JPH0792774B2 - Relationship display method for multiple processes - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Outline] The present invention relates to a relation display method of a plurality of processes for displaying a relation of cooperative operation between a plurality of processes in a software development environment of a control computer system, and a program of a computer system including a plurality of computers. In order to prevent the occurrence of bugs in the development environment and improve efficiency, a 3D display is performed using a time axis for each process that executes a large number of functions, and points that correspond to the time when messages are sent and received between processes. It is displayed by a line connecting the lines, and a three-dimensional display corresponding to an arbitrary input position and viewpoint is performed.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a relationship display method for a plurality of processes in a control computer system in which a plurality of processes are executed in parallel and messages are communicated between the processes.

In recent years, computer systems for performing various processes using a large number of distributed computers have come into use. For example, there are online office processing systems, computer systems for automated factory control, and control of power generation and distribution.

When a large number of such computers are connected and processing is performed while maintaining mutual communication, many programs for executing the functions of those individual computers have been developed, but those multiple computers have been developed. There are many processes that need to work together.

For example, when connecting a computer that controls a large number of power plants and transmission / distribution stations to a central computer,
When a failure occurs at a certain power plant, a series of processing contents to be executed are sequentially instructed to a large number of other computers in response to a failure message from the control computer at the occurrence location. There is a need.

In this way, multiple processes that are executed in parallel in multiple computer systems need to be closely associated with each other. If this is incorrect (due to a program error), the system developed will not operate normally. Disappear.

On the other hand, in recent years, attempts have been made to regard a system composed of a plurality of computers as an integrated mega computer (system consisting of many processors) and directly program it. The problem with this program is the coordination between computers, the individual actions are not important, and such programming is called "programming in large".
The programming of each individual computer is called "programming in small".

This latter one is similar to current programming,
A conventional programming environment is sufficient. However, the former programming-in-large is not established even with a satisfactory concept, and there is almost no environment that supports the description of software for parallel computing in earnest.
It is difficult to program highly parallelized algorithms neatly. Therefore, it is desired to propose a programming environment for supporting the description of real-time operation of a large number of interconnected computers.

[Prior Art] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a general concept of multitask processing.

The text is basically a one-dimensional character string, as shown in FIG.
It is intended to describe one process, as shown in A. Therefore, it is difficult to write (represent) parallel processing only by text. This is because the parallel process has a two-dimensional spread as shown in B. of FIG.

When synchronization is required between parallel processes, it is necessary to consider the temporal context, but as an example of the conventional parallel process relation display, it is drawn as a two-dimensional figure as shown in C. of FIG. In this case, the relationship between the plurality of processes A to C is displayed by sending and receiving a message (indicated by an arrow).
As described above, in the multitask processing program, messages are exchanged between processes, and the computer activates the corresponding task when a message arrives.

Here, the above-mentioned terms are used in the present specification to have the following meanings. That is, "process" represents one program unit, and "message"
Is a combination of instructions and data, and a "task" is an execution type program unit driven by receiving a message, and is terminated by sending a message or by self-sufficiency. A task is a program that executes and processes a process.

In the example of C in FIG. 4, the number of processes and the number of messages are small, but when the number is large, the message line crosses a number of blocks displaying the processes, and it is difficult to grasp the temporal correlation. Can not.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] As described above, the conventional method has a problem in that it is difficult to display a relationship between processes in a multi-computer including a strict time position.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a method of displaying a relationship between a plurality of processes in a program development environment of a multi-computer system, which allows a user to easily understand the relationship between programs including a large number of processes.

[Means for Solving the Problems] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the principle of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, 1 to 4 are a plurality of parallel processes, 5 is a message, 10 is a process (task), 12 is a succession, 13 is a block diagram, and 14 is a timing chart.

The present invention solves the above problem by adopting a three-dimensional representation as a visual environment in a software development environment, and each process has a predetermined area and spreads over a time axis ( Displayed in the form (with volume), 3
The time axis represented by the dimensional depth is used to display the synchronization relationship between processes sent and received between processes, and the message connects the sending time position of the sending task and the message receiving time position of the receiving task. Express with a line.

[Operation] In the principle explanatory diagram of FIG. 1, a plurality of parallel processes 1 to
Reference numeral 4 is a three-dimensional representation in which the time axis X is the depth and the volume is constant.

And a message 5 sent and received between multiple processes
Is displayed by a line connecting the transmission time position and the reception time position. In this figure, a plurality of processes 1 to 4 are
Tasks are activated one after another by messages, and here a connection by such messages is called a succession.

By making such a display, when viewed from the X-axis direction, a block diagram 13 is obtained on the YZ plane, and the display of the block diagram facilitates the exchange of messages and the relationship between processes. It can be understood. On the other hand, looking at the three-dimensional display perpendicular to the X axis, X-Z
You can see the timing chart 14 on the plane. According to this timing chart 14, it is possible to see the timing of process synchronization, that is, the time position of message transmission / reception, which could not be seen by the block diagram display on the YZ plane.

In this way, displaying multiple processes in three dimensions has the same effect as displaying both the block diagram and timing chart at the same time. By performing the display viewed from different angles, it is possible to separately view the two processes which are viewed overlapping at a certain angle by changing the viewpoint.

Based on such a principle, the present invention can three-dimensionally display a plurality of processes and simultaneously express both a block diagram and a timing chart of the processes. In addition, it is possible to understand the structure of the succession and the context of the plurality of successions by viewing the display.

[Embodiment] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a display form of an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 shows a hardware configuration example in which the present invention is implemented.

In FIG. 2, 20 to 27 are a plurality of processes, 28 to 33 are messages, A, B, D, and G representing the cross section of each process represent a task with a short execution time. Between C-E, between F-H, between I-J, etc., each represents a task with a long execution time.

In the display form of FIG. 2, a plurality of processes are displayed as prisms, and each prism is three-dimensionally displayed at a predetermined interval, and the viewpoint position is the process in the left and right directions.
On the left side of the 20-23 prism, process 2 as the up and down direction
It is between 2,23 prisms. In addition, it is natural that the process can be expressed by another shape such as a cylinder. Further, the line representing the message may be not only a straight line but also another line such as a curved line, and it is possible to display them by changing their colors.

According to this figure, messages 28 and 29 are sent from task B, task A and tasks CE (occur at the time of C, E
Task that ends at point) is started, and task D
Then, a series of operations such as task F-H being activated by messages 30 and 31 can be understood.

By using such a display, it is possible to confirm a strict synchronization relationship in the software development environment. In the same manner, the relational display of a plurality of processes can be understood by this three-dimensional display. In addition, this 3
The three-dimensional display graphic changes to a different display corresponding to the viewpoint by inputting the viewpoint position from the input device, and the block diagram between processes and the timing chart can be viewed from each viewpoint.

Next, FIG. 3 shows a hardware configuration diagram for implementing the present invention.

The configuration shown in FIG. 3 is for performing three-dimensional graphic processing by the workstation.

In FIG. 3, 30 is a workstation, 31 is a processing device, 32 is a display device, 33 is a mouse, and 34 is a keyboard.

In the processing unit 31 of the workstation 30, 311 is a CP
U and 312 are process management data consisting of processes, tasks, message data, data representing mutual relationships, etc., a memory storing a program for performing three-dimensional graphic processing, and display data which is the processed result. Is provided with a display memory 313.

A mouse 33 and a keyboard 34 are provided as input devices, and the mouse 33 is used for inputting left and right (up and down) of the viewpoint position, and the keyboard 34 can input names such as tasks and messages. When inputting the viewpoint position,
Specifically, a menu (for example, "Right" or "Left") for selecting the viewpoint position is displayed on a part of the display screen, and the viewpoint position is input by clicking the display position with the mouse. Is done.

To summarize the operation of the configuration shown in FIG.
The process management data stored in 312 is processed by a preloaded 3D graphic processing program, and the processed 3D display data is stored in the display memory 313. The contents stored in the display memory 313 are transferred to the display device 32 and displayed. 3
A program that has been practically used can be used as a program for performing the three-dimensional figure processing.

If you want to change the displayed content, or if you want to change the viewpoint to know the process relationships, use the mouse 33 or keyboard 34.
By operating.

In this way, it is possible to easily grasp the execution state of a succession, which is a task connected by messages, and it is possible to strictly see the context of other successions.

[Effects of the Invention] According to the present invention, in a multitask program development environment, by displaying a plurality of processes in a three-dimensional figure, it becomes possible to directly grasp the relationship between the processes, and in the program development. It is possible to prevent the occurrence of an error and improve the efficiency of program development including a large number of parallel processes.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the principle of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a display form of an embodiment, FIG. 3 is a hardware configuration diagram for implementing the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a general concept of multitask processing. FIG. In Fig. 1, 1-4: Multiple parallel processes 5: Message 10: Process (task) 12: Succession 13: Block diagram 14: Timing chart

Continuation of the front page Application for application of Article 30 (1) of the Patent Act Published in "THE USA-JAPAN SYNPOSIMON ON FLEXIBLE BLE AUTOMATION" held in the United States on July 18th and 20th, 1988 (1988) PR OCEEDINGS oF tHE USA-JAPA N SYMPOSIUM oN FLEXIBLE A UTOMATION CROSSING BRIDGE S: ADVANCES iN FLEXIBLE AU TOMATION AND ROBOTICS VOL UME 1 "(tHE AMERICAN SOCIE TY oF MECHANICAL ENGINEER S issued) paper during the" SOFTWARE ENVIRO NMENT FOR HOLONIC MANIPUL ATOR ] "Is announced.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In a software development environment of a multi-computer system in which messages are communicated between processes, a plurality of parallel processes are arranged apart from each other, and each of them has a fixed area and a columnar 3 having a time axis as a depth. A relational display method for multiple processes, which is displayed as a dimensional figure, and the message transmission / reception between processes is displayed by connecting lines at the time of occurrence / end of related tasks.