Graphical Programming Attribute Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Developers face inefficiencies in managing and navigating large numbers of data type structures and their relationships, leading to redundancy and difficulty in identifying and updating attributes across multiple applications, due to the lack of graphical representation and clear lineage in existing systems.
Innovation Solution
A graph-based approach is implemented to visually represent programming attributes, allowing for the efficient manipulation and editing of data type structures, with graphical interfaces that display relationships and lineage, enabling developers to manage and update attributes more effectively across multiple applications.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If developers manually manage data type structures in text files, then the system maintains simplicity in storage, but the complexity of managing and navigating relationships increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms the one-dimensional text file management into a two-dimensional graphical interface with nodes and edges. Data type structures are represented as nodes, and relationships are visualized as connecting edges, allowing developers to navigate complex relationships spatially rather than through linear text search and manual tracking.
2Device complexity
If developers manually track relationships between data type structures, then the system avoids complexity in representation, but time loss in identifying and updating attributes increases
Solution Approach 1:
The graphical interface provides immediate visual feedback when relationships are modified. When a developer edits a data type structure, the system automatically updates the graphical representation and highlights affected relationships, allowing developers to see the impact of changes instantly and update attributes across multiple applications more efficiently.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a graphical interface as an intermediary layer between the developer and the underlying data type structures. This intermediary automatically manages the complexity of tracking relationships, performing updates, and maintaining consistency across multiple applications, freeing developers from manual relationship management.
3Ease of manufacture
If data type structures are stored in separate text files, then the system maintains simplicity in storage organization, but redundancy in managing relationships across files increases
Solution Approach 1:
The graphical interface serves multiple functions simultaneously: it visualizes data type structures, displays relationships between structures, enables editing of attributes, and automatically manages updates across multiple applications. This multi-functional approach eliminates the need for separate tools and manual processes for each task.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the storage organization (text files) with the management interface (graphical representation) into a unified system. The graphical interface consolidates information from multiple text files into a single visual view, allowing developers to manage relationships across files without the redundancy of opening and cross-referencing multiple separate files.
Data Source
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AI summary
A computing system for representing information, the computing system including at least one processor configured to process information. The processing includes defining a data structure representing a hierarchy of at least one programming attribute for developing an application. The data structure is stored in a file to allow the data structure to be used by other data structures stored in other files. The processing also includes producing a visual diagram including a graphical representation of the data structure and a graphical representation of the file storing the data structure. The visual diagram also includes a graphical representation of a relationship between the data structure and another data structure and a graphical representation of a relationship between the file storing the data structure and another file storing the other data structure. The computing system also including an output device for presenting the visual diagram that includes the graphical representations of the data structure and file and the graphical representations of the relationship of the data structures and the relationship of the files.