Automatically generating compound commands in a computer system

• US 8,789,056 B2
• Filed: 02/19/2013
• Issued: 07/22/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/11/2009
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Cragun, Brian J., Herbeck, David G., Johnson, Todd E., Petri, John E., Smutzer, Leah R.
• Primary Examiner(s): SWIFT, CHARLES M
• Application Number:
  US13/771,040
• Publication Number:
  US 20130160015A1
• Time in Patent Office: 518 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 718/100
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/93 Document management systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/45512 Command shells
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/46 Multiprogramming arrangements

Abstract

A computer system provides a way to automatically generate compound commands that perform tasks made up of multiple simple commands. A compound command generation mechanism monitors consecutive user commands and compares the consecutive commands a user has taken to a command sequence identification policy. If the user'"'"'s consecutive commands satisfy the command sequence identification policy the user'"'"'s consecutive commands become a command sequence. If the command sequence satisfies the compound command policy, the compound generation mechanism can generate a compound command for the command sequence automatically or prompt an administrator to allow the compound command to be generated. Generating a compound command can be done on a user by user basis or on a system wide basis. The compound command can then be displayed to the user to execute so that the command sequence is performed by the user selecting the compound command for execution.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for automatically generating a compound command from a user as the user performs commands, the method comprising the steps of:

(A) providing at least one processor;

(B) providing a memory coupled to the at least one processor;

(C) defining a command identification policy that specifies completion criteria that determines when a command sequence is completed;

(D) defining a compound command policy that specifies a threshold number of times comprising a plurality of times the command sequence must have occurred for automatic generation of a compound command from the command sequence;

(E) the user performs a command;

(F) adding the command to the command sequence;

(G) performing steps (E)-(F) until the completion criteria in the command sequence identification policy is satisfied; and

(H) when the command sequence satisfies the threshold in the compound command policy, automatically generating the compound command from the command sequence.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the compound command automatically executes all commands in the command sequence.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the command sequence comprises a plurality of simple commands.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the command sequence comprises at least one simple command and at least one compound command.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of making the compound command available to a user only when the user satisfies the compound command policy.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of logging the command in a user command log.