Designing computer programs

• US 8,219,968 B2
• Filed: 07/17/2003
• Issued: 07/10/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/17/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Raytheon Company (Rtx Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Raytheon Company (Rtx Corporation)
• Inventors: O'Brien, Wayne Patrick
• Primary Examiner(s): Dam, Tuan
• Assistant Examiner(s): Wei, Zheng
• Application Number:
  US10/621,772
• Publication Number:
  US 20050015743A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,281 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 717/104
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/24 Object-oriented

Abstract

Designing a computer program includes accessing invariant domain rules and displaying variable business rules. One or more business rules are selected in response to a user selection and are customized. The business rules are associated with a procedure, and the domain rules are associated with the procedure. A model representing the procedure is displayed, and a code corresponding to the procedure is generated to design a computer program.

Claims

1. A method for designing a computer program, comprising:

accessing a substantially complete set of domain rules, each domain rule being invariant and expressed as a narrative description;

defining a domain from the domain rules, the domain used to determine a problem space and a solution space, substantially all solutions of the solution space can be generated from the substantially complete set of domain rules;

identifying one or more requirements of the domain from one or more supplemental sources;

generating a model that establishes the requirements of the domain;

allocating the domain rules to a plurality of use cases and realizing the use cases, the realization comprising identifying a plurality of analysis classes of the use cases;

assessing the domain rules in accordance with the realization;

identifying a plurality of commonalities of the identified analysis classes by determining the identified analysis classes that appear in multiple use cases of the plurality of use cases;

determining one or more business rules based on variability identified in the identified common analysis classes, each business rule being variable;

associating the determined one or more business rules with the model; and

generating code corresponding to the model in order to design a computer program.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

checking a syntax of the code; and

providing a notification if a syntax error is detected.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

checking a logical consistency of the code; and

providing a notification if a logical inconsistency is detected.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

checking a compatibility between the model and the code; and

providing a notification if an inconsistency is detected.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the model is expressed according to a modeling language.

6. Logic for designing a computer program, the logic embodied in a computer-readable medium and when executed by a computer operable to:

access a substantially complete set of domain rules, each domain rule being invariant and expressed as a narrative description;

define a domain from the domain rules, the domain used to determine a problem space and a solution space, substantially all solutions of the solution space can be generated from the substantially complete set of domain rules;

identify one or more requirements of the domain from one or more supplemental sources;

generate a model that establishes the requirements of the domain;

allocate the domain rules to a plurality of use cases and realizing the use cases, the realization comprising identifying a plurality of analysis classes of the use cases;

assess the domain rules in accordance with the realization;

identify a plurality of commonalities of the identified analysis classes by determining the identified analysis classes that appear in multiple use cases of the plurality of use cases;

determine one or more business rules based on variability identified in the identified common analysis classes, each business rule being variable;

associate the one or more business rules with the model;

and

generate code corresponding to the model in order to design a computer program.

7. The logic of claim 6, further operable to:

collect the domain rules and the business rules;

allocate the domain rules and the business rules to a plurality of use cases;

realize the use cases; and

assess the domain rules and the business rules in accordance with the realization.

8. The logic of claim 6, further operable to:

check a syntax of the code; and

provide a notification if a syntax error is detected.

9. The logic of claim 6, further operable to:

check a logical consistency of the code; and

provide a notification if a logical inconsistency is detected.

10. The logic of claim 6, further operable to:

check a compatibility between the model and the code; and

provide a notification if an inconsistency is detected.

11. The logic of claim 6, wherein the model is expressed according to a modeling language.

12. A system for designing a computer program, comprising:

a database operable to store a substantially complete set of domain rules, each domain rule being invariant and expressed as a narrative description; and

a server coupled to the database and operable to;

define a domain from the domain rules, the domain used to determine a problem space and a solution space, substantially all solutions of the solution space can be generated from the substantially complete set of domain rules;

identify one or more requirements of the domain from one or more supplemental sources;

generate a model that establishes the requirements of the domain;

allocate the domain rules to a plurality of use cases and realizing the use cases, the realization comprising identifying a plurality of analysis classes of the use cases;

assess the domain rules in accordance with the realization;

identify a plurality of commonalities of the identified analysis classes by determining the identified analysis classes that appear in multiple use cases of the plurality of use cases;

determine one or more business rules based on variability identified in the identified common analysis classes, each business rule being variable;

associate the one or more business rules with the model; and

generate code corresponding to the model in order to design a computer program.

13. The system of claim 12, the server further operable to:

collect the domain rules and the business rules;

allocate the domain rules and the business rules to a plurality of use cases;

realize the use cases; and

assess the domain rules and the business rules in accordance with the realization.

14. The system of claim 12, the server further operable to:

check a syntax of the code; and

provide a notification if a syntax error is detected.

15. The system of claim 12, the server further operable to:

check a logical consistency of the code; and

provide a notification if a logical inconsistency is detected.

16. The system of claim 12, the server further operable to:

check a compatibility between the model and the code; and

provide a notification if an inconsistency is detected.

17. The system of claim 12, wherein the model is expressed according to a modeling language.

18. A system for designing a computer program, comprising:

means for accessing a substantially complete set of domain rules, each domain rule being invariant and expressed as a narrative description;

means for defining a domain from the domain rules, the domain used to determine a problem space and a solution space, substantially all solutions of the solution space can be generated from the substantially complete set of domain rules;

means for identifying one or more requirements of the domain from one or more supplemental sources;

means for generating a model that establishes the requirements of the domain;

means for allocating the domain rules to a plurality of use cases and realizing the use cases, the realization comprising identifying a plurality of analysis classes of the use cases;

means for assessing the domain rules in accordance with the realization;

means for identifying a plurality of commonalities of the identified analysis classes by determining the identified analysis classes that appear in multiple use cases of the plurality of use cases;

means for determining one or more business rules based on variability identified in the identified common analysis classes, each business rule being variable;

means for associating the one or more business rules with the model; and

means for generating code corresponding to the model in order to design a computer program.

19. A method for designing a computer program, comprising:

collecting a substantially complete set of domain rules for a military theory, allocating the domain rules to a plurality of use cases, realizing the use cases, the realization comprising identifying a plurality of analysis classes of the use cases assessing the domain rules in accordance with the realization, and accessing the domain rules, each domain rule being invariant and expressed as a narrative description, the plurality of domain rules comprising a plurality of military theory domain rules setting an objective to destroy an enemy'"'"'s combat forces;

defining a domain from the domain rules, the domain used to determine a problem space and a solution space, substantially all solutions of the solution space can be generated from the substantially complete set of domain rules;

identifying one or more requirements of the domain from one or more supplemental sources;

generating a model that establishes the requirements of the domain;

identifying a plurality of commonalities of the identified analysis classes by determining the identified analysis classes that appear in multiple use cases of the plurality of use cases;

determining a plurality of business rules for the military theory based on variability identified in the identified common analysis classes;

displaying the plurality of business rules for the military theory, each business rule being variable, the plurality of business rules comprising a plurality of rules of engagement;

selecting one or more rules of engagement in response to a user selection;

customizing the one or more rules of engagement;

associating the one or more rules of engagement with the model;

associating the military theory domain rules with the model

generating a code corresponding to the model in order to design a computer program;

checking a syntax of the code, and providing a notification if a syntax error is detected;

checking a logical consistency of the code, and providing a notification if a logical inconsistency is detected; and

checking a compatibility between the model and the code, and providing a notification if an inconsistency is detected.

20. A method for managing rules for designing a computer program, comprising:

accessing a plurality of military theory rules for a military theory;

accessing a plurality of legislated laws associated with the military theory;

identifying military theory rules required by the laws as a substantially complete set of domain rules of the military theory, each domain rule being invariant and expressed as a narrative description;

defining a domain from the domain rules, the domain used to determine a problem space and a solution space, substantially all solutions of the solution space can be generated from the substantially complete set of domain rules;

identifying one or more requirements of the domain from one or more supplemental sources;

generating a model that establishes the requirements of the domain;

designating the other military theory rules as a plurality of business rules of the military theory, the business rules comprising a plurality of rules engagement, each business rule being variable;

allocating the domain rules to a plurality of use cases and realizing the use cases, the realization comprising identifying a plurality of analysis classes of the use cases;

identifying a plurality of commonalities of the identified analysis classes by determining the identified analysis classes that appear in multiple use cases of the plurality of use cases;

determining one or more of the business rules based on variability identified in the identified common analysis classes;

assessing the domain rules and the business rules in accordance with the realization; and

providing a rule of engagement from the rules of engagement in response to a request for the business rule.

21. The method of claim 20, further comprising:

customizing the provided rule of engagement;

associating the customized rule of engagement with the model; and

generating a code corresponding to the model in order to design a computer program.

22. The method of claim 20, further comprising:

associating the domain rules with the model; and

generating a code corresponding to the model in order to design a computer program.

23. The method of claim 20, further comprising:

allocating the domain rules and the business rules to a plurality of use cases;

realizing the use cases; and

assessing the domain rules and the business rules in accordance with the realization.

24. A system for managing rules for designing a computer program, comprising:

a database operable to;

store a plurality of military theory rules for a military theory; and

store a plurality of legislated laws associated with the military theory; and

a server coupled to the database and operable to;

identify military theory rules required by the laws as a substantially complete set of domain rules of the military theory, each domain rule being invariant and expressed as a narrative description;

define a domain from the domain rules, the domain used to determine a problem space and a solution space, substantially all solutions of the solution space can be generated from the substantially complete set of domain rules;

identify one or more requirements of the domain from one or more supplemental sources;

generate a model that establishes the requirements of the domain;

designate the other military theory rules as a plurality of business rules of the military theory, the business rules comprising a plurality of rules engagement, each business rule being variable;

allocate the domain rules to a plurality of use cases and realizing the use cases, the realization comprising identifying a plurality of analysis classes;

identify a plurality of commonalities of the identified analysis classes by determining the identified analysis classes that appear in multiple use cases of the plurality of use cases;

determine one or more business rules of the plurality of business rules based on variability identified in the identified common analysis classes;

assess the domain rules and the business rules in accordance with the realization; and

provide a rule of engagement from the rules of engagement in response to a request for the business rule.

25. The system of claim 24, wherein the server is further operable to:

customize the provided rule of engagement;

associate the customized rule of engagement with the model; and

generate a code corresponding to the model in order to design a computer program.

26. The system of claim 24, wherein the server is further operable to:

associate the domain rules with the model; and

generate a code corresponding to the model in order to design a computer program.

27. The system of claim 24, wherein the server is further operable to:

allocate the domain rules and the business rules to a plurality of use cases;

realize the use cases; and

assess the domain rules and the business rules in accordance with the realization.

28. Logic for managing rules for designing a computer program, the logic embodied in a computer-readable medium and when executed by a computer operable to:

access a plurality of military theory rules for a military theory;

access a plurality of legislated laws associated with the military theory;

identify military theory rules required by the laws as a substantially complete set of domain rules of the military theory, each domain rule being invariant and expressed as a narrative description;

define a domain from the domain rules, the domain used to determine a problem space and a solution space, substantially all solutions of the solution space can be generated from the substantially complete set of domain rules;

identify one or more requirements of the domain from one or more supplemental sources;

generate a model that establishes the requirements of the domain;

designate the other military theory rules as a plurality of business rules of the military theory, the business rules comprising a plurality of rules engagement, each business rule being variable;

allocate the domain rules to a plurality of use cases and realizing the use cases, the realization comprising identifying a plurality of analysis classes;

identify a plurality of commonalities of the identified analysis classes by determining the identified analysis classes that appear in multiple use cases of the plurality of use cases;

determining one or more business rules of the plurality of business rules based on variability identified in the identified common analysis classes;

assess the domain rules and the business rules in accordance with the realization; and

provide a rule of engagement from the rules of engagement in response to a request for the business rule.

29. The logic of claim 28, further operable to:

customize the provided rule of engagement;

associate the customized rule of engagement with the model; and

generate a code corresponding to the model in order to design a computer program.

30. The logic of claim 28, further operable to:

associate the domain rules with the model; and

generate a code corresponding to the model in order to design a computer program.

31. The logic of claim 28, further operable to:

allocate the domain rules and the business rules to a plurality of use cases;

realize the use cases; and

assess the domain rules and the business rules in accordance with the realization.

32. A system for managing rules for designing a computer program, comprising:

means for accessing a plurality of military theory rules for a military theory;

means for accessing a plurality of legislated laws associated with the military theory;

means for identifying military theory rules required by the laws as a substantially complete set of domain rules of the military theory, each domain rule being invariant and expressed as a narrative description;

means for defining a domain from the domain rules, the domain used to determine a problem space and a solution space, substantially all solutions of the solution space can be generated from the substantially complete set of domain rules;

means for identifying one or more requirements of the domain from one or more supplemental sources;

means for generating a model that establishes the requirements of the domain;

means for designating the other military theory rules as a plurality of business rules of the military theory, the business rules comprising a plurality of rules engagement, each business rule being variable;

means for allocating the domain rules to a plurality of use cases and realizing the use cases, the realization comprising identification of a plurality of analysis classes;

means for identifying a plurality of commonalities of the identified analysis classes by determining the identified analysis classes that appear in multiple use cases of the plurality of use cases;

means for determining one or more business rules of the plurality of business rules based on variability identified in the identified common analysis classes;

means for assessing the domain rules and the business rules in accordance with the realization; and

means for providing a rule of engagement from the rules of engagement in response to a request for the business rule.

33. A method for managing rules for designing a computer program, comprising:

accessing a plurality of military theory rules for a military theory;

accessing a plurality of legislated laws associated with the military theory;

identifying military theory rules required by the laws as a substantially complete set of domain rules of the military theory, each domain rule being invariant and expressed as a narrative description;

designating the other military theory rules as a plurality of business rules of the military theory, the business rules comprising a plurality of rules engagement, each business rule being variable;

defining a domain from the domain rules, the domain used to determine a problem space and a solution space, substantially all solutions of the solution space can be generated from the substantially complete set of domain rules;

identifying one or more requirements of the domain from one or more supplemental sources;

generating a model that establishes the requirements of the domain;

allocating the domain rules and the business rules to a plurality of use cases;

realizing the use cases, the realization comprising identification of a plurality of analysis classes;

identifying a plurality of commonalities of the identified analysis classes by determining the identified analysis classes that appear in multiple use cases of the plurality of use cases;

determining one or more business rules of the plurality of business rules based on variability identified in the identified common analysis classes;

assessing the domain rules and the business rules in accordance with the realization;

storing the rules of engagement;

providing a rule of engagement from the stored rules of engagement in response to a request for the business rule;

customizing the provided rule of engagement;

associating the customized rule of engagement with the model;

associating the domain rules with the model; and

generating a code corresponding to the model in order to design a computer program.