Construction of object-oriented programming (OOP) patterns by behavior delegation

• US 8,990,766 B2
• Filed: 07/10/2005
• Issued: 03/24/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 07/10/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Schneider, Scott E.
• Primary Examiner(s): MITCHELL, JASON D
• Application Number:
  US11/178,871
• Publication Number:
  US 20070011652A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,544 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 717/105
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/35 model driven
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/36 Software reuse

Abstract

Object-oriented programming (OOP) design patterns are constructed at least partially by delegating their behaviors to preconstructed OOP patterns to implement the behaviors. A new OOP pattern having one or more behaviors is defined. Each of at least one of the behaviors is delegated to a preconstructed OOP pattern, the preconstructed OOP pattern therefore implementing the behavior. The new OOP pattern is thus constructed at least partially by delegating at least one of its behaviors to the preconstructed OOP patterns. Delegating a behavior to one of the preconstructed OOP patterns can be accomplished within a graphical user interface (GUI). Graphical representations of the new OOP pattern and of the preconstructed OOP patterns are displayed. Dragging the graphical representation of a selected preconstructed OOP pattern onto the graphical representation of the new OOP pattern causes a behavior of the new OOP pattern to be delegated to the selected preconstructed OOP pattern.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

defining, using a computer program executed by a computing device, a new object-oriented programming (OOP) pattern having a first behavior and a second behavior, the new OOP pattern having one or more objects to implement the second behavior, the new OOP pattern not having any object to implement the first behavior; and

,

delegating, using the computer program executed by the computing device, the first behavior of the new OOP pattern to one of a plurality of preconstructed OOP patterns to implement the first behavior by the one of the preconstructed OOP patterns,

wherein each behavior of the new OOP pattern has an expand method to perform the behavior of the pattern and an update method that listens for execution of the expand method and performs additional processing as a result, wherein delegating the first behavior to one of the preconstructed OOP patterns comprises attaching the one of the preconstructed OOP patterns to the update method of the new OOP pattern,

such that the new OOP pattern is constructed at least in part by delegating the first behavior of the new OOP pattern to the one of the preconstructed OOP patterns, the one of the preconstructed OOP patterns having one or more objects to implement the first behavior,

wherein the preconstructed OOP patterns are not subsidiary in any way to the new OOP pattern, except that the one of the preconstructed OOP patterns is delegated the first behavior of the new OOP pattern, such that the new OOP pattern is of equal hierarchical priority with respect to the preconstructed OOP patterns,

wherein delegation of the first behavior of the new OOP pattern to the one of the preconstructed OOP pattern is different than and occurs at a higher hierarchical level than delegating functionality of any object to any other object, wherein the new OOP pattern and the preconstructed OOP patterns are at a higher hierarchical level than any objects that make up the new OOP pattern and the preconstructed OOP patterns, and each OOP pattern is defined as a set of constraint on any objects that make up the OOP pattern.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the new OOP pattern has one or more additional behaviors, such that each additional behavior is delegated to one of the plurality of preconstructed OOP patterns to implement the additional behavior by the one of the preconstructed OOP patterns.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving the plurality of preconstructed OOP patterns before delegating the first behavior of the new OOP pattern to one of the preconstructed OOP patterns.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the new OOP pattern is capable of being employed to construct other new OOP patterns in that behaviors of the other new OOP patterns are capable of being delegated to the OOP pattern.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the new OOP pattern is a first new OOP pattern, the method further comprising:

defining a second new OOP pattern having a behavior; and

,

delegating the behavior of the second new OOP pattern to the first new OOP pattern to implement the behavior by the first new OOP pattern,

such that the second new OOP pattern is constructed at least in part by delegating the behavior of the second new OOP pattern to the first new OOP pattern.

6. The method of claim 5, the method further comprising:

delegating another behavior of the second new OOP pattern to one of the preconstructed OOP patterns to implement the other behavior by the one of the preconstructed OOP patterns,

such that the second new OOP pattern is further constructed at least in part by delegating the other behavior of the second new OOP pattern to the preconstructed OOP patterns.

7. The method of claim 5, the method further comprising:

defining a third new OOP pattern having a behavior; and

,

delegating the behavior of the third new OOP pattern to one of the first new OOP pattern and the second new OOP pattern to implement the behavior,

such that the third new OOP pattern is constructed at least in part by delegating the behavior of the third new OOP pattern to at least one of the first new OOP pattern and the second new OOP pattern.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein delegating the first behavior of the new OOP pattern to one of the preconstructed OOP patterns comprises:

within a graphical user interface (GUI), displaying a graphical representation of the new OOP pattern;

within the GUI, displaying a graphical representation of each of the preconstructed OOP patterns; and

,

within the GUI, associating the graphical representation of a selected preconstructed OOP pattern with the graphical representation of the new OOP pattern to cause the first behavior of the new OOP pattern to be delegated to the selected preconstructed OOP pattern.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the new OOP pattern further has a third behavior delegated to the one of the preconstructed OOP patterns to which the first behavior has been delegated, wherein the third behavior is delegated to a different instance of the one of the preconstructed OOP patterns than that to which the first behavior is delegated.

9. A system comprising:

hardware, including a processor and a memory storing computer-executable code that when executed by the processor causes implementation of;

a graphical user interface (GUI) mechanism to display graphical representations of a new object-oriented programming (OOP) pattern and of one or more preconstructed OOP patterns and to enable the graphical representations of the preconstructed OOP patterns to be associated with the graphical representation of the new OOP pattern;

wherein the new OOP pattern has second behaviors and one or more objects to implement the second behaviors, the new OOP pattern not having any objects to implement the second behaviors,

wherein the preconstructed OOP patterns have one or more objects to implement the first behaviors, and,

a delegation mechanism to delegate first behaviors of the new OOP pattern to the preconstructed OOP patterns in response to the graphical representations of the preconstructed OOP patterns being associated with the graphical representation of the new OOP pattern, in order to implement the first behaviors of the new OOP pattern by the preconstructed OOP patterns,

wherein each behavior of the new OOP pattern has an expand method to perform the behavior of the pattern and an update method that listens for execution of the expand method and performs additional processing as a result, wherein delegating the first behavior to one of the preconstructed OOP patterns comprises attaching the one of the preconstructed OOP patterns to the update method of the new OOP pattern,

wherein the preconstructed OOP patterns are not subsidiary in any way to the new OOP pattern, except that selected of the preconstructed OOP patterns are delegated the first behaviors of the new OOP pattern, such that the new OOP pattern is of equal hierarchical priority with respect to the preconstructed OOP patterns,

wherein delegation of the first behaviors of the new OOP pattern to the preconstructed OOP patterns is different than and occurs at a higher hierarchical level than delegating functionality of any object to any other object, wherein the new OOP pattern and the preconstructed OOP patterns are at a higher hierarchical level than any objects that make up the new OOP pattern and the preconstructed OOP patterns, and each OOP pattern is defined as a set of constraints on any objects that make up the OOP pattern.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the graphical representation of the new OOP pattern comprises a graphical representation of each first behavior of the new OOP pattern, such that associating the graphical representation of one of the preconstructed OOP patterns with the graphical representation of one of the first behaviors of the new OOP pattern causes the one of the first behaviors of the new OOP pattern to be delegated to the one of the preconstructed OOP patterns.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the new OOP pattern is a member of the preconstructed OOP patterns after construction of the new OOP pattern, such that the new OOP pattern is capable of being employed to construct other new OOP patterns in that behaviors of the other new OOP patterns are capable of being delegated to the OOP pattern.

12. An article of manufacture comprising:

a memory storage device storing computer-executable code that when executed by a processor causes the processor to;

delegate a first behavior of an object-oriented programming (OOP) pattern to one of a plurality of preconstructed OOP patterns to implement the behavior by the one of the preconstructed OOP patterns,

wherein the OOP pattern has a second behavior and one or more objects to implement the second behavior, the OOP pattern not having any object to implement the first behavior,

wherein the one of the preconstructed OOP patterns has one or more objects to implement the first behavior,

wherein each behavior of the OOP pattern has an expand method to perform the behavior of the pattern and an update method that listens for execution of the expand method and performs additional processing as a result, wherein delegating the first behavior to one of the preconstructed OOP patterns comprises attaching the one of the preconstructed OOP patterns to the update method of the OOP pattern,

wherein the preconstructed OOP patterns are not subsidiary in any way to the new OOP pattern, except that at least one of the preconstructed OOP patterns are delegated the first behavior of the OOP pattern, such that the OOP pattern is of equal hierarchical priority with respect to the preconstructed OOP patterns,

wherein delegation of the first behavior of the new OOP pattern to the one of the preconstructed OOP pattern is different than and occurs at a higher hierarchical level than delegating functionality of any object to any other object, wherein the new OOP pattern and the preconstructed OOP patterns are at a higher hierarchical level than any objects that make up the new OOP pattern and the preconstructed OOP patterns, and each OOP pattern is defined as a set of constraint on any objects that make up the OOP pattern.

13. The article of claim 12, wherein the means is further for adding the OOP pattern to the plurality of preconstructed OOP patterns, such that the OOP pattern is capable of being employed to construct other OOP patterns in that behaviors of the other OOP patterns are capable of being delegated to the OOP pattern.

14. The article of claim 12, wherein the OOP pattern is a first OOP pattern, and the means is further for delegating each of at least one behavior of a second OOP pattern to one of the first OOP pattern and the preconstructed OOP patterns to implement the behavior by the one of the first OOP pattern and the preconstructed OOP patterns.