Traceability in a modeling environment

• US 8,104,017 B2
• Filed: 11/29/2006
• Issued: 01/24/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/25/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The MathWorks, Inc.
• Original Assignee: The MathWorks, Inc.
• Inventors: Lin, Xiaocang, Pillarisetti, Aravind, Aldrich, William J., Tuschner, Kai
• Primary Examiner(s): Das, Chameli
• Application Number:
  US11/605,747
• Publication Number:
  US 20080098349A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,882 Days
• Field of Search: 717/100
• US Class Current: 717/107
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3664 Environments for testing or debugging software
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3688 for test execution, e.g. scheduling of test suites
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3696 Methods or tools to render software testable
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/137 Hierarchical processing, e.g. outlines
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/151 Transformation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/10 Requirements analysis; Specification techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/34 Graphical or visual programming
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/35 model driven
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/355 Round-trip engineering
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/73 Program documentation

Abstract

Exemplary embodiments employ a mapping among entities that are related to each other. The entities may include a graphical model, generated code, a generated report, a requirements document and/or an intermediate representation. The mapping may facilitate graphical identifications between parts of one entity that maps to part of another entity. The graphical identification may occur based on a selection of a part in one of the entities.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

identifying a plurality of entities having relationships therebetween;

accessing a first entity from the plurality of entities, the first entity including a graphical model that has a graphical affordance;

accessing a second entity from the plurality of entities, the second entity including at least one of a generated code or an intermediate representation that corresponds to the graphical model; and

mapping the first entity to the second entity, using a computer, to facilitate graphical identification of a bi-directional mapping between a first part of the first entity, that includes the graphical affordance depicted in the graphical model, and a second part, of the second entity, that includes a segment, of the at least one of the generated code or the intermediate representation, associated with the graphical affordance.

2. The method of claim 1, where the first part is a portion, of the graphical model, associated with the graphical affordance and the second part is the segment of the generated code.

3. The method of claim 2, where the method further comprises:

creating a deployable representation that facilitates generated code inspection in a first environment that is independent of a second environment used to develop the graphical model.

4. The method of claim 3, where the deployable representation comprises a web deployable format.

5. The method of claim 2, where the method further comprises:

searching the graphical model for the portion; and

relating the segment with the portion graphically.

6. The method of claim 5, where the method further comprises:

replacing the portion with another portion; and

updating the segment to reflect the replacing.

7. The method of claim 2, where the method further comprises:

updating an inferred property of the portion; and

implementing the inferred property as a specified property related to the portion.

8. The method of claim 7, where the method further comprises:

indicating that the specified property cannot be modified; and

preventing the specified property from being modified.

9. The method of claim 2, where the method further comprises:

searching the generated code for the segment; and

relating the segment with the portion graphically.

10. The method of claim 9, where the method further comprises:

replacing the segment with another segment; and

updating the portion to reflect the replacing.

11. The method of claim 2, where the portion represents an interface for an element and the segment represents at least part of a function related to the interface.

12. The method of claim 2, where the portion of the graphical model represents a user specified element.

13. The method of claim 1, where the mapping is performed by generating tracing information that associates the first part with the second part.

14. The method of claim 13, where the method further comprises:

generating an independent representation comprising the tracing information.

15. The method of claim 14, where the method further comprises:

identifying a programmable application program interface (API) that programmatically identifies the first part or the second part based on the independent representation.

16. The method of claim 15, where the second entity is the generated code and the programmable API allows a user to use an external browser to browse the generated code.

17. The method of claim 15, where the second entity is the generated code and the programmable API allows a user to use an external code debugger to debug the generated code.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

synchronizing a graphical model debugger with the external code debugger prior to debugging the graphical model or the generated code.

19. The method of claim 18, the method further comprising:

debugging the graphical model and the generated code simultaneously.

20. The method of claim 1, where:

the first part is related to a plurality of parts related to the second entity, or

the second part is related to a plurality of parts related to the first entity.

21. The method of claim 20, where identifying the plurality of entities further comprises:

identifying members of the plurality of parts related to the first entity or members of the plurality of parts related to the second entity using unique graphical identifiers.

22. The method of claim 1, where the second part further includes a section of a generated report associated with the graphical model.

23. The method of claim 22, where the method further comprises:

graphically identifying the section based on a selection of the first part.

24. The method of claim 22, where the method further comprises:

graphically identifying the first part based on a selection of the section.

25. The method of claim 22, where the generated report is one of:

a coverage report,

a model checking report,

a code generation report, or

a profiling report.

26. The method of claim 25, where the generated report comprises at least one of:

a partial listing of the generated code,

information related to a process used to generate the generated code, or

information related to an execution of the generated code or the graphical model.

27. The method of claim 22, where the generated report is a model coverage report, and the method further comprises:

converting, based on mapping between the first entity and the second entity, the model coverage report to code coverage report.

28. The method of claim 22, where the generated report is a code coverage report and the method further comprises:

converting, based on mapping between the first entity and the second entity, the code coverage report to a model coverage report.

29. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

associating undisplayed aspects of the graphical model with the second part;

selecting the second part; and

displaying, based on selecting the second part, the undisplayed aspects.

30. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

specifying a scope for aspects in the graphical model, the aspects related to graphically identifying the second part as at least one segment that is within the scope that is specified.

31. The method of claim 1, where the method further comprises:

selecting the first part to graphically identify the second part with a graphical identifier.

32. The method of claim 1, where mapping the first entity to the second entity includes:

receiving information identifying either the graphical affordance included in the first part of the first entity or the segment of the at least one of the generated code or the intermediate representation included in the second part of the second entity,

when the received information identifies the graphical affordance included in the first part of the first entity, graphically identifying the segment, of the at least one of the generated code or the intermediate representation included in the second part, that is associated with the graphical affordance, and

when the received information selects the second part that includes the segment of the at least one of the generated code or the intermediate representation, graphically identifying the graphical affordance included in the first part.

33. A non-transitory computer readable medium for use on a computing device, the medium storing instructions executable using the computing device, the instructions for:

identifying a plurality of entities having relationships therebetween, the plurality of entities having at least one of a graphical model, generated code, a generated report, a requirements document, or an intermediate representation;

accessing a first entity from the plurality of entities, the first entity including the graphical model that includes a graphical affordance;

accessing a second entity from the plurality of entities, the second entity including at least one of the generated code or the intermediate representation that correspond to the graphical model; and

mapping the first entity to the second entity to facilitate graphical identification of a bi-directional mapping between a first part of the first entity, that includes the graphical affordance depicted in the graphical model, and a second part, of the second entity, that includes a segment, of the at least one of the generated code or the intermediate representation, associated with the graphical affordance.

34. The computer readable medium of claim 33, where the first part is a portion of the graphical model associated with the graphical affordance, and the second part is the segment of the generated code.

35. The computer readable medium of claim 34, where the computer readable medium comprises instructions for:

creating a deployable representation that facilitates generated code inspection in a first environment that is independent of a second environment used to develop the graphical model.

36. The computer readable medium of claim 35, where the deployable representation comprises a web deployable format.

37. The computer readable medium of claim 34, where the computer readable medium comprises instructions for:

searching the graphical model for the portion; and

relating the segment with the portion graphically.

38. The computer readable medium of claim 34, where the computer readable medium comprises instructions for:

searching the generated code for the segment; and

relating the segment with the portion graphically.

39. The computer readable medium of claim 38, where the computer readable medium comprises instructions for:

replacing the segment with another segment; and

updating the portion to reflect the replacing.

40. The computer readable medium of claim 34, where the portion further represents an interface of an element of the graphical model, and the segment represents at least part of a function related to the interface.

41. The computer readable medium of claim 34, where the portion of the graphical model represents a user specified element developed in textual code.

42. The computer readable medium of claim 33, where the mapping is formed by generating tracing information that associates the first part with the second part.

43. The computer readable medium of claim 42, where the computer readable medium comprises instructions for:

generating an independent representation comprising the tracing information.

44. The computer readable medium of claim 43, where the computer readable medium comprises instructions for:

identifying a programmable application program interface (API) that programmatically identifies the first part or the second part based on the independent representation.

45. The computer readable medium of claim 33, where the first part is related to a plurality of parts related to the second entity or the second part is related to a plurality of parts related to the first entity.

46. The computer readable medium of claim 45, where the instructions for identifying the plurality of entities further comprises:

instructions for identifying members of the plurality of parts related to the first entity or members of the plurality of parts related to the second entity using unique graphical identifiers.

47. The computer readable medium of claim 33, where the second part is a section of the generated report, and the computer readable medium comprises instructions for:

graphically identifying the section based on a selection of the first part.

48. The computer readable medium of claim 47, where the computer readable medium comprises instructions for:

graphically identifying the first part based on selection of the section.

49. The computer readable medium of claim 33, where the computer readable medium further comprises instructions for:

associating undisplayed aspects of the graphical model with the second part;

selecting the second part; and

displaying the undisplayed aspects based on selecting the second part.

50. The computer readable medium of claim 33, where the computer readable medium further comprises instructions for:

specifying a scope for aspects in the graphical model, the aspects related to graphically identifying the second part as at least one segment that is within the scope that is specified.

51. The computer readable medium of claim 33, further comprising one or more instructions for:

receiving information identifying either the graphical affordance included in the first part of the first entity or the segment of the at least one of the generated code or the intermediate representation included in the second part of the second entity,

when the received information identifies the graphical affordance included in the first part of the first entity, graphically identifying, to a user, the segment, of the at least one of the generated code or the intermediate representation included in the second part, that is associated with the graphical affordance, and

when the received information selects the second part that includes the segment of the at least one of the generated code or the intermediate representation, graphically identifying, to the user, the graphical affordance included in the first part.

52. A non-transitory computer readable medium for use on a computing device, the medium storing instructions executable using the computing device, the instructions for:

identifying a plurality of entities having relationships therebetween;

accessing a first entity from the plurality of entities, the first entity including a graphical model that has a graphical affordance;

accessing a second entity from the plurality of entities, the second entity including at least one of a generated code or an intermediate representation that corresponds to the graphical model; and

mapping the first entity to the second entity, using a computer, to facilitate graphical identification of a bi-directional mapping between a first part, of the first entity, that includes the graphical affordance depicted in the graphical model, and a second part, of the second entity, that includes a segment, of the at least one of the generated code or the intermediate representation, associated with the graphical affordance.

53. The computer readable medium of claim 52, where the first part is a portion, of the graphical model, associated with the graphical affordance and the second part is the segment associated with the graphical affordance.

54. The computer readable medium of claim 53, where the instructions are further for:

creating a deployable representation that facilitates generated code inspection in a first environment that is independent of a second environment used to develop the graphical model.

55. The computer readable medium of claim 54, where the deployable representation comprises a web deployable format.

56. The computer readable medium of claim 53, where the instructions are further for:

searching the graphical model for the portion; and

relating the segment with the portion graphically.

57. The computer readable medium of claim 56, where the instructions are further for:

replacing the portion with another portion; and

updating the segment to reflect the replacing.

58. The computer readable medium of claim 53, where the instructions are further for:

updating an inferred property of the portion; and

implementing the inferred property as a specified property related to the portion.

59. The computer readable medium of claim 58, where the instructions are further for:

indicating that the specified property cannot be modified; and

preventing the specified property from being modified.

60. The computer readable medium of claim 53, where the instructions are further for:

searching the generated code for the segment; and

relating the segment with the portion graphically.

61. The computer readable medium of claim 60, where the instructions are further for:

replacing the segment with another segment; and

updating the portion to reflect the replacing.

62. The computer readable medium of claim 53, where the portion represents an interface for an element and the segment represents at least part of a function related to the interface.

63. The computer readable medium of claim 53, where the portion of the graphical model represents a user specified element.

64. The computer readable medium of claim 52, where the mapping is performed by generating tracing information that associates the first part with the second part.

65. The computer readable medium of claim 64, where the instructions are further for:

generating an independent representation comprising the tracing information.

66. The computer readable medium of claim 65, where the instructions are further for:

identifying a programmable application program interface (API) that programmatically identifies the first part or the second part based on the independent representation.

67. The computer readable medium of claim 66, where the second entity is the generated code and the programmable API allows a user to use an external browser to browse the generated code.

68. The computer readable medium of claim 66, where the second entity is the generated code and the programmable API allows a user to use an external code debugger to debug the generated code.

69. The computer readable medium of claim 68, where the instructions are further for:

synchronizing a graphical model debugger with the external code debugger prior to debugging the graphical model or the generated code.

70. The computer readable medium of claim 69, where the instructions are further for:

debugging the graphical model and the generated code simultaneously.

71. The computer readable medium of claim 52, where:

the first part is related to a plurality of parts related to the second entity, or

the second part is related to a plurality of parts related to the first entity.

72. The computer readable medium of claim 71, where the instructions are further for:

identifying members of the plurality of parts related to the first entity or members of the plurality of parts related to the second entity using unique graphical identifiers.

73. The computer readable medium of claim 52, where the second part further includes a section of a generated report associated with the graphical model.

74. The computer readable medium of claim 73, where the instructions are further for:

graphically identifying the section based on a selection of the first part.

75. The computer readable medium of claim 73, where the instructions are further for:

graphically identifying the first part based on a selection of the section.

76. The computer readable medium of claim 73, where the generated report is one of:

a coverage report,

a model checking report,

a code generation report, or

a profiling report.

77. The computer readable medium of claim 76, where the generated report comprises at least one of:

a partial listing of the generated code,

information related to a process used to generate the generated code, or

information related to an execution of the generated code or the graphical model.

78. The computer readable medium of claim 73, where the generated report is a model coverage report, and where the instructions are further for:

converting, based on mapping between the first entity and the second entity, the model coverage report to code coverage report.

79. The computer readable medium of claim 73, where the generated report is a code coverage report, and where the instructions are further for:

converting, based on mapping between the first entity and the second entity, the code coverage report to a model coverage report.

80. The computer readable medium of claim 52, where the instructions are further for:

associating undisplayed aspects of the graphical model with the second part;

selecting the second part; and

displaying, based on selecting the second part, the undisplayed aspects.

81. The computer readable medium of claim 52, where the instructions are further for:

specifying a scope for aspects in the graphical model, the aspects related to graphically identifying the second part as at least one segment that is within the scope that is specified.

82. The computer readable medium of claim 52, where the instructions are further for:

selecting the first part to graphically identify the second part with a graphical identifier.

83. A computer implemented method, the method comprising:

identifying a plurality of entities having relationships therebetween, the plurality of entities having at least one of a graphical model, generated code, a generated report, a requirements document, or an intermediate representation;

accessing a first entity from the plurality of entities, the first entity including the graphical model that includes a graphical affordance;

accessing a second entity from the plurality of entities, the second entity including at least one of the generated code or the intermediate representation that correspond to the graphical model; and

mapping the first entity to the second entity to facilitate graphical identification of a bi-directional mapping between a first part, of the first entity, that includes the graphical affordance depicted in the graphical model, and a second part, of the second entity, that includes a segment, of the at least one of the generated code or the intermediate representation, associated with the graphical affordance.

84. The method of claim 83, where the first part is a portion of the graphical model associated with the graphical affordance, and the second part is the segment associated with the graphical affordance, and where the method further comprises:

creating a deployable representation that facilitates generated code inspection in a first environment that is independent of a second environment used to develop the graphical model.

85. The method of claim 84, where the method further comprises:

searching the graphical model for the portion;

searching the generated code for the segment; and

relating the segment with the portion graphically.

86. The method of claim 83, where mapping the first entity to the second entity includes:

receiving information identifying either the graphical affordance included in the first part of the first entity or the segment of the at least one of the generated code or the intermediate representation included in the second part of the second entity,

when the received information identifies the graphical affordance included in the first part of the first entity, graphically identifying the segment, of the at least one of the generated code or the intermediate representation included in the second part, that is associated with the graphical affordance, and

when the received information selects the second part that includes the segment of the at least one of the generated code or the intermediate representation, graphically identifying the graphical affordance included in the first part.