Patent ID: 6978228
Filing Date: 2005-12-20
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
1. A method of performing a system reverse engineering process on an application system, which includes the steps of: gathering the entire application system that requires reverse engineering and identifying each development environment associated with the application system; and with the aid of a suitably programmed processing system, which is provided with a data base of object types in respect of which the nature, characteristics and properties are known and which fall in groups that include process or activity control elements, data management elements and interface elements, performing the steps of: identifying the object types, as determined by each development environment identified as being associated with the application system, that can serve as starting points from where an examination of the application system can be initiated; identifying entry points, in the form of object instances of object types identified to serve as starting points from where an examination of the application system can be initiated, for entering the system to carry out an examination of the system; examining from selected entry points the network structure forming the application system by tracking chains of nodes and links, each chain being tracked until the instance of a node that does not have a link or the return of the chain to a previously examined node, then reverse tracking the chain to a node from which another chain extends and selectively tracking said other chain and continuing the process until all the chains within the network structure have been tracked completely, the tracking of the chains including an examination of each node and each link in the network structure, to the extent that the nature, characteristics and properties of each node and each link can be associated with object types through analysis and understanding thereof, and gathering and recording all the information of each node and each link; and from the information gathered and recorded by the examination of the network structure forming the application system, formatting the information gathered into a form in which it represents the application system in a usable form.