Patent ID: 8036857
Filing Date: 2011-10-11
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
1. A design modelling system for operating on a plurality of disparate data models in a model editing application, the design modelling system comprising: one or more computer processors; the model editing application, wherein the model editing application includes a modelling development environment module that includes: (i) a syntax and integrity component and (ii) a semantics unit; a plurality of schemas, each schema defining a structure for a respective one of the plurality of disparate data models, the structure including a plurality of different document elements; the plurality of disparate data models, each disparate data model comprising a structured document conforming to a different one of the plurality of schemas; and a plurality of behaviour specifications, each behaviour specification being associated with a different one of the plurality of disparate data models, each behaviour specification for configuring behaviour of the model editing application in regards to the plurality of different document elements of the respective data model, wherein each behaviour specification defines: (i) an name for a first document element of the respective data model, the name to be output for display in the model editing application, (ii) whether the first document element is visible in the model editing application, and (iii) whether the first document element is modifiable by a user of the model editing application; wherein the modelling development environment module configures behaviour of the model editing application based on: (i) a first data model of the plurality of disparate data models, (ii) a schema associated with the first data model, the schema being selected from the plurality of schemas, and (iii) a behaviour specification associated with the first data model, the behaviour specification being selected from the plurality of behaviour specifications, whereby the model editing application is configured such as to provide a user environment for editing the first data model in accordance with the behaviour specification and by operation of the one or more computer processors, wherein configuring behaviour of the model editing application comprises constructing an internal generic data model based on the first data model, the schema, and the behaviour specification; wherein the behaviour specification further defines: (i) a model structure in terms of the user environment and (ii) meaning of document elements; wherein the syntax and integrity component defines at least one class of the first data model, wherein the semantics unit includes behaviour specification rules for transforming the source data model into an internal generic data model and is configured to consume the behaviour specification and further define the first data model in terms of the user environment; wherein the design modelling system further comprises at least one of: (i) a project tree viewer for outputting the internal generic data model in a project tree; (ii) a diagram tree viewer for outputting the internal generic data model in a diagram tree; (iii) an object explorer for outputting an object in the user environment, the object corresponding to a document element; (iv) a properties viewer for outputting one or more object properties; (v) a base model designer for developing the first data model; and (vi) an editor for modifying one or more files in the design modelling system.