JP2671793B2 - Program generator usage specification simulation method and apparatus - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a technique for supporting the development of a program in an electronic computer, and more particularly to a program generator utilization specification simulation method and apparatus suitable for verification work of a program represented by a state transition diagram or the like. is there.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Various techniques have been proposed as techniques for supporting the development of programs in electronic computers. For example, a technique called a program generator proposed in Japanese Patent Application No. 3-69135 is one of them, and automatically converts a specification described in a specification description language into a program described in a programming language.

In program development using this type of program generator, the user first creates a program specification on the screen using an editor while referring to a design document at hand. This specification is created in various formats. For example, when using the format of the state transition diagram, the states that the program can take and what kind of processing is performed when what event occurs in each state It will be created in the form of a table such as whether to make a transition. Then, the specifications expressed by the created state transition diagram are converted into a predetermined specification description language and converted into a program described in the programming language by the program generator. At this time, the state transition diagram may be incorrect due to misunderstanding or mistyping, so
Once the state transition diagram has been created, work to confirm its validity is performed.

This confirmation work assumes, for example, an event that occurs in a certain state and a subsequent event, and checks the state transition diagram on the screen while visually checking the state transition diagram. Done in.

[0005]

However, when this event occurs in a certain state, this state is entered on the state transition diagram, and when this event occurs next in this state, this state is entered next on the state transition diagram. It was difficult to check some cases while visually following the state transition diagram on the screen, and as a result, it was the current situation that sufficient confirmation could not be made.

The present invention has been proposed in view of such circumstances, and an object thereof is to make it possible to confirm the created specifications more easily and quickly.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the program generator utilization specification simulation method of the present invention uses each event as a substitute for an actual event that transits the state of the program expressed by the specification.
Create a specification for the control to notify the current state of the program to the outside together with the data of the key on the keyboard associated with the preparative by entering shifts the state of the program, for the created control The specifications are added to the specifications of the program and input to the program generator to create a simulation program written in a predetermined programming language, and the created simulation program is executed and the key operation on the keyboard is performed during the execution .
Therefore, by inputting the data of the key corresponding to the actual event into the simulation program, the state transition is performed, and the current state notified from the simulation program is displayed on the display device. I am trying to let you.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the program generator utilization specification simulation apparatus of the present invention substitutes the specification of the program and the actual event for changing the state of the program expressed by the specification.
Data of the keys on the keyboard associated with each event
And specifications editor for creating and specifications for control to notify the current state of the program to the outside together with the input to shift the state of the program, the control specifications of the program created by the partition-like editors A specification description language generation unit for converting a specification for a specification description language into a specification description language, and a program expressed in the specification description language generated by the specification description language generation unit, A program generator for converting into a simulation program including a simulation program body corresponding to the specifications of the program and a control program corresponding to the specifications for the control,
Interposed between a program execution unit for executing a simulation program generated by the program generator, and the running on the program executing section simulation program and a keyboard and a display device, keyboard
Input instead of the actual event by operating the keys on the keyboard
And a data input / simulation result display control unit for transmitting the data of the generated key to the simulation program and displaying the current state notified from the simulation program on the display device.

Further, the data input / simulation result display control unit displays the specifications of the program on the display device, indicates the notified current state on the displayed specifications, and The order of state transition is also displayed together.

[0010]

In the present invention, the specification editor substitutes each event as an alternative to the specification of the program and the actual event for transitioning the state of the program expressed by this specification.
And specifications for control to notify the current state of the program to the outside together with the data of the key on the keyboard associated with the preparative by entering shifts the state of the program, supporting the creation of the user Then, the specification description language generator
The program generator converts the specifications of the created program and the specifications for control into a specification description language, and the program generator
The specification description language is input and converted into a simulation program including a simulation program body corresponding to the specifications of the program and a control program corresponding to the specifications for the control, which is a program described in the programming language. The program execution unit executes this simulation program. Then, during the execution of the simulation program, the user keyboards
Key operation on the keyboard instead of the actual event.
When the key is operated , the data input / simulation result display control unit transmits the data of this key to the simulation program, and the control program in the simulation program changes the state of the simulation program main body accordingly. When the control program notifies the data input / simulation result display control unit of the state after the transition, the data input / simulation result display control unit
For example, the specifications of the program are displayed on the display device, the notified current state is instructed on the displayed specifications, and the order of the state transitions up to now is also displayed.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

Referring to FIG. 1, a program generator utilization specification simulation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a specification editor 1, a specification description language generation unit 2, and a plurality of program generators 3 each having a different program language. -1 to 3-n, a selection unit 4, a program execution unit 5, a data input / simulation result display control unit 6, a display device such as a CRT 7, and an input device such as a keyboard 8. 9 is the specification of the program to be developed, 10 is the control specification, 11
Is a specification description language, and 12 is a simulation program including a control program 12a and a simulation program body 12b.

The detailed functions of the respective parts will be described below through the overall operation.

The specification editor 1 is a program specification 9
And a control specification 10 corresponding to the specification 9 are editors for supporting a user's work, and are connected to the CRT 7 and the keyboard 8.

The user activates the specification editor 1 from the keyboard 8 and uses the function to create the specification of the program to be developed on the screen of the CRT 7.

A CRT in the case where the specification editor 1 is a state transition editor that supports the creation of specifications in the state transition diagram format.
FIG. 2 shows an example of the state transition diagram created on top of FIG. In the figure, the states 1, 2, ... Set in each row indicate the types of states that the program can take, and the events 1, 2, ... Set in each column indicate the types of events that cause state transitions. The "process description" set at the intersection of the row and column is the part that describes the process to be executed when the event is issued in that state, for example, by a description method that depends on the language. "2" and the like are descriptions that specify the next state to transition to when the event set in that column occurs in the state set in that row.

The specifications of the program created in this way are output from the specification editor 1 and saved as specifications 9.

When confirming the created specification 9, the user uses the specification editor 1 to create a control specification corresponding to the specification 9 on the screen of the CRT 7. Here, the control specification refers to control for inputting data for changing the state of the program expressed by the specification 9 from the outside to change the state of the program and notifying the current state of the program to the outside. This is such a specification.

For example, in the case of the state transition diagram of FIG. 2, since it is difficult to generate actual events as the events 1, 2, ..., For example, keys of different characters on the keyboard 8 are associated with each event. Create a specification that indicates that That is, the key of letter A is for event 1,
This is a specification indicating that the key of letter B corresponds to event 2. In addition, when a transition to another state is made, a specification indicating an operation of notifying the state after the transition to the outside is also created at the same time.

The control specifications created in this way are
It is output from the specification editor 1 and saved as the control specification 10.

Next, when the user operates the keyboard 8 to activate the specification description language generation unit 2, the specification description language generation unit 2
The specification 9 and the control specification 10 are input and converted into a predetermined specification description language 11. FIG. 3 shows an example of the specification description language 11 obtained by converting the state transition diagram shown in FIG. 2 and the corresponding control specifications. As shown in the figure, the specification description language 11 includes a description for each state 1, 2, ...
The description corresponding to each state includes a (control description) and a (event key status processing description) for each event. Here, (control description) is a description of control for notifying the current state to the outside when transitioning to the state. Further, the key indicates a key on the keyboard 8 assigned to the event, the state indicates the next state to be transited when the key is input, and the process description should be executed prior to the transition. It is a description of the process.

When the generation of the specification description language 11 is completed, the user next inputs a program generator start command designating the programming language from the keyboard 8. This instruction is received by the selection unit 4, and activates the program generator which handles the designated programming language among the plurality of program generators 3-1 to 3-n.

Now, the C language is specified from the keyboard 8,
If the program generator 3-1 that handles it is activated, the program generator 3-1 inputs the specification description language 11 and converts it into a simulation program 12 described in C language. At this time, one simulation program 12 is physically generated, but is logically divided into a control program 12a and a simulation program body 12b. Here, the simulation program body 12b is a part corresponding to the specification 9, and the control program 12a is a part corresponding to the control specification 10.

Next, the user operates the keyboard 8 to cause the program execution section 5 to execute the simulation program 1
When the execution of 2 is instructed, the program execution unit 5 inputs the simulation program 12 and starts its execution. As a result, first, the simulation program 12
The simulation program body 12b of 1 transits to the initial state, and control is passed to the control program 12a. The data input / simulation result display control unit 6 is also activated by an execution instruction to the program execution unit 5, and the data input / simulation result display control unit 6 displays the contents of the specification 9, that is, the state transition diagram shown in FIG. Displayed on the screen.

FIG. 4 shows the relationship between the simulation program body 12b and the control program 12a in the simulation program 12 and a processing example of the control program 12a. When the control program 12a receives control from the simulation program body 12b, The current state of 12b is notified to the data input / simulation result display control unit 6. Then, the control program 12a waits for a key input from the data input / simulation result display control unit 6.

Upon receiving this notification, the data input / simulation result display control unit 6 blinks the current state on the state transition diagram displayed on the screen of the CRT 7, for example, by blinking the display portion of the corresponding state. Instruct by displaying or shading.

In this state, when the user inputs any of the keys associated with each event from the keyboard 8, the control program 12a being executed by the program execution unit 5 via the data input / simulation result display control unit 6 is inputted. The control program 12a issues an event corresponding to the received key to the simulation program body 12b, and the control program 12a transmits control to the simulation program body 12b.
Transfer to As a result, the simulation program body 12b transitions to the corresponding next state after executing the process corresponding to the issued event, and transfers control to the control program 12a again. Upon receiving the control, the control program 12a notifies the data input / simulation result display control unit 6 of the current state of the simulation body 12b, and waits for key input again.

Therefore, for example, when the key A is input while the simulation program body 12b is in the state 1, the simulation program body 12b transits to the state 2 as if the event 1 was issued, and the CRT 7
On the screen, the state 2 is shaded to indicate to the user that the current state is the state 2 as shown in FIG. Further, in order to indicate to the user which state and what event has made a transition, the shaded area is also displayed at the intersection of the original state 1 and the issued event 1. Furthermore, at the bottom of the screen, as the order of state transition up to the present,
State 1 and state 2 are displayed in order.

When the key B is input in the state of FIG. 5,
Since the event 2 is issued and the state 1 is entered, the screen of the CRT 7 changes as shown in FIG.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the actual transition state in the specification 9 is displayed on the state transition diagram only by sequentially inputting the keys from the keyboard 8.
It is possible to efficiently proceed with the confirmation work of the created state transition diagram.

Although the state transition diagram is used as the specification of the program in the above embodiments, if the structured chart editor using the structured model is used as the specification editor 1, the confirmation work of the specification in the structured model format can be performed. Can also help.

[0032]

As described above, according to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.

[0033] b for shifting the state from the keyboard
When the data of the key associated with the vent is sequentially input, the actual transition status according to the program specifications is automatically displayed on the screen such as CRT. It is no longer necessary to check what kind of transition the diagram will have, and when this event occurs in a certain state, this state will appear in this state transition diagram, and when this event occurs next in this state, the next state will appear in this state transition diagram. It is possible to easily and quickly confirm the state of state transition such as this state.

Since the simulation program body equivalent to the actual program obtained when the program specifications are input to the program generator is generated, the operation confirmation of the programs at the programming language level should be performed at the same time as the confirmation of the program specifications. It becomes possible to simulate the behavior and the like due to the processing description in the specification, and therefore it is possible to simultaneously examine the information such as the execution efficiency which is unknown until the actual language level is reached.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a program generator utilization specification simulation apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a state transition diagram which is a specification of a program.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a specification description language.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a relationship between a simulation program body and a control program in the simulation program and a processing example of the control program.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example in which the state of state transition is displayed on the screen of a CRT.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a display example after only one state transition is made in the state shown in FIG. 5;

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 ... Specification editor 2 ... Specification description language generation unit 3-1 to 3-n ... Program generator 4 ... Selection unit 5 ... Program execution unit 6 ... Data input / simulation result display control unit 7 ... CRT 8 ... Keyboard 9 ... Program Specifications 10 ... Control specifications 11 ... Specification description language 12 ... Simulation program 12a ... Control program 12b ... Simulation program main body

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. Each event as an alternative to an actual event that transits the state of a program expressed by a specification
Create a specification for the control to notify the current state of the program to the external causes is by entering the data of the key on the keyboard associated transition state of the program, specification for the created control Is added to the specification of the program and input to the program generator to create a simulation program described in a predetermined programming language, and the created simulation program is executed and the actual operation is performed by key operation on the keyboard during execution . Ibe
Program in which the state transition is performed by inputting the data of the corresponding key into the simulation program instead of the input, and the current state notified from the simulation program is displayed on the display device. Generator usage specification simulation method. 2. A program specification and an actual event for transitioning the state of the program expressed by the specification.
As an alternative to the key on the keyboard associated with each event
Specifications of the programs created and specifications editor for creating and specifications for control to notify the current state of the program to the outside by the partition-like editor with by entering the data of over shifts the state of the program A specification description language generation unit for converting the specification for control and the specification for control into a specification description language; and a program expressed in the specification description language generated by the specification description language generation unit in a program described in a programming language. A program generator for converting into a simulation program including a simulation program body corresponding to the specifications of the program and a control program corresponding to the specifications for control; and a program for executing the simulation program generated by the program generator. The execution unit and the program Intervening between the simulation program running on the line and the keyboard and display device,
Instead of the actual event by a key operation on the keyboard
And a data input / simulation result display control unit for transmitting the key data input to the simulation program to the simulation program and displaying the current state notified from the simulation program on the display device. Program generator usage specification simulation device. 3. The data input / simulation result display control unit displays the specifications of the program on the display device, indicates the notified current state on the displayed specifications, and 3. The program generator use specification simulation apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the order of state transition is also displayed. 4. A plurality of program generators that handle different programming languages, and a specification generated by the specification description language generation unit for the program generator that corresponds to the programming language designated from the keyboard among the plurality of program generators. 4. The program generator use specification simulation apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising a selection unit for instructing conversion of a description language.