Auto-documenting based on real-time analysis of code execution

• US 8,918,765 B2
• Filed: 06/20/2011
• Issued: 12/23/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/18/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Libera Inc
• Original Assignee: Libera Inc
• Inventors: Dearman, Michael, Cecchini, Albert
• Primary Examiner(s): Chen, Xi D
• Application Number:
  US13/164,450
• Publication Number:
  US 20120159442A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,282 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 717/130
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/302 where the computing system component is a software system
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3089 Monitoring arrangements determined by the means or processing involved in sensing the monitored data, e.g. interfaces, connectors, sensors, probes, agents software debugging using additional hardware using a specific debug interface G06F11/3656; performance evaluation by tracing or monitoring G06F11/3466
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3612 by runtime analysis performance monitoring G06F11/3466
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3636 by tracing the execution of the program
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/73 Program documentation

Abstract

Methods and systems for providing a monitoring center with sensors that are inserted at one or more locations within an operating framework software engine. The sensors monitor the interpretive framework engine'"'"'s process of loading commands, combining variables with coded commands, and executing commands with event processing, variable values, and user interactions. The sensors watch and gather information that has been deemed relevant by the monitoring center'"'"'s configuration and pass that information to the center so that storage functions can route the information to the appropriate data storage locations. Alternatively, each sensor can be self-contained providing monitoring, gathering, processing, data transmission, and storage within the sensor.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for automated documentation of a computer application, comprising the steps of:

a processor interjecting attribute-collecting-and-populating sensor objects into source code of a computer application;

while traversing the source code as the source code is being interpreted by an interpretive framework engine that translates the source code into an interactive computer application, said sensor objects collecting data in the source code that represents the attributes and events of the source code;

the processor processing the collected attributes and events;

storing the processed attributes and events in a data structure; and

generating documentation of the computer application from said stored attributes and events.

2. The method of claim 1, where computer readable instructions for implementing the method are part of the interpretive framework engine.

3. The method of claim 1, further including linking computer readable instructions for implementing the method to the interpretive framework engine from an object outside the interpretive framework engine.

4. The method of claim 1, where collecting of attributes and events of the source code while the source code is being interpreted by the interpretive framework engine includes bypassing programmed conditional logic in the source code.

5. The method of claim 1, where the attributes and events include attributes and events of software framework component objects that represent aspects of the source code.

6. The method of claim 1, where storing the processed attributes and events in a data structure comprises the attribute-collecting-and-populating sensor objects populating the data structure with the collected data.

7. The method of claim 1, where the source code includes extensible markup language, the attribute-collecting-and-populating sensor objects collecting data representing the attributes at each node of the extensible markup language.

8. The method of claim 7, the attribute-collecting-and-populating sensor objects collecting the data representing the attributes before and after a particular process is performed on each respective node of the extensible markup language.

9. The method of claim 1, where the attribute-collecting-and-populating sensor objects are visitor objects of a visitor class.

10. The method of claim 1, where the attribute-collecting-and-populating sensor objects are event-driven objects of an event-driven class.

11. The method of claim 1, where the attribute-collecting-and-populating sensor objects are a combination of a visitor object of a visitor class and an event-driven object of an event-driven class.

12. The method of claim 9, where the visitor objects further provide event-driven functionality similar to an event-driven object.

13. The method of claim 1, where the data structure comprises at least one of the following:

a hierarchical data structure; and

a relational database comprising at least one database table having rows representing records of parts of the source code and columns representing fields representing attributes of the parts of the source code.

14. The method of claim 13, where one or more fields of the data structure has more than one data type.

15. The method of claim 13, further including storing version information for tracking a history of changes over time in at least one field of the data structure.

16. The method of claim 1, where processing the attributes and events includes interpreting the attributes and events into a natural language.

17. The method of claim 16, further including storing the interpretation of the attributes and events in the data structure.

18. The method of claim 1, further including integrating the steps of claim 23 with a static code translator.

19. The method of claim 1, the attribute-collecting-and-populating sensor objects transmitting information to a central system that translates and stores the attribute and event information to the data structure.

20. The method of claim 19, further including configuring which attributes and events to interpret and store in the data structure using a user interface of the central system.

21. The method of claim 20, further including configuring the attribute-collecting-and-populating sensor objects to collect only certain types of attributes and events using the user interface of the central system.

40. The system of claim 1, where the attribute-collecting-and-populating sensor objects transmit information to a central system that translates and stores the attribute and event information to the data structure.

41. The system of claim 40, where the central system comprises a user interface to configure which attributes and events to interpret and store in the data structure.

42. The system of claim 41, where the user interface configures the attribute-collecting-and-populating sensor objects to collect only certain types of attributes and events.

22. A system that facilitates automated documentation of source code by documenting attributes and events of the source code of a computer application as a result of the source code being interpreted by an interpretive framework engine in which the computer application is based, the system comprising:

a processor; and

a memory having computer readable instructions stored therein that said processor executes and as a result of executing the instructions the processor implements the following steps;

interjecting attribute-collecting-and-populating sensor objects into a software framework of said source code;

while traversing the software framework as the source code is being interpreted by an interpretive framework engine that translates the source code into an interactive computer application, said sensor objects collecting data in the source code that represents the attributes and events of the source code that is changing in response to execution by the interpretive framework engine;

processing the collected attributes and events;

storing the processed attributes and events in a data structure; and

generating documentation of the computer application from said stored attributes and events.

23. The system of claim 22, where the computer readable instructions are part of the interpretive framework engine.

24. The system of claim 22, where the computer readable instructions are linked to the interpretive framework engine from an object outside the interpretive framework engine.

25. The system of claim 22, where the collecting of attributes and events of the source code while the source code is being interpreted by said interpretive framework engine includes bypassing programmed conditional logic in the source code.

26. The system of claim 22, where the attributes and events include attributes and events of software framework component objects that represent aspects of the source code.

27. The system of claim 22, where the attribute-collecting-and-populating sensor objects populate the data structure with the collected data.

28. The system of claim 22, where the source code includes extensible markup language and the attribute-collecting-and-populating sensor objects collect data representing the attributes at each node of the extensible markup language.

29. The system of claim 28, where the attribute-collecting-and-populating sensor objects collect the data representing the attributes before and after a particular process is performed on each respective node of the extensible markup language.

30. The system of claim 22, where the attribute-collecting-and-populating sensor objects are visitor objects of a visitor class.

31. The system of claim 30, where the visitor objects further provide event-driven functionality similar to an event-driven object.

32. The system of claim 22, where the attribute-collecting-and-populating sensor objects are event-driven objects of an event-driven class.

33. The system of claim 22, where the attribute-collecting-and-populating sensor objects are a combination of a visitor object of a visitor class and an event-driven object of an event-driven class.

34. The system of claim 22, where the data structure comprises at least one of the following:

a hierarchical data structure; and

a relational database comprising at least one database table having rows representing records of parts of the source code and columns representing fields representing attributes of the parts of the source code.

35. The system of claim 34, where one or more fields of the data structure has more than one data type.

36. The system of claim 34, where at least one field of the data structure is used to store version information for tracking a history of changes over time.

37. The system of claim 22, where processing the attributes and events includes interpreting the attributes and events into a natural language.

38. The system of claim 37, where the interpretation of the attributes and events is stored in the data structure.

39. The system of claim 22, where the system is integrated with a static code translator.

43. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon that when executed by a processor cause said processor to implement method for automated documentation of a computer application, the method comprising the steps of:

interjecting attribute-collecting-and-populating sensor objects into said source code;

while traversing the source code as the source code is being interpreted by an interpretive framework engine that translates the source code into an interactive computer application, said sensor objects collecting data in the source code that represents the attributes and events of the source code;

processing the collected attributes and events;

storing the processed attributes and events in a data structure; and

generating documentation of the computer application from said stored attributes and events.