuration manager is capable of producing a data domain for a data structure element according to such domain configuration information such as an explicit expression, inheritance or domain generation technique. The reflection of the computer program exposes the methods and functions of the program to be used in the explicit expression regardless of the visibility rules. Also, predicates and conditions can be used with domain generation techniques to further narrowly configure the data domains.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method for producing data domain information structures and associated values, sets of values and/or tuples for testing or validation of a computer program, the method comprising:

generating a reflection of the computer program comprising constructs, wherein the computer program constructs comprise one or more first data structure elements and a second data structure element, the one or more first data structure elements and the second data structure element comprising data types, data fields, functions, methods and/or parameters of the computer program;

annotating the one or more first data structure elements and the second data structure element with information related to the purpose of domain configuration;

configuring one or more first data domains corresponding to the one or more first data structure elements and a second data domain corresponding to the second data structure element, the configuring comprising generating one or more structural language expressions for representing/evaluating the one or more first data structure elements and the second data structure element and for defining relationships among the one or more first data structure elements and the second data structure element in terms of type/method inheritance and types;

wherein generating the one or more structural language expressions includes generating at least one of;

if the second data structure element is a first data type comprising a plurality a sub-types, at least one structural language expression denoting a union of one or more of the one or more first data domains corresponding to the one or more first data structure elements that are sub-types of the first data type;

if the second data structure element is a sub-type, data field or parameter of a second data type, at least one structural language expression indicating that the second data domain can be inherited from one of the one or more first data structure elements that are of the second data type;

if the second data structure element is a method, at least one structural language expression denoting inheritance relationships between types and subtypes of the second data structure element and types and subtypes of the one or more first data structure elements wherein the one or more first data structure elements represent parameters of another method described in the one or more first data domains; and

at least one structural language expression comprising a Cartesian product as an invocable method to cross-relate the second data structure element with one or more data domains corresponding to the one or more first data structure elements; and

compiling the annotated one or more first data structure elements and the second data structure element to produce values, sets of values and/or tuples of the one or more first data domains and the second data domain; and

testing or validating the computer program using at least one of the values, sets of values and/or tuples from the one or more first data domains and the second data domain.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more structural language expressions comprise methods and functions defined within the code of the computer program, which are exposed via the reflection of the computer program.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more structural language expressions comprise one or more predicates such that the second data domain comprises values or tuples that meet the one or more predicate.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more structural language expressions are provided as Abstract State Machine Language (ASML) expressions.

5. One or more computer-readable media storing computer-executable instructions for performing a method for producing data domain information structures and associated values, sets of values and/or tuples for testing or validation of a computer program, the method comprising:

generating a reflection of the computer program comprising constructs, wherein the computer program constructs comprise one or more first data structure elements and a second data structure element, the one or more first data structure elements and the second data structure element comprising data types, data fields, functions, methods and/or parameters of the computer program;

annotating the one or more first data structure elements and the second data structure element with information related to the purpose of domain configuration;

configuring one or more first data domains corresponding to the one or more first data structure elements and a second data domain corresponding to the second data structure element, the configuring comprising generating one or more structural language expressions for representing/evaluating the one or more first data structure elements and the second data structure element and for defining relationships among the one or more first data structure elements and the second data structure element in terms of type/method inheritance and types;

wherein generating the one or more structural language expressions includes generating at least one of;

if the second data structure element is a first data type comprising a plurality a sub-types, at least one structural language expression denoting a union of one or more of the one or more first data domains corresponding to the one or more first data structure elements that are sub-types of the first data type;

if the second data structure element is a sub-type, data field or parameter of a second data type, at least one structural language expression indicating that the second data domain can be inherited from one of the one or more first data structure elements that are of the second data type;

if the second data structure element is a method, at least one structural language expression denoting inheritance relationships between types and subtypes of the second data structure element and types and subtypes of the one or more first data structure elements wherein the one or more first data structure elements represent parameters of another method described in the one or more first data domains; and

at least one structural language expression comprising a Cartesian product as an invocable method to cross-relate the second data structure element with one or more data domains corresponding to the one or more first data structure elements; and

compiling the annotated one or more first data structure elements and the second data structure element to produce values, sets of values and/or tuples of the one or more first data domains and the second data domain; and

testing or validating the computer program using at least one of the values, sets of values and/or tuples from the one or more first data domains and the second data domain.

6. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 5, wherein the one or more structural language expressions comprise methods and functions defined within the computer program and exposed via the reflection of the computer program.

7. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 5, wherein the one or more structural language expressions comprise one or more predicates such that the second data domain comprises values or tuples that meet the one or more predicates.