Industrial IDE Node-Based Merge for Collaborative Project Consistency
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current industrial automation systems face challenges in seamlessly merging collaborative edits made by multiple developers on industrial projects, often resulting in merging errors, loss of work, and manual intervention requirements due to the complexity of comparing and integrating text-based project changes.
Innovation Solution
An industrial integrated development environment (IDE) system that compares and merges project changes based on abstract model descriptions using dedicated type comparison and combining algorithms, automatically resolving conflicts and ensuring consistency without manual intervention.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If text-based project changes are merged using conventional methods, then merging process is simple, but merging errors and loss of work occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary representation layer (abstract syntax tree or model description) between the original text-based project files and the merging process. This intermediary structure enables semantic understanding of project elements, allowing the system to accurately identify corresponding nodes, detect conflicts, and merge changes reliably without directly manipulating raw text files.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical text-based comparison and merging system with a model-based system that uses structured representations of project elements. Instead of comparing text strings character-by-character or line-by-line, the system compares structured model descriptions, enabling intelligent conflict detection and resolution while maintaining system complexity at an acceptable level.
2Productivity
If manual intervention is used to resolve merging conflicts, then merging precision is high, but productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a self-service merging system that automatically resolves conflicts between collaborative edits without requiring manual intervention. The system uses the structured model description to automatically identify corresponding nodes, detect conflicts, and apply merging rules, enabling seamless collaborative development while maintaining operational simplicity for users.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent incorporates feedback mechanisms where the system continuously monitors the merging process, detects conflicts automatically, and applies resolution strategies based on the model structure. This feedback loop enables the system to handle complex merging scenarios autonomously, improving productivity without sacrificing operational simplicity.
3Reliability
If abstract model descriptions are used for comparison, then merging accuracy improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the project file structure into discrete model descriptions or abstract syntax trees that represent individual project elements and their relationships. This segmentation enables precise comparison of specific nodes rather than entire files, improving merging reliability while keeping the system architecture manageable through modular processing of individual model elements.
Data Source
AI summary
An industrial integrated development environment (IDE) supports collaborative development of industrial projects, such as human-machine interface applications, industrial controller programs, device configurations, or other such projects. Rather than merging edits by comparing text representations of the edited projects on a line-by-line basis, the system expresses the edited and base versions of the system project as unified information models that represent the project versions as hierarchical organizations of nodes representing elements of the project, and compares corresponding nodes of the information models to obtain differential statuses for the nodes. The various versions of the nodes are then merged into a single consistent model based on the differential statuses of the nodes.