JPH10105389A - Method and device for supporting software designing - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide the software design supporting method and software design support device which can easily and accurately determine class structure and restriction conditions and easily perform the synthetic transitional design of the whole system with good visibility, and have the synthesis on objects of the whole system. SOLUTION: When an object-oriented data base is designed, a class structure is graphically described in a class structure display area 105 by an interactive editing means 103, instances which can be generated from the class structure by an instance generating means 101 are all listed in an instance display area 106, and on the basis of the listed instances, restriction conditions are given to the class structure interactively by the interactive editing means 103; and a class structure detailing means 104 narrows down the instances to make the class structure detail.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a database, G
General-purpose integrated CASE (Computer Aided) supporting program development including UI (Graphical User Interface)
The present invention relates to a software design support method and a software design support apparatus for graphically designing and producing application software.

In particular, when designing an object-oriented database, the class structure and constraints can be easily and accurately determined. The present invention relates to a software design support method and a software design support device which can easily and easily perform a uniform transition design with good visibility and can make objects of the entire system uniform.

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventional software design support methods and software design support devices are disclosed in, for example,
There is a "GUI application program design support system" disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2022863.

In this GUI application program design support system, a first event setting object for setting switching of window display, such as erasing a link source window and displaying a link destination window, is used for prototyping an application program. A simulated environment setting object for creating a simulated window such as a simulated database, a procedure setting object for setting the operation of the application program user and the operation of each window, and a highlighting such as blinking a linked window. A second event setting object for setting is provided to enable flexible and detailed prototyping of the overall operation of the GUI, and to efficiently support the design of the GUI program.

As a conventional CASE tool for designing a database such as an object-oriented database, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-274386 discloses a "window-based database operation application development system" and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-334565 discloses a "CASE tool". Database information visualization AP development support system "and" Object schema definition device "in JP-A-7-182146.

[0006]

In the design of such a conventional object-oriented database, there is a technique for visually inputting a class structure, constraint conditions, and the like. However, in order to determine the class structure and the constraints, the state of the instance that can be generated must be assumed. In the above-described conventional software design support method and software design support apparatus, the class structure and the constraints are determined. There were problems that operation was difficult and lacked certainty.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-202863 discloses a "GUI application program design support system" characterized by providing a first event setting object for setting a link of a screen (object). It is also important to understand the overall transition state and perform a unified design in the design of the software. In the conventional software design support method and software design support device described above, even if the link can be set, There is a problem that it is not possible to grasp a transition state.

Further, as described in "GUI application program design support system" in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-202863, a screen, buttons,
Although individual attributes of an object such as a text display area can be defined, there is a problem that related information between objects cannot be sufficiently handled.

Further, in the actual screen design, several similar screens are created, and the arrangement of buttons is determined so that the system has uniform operability. In the design support apparatus, the arrangement information is merely the connection relation between the coordinates of each object and the adjacent objects, and there is a problem that it is difficult to make the objects of the entire system uniform.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and when designing an object-oriented database, enumerates all the instances that can be generated and assists in determining a class structure and constraints. , Class structure,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a software design support method and a software design support device capable of easily and accurately determining a constraint condition.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a software design that can be designed with emphasis on the entire transition state in addition to the setting of individual links, and that can perform a uniform transition design of the entire system with good visibility and easily. An object of the present invention is to provide a support method and a software design support device.

[0012] Still another object of the present invention is to provide GU information in sequence information.
A software design support method that combines the meanings of I-parts and the constraints of arrays resulting from the meanings, performs automatic placement of GUI parts, verifies the order of arrangement, and provides uniformity to objects throughout the system And a software design support device.

[0013]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a software design support method for graphically designing and producing application software. In designing, a first step of graphically describing a class structure for the object-oriented database and all instances that can be generated from the class structure obtained in the first step are enumerated, and based on the enumerated instances, A second step of interactively applying constraints to said class structure;
Repeat the second step to refine the class structure by narrowing down the instances.
And steps.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a software design support apparatus for graphically designing and producing application software on output means including a class structure display area and an instance display area. In doing so, interactive editing means for graphically describing a class structure for the object-oriented database in the class structure display area and all instances that can be generated from the class structure described in the class structure display area are generated. Based on the instance generating means enumerated in the instance display area and the instances enumerated in the instance area, the interactive editing means applies constraints to the class structure and narrows down the instances by It is intended to and a class structure refinement means for refining the class structure.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a software design supporting method for graphically designing and producing application software, wherein a class structure for the object-oriented database is designed when the object-oriented database is designed. A first step of graphically describing, and a second step of enumerating all instances that can be generated from the class structure obtained in the first step and selecting a necessary or unnecessary instance from the enumerated instances And a third step of automatically specifying or interactively specifying a constraint on the class structure based on the result of selecting the instance in the second step; and repeating the third step to refine the class structure And the fourth step It is.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a software design support apparatus which graphically designs and manufactures application software on output means including a class structure display area and an instance display area. In doing so, interactive editing means for graphically describing a class structure for the object-oriented database in the class structure display area and all instances that can be generated from the class structure described in the class structure display area are generated. A required or unnecessary instance is selected from the instances listed in the instance area via the instance generating means listed in the instance display area and the interactive editing means, and based on the result of the instance selection. The constraints on the serial class structure automatically identify or interactively specified, it is intended to and a class structure refinement means for refining the class structure.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the software design supporting method according to the first or third aspect, when the instance is generated in the second step, the instance is specified by specifying a partial composite class. To generate.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the software design support apparatus according to the second or fourth aspect, wherein the instance generation means specifies a partial composite class when generating the instance. Is generated.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a software design support method for graphically designing and producing application software on output means including a GUI (Graphical User Interface) screen transition diagram display area and a code display area. Creating a GUI screen transition diagram as a user interface from the source code or intermediate code created by the user, and displaying the created GUI screen transition diagram in the GUI screen transition diagram display area to list the transitions of the GUI And a step of editing a GUI screen transition diagram on the GUI screen transition diagram display area, wherein the source code or the source code that generated the intermediate code and the GUI
The state with the screen transition diagram is reflected on each other.

According to a eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a software design support apparatus for designing and producing application software graphically on output means including a GUI (Graphical User Interface) screen transition diagram display area and a code display area. , A screen transition diagram of a GUI serving as a user interface is created from a source code or an intermediate code created by a user,
GUI screen transition diagram creation means for displaying on the UI screen transition diagram display area, and a GUI on the GUI screen transition diagram display area
An editing unit for editing a screen transition diagram is provided, and the state of the source code or the source code that generated the intermediate code and the state of the GUI screen transition diagram are reflected on each other.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the software design support method according to the seventh aspect, wherein the GUI screen transition diagram is represented by only characters, only icons (images), or characters. And an icon (image).

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the software design support apparatus according to the eighth aspect, wherein the GUI screen transition diagram includes an expression using only characters, an expression using only icons (images), or a character. And an icon (image).

The software design support method according to the eleventh aspect provides a GUI (Graph Graphic) as a user interface.
hical user interface), and in a software design support method for designing and producing application software graphically, the information of the GUI parts has the meaning of each GUI part and the constraints of the array derived from the meaning. G from the GUI part information
The automatic placement of the UI parts, the verification of the arrangement order, and the like are performed.

Further, the software design support apparatus according to the twelfth aspect provides a GUI (Graph Graphic) as a user interface.
h. User Interface), a GUI design tool that graphically designs and manufactures application software, a GUI component creation means for generating individual GUI component codes with reference to a semantic database of GUI components, and a GUI The individual GUI semantic information having both the meaning to be fulfilled and the array constraints resulting from the semantics, and the GUI semantics from the individual GUI semantic information.
An arrangement control means for automatically arranging the I parts, verifying the arrangement order, and the like.

According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a software design supporting method according to the first, third, fifth, seventh, ninth or eleventh aspects of the present invention. It is possible to select the case of performing in a batch.

According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a software design supporting device according to the second, fourth, sixth, eighth, tenth, or twelfth aspect of the present invention. It is possible to select the case of performing in a batch.

[0027]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an outline of a software design support method and a software design support apparatus of the present invention, and an embodiment of a software design support method and a software design support apparatus of the present invention will be described [Embodiment 1], [Example 2], [Example 3], [Example 4],
Embodiment 5 will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[Outline of Software Design Support Method and Software Design Support Apparatus of the Present Invention] FIG. 1 shows a software design support method according to claims 1, 3 and 5 of the present invention and a software design support method according to claims 2, 4 and 6. It is a principle explanatory view of a design support device.

In the software design support method according to the first aspect of the present invention and the software design support apparatus according to the second aspect, when designing an object-oriented database as shown in FIGS. In step S201), the interactive editing means 103 outputs the class structure for the object-oriented database to the output means 10
In the second step (step S203), an instance that can be generated from the class structure obtained in the first step S201 by the instance generating means 101 is an instance of the output means 102. All are listed in the display area 106, and the interactive editing means 1 is based on the listed instances.
03, the constraint is interactively given to the class structure, and in the third step (step S204), the class structure detailing means 104 executes the second step S203.
Is repeated to refine the class structure by narrowing down the instances.

In designing an object-oriented database, in order to determine the class structure and constraints, the state of the instances that can be generated must be assumed. In the present invention, all the instances that can be generated are By enumerating and supporting the interactive determination of the class structure and the constraint condition, it is possible to realize a software design support method and a software design support device capable of easily, accurately and in detail determining the class structure and the constraint condition.

In the software design support method according to the third aspect of the present invention and the software design support apparatus according to the fourth aspect, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 8, when designing an object-oriented database, first, a first step ( In step S801), the interactive editing means 103 outputs the class structure for the object-oriented database to the output means 10.
In the second step (step S803), the instance that can be generated from the class structure obtained in the first step S801 by the instance generating means 101 is an instance of the output means 102 in the second step (step S803). All are listed in the display area 106, and necessary or unnecessary instances are selected from the listed instances by the interactive editing means 103. Then, in the third step (step S804), the class structure detailing means 104 Second step S803
The constraints on the class structure are automatically or interactively specified on the basis of the result of the instance selection, and in the fourth step (step S805), the class structure refinement means 104 repeatedly performs the third step S804. The class structure is being refined.

As described above, when designing an object-oriented database, all the instances that can be generated are enumerated to support automatic or interactive determination of the class structure and the constraint conditions. A software design support method and a software design support device capable of easily, accurately and in detail making a decision can be realized.

In the software design support method according to the fifth aspect of the present invention and the software design support apparatus according to the sixth aspect, when the instance is generated by the instance generating means 101 in the second steps S203 and S803, the partial composite class Is specified to generate an instance.

When the class structure is complicated or huge,
Although it is sometimes difficult to understand even if all class structures are instances, in the present invention, a local, simpler model is selected by selecting a specific partial composite class and generating an instance within the range. In this case, it is possible to improve the ease of design, and as a result, it is possible to determine the class structure and the constraint conditions more easily, accurately, and in detail.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating the principle of a software design support method according to claims 7 and 9 and a software design support apparatus according to claims 8 and 10 of the present invention.

In the software design support method according to the seventh aspect of the present invention and the software design support apparatus according to the eighth aspect, as shown in FIG.
5 and graphically design application software on output means 903 including code display area 906.
When producing, the source code or the intermediate code 9 created by the user by the GUI screen transition diagram creating means 902.
01, a screen transition diagram of a GUI as a user interface is created, and G is displayed on the GUI screen transition diagram display area 905.
It is displayed as a list of UI transitions, and edited by the editing means 904.
When editing the GUI screen transition diagram on the GUI screen transition diagram display area 905, the source code or the source code that generated the intermediate code is displayed on the code display area 906, and the source code and the GUI screen transition diagram are displayed. State is reflected on each other.

In the design of a GUI screen (object), it is important to understand the entire transition state and to perform a unified design. However, in the present invention, in addition to setting individual links, the emphasis is placed on the entire transition state. Since the transition state of the entire system can be grasped, it is possible to realize a software design support method and a software design support apparatus capable of easily performing unified design in the system with good visibility.

In the software design support method according to the ninth aspect of the present invention and the software design support apparatus according to the tenth aspect, the GUI screen transition diagram is represented by only characters, only icons (images), or characters and images. Icons (images) are represented by a combined diagram. As a result, a unified design can be easily performed with better visibility.

In the software design support method according to the eleventh aspect of the present invention and the software design support apparatus according to the twelfth aspect, as shown in FIG.
01, when the individual GUI component codes 1104 are generated with reference to the GUI component semantic database 1103, the arrangement control means 1102 determines the meanings of the individual GUI components and the constraints of the arrangement resulting from the meaning. From the GUI semantic information 1105 that has
Automatic placement of parts, verification of arrangement order, etc. are performed.

As described above, in the GUI screen design, the arrangement information is made to have the meaning of the GUI component and the constraint condition of the array derived from the meaning, and the automatic arrangement of the GUI component, the verification of the arrangement order, and the like are performed. In addition, it is possible to design a system with uniformity of the entire system in the arrangement of components, the color scheme, and the like that come from the meaning.

In the software design support method according to the thirteenth aspect and the software design support apparatus according to the fourteenth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to select whether to reflect interactive operations interactively or batchwise. I have to.

In a conventional CASE tool or the like, interactive processing is performed when an interactive operation is performed. However, in the case where the arrangement is determined based on information of several parts as in the present invention, 1 is used.
It may be inconvenient if the processing starts interactively after each specification. For example, if the screen is redrawn many times and takes a long time,
It is necessary to handle a plurality of settings collectively, and so on. In the present invention, it is possible to select whether to proceed interactively or to perform batch processing later for each operation, so that the operability of the processing can be improved.

[Embodiment 1] FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure in a software design support method and a software design support apparatus (hereinafter, referred to as a CASE tool) according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The device configuration to which the software design support method of the present embodiment is applied and the configuration of the software design support device are basically based on the configuration of the means shown in FIG.

In FIG. 1, the CASE tool of this embodiment includes an output unit 102 including a class structure display area 105 and an instance display area 106, and a class structure for an object-oriented database.
05, a dialog editing means 103 graphically described;
An instance generating means 10 for generating all instances that can be generated from the class structure described in the class structure display area 105 and listing them in the instance display area 106
Class structure refinement means 104 which gives constraints to the class structure by the interactive editing means 103 and narrows down the instances based on the instances listed in the instance area 106 and the instance area 106.
Are provided.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing more specifically how the application developer creates a database using the CASE tool of this embodiment.

Here, as an example, when designing an object-oriented database of an organization (department, section, person, etc.) of a certain company, it is assumed that a class structure of the database is created.

A GUI-based editor as shown in FIG. 3 is assumed as an example of the interactive editing means 103 of the CASE tool of this embodiment. In the figure, reference numeral 301 denotes a class editor, which includes a class edit window (corresponding to the class structure display area 105) 311, command icons 312, and toolbars and menus 313. Also, 302
Denotes an instance editor, which includes an instance edit window (corresponding to the instance display area 106) 321 and a command icon 322. The graphical notation of the class structure conforms to OMT.

In FIG. 2, first, in step S201, the command (31)
2 etc.), and the class is described on the class edit window 311. The company organization object is "Company",
In the example of "department", "section", and "person", the graphical description of the class is as shown in FIG. In the figure, there are classes of company 401, department 402, section 403, and person 404.

Next, in step S202, the dialogue editing means 103 associates classes with each other and describes constraints and the like. FIG. 5 shows a class structure to which easily conceivable constraints are added. In the figure, straight lines 501a to 50a between rectangles
Reference numeral 3a denotes a relationship between the classes, and a straight line representing the relationship with black circles 501b to 503b represents a one-to-many relationship.

Next, in step S203, the instance generation means 101 displays all the instances that can be generated from the composite class on the instance edit window 321, and refers to the display to the class structure on the class edit window 311. To add constraints.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a part of an instance pattern that can be generated by the instance generating means 101 based on the class structure of FIG. From FIG. 6,
The organization chart that can be generated is known. In this case, the "person"
Is not represented. Also, "people" cannot concurrently serve different "sections". Therefore, a class structure is described as shown in FIG. 7 in order to add a constraint condition. In FIG. 7, straight lines 703a and 704a representing the relationship are added.
Note that the relationship of the straight line 703a is that black circles 703b and 70
3c indicates a many-to-many relationship.

Further, in step S204, step S
Step 203 is repeated to refine the class structure. When the pattern of the instance of the class structure in FIG. 6 is displayed, it can be seen that one “person” is also a part and belongs to “section”. Therefore, the relation between "department" and "person" and "section"
-Add the constraint that the association of "people" (other than those who are not concurrent) occurs selectively. By repeating such processing, the class structure is refined while checking the class structure and instances that can be generated from the class structure.

As described above, in the CASE tool of this embodiment, when designing an object-oriented database, all instances that can be generated are enumerated, and the class structure,
Since the interactive determination of the constraint condition is supported, the class structure and the constraint condition can be determined easily, accurately and in detail.

When a partial composite class is selected on the class edit window 311 in the above instance generation, an instance in the selected class structure is displayed on the instance edit window 321.
When the class structure is complex or huge, it may be difficult to understand even if all the class structures are instances, but in this way, select a specific partial composite class and generate instances within that range Thereby, a local and simpler model can be examined, and the simplicity of design can be improved.

[Second Embodiment] Next, FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining a processing procedure in a software design support method and a software design support apparatus (hereinafter referred to as a CASE tool) according to a second embodiment of the present invention. The apparatus configuration to which the software design support method of the present embodiment is applied and the configuration of the software design support apparatus are based on the configuration of the means shown in FIG. 1 as in the first embodiment.

Here, as in the first embodiment, when designing an object-oriented database of an organization (department, section, person, etc.) of a certain company, it is assumed that a class structure of the database is created. Also, the dialog editing means 103 of the CASE tool of the present embodiment is assumed to be a GUI-based editor as shown in FIG.

In FIG. 8, steps S801, S80
2 is a process similar to steps S201 and S202 in FIG.

Next, in step S 803, the class editing window 311 is
All instances that can be generated from the above composite class are displayed on the instance edit window 321, and unsuitable instances are deleted. In this case, from the list of instances shown in FIG. 6, a pattern that should not be generated is specified and deleted, or only a pattern that can be generated is selected. That is, grouping is performed for generation / non-generation.

Next, in step S804, restrictions on the class structure are inferred from patterns that should not be generated and added. For example, the pattern 6 of the instance in FIG.
When the deletion is designated as a pattern that should not generate 01, a one-to-many (two or more) constraint is added to the relationship between “section” and “person”. If it is not uniquely determined from the instance pattern, a screen for inquiring the user is displayed and the processing is performed interactively.

Further, in step S805, step S
The work of step 804 is repeated to refine the class structure. That is, the restriction of the class structure and the confirmation of instances are repeated, and the restrictions are gradually refined to define the class structure.

As described above, in the CASE tool of this embodiment, when designing an object-oriented database, all instances that can be generated are enumerated, and the class structure,
Since the automatic or interactive determination of the constraint condition is supported, the determination of the class structure and the constraint condition can be performed easily, accurately, and in detail.

Third Embodiment Next, FIG. 10 is a configuration diagram of a software design support method and a software design support apparatus (hereinafter, referred to as a CASE tool) according to a third embodiment of the present invention. The CASE tool of the present embodiment has a GUI as an interface and graphically supports application software design and production.

Referring to FIG. 10, the CASE tool of this embodiment includes a transition state display screen 1005 and a code display screen 1
A transition state diagram creation module 1002 that creates a transition state diagram of a GUI screen from the output unit 1003 including the 006 and the source code or the intermediate code 1001 created by the user, and displays a GUI transition list on the transition state display screen 1005. And the GUI on the transition state display screen 1005
An editing palette 1004 for editing the transition state diagram of the screen is provided.

At the time of editing, the code display screen 1006
Above source code and GU on transition state display screen 1005
The states in the transition state diagram of the I screen are reflected on each other.

In the transition state display screen 1005, it is necessary to reduce the size of each GUI screen in order to list the transition states. The method of displaying the transition state diagram of the GUI screen is the name assigned to each GUI. There are expressions using only (characters), expressions using only icons (compressed / reduced images), and expressions using a diagram combining a name (character) and an icon (compressed / reduced images).

In designing a GUI screen, it is important to understand the entire transition state and to perform a unified design. However, the CASE tool of this embodiment can design with emphasis on the transition state of the entire system. Since the transition state of the entire system can be grasped, a unified design in the system can be easily performed with good visibility.

[Embodiment 4] FIG. 11 is a block diagram of a software design support method and a software design support apparatus (hereinafter referred to as a CASE tool) according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention. The CASE tool of the present embodiment has a GUI as an interface and graphically supports application software design and production.

In FIG. 11, the CASE tool of this embodiment includes a GUI part semantic database 1103 and the G
A GUI component creation module 1101 for generating individual GUI component codes 1104 with reference to the semantic database 1103 of UI components,
In addition, individual GUI semantic information 1105 having the constraint condition of the array that comes from the meaning, and an array control module 1102 that performs automatic arrangement on the display means of the GUI component, verification of the arrangement order, and the like from the individual GUI semantic information 1105. Are provided.

In the conventional CASE tool for the same purpose, the GUI component creation module 1101 and the individual GUI component codes 1104 generated by the GUI component creation module 1101 are used.

Here, as an example, it is assumed that an input screen as shown in FIG. 12 is created. Such an input screen is used several times in one system.
That is, the order of the component 1203 (registered), the component 1204 (canceled), and the component 1205 (end) is the same.

Therefore, the semantic database 1 for GUI parts
103, the category is “Data entry screen”,
The meaning is “register data”, the label is “register”, and the array is “side-by-side. Leftmost” to register the existence of a GUI component. Next, the GUI component creation module 1101
Thus, the meaning is extracted from the meaning database 1103 and addressed to the component 1203 (registered). The information is stored in the individual GUI semantic information 1105.

Similarly, for the component 1204, the category is “data input screen”, the meaning is “clear input data area”, the label is “cancel”, and the array is “horizontal. Right next to registration”. Is assigned to the GUI semantic information 11 of the component 1204 (cancel).
05 is stored.

When displaying the defined component, the meaning is read by the array control module 1102 and the component 120
The component 1204 is arranged to the right of 3.

Further, similarly, the interval, color, etc. of the parts
If the information is registered in the semantic database 1103 of the parts and addressed to the semantic information of each part, these can be automatically set.

As described above, in the CASE tool of the present embodiment, in the GUI screen design, the meaning of the GUI component and the constraints of the array derived from the meaning are added to the array information to automatically arrange the GUI component. Since the verification of the arrangement order is performed, it is possible to design the arrangement of the components and the color scheme that have meaning from the viewpoint of uniformity of the entire system.

[Embodiment 5] In a conventional CASE tool or the like, an interactive operation is performed when an interactive operation is performed. However, as in the case of the CASE tool of the fourth embodiment, when an arrangement is determined based on information of several parts, etc. It may be inconvenient if the processing is started interactively every time one designation is completed.

Therefore, in the software design support method and software design support apparatus (hereinafter referred to as CASE tool) according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention, the reflection of the interactive operation can be performed interactively for each operation or later. It is possible to select whether to use batch processing.

FIG. 13 shows the G of the CASE tool of this embodiment.
FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example in a UI.

After the user inputs semantic information in the system by using the CASE tool of the fourth embodiment, the user can input information of related parts continuously by clicking a “continue setting” button 1305.
By pressing, the setting information is stacked. Also,
By pressing the “OK” button 1303 after the last setting, the stacked setting information is processed.

As described above, in the CASE tool of this embodiment, it is possible to select whether to proceed interactively or to perform batch processing later for each operation, so that the operability of the processing can be improved.

[0081]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention,
According to the software design support method and the software design support apparatus according to claim 2, when designing an object-oriented database, first, in a first step, a class structure for the object-oriented database is output by an interactive editing means. In the second step, all instances that can be generated from the class structure obtained in the first step by the instance generation means are listed in the instance display area of the output means. Based on the enumerated instances, interactive editing means gives interactive constraints to the class structure, and in the third step, the class structure detailing means repeats the second step to narrow down the instances of the class structure. And can be generated Since all instances are enumerated to support interactive determination of class structure and constraints, a software design support method and software design support device capable of easily, accurately and in detail determining a class structure and constraints are provided. can do.

According to the software design support method according to the third aspect of the present invention and the software design support apparatus according to the fourth aspect, when designing an object-oriented database, first, in the first step, the object is set by the dialog editing means by the interactive editing means. The class structure for the directional database is graphically described in the class structure display area of the output means, and then, in a second step, an instance that can be generated from the class structure obtained in the first step by the instance generation means is output to the output means. List them all in the instance display area,
A required or unnecessary instance is selected from the listed instances by the interactive editing means, and then the third
In the step, the constraint condition for the class structure is automatically specified or interactively specified by the class structure refinement means based on the instance selection result of the second step,
Further, in the fourth step, the third step is repeatedly performed by the class structure refinement means to refine the class structure. All instances that can be generated are enumerated, and the class structure and constraints are automatically or interactively displayed. Since the determination is supported, it is possible to provide a software design support method and a software design support device capable of easily, accurately and in detail determining a class structure and a constraint condition.

According to the software design support method according to the fifth aspect of the present invention and the software design support apparatus according to the sixth aspect, when an instance is generated by the instance generating means in the second step, a specific partial composite class is generated. Is selected, and an instance within the range is generated, so that a local, simpler model can be examined, design simplicity can be improved, and as a result, class structure, constraints It is possible to provide a software design support method and a software design support device capable of determining a condition more easily, accurately, and in detail.

According to the software design support method and the software design support apparatus of the present invention, the application software is graphically displayed on the output means including the GUI screen transition diagram display area and the code display area. When designing and manufacturing, the GUI screen transition diagram creating means creates a GUI screen transition diagram as a user interface from the source code or intermediate code created by the user, and displays the GUI transition diagram on the GUI screen transition diagram display area. Displayed as a list, and edited by GU
When editing the GUI screen transition diagram in the I-screen transition diagram display area, the source code or the source code that generated the intermediate code is displayed in the code display area, and the state between the source code and the GUI screen transition diagram is displayed. Are reflected in each other, so that the transition state of the entire system can be emphasized in addition to the setting of individual links, and the transition state of the entire system can be grasped. A software design support method and a software design support device that can be easily performed can be provided.

According to the software design support method according to the ninth aspect of the present invention and the software design support apparatus according to the tenth aspect, the GUI screen transition diagram is represented by only characters, only icons (images), or Since the characters and the icons (images) are represented by the combined diagram, a unified design can be easily performed with better visibility.

According to the software design support method of the present invention and the software design support apparatus of the twelfth aspect of the present invention, the GUI part creation means refers to the semantic database of the GUI parts to convert the individual GUI part codes. At the time of generation, the individual GUI
Automatic placement of GUI parts and verification of arrangement order are performed based on individual GUI semantic information that has the meaning of the parts and the constraints on the arrangement that comes from the meanings. Thus, it is possible to provide a software design support method and a software design support device capable of performing design with uniformity of the whole system.

According to the software design support method according to the thirteenth aspect of the present invention and the software design support apparatus according to the fourteenth aspect, it is possible to select between a case where the interactive operation is reflected interactively and a case where the operation is reflected in a batch. Since it is possible to provide, a software design support method and a software design support device having excellent operability of processing can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a principle explanatory diagram of a software design support method according to claims 1, 3 and 5 and a software design support device according to claims 2, 4 and 6 of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure in the software design support method and the software design support device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a GUI-based editor as a specific example of the interactive editing means of the CASE tool according to the first and second embodiments.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a graphical description of a class in the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a class structure in which a constraint condition that can be easily considered is added to FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a part of an instance pattern that can be generated by the instance generating means 101 based on the class structure of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a class structure refined in the first embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure in a software design support method and a software design support device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a principle explanatory diagram of a software design support method according to claims 7 and 9 and a software design support device according to claims 8 and 10 of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a configuration diagram of a software design support method and a software design support device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a configuration diagram of a software design support method and a software design support device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an input screen targeted by a fourth embodiment;

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a GUI of a CASE tool according to a fifth embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

101 Instance generating means 102 Output means 103 Interactive editing means 104 Class structure detailing means 105 Class structure display area 106 Instance display area 301 Class editor 302 Instance editor 311 Class editing window 312,322 Command icon 313 Toolbar, menu, etc. 321 Instance editing window 401 to 404 class 601 to 605 pattern of instance 901, 1001 source code or intermediate code 902 GUI screen transition diagram creation unit 1002 transition state diagram creation module 903, 1003 output unit 904 editing unit 1004 editing palette 905 GUI screen transition diagram display area 1005 Transition state display screen 906 Code display area 1006 Code display screen 1101 GUI component creation Means (GUI component creation module) 1102 array control means (array control module) 1103 GUI component semantic database 1104 individual GUI component code 1105 individual GUI semantic information 1201-1205 component 1301 display screen 1302 condition setting window 1303-1305 button ( parts)

Claims (14)

[Claims] In a software design support method for graphically designing and producing application software, when designing an object-oriented database,
A first step of graphically describing a class structure for the object-oriented database, and all instances that can be generated from the class structure obtained in the first step are enumerated, and based on the enumerated instances, Software design support, comprising: a second step of interactively providing a constraint condition; and a third step of repeating the second step to narrow down the instances to refine the class structure. Method. 2. A software design support apparatus for graphically designing and producing application software on output means including a class structure display area and an instance display area, when designing an object-oriented database, Interactive editing means for graphically describing a class structure in the class structure display area; and instance generating means for generating all instances that can be generated from the class structure described in the class structure display area and listing them in the instance display area. Class structure refinement means for restricting the class structure by the interactive editing means based on the instances enumerated in the instance area and refining the class structure by narrowing down the instances; A software design support device comprising: 3. In a software design support method for graphically designing and manufacturing application software, when designing an object-oriented database,
A first step of graphically describing a class structure for the object-oriented database, and all instances that can be generated from the class structure obtained in the first step are enumerated, and necessary or A second step of selecting unnecessary instances, a third step of automatically or interactively specifying constraints on the class structure based on a result of selecting the instances in the second step, and a third step of: 4th iteration to refine the class structure
And a software design support method, comprising: 4. A software design support apparatus for graphically designing and producing application software on output means including a class structure display area and an instance display area, when designing an object-oriented database, Interactive editing means for graphically describing a class structure in the class structure display area; and instance generating means for generating all instances that can be generated from the class structure described in the class structure display area and listing them in the instance display area. Required or unnecessary instance is selected from the instances listed in the instance area via the interactive editing means, and the constraint condition for the class structure is automatically specified or determined based on the instance selection result. And a class structure refinement means for interactively specifying and classifying the class structure. 5. The software design support method according to claim 1, wherein, when the instance is generated in the second step, an instance is generated by designating a partial composite class. 6. The software design support apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the instance generating means generates an instance by specifying a partial composite class when generating the instance. 7. A software design support method for graphically designing and producing application software on output means including a GUI (Graphical User Interface) screen transition diagram display area and a code display area, the source code or the intermediate code created by a user. Creating a GUI screen transition diagram as a user interface from the GUI, and creating the GUI screen transition diagram in the GUI screen transition diagram display area.
Displaying the I-screen transition diagram and listing the transition of the GUI; and editing the GUI screen transition diagram on the GUI-screen transition diagram display area, wherein the source code or the intermediate code is generated. A software design support method characterized by reflecting a state of a source code and a state of the GUI screen transition diagram to each other. 8. A software design support apparatus for graphically designing and producing application software on output means including a GUI (Graphical User Interface) screen transition diagram display area and a code display area, the source code or the intermediate code created by a user. A GUI screen transition diagram creating means for creating a GUI screen transition diagram serving as a user interface from the GUI, and displaying the GUI screen transition diagram on the GUI screen transition diagram display area;
Editing means for editing a UI screen transition diagram, wherein the software design support apparatus reflects the state of the source code or the source code that generated the intermediate code and the state of the GUI screen transition diagram. 9. The GUI screen transition diagram is represented by an expression using only characters, an expression using only icons (images), or an expression using a diagram combining characters and icons (images). 7. The software design support method according to 7. 10. The GUI screen transition diagram includes an expression using only characters, an expression using only icons (images), or
9. The software design support device according to claim 8, wherein the software design support device is represented by a diagram in which characters and icons (images) are combined. 11. A GUI as a user interface
(Graphical User Interface), in a software design support method for designing and manufacturing application software graphically, the information of the GUI parts has the meaning of each GUI part and the constraints of the array derived from the meaning. A software design support method for automatically arranging GUI parts and verifying the arrangement order based on the GUI part information. 12. A GUI as a user interface
(Graphical User Interface), a software design support device that graphically designs and manufactures application software, generates a GUI component code by referring to a semantic database of GUI components.
UI part creation means and the meaning of each GUI part,
In addition, there are provided individual GUI semantic information having an array constraint condition derived from the meaning, and array control means for automatically arranging GUI parts and verifying the arrangement order based on the individual GUI semantic information. Software design support equipment. 13. The software design support method according to claim 1, wherein a case where interactive operation reflection is performed interactively and a case where batch operation is reflected are selectable. . 14. The method according to claim 2, wherein the reflection of the interactive operation can be selected between interactively and batchwise.
Software design support device as described.