MODEL NAVIGATION

• US 20090254801A1
• Filed: 06/15/2009
• Published: 10/08/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 05/14/2001
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: The MathWorks, Inc.
• Original Assignee: The MathWorks, Inc.
• Inventors: TORGERSON, Jay Ryan, MOSTERMAN, Pieter J., PRESSMAN, Eric
• Application Number:
  US12/484,798
• Publication Number:
  US 20090254801A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/205
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/10 Requirements analysis; Specification techniques

Abstract

In an embodiment, a modeling environment (ME) may be configured to provide a navigation widget for navigating through a model. The navigation widget may display a first hierpath where the first hierpath is associated with a path to a first portion of the model. The ME may receive input, via the navigation widget, that is associated with a second hierpath, the second hierpath being associated with a path to a second portion of the model. In response to receiving the input, the ME may display a view of the second portion of the graphical model.

Claims

1. One or more computer-readable storage media for storing computer-executable instructions executable by processing logic, the media storing one or more instructions for:

providing a navigation widget in a modeling environment, the navigation widget displaying a first hierpath, the first hierpath indicating a path to a first portion of a model;

receiving input, via the navigation widget, that is associated with a second hierpath, the second hierpath indicating a path to a second portion of the model; and

in response to receiving the input, displaying a view of the second portion of the model.

2. The media of claim 1 wherein the input is text information that specifies at least a portion of the second hierpath.

3. The media of claim 2 further storing one or more instructions for:

identifying a possible completion of the second hierpath based on the text information.

4. The media of claim 3 further storing one or more instructions for:

displaying the identified possible completion of the second hierpath; and

receiving a selection of the identified possible completion of the second hierpath.

5. The media of claim 1 wherein the displayed view of the second portion of the model is at least one of a block diagram view, code view, requirements view, message sequence chart view, software component view, data type conversion view, dependency view, workspace view, mask workspace view, differencing view, revision view, variants view, or custom view.

6. The media of claim 1 further storing one or more instructions for:

receiving an indication of the second hierpath being positioned over a structural tree display of the model; and

updating the structural tree display of the model based on the second hierpath.

7. The media of claim 1 further storing one or more instructions for:

receiving an indication of the second hierpath being positioned over a target; and

navigating to a portion of the target associated with the hierpath.

8. The media of claim 7 wherein the target is a document, a database, or a spreadsheet.

9. The media of claim 1 wherein the first hierpath includes one or more hyperlinks that represent one or more levels in the path represented by the first hierpath, and wherein receiving an input further comprises:

receiving a selection of a hyperlink in the one or more hyperlinks, the received selection representing a lowest level of the second hierpath.

10. The media of claim 1 wherein the model is a graphical model, a textual model, or a combination of a graphical model and textual model.

11. The media of claim 1 wherein the model is at least one of:

a time-based graphical block diagram model, a state transition diagram, a discrete event model, an activity diagram, a Unified Modeling Language (UML) diagram, a sequence diagram, a data flow model.

12. The media of claim 1 wherein the first hierpath or the second hierpath includes at least one of an icon or text.

13. One or more computer-readable storage media for storing computer-executable instructions executable by processing logic, the media storing one or more instructions for:

receiving a selection of an entity displayed in a view of a first portion of a model;

receiving an indication, via a displayed hierpath provided by a navigational widget, that the selected entity is to be added to a second portion of the model that is at a different level of a hierarchy of the model than the first portion of the model, the displayed hierpath containing a path to the second portion of the model; and

adding the selected graphical entity to the second portion of the model.

14. The media of claim 13 further comprising one or more instructions for:

adding a link between the selected graphical entity and the graphical entity added to the second portion of the model.

15. The media of claim 13 wherein the indication includes moving the selected entity over the displayed hierpath.

16. The media of claim 13 further comprising one or more instructions for:

displaying a view of the second portion of the model containing the selected entity.

17. The media of claim 13 further storing one or more instructions for:

removing the selected entity from the first portion of the model.

18. The media of claim 13 wherein the entity is a graphical block.

19. A method comprising:

providing, using a computing device, a navigation widget in a modeling environment, the navigation widget displaying a first hierpath, the first hierpath being associated with a path to a first portion of a model;

receiving, using the computing device, input, via the navigation widget, that is associated with a second hierpath, the second hierpath being associated with a path to a second portion of the model; and

in response to receiving the input, displaying, using the computing device, a view of the second portion of the model.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein the displayed view of the second portion of the model is at least one of a code view, requirements view, message sequence chart view, software component view, data type conversion view, dependency view, workspace view, mask workspace view, different version view, variants view, or custom view based on mode.

21. The method of claim 20 further comprising:

receiving, using the computing device, an indication of the second hierpath being positioned over a structural tree display of the model; and

updating, using the computing device, the structural tree display of the model based on the second hierpath.

22. The method of claim 20 wherein the first hierpath includes one or more hyperlinks that represent one or more levels in the path represented by the first hierpath, and wherein receiving an input further comprises:

receiving, using the computing device, a selection of a hyperlink in the one or more hyperlinks, the received selection representing the second hierpath.

23. A system comprising:

an output device; and

a processor configured to;

provide a navigation widget in a modeling environment, the navigation widget displaying a first hierpath, the first hierpath being associated with a path to a first portion of a model,

receive input, via the navigation widget, that is associated with a second hierpath, the second hierpath being associated with a path to a second portion of the model, and

in response to receiving the input, output a view of the second portion of the model to the output device.

24. The system of claim 23 wherein the output device is a display device.

25. An apparatus comprising:

means for providing a navigation widget in a modeling environment, the navigation widget displaying a first hierpath, the first hierpath being associated with a path to a first portion of a model;

means for receiving input, via the navigation widget, that is associated with a second hierpath, the second hierpath being associated with a path to a second portion of the model; and

means for displaying a view of the second portion of the model.

26. One or more computer-readable storage media for storing computer-executable instructions executable by processing logic, the media storing one or more instructions for:

displaying a first hierpath, the first hierpath indicating a path to a first portion of a model, the first hierpath being displayed in a navigation widget;

displaying a list of one or more second hierpaths in response to selecting an item in the first hierpath;

receiving a selection of a second hierpath in the displayed list; and

navigating to a second portion of the model that is associated with the selected second hierpath.

27. The media of claim 26 further comprising one or more instructions for:

displaying a view of the second portion of the model.

28. The media of claim 26 wherein the view is at least one of a block diagram view, code view, requirements view, message sequence chart view, software component view, data type conversion view, dependency view, workspace view, mask workspace view, differencing view, revision view, variants view, or custom view.

29. The media of claim 26 further comprising one or more instructions for:

displaying the second hierpath, the displayed second hierpath indicating a history of navigation of the model.

30. One or more computer-readable storage media for storing computer-executable instructions executable by processing logic, the media storing one or more instructions for:

receiving an indication to display a dependency view of a model;

displaying the dependency view of the model;

receiving a selection of a first element and a selection of a second element in the dependency view; and

displaying one or more hierpaths that represent one or more dependencies between the selected first element and the selected second element.

31. The media of claim 30 further comprising one or more instructions for:

receiving a selection of a hierpath in the one or more displayed hierpaths; and

indicating a dependency, represented by the selected hierpath, in the dependency view.

32. The media of claim 31 wherein the dependency is indicated in the dependency view by at least one of highlighting, bolding, flashing, underlining, inverting, low-lighting, or coloring.