JPH04312142A - Object information control system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To attain the insertion and the change of the intermediate graphic information of a tree structure showing a hierarchical structure of the more-less significant relation without reconstructing the whole hierrarchical structure by providing a structural hierarchy control part in addition to a class hierarchy control part. CONSTITUTION:A more-less significant relation control part 5 is provided with a function which succeeds the attribute through a class hierarchy which points the objects by a class hierarchy control part 3. At the same time, an instance object hierarchy control part 4 attains an instance object enclosing hierarchical structure including a subject composite hierarchical structure in addition to a class hierarcy showing the more-less significant relation of classes. Thus it is possible to minimize the necessary change without changing nor reconstructing the whole partial tree of an object set at a less significant place when the change is applied to the intermediate unit information included in a tree structure showing a hierarchical structure of the more-less significant relation.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

[Industrial Field of Application] The present invention relates to an object information management system, for example, storing semantic information of hierarchical figures such as maps and blueprints on a computer and using an application program such as CAD. A new data storage method is adopted for a graphical information management system that displays, edits, and searches on a graphic display, making it easier to change the data structure, increasing scalability, and improving performance.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a system for expressing a complex information structure in which each unit figure has information and the unit figures form a hierarchical structure, for example, Smalltalk-
80 (written by Kyoji Umemura: Introduction to Smalltalk-80, Science Publishing, 1986), the concept of an object integrates data and procedures in object-oriented programming, as typified by Build hierarchical relationships based on
There is a method that uses a class hierarchy inheritance function that inherits the structure and procedures of an object defined in a higher class to objects belonging to lower classes. In addition, as a related technology that applies a correspondence based on a superior-subordinate relationship to this object and inherits the data structure and procedure of a superior class to a subordinate object,
There was something like the one shown in Publication No.-5344. Although concepts such as objects have already been described in such documents, hereinafter an instance of a certain class will be referred to as an object. In other words, an object belonging to a certain class is called an instance. Furthermore, it is assumed that an instance and an instance object have the same meaning.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a software configuration that realizes a graphical information management method realized by such an object-oriented class hierarchy inheritance function. 2 is a procedural genetic control unit that causes objects in lower classes to inherit procedures defined in objects of higher classes; 3 is a class hierarchy management consisting of structural genetic control unit 1 and procedural genetic control unit 2. Department,
Reference numeral 5 denotes an upper-lower relation management unit composed of the class hierarchy management unit 3, and 6 is a graphic information storage unit that stores complex graphic information.

Next, the operation will be explained. A figure having a complex structure is treated as an object-oriented object, and the class hierarchy management unit 3 is used to handle the figure using an inheritance function based on a class hierarchy based on a superior-lower relationship. Inheritance through class hierarchy
The structure genetic control unit 1 performs processing for inheriting the structure of an object defined in a higher-level class to a lower-level object.
The procedure genetic control unit 2 executes the process of inheriting a procedure to be executed for an object defined in a higher class to an object in a lower class. With these features, the object structure and related procedures are automatically defined according to the class hierarchy based on the superordinate-subordinate relationship, without having to explicitly define the object structure and procedures described in the superordinate class in the subordinate class. Definition and execution are realized.

For example, FIG. 8 shows how a layout diagram of a building is realized using the class hierarchy inheritance function. Object-oriented class hierarchies generally have a tree structure. In the figure, 7 is an object of a class that represents the entire layout diagram, 8 is an object of a class that represents a room, 9 is an object of a class that represents equipment in the room, and 10 is an object of a class that represents the entire layout diagram.
is a subtree representing the entire class hierarchy that exists below the room equipment. The in-room facilities here include power outlets,
Refers to the equipment inside the room, such as lighting and water supply equipment. 11
, 12, 13, and 14 indicate upper-lower relationships in the class hierarchy, and class hierarchy links to realize the inheritance relationship of structures and procedures of objects belonging to the class. 15 is a class object representing a corridor, and 16 is an object in a room. The equipment class object 17 is a subtree representing the entire class hierarchy that exists below the room equipment class object 16.

[0006] In the object 7 of the layout diagram class, for example, when position information and screen display procedures for screen display on a graphic display are defined, the object 8 of the room class existing below it and the equipment in the room are defined. Object 9 of class 1, subtree 1 of all class hierarchies that exist under the class of room equipment
0 automatically inherits the data structure for storing the above location information and the procedure for screen display. This made it possible to reflect the structure of the actual layout diagram in the data structure to some extent.

[0007]

[Problem to be Solved by the Invention] In the graphic information management method using the class hierarchy function in object-oriented object orientation as described above, entities in the real world are associated based on upper-lower relationships, and the properties of the upper unit graphic information are is inherited as is to the lower unit figure information, so there is no need to redundantly define the same structure and procedure. When you change the structure of unit figure information existing in a class in the middle, all the figure information of the classes that depend on the unit figure information and exist as a tree structure below it are searched and changes are made to all of them. There was a problem that processing occurred and it was not possible to respond flexibly to changes in the data structure. Furthermore, since the class hierarchy inheritance function always inherits the structure and procedures of objects in higher-level classes, it is also impossible for a class in the middle of the class hierarchy to invalidate the structure and procedures of higher-level objects. Furthermore, if the intermediate classes are different, such as object 8 of the class representing a room and object 15 of the class representing a corridor, objects 9 and 16 of the room equipment class are of the same class at the bottom of these class hierarchies. Objects 9 and 1 of the class of room facilities, respectively.
6, the object of the class representing the room 8 and the object 15 of the class representing the corridor cannot share the same class.

The purpose of the present invention was to solve the above-mentioned problem, and when changing intermediate unit information in a tree structure showing a hierarchical structure of superior-subordinate relationships, An object information management method that is flexible for operations such as changes and insertions, keeping changes to the minimum necessary without modifying or reconfiguring the entire subtree of objects that exist below intermediate unit information. Our goal is to provide the following.

[0009]

[Means for Solving the Problems] The object information management system according to the present invention has the following elements. (a) An object information storage unit that stores objects that have classes and attribute information such as structures and procedures; (b)
) a class hierarchy management unit that inherits attribute information such as the structure and procedures of an object from a higher level to a lower level based on the upper-lower relationship of the object class; (c) manages the hierarchy of instance objects based on the higher-lower relationship of the instance object; Instance object management section.

0010

[Operation] The object information management method according to the present invention has the function of attribute inheritance based on an object-oriented class hierarchy using the class hierarchy management unit, and the function of inheritance of attributes between classes using the instance object hierarchy management unit.
Apart from the class hierarchy, which is a subordinate relationship, an inclusive hierarchical structure of instance objects having a complex hierarchical structure is realized as a relationship between objects. In this way, in addition to the class hierarchy that is the upper-lower relationship between classes, there is an instance object management unit that realizes the inclusive hierarchical structure of instance objects having a target complex hierarchical structure as a relationship between objects. By doing so, it is possible to construct a superior-subordinate relationship of instance objects that is unrelated to the conventional process of searching and changing subordinate objects by changing the attribute information, etc. of superior objects, based on the class hierarchy inheritance function. In addition, the management method of the instance object management unit does not have an attribute information inheritance function, so there is a drawback of the class hierarchy inheritance function that a lower class cannot invalidate the inheritance of attribute information of a higher class, as explained in the conventional example. , Furthermore, the drawback that it is impossible to share the same class lower down in the class hierarchy if the intermediate classes are different is also eliminated.

[0011]

[Example] Example 1. This invention will be explained below with reference to Examples. FIG. 1 is a software configuration diagram that implements a graphic information management system according to an embodiment of the present invention. In Figure 1, 1 is a structure genetic control unit that inherits the structure (an example of attribute information) of an object in a higher class to an object in a lower class, and 2 is a structural genetic control unit that inherits the structure (an example of attribute information) of an object in a higher class. 3 is a class hierarchy management unit composed of a structural genetic control unit 1 and a procedural genetic control unit 2, and 4 is a procedural genetic control unit that is inherited by objects of the class. a structure hierarchy management unit that manages hierarchical relationships (an example of an instance object management unit according to the present invention);
Reference numeral 5 denotes an upper-lower relation management unit composed of a class hierarchy management unit 3 and a structure hierarchy management unit 4, and 6 a graphic information storage unit (an example of an object information storage unit) that stores complex structural graphic information.

Further, an embodiment of the present invention is implemented on a computer system having a hardware configuration as shown in FIG. In FIG. 2, 18 is a CPU that performs calculations.
, 19 is a main storage device, 20 is a keyboard, 21 is a graphic display, 22 is a pointing device such as a mouse, 23 is a secondary storage control device, and 24 is a secondary storage device.

Next, the operation of the present invention will be explained. Structural graphic information having a complex structure is processed as an object-oriented object using the class hierarchy management unit 3 using an inheritance function based on a class hierarchy based on a superior-lower relationship. In inheritance through class hierarchy, the structure genetic control unit 1 handles the inheritance of the structure of objects defined in a higher class, and the process of inheriting procedures related to objects defined in a higher class to objects in lower classes is a procedure. The genetic control unit 2 executes this. In addition, the graphical inclusion hierarchical structure is processed by the structural hierarchy management unit 4 separately from the class hierarchy. The structure hierarchy management unit 4 describes parent-child relationships in a graphical hierarchical structure, and realizes bidirectional links of reference relationships between objects. The structural hierarchy management unit 4 does not inherit the structure or procedure of an object in an upper structural hierarchy to an object in a lower hierarchical structure.

FIG. 3 shows the data structure of unit graphic information for realizing the present invention. The unit figure information is stored as an object in the figure information storage unit 6, and in the figure, 29 is figure information indicating the original information of the figure of the object, 30 is attribute information indicating attributes attached to the figure, and 31 is figure information indicating the original information of the figure of the object. Class hierarchy information showing class hierarchy relationships,
32 is structural hierarchy information indicating a graphical structural hierarchy regarding the object. The class hierarchy information 30 is referenced and managed by the class hierarchy management section 3 in order to realize the inheritance function by the class hierarchy. The structural hierarchy information is composed of bidirectional links between upper objects and lower objects on the structural hierarchy, and lower objects can hold links to multiple objects, and are referred to by the structural hierarchy management unit 4. managed. Structure hierarchy management section 4
By managing the structural hierarchy information 32 indicating the structural hierarchy on the graphic related to the above-mentioned object, it is possible to manage the relationship of the structural hierarchy on the graphic, regardless of the class hierarchy information 31, and the conventional attribute inheritance function You can freely create links to objects regardless of the

FIG. 4 is a flowchart relating to the process of inserting a new object into the hierarchical structure of a building layout diagram, which is realized by the present invention. The procedure for inserting an object is to first check 33 whether the inserted object has an upper object on the structural hierarchy, and if there is an upper object, set a structural hierarchy link between the inserted object and the upper object 34. Next, it is checked whether there are any subordinate objects to the inserted object (35), and if so, a structural hierarchical link is set between one of them and the inserted object (36), and any subordinate object for which no structural hierarchical link is set is set. Repeat step 36 as long as there are any files, and end the process 37 when structural hierarchical links have been set for all.

Next, the concrete management status of the structure hierarchy management section 4 will be explained. FIG. 5 shows the realization of a structural hierarchy of a building layout diagram according to the present invention. Although FIG. 8 described in the conventional example is a diagram of class hierarchy links formed by the class hierarchy management unit 3, FIG. 5 is a diagram of structural hierarchy links formed by the structure hierarchy management unit 4. be. In the figure, 7 is an object representing the entire layout diagram, 8 is an object representing a room, 9 is an object representing in-room equipment, and 10 is a subtree representing the entire hierarchy below the in-room equipment. Here, the in-room equipment refers to the equipment inside the room, such as power outlets, lighting, and water equipment. 15 is an object representing a corridor, 25, 26
, 27, and 28 are structural hierarchical links indicating parent-child relationships in the structural hierarchy between objects. In the present invention, the structural hierarchy of the structural elements of a building in a layout diagram, such as a description of a room in the layout diagram and the presence of in-room equipment such as an outlet in the room, is
Layout diagram object 7 and room object 8
A structural hierarchical link 25 is created, and a structural hierarchical link 26 is created between the room object 8 and the room equipment object 9.
This is achieved by stretching the . The vertices of the entire subtree 10 of the hierarchy below the room equipment 9 are objects, and the edges are composed of structural hierarchical links. Here, when it is desired to newly insert a hallway into the layout diagram, the hallway is also a component in the layout diagram, and is a component on the same level as a room that has in-room equipment such as an outlet. To achieve this using a structural hierarchy, define a new corridor and create two structural hierarchy links 27 and 28 between the object 15 of the layout diagram and the object 9 of the room equipment. All you have to do is tighten it. At this time, no operations such as changes or searches are performed within the subtree in the structural hierarchy below the room equipment object. In addition, it becomes possible to use objects of the same class in the structural hierarchy below the room equipment for both hallways and rooms.

Example 2. In this second embodiment, a process of the present invention for changing a hierarchy, such as changing the depth level of a hierarchical structure, will be explained using figures. FIG. 6 shows an example in which an object of a class called a floor-by-floor layout diagram, which is not equivalent to any existing object, is incorporated into the structure hierarchy in the layout diagram shown in FIG. 5. In the figure, 7 is an object representing the entire layout diagram, 8 is an object representing a room, 9 is an object representing equipment in the room,
10 is a subtree representing the entire structural hierarchy existing below 9, 25 and 26 are structural hierarchical links, 38 is an object of a layout diagram for each floor, and 39 and 40 are structural hierarchical links for inserting 38.

In FIG. 6, the floor-by-floor layout diagram 38
When inserting into the structural hierarchy, this is achieved by newly extending the hierarchical structure links 39 and 40 between the object 7 and the room object 8 in the layout diagram, respectively, and deleting the hierarchical structure link 25. In this case as well, it is only necessary to replace the hierarchical structure links, and there is no need to change the class structure.

As described above, in the above two embodiments, in order to handle complex structural figure information composed mainly of partial figures having attribute information, the figure information storage section 6 is provided, and unit constituent figures are stored as objects. , a class hierarchy management unit 3 consisting of a structural genetic control unit 1 that inherits the structure of an object from the upper level to the lower level based on the upper-lower relationship of the class, and a procedural genetic control unit 2 that inherits the procedure related to the object from the upper level to the lower level; , a graphic information management system including a structure hierarchy management unit 4 that manages hierarchical relationships in the graphic structure of unit configuration graphics and an upper-lower relationship management unit 5 has been described.

As described above, the graphical information management method according to the embodiment of the present invention handles complex structural graphical information by not only using the object-oriented class hierarchy inheritance function to determine the inclusive hierarchical relationship on the graphical structure. , structure hierarchy management section 4
By providing this, the implementation of the class hierarchy and the implementation of the inclusive hierarchical structure of complex structural figures are separated, and operations such as changing and inserting classes to the tree structure of the inclusive hierarchical structure can be handled flexibly.

[0021] In the above embodiment, the graphic information management method was explained as an example, but the present invention is not limited to the graphic information management method, and other object information management methods may be used. Therefore, the structure hierarchy management section 4 in the above embodiment is an example of an instance object management section that manages the hierarchical relationship of instance objects based on the superior-subordinate relationship of instance objects, and the structure information is an example of instance objects. .

[0022]

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, when intermediate unit information in a tree structure showing a hierarchical structure of superior-lower relationships is changed, information on intermediate units that exist below the changed intermediate unit information is It is possible to provide a flexible object information management method for operations such as changes and insertions by making only the minimum necessary changes without modifying or reconfiguring the entire subtree of an object.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a control section, a management section, and a storage section necessary for realizing a graphic information management system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of a graphic information management system to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a data structure necessary to implement the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the processing flow of the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing the realization of a structural hierarchy of a building layout diagram in an embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing realization of a structural hierarchy of a building layout diagram in another embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a control unit, a management unit, and a storage unit necessary for a graphic information management method in the prior art.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram illustrating realization of a building layout diagram using a class hierarchy inheritance function in an embodiment of the prior art.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Structural genetic control unit 2 Procedural genetic control unit 3 Class hierarchy management unit 4 Structural hierarchy management unit (an example of an instance object management unit) 5 Upper-lower relationship management unit

Claims (1)

[Claims] Claim 1: An object information management system having the following elements: (a) an object information storage unit that stores objects that have classes and have attribute information such as structure and procedures; (b)
) A class hierarchy management unit that inherits the attribute information of an object from the upper level to the lower level based on the upper-lower relationship of the object class; (c) The upper level of the instance object.
An instance object hierarchy management unit that manages a hierarchy of instance objects based on subordinate relationships.