Partitioning modeling platform data

• US 8,095,571 B2
• Filed: 06/22/2009
• Issued: 01/10/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/22/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Bloesch, Anthony C., Evren, Ozben, Avital, Noaa
• Primary Examiner(s): Vy, Hung T
• Application Number:
  US12/489,245
• Publication Number:
  US 20100325170A1
• Time in Patent Office: 932 Days
• Field of Search: 707/999.1, 707/999.102, 707/802, 707/803, 717/106, 717/100, 709/228
• US Class Current: 707/803
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/10 Requirements analysis; Specification techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/71 Version control security arrangements therefor G06F21/57; Configuration management

Abstract

The present invention extends to methods, systems, and computer program products for partitioning modeling platform data. Embodiments of the invention facilitate partitioning modeling platform data into nested horizontal slices. Using nested horizontal slices makes the modeling platform data more manageable and permits modeling platform data to align with existing tools and processes. Schemas and tables can be used to partition modeling platform data vertically and folders can be used to partition modeling platform data horizontally. Thus, a user-interface can preset the intersection of folders and schemas/tables as navigable chunks of data compatible with existing tools and processes, such as, for example, software development tools.

Claims

1. At a computer system including one or more processors and system memory, the computer system also including a repository, the repository storing modeling data for a plurality of applications for an organization, the modeling data stored in accordance with a plurality of corresponding schemas, a method for partitioning the modeling data for more efficient use in modeling applications, the method comprising:

an act of partitioning the modeling data as an intersection of folders and schemas so as to represent the modeling data as portions of data having a specified granularity application modeling tools can efficiently process, partitioning including;

an act of vertically partitioning the modeling data into a plurality of vertical partitions based on the plurality of corresponding schemas, vertical partitioning including for each schema in the plurality of corresponding schemas;

an act of creating one of the plurality of vertical partitions; and

an act of grouping modeling data corresponding to the schema with other modeling data corresponding to the schema in the vertical partition; and

an act of horizontally partitioning the vertically partitioned modeling data into a folder hierarchy, the folder hierarchy including plurality of folders based on a user-defined folder structure, horizontally partitioning including for each folder in the folder hierarchy;

an act of grouping modeling data from any of the different vertical partitions that corresponds to the folder into the folder based on the user-defined folder structure such that the folder hierarchy groups relate modeling data together as portions of data having the specified granularity.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the act of partitioning the modeling data as an intersection of folders and schemas comprises an act of partitioning modeling data representing different types of programming elements into folders based on the applications that correspond to the programming elements.

3. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the act of vertically partitioning the modeling data into a plurality of vertical partitions based on the plurality of corresponding schemas comprises an act of grouping together programming elements that are defined in accordance with the same schema in the same vertical partition.

4. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the act of horizontally partitioning the vertically partitioned modeling data into a folder hierarchy comprises an act of horizontally partitioning vertically partitioned programming elements into a folder tree structure.

5. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the act of horizontally partitioning the vertically partitioned modeling data into a folder hierarchy comprises an act of horizontally partitioning the vertically partitioned modeling data into a folder hierarchy that follows a classification taxonomy of the organization that is partitioning the modeling data.

6. The method as recited in claim 5, wherein the act of horizontally partitioning the vertically partitioned modeling data into a folder hierarchy comprises an act of horizontally partitioning the vertically partitioned modeling data into chunks of data compatible with other software development tools of the organization.

7. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein an act of grouping modeling data from any of the different vertical partitions that corresponds to the folder into the folder based on the user-defined folder structure comprises an act of grouping vertically partitioned modeling data together on a per application basis.

8. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

an act of presenting a user interface for interacting with the folder hierarchy, the user interface include controls that facilitate navigation between different portions of the folder hierarchy.

9. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising a build server building the code into a repository package for storage at the production repository.

10. At a computer system including one or more processors and system memory, the computer communicatively coupled to a production repository and a source code control system and build server, the production repository storing modeling data for a plurality of applications, the source code control system and build server for building code into modeling data for applications, the computer system also including an integrated development environment, a repository folder manager, a local repository, and a synchronization tool, the integrated development environment for developing code for submission to the source code control system, the folder manager for organizing repository modeling data into folders and providing a user-interface for exploring the folders, the local repository for storing modeling data for applications under development at the computer system, the synchronization tool for synchronizing code developed at the integrated development environment with modeling data in the local repository, a method for managing the lifecycle of modeling data, the method comprising:

an act of the folder manager accessing modeling data from the production repository;

an act of presenting the modeling data for applications in hierarchically arranged folders in the user-interface, data included in leaf folders partitioned vertically based on a plurality of different schemas and partitioned horizontally based on application;

an act of receiving an request to access modeling data for an application through the user-interface;

an act of copying the modeling data from the production repository to the local repository;

an act of receiving input for generating code for the application at the integrated development environment;

an act of outputting the code from the integrated development environment;

an act of synchronizing the code with the model data for the application in the local repository; and

an act of the submitting the code to the source code control system to facilitate updating the model data in production repository subsequent to synchronizing the code with the model data for the application in the local repository.

11. The method as recited in claim 10, wherein an act of the folder manager accessing modeling data from the production repository comprises an act of accessing modeling data for developing software applications.

12. The method as recited in claim 10, wherein the act of presenting the modeling data for applications in hierarchically arranged folders in the user-interface comprises an act of presenting user-interface controls for navigating between different portions of the hierarchically arranged folders.

13. The method as recited in claim 10, wherein an act of presenting the modeling data for applications in hierarchically arranged folders comprises an act of presenting modeling data in a tree structure.

14. The method as recited in claim 10, wherein an act of presenting the modeling data for applications in hierarchically arranged folders in the user-interface comprises an act of presenting the hierarchically arranged folders in accordance with a classification taxonomy for the organization that is partitioning the modeling data.

15. The method as recited in claim 10, wherein the act of receiving a request to access modeling data for an application through the user-interface comprises an act of a user using user-interface controls to navigate to the folder representing the modeling data.

16. The method as recited in claim 10, further comprising prior to presenting the hierarchically arranged folders:

an act of vertically partitioning the modeling data into a plurality of vertical partitions based on the plurality of corresponding schemas; and

an act of horizontally partitioning the vertically partitioned modeling data into hierarchically arranged folders, hierarchically arranged folders including plurality of folders based on a user-defined folder structure.

17. The method as recited in claim 10, wherein the act of outputting the code from the integrated development environment comprises an act of outputting one of:

Visual Basic source code and C# source code.

18. The method as recite in claim 10, further comprising an act of the source code control system managing the lifecycle of the application to facilitate team development of the application.

19. A system for managing the lifecycle of an application, the system comprising:

one or more processors;

system memory; and

one or more computer storage media have stored thereon computer-executable instructions for managing the lifecycle of an application such that that when the computer-executable instructions are executed at a processor, the following occurs;

a folder manager accesses modeling data from a production repository;

partitioning the modeling data as an intersection of folders and schemas so as to represent the modeling data as portions of data having a specified granularity that application modeling tools can efficiently process, including;

vertically partitioning the modeling data into a plurality of vertical partitions based on the plurality of corresponding schemas, vertical partitioning including for each schema in the plurality of corresponding schemas;

creating one of the plurality of vertical partitions; and

grouping modeling data corresponding to the schema with other modeling data corresponding to the schema in the vertical partition; and

horizontally partitioning the vertically partitioned modeling data into a folder hierarchy, the folder hierarchy including plurality of folders based on a user-defined folder structure, horizontally partitioning including for each folder in the folder hierarchy;

grouping modeling data from any of the different vertical partitions that corresponds to the folder into the folder based on the user-defined folder structure such that the folder hierarchy groups related modeling data together as portions of data having the specified granularity;

presenting the modeling data in the folder hierarchy at a user-interface;

receiving a request to access modeling data for an application through the user-interface;

copying modeling data from the production repository to local repository;

receiving input for generating code for the application at an integrated development environment;

outputting the code from the integrated development environment;

synchronizing the code with the model data for the application in the local repository;

submitting the code to the source code control system to facilitate updating the model data in production repository subsequent to synchronizing the code with the model data for the application in the local repository; and

the source code control system managing the lifecycle of the application to facilitate team development of the application.

20. The system for managing the lifecycle of an application as recited in claim 19, wherein the folder hierarchy is based on a classification taxonomy for the organization that developed the application.