JP2005250593A - Object information generating device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To generate a program for realizing the flow of processing expressed by an activity diagram on a general computer. <P>SOLUTION: An activity diagram described by using an XML or the like is acquired by an activity information acquiring part 1401, and object model information is generated for each activity based on the activity information by an object model information generation part 1402, and processing sequence definition information to be referred to for deciding object model information to be executed the next when the object model information is executed is generated by a processing sequence definition information generating part 1403. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a generating apparatus for generating a program for executing a business process repeatedly performed by a computer. The present invention also relates to an apparatus such as a computer for executing the program thus generated.

  As a system developed to generate a program for executing repetitive business processing by a computer, there is a system called a workflow management system. In the workflow management system, information is transmitted to and received from necessary personnel and systems by special server software called a workflow engine according to a predefined workflow definition. For example, there has been an invention of a workflow engine that can flexibly change and execute an internal workflow processing procedure while maintaining a procedure for exchanging information with the outside (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  However, when developing business processing software that relies on special server software called a workflow engine, as in the conventional workflow management system, the ability of the workflow processing software determines that the business processing software can be solved. Therefore, there is a problem that it is difficult to develop a process exceeding the range.

  In addition, there is also a technology that can automatically perform the process from creation to execution of a part that has taken the steps of creating a source code from a flow description in the prior art and then compiling and executing it (for example, patents) Reference 2). There is also a technique for generating a final source code by separately processing a control flow represented by a relationship between boxes in the flowchart and a description of processing in the box (see, for example, Patent Document 3).

On the other hand, a technique for automatically generating object-oriented software from UML activity diagrams in consideration of an object-oriented language is also known (see, for example, Patent Document 4). In this technology, an object definition is generated from a class definition diagram in a UML diagram, and a program code executed by the object is generated from a state chart diagram or an activity diagram.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-256628 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-25533 JP-A-6-214777 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-116911

  However, when developing business processing software that relies on special server software called a workflow engine, as in the conventional workflow management system, the ability of the workflow processing software determines that the business processing software can be solved. Therefore, there is a problem that it is difficult to develop a process exceeding the range.

  For example, in Patent Documents 2 and 3, there is no mention of what is defined as an object, which is the most important design point in object-oriented languages that have been widely spread in recent years.

  In addition, the business flow is not necessarily completed only by the operation of the system, but what is performed in the prior art is generation of a program for executing the entire flowchart, and it is difficult to understand the entire business and the realization range by the system.

  In the present invention, instead of using a special workflow engine, processing is performed by placing objects that operate autonomously while referring to the workflow definition on a general-purpose application server based on an object-oriented language. It is. In the present invention, a business process is described using a diagram called an activity diagram. Among these, an object corresponding to each activity of a part in charge of the system is arranged. These objects are generated and arranged by executing a prescribed procedure or an automatically generated program based on the activity diagram. Similarly, a flow definition for controlling the processing procedure of an object is generated based on an activity diagram in a prescribed procedure or automatically.

  That is, in the present invention, activity information (for example, information representing an activity diagram) describing processing partial information indicating an outline of processing and processing order information indicating processing order of a plurality of processes is acquired and acquired. When object template information serving as a template for describing object information is generated based on activity information, and object information described based on the object template information is executed based on the acquired activity information An apparatus for generating processing order definition information (for example, information representing the flow definition mentioned above), which is information to be referred to, is provided.

  In addition, the object described based on the object template information is retained, the processing order definition information is retained, and the object generated corresponding to the processing portion of the process to be processed first is retained. An object execution device that executes objects in a chain is provided.

  In the present invention, a tool for automatic generation is provided, and software is automatically generated from a business flow. This brings about the following effects.

  (1) It can be operated on a general-purpose application server. That is, the generated software can run on a standard application server (BEA WebLogic, IBM WebSphere, Apache Tomcat). Therefore, the user can realize the operation of the business flow without introducing a special workflow management system.

  (2) The software has expandability. That is, in the generated source code, one class is defined for each activity in the business flow. This also allows activities to be shared between business flows. By combining classes corresponding to activities in this way, various business flows can be expressed. In addition, since the business flow that is the flow of the activity is defined in the flow definition file, loose coupling between the activities is realized, and the activity specification and the flow can be corrected independently.

  (3) Express work. In other words, a diagram such as an activity diagram in UML clearly expresses the work and interaction between both systems and personnel. When the program is automatically generated, by realizing only the part corresponding to the system divided by lane, it is possible to support the development that clearly defines the overall picture of the business and the system.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In addition, this invention is not limited to these forms at all, and can be implemented in various modes without departing from the gist thereof.

(Summary of Invention)
First, the outline of the present invention will be described below. In the following, an embodiment including automatic generation of a program for executing a business flow is shown. In the present invention, it is important that an object corresponding to an activity diagram executes a flow autonomously with reference to the flow definition, and the object definition and all parts of the flow definition are not necessarily automatically performed. There is no need to That is, the object information generation device according to the present invention may generate a skeleton such as an object definition, and then a complete object definition may be obtained by correction of a person or the like.

(Summary of Invention: Activity Diagram)
FIG. 1 shows an example of an activity diagram. The activity diagram is one of the diagrams in the framework of UML (Unified Modeling Language), and roughly corresponds to a flowchart. An activity diagram consists of one or more lanes. A lane indicates what actor performs the “activity” described below. The activity diagram in FIG. 1 includes a user lane 101 indicating processing on the user side (human side) and a system lane 102 indicating processing on the system side. The activity diagram shows a plurality of processing part information indicating an outline of processing and processing order information indicating processing order of the plurality of processing parts. “Activity” is arranged corresponding to the processing part information, which is information indicating the processing part, and is represented by a rectangle 105, a rectangle 106, and the like in the activity diagram of FIG. In FIG. 1, the inside of the rectangle is blank, but the outline of the processing, for example, the name of the processing portion and what processing portion is performed may be described here. Moreover, in order to show a processing order, the activity is connected with the arrow. The start of processing is represented by ● 103, and the end of processing is represented by ◎ 104. Further, there may be a branch 107 during the processing. In the following description, an activity diagram or information representing an activity diagram may be referred to as “activity information”.

  FIG. 2 shows that object information 203 and a flow definition file 204 are generated from the activity diagram 201 by implementing the present invention. The object information is a program. This program is preferably described in an object-oriented language, and the object information is described as an object in the object-oriented language, so the word “object information” is used instead of the word “program”. I am using it. As can be seen from FIG. 2, object information is generated corresponding to the activity in the system lane. Note that the word “object template information” may be used instead of “object information”. This is to include the case where object information is not generated completely automatically. Also, the word “object” may be used to indicate object information being executed (or an executable object).

  The flow definition file is a file describing which object information is to be executed next when processing with certain object information is completed. Therefore, each object information determines the object to be executed next with reference to the flow definition file, and the process proceeds autonomously. Alternatively, when generating object information, identification information (for example, a character string indicating a name given to the object information) for identifying an object to be executed next is passed to a predetermined function and executed next. It is also possible to obtain a power object. As described above, there are two types of descriptions for determining the object to be executed next. In this specification, the description described first is mainly used.

  By generating object information corresponding to an activity in this way, when modifying and maintaining the source code that is the description of the object information, the process performed by the object information can be determined by looking at the activity diagram. You can easily know if it occupies the position, and you can easily make corrections. In addition, since the flow definition file is generated outside the object information, the flow can be easily changed. For example, even if the object information is compiled and has a format that cannot be easily modified by humans, the processing flow of the object information can be changed.

(Overview: Activity specifications)
In the above description, only the activity diagram is input, but an activity specification may be added to the input. The “activity specification” describes various information related to the activity. Although it has been described above that what kind of processing is performed may be described inside the rectangle representing the activity, the description may be described in the activity specification. In addition, a command for describing the object information may be described. For example, if the object information is described in an object-oriented language, its class name (corresponding to a “type name” in a normal programming language), the class name of data passed to an argument for processing (or Type name) may be described.

  FIG. 3 illustrates an automatic generation tool according to the present invention. The automatic generation tool 303 acquires an activity diagram 301 and an activity specification 302 as inputs, and outputs software 304 describing object information and a flow definition 305. The activity specification 302 is not essential as an input.

(Outline: XML representation of activity diagram)
The description of the activity diagram can be described as a structured document by XML (extensible Markup Language) or the like.

  FIG. 4 illustrates a logical structure for interpreting an activity diagram as a structured document. The activity diagram has a start point, a lane, and an end point. “* Plural” at the top of the lane means that there is one or multiple lanes. “* Multiple” written elsewhere also means the same thing. The starting point has a state transition line. This means an arrow extending from the starting point ●. A lane has an activity and a branch. The activity has an activity name and a state transition line. This state transition line means an activity or a branch to be transited next. The branch has a state transition line. This state transition line means an activity or a branch that transitions after the branch.

  FIG. 5 shows an example in which the activity diagram illustrated in FIG. 1 is described in XML based on the logical structure of the activity diagram illustrated in FIG. In the description of FIG. 5, among the activities described in the activity diagram of FIG. 1, the names of those existing in the user lane 101 are A and F from the top, and the names of the activities existing in the system lane 102 are B, C from the top. , D, E. The second to fourth lines are descriptions of the start point, the fifth line to the twelfth line are user lane descriptions, the thirteenth to the thirty lines are system lane descriptions, and the 31st line is It is a description of the end point.

  The description of the start point includes a description of the state transition line to the activity A as in the third line.

  In the description of the user lane, the activities A and F are described in the 6th to 8th lines and the 9th to 11th lines, and the state transition lines in the 7th and 10th lines. Is included.

  The description of the system lane is the same as the description of the user lane, but there is a description of the branch 107 from the 17th line to the 20th line after the description of the activity B. In this case, it is described that if the value of OK is obtained by some means, for example, acquisition of a state by function call, the transition is made to activity C, and if NG is obtained, the transition is made to activity D.

  For the description of activity diagrams, the XMI (XML Metadata Interchange) format, which is a standard technology used in modeling tools such as Rational Rose and Together Control Center, can also be used. In this way, the user can generate input information such as an activity diagram using a graphical tool.

  In the present invention, stereotypes are defined for activities. There are two types of stereotypes: Operation and Connector. The Operation type means an activity defining business logic, and the Connector type means a process depending on the external interface. When a stereotype is defined for an activity, the software that is created may be defined according to whether it is an operation or a connector. The Connector is a stereotype of a system lane activity to be executed next to a user lane activity or a system lane activity to be executed next. Operator is an activity in the system lane and is a stereotype of an activity other than that having a Connector stereotype.

(Overview: Activity specifications)
The activity specification describes various information related to the activity. In this embodiment, the activity specification is described in XML format. By converting the activity specification to XHTML using XSLT, the developer can also use a standard Web browser to view the contents.

  FIG. 6 illustrates the logical structure of the activity specification. The activity specification has an activity name, a class name, an interface, and a description. The activity name is the name of the activity and is associated with the name of the activity described in the activity diagram. The class name indicates the name of the class when object information (program) is generated corresponding to the activity. The interface indicates the type (class name) of data processed by the object information generated corresponding to the activity. The description describes the processing of the activity in a natural language or the like, and is usually a part added as a comment to the description of the object information.

  FIG. 7 shows an example of an activity specification. In this example, for the activity named sample1, activity information described using the class name Sample1 is generated, and “Sample Activity” should be added as a comment in the description. This indicates that the type of data to be processed is Message.

(Overview: Example of generated object information)
FIG. 8 illustrates object information generated corresponding to an activity based on the activity specification in FIG. “Public class Sample1” on the first line defines the class name as Sample1, and “public void execute (Message message)” on the second line indicates that the type of data to be processed is an instance of Message. . “// Sample Activity” is a comment generated corresponding to “<description> Sample Activity </ description>” in FIG. "Activity next = FlowDefinition.find (" sample1 ");" indicates that object information generated corresponding to the activity executed next to the activity named sample1 is obtained and assigned to a variable named next. ing. FlowDefinition. By calling a method called “find”, a flow definition file or a data structure generated by reading the flow definition file is referred to. According to “next.execute (message);”, the data of the variable message is passed to the object information generated corresponding to the activity to be executed next and executed. It should be noted that “implements Operation” on the first line indicates that the stereotype is Operation.

(Overview: Generated flow definition file)
FIG. 9 illustrates the logical structure of the flow definition file. The flow definition file has an activity, and the activity has an activity name and a state transition destination.

  FIG. 10 shows an example of a flow definition file, and “<name> sample1 </ name> <forward> sample2 </ forward>” expresses that sample2 is executed after the processing of sample1. Yes.

(Overview: Object information generation procedure)
Hereinafter, a procedure for generating object information by the automatic generation tool 303 will be described. The main module calls the activity diagram reading module and the activity specification reading module, then calls the activity class information configuration module, and finally calls the class definition writing module to output software (object information). The generated software is composed of one class for one activity.

Step 1: (Activity diagram reading module)
Extract activity and branch information existing in the lane of the system from the activity diagram.

Step 2: (Activity specification reading module)
Activity information (activity name, class name, interface, description) is extracted from the activity specification.

Step 3: (Activity class configuration module)
The activity information and branch information extracted in step 1 and the activity information extracted in step 2 are integrated on condition that the activity names match. Construct activity class information from the integrated activity information. Define the class structure from the class name and interface information, and use the activity description as the class comment. Construct the next transition destination of the class from the state transition information of the activity.

Step 4: (Class definition export module)
The class configuration information created in step 3 is output to a file.

(Overview: Flow definition generation procedure)
The configuration procedure of flow definition information of the automatic generation tool is shown. The main module calls the activity diagram reading module and the activity specification reading module, then calls the flow definition information configuration module, and finally calls the flow definition writing module to output a flow definition document file. The activity specification is referenced for consistency of activity names with the activity diagram.

Step 1: (Activity diagram reading module)
(Same as the configuration of activity class information)
Extract activity and branch information existing in the lane of the system from the activity diagram.

Step 2: (Activity specification reading module)
(Same as the configuration of activity class information)
Activity information (activity name, class name, interface, description) is extracted from the activity specification.

Step 3: (Flow definition configuration module)
The activity information and branch information extracted in step 1 and the activity information extracted in step 2 are integrated on condition that the activity names match. The flow definition information is composed of the integrated activity information and the branch information of the activity diagram. Flow definition information consists of an activity name and its state transition destination.

Step 4: (Flow definition export module)
The flow definition information created in step 3 is output to a file.

(Overview: Executing object information)
FIG. 11 illustrates the execution of the generated object information. A source file 1101, which is a description of the generated object information (generally, a plurality), becomes a program that can be executed by a machine such as a computer by the compiler 1102 as necessary. Those programs are loaded on a computer such as a general-purpose application server, the first activity object (the program corresponding to the object information generated corresponding to the activity executed first) is started, and the flow definition information 1105 is referred to. Then, the activity object to be executed next is searched and the activity object is repeatedly executed. That is, activity objects are executed in a chain.

(Overview: When there is a branch)
FIG. 12 illustrates object information generated when a branch exists. Depending on the value obtained as a result of calling the function (or method) called checkOK (), FlowDefinition. find ("activityB", "OK") or FlowDefinition. find ("activityB", "NG") is called to obtain object information generated corresponding to the activity to be executed next, and the object information is executed. Whether or not to use a function (or method) called checkOK () may be included, for example, as a description of a branch in an activity diagram. In the case of a branch from the beginning, a function (or method) called checkOK () is used. ) May be used and later replaced with another function (or method) as necessary.

  FIG. 13 illustrates a flow definition file when there is a branch. In the description of activity B on the third to sixth lines, it is described that if it is OK, activity C is executed, and if it is NG, activity D is executed. This portion corresponds to FlowDefinition. find ("activityB", "OK") and FlowDefinition. This corresponds to find ("activity B", "NG"). In the above description, FlowDefinition. When the name of the given object information (for example, “activityB”) and the state (for example, “OK”) are given, the specification of “find” refers to the flow definition file and returns the object to be executed next. Assuming that If FlowDefinition. If the specification of the find returns an object indicated by the given name, FlowDefinition. find ("activityB", "OK") is FlowDefinition. find ("activityC"), FlowDefinition. find ("activityB", "NG") is FlowDefinition. find ("activityD").

(Embodiment 1)
As an embodiment 1 of the present invention, an object information generating apparatus that acquires activity information and generates object template information and processing order definition information based on the acquired activity information will be described.

(Embodiment 1: Configuration)
FIG. 14 illustrates a functional block diagram of the object information generating apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The object information generation apparatus 1400 includes an activity information acquisition unit 1401, an object template information generation unit 1402, and a processing order definition information generation unit 1403. Note that these units, and the units and means described in the following embodiments can be realized as program modules, and the object information generation apparatus according to the present embodiment and the following embodiments It can be realized by executing such a program on a computer.

(Embodiment 1: Configuration: activity information acquisition unit)
An “activity information acquisition unit” 1401 acquires activity information. “Activity information” is information describing a plurality of pieces of processing part information and processing order information. “Processing partial information” is information indicating an outline of processing. Examples of processing part information include the name of the processing part that is the processing part (for example, activity A) or a simple description of the processing part in natural language or the like. “Processing order information” is information indicating the processing order of the plurality of processing parts. The activity information can be expressed, for example, by creating a directed graph structure on the computer memory so as to indicate the processing order.

  FIG. 15A shows an example of a part of the structure of the directed graph created on the memory. A directed graph consists of nodes and edges. Therefore, for example, a memory area 1501 and a memory area 1502 are secured corresponding to two of the nodes of the directed graph. An edge having a direction from a node corresponding to the memory area 1501 to a node corresponding to the memory area 1502 can be expressed by storing the start memory address of the memory area 1502 in the first part of the memory area 1501. . That is, if the start address of the memory area 1502 is 1016, the start address 1016 is stored in the first part of the memory area 1501. Normally, instead of using a diagram for storing a memory address, it is often explained by drawing an arrow between the memory area 1503 and the memory area 1504 as shown in FIG. 15B. .

  For example, the activity information acquisition unit 1401 acquires the structure of the directed graph developed on the memory. For example, the activity information acquisition unit 1401 acquires a memory address range in which the structure of the directed graph is expanded and a memory address of a memory area corresponding to the first node of the directed graph. Alternatively, the activity information acquisition unit 1401 may input a character string described based on a predetermined grammar, analyze the character string, and generate a directed graph structure on the memory.

(Embodiment 1: Configuration: object template information generation unit)
The “object template information generation unit” 1402 generates object template information for describing corresponding object information based on arbitrary processing part information included in the activity information acquired by the activity information acquisition unit 1401. “Based on the processing part information” means “as related to the contents of the processing part information”. For example, the content of the generated object template information is determined by the memory address where the node of the processing part information is stored and the content held by the node. Further, “corresponding object information” means “object information is generated so as to correspond to activity information”. Also, “template” is a format that can be modified after the object template information is generated. The correction is performed by a device such as a computer on which the program operates or by a human.

  FIG. 16 illustrates a flowchart of processing of the object template information generation unit 1402. In this flowchart, for example, as shown in FIG. 15A, it is assumed that the processing part information is arranged in a line on the memory, and the processing part information can be sequentially acquired. .

  First, in step S1601, it is determined whether or not processing part information remains. If not, the process is terminated. Otherwise, the process proceeds to step S1602. For example, the program counter is set to the program address in step S1602. In step S1602, one piece of processing part information is extracted from the remaining processing part information. For example, the memory address where the extracted processing part information is stored is stored in a register. In the next step S1603, object template information is generated based on the extracted processing part information. For example, the contents of the processing part information whose memory address is stored in the register are read to generate object template information. What kind of object template information is generated will be described later. In the next step S1604, the object template information generated in step S1603 is stored. For example, it is stored as a file managed by the computer. That is, the file is created, the object template information is written, and the file is closed. At this time, the file name is selected so that the file name is uniquely determined. For example, the file name is selected based on the memory address where the node of the processing part information is stored (for example, if the memory address is 1016, the file name obj1016 is selected). Thereafter, the process returns to step S1601 (that is, the value of the program counter is used as an address for performing the process of step S1601).

  FIG. 17 illustrates a flowchart of processing of one object template information generated in step S1603. FIG. 18 illustrates a flowchart of object template information processing for transferring data using an argument. The object template information is described in a programming language (preferably an object-oriented language) so as to realize the processing of this flowchart, for example. The object template information is a part of a program that realizes the processing flow represented by the activity information acquired by the activity information acquisition unit 1401. Further, as described in the processing order definition information generation unit 1403 described later, when the object information described based on the object template information is executed, the processing order definition information is referred to. Therefore, an example of the flow of processing based on the object template information is as follows. First, in step S1701, a predetermined process is performed. The “determined process” is a process represented by the process part information. Further, the predetermined processing includes not doing anything. This is because when the object template information is generated, no processing may be described, and the object template information may be used as object information as it is. In the next step S1702, an identifier of object information to be executed next is obtained. As an identifier of the object information, for example, a file name in which object template information is stored may be used. Further, it may be a memory address when the object information is loaded on the memory. Further, when each object information operates as an independent task or process, a task identifier or a process identifier is used. Further, it is not necessary for all objects to operate in a single computer or the like, and the objects may be distributed to other computers and executed. In such a case, the task identifier, the process identifier, and the like include information for identifying the computer such as the IP address of the computer. 17 is different from FIG. 18 in that there is a step of receiving data as an argument (step S1801) in FIG. 18, and data is supplied to the object information to be executed next in step S1804 corresponding to step S1703. The point to be passed as is described.

  In step S1702, an identifier of object information to be executed next may be obtained by referring to the processing order definition information. In step S1703, the object information to be executed next is executed based on the identifier obtained in step S1702. In general, the generated object template information is the same even if the processing part information is different. However, the operations in step S1702 and step S1803 differ depending on the processing part information. That is, if the identifier of the object information to be executed next is obtained by referring to the processing order definition information using the name of the processing part information, the name of the processing part information is different. Therefore, a template of object template information is prepared, and the object template information may be generated by changing the name used when referring to the processing order definition information in the portions corresponding to steps S1702 and S1803. .

  As an example of the object information whose process flowchart is illustrated by FIG. 17, there is the program shown in FIG. The comment part of “// Sample Activity” corresponds to step S1701 (that is, processing that does nothing), and “Activity next = FlowDefinition.find (“ sample1 ”);” corresponds to step S1702. “Next.execute (message);” corresponds to step S1703. “sample1” is the name used when referring to the processing order definition information.

(Embodiment 1: Configuration: processing order definition information generation unit)
The “processing order definition information generation unit” 1403 generates processing order definition information based on the processing order information included in the activity information acquired by the activity information acquisition unit 1401. “Processing order definition information” is information that is referred to when object information described based on object template information is executed. For example, when certain object template information is executed, the information should be referred to in order to obtain an identifier of the object template information to be executed after the execution of the object template information.

  FIG. 19 shows an example of processing order definition information. In this example, the object template information is identified based on, for example, the memory address where the node of the processing part information is stored. As shown in FIG. 15A, since the node after the memory address 948 is the node with the memory address 1016, if the identifier of the object information currently being executed is obj948. The identifier of the object information to be executed next is obj1016. Note that the processing order definition information does not have to be a table, and it is only necessary to describe which object template information is to be executed next to certain object template information.

  FIG. 20 illustrates a flowchart of the processing of the processing order definition information generation unit 1403. In step S2001, it is determined whether or not processing part information remains. If not, the process ends. If not, the process proceeds to step S2002. In step S2002, one piece of processing part information is extracted. The memory address of the extracted processing part information is stored in, for example, a register. In the next step S2003, it is determined whether there is processing part information to be executed next to the processing part information extracted in step S2002. That is, it is determined from the processing order information whether or not the processing partial information is to be executed last. If so, the process proceeds to step S2004; otherwise, step S2004 is skipped. In step S2004, a line including the identifier of the extracted processing part information and the identifier of the processing part information to be executed next is created and added to a table (for example, the table illustrated in FIG. 19). Thereafter, the process returns to step S2001.

  The object information generation device according to the present embodiment is interpreted as one of devices for using an object information generation method including an activity information acquisition step, an object template information generation step, and a processing order definition information generation step. It is also possible to do. The “activity information acquisition step” is a step for acquiring activity information that is information describing a plurality of pieces of processing partial information indicating an outline of processing and processing order information indicating processing order of the plurality of processes. . For example, this is a step for operating the activity information acquisition unit 1401. The “object template information generation step” refers to object template information serving as a template for describing corresponding object information based on arbitrary processing part information included in the activity information acquired in the activity information acquisition step. It is a step for generating. For example, this is a step for operating the object template information generation unit. The “processing order definition information generation step” is performed when object information to be described based on the object template information is executed based on the processing order information included in the activity information acquired in the activity information acquisition step. This is a step for generating processing order definition information that is information to be referred to. For example, this is a step for operating the processing order definition information generation unit 1403. Note that the device for using the object information generation method is not limited to the object information generation device.

(Embodiment 1: Main effects)
According to this embodiment, based on activity information representing an activity diagram or the like, it is possible to generate object template information that realizes the processing flow represented by the activity information. If the object template information is generated in a form that can be edited by a human, a system having a process represented by activity information can be created based on the object template information. Further, since the processing order definition information is generated separately, it is possible to change the processing order more easily than when the processing order is hard-coded in the object template information.

(Embodiment 2)
As an embodiment 2 of the present invention, an object information generation apparatus will be described in which object template information has identification information and generates processing order definition information using the identification information.

(Embodiment 2: Configuration)
In the object information generation device according to the second exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the object template information generated by the object template information generation unit 1402 in the object information generation device according to the first embodiment includes an identification information description unit.

  The “identification information description part” is a part that describes identification information for identifying the object to be described. “Described object” is an object described by object template information.

  As an example of the identification information description part, “Sample1” of “public class Sample1” in the first line of the program illustrated in FIG. 8 is described. Alternatively, the identification information description part can be interpreted as a part in which ““ sample1 ”” of “Activity next = FlowDefinition.find (“ sample1 ”);” is described from the meaning represented by this program. .

  In the present embodiment, the processing order definition information generation unit 1403 generates processing order definition information using the identification information. The “identification information” is identification information described in the identification information description section.

  Therefore, for example, the table illustrated in FIG. 19 stores the identification information described in the identification information description section.

(Embodiment 2: Main effects)
According to the present embodiment, the identification information is described in the object template information. Therefore, for example, the object template information is more readable than when the object template information is identified by the file name in which the object template information is stored. Template information can be easily modified.

(Embodiment 3)
As an embodiment 3 of the present invention, an object information generation apparatus that acquires information representing an activity specification and generates object template information and processing order definition information will be described.

(Embodiment 3: Configuration)
FIG. 21 illustrates a functional block diagram of the object information generating apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention. The object information generation apparatus 2100 includes an activity information acquisition unit 1401, an object template information generation unit 1402, a processing order definition information generation unit 1403, and an activity specification information acquisition unit 2101. Therefore, the object information generation apparatus according to the present embodiment is configured such that the object information generation apparatus according to the first or second embodiment includes an activity specification information acquisition unit.

  In the present specification, the same reference numerals are assigned to parts and means having the same definition as much as possible. Even if the same code is assigned, the manufacturing may be different when actually manufacturing.

(Embodiment 3: Configuration: activity specification information acquisition unit)
The “activity specification information acquisition unit” 2101 acquires activity specification information. “Activity specification information” is information in which type information and argument type information are described in association with processing part information corresponding to object template information. The “description in association with the processing part information” means that, for example, the processing part information is given a name, the processing part information is specified by the name, and the activity specification information is described. An example of activity specification information will be described later.

  “Type information” is information indicating the type of object information to be generated based on the object template information. When the object template information is described in an object-oriented language, the type is, for example, a class name (“Sample1” in FIG. 8). In the case of being described in C language or C ++ language, it is the name of the structure.

  “Argument type information” is information indicating an argument type of object information to be generated based on the object template information. For example, in the case of FIG. 8, it is “Message”.

  Note that information other than type information and argument type information may be described in the activity specification information. For example, the contents of processing performed by object template information generated corresponding to processing part information that is an activity may be described. The description may be performed in a programming language or a natural language.

(Embodiment 3: Configuration: Object template information generation unit)
In the present embodiment, the object template information generation unit 1402 generates object information based on the type information included in the activity specification information acquired by the activity specification information acquisition unit 2101 and the argument type information.

(Embodiment 3: Example of activity specification information)
FIG. 22 shows an example of activity specification information. Since “sample1” is designated as the processing part name, this activity specification information indicates that it is activity specification information related to the processing part information with the name “sample1”. Since the type name is “Sample1”, it is indicated that object template information having a type name (class name) of Sample1 should be generated corresponding to the processing part information of sample1. Since the argument type is “Message”, it is indicated that the object template information takes an argument of the type “Message”. Although there is a column of explanation, this is a description of processing performed with the object template information, and is a character string added as a comment to the object template information, for example.

  According to such an activity specification, for example, in the object template information of FIG. 8, the “// Sample activity” part receives an instance of “// Message”, and the lowercase alphabet in the character string in the instance is changed. Object template information replaced with “capitalize” is generated. Note that “//” means the start of a comment, and the comment is the part up to the end of the line.

  In this embodiment, the processing order definition information generation unit 1403 may generate processing order definition information based on the content of the activity specification information acquired by the activity specification information acquisition unit 2101. For example, the name stored in the table of FIG. 19 may be the model name.

(Embodiment 3: Main effects)
According to this embodiment, at least the object template information is generated based also on the activity specification information. For example, the description of the main part of the object template information can be specified, and the object template information is corrected. Can be performed efficiently.

(Embodiment 4)
As an embodiment 4 of the present invention, an object information generation apparatus in which activity specification information is described as a structured document will be described.

(Embodiment 4: Configuration)
Embodiment 4 of the present invention is such that the activity specification information acquired by the activity specification information acquisition unit 2101 is described as a structured document in the object information generation apparatus according to Embodiment 3.

  As a typical example of a structured document, there is one described based on XML. Therefore, an example of the activity specification information in this embodiment is shown in FIG. When the object information generation apparatus is realized by a computer, in this embodiment, the activity specification information acquisition unit 2101 needs to parse the structured document and hold the result in the memory. Since the structured document has a grammar suitable for parsing, it is easy for those skilled in the art to provide a program for parsing the structured document.

(Embodiment 4: Main effects)
There are many tools for describing structured documents. According to the present embodiment, activity specification information can be described using such tools.

(Embodiment 5)
As an embodiment 5 of the present invention, an object information generating apparatus that generates object template information corresponding to a branch expressed in activity information will be described.

(Embodiment 5: Configuration)
FIG. 23 illustrates a functional block diagram of the object information generating apparatus according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention. The object information generation apparatus 2300 includes an activity information acquisition unit 1401, an object template information generation unit 1402, and a processing order definition information generation unit 1403. The object template information generation unit 1402 includes a branch process determination unit 2301, Branch dependency generation means. The object information generation device 2300 may further include an activity specification information acquisition unit.

  Therefore, the object information generation device according to the present embodiment is configured such that the object template information generation unit of the object information generation device according to any one of Embodiments 1 to 4 includes a branch process determination unit and a branch dependency generation unit. It has become.

(Embodiment 5: Configuration: branch process determination means)
The “branch process determination unit” 2301 determines whether or not the process part information performs a branch process. For example, when the structure of the directed graph representing the activity information exists in the memory, it is determined whether or not a node representing a branch is connected after the node of the processing partial information.

(Embodiment 5: Configuration: branch dependency generation means)
The “branch dependency generation unit” 2302 is a branch type object template information that is object template information including branch processing or a non-branch type object that is object template information not including branch processing according to the determination result of the branch processing determination unit 2301. Select and generate template information.

  FIG. 24 exemplifies a flowchart of the branching object template information process. In step S2401, a predetermined process (including nothing is performed) is performed. This is the same as step S1701. In step S2402, it is determined whether to branch to the first branch. This determination is made based on, for example, a value obtained as a result of calling a predetermined function or method. Alternatively, what function or method is used is described in the activity information or the like, and the description may be made based on the description. If it is determined to branch to the first branch, the process proceeds to step S2402, and if not, the process proceeds to step S2404. In step S2402, an identifier of object information to be executed in the first branch is obtained. That is, an identifier of object information to be executed next to the first branch is obtained. In step S2403, based on the object identifier obtained in step S2402, the object information to be executed next is executed. Steps S2404 and S2405 are the same as steps S2402 and S2403, respectively, and a description thereof will be omitted.

  In steps S2402 and S2404, it is necessary to obtain an identifier of object information to be executed next based on whether or not the branch is the first branch. Therefore, it is necessary to include information indicating which branch is included in the processing order definition information.

  FIG. 25 exemplifies processing order definition information including information about which branch it is. In FIG. 25, “branch” in the middle column stores information indicating which branch it is. For example, it is assumed that the currently executed object information is obj948. If it is the first branch, the identifier of the object information to be executed next is obj1016, and if not (that is, if it is the second branch), the identifier of the object information to be executed next is obj1024.

  FIG. 26 illustrates a flowchart of processing for generating the processing order definition information illustrated in FIG. That is, the processing of the processing order definition information generation unit 1403 in this embodiment is illustrated.

  In step S2601, it is determined whether or not processing part information remains. If it remains, the process proceeds to step S2602, and if not, the process ends. In step S2602, one piece of processing part information is extracted. Thereby, for example, the address of the memory area corresponding to the processing part information is stored in the register. In step S2603, it is determined whether there is processing part information to be executed next. This determination is made, for example, by regarding the value stored in the register as a memory address and acquiring the value stored in the memory address. If so, the process proceeds to step S2604; otherwise, the process returns to step S2601. In step S2604, it is determined whether branch processing is performed. That is, it is determined whether there is a node indicating branch processing next to the node of the current processing partial information. This determination is made, for example, by regarding the value stored in the register as the memory address, interpreting the value stored in the memory address as the memory address, and acquiring the value stored in the memory address. It is. If there is a branch process, the process proceeds to step S2605; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S2606.

  In step S2605, the identifier of the extracted processing part information and the identifier of the processing part information to be executed next for each branch are added as a row to a table or the like. The identifier of the processing part information to be executed next for each branch can be obtained by examining the contents of the node of the branch, that is, the contents of the node next to the node of the branch.

  In step S2606, the identifier of the extracted processing part information and the identifier of processing part information to be executed next are added to the table as rows.

  When the processes of steps S2605 and S2606 are finished, the process returns to step S2601. For example, the value of the program counter is set to the program address in step S2601.

(Embodiment 5: Main effects)
According to the present embodiment, it is possible to generate object template information representing activity information including a branch.

(Embodiment 6)
As an embodiment 6 of the present invention, an object information generating apparatus in which processing order information of activity information is divided into lanes will be described.

(Embodiment 6: Configuration)
In the sixth embodiment of the present invention, in the object information generating device according to any one of the first to fifth embodiments, the processing order information of the activity information acquired by the activity information acquiring unit is divided into user lanes and system lanes. is described. The “user lane” is a part describing processing performed by a human (user). The “system lane” is a part that describes processing performed by the system.

  As an example of the activity information divided into the user lane and the system lane, there is information indicating the activity diagram shown in FIG.

  In the present invention, it is preferable to generate object information corresponding to the activity in the system lane.

(Embodiment 6: Main effects)
According to this embodiment, the entire system including the user can be described in the activity diagram, and the range to be generated as a program can be limited by the system lane.

(Embodiment 7)
As an embodiment 7 of the present invention, an object information generating apparatus in which object information in which activity information is described as a structured document is described as a structured document will be described.

(Embodiment 7: Configuration)
That is, Embodiment 7 of the present invention is an object information generation device in which the activity information acquired by the activity information acquisition unit 1401 is described as a structured document in the object information generation device according to any one of Embodiments 1 to 6. It is.

  As described in the fourth embodiment, as a typical example of a structured document, there is one described based on XML, and an example in which activity information is described in XML is as shown in FIG.

(Embodiment 7: Main effects)
There are many tools for describing structured documents. In particular, as UML modeling tools, there are those that output XML documents by creating activity diagrams. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, activity information created by such a tool can be used. Thereby, for example, the time and effort for creating the system can be reduced.

(Embodiment 8)
As an eighth embodiment of the present invention, an object information generation apparatus in which processing order definition information is described as a structured document will be described.

(Embodiment 8: Configuration)
In the object information generation device according to Embodiment 8 of the present invention, in the object information generation device according to any of Embodiments 1 to 7, the processing order definition information generated by the processing order definition information generation unit 1403 is described as a structured document. This is an object information generation device configured to be performed.

  An example of processing order definition information described as a structured document is as shown in FIG. FIG. 10 corresponds to one line of the processing order definition information shown in FIG. In FIG. 10, it goes without saying that the processing order definition information corresponding to a plurality of lines can be obtained by providing a plurality of portions from <activity> to </ activity>.

(Embodiment 8: Main effects)
By describing the processing order definition information in a structured document, the processing order definition information can be in a format that can be read by humans. When executing the object template information, the processing order definition information is stored in the computer. It can be easily read.

(Embodiment 9)
As Embodiment 9 of the present invention, an apparatus that executes object information described based on object template information generated by the object template information generation unit of the object information generation apparatus according to the above embodiment will be described.

(Embodiment 9: Configuration)
FIG. 27 illustrates a functional block diagram of an object execution device according to the ninth embodiment of the present invention. The object execution device 2700 includes an object holding unit 2702, a processing order definition information holding unit 2703, and an object execution unit 2701. Note that the object execution device according to the present embodiment corresponds to the general-purpose application server 1103 shown in FIG. 11, and is realized using, for example, a computer.

  The “object holding unit” 2702 holds object information described based on the object template information generated by the object template information generating unit 1402. "Objects described based on object template information" refers to object template information itself or object information obtained by adding or changing processing descriptions to object template information into an executable format Information. For example, it is a format that can be executed by a computer by a compiler or the like.

  FIG. 28 illustrates a schematic diagram of the internal structure of the object holding unit 2702. The structure shown in FIG. 28 is expanded in a memory space of a computer, for example. In each element of the array 2801, pointers to the object 1, the object 2, the object 3, and the like are stored. The rectangular area 2805 stores a pointer indicating an object described based on the object template information generated corresponding to the processing portion to be processed first.

  A “processing order definition information holding unit” 2703 holds the processing order definition information generated by the processing order definition information generation unit 1403. For example, processing order definition information is input, and is expanded and held in a memory structure. If the size of the processing order definition information is large, for example, indexing using a B-tree or the like may be performed. That is, it is preferable to use a B-tree having the identification information of the object template information as a key and the identification information of the object template information to be executed next as a value.

  An “object execution unit” 2701 is an object described based on the object template information generated by the object template information generation unit 1402 corresponding to the processing part to be processed first by the processing order definition information (hereinafter referred to as “first” Are called in a chain. “The processing order information” means processing order definition information held in the processing order definition information holding unit 2703. “Execute in a chain” means that when the first object is executed, (1) the processing of the first object refers to the processing order definition information and the next object to be executed is determined. This means that the executed object is executed, and (3) the processing of the executed object refers to the processing order definition information and the object to be executed next is determined repeatedly.

  When data such as an argument needs to be given to the first object, the object execution unit inputs or generates the data as appropriate and passes it to the first object.

  FIG. 29 illustrates a flowchart of processing of the object execution device 2700. In step S2901, processing order definition information is read. In step S2902, the first object information is executed. In step S2903, the end of execution of the object information is awaited. When the execution is completed, data indicating a final result or the like is acquired as necessary.

  FIG. 30 exemplifies a flowchart detailing the processing in step S2902 and step S2903 when executing the object described based on the object template information shown in FIG. In step S3001, the first object is executed. In step S3002, it is determined whether the execution of the object is finished. This determination is made, for example, based on whether an end point has been acquired as an object to be executed next, or whether an end point identifier (for example, “endPointA”) is designated. If it is determined that the process has been completed, the process is terminated. Otherwise, the process proceeds to step S3003 and FlowDefinition. When find is called, a pointer to the object to be executed next is returned, and the process returns to step S3002.

  Note that the object execution device according to the present embodiment can also be interpreted as a device for using an object execution method having an object holding step, a processing order definition information holding step, and an object execution step. The “object holding step” is a step of holding an object described based on the object template information generated in the object template information generating step. For example, it is a step for operating the object holding unit 2702. The “processing order definition information holding step” is a step for holding the processing order definition information generated in the processing order definition information generation step. For example, this is a step for operating the processing order definition information holding unit 2703. The “object execution step” means that objects described based on the object template information generated in the object template information generation step corresponding to the processing portion to be processed first by the processing order definition information are chained. It is a step for executing. For example, it is a step for operating the object execution unit 2701. An apparatus that uses the object execution method is not limited to the object execution apparatus according to the present embodiment.

(Embodiment 9: Main effects)
According to the present embodiment, an object described based on the object template information generated by the object generation device can be executed.

Example of activity diagram Overview of the present invention Example of automatic generation tool according to the present invention Logical structure diagram of activity diagram An example of an activity diagram written in XML Logical structure diagram of activity specifications Example of activity specification Example of object information Logical structure diagram of flow definition file Example of flow definition file Example of object information execution An example of object information generated when a branch exists Example of flow definition file when there is a branch Functional block diagram of the object information generating apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention Example of part of directed graph structure created on memory Flow chart of processing of object template information generation unit 1402 Flow chart for processing one object template information Flow chart for processing one object template information Example of processing order definition information Process flow of processing order definition information generation unit 1403 Functional block diagram of an object information generation device according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention Example of activity specification information Functional block diagram of the object information generation device according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention Flow chart of branching object template information processing Example of processing order definition information Flow chart of processing to generate processing order definition information Functional block diagram of an object execution device according to Embodiment 9 of the present invention Schematic diagram of the internal structure of the object holding unit 2702 Process flow of object execution apparatus 2700 Detailed flowchart of processing portion of object execution apparatus 2700

Explanation of symbols

1400 Object information generation device 1401 Activity information acquisition unit 1402 Object template information generation unit 1403 Processing order definition information generation unit

Claims (11)

An activity information acquisition unit for acquiring activity information, which is information describing a plurality of processing part information indicating an outline of processing, and processing order information indicating processing order of the plurality of processing parts;
An object template information generating unit that generates object template information serving as a template for describing corresponding object information based on arbitrary processing part information included in the activity information acquired by the activity information acquiring unit;
Based on the processing order information included in the activity information acquired by the activity information acquisition unit, processing order definition information that is information to be referred to when object information described based on the object template information is executed is generated. A processing order definition information generation unit;
An object information generating device having The object template information has an identification information description part describing identification information for identifying an object to be described,
The object information generation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processing order definition information generation unit generates processing order definition information using the identification information. Type information which is information indicating the type of object information to be generated based on the object template information, argument type information which is information indicating an argument type of object information to be generated based on the object template information, and , Including an activity specification information acquisition unit that acquires activity specification information that is information described in association with processing part information corresponding to the object template information,
The object template information generation unit generates the object template information based on type information included in the activity specification information acquired by the activity specification information acquisition unit and argument type information. Information generator.   The object information generation apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the activity specification information is described as a structured document. The object template information generation unit
Branch processing determination means for determining whether the processing part information performs branch processing;
Depending on the determination result of the branch processing determination means, it is generated by selecting either branch type object template information that is object template information including branch processing or non-branch type object template information that is object template information not including branch processing Branch dependency generation means;
5. The object information generation device according to claim 1, comprising:   The object according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the processing order information of the activity information describes the processing order separately for a user lane that describes processing performed by a human and a system lane that describes processing performed by the system. Information generator.   The object information generation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the activity information is described as a structured document.   The object information generation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processing order definition information is described as a structured document. An object holding unit for holding an object described based on the object template information generated by the object template information generating unit;
A processing order definition information holding unit for holding the processing order definition information generated by the processing order definition information generation unit;
An object execution unit that sequentially executes objects described based on the object template information generated by the object template information generation unit corresponding to a processing part to be processed first by the processing order definition information;
An object execution device. An activity information acquisition step for acquiring activity information, which is information describing a plurality of processing partial information indicating an outline of processing, and processing order information indicating processing order of the plurality of processes;
An object template information generation step for generating object template information that is a template for describing corresponding object information, based on arbitrary processing part information included in the activity information acquired in the activity information acquisition step;
Processing order definition information that is information to be referred to when object information to be described based on the object template information is executed based on the processing order information included in the activity information acquired in the activity information acquisition step Processing order definition information generation step for generating
Object information generation method including An object holding step for holding an object described based on the object template information generated in the object template information generating step;
A processing order definition information holding step for holding the processing order definition information generated in the processing order definition information generation step;
An object execution step for executing in a chain manner the objects described based on the object template information generated in the object template information generation step corresponding to the processing portion to be processed first by the processing order definition information;
An object execution method comprising:

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