Patent ID: 6192379
Filing Date: 2001-02-20
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
A computer system comprising:data processing means connected to:(i) memory means having a control program stored therein;(ii) a store;(iii) an input interface;(iv) an output interface; and(v) a reference store containing a plurality of pre-defined program components each having a plurality of fields, wherein each component has a field containing a label unique to that component and wherein at least one component has a field containing information defining a computation to be performed;wherein the data processing means are arranged, in operation, under control of said control program:(a) in response to user selection via the input interface to copy selected ones of said program components into the store;(b) in response to user commands via the input interface to enter into the store link information determining the transfer of data from a field of one program component stored in the store into a field of another such component;(c) to perform computation as defined by the program components and link information stored in the store and to output results thereof via the output interface; and(d) in response to the label field of a program component stored in the store, to compare a field of the component with a corresponding field of the program component stored in the reference store and having the same label, and to identify a field shown by said comparison to be different;wherein each component, at least in the reference store, having tag fields each of which identifies a field of the component as being of one of a plurality of classes of field, andwherein the said comparison is performed only for fields thereby indicated as belonging to a particular class or classes.