3D Integrated Development Environment for Software Layer Visualization
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional Integrated Development Environments (IDEs) struggle to effectively organize and display the complexity of software applications with layered architectures, leading to errors and increased development costs due to the inability to clearly represent and manage multiple models and layers.
Innovation Solution
Microgen Aptitude 3D provides a 3D representation of software layers and models, allowing users to rotate and view them from any angle, with features like zooming, panning, and the ability to create bespoke views, along with a 2D viewer for efficient editing, to manage complexity and visualize dependencies between models.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If conventional 2D folder or tree structures are used to organize source code files, then the organization works to some degree for homogeneous files, but it fails to provide effective organization for multiple models and layers in layered architecture
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from traditional 2D folder/tree structures to a 3D spatial representation where models and layers are organized in three-dimensional space. This allows models to be positioned along multiple axes, with layers stacked vertically and models arranged horizontally, providing intuitive spatial organization that naturally handles the complexity of layered architectures without requiring complex navigation through nested folders.
2Loss of information
If hundreds or thousands of source code files are managed in a Viewer, then all components can be seen, but the structure of the project becomes difficult to visualize and manage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the large number of source code files into logical groups representing different models and layers. Each model is represented as a distinct visual element in the 3D space, and layers are separated vertically. This segmentation allows the Viewer to display hundreds or thousands of files by organizing them into manageable model-level abstractions, where each model encapsulates related files and dependencies, making the overall project structure visible and navigable.
3Productivity
If graphical models are used to represent processes and rules, then complex applications can be created without traditional programming, but the visualization of dependencies and relationships becomes challenging
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the visualization of models with their dependency relationships in a unified 3D representation. Models are positioned in space according to their relationships, with connecting lines or spatial proximity indicating dependencies. This integration allows users to see both the graphical models themselves and their interconnections simultaneously, making it easy to detect and understand dependencies without requiring separate visualization tools or complex traceability matrices.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of creating a software application using an integrated development environment, IDE, running on a computing device having at least a processor, a memory, a display device and an input device. The method includes retrieving from the memory and providing on the display device a number of graphical elements each representing at least one operation to be performed on data. The method further includes enabling a user of the computing device to select and arrange at least some of the graphical elements on the display device using the input device. The method includes enabling the user to arrange graphical links between the selected graphical elements, wherein the selected graphical elements and the graphical links together form one or more graphical models of a process to be performed on data by the software application, and displaying in the IDE a 3D representation of the graphical model or models.