JP2000207188A - Device and method for automatically generating program and recording medium thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable correction of skeleton and to simultaneously expand related components concerning an automatic program generating method which utilizes software components. SOLUTION: A skeleton storage means 1-1 stores information on the skeleton describing the combination of software components according to the flow of routine processing, and a component storage means 1-2 stores information on software components. A skeleton selecting/expanding means 1-3 prepares skeleton expansion information, by extracting the information on the skeleton from the skeleton storage means 1-1, a skeleton correcting means 1-4 performs the correction of skeleton by obtaining the skeleton expansion information from the skeleton selecting/expanding means 1-3, and a skeleton corrected result storage means 1-5 stores the corrected result of skeleton. A component expanding means 1-6 expands components on the basis of the skeleton corrected result and information on components, and a component expanded result storage means 1-7 stores the component expanded result. Then, an automatic program generating means 1-8 automatically generates the target program, while referring to the skeleton corrected result and the component expanded result.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to automatic program generation, and more particularly to an automatic program generation apparatus and program capable of more flexibly, efficiently and safely specifying a method of assembling components in automatic generation using software components. Related to automatic generation method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Software parts are prepared in advance, and when new software is developed, they are automatically generated by using them, thereby improving the productivity of software development and improving the quality of completed software. It is possible. As an example of such a conventional technique, FIG.
The "software automatic generation apparatus" described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-240514 will be described.

In this apparatus, first, a software component is stored in a software component database unit 22-3, and a skeleton of a program as a base for embedding the component is stored in a skeleton database 22-1.
Then, application programs used by the software to be developed at the time of execution are stored in the application database unit 22-2.

[0004] The component assembling section 22-4 includes a skeleton database section 22.
-1 is read from the skeleton, and then the software components specified by the skeleton are read from the software component database.
Read from 22-3. Then, based on the input information of the component development embedded in the component, the operator uses the operation unit 22-5 to input or select the component development information, and the result is stored in the component development information database unit 22-6. Store.

[0005] The component development processing section 22-7 stores software components to be used from the software component database 22-3.
From the part development information database section 22-6,
Each is read and the program data belonging to the software component is expanded.

The component embedding processor 22-8 embeds the developed program data in the framework read from the framework database 22-1, and creates the software generation processor 22-8.
-9 generates the final program source from this embedded result.

As described above, this program automatic generation apparatus includes the skeleton database section 22-1 for storing the skeleton for embedding software components, and should be developed by software developers in the form of a skeleton. It shows the flow of processing, thereby eliminating the need for software developers to re-write the processing flow and enabling beginners to easily develop software by directly using the processing flow. .

Furthermore, this device embeds input information of component development in software components and does not use components as simple fixed program fragments, and also operates an operation unit 22- for inputting and selecting component development information. 5 and a component development processing section 22-7 for performing component development based on component development information, whereby it is possible to customize software components according to individual situations. For this reason, a plurality of program data that can be generated by component development can be regarded as one software component, and the number of required software components can be reduced,
It is assumed that management and search of software components can be made more efficient.

[0009]

However, the above-mentioned conventional automatic program generation apparatus has the following problems.

First, in this apparatus, since a skeleton indicating a flow of processing to be described to a software developer is fixed, it is necessary to add a new processing to a predetermined processing in the skeleton. In some cases, such as when it is desired to use a combination of a plurality of processing flows in a complicated manner or when it is desired to use only a part of the processing flows, a skeleton prepared in advance cannot be used alone.

In such a case, if the skeleton is not used, it cannot play the role of indicating the flow of processing. In addition, if the skeleton is corrected, the correction must be performed manually, and there is a problem that the quality is deteriorated due to a correction error and a correction error.

Second, in this apparatus, component development information for development is individually input for each software component to be embedded in the framework. However, component development information belonging to individual software components often has some kind of relevance because a skeleton represents a certain flow of processing. For example, when a certain value is stored in a variable and the result is used in a plurality of components, it is necessary to keep the same variable name.

[0013] In the above-described device, since these relevances cannot be used, it takes time and effort to individually describe the same contents even if they represent the same contents.
There is a problem that the contents may be inconsistent, for example, what is supposed to be the same is not the same.

An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic program generation device and a program automatic generation method capable of flexibly changing the skeleton of a program.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a program automatic generation device which can efficiently and safely specify a combination of software components by utilizing the relationship between the development information of each software component used in the framework. An object of the present invention is to provide a method for automatically generating a program.

[0016]

According to the present invention, there is provided an automatic program generation apparatus which stores skeleton information describing a combination of software components according to a standard processing flow, and stores information regarding software components. And a skeleton selection / expansion means for extracting skeleton information from the skeleton storage means and generating skeleton development information, and a skeleton correction means for obtaining skeleton development information from the skeleton selection / expansion means and correcting the skeleton. Skeleton correction result storage means for storing the skeleton correction result, component expansion means for expanding the component based on the skeleton correction result and information on the component, and component expansion result storage for storing the component expansion result Means for automatically generating a target program with reference to the skeleton correction result and the component development result Characterized in that it is composed of a stage.

Further, according to the automatic program generation method of the present invention, a procedure for storing information on a framework describing a combination of software components according to a standard processing flow and a procedure for storing information on software components A step of extracting information on the skeleton and creating skeleton development information, a step of obtaining the skeleton development information and correcting the skeleton, and a step of storing a correction result of the skeleton;
A procedure for expanding a part based on the skeleton correction result and the information on the part, a procedure for storing the part expansion result, and automatic generation of a target program by referring to the skeleton correction result and the part expansion result And a procedure for performing the following.

Further, in a preferred embodiment of the automatic program generation apparatus according to the present invention, the component expanding means extracts a skeleton correction result from the skeleton correction result storage means, and refers to the result to relate software components. Information is extracted from the component storage means, and the component is developed.

Further, a preferred embodiment of the automatic program generation method according to the present invention is characterized in that the development of the parts is performed by referring to the result of the skeleton correction and extracting information on related software parts.

[0020]

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

Referring to FIG. 1, a first embodiment of an automatic program generating apparatus according to the present invention comprises a skeleton storage unit 1-1, a component storage unit 1-2, a skeleton selection / expansion unit 1-3, and a skeleton selection unit. Correction means
1-4, skeleton correction result storage means 1-5, and part development means 1-6
And a part development result storage unit 1-7, a program automatic generation unit 1-8, and a data input / output unit 1-9.

Each of these means operates roughly as follows.

The skeleton storage unit 1-1 previously stores information on all available skeletons and the component storage unit 1-2.
Stores information on all available software components.

The data input / output means 1-9 allows a program developer to input necessary data and display a result of processing performed for the input.

Data input / output means 1-9 by program developer
When the skeleton to be used is instructed to the skeleton selection / deployment means 1-3 using, the skeleton selection / deployment means 1-3 extracts information on the designated skeleton from the skeleton storage means 1-1. Then, while converting the result into skeleton development information,
Deliver to skeleton correction means 1-4.

Subsequently, when the program developer uses the data input / output means 1-9 to instruct the skeleton correcting means 1-4 on the skeleton correcting method, the skeleton correcting means 1-4 executes the correcting method. The skeleton is corrected based on, and the result is displayed on the data input / output means 1-9, and the skeleton correction result is stored in the skeleton correction result storage means 1-5.

The part expanding means 1-6 retrieves the skeleton correction result from the skeleton correction result storage means 1-5, refers to the result, and retrieves information on related software components from the component storage means 1-2. The part is developed and the result is stored in the part development result storage means 1-7.

The automatic program generation means 1-8 extracts the part correction result and the part development result from the skeleton correction result storage means 1-5 and the part development result storage means 1-7, respectively, Is automatically generated.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the block diagram of FIG. 1 and the flowchart of FIG.

First, the skeleton selection / expansion means 1-3 selects a corresponding skeleton, extracts relevant information, and creates skeleton expansion information (step 2-1 in FIG. 2). Then, skeleton modification means 1-4
Corrects the selected skeleton (2-2), and further stores the skeleton correction result in the skeleton correction result storage means 1-5 (2-
3). Next, the part expanding means 1-6 expands related parts by referring to the skeleton correction result (2-4), and the program automatic generation means 1-8 refers to the skeleton correcting result and the part expanding result. ,
Generate the target program (2-5).

Hereinafter, the operations of the above-mentioned steps 2-1 to 2-5 will be described in detail respectively.

First, the operation of step 2-1 will be described with reference to FIGS.

First, the data input / output means 1-9 displays an input screen for inputting a skeleton name (step 3 in FIG. 3).
1). Subsequently, the data input / output unit 1-9 extracts the skeleton name input by the program developer, and selects the skeleton selection / expansion unit 1-
Pass it to 3 (3-2). The skeleton selection / expansion means 3-1 refers to the selected skeleton name and extracts information on the corresponding skeleton from the skeleton storage means 1-1 (3-3).

FIGS. 4 and 5 show the structure of information on the skeleton stored in the skeleton storage means 1-1.

FIG. 4 is a table showing the names and expansion parameter lists of available skeletons.
Here, the skeleton name is a name for identifying the skeleton, and the expansion parameter is information used by the skeleton correcting means 1-4 to instruct an expansion method of each component.

FIG. 5 shows, in the form of a table, the data reception result output processing skeleton, which constitutes the skeleton, the number of each processing, the processing content, the name of the related part, and the specification of the part development method. . Here, as shown in the flowchart corresponding to the data reception result output processing skeleton in FIG. 6, the processing number represents the order of processing performed from the start to the end of the processing, and is performed in order from 1 Means The processing content is a description explaining each processing, and the related component name represents the name of a software component required to realize each processing. The component development method designation indicates parameters necessary for software component development.

Returning to FIG. 3, the skeleton selection / decompression means 1-3 passes the extracted skeleton information to the data input / output means 1-9 (3-
Four). The data input / output means 1-9 refers to the result and displays a screen for inputting skeleton development instruction information (3-5).
This is for the program developer to input each parameter belonging to the expansion parameter list corresponding to the selected skeleton.

FIG. 7 shows this screen and an example of its input when the data reception result output processing framework is selected. The data buffer name is DATABUF, the receiving source name is MACHINE_1, and the output device name is PRINTER_A. Is specified. FIG. 8 shows the contents of the skeleton development instruction information obtained from the input result of FIG. FIG. 8 shows a table format including parameter names and parameter values.

Subsequently, the data input / output means 1-9 transfers the skeleton development instruction information to the skeleton selection / development means 1-3 (3-6). The skeleton selection / expansion means 1-3 creates part development information by combining the skeleton development instruction information and the information of the skeleton selected in 3-3, and passes this to the skeleton correction means 1-4 (3-7). .

The creation of component development information in 3-7 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, the processing number is set to 1 (9-1). Next, it is checked whether the process corresponding to the process number exists in the selected skeleton (9-2), and if so, the corresponding related component name and component development method designation are extracted.
(9-3), the content of the component development method designation is replaced with the corresponding parameter value in the skeleton development instruction information (9-4).

For example, referring to FIG. 5, regarding the data reception of the process number 1, the data buffer name and the receiving source name are specified in the part expansion method specification. These are replaced by DATABUF and MACHINE_1, respectively, when referring to the instruction information.

The processing result, processing contents,
Generates data consisting of related part names and replaced parameter strings in the memory (9-5), adds 1 to the processing number, and returns to 9-2
(9-6). If there is no corresponding process in 9-2, this process ends.

The skeleton development information created from the data shown in FIGS. 5 and 8 is as shown in FIG.

The operation shown in FIG. 3 can be repeated not only once but also for the required number of skeletons.

Secondly, the operation of step 2-2 for correcting the selected skeleton by the skeleton correcting means 1-4 in FIG. 2 will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the configuration of the data input / output means 11-1 and the skeleton correction means 11-2 related to step 2-2. It is composed of 11-3, a graphic editor 11-4, and a user input device 11-5, and the skeleton correcting means 11-2 is composed of a graphic data converter 11-6 and a skeleton correction result converter 11-7.

FIG. 12 shows the data input / output unit 11- shown in FIG.
5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the skeleton modification means 11-2. First, the graphic conversion means 11-6 converts skeleton development information into graphic data (12-1). In this conversion, a process of converting the data in FIG. 10 into a flowchart including lines and characters as shown in FIG. 6 is performed.

Subsequently, the converted graphic data is passed to the graphic editor 11-4, and the graphic editor 11-4 outputs the contents to the screen output device 11-3.
2). Judge whether the skeleton modification process is now complete (12-
3) If not finished, the graphic editor 11-4 receives an input from the user input device 11-5 such as a mouse or a keyboard (12-4), analyzes the result, and changes the graphic data (12-5). ), Return to 12-2. If the processing is completed in 12-2, the skeleton correction result conversion unit 11-7 receives the graphic data and converts it into the skeleton correction result (12-6), and ends the processing.

Screen output device for graphic data described above
The graphic editor 11-4 having functions such as display on the 11-3 and modification of graphic data received from the user input device 11-5 is a Microsoft OS.
Paint running on Windows, tgif running on UNIX, and the like are known, and the configuration shown in FIG. 11 can be constructed by using these. In such an editor,
You can add, delete, move, copy, etc.
Modifications of the flowchart as shown in FIGS. 13, 14 and 15 can be made.

In FIG. 13, a process for analyzing only the data already received and outputting the result is created by deleting the process corresponding to the data reception. In FIG. 14, a screen output process of the analysis result is added, and in FIG. 15, a process of receiving data from two places by synthesizing the two skeletons, and analyzing and outputting the result is described. ing.

In the conversion of the corrected graphic data in 12-6, the conversion in the direction opposite to the conversion in 12-1 is performed, and the data in the format shown in FIG. 10 is reconstructed. In the storage of the skeleton correction result in the skeleton correction result storage means 1-5 in 2-3, such data is stored.

Third, the details of the operation in step 2-4 in FIG. 2 in which the component development means 1-6 performs component development with reference to the skeleton correction result will be described with reference to FIGS.

First, a skeleton correction result is taken out from the skeleton correction result storage means 1-5 (16-1). Next, the processing number is set to 1 (16
-2), Check whether the corresponding process exists in the skeleton correction result
(16-3). If there is, the related component name is extracted from the skeleton correction result, and the information of the corresponding component is extracted from the component storage means 1-2 (16-4).

FIG. 17 shows component information stored in the component storage means 1-2. Here, a component name, an expansion parameter list, and a code storage file name are prepared in a table format.

Subsequently, the code storage file name is taken out and the contents of the corresponding file are read (16-5). As shown in FIG. 18, the contents indicate the location of the parameter and the parameter name in the program code for performing the corresponding process.

Next, referring to the correspondence between the parameters,
Extract the contents of the file (16-6). In process number 1 in FIG. 10, parameter values DATABUF and MACHINE_1 are given to the data reception processing component as a parameter value sequence, which correspond to the data buffer name and the reception source name of the expansion parameter list in FIG. Therefore, in the contents of FIG. 18, the data buffer name is expanded to DATABUF and the receiving source name is expanded to MACHINE_1.

This expansion result is stored in the part expansion result storage means 1-17.
(16-7), add 1 to the processing number (16-8), and return to 16-3. If there is no corresponding process in 16-3, the process in FIG. 16 ends.

Next, the operation 2-5 will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

First, the skeleton correction result is taken out from the skeleton correction result storage means 1-5 (19-1). Then, set the processing number to 1
(19-2), it is checked whether the corresponding process exists in the skeleton correction result (19-3), and if it exists, the corresponding development result is taken out from the part development result storage means 1-7 ( 19-
4) Output this content to a file (19-5) and return to 19-3.
On the other hand, if the corresponding process does not exist in 19-3, the process in FIG. 19 ends.

This concludes the description of the embodiment shown in FIG.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG.
Here, by adding the skeleton correction result registration unit 20-10 to the configuration of FIG. 1, the skeleton correction result can be registered in the skeleton storage unit 20-1 again. Since no modification work is required, it is possible to further reduce the trouble of program development.

Referring to FIG. 21, skeleton correction result registration means 20-1
The operation of 0 will be described. First, the skeleton name is determined (21-1), and a component development method designation is created from the parameter value sequence of the skeleton correction result (21-2). Next, create an expansion parameter list by removing duplicate parameter names from the part expansion method specification.
(21-3), the skeleton name and the parameter list for expansion are stored in the skeleton storage means 20-1 (21-4), and the parameter value sequence in the skeleton correction result replaced with the part expansion method designation is also stored in the skeleton storage means. It is stored in 20-1 (21-5). As a result, the data corresponding to the data shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 is stored in the skeleton storage unit 20-1 in the corrected result, so that the corrected result can be used as a new skeleton thereafter.

A program for causing a computer to execute the program automatic generation method described above may be recorded on a recording medium such as a semiconductor memory or a magnetic disk, and read and executed by the computer.

Such a method includes a procedure for storing information on a skeleton describing a combination of software components according to a standard processing flow, a procedure for storing information on a software component, and a procedure for storing information on the skeleton. Extracting the skeleton development information, obtaining the skeleton development information and correcting the skeleton, storing the correction result of the skeleton, and storing the component based on the skeleton correction result and information on the component. And a procedure for storing the part development result, and a procedure for automatically generating a target program with reference to the skeleton correction result and the part development result.

[0065]

The first effect of the present invention is that the skeleton can be corrected by deleting unnecessary portions, adding a new portion, or synthesizing a plurality of skeletons by the skeleton correcting means. Therefore, the program developer can describe the flow of processing that is not similar to the existing skeleton, and can save the trouble of skeleton correction that had to be performed manually at all, and can perform correction with less errors. .

The second effect is that, in the skeleton selecting means, the skeleton is expanded for the selected skeleton and the attached parts are expanded collectively.
In the processing flow, it was necessary to specify the expansion method for each part that is related to the expansion method, but this effort can be saved and the specification of the expansion method can be prevented, and a more secure The advantage is that parts can be deployed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a first embodiment of a program automatic generation device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a detailed flowchart of step 2-1 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a chart showing an example of first data stored in a skeleton storage unit 1-1.

FIG. 5 is a chart showing an example of second data stored in a skeleton storage unit 1-1.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing contents corresponding to the data in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a view showing an input screen in step 3-5 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 8 is a chart showing an example of skeleton development instruction information.

FIG. 9 is a detailed flowchart of step 3-7 in FIG. 3;

FIG. 10 is a table showing an example of skeleton development information.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a configuration for performing an operation of step 2-3 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 12 is a detailed flowchart of a user input unit 11-1 and a skeleton correction unit 11-2 in FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a view showing an example of processing (deletion of a graphic) using the graphic editor 11-4 in FIG. 11;

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of processing (adding a graphic) using the graphic editor 11-4 in FIG. 11;

FIG. 15 is a view showing an example of processing (copying / moving a figure) using the graphic editor 11-4 in FIG. 11;

FIG. 16 is a detailed flowchart of step 2-4 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 17 is a chart showing an example of component information stored in the component storage means 1-2.

FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating an example of the contents of a code storage file.

FIG. 19 is a detailed flowchart of step 2-5 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 20 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a second embodiment of the automatic program generation device of the present invention.

21 is a skeleton correction result registration unit 20-10 in FIG. 20.
5 is a flowchart showing the operation of FIG.

FIG. 22 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a conventional system.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1-1 Skeleton storage means 1-2 Parts storage means 1-3 Skeleton selection / expansion means 1-4 Skeleton correction means 1-5 Skeleton correction result storage means 1-6 Part expansion means 1-7 Part expansion result storage means 1- 8 Automatic program generation means 1-9 Data input / output means 11-1 Data input / output means 11-2 Skeleton correction means 11-3 Screen output device 11-4 Graphic editor 11-5 User input device 11-6 Graphic data conversion unit 11 -7 Skeleton correction result conversion unit 22-1 Skeleton database unit 22-2 Application database unit 22-3 Software component database unit 22-4 Parts assembly designation unit 22-5 Operation unit 22-6 Parts development information database unit 22-7 Parts Expansion processing unit 22-8 Component embedding processing unit 22-9 Software generation processing unit

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A skeleton storage unit that stores information on a skeleton describing a combination of software components according to a standard processing flow; a component storage unit that stores information on a software component; Skeleton selection / expansion means for extracting information and creating skeleton development information; skeleton correction means for obtaining skeleton development information from the skeleton selection / expansion means to correct the skeleton; skeleton correction results for storing the skeleton correction result Storage means; component expansion means for expanding a component based on the skeleton correction result and the information on the component; component expansion result storage means for storing the component expansion result; and storing the skeleton correction result and the component expansion result. And a program automatic generation means for automatically generating a target program by referring to the program. Automatic generation system. 2. The part expanding unit extracts a skeleton correction result from the skeleton correction result storage unit, refers to the result, extracts information on related software components from the component storage unit, and expands the part. 2. The automatic program generation device according to claim 1, wherein the program is executed. 3. A procedure for storing information on a skeleton describing a combination of software components in accordance with a routine processing flow, a procedure for storing information on a software component, and a skeleton for extracting information on the skeleton. A procedure for creating deployment information; a procedure for acquiring the skeleton deployment information to modify the skeleton; a procedure for storing the skeleton modification result; and deploying a part based on the skeleton modification result and information about the part. An automatic program generation method, comprising: a procedure for storing the part development result; and a procedure for automatically generating a target program by referring to the skeleton correction result and the part development result. 4. The automatic program generation method according to claim 3, wherein the expansion of the component is performed by referring to the result of the skeleton correction and extracting information on a related software component. 5. A procedure for storing information on a skeleton describing a combination of software components according to a standard processing flow, a procedure for storing information on a software component, and extracting the information on the skeleton and expanding the skeleton. A procedure for creating information; a skeleton correction means procedure for obtaining the skeleton development information and correcting the skeleton; a procedure for storing the skeleton correction result; and For causing a computer to execute a method having a procedure for performing expansion, a procedure for storing the part expansion result, and a procedure for automatically generating a target program by referring to the skeleton correction result and the part expansion result. A computer-readable program recording medium on which a program is recorded.