Patent ID: 8230393
Filing Date: 2012-07-24
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
1. A method executed by a hardware data processor for automatically capturing metadata using a template model, the method comprising: assembling a template model for automatically capturing metadata during one or more stages of a lifecycle of an application, wherein said template model includes a description and a source of said metadata at a particular stage of said lifecycle; wherein said template model further includes a stage field for indicating said particular stage of said lifecycle, an item field for describing said metadata pertaining to said particular stage, a type field for identifying a datatype of said metadata, a specific source field for directly identifying a specific source of said metadata, an indicative field for analyzing one or more source clues for indirectly capturing said metadata, a source list field for identifying a source of said one or more source clues, an analyzer reference field for indicating a path to an executable fragment for deriving a metadata value when used in conjunction with said one or more source clues, a default value field for recording a default metadata value when an ability is not present to derive said metadata value is present, and a default reason field for recording a cause for said inability to derive said metadata value; identifying a current stage of said life cycle from among conception stage, research stage, modeling stage, creation stage, and maintenance stage; the hardware data processor reading a section of said template model associated with said current stage to receive said metadata associated with a unique label in said template, wherein said section of said template model is identified by said unique label associated with said current stage, wherein each stage contains a mixture of specific values and clues that can be exploited to populate the metadata that is known to be required for an application, and the template model makes explicit the specific values that are to be captured and the clues that are to be analyzed; automatically capturing said metadata associated with said current stage; and communicating said captured metadata to said application.