Method and computer program product for providing a representation of software modeled by a model

• US 8,146,051 B2
• Filed: 10/02/2006
• Issued: 03/27/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/02/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Shaham-Gafni, Yael, Shani, Netta, Hartman, Alan, Kremer, Shiri
• Primary Examiner(s): CHAVIS, JOHN Q
• Application Number:
  US11/537,677
• Publication Number:
  US 20080082958A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,003 Days
• Field of Search: 717/104, 717/126
• US Class Current: 717/104
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/73 Program documentation

Abstract

A computer program product and a method for providing a graphical representation of a software, the method includes: receiving semantic concern defining information; populating at least one semantic concern, in response to the received semantic concern defining information; and associating between multiple elements in response to semantic relation information, if semantic concern relation information was previously received.

Claims

1. A method for providing a representation of a software, the method comprising:

receiving semantic concern defining information;

populating at least one semantic concern, in response to the received semantic concern defining information; and

associating between multiple semantic elements in response to semantic relation information, if semantic relation information was previously received, wherein associating is performed by

constructing a plurality of models having model elements;

executing a graphic interface on a computing device to display a graphic representation of the models;

constructing semantic queries to validate the models;

detecting a re-evaluation event;

responsively to the re-evaluation event making a revision of the graphic representation to conform the at least one semantic concern to the re-evaluation event;

automatically or semi-automatically, using the computing device, conforming the models with the revision of the graphic representation, updating the semantic queries in compliance with the conformed models; and

executing the updated semantic queries to determine whether the software violates a predetermined validation rule.

2. A method of representing software, comprising the steps of:

defining a meta-model of software to be validated comprising abstract semantic concerns and abstract semantic inter-relationships among the abstract semantic concerns;

automatically, using a computing device, defining actual semantic concerns relating to the software;

constructing a plurality of models representing respective ones of the actual semantic concerns and actual semantic inter-relationships therebetween, wherein the models have model elements comprising semantic elements and conform to the meta-model, and wherein the actual semantic concerns comprise dynamic actual semantic concerns that are subject to updating, and an n-ary relationship exists between at least one group of the model elements that comprises a set of the actual semantic concerns;

executing a graphic interface on the computing device to display a graphic representation of the models;

constructing semantic queries to validate the models;

detecting a re-evaluation event;

responsively to the re-evaluation event making a revision of the graphic representation to conform the dynamic actual semantic concerns to the re-evaluation event;

automatically or semi-automatically, using the computing device, conforming the models with the revision of the graphic representation, updating the semantic queries in compliance with the conformed models; and

executing the updated semantic queries to determine whether the software violates a predetermined validation rule.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the re-evaluation event comprises an alteration in one of the models.

4. The method according to claim 2, wherein the re-evaluation event comprises an alteration in one of the actual semantic concerns.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the alteration comprises an addition of one of the actual semantic concerns.

6. The method according to claim 2, wherein the re-evaluation event comprises an alteration in one of the actual semantic inter-relationships.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the alteration comprises a deletion of one of the actual semantic inter-relationships.

8. The method according to claim 6, wherein the alteration comprises an addition of one of the actual semantic inter-relationships.

9. The method according to claim 2, wherein constructing semantic queries comprises accessing a semantic query library.

10. A computer software product for representing software, including a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium in which computer program instructions are stored, which instructions, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform the steps of:

defining actual semantic concerns relating to the software;

constructing a plurality of models representing respective ones of the actual semantic concerns and actual semantic inter-relationships therebetween, wherein the models have model elements comprising semantic elements and conform to a meta-model, and wherein the actual semantic concerns comprise dynamic actual semantic concerns that are subject to updating, and an n-ary relationship exists between at least one group of the model elements that comprises a set of the actual semantic concerns;

executing a graphic interface to display a graphic representation of the models;

constructing semantic queries to validate the models;

detecting a re-evaluation event;

responsively to the re-evaluation event making a revision of the graphic representation to conform the dynamic actual semantic concerns to the re-evaluation event;

conforming the models with the revision of the graphic representation, updating the semantic queries in compliance with the conformed models; and

executing the updated semantic queries to determine whether the software violates a predetermined validation rule.

11. The computer software product according to claim 10, wherein the re-evaluation event comprises an alteration in one of the models.

12. The computer software product according to claim 10, wherein the re-evaluation event comprises an alteration in one of the actual semantic concerns.

13. The computer software product according to claim 12, wherein the alteration comprises an addition of one of the actual semantic concerns.

14. The computer software product according to claim 10, wherein the re-evaluation event comprises an alteration in one of the actual semantic inter-relationships.

15. The computer software product according to claim 14, wherein the alteration comprises a deletion of one of the actual semantic inter-relationships.

16. The computer software product according to claim 14, wherein the alteration comprises an addition of one of the actual semantic inter-relationships.

17. The computer software product according to claim 10, wherein constructing semantic queries comprises accessing a semantic query library.