JPS62197826A - Production of system flow specifications - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To produce automatically the system flow specifications by storing previously the documents of specifications of the existing software in a computer system and designating the work function together with an existing program and a file name used for production of a system flow to back up the selection of a user. CONSTITUTION:The changed data flow specifications are stored by a data flow specification store function 17. While a data specification store function 18 stores the existing or newly produced data specifications. In addition, a program specification store function 27 and a system flow parts store function 8 store the existing programs specifications and the existing system flow specifications respectively. When the system flow specifications are newly produced, the subject data flow specifications are first selected by a work function selecting function 20. Then the work function written on the data flow specifications. A using input/output program designating function 21 selects automatically the file name, the slip name, etc. that are written on the data flow specifications to be used by the corresponding work function.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Industrial application field] The present invention relates to a system flow specification generation method.

In particular, the present invention relates to a system flow generation method suitable for developing a system flow specification for new software that reflects the specification information of the existing software when developing new software by changing existing software.

[Conventional technology]

,Conventionally, in order to efficiently develop software, we have gone from a data flow specification that expresses the relationship between business functions to a system flow specification that shows the realization of the information processing corresponding to the business functions described therein.

In other words, specifications that indicate a group of programs that implement each business function, their execution order, files used, etc. are automatically generated by selecting and combining standardized system flow components, and this can be adapted to user requests as necessary. There is also a method of creating a system flow specification by manually modifying it (for example, see Japanese Patent Application No. 60-224021).

In the method described above, a system flow specification is generated that includes an entirely new program name, program execution order, and new file names.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

The above method has few problems when developing completely new software.

However, when developing software by modifying existing software, it becomes necessary to develop system flow specifications that include existing program files and program execution means that reflect them.

In this case, in the conventional method as described above, the automatically generated system flow specification may be changed, such as the program name, file name, etc. contained therein, or in some cases,
It is also necessary to manually change the program execution procedure and add or delete program files.

Therefore, the number of man-hours required for the change was large, and there was a high possibility that specification inconsistency would occur and reliability would decrease.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems in the conventional system flow generation method and automatically generate a system flow specification including existing software programs, files, etc. The objective is to provide a system flow specification generation method.

[Means for solving problems]

The above object of the present invention is to select and select system flow components from a data flow specification that expresses the relationship between functions of software, to create a system flow specification that expresses the relationship between programs and files that realize the functions described in the specification. In the system flow specification generation method that is generated by modification and combination,
a data flow specification constituting the specification of the software;
File specifications, form specifications, program specifications, etc., and specification-related information that shows the relationship between specification information included in these specifications are accumulated in a computer system, and existing files and forms that should be included in the system flow specification created using the specification-related information are stored in a computer system. , supports specification information search and specification of programs, etc.
A system flow specification generation method that supports the selection of an appropriate system flow component based on specified specification information, and also modifies the program name, file name, etc. written in the selected system flow component. achieved by.

[Effect]

The present invention is based on existing software specification documents such as data flow specifications, file/form specifications, etc.
Program specifications, business functions included in these, usage relationships between programs and files/forms, specification-related information (network) such as hierarchical relationships between business functions or programs, etc. are accumulated in the computer system, and the data flow described above is When generating a system flow detailing a specific business function included in the specifications, the system supports the user's selection by specifying the business function as well as the existing program and file name to be used.

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a specification reuse system suitable for applying the present invention.

In the figure, 1 is a central processing unit including a memory, 2 is a terminal, and 3 is a file memory. The central processing unit 1 stores system specifications for each function that makes up the specification reuse system (data flow specifications, file specifications, form specifications, etc.).
It includes creation functions, system flow creation functions, program specification creation functions, program creation functions, specification-related information generation functions, etc.

Further, the terminal 2 is used to select each function within the central processing unit 1 and to interact with the user in selecting and modifying specifications to be modified. The file memory 3 stores specification information included in the specifications of the target software, a database that stores specification information, standard system flow components, standard program components, and the like.

FIG. 1 is a schematic functional configuration diagram of a specification reuse system that implements an embodiment of the present invention.

What this configuration diagram means is that it shows the process flow shown in the center, a situation in which input from the user is also accepted on the left side, and the exchange of data with the specification database 5 on the right side. be.

In the figure, 2 indicates the dialogue skills of the system users as mentioned above, and 5 indicates the system specifications of the target software: data flow specifications, data specifications (form specifications, file specifications, etc.), system flow specifications, and program specifications. and a specification database that stores specification related information indicating the relationship between the specification information contained therein, and exists in the file memory 3.

Also, in step 6, select the system specification to be changed.

New system specification accumulation function 7 that will be modified through dialogue and will be described later
This is a system specification selection/modification function that outputs to . Reference numeral 7 denotes a new system specification storage function that temporarily stores revised new system specifications, thereby updating the system specifications in the specification database 5.

8 is a standard system flow component storage function that stores standard system flow components used when creating a new system flow specification. 9 is a system flow that creates a system flow specification corresponding to the business function described in the data flow specification in the new system specification in the new system specification storage function 7, and outputs it to the new system flow specification storage function 10, which will be described later. This is a creation function.

The above system flow specifications can be created by selecting, modifying, combining, etc. the standard system flow components of the standard system flow components accumulation function 8, or by using the specification database 5.
This is done by changing the existing system flow specifications within.

A new system flow specification storage function 10 temporarily stores the new system specification created by the system flow creation function 9, and thereby updates the system flow specification in the specification database 5.

11 is for each program described in the new system flow specification in the new system flow specification storage function 10,
This is a program specification creation function that creates a new program specification and outputs it to a new program specification storage function 12, which will be described later.

The creation of the new program specifications is also based on the program and its input/output described in the new system flow specifications in the program specification creation function 11, by adding and specifying the name of the program parts to be used from the terminal 2, and creating the program specifications. This is done by creating the program specifications or by modifying the existing program specifications in the specification database 5.

A new program specification storage function 12 temporarily stores the program specifications created by the program specification creation function 11, thereby updating the program specifications in the specification database 5.

Reference numeral 13 denotes a standard program parts storage function that stores standard program parts used when creating a program. 14 is the standard program component ?14 based on the program specifications in the new program specification storage function 12? This is a program creation function that selects, combines, and modifies program parts in the 9-product function 13 to create a program, and outputs the program to a new program storage function 15, which will be described later.

15 is a new program storage function that stores created programs. 16 analyzes the system specifications, system flow specifications, and program specifications in the specification database 5, and indicates the specification information described therein: business functions, programs, files, forms, etc., and the usage relationships therebetween, two-layer relationships. The specification database 5 generates specification related information.
This is a specification-related information generation function that is output to.

FIG. 3 is a detailed functional configuration diagram of the system flow creation section in the above embodiment, and corresponds to function 9 shown in FIG. 1.

In the figure, 17 indicates a data flow specification accumulation function, which is a component of the new system specification accumulation function 7 shown in Fig. 1, and stores at least one data flow specification that is the target of system flow specification creation. do.

Reference numeral 19 is a part of the specification database 5 shown in FIG. 1, and is a specification-related information storage function that accumulates specification-related information. 20 to 25 are components of the system flow creation function 9 shown in FIG. 1, and are parts that create system flow specifications.

Reference numeral 20 denotes a business function selection function that selects a corresponding data flow specification from the data flow specification storage function 17 and further selects a specific business function described therein.

Reference numeral 21 is an input/output program specification function for specifying files, forms, programs, etc. used for system slowdown to realize the business function selected by the business function selection function 20, and is used by business functions corresponding to data flow specifications. Then, there is a form written on it.

Automatically select files, etc. Furthermore, using the specification-related information stored in the specification-related information generation function 19, existing programs, files, forms, etc. that are closely related to this business function in terms of hierarchy, usage, etc. are displayed on the terminal 2, and the user can see them. Have them choose from.

22 is a system flow component selection function that selects at least one system flow component corresponding to the business function selected above. This process not only determines the number of files and forms used by this business function, but also the control patterns and files of the programs used.

Data specification storage function 18. This is done by obtaining the program specifications from the program specification storage function 27 and selecting an appropriate system flow component from the standard system component storage function 8.

23 is a system flow component modification function that modifies each system flow component selected by the system flow component selection function 22. This process is.

In addition to replacing the name written in the system flow component in advance with the program name, file name, and form name to be used, the name written in the system flow component is replaced based on the attributes of the control pattern of the program used, the file used, etc.
Other programs.

It is used to reduce or add files.

24 combines the system flow components modified by the system flow component modification section 23 to create one system flow specification, and stores the system flow specifications in the new system flow specification storage section 1.
This is a system flow component combination function that outputs to 0. This process is performed by commonizing the intermediate files that are the start and end points written in each modified system flow component.

25 modifies the new system flow specification in the new system flow specification storage function 10 or the existing system flow specification in the existing system flow specification storage function 26 through dialogue with the user using the terminal 2, and creates the final version. The new system flow specification is stored in the above new system flow specification accumulation function 10.
This is a system flow specification correction function that outputs to .

Note that the above data specification accumulation function 18. Existing system flow specification accumulation function 26. The program specification accumulation function 27 is
They are part of the specification database 5, and the data specification storage function 18 stores data specifications such as file specifications and form specifications, and the existing system flow specification storage function 26 stores existing system flow specifications.

The program specification storage function 27 stores existing program specifications.

The operation of this embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 3.

The specification database 5 includes in advance system specifications and system flow specifications of existing software.

Program specifications and specification-related information are accumulated.

The specification related information is generated by the specification related information generation function 16,
System specifications, system flow specifications.

One is created in advance by analyzing the specification information included in the program specifications.

The general operation of creating software by modifying the existing software specifications stored in the specification database 5 is as follows.

First, by system specification selection/modification function 6.

The system specifications of the software to be modified: data flow specifications and data specifications (file specifications, form specifications, etc.) are selected from the specification database 5, modified through dialogue, and output to the new system specification storage function 7. The system specifications in the specification database 5 are updated based on the system specifications output to the new system specification storage function 7.

Next, the system flow creation function 9 creates a system flow specification corresponding to the business function described in the data flow specification created in the new system specification storage function 7, and outputs it to the new system flow specification storage function 10. . This operation is performed by modifying the existing system flow specifications stored in the specification database 5 or by selecting, modifying, and combining standard components in the standard system flow component storage function 8.

The system flow specifications in the specification database 5 are updated based on the system flow specifications output to the new system flow specification storage function 10.

Next, the program specification creation function 11 creates each program specification described in the system flow specifications in the new system flow specification storage function 10 and outputs it to the new program specification storage function 12. This process is also performed by modifying the system flow specifications stored in the specification database 5, or by modifying the system flow specifications stored in the new system flow specification storage function 10. etc., by inputting them from the terminal 2.

The program specifications in the specification database 5 are updated according to the program specifications output to the new program specification storage function 12.

Finally, in the program creation function 14, a program is created by selecting and modifying the standard program parts in the standard program parts storage function 13 based on the program specifications in the new program specification storage function 12. Output.

At any point in the above process, the specification-related information generation function 16 updates the specification-related information in the specification database 5, thereby making it possible to search for specification-related information using current information.

The above is an explanation of the overall operation of the specification reuse system.Next, the operation of the system flow specification creation function 9, which is the main point of this embodiment, will be explained in more detail based on FIG. .

The data flow specification accumulation function 17 accumulates changed data flow specifications, and the data specification accumulation function 18
Existing or newly created data specifications (file specifications, form specifications, etc.) are stored in . In addition, the program specification storage function 27 includes:

Existing program specifications and existing system flow specifications are stored in the system flow storage function 8, respectively.

When creating a new system flow specification, first, a target data flow specification is selected using the business function selection function 20, and then a business function described in the data flow specification is selected.

Next, the used input/output/program specification function 21 automatically selects the file name, form name, etc. that are described in the data flow specification as being used by this business function, and the specification-related information M product function 19 automatically selects the file name, form name, etc. The user is presented with candidates for programs, files, and forms that are presumed to be closely related to the function, and the existing files, forms, and forms used by this business function are displayed.
Select a program.

In the system flow component selection function 22, in order to create a system flow specification corresponding to the business function selected above, the existing programs, files,
Appropriate system flow components are selected based on the number of H votes and residence.

The system flow component modification function 23 changes the program name, file name, etc. written in each system flow component selected by the system flow component selection function 22 to the existing program name specified by the input/output/program specification function 21. , file name, etc., and based on the control pattern of the existing program, the attributes of the existing file, etc.
Reduction of other programs and files in system flow parts.

Make additions.

The system flow component combination function 24 combines the system flow components modified by the system flow component correction function 23 to create a system flow specification, and outputs the system flow specification to the new system flow specification storage function 10.

Furthermore, if necessary, system flow specification modification function 25
Accordingly, the system flow specification in the new system flow specification storage function 10 is modified through dialogue with the user, and the completed system flow specification is set in the new system flow specification storage function 10.

When creating a system flow specification by modifying an existing system flow specification, select the existing system flow specification from the existing system flow specification storage function 26 and share it with the user using the system flow specification correction function 25. It is corrected through the dialogue and output to the new system flow specification storage function 10.

As described above, according to this embodiment, by using the existing software specification information stored in the computer system,
It is now possible to automatically generate system flow specifications that include existing software programs, files, etc., which improves the efficiency of creating system flow specifications for new software and improves reliability. .

Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention. The difference between this embodiment and the previously shown embodiment is that in this embodiment, system flow components are selected, modified, and combined. When generating the system flow specifications, it is possible to accumulate information on the system flow components used and the characteristics of the created specifications, and it is also possible to change the selection logic of the components used and the components themselves, so that they are closer to the user's requirements. The main point is that it supports the creation of system flow specifications.

In Fig. 4, symbols 1 to 3 indicate the same components as shown in Fig. 2, and 4A indicates the system flow summary specification (
A card reading device that inputs parts, etc., such as system flow detailed specifications (hereinafter simply referred to as ``detailed specifications'') and system flow specifications (hereinafter simply referred to as ``detailed specifications'').

Reference numeral 4B indicates a printer for outputting the characteristic analysis results of the detailed outline specifications that have generated inappropriate detailed specification parts.

FIG. 5 is a functional configuration diagram for explaining the operation of this embodiment having the above configuration. In the figure, numeral 31 indicates a file memory that stores registered general specifications, 32 a file memory that stores detailed specification component selection logic, and 33 a file memory that stores detailed specification components.

34 uses the detailed specification component selection logic retrieved from the file memory 32 to the main memory to select the file memory 3.
This is a detailed specification parts determination function that analyzes the characteristics of the general specifications in 1 and determines detailed specification parts to be used for generating detailed specifications.

35 selects the detailed used parts determined by the detailed specification parts determination function 34 from within the file memory 33, corrects them based on the general specification information, and - automatically generates detailed specifications corresponding to the general specifications; This is a specification generation function.

A file memory 36 stores the detailed specifications generated above, and a file memory 37 stores the detailed specifications in the file memory 36 on the terminal 2.
This is a detailed specification modification function that can be modified according to user requests. Further, 38 is a file memory that stores the detailed specifications created by the detailed specifications correction function 37 described above.

39 indicates a file memory in which the characteristics of the detailed specifications created by the detailed specifications correction function 37 are stored;
0 is the name of the detailed specification part used to generate the detailed specification,
It shows the file memory that is stored together with the generated detailed specification name. Further, numeral 41 is a part that stores the characteristics of the outline specifications used to create the detailed specifications, together with the generated detailed specification name and the detailed specification part name used for generation.

42 modifies the automatically generated detailed specifications for each detailed specification component stored in the file memory 33 for each detailed specification stored in the file memory 39 to create detailed specifications that meet the user's requirements. Calculate the amount of modification to create the file memory 4, and
Detects those that are less than the amount of modification from the detailed specifications automatically generated using the actually used detailed specification parts obtained from 0, that is, those created with inappropriate detailed specification parts. This is an inappropriate parts selection detailed specification extraction function.

In addition, 43 is the inappropriate parts selection detailed specification extraction function 42.
This is an inappropriate parts selection summary specification characteristic extraction function that detects the characteristics of the summary specification that generated the detailed specifications detected in , and outputs an analysis list to the printer 4B.

The operation of this embodiment configured as described above will be explained below.

It is assumed that detailed specification component selection logic is registered in advance in the file memory 32 and a plurality of detailed specification components to be selected are registered in the file memory 33 using the card reading device 4A.

When creating detailed specifications from the general specifications, the user inputs the general specifications from the card reading device 4A, stores them in the file memory 31, and uses the stored general specifications to send the detailed specifications to the detailed specification parts determination function 34. Generation function 35.
A detailed specification is created in the file memory 38 using each function of the detailed specification correction function 37.

Detailed specification parts determination function 34. Detailed specification generation function 35
is an automatic generation unit for detailed specifications. The detailed specification parts determination function 34 uses the detailed specification parts selection logic taken out from the file memory 32 to analyze the characteristics of the general specification taken out from the file memory 31 and determines the detailed specification parts to be selected.

Then, the name of the selected detailed specification part is stored in the file memory 40 together with the detailed specification name to be generated,
The general specification name is stored in the file memory 41 together with the selected detailed specification part name and the detailed specification name to be generated.

The detailed specification generation function 35 transfers the detailed specification parts determined by the detailed specification parts determination function 34 to the file memory 3.
3, and based on this information and the information of the general specification, modifications such as changing the information name included in the detailed specification are performed, and the detailed specification is generated and output to the file memory 36.

Further, the detailed specifications modification function 37 modifies the detailed specifications in the file memory 36 through dialogue via the terminal 2, and outputs the detailed specifications that meet the user's request to the file memory 38. The name of the created detailed specification and the characteristics of the detailed specification are output to the file memory 39.

After repeatedly executing the function of creating detailed specifications from the above-mentioned general specifications for an arbitrary period of time, the user obtains from the printer 4B a list obtained by analyzing the usage information accumulated in the file memories 39 to 41, thereby solving the problem. By updating appropriate detailed specification component detection logic and the detailed specification component itself, it is possible to reduce the number of man-hours required to modify automatically generated detailed specifications.

This procedure is shown below.

The inappropriate component selection detailed specification extraction function 42 sequentially extracts the detailed specifications accumulated in the file memory 39, and extracts the detailed specifications stored in the file memory 39 for each extracted detailed specification.
For all detailed specification parts in 3, the amount of correction for creating each of the above detailed specifications from the detailed specification parts automatically created from this is calculated and retrieved from the file memory 40.
If there is a detailed specification with a small amount of modification from the actually generated detailed specification, the inappropriate detailed specification part is selected and the created detailed specification is extracted.

The inappropriate parts selection summary specification characteristic extraction function 43 detects from the file memory 41 the characteristics of the summary specification used to create each detailed specification extracted above,
This is analyzed and a list is output to the printer 4B indicating what characteristics the detailed specifications parts having inappropriate general specifications are to be selected.

The user looks at this list, checks whether the part selection logic or detailed specification parts are inappropriate in the usage situation of the user, and uses the card reading device 4A to select the detailed specification parts in the file memory 32. The logic or the detailed specification component itself in the file memory 33 is updated.

This makes it possible to select appropriate detailed specification parts,
Using this, it is possible to reduce the effort required to modify the generated detailed specifications and create detailed specifications that meet the user's requirements.

As described above, according to this embodiment, it is easy to change the selection logic of detailed specification parts and the detailed specification parts themselves, which are used to automatically generate detailed specifications from summary specifications, and to select appropriate detailed specification parts. Since the detailed specifications used can be automatically generated, the effort required to create detailed specifications that meet the user's requirements is reduced, and the productivity of creating software specifications is improved.

Next, software specifications such as data flow diagrams representing the flow of data between software functions and system flow diagrams representing the flow of data and control between programs are used when editing the software specification information as described above. A document editing method that is effective for improving the efficiency of document editing when displaying a document on a display device and modifying it through interaction will be described.

Conventionally, some of the above-mentioned document editing systems have a function of automatically arranging specification elements.

However, conventional automatic placement functions do not interpret the meaning of specification information, so while it is possible to automatically arrange specification information in a beautiful shape, it is not possible to distinguish the main specification information from other information. could not.

Therefore, in order to display the relationships between the main specification information in an easy-to-understand manner, the automatically created specification document had to be manually corrected.

The following explanation eliminates the need for such manual correction, and provides a diagram of the data flow accumulated in the computer system.
A method that enables specification information in a specification document, including network-type specification information such as system flow diagrams, to be output by automatically arranging the main information and other information in a format that is easy to distinguish. The key point is to prepare a dictionary in which specification information names such as function names, program names, and file names written in specification documents such as data flow diagrams and system flow diagrams are registered, and in this dictionary, each specification information name and its importance are recorded. are registered in advance, and before arranging the specification information, refer to the above dictionary for each specification information to obtain the importance information, and arrange items with large relative importance as linearly as possible. The purpose is to enable output in an emphasized form such as.

This will be explained in detail below.

FIG. 6 is a schematic functional configuration diagram of the specification document editing system. This system can be realized by a computer system as previously shown in FIG. 2, and the explanation here will be based on the computer system as described above.

In FIG. 6, 51 is a specification database that stores information on specification documents that express specification information in network-type forms such as data flow diagrams and system flow diagrams. memory 3
is part of.

2A is a keyboard for specifying a modification target from the specification document in the specification database 51, and is a part of the terminal 2 shown in FIG. 2 or 4.

Reference numeral 52 searches the specification database 51 for modification target specification document information specified by the keyboard 2A, and executes a modified specification document information temporary storage function 5, which will be described later.
This is a specification document search function that outputs to 3.

Reference numeral 53 denotes a modified specification document information temporary storage function that temporarily stores the modification target specification document information searched by the above-mentioned specification document search function 52. This function is composed of information indicating the logical configuration of specification information and information indicating the physical location on the terminal display.

54 is the above-mentioned change specification document information temporary storage function 53
This is a function to display specification documents such as data flow diagrams and system flow diagrams on the display 2B based on the information. The display 2B is a part of the terminal 2 shown in FIG. 2 or FIG. 4.

2C is also a part of the terminal 2, and the display 2
This is a keyboard for giving instructions to add, delete, change the layout, etc. to the specification document displayed in B. The keyboard 2C can be the same as the keyboard 2A.

Reference numeral 55 denotes a specification document change function that changes the specification document information in the changed specification document information temporary storage function 53 in response to instructions from the keyboard 2C.

56 is the specification information name used for the software specification;
This is a specification importance dictionary in which the importance levels are registered. If the instruction from the keyboard 2C requires automatic placement, the importance of each specification information is searched by referring to the specification importance dictionary 56, and the physical placement is determined based on it. Then, the information update process in the changed specification document information temporary storage function 53 is performed.

57 is the above-mentioned change specification document information temporary storage function 53
This is a specification document database update function that updates the specification document information in the specification database 51 with the revised specification document information in the specification document information.

FIG. 7 is a functional configuration diagram showing details of the specification document changing function 55.

In the figure, 58 and 59 are components of the changed specification document information temporary storage function 53, 58 is a part that stores specification logic information including the relationships between multiple pieces of specification information included in the specification document, and 59 is a part that stores specification logical information including relationships between multiple pieces of specification information included in the specification document. This is a part that stores specification layout information indicating the display position of each specification information on the terminal display.

Reference numerals 60 to 63 are components of the specification document changing function 55, and 60 is a part that analyzes a command to change the specification document instructed from the keyboard 2C.

Further, 61 is a non-automatic placement command processing unit that updates the contents of the changed specification document information temporary storage function 53 with a command that does not involve automatic placement, analyzed by the command analysis unit 60, and the specification logical information storage unit 61. 58
or the contents of the specification arrangement information storage section 59, or both.

Examples of commands processed by the non-automatic placement command processing unit 61 include commands for moving individual pieces of specification information to positions designated by the user, commands for changing the names of specification information, and the like.

Reference numeral 62 indicates the specification logic information storage unit 5 according to a command with automatic placement specified by the command analysis unit 60.
This is an automatic placement command processing unit that updates the contents of 8.

63 is the designation of the automatic placement command processing unit 62;

A specification automatic placement unit that determines the physical placement of the specification information on the display based on the updated specification logic information of the specification logic information storage unit 58 and updates the contents of the specification placement information storage unit 59; It has a function of determining the physical arrangement of the specification information by using information on the importance of the specification information in the specification importance dictionary 56.

The automatic placement command processing unit 62 and the automatic specification placement unit 63
Examples of commands processed by the above include addition of specification information, deletion of specification information, replacement of relative positions, and the like.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing further details of the specification automatic placement section 63 shown in FIG. 7.

In the figure, 64 to 66 are respective constituent elements, and 64 indicates the degree of importance for each specification information to be automatically placed in the specification logic information storage section 58, which is determined by the automatic placement command processing section 63. , is a specification importance dictionary search unit that searches the specification importance dictionary 956.

Default importance is given to specification information that is not registered in the specification importance dictionary 56.

Reference numeral 65 denotes a specification fishing report relative importance calculation unit which calculates relative importance for each specification information to be automatically placed, based on the importance obtained by the specification importance dictionary search unit 64.

In addition, 66 is an optimal position for arranging important specification information in a straight line within the constraints of the screen range, based on the importance of specification information to be automatically placed, obtained by the specification importance dictionary search unit 64. This is a specification information placement determining unit that calculates the above information and updates a portion of the specification placement information in the specification placement information storage unit 59 that is subject to automatic placement based on this information.

The operation of this system configured as described above will be explained below.

First, the general operation of modifying a specification document will be explained based on FIG.

The specification database 51 stores software specification document information in advance. When modifying a specification document, the user specifies the specification document to be modified using the keyboard 2A, and the specification document search function 52 Specified specification document information is searched from the specification database 51 and stored in the changed specification document information temporary storage function 53. The accumulated specification document information is displayed on the display 2B by the specification document display function 54.

The user instructs to change the specification document using the keyboard 2C, and the specification document change function 55 updates the contents of the changed specification document information temporary storage function 53 based on this instruction. The updated specification document is displayed on the display 2 by the specification document display function 54.
It is displayed on B.

Above specification document change function 55. Repeat the process by the specification document display function 54.

When the change of the specification document information in the changed specification document information temporary storage section 53 is completed, the specification document database update function 57 updates the original specification in the specification database 51 based on the information of the changed specification document information temporary storage function 53. Update documentation.

Next, the operation of the specification document change function 55 in FIG. 6 will be explained in detail based on FIG. 7.

The command analysis unit 60 analyzes commands input from the keyboard 2G and sorts them into commands that involve automatic placement processing of specification document information and those that do not.

In the case of a command that does not involve automatic placement, the non-automatic placement command processing unit 61 stores specification logic information storage 58. Specification placement information storage section 59
Update the contents of.

In the case of a command that requires automatic placement, the automatic placement command processing section 62 updates the contents of the specification logic information storage section 58 according to the type of command, and then the automatic specification placement section 63 updates the contents of the specification logic information storage section 58 according to the type of command. Command processing section 62
The specification information within the correction range determined by is extracted by the automatic placement command processing unit 62, and the specification information placement is optimized using the specification importance dictionary 56. Based on this result, the specification information placement is The contents of the information storage section 59 are updated.

Next, the detailed operation of the specification automatic placement section 63 shown in FIG. 7 will be explained based on FIG. 8.

The specification importance dictionary search unit 64 obtains the information from the automatic placement command processing unit 62. Information on the degree of importance for each piece of specification information in the specification logical information storage section 58 included in the automatic placement range is obtained by searching the specification importance dictionary 56. Default importance is given to specification information that is not registered in the specification importance dictionary 56.

The specification information relative importance calculation unit 65 calculates the relative importance of the specification information within the automatic placement range based on the importance obtained above.

In addition, the specification information placement determining unit 66 calculates the optimal placement position, such as arranging important specification information in a straight line, based on the relative importance information calculated above, and based on this information, the specification information Of the specification placement information in the placement information storage section 59, the portion to be automatically placed is updated.

According to the above process, when editing a specification document that expresses specification information in a network format, such as a data flow diagram or a system flow diagram, the main specification information and its relationships are automatically arranged in a form that is easy to distinguish from other information. This makes it possible to output to a display or printer, thereby making it possible to efficiently create an easy-to-understand specification document.

It is easy to distinguish between the main information and other information in the specification information in the specification document, including the specification information in the form 1 to work such as data flow diagrams and system flow diagrams stored in the computer system mentioned above. The method that enables automatically arranging and outputting in a certain shape can not only be used in combination with any of the embodiments of the present invention shown above, but also be used independently from the present invention. Even when used, it is sufficiently effective.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to automatically generate system flow specifications including programs, files, etc. of existing software by using specification information of existing software accumulated in a computer system. This has the remarkable effect of improving the efficiency of creating system flow specifications for new software and improving reliability.

In addition, as shown in the second embodiment, when generating system flow specifications by selecting, modifying, and combining system foot parts, it is possible to store information on the system flow parts used and the characteristics of the created specifications. In order to support the creation of system flow specifications that are close to the user's requirements, 1. Change the logic for selecting detailed specification parts and the detailed specification parts themselves, which are used to automatically generate detailed specifications from overview specifications. This makes it possible to automatically create detailed specifications using appropriate detailed specification components, further reducing the effort required to create detailed specifications that meet user requirements and increasing the productivity of software specification creation. This has the effect of further improving.

Furthermore, the specification information in the specification document, including network-type specification information such as data flow diagrams and system flow diagrams stored in the computer system, as explained at the end,
A method that allows main information and other information to be automatically arranged and output in an easily distinguishable form can be used in combination with any of the embodiments of the present invention described above. Even when used alone, it is sufficiently effective.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a schematic functional block diagram of a system showing an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a block diagram of a specification reuse system suitable for application of the present invention, and Fig. 3 is a main part of the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram showing the details of the system flow creation unit, FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram thereof, and FIG. 6 is a schematic functional diagram of the specification document editing system. FIG. 7 is a functional configuration diagram showing details of a specification document changing function, which is a main part thereof, and FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram showing further details of the specification automatic placement section shown in FIG. 7. 1: Central processing unit, 2: Terminal, 3: File memory, 5
: Specification database, 6: System specification selection/modification function, 7: New system specification accumulation function, 8: Standard system flow parts accumulation function, 9 system flow creation function, 10:
New system flow specification accumulation function, 11 Niprogram specification creation function, 12: New program specification accumulation function, 13: Standard program parts accumulation function, 14 Niprogram creation function, 15: New program accumulation function, 16: Specification related information generation function. Patent applicant Masatoshi Isomura, patent attorney representing Hitachi, Ltd. -1 Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 4 Figure 3 Figure 5 Figure 6

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) From a data flow specification that expresses the relationship between software functions, to a system flow specification that expresses the relationship between programs and files that realize the functions described in the specification.
In the system flow specification generation method that is generated by selecting, modifying, and combining system flow components, data flow specifications, file specifications, and
Specification-related information showing the relationship between form specifications, program specifications, etc. and the specification information included in these specifications is accumulated in a computer system, and the specification-related information is used to identify existing files, forms, programs, etc. that should be included in the system flow specification to be created. Supports specification information search and specification, supports the selection of appropriate system flow components based on the specified specification information, and corrects program names, file names, etc. written in the selected system flow components. A system flow specification generation method characterized by: (2) From a data flow specification that expresses the relationship between software functions, a system flow specification that expresses the relationship between programs and files that realize the functions described in the specification.
In the system flow specification generation method that is generated by selecting, modifying, and combining system flow components, data flow specifications, file specifications, and
Specification-related information showing the relationship between form specifications, program specifications, etc. and the specification information included in these specifications is accumulated in a computer system, and the specification-related information is used to identify existing files, forms, programs, etc. that should be included in the system flow specification to be created. It supports specification information search and specification, and supports the selection of an appropriate system flow component based on the specified specification information, as well as the selection logic of the system flow component and the characteristics of the data flow specification used when creating the system flow specification. The system flow component selection logic and the system flow specification itself are updated according to usage conditions by accumulating system flow component names and created system flow specification characteristics and analyzing the accumulated information. System flow specification generation method.