Software Dependency Analysis via Build Instrumentation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Large software systems with complex architectures face challenges in managing dependencies and maintaining modular and hierarchical structures, leading to issues like unmanageable sub-systems, incomprehensible cross-cutting concerns, and sporadic build failures due to unclear or highly coupled chains of interdependencies.
Innovation Solution
A computer-implemented method and system that identifies and reports illegal dependencies among software components by analyzing metadata and actual dependence relationships, using tools like LD_PRELOAD libraries to log file creation and access, and instrumenting build processes to capture and visualize dependency information, thereby enforcing architectural rules and promoting modular and hierarchical organization.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If software systems are composed of millions of entities connected in many ways to achieve functionality, then the system's capability and versatility improve, but the architectural complexity and difficulty of maintenance worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the software system into software components with explicit metadata declarations. Each component's dependencies are broken down into explicit metadata fields that declare intended relationships, separating the complex web of connections into manageable, declarable units that can be analyzed and enforced independently.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces metadata as an intermediary layer between software components and their dependencies. This metadata acts as a mediator that explicitly declares intended dependency relationships, allowing the system to manage complexity by inserting a structured representation layer that mediates between actual component interactions and architectural rules.
2Ease of repair
If modular architectures with formal boundaries are employed to separate internal environments, then independence and maintainability of components improve, but the difficulty of detecting and measuring actual dependencies worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary action by instrumenting the build process to capture actual dependency information before the software components are fully integrated. Dependency information is collected and recorded during the build process itself, allowing dependencies to be detected and analyzed before they cause integration problems.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements feedback by comparing declared metadata dependencies with actually observed dependencies from build process instrumentation. This feedback loop identifies discrepancies between intended and actual relationships, allowing the system to detect illegal dependencies and enforce architectural rules based on real behavioral data.
3Ease of operation
If hierarchical structures with directed acyclic graphs are used to organize components, then control and comprehension improve, but the loss of information about actual runtime dependencies increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges hierarchical metadata-based dependency declarations with actual runtime dependency observations from build process instrumentation. By combining these two sources of dependency information, the system maintains the comprehensibility of hierarchical structures while capturing complete runtime dependency data that would otherwise be lost.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary action by capturing dependency information during the build process before runtime execution. This allows the system to record actual dependencies early in the software lifecycle, preserving information about runtime behavior without requiring complex runtime instrumentation that would complicate the hierarchical structure.
Data Source
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AI summary
An interrelated set of tools and methods are disclosed for recording the identity of software components responsible for creating files, recording the identity of software components that access software files, reasoning about the dependency relationships between software components, identifying and reporting undesirable dependencies between them, and reporting other useful information about a large-scale software architecture by instrumenting a software build process or test process.