Appeal No. 95-5061
Application 07/825,979
parallel computer processes and computer simulation models of
parallel process systems, particularly to dynamically animating a
computer-based simulation model on a display for purposes of
controlling, observing and debugging the executing simulation
model or the parallel process system itself.
Independent claims 1 is reproduced as follows:
1. A method of animating a system having parallel processes
for the purpose of debugging the system, the system being modeled
as a hierarchical collection of directed process execution
graphs, said graphs representing sub-models of the system and
having collections of nodes and arcs, and the parallel processes
as transactions, the nodes indicating manipulation of physical or
logic resources or other process steps in a transaction's life,
and the arcs indicating paths along which transactions may flow
from one node to another; the method comprising the steps of:
(a) executing a computer process having parallel
execution threads representing parallel processes in a
system;
(b) selecting one of the execution threads for
animation of preselected events during the execution
thread, the execution thread being represented by a
transaction in a model of the system, the model
including one or more hierarchial directed process
execution graphs representing one or more sub-models of
the system;
(c) animating the selected execution thread on a user's
display screen by displaying a graph in which the
transaction is located, moving a symbol on the
displayed graph representing the single transaction
along arcs connecting nodes to which the transaction
flows, and terminating animation of the selected
execution thread when the transaction is blocked by the
occurrence of a predefined event;
(d) displaying user-defined inspection data on said
2
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007