Abstract:
A method, apparatus, system, and signal-bearing medium that in an embodiment determine whether a block of code associated with a copy-and-paste operation or a punch-out operation has a size greater than a threshold. If the size is greater than the threshold, then a method is created and the block of code is pasted into the method. Also, an invocation to the newly created method is added at the copied-from location and the intended pasted-to location (in the case of the copy-and-paste operation) or an invocation to the newly created method is added at the copied-from location (in the case of the punch-out operation). In this way, future modifications to the block of code need only be made in one place: the method, instead of at all locations where duplicate code exists. Thus, embodiments of the invention may reduce the fragility of the code.

Description:
FIELD 
     This invention generally relates to computer software development and more specifically relates to creating a method from a block of code. 
     BACKGROUND 
     The development of the EDVAC computer system of 1948 is often cited as the beginning of the computer era. Since that time, computer systems have evolved into extremely sophisticated devices, and computer systems may be found in many different settings. Computer systems typically include a combination of hardware, such as semiconductors and circuit boards, and software, also known as computer programs or code. 
     One frequent problem in the development and modification of code is the longer the life cycle of the software, the more changes the code requires. As more changes are put into the code, the code becomes more complex and more difficult to understand and therefore more prone to programming errors in the next modifications. Code that is prone to programming errors is often called fragile. Perhaps the most significant cause for code becoming fragile over time is programmers making modifications to the code via a copy-and-paste technique. 
     For example, the programmer recognizes that pre-existing code at a first path or location is also needed by a second path or location, so the programmer copies the code from the first location and pastes it into the second location. Identical code now exists in two locations. The copy-and-past technique is quick and easy for the programmer at the moment, but it creates a situation that may cause errors later on. For example, if the programmer later discovers that the copied code has an error and fixes the error in the first location, but forgets that the copied code also exists at the second location, then the error is only partially resolved. Thus, the copy-and-paste technique for creating new code results in fragile software that requires a careful programmer with good recall of code changes that have been made in the past. 
     A good programmer knows that the way to avoid problems caused by the copy-and-paste technique is to create a separate routine that includes the code and call the routine from both the first and the second location. Thus, the code only exists in one place: the separate routine. If the code ever requires modifications in the future, the programmer need only modify the separate routine, and the programmer is not burdened with trying to remember all of the locations where the code exists. Unfortunately, programmers rarely take the time and effort to create a separate routine because it requires additional work at the moment, and programmers are routinely rushed and under pressure to work quickly. 
     Without a better way to handle code modifications, computer software will continue to suffer from errors and fragility, which results in less reliable computer software, which is more expensive to maintain. 
     SUMMARY 
     A method, apparatus, system, and signal-bearing medium are provided that in an embodiment determine whether a block of code associated with a copy-and-paste operation or a punch-out operation has a size greater than a threshold. If the size is greater than the threshold, then a method is created and the block of code is pasted into the method. Also, an invocation to the newly created method is added at the copied-from location and the intended pasted-to location (in the case of the copy-and-paste operation) or an invocation to the newly created method is added at the copied-from location (in the case of the punch-out operation). In this way, future modifications to the block of code need only be made in one place: the method, which may reduce the fragility of the code. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  depicts a high-level block diagram of an example system for implementing an embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 2  depicts a pictorial representation of an example user interface, according to an embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 3  depicts a flowchart of example processing for presenting a user interface dialog for a copy-and-paste operation, according to an embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 4  depicts a flowchart of example processing for presenting a user interface dialog for a punch-out operation, according to an embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 5  depicts a flowchart of example processing for copy-and-paste and punch-out operations, according to an embodiment of the invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Referring to the Drawing, wherein like numbers denote like parts throughout the several views,  FIG. 1  depicts a high-level block diagram of an example system  100  for implementing an embodiment of the invention. The system  100  includes an electronic device  102  connected to a network  105 . Any number of electronic devices and networks may be present, and in another embodiment the network  105  is optional, not present, or not used. 
     The electronic device  102  includes a processor  110 , a storage device  115 , an input device  120 , and an output device  122 , all connected directly or indirectly via a bus  125 . The processor  110  represents a central processing unit of any type of architecture, such as a CISC (Complex Instruction Set Computing), RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computing), VLIW (Very Long Instruction Word), or a hybrid architecture, although any appropriate processor may be used. The processor  110  executes instructions and includes that portion of the electronic device  102  that controls the operation of the entire electronic device. Although not depicted in  FIG. 1 , the processor  110  typically includes a control unit that organizes data and program storage in memory and transfers data and other information between the various parts of the electronic device  102 . The processor  110  reads and/or writes code and data to/from the storage device  115 , the network  105 , the input device  120 , and/or the output device  122 . Although the electronic device  102  is drawn to contain only a single processor  110  and a single bus  125 , embodiments of the present invention apply equally to electronic devices that may have multiple processors and multiple buses with some or all performing different functions in different ways. 
     The storage device  115  represents one or more mechanisms for storing data. For example, the storage device  115  may include read only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disk storage media, optical storage media, flash memory devices, and/or other machine-readable media. In other embodiments, any appropriate type of storage device may be used. Although only one storage device  115  is shown, multiple storage devices and multiple types of storage devices may be present. Although the storage device  115  is shown in  FIG. 1  as a single monolithic entity, the storage device  115  may in fact be distributed and/or hierarchical, as is known in the art. For example, the storage device  115  may exist in multiple levels of storage devices, and these levels of storage devices may be further divided by function, so that one level of storage device holds, e.g., instructions while another holds, e.g., non-instruction data which is used by the processor or processors. The storage device  115  may further be distributed and associated with different processors or sets of processors, as is known in any of various so-called non-uniform memory access (NUMA) computer architectures. Further, although the electronic device  102  is drawn to contain the storage device  115 , it may be distributed across other electronic devices, such as electronic devices connected to the network  105 . 
     The storage device  115  includes an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) and an application  128 , both of which may in various embodiments exist in any number. Although the Integrated Development Environment  126  and the application  128  are illustrated as being contained within the storage device II  5 ,in the electronic device  102 , in other embodiments either or both may be on different electronic devices and may be accessed remotely, e.g., via the network  105 . 
     The Integrated Development Environment  126  includes an editor capable of manipulating the code in the application  128 . In an embodiment, the Integrated Development Environment  126  includes instructions capable of executing on the processor  110  or statements capable of being interpreted by instructions executing on the processor  110  to present the user interface as further described below with reference to  FIG. 2  and to perform the functions as further described below with reference to  FIGS. 3 ,  4 , and  5 . In another embodiment, the Integrated Development Environment  126  may be implemented in hardware via logic gates and/or other appropriate hardware techniques in lieu of or in addition to a processor-based system. 
     The application  128  may be any appropriate software code. In various embodiments, the application  128  may be written in a high level, low level, or any other type of computer language, may be compilable, or interpretable, or directly executable on the processor  110 . The application  128  is capable of being manipulated by the integrated development environment  126 . 
     The input device  120  may be a keyboard, mouse or other pointing device, trackball, touchpad, touchscreen, keypad, microphone, voice recognition device, or any other appropriate mechanism for the user to input data to the electronic device  102  and/or to manipulate the user interfaces of the electronic device  102 , as further described below with reference to  FIG. 2 . Although only one input device  120  is shown, in another embodiment any number and type of input devices may be present. 
     The output device  122  is that part of the electronic device  102  that presents output to the user. The output device  122  may be a cathode-ray tube (CRT) based video display well known in the art of computer hardware. But, in other embodiments the output device  122  may be replaced with a liquid crystal display (LCD) based or gas, plasma-based, flat-panel display. In still other embodiments, any appropriate display device may be used. In other embodiments, a speaker or a printer may be used. In other embodiments any appropriate output device may be used. Although only one output device  122  is shown, in other embodiments, any number of output devices of different types or of the same type may be present. The output device  122  may display or otherwise present the user interfaces, such as the user interfaces and output further described below with reference to  FIG. 2 . 
     The bus  125  may represent one or more busses, e.g., PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect), ISA (Industry Standard Architecture), X-Bus, EISA (Extended Industry Standard Architecture), or any other appropriate bus and/or bridge (also called a bus controller). Although the bus  125  is shown in  FIG. 1  as a relatively simple, single bus structure providing a direct communication path among the processor  110 , the storage device  115 , the input device  120 , and the output device  122 , in other embodiments the bus  125  may comprise multiple different buses or communication paths, which may be arranged in any of various forms, such as point-to-point links in hierarchical, star or web configurations, multiple hierarchical buses, or parallel and redundant paths. Furthermore, while the bus  125  is shown directly connected to the processor  110 , the storage device  115 , the input device  120 , and the output device  122 , in other embodiments, some or all of the I/O (Input/Output) devices may be connected via I/O processors. 
     The network  105  may be any suitable network or combination of networks and may support any appropriate protocol suitable for communication of data and/or code to/from the electronic device  102 . In various embodiments, the network  105  may represent a storage device or a combination of storage devices, either connected directly or indirectly to the electronic device  102 . In an embodiment, the network  105  may support Infiniband. In another embodiment, the network  105  may support wireless communications. In another embodiment, the network  105  may support hard-wired communications, such as a telephone line or cable. In another embodiment, the network  105  may support the Ethernet IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 802.3x specification. In another embodiment, the network  105  may be the Internet and may support IP (Internet Protocol). In another embodiment, the network  105  may be a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN). In another embodiment, the network  105  may be a hotspot service provider network. In another embodiment, the network  105  may be an intranet. In another embodiment, the network  105  may be a GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) network. In another embodiment, the network  105  may be a FRS (Family Radio Service) network. In another embodiment, the network  105  may be any appropriate cellular data network or cell-based radio network technology. In another embodiment, the network  105  may be an IEEE 802.11B wireless network. In still another embodiment, the network  105  may be any suitable network or combination of networks. Although one network  105  is shown, in other embodiments any number of networks (of the same or different types) may be present. 
     The electronic device  102  may be implemented using any suitable hardware and/or software, such as a personal computer. Portable computers, laptop or notebook computers, PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants), pocket computers, telephones, pagers, automobiles, teleconferencing systems, appliances, and mainframe computers are examples of other possible configurations. The hardware and software depicted in  FIG. 1  may vary for specific applications and may include more or fewer elements than those depicted. For example, other peripheral devices such as audio adapters, or chip programming devices, such as EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory) programming devices may be used in addition to or in place of the hardware already depicted. 
     The various software components illustrated in  FIG. 1  and implementing various embodiments of the invention may be implemented in a number of manners, including using various computer software applications, routines, components, programs, code, objects, modules, data structures, etc., referred to hereinafter as “computer programs,” or simply “programs.” The computer programs typically comprise one or more instructions that are resident at various times in various memory and storage devices in the electronic device  102 , and that, when read and executed by one or more processors in the electronic device  102 , cause the electronic device  102  to perform the steps necessary to execute steps or elements embodying the various aspects of an embodiment of the invention. 
     Moreover, while embodiments of the invention have and hereinafter will be described in the context of fully functioning electronic devices, the various embodiments of the invention are capable of being distributed as a program product in a variety of forms, and the invention applies equally regardless of the particular type of signal-bearing medium used to actually carry out the distribution. The programs defining the functions of this embodiment may be delivered to the electronic device  102  via a variety of signal-bearing media, which include, but are not limited to: 
     (1) information permanently stored on a non-rewriteable storage medium, e.g., a read-only memory device attached to or within an electronic device, such as a CD-ROM readable by a CD-ROM drive; 
     (2) alterable information stored on a rewriteable storage medium, e.g., a hard disk drive or diskette; or 
     (3) information conveyed to an electronic device by a communications medium, such as through a computer or a telephone network, e.g., the network  105 , including wireless communications. 
     Such signal-bearing media, when carrying machine-readable instructions that direct the functions of the present invention, represent embodiments of the present invention. 
     In addition, various programs described hereinafter may be identified based upon the application for which they are implemented in a specific embodiment of the invention. But, any particular program nomenclature that follows is used merely for convenience, and thus embodiments of the invention should not be limited to use solely in any specific application identified and/or implied by such nomenclature. 
     The exemplary environments illustrated in  FIG. 1  are not intended to limit the present invention. Indeed, other alternative hardware and/or software environments may be used without departing from the scope of the invention. 
       FIG. 2  depicts a pictorial representation of an example user interface  200 , which the integrated development environment  126  presents via the output device  122  ( FIG. 1 ), according to an embodiment of the invention. Displayed within the user interface  200  are example code  201  from the application  128 , a copy option  205 , a paste option  210 , a punch-out option  215 , and a dialog  220 . 
     The example code  201  includes a selected block  202  of the code  201 , on which the user desires to perform an operation. The copy option  205  allows the user to request that the integrated development environment  126  copy the selected block  202  from the copy location (the location of the selected block  202 ) to a clipboard or other temporary storage. The paste option  210  and the punch-out option  215  both cause the integrated development environment  126  to display the dialog  220  with various of the options  245 ,  250 ,  255 , and/or  260  available for selection as further described below with reference to  FIGS. 3 and 4 . 
     The paste option  210  allows the user to request that the integrated development environment  126  create a new method (whose type is determined from the dialog  220 ), paste the selected block  202  from the clipboard or other temporary storage into the new method, replace the selected block  202  at the copy location with an invocation of the new method, and add an invocation of the new method at the paste location in lieu of pasting the code of the selected block  202  to the paste location. Prior to requesting the paste option  210 , the user selects a paste location in the application  128  via the input device  120  where the user desires the selected block  202  to be pasted. Processing for the paste option  210  by the integrated development environment  126  is further described below with reference to  FIG. 5 . 
     The punch-out option  215  allows the user to request that the integrated development environment  126  create a new method (whose type is determined from the dialog  220 ), paste the selected block  202  into the new method, and replace the selected block  202  with an invocation of the new method. An example of a scenario where the user may wish to use the punch-out option  215  is if the application  128  includes code that the user desires to break up into multiple methods. Processing for the punch-out option  215  by the integrated development environment  126  is further described below with reference to  FIG. 5 . 
     The dialog  220  includes a paste data option  245 , a create public method option  250 , a create private method option  255 , and a create protected method option  260 . In various embodiments, the integrated development environment  126  selectively determines which of the options  245 ,  250 ,  255 , and  260  to present or make available for selection in the dialog  220  as further described below with reference to  FIGS. 3 and 4 . Further, the integrated development environment  126  selectively determines which of the options  245 ,  250 ,  255  and  260  to designate as the default as further described below with reference to  FIGS. 3 and 4 . 
     The paste data option  245  allows the user to request that the integrated development environment  126  paste the selected block  202  at a paste location without creating a method that incorporates the selected block  202 . 
     The create public method option  250  allows the user to request that the integrated development environment  126  create a public method that contains the code in the selected block  202 . A public method is a kind of method that can be accessed by any code anywhere. A method is a function or a unit of code. 
     The create private method option  255  allows the user to request that the integrated development environment  126  create a private method that contains the code in the selected block  202 . A private method is a kind of method that can only be accessed by code in the same class. A class is a template that describes variables and methods that are common to instances of the class, which are called objects. 
     The create protected method option  260  allows the user to request that the integrated development environment  126  create a protected method that contains the code in the selected block  202 . A protected method is a kind of method that can be accessed by code in the same package as the class associated with the protected method as well as code in any subclasses, even if they are not in the same package as the protected method. A package is a collection of related classes and interfaces. 
     The format of the user interface  200 , the code  201 , and the options illustrated in  FIG. 2  are exemplary only and in other embodiments any appropriate format, code, and options may be used. For example, in another embodiment, the request for the copy-and-paste operation is not restricted to menu options, but may take the form of a drag-and-drop operation. 
       FIG. 3  depicts a flowchart of example processing for presenting the user interface dialog  220  ( FIG. 2 ) for a copy-and-paste operation, according to an embodiment of the invention. Control begins at block  300 . Control then continues to block  305  where the integrated development environment  126  receives a copy-and-paste operation, which in an embodiment the user may initiate by selecting a block of code in the application  128 , e.g., the selected block  202 , selecting the copy operation  205 , selecting a paste location, and selecting the paste operation  215 , as previously described above with reference to  FIG. 2 . 
     Control then continues to block  310  where the integrated development environment  126  determines whether the size of the selected block  202  is greater than a threshold. In an embodiment, the threshold is ten lines-of code, but in other embodiments, the threshold may be any number and in various embodiments may be user configurable, or may be variable depending on the size of the part, the number of methods already existing in the package, or based on any other criteria. 
     If the determination at block  310  is true, then the size of the selected block  202  is greater than the threshold, so control continues to block  320  where the integrated development environment  126  determines whether the copy-and-paste operation has requested that the block of code  202  be copied within a single part and class. A part is a unit of code (e.g., a file) within a package. 
     If the determination at block  320  is true, then the copy-and-paste operation has requested that the block of code  202  be copied within a single part and class, so control continues to block  325  where the integrated development environment  126  displays the dialog  220  with all options  245 ,  250 ,  255 , and  260  available and the create private method option  255  designated as the default. Control then continues to block  399  where the function returns. 
     If the determination at block  320  is false, then the copy-and-paste operation has not requested that the block of code  202  be copied within a single part and class, so control continues to block  330  where the integrated development environment  126  determines whether the copy-and-paste operation has requested that the selected block of code  202  be copied between two parts in a single package. If the determination at block  330  is true, then the copy-and-paste operation has requested that the selected block of code  202  be copied between two parts in a single package, so control continues to block  335  where the integrated development environment  126  presents the dialog  220  with the create private method option  255  unavailable and designates the create protected method  260  as the default option. The create private method option  255  is unavailable because the copy-and-paste operation has requested that the selected block  202  be copied between two parts, and a private method is only accessible by code in the same class, which does not span parts. In various embodiments, the integrated development environment  126  makes options unavailable by not presenting them in the dialog  220  or by presenting the unavailable option but changing the font or color (e.g., gray is a typical color for unavailable options) of the unavailable option to indicate that it may not be selected. Control then continues to block  399  where the function returns. 
     If the determination at block  330  is false, then the copy-and-paste operation has requested that the selected block of code  202  be copied between two parts in two different packages, so control continues to block  340  where the integrated development environment  126  presents the dialog  220  with the create protected method  260  and the create private method option  255  unavailable and designates the create public method  250  as the default option. The create protected method  260  is unavailable because the copy-and-paste operation has requested that the selected block be copied between two parts in two different packages and a protected method is not accessible across packages. The create private method option  255  is not available because a private method is only accessible by code in the same class, which does not span packages. Control then continues to block  399  where the function returns. 
     If the determination at block  310  is false, then the size of the selected block  202  is less than or equal to the threshold, so control continues to block  315  where the integrated development environment  126  copies the code from the selected block  202  and pastes the code to the location (the paste location) specified by the user. Control then continues to block  398  where the function returns. 
       FIG. 4  depicts a flowchart of example processing for presenting the user interface dialog  220  ( FIG. 2 ) for a punch-out operation, according to an embodiment of the invention. Control begins at block  400 . Control then continues to block  405  where the integrated development environment  126  receives a request for a punch-out operation. The request for the punch-out operation is initiated by a user selection of the punch-out option  215  ( FIG. 2 ). Control then continues to block  410  where the integrated development environment  126  displays options  250 ,  255 , and  260  (but not the paste data option  245 ) in the dialog  220  and designates the create private method option  255  as the default option. Control then continues to block  499  where the logic of  FIG. 4  returns. 
       FIG. 5  depicts a flowchart of example processing for the copy-and-paste and punch-out functions in the integrated development environment  126 , according to an embodiment of the invention. Control begins at block  500 . Control then continues to block  505  where the integrated development environment  126  determines whether the paste data option  245  ( FIG. 2 ) was selected. If the determination at block  505  is true, then the paste data option  245  was selected, so control continues to block  510  where the integrated development environment  126  pastes the code from the selected block  202  to the selected paste location. Control then continue to block  598  where the logic of  FIG. 5  returns. 
     If the determination at bock  505  is false, then the paste data option  245  was not selected, so control continues to block  515  where the integrated development environment  126  obtains names and types for the variables in the selected block of code  202 . Control then continues to block  520  where the integrated development environment  126  determines whether the selected block of code  202  returns more than one value. If the determination at block  520  is true, then the selected block  202  returns more than one value, so control continues to block  525  where the integrated development environment  126  generates a helper class to return the multiple values since in an embodiment a method may only return one value. 
     Control then continues to block  530  where the integrated development environment  126  generates code in a method associated with the helper class to set values in the copied code block  202  and assign values to the correct variables. 
     Control then continues to block  535  where the integrated development environment  126  determines whether the create public method option  250  was selected. If the determination at block  535  is true, then the create public method option  250  was selected, so control continues to block  540  where the integrated development environment  126  creates the public method and copies the selected code block  202  to the public method. The integrated development environment  126  further replaces the selected block  202  with an invocation of the public method. 
     If the paste option  210  was selected, then the integrated development environment  126  further creates an invocation of the public method at the paste location. The punch-out option  215  does not have a paste location, so if the punch-out option  215  was selected, there is no invocation to create. Control then continues to block  599  where the logic of  FIG. 5  returns. 
     If the determination at block  535  is false, then the create public method option  250  was not selected, so control continues to block  545  where the integrated development environment  126  determines whether the create private method option  255  was selected. If the determination at block  545  is true, then the create private method option  255  was selected, so control continues to block  550  where the integrated development environment  126  creates the private method and copies the code in the selected block  202  to the private method. The integrated development environment  126  further replaces the selected block  202  with an invocation of the private method. 
     If the paste option  210  was selected, the integrated development environment  126  further creates an invocation of the private method at the paste location. The punch-out option  215  does not have a paste location, so if the punch-out option  215  was selected, there is no invocation to create. Control then continues to block  599  where the logic of  FIG. 5  returns. 
     If the determination at block  545  is false, then the create protected method  260  was selected, so control continues to block  555  where the integrated development environment  126  creates a protected method and copies the code in the selected block  202  to the protected method. The integrated development environment  126  further replaces the selected block  202  with an invocation of the protected method. 
     If the paste option  210  was selected, the integrated development environment  126  further creates an invocation of the protected method at the paste location. The punch-out option  215  does not have a paste location, so if the punch-out option  215  was selected, there is no invocation to create. Control then continues to block  599  where the logic of  FIG. 5  returns. 
     If the determination at block  520  is false, then the code in the selected block  202  returns only one value, and a helper class is not necessary, so control continues from block  520  to block  535 , as previously described above. 
     In the previous detailed description of exemplary embodiments of the invention, reference was made to the accompanying drawings (where like numbers represent like elements), which form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration specific exemplary embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. These embodiments were described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, but other embodiments may be utilized and logical, mechanical, electrical, and other changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. Different instances of the word “embodiment” as used within this specification do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, but they may. The previous detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention is defined only by the appended claims. 
     In the previous description, numerous specific details were set forth to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the invention. But, the invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known circuits, structures, and techniques have not been shown in detail in order not to obscure the invention.