Modeled types-attributes, aliases and context-awareness

• US 8,615,730 B2
• Filed: 07/14/2006
• Issued: 12/24/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 07/14/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Kristoffersen, Esben Nyhuus, Clausen, Heinrich Hoffmann, Hammer, Lars, Hejlsberg, Thomas
• Primary Examiner(s): CHAVIS, JOHN Q
• Application Number:
  US11/486,579
• Publication Number:
  US 20080016492A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,720 Days
• Field of Search: 717/104
• US Class Current: 717/104
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3692 for test results analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/10 Requirements analysis; Specification techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/36 Software reuse

Abstract

Modeled Types allow a developer to define attributes and/or code when defining a new type. When the Modeled Type is used, specific values may be assigned to the attributes. The consumer of the values of the attributes can be the type itself by executing the logic during application execution, or the consumer may be the runtime framework or the application using the values by querying the meta-data of the Modeled Type. Modeled Type Aliasing defines a Modeled Type based on another Modeled Type allowing both a new unique name but at the same time optionally supplying specific values to one or more of the attributes of the base Modeled Type. Context-aware Modeled Types provide a description of how to determine the value for the attribute.

Claims

1. A computer-readable storage medium that is not a signal and that comprises computer-executable instructions that when executed by one or more processors of a computing environment cause the computing environment to:

receive input specifying a name for a first modeled type, an underlying type for the first modeled type, at least one attribute of the first modeled type, and programming logic to be executed on a program element of the first modeled type during execution of an application to validate the program element against a range of valid values of the program element;

save, in a first library, the first modeled type and the programming logic to be executed on the program element of the first modeled type during execution of the application;

receive input specifying a second modeled type based on the first modeled type and a name for the second modeled type and providing a description of how to determine an explicit value for the at least one attribute during execution of the application; and

save, in a second library, the second modeled type including the description of how to determine the explicit value for the at least one attribute during execution of the application, the second library being different from the first library in which the first modeled type is saved.

2. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, comprising further computer-executable instructions that when executed by one or more processors of the computing environment cause the computing environment to:

receive input regarding the second library during execution of the application, wherein the second library is loaded in response to the received input regarding the second library.

3. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, comprising further computer-executable instructions that when executed by one or more processors of the computing environment cause the computing environment to:

receive input specifying that the second modeled type is generated based on the first modeled type by adding an additional attribute to the first modeled type and modifying the programming logic of the first modeled type.

4. A computer-implemented method for using modeled types, the method comprising:

receiving, by one or more processors, input specifying a name for a first modeled type, an underlying type for the first modeled type, at least one attribute of the first modeled type, and programming logic to be executed on a program element of the first modeled type during execution of an application to validate the program element against a range of valid values of the program element;

saving, by the one or more processors, in a first library, the first modeled type and the programming logic to be executed on the program element of the first modeled type during execution of the application;

receiving, by the one or more processors, input specifying second modeled type based on the first modeled type and a name for the second modeled type and providing a description of how to determine an explicit value for the at least one attribute during execution of the application; and

saving, by the one or more processors, in a second library, the second modeled type including the description of how to determine the explicit value for the at least one attribute during execution of the application, the second library being different from the first library in which the first modeled type is saved.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, further comprising:

receiving input regarding the second library during execution of the application, wherein the second library is loaded in response to the received input regarding the second library.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, further comprising:

receiving input specifying that the second modeled type is generated based on the first modeled type by adding an additional attribute to the first modeled type and modifying the programming logic of the first modeled type.

7. A computing system for using modeled types, the system comprising:

one or more processors;

memory having stored therein computer-executable instructions that when executed by the one or more processors cause the computing system to;

receive input specifying a name for a first modeled type, an underlying type for the first modeled type, at least one attribute of the first modeled type, and programming logic to be executed on a program element of the first modeled type during execution of an application to validate the program element against a range of valid values of the program element;

save, in a first library, the first modeled type and the programming logic to be executed on the program element of the first modeled type during execution of the application;

receive input specifying second modeled type based on the first modeled type and a name for the second modeled type and providing a description of how to determine an explicit value for the at least one attribute during execution of the application; and

save, in a second library, the second modeled type including the description of how to determine the explicit value for the at least one attribute during execution of the application, the second library being different from the first library in which the first modeled type is saved.

8. The computing system of claim 7, wherein the memory further comprises computer-executable instructions that when executed by the one or more processors cause the computing system to:

receive input regarding the second library during execution of the application, wherein the second library is loaded in response to the received input regarding the second library.

9. The computing system of claim 7, wherein the memory further comprises computer-executable instructions that when executed by the one or more processors cause the computing system to:

receive input specifying that the second modeled type is generated based on the first modeled type by adding an additional attribute to the first modeled type and modifying the programming logic of the first modeled type.