Chaining applications

• US 9,471,211 B2
• Filed: 03/18/2013
• Issued: 10/18/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/18/2013
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Bansal, Anju, Bharadwaj, Sunil, Velega, Raghuram R., Venkataraman, Shankar, Venkatramani, Chitra, Wagle, Rohit S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Dao, Thuy
• Assistant Examiner(s): St Leger, Geoffrey
• Application Number:
  US13/845,853
• Publication Number:
  US 20140282189A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,310 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/323 Visualisation of programs or trace data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3419 by assessing time
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/25 Integrating or interfacing systems involving database management systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/865 Monitoring of software
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04847 Interaction techniques to control parameter settings, e.g. interaction with sliders or dials
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/20 Software design
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/35 model driven

Abstract

Method, system, and computer program product to enforce application dependencies, by building a data model based on inputs specifying relationships between a plurality of applications, generating, based on the data model, a list of candidate executions for a first application having a specified relationship with a second application, and outputting a visual representation of the data model, the visual representation comprising a plurality of objects representing the plurality of applications and arranged to represent the relationships between the applications, the list of candidate executions, and one or more user interface elements allowing user navigation between the first application and the second application, of the list of candidate executions.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

one or more computer processors; and

a memory containing a program, which when executed by the one or more computer processors, performs an operation comprising;

receiving input specifying relationships between a plurality of applications, wherein the input includes a relationship specifying that a first application is dependent on a second application, wherein the input specifies, for each of the plurality of applications, a relationship between at least one of a parent application and a child application;

building a data model for each of the plurality of applications based on the input and the relationships between the at least one of the parent application and the child application of each of the plurality of applications;

generating, based on the data model, a list of candidate executions for the first application, wherein each instance of a dependency between the first and second applications in the list of candidate executions restricts the second application from being dependent on the first application based on the input by specifying that the first application is dependent on the second application and not specifying the second application being dependent on the first application; and

outputting a visual representation of the data model, the visual representation comprising;

a plurality of objects representing the plurality of applications and arranged to represent the relationships between the applications;

the list of candidate executions;

a progress indicator specifying a respective percentage each candidate execution has completed; and

one or more directional buttons for each candidate execution, which when selected, provide navigation between the respective applications in the list of candidate executions.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of objects representing the plurality of applications and the list of candidate executions are user-selectable and, upon being selected, reveal associated configuration metadata.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein each candidate execution, of the list of candidate executions, is further based on a respective prior execution of the first application and the second application.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein each prior execution includes a respective execution path for the candidate execution.

5. The system of claim 3, wherein the one or more directional buttons are further configured to allow a user selection to define an execution dependency between an execution of the second application and one or more candidate executions from the list of candidate executions.

6. The system of claim 3, wherein the plurality of objects represent a type of each of the plurality of applications comprising:

(i) a category of applications, and (ii) an application, wherein the category of applications defines a class of applications, wherein the category of applications includes at least one child application, wherein the category of applications has no parent application.

7. A computer program product, comprising:

a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program code embodied therewith, the computer-readable program code executable by a processor to perform an operation comprising;

receiving input specifying relationships between a plurality of applications, wherein the input includes a relationship specifying that a first application is dependent on a second application, wherein the input specifies, for each of the plurality of applications, a relationship between at least one of a parent application and a child application;

building a data model for each of the plurality of applications based on the input and the relationships between the at least one of the parent application and the child application of each of the plurality of applications;

generating, based on the data model, a list of candidate executions for the first application, wherein each instance of a dependency between the first and second applications in the list of candidate executions restricts the second application from being dependent on the first application based on the input by specifying that the first application is dependent on the second application and not specifying the second application being dependent on the first application; and

outputting a visual representation of the data model, the visual representation comprising;

a plurality of objects representing the plurality of applications and arranged to represent the relationships between the applications;

the list of candidate executions;

a progress indicator specifying a respective percentage each candidate execution has completed; and

one or more directional buttons for each candidate execution, which when selected, provide navigation between the respective applications in the list of candidate executions.

8. The computer program product of claim 7, wherein the plurality of objects representing the plurality of applications and the list of candidate executions are user-selectable and, upon being selected, reveal associated configuration metadata.

9. The computer program product of claim 7, wherein each candidate execution, of the list of candidate executions, is further based on a respective prior execution of the first application and the second application.

10. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein each prior execution includes a respective execution path for the candidate execution.

11. The computer program product of claim 7, wherein the one or more directional buttons are further configured to allow a user selection to define an execution dependency between an execution of the second application and one or more candidate executions from the list of candidate executions.

12. The computer program product of claim 7, wherein the plurality of objects represent a type of each of the plurality of applications comprising:

(i) a category of applications, and (ii) an application, wherein the category of applications defines a class of applications, wherein the category of applications includes at least one child application, wherein the category of applications has no parent application.