Patent Publication Number: US-11379192-B2

Title: Saving a snippet of visual programming logic for reuse amongst programs created using an automation building tool

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/736,371, filed Sep. 25, 2018, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     COPYRIGHT NOTICE 
     A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure as it appears in the United States Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever. 
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     This disclosure relates to a building tool, and more particularly, providing the ability to reuse snippets of visual programming logic amongst different programs created within the building tool. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Various customer relationship management (CRM) software tools exist to aid organizations with managing interactions with customers and potential customers. These tools often include capabilities that allow an organization to create a program to automate various tasks. For example, these tools may be used to create a program to automate various marketing tasks. As one example, an automation builder may allow a user (e.g. marketing professional) to visually create a program for an automated email marketing campaign. Such an automation builder, however, may require a certain degree of programming acumen and effort. Moreover, a program created within the automation building tool may become fairly complex. For example, the program may involve creating complex logical branching. Moreover, it is often necessary to reuse such complex structures across various programs, and accordingly, recreating such structures may become tedious and error prone. Accordingly, there is a need to further provide user-friendly capabilities and functionality that allow users to more efficiently build programs within a building tool. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated into and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the disclosure and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram illustrating an example overview of an operating environment for providing a reuse capability for visual programming logic within an automation building tool according to one or more embodiments of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  is a diagram illustrating an example building tool interface for creating a program using visual programming logic according to one or more embodiments of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 3  is a diagram illustrating an example interface allowing a user to select one or more operations of visual programming logic according to one or more embodiments of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 4  is a diagram illustrating an example interface in response to a user selecting one or more operations of visual programming logic according to one or more embodiments of the disclosure. 
         FIGS. 5A-5C  are diagrams illustrating example interfaces when incorporating a snippet of visual programming logic into a program according to one or more embodiments of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 6A  is a diagram illustrating an example interface showing a repository of snippets that may be accessed by a user and incorporated into a program according to one or more embodiments of the disclosure. 
         FIGS. 6B-6H  are diagrams illustrating example interfaces when incorporating a modified snippet as visual programming logic into a program according to one or more embodiments of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 7  is a diagram illustrating an example of a program after inserting a snippet according to one or more embodiments of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 8  is a process flow diagram illustrating an example method of saving a snippet of visual programming logic according to one or more embodiments of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 9  is a process flow diagram illustrating an example method of inserting a saved snippet of visual programming logic within a program according to one or more embodiments of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 10  is a block diagram illustrating of an example environment in which on-demand database services may be used in conjunction with one or more embodiments of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 11  is a block diagram illustrating an of example of elements of  FIG. 10  and various possible interconnections between these elements according to one or more embodiments of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 12  is a block diagram illustrating an example of a computing system that may be used in conjunction with one or more embodiments of the disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Various embodiments and aspects of the disclosures will be described with reference to details discussed below, and the accompanying drawings will illustrate the various embodiments. The following description and drawings are illustrative of the disclosure and are not to be construed as limiting the disclosure. Numerous specific details are described to provide a thorough understanding of various embodiments of the present disclosure. However, in certain instances, well-known or conventional details are not described in order to provide a concise discussion of embodiments of the present disclosure. 
     Although these embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable one skilled in the art to practice the disclosed embodiments, it is understood that these examples are not limiting, such that other embodiments may be used and changes may be made without departing from their spirit and scope. For example, the operations of methods shown and described herein are not necessarily performed in the order indicated and may be performed in parallel. It should also be understood that the methods may include more or fewer operations than are indicated. In some embodiments, operations described herein as separate operations may be combined. Conversely, what may be described herein as a single operation may be implemented in multiple operations. 
     Reference in the specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” or “some embodiments,” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in conjunction with the embodiment can be included in at least one embodiment of the disclosure. The appearances of the phrase “embodiment” in various places in the specification do not necessarily all refer to the same embodiment. 
     In some embodiments, described is a mechanism that provides the ability to save a portion (or “snippet”) of visual programming logic to be reused by different programs created within an automation building tool. 
     As described, the mechanism may be used within an automation building tool (or automation builder) that provides a visual interface to create a program using visual components. For example, the programming logic may be represented as a directed acyclic graph (DAG) such that the nodes of the graph correspond to various operations and the edges of the graph correspond to the logic flow of the program. Accordingly, the user (or developer) may visually connect various operations and create a workflow as part of an automated program. For example, the workflow may be part of a marketing campaign such as an automated email marketing procedure. 
     Accordingly, in one aspect, the mechanism may provide a new capability to save portions of the visual programming logic (e.g. snippets) while adhering to the requirements of a DAG structure. For example, a user may save a valid substructure of visual programming logic from a first program and import the saved logic for reuse within subsequent programs. In addition, the mechanism provides the ability to update or modify the saved portions of logic within a specialized mode of the automation building tool. Accordingly, the mechanism provides the ability to create logic that may be incorporating into different programs in an efficient manner. 
     In another aspect, the mechanism may provide an efficient validation process that further aids a user in saving portions of programming logic for reuse. As a result, the mechanism may provide advantages over existing tools that merely provide an import functionality. For example, in some embodiments, the mechanism performs a validation (or partial validation) at the time the user selects operations to be saved (or copied). Accordingly, such a validation provides a degree of certainty that operations that are saved may be validly imported (e.g. without error) into the process flow of other programs. Such a feature may aid the user by providing an assurance that a copied portion of logic may be reused by existing and subsequent programs without causing errors at the time of insertion. This in turn reduces user errors that may occur using a mere import functionality that is not concerned with validation until the time of insertion or testing. In addition, in some embodiments, upon modifying a snippet, such modifications may be propagated to programs that already include the snippet. For example, a message or option may be provided to allow a user to update a portion of code within a program that already includes the now modified snippet. Accordingly, such a feature further improves development procedures as updates may be made to a source snippet without having to update programs individually. 
     In another aspect, the mechanism may provide a mode (e.g. snippet build-mode) that allows a user to create a new snippet, or modify or update an existing snippet (e.g. a snippet previously saved from a program). In some embodiments, the snippet build-mode may provide a simplified version of a mode (e.g. standard or advanced build-mode) used within the automation building tool to create a program. For example, the snippet build-mode (or simplified mode) may provide features to add or remove elements from a snippet. In addition, the snippet build-mode may include features ensuring the snippet is valid for incorporation into a DAG structure of any (or most) other automated programs. For example, the validation may include ensuring a snippet that has one entry path and one exit path. Another feature of the snippet build-mode may include using a set of placeholder nodes (or operations) to ensure a valid DAG structure. For example, the snippet build-mode may include a placeholder node to provide an open entry path, and a placeholder node to provide an open exit path. 
     In another aspect, the mechanism may provide various interface elements (or visual cues) in conjunction with the unique validation process. In one aspect, the mechanism provides the ability to easily select elements of the DAG such as operations and also enables or disables the ability to save a snippet of logic. For example, the mechanism may enable a save snippet function only when a suitable combination of operations for saving are selected. In another aspect, the mechanism provides a convenient mechanism that allows the user to import snippets within a particular insertion point of a program. 
     Accordingly, described is an efficient and user-friendly mechanism to save snippets of visual programming logic to be reused within an automation building tool. As further described herein, such a mechanism may be provided within an operating environment. 
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram illustrating an example overview of an operating environment  10  for providing a reuse capability for visual programming logic within an automation building tool according to one or more embodiments of the disclosure. 
     As shown, a general overview of operating environment  10  may include a user system  12 , a system  160 , which may include an on-demand database services system (or platform)  16 , and a marketing platform  190 , which may all interact via a network  14 . The network may be any type of wired or wireless network including a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), or a direct communication link, or other suitable connection. It should be noted the marketing platform  190 , automation building tool  191 , and/or AI engine  193 , may be part of system  16 . 
     As further described herein, system  16  may provide an on-demand database service to customers. As part of an on-demand service, the system  160  may also include a marketing platform  190  that may include one or more tools available to organizations. For example, the marketing platform may access customer data that may be stored as part of system  16 . The marketing platform  190  may access such data and perform various tasks or analysis. In one embodiment, the marketing platform  190  may also include an artificial intelligence (AI) engine  193 . As further described herein, an automation building tool  191  (or building tool, or builder, or tool) may include one or more software and/or hardware components to provide the ability to create a program (or automated program) in a visual manner. For example, a user (or developer) may create visual programming logic represented as a directed acyclic graph (DAG) where nodes of the DAG represent various operations performed by a system. Accordingly, the building tool  191  may provide an interface for creating a program. 
       FIG. 2  is a diagram  200  illustrating an example building tool interface  201  for creating a program using visual programming logic according to one or more embodiments of the disclosure. As shown, the system (e.g. automation building tool  191 ) may include and interface  201  that allows a user to visually create a program (e.g. “Program A” as shown in this example). For example, the program (or automation, or automated program) may provide an automated email marketing campaign. It should be noted that although the examples described herein relate to an automated email marketing procedure, any type of program or automation is contemplated. As shown, the program or visual programming logic (or logic) may be represented as a DAG  210 . Accordingly, in some embodiments, the program may adhere to a DAG flow structure (e.g. no cycles). 
     It is contemplated, however, that other programming structures may be used. The DAG  210  may include a plurality of nodes that each correspond to a particular type of operation. As referred to herein, an operation may include a component of a program such as a method, function, task, procedure, etc. that may be performed by the system. When building or creating a program, a user may select operations (e.g. nodes) that are connected (e.g. via edges) to create a particular program that follows a logical flow that adheres to the structure of a DAG. In this example, the type of operations include a start operation  212 , an action operation  214 , a trigger operation  216 , a rule operation  218 , and a stop operation  219 , which are connected (or joined) by one or more edges  220  that describe the program flow (or process flow). 
     In one embodiment, the operations may be selected from a specific set of available types of operations. For example, the building automation tool may provide a predefined set of types of operations. For example, as provided in this example related to an email marketing program, the predefined set of operations may include a start (or begin) operation, an action operation, a trigger operation, a rule operation, and a stop (or end) operation. A start operation may designate the start of a program path, and an end operation may designate the end of a program path. An action operation may perform various actions at a given point in time. For example, in the context of an email marketing program, an action operation may include operations such as send an email, add a user/customer to a list, adjust a score associated with a user/customer, and any other actions. 
     A trigger operation may wait (or listen, monitor, etc.) for a particular event (or characteristic, action, etc.). In addition, the trigger operation may act as a decision tree where the program path (or logic flow) may split based on the occurrence of a particular event (e.g. yes/no decision tree). For example, the trigger operation may listen for an event such as opening an email, clicking an email link, submitting a form within a specified number of days, or any other events. A rule may check for specified criteria or values within the system. For example, a rule operation may check or verify a particular field related to a customer (e.g. prospect). In addition, the rule operation may act as a decision tree where the program path (or logic flow) may split based on the satisfying a particular rule (e.g. yes/no decision tree). As shown, in some embodiments, each type of operation may correspond to a particular node shape (e.g. circle, square, hexagon, triangle, etc.). It should be noted that other indicators (e.g. colors) may also be used to distinguish between operations and types of operations. 
     In some embodiments, the interface may also include various modes of operations. Accordingly, a user may interact with the building tool (or interface) by switching between various modes. For example, the building tool may include a build-mode (e.g. as shown in diagram  200 ) that allows a user to add, delete, and modify operations, as well as perform other operations that may be part of a program creation process. In addition, the building tool may include a select-mode (e.g. as shown in diagram  300  and as further described herein) that limits the functionality to allowing the user to only select one or more operations (e.g. disables the ability to add, delete, or modify operations). Accordingly, with such embodiments, the interface may include an indicator that specifies the current mode (e.g. tab, highlighted button, etc.). It should be noted that a “build” and a “select” mode are provided merely as examples and other nomenclature for substantially equivalent modes are contemplated. In this example, the user may select modes via one or more selection options. For instance, as shown, the options may include a select option  230  and a save snippet option  232  (or copy, reuse, store, etc. option). Once a user provides an input to select one or more operations (e.g. via the selection option  230 ), the user may be provided with the ability to select (or specify) particular operations (e.g. a portion of visual programming logic) as shown in  FIG. 3 . 
       FIG. 3  is a diagram  300  illustrating an example interface allowing a user to select one or more operations of visual programming logic according to one or more embodiments of the disclosure. As shown in this example, each of the operations (or nodes) may provide an operation-specific select option  310  to allow the user to select particular operations (or nodes). In some embodiments, the operation-specific select option  310  may be provided or activated in response to receiving a selection of the select option  230 . As described, in some embodiments, the operation-specific selection option  310  may be provided when the tool is in a select-mode. As shown, the select-mode may limit the user to only selecting particular operations and disable various other options such as adding elements. In response to selecting a particular operation, the interface may provide an indication that an operation is selected (e.g. “X” mark) as shown in  FIG. 4 . 
       FIG. 4  is a diagram  400  illustrating an example interface in response to a user selecting one or more operations of visual programming logic according to one or more embodiments of the disclosure. As shown in this example, a set of operations (e.g. visual programming logic) have been selected (e.g. a snippet). For example, as shown, the interface may provide an indication  410  that a particular operation is selected (e.g. via an “X” indicator). As further described herein, the system may perform a validation upon the selection of the one or more operations. For example, the system may perform a validation after each operation is selected to determine whether the currently selected set of operations (e.g. snippet) may be saved (e.g. validly incorporated into another program). 
     In response the determining the current selection is valid, the system may allow the user to select the save snippet option  232  as shown in this example. In one embodiment, the system may only enable a save snippet functionality (e.g. save snippet option  232 ) once the tool determines a valid set of operations is selected. Once a user selects the save snippet option  232 , the tool may copy the selected operations (e.g. portion of visual programming logic) for later use. For example, the saved snippet may be saved to a repository. In one embodiment, the saved snippets (e.g. portion of visual programming logic) may be modified or accessed within a snippet interface (e.g. snippet studio) as further described. As described, the system may store snippets as part of a repository that may be accessed during the creation of other programs by the same or other users. In some embodiments, the snippet may be reused within the particular program. For example, the snippet may be stored to a clipboard. In one embodiment, the tool may switch back to a build-mode in response to a user selecting the save snippet option  232 . Accordingly, the system may allow the user to paste (or reuse) the copied operations into a different program. For example, a user may open a second program as shown in  FIG. 5A . 
       FIG. 5A  is a diagram  501  illustrating an example interface after opening a different program from the program in which a snippet is saved according to one or more embodiments of the disclosure. As shown, a user may open a different program (e.g. “Program B” as shown in this example) within the automation building tool. Accordingly, as with the example above (e.g. “Program A”) the interface allows a user to visually create a program. As shown, this program may have a DAG  505  that includes a process flow (e.g. DAG) different than that of the program from which a snippet was saved. However, as described, the tool may allow the user to insert such a snippet at an insertion point within the DAG as shown in  FIG. 5B . 
       FIG. 5B  is a diagram  502  illustrating an example interface providing an option to incorporate a saved snippet into a program according to one or more embodiments of the disclosure. Once a user has successfully saved a snippet (e.g. portion of programming logic), the user may be provided with the ability to incorporate (or insert, import, or paste, etc.) such programming logic within a DAG. As shown, the system may provide a menu (or listing)  510  of a list of one or more elements that may be added to the DAG  505 . In one embodiment, the menu  510  may be provided in response to a user selecting an insertion point within the DAG. For example, edges of the DAG may provide a selectable insertion point  525 , which when selected (or clicked) may display the menu  510 . As shown in this example, the menu  510  may include options to add one or more elements (e.g. operation types) and an option insert a snippet  530 . In response to selecting the option insert a snippet  530 , the system may provide a listing of snippets available for selection. Once a particular snippet has been selected, the system may incorporate the snippet at the specified insertion point within the DAG  505  as shown in  FIG. 5C . 
       FIG. 5C  is a diagram  503  illustrating an example interface after inserting a snippet as visual programming logic into a program according to one or more embodiments of the disclosure. As shown, the snippet (e.g. portion of programming logic)  550  is now incorporated (or inserted, imported, pasted, etc.) into the DAG  505 . Accordingly, as shown in the above-described example, the user has successfully created a program with a limited number of inputs (e.g. clicks) from the ability to reuse portions of programming logic. Moreover, because the system may validate a portion of logic at the time of selection (e.g. in real-time after each selection), the user may have a high degree of certainty that the snippet may be incorporated into a subsequent DAG. 
       FIG. 6A  is a diagram  601  illustrating an example interface showing a repository of snippets that may be accessed by a user according to one or more embodiments of the disclosure. As shown, the repository may include a listing of snippets  615  that may be selected by a user to be inserted into a program (e.g. as shown in  FIGS. 5B-5C ). In addition, the snippets may be selected and modified within a specialized mode. In one embodiment, the specialized mode may include a snippet studio (or snippet build-mode) as shown in  FIG. 6B . 
       FIG. 6B  is a diagram  602  illustrating an example interface for modifying a snippet according to one or more embodiments of the disclosure. As described, the building tool may provide a mode (e.g. snippet studio, snippet build-mode, or simplified mode) that allows a user to create a new snippet, or modify or update an existing snippet (e.g. a snippet previously saved from a program). As show in this example, a user may modify snippet  620 . In some embodiments, the snippet studio may provide a simplified version of a mode (e.g. standard or advanced build-mode) used within the automation building tool to create program. For example, the snippet build-mode may provide features to add or remove elements from a snippet. In addition, the snippet build-mode may include features ensuring the snippet is valid to be inserted into a DAG structure of any (or most) programs. In one embodiment, a snippet that has one entry path and one exit path may be valid, and accordingly, the snippet build-mode may ensure such a structure. For example, the snippet build-mode may include a set of placeholder nodes (or operations) such as an entry placeholder node  622  to ensure an open entry path, and an exit placeholder node  624  to ensure an open exit path. In addition, the snippet build-mode may ensure various other criteria or rules (e.g. no disconnected nodes) as further described herein. In some embodiments, the snippet build-mode (or snippet studio) may also provide the ability to modify an existing snippet. For example, the snippet build-mode may providing an option to add an element to the snippet as shown in  FIG. 6C . 
       FIG. 6C  is a diagram  603  illustrating an example interface providing an option to add an element to an existing snippet  620  according to one or more embodiments of the disclosure. As shown in this example, the building tool may provide a menu  625  to add an element to an existing snippet  620 . As shown, the menu  625  may include an option for a user to select an element  628 . In this example, a rule operation is provided as a selection for an element to add to the snippet. Accordingly, a particular operation may be incorporated into an existing snippet as shown in  FIG. 6D . 
       FIG. 6D  is a diagram  604  illustrating an example interface after modifying a snippet according to one or more embodiments of the disclosure. As shown, the snippet  620  has now been updated (or modified) to include the additional element (e.g. rule operation)  630 . 
     In addition, in some embodiment, the saved snippet  620  may also be incorporated into various programs, for example, as a preconfigured structure of programming logic. For example, the snippet may be incorporated into a different program as shown in  FIG. 6E . 
       FIG. 6E  is a diagram  605  illustrating an example interface for creating a new program according to one or more embodiments of the disclosure. As shown, the new program may include a DAG  640 , which in this case simply includes a start node and an end node. Accordingly, the building tool may provide an option to insert an existing snippet as shown in  FIG. 6F . 
       FIG. 6F  is a diagram  606  illustrating an example interface providing an option an insert an existing snippet into DAG  640  according to one or more embodiments of the disclosure. As shown in this example, the building tool may provide an option for a user to provide an insert snippet option  650 . In response to selecting an option to insert a snippet, the building tool may provide a listing of snippets as shown in  FIG. 6G . 
       FIG. 6G  is a diagram  607  illustrating an example interface providing an option to select a particular saved snippet to incorporate into a DAG  640  according to one or more embodiments of the disclosure. As shown in this example, the building tool may provide an option to select a particular snippet  655  (e.g. snippet  620  as described above). Accordingly, the selected snippet may be added to the DAG  640  as shown in  FIG. 6H . 
       FIG. 6H  is a diagram  608  illustrating an example interface after inserting a saved snippet into the DAG  640  according to one or more embodiments of the disclosure. As shown, DAG  640  has now been updated to reflect the incorporation of a stored snippet (e.g. snippet  620  as described above). 
     Accordingly, in some embodiments, the system provides the ability to save a snippet from an existing program, as well as create and modify snippets, for example, within a snippet build-mode. In either scenario, these preconfigured snippets may be incorporated into different or subsequent programs to further facilitate an automated program creation process. 
     As described, the system may also provide the ability to validate that certain snippets are suitable for saving and incorporating into existing or subsequent programs as further described. 
       FIG. 7  is a diagram  700  illustrating an example of a DAG for an example program according to one or more embodiments of the disclosure. As described, the system may perform a validation of a current selection of operations. In one embodiment, the system may determine whether the selected set of operations (e.g. snippet or portion of visual programming logic) is valid based on one or more rules or criteria. In one embodiment, the validity determination may be based on a combination of a set of rules. For example, as a first rule, the system may determine whether the current selection of operations includes only one entry path (or open source). As a second rule, the system may determine whether the current selection includes only one exit path (or open destination). As a third rule, the system may determine whether the operations of the current selection are connected, or a comprise a single structure (e.g. not a disconnected set of nodes). As a fourth rule, the system may determine whether the number of selected operations is within a predefined limit. Accordingly, the system may determine whether a selected set of one or more operations (e.g. snippet) is valid as a reusable portion of programming logic based on a combination of such rules. For example, the system may determine the selected set of operations are valid if the first to third rules are satisfied, or if all four rules are satisfied, etc. 
     To further illustrate,  FIG. 7  may be referenced. As shown in this example, the program may include operations  701 - 710 . The following are examples of various combinations of operations (e.g. snippets) that the system may determine to be valid according to some embodiments. As a first example, a user selection of a single one of any of the operations (or nodes) would be a valid selection (e.g. a valid snippet). As a second example, a set of linear operations with a single entry path and a signal exit path would be a valid selection (e.g. operations  701  and  702 , or operations  703  and  704 , etc.). As a third example, a set of operations with multiple same exit paths would be a valid selection (e.g. operations  706 ,  707 ,  708 , and  709 , see e.g.  707  and  709  having the same exits). As a fourth example, a set of operations including a branching with an end operation and a single entry and exit path would be a valid selection (e.g. operations  702 ,  703 ,  704 , and  705 , or operations  702 ,  703 ,  704 ,  705 , and  706 ). 
     In some embodiments, the system may also determine certain combinations of selected operations are invalid to be saved as a snippet. The following are examples of various combinations of operations that the system may determine to be invalid according to some embodiments. As a fifth example, a set of operations that are disconnected would be an invalid selection (e.g. operations  701 ,  703 , and  704 , or operations  701 ,  707 ,  708 , and  709 ). As a sixth example, a set of operations that are linear but with no exit path would be considered invalid (e.g. operations  703 ,  704  and  705 , or operations  707 ,  708 ,  709 , and  710 ). Accordingly, as described, the system may use a unique process for validating a portion of programming logic (e.g. snippet) in order to provide the reuse feature for a building tool. 
       FIG. 8  is a process flow diagram  800  illustrating an example method of saving a snippet of visual programming logic according to one or more embodiments of the disclosure. Process  800  may use processing logic, which may include software, hardware, or a combination thereof. For example, process  800  may be performed by a system including one or more components described in the operating environment  100  (e.g. system  160 , or automation building tool  191 ). 
     In  801 , the system may provide, within the automation building tool, visual programming logic for a first program. As described, the visual programming logic may be represented as a first directed acyclic graph (DAG) including one or more nodes each representing an operation to be performed by the system. In one embodiment, the one or more operations of the program may perform an automated email marketing procedure. For example, the one or more operations may include one or more of a start operation, action operation, trigger operation, rule operation, and an end operation. 
     In some embodiments, the automation building tool may work in conjunction with one or more APIs or services. For example, a selection service (or API) may provide functionality with respect to selecting and indicating which operations are currently selected. In addition, a copy service (or API) may provide functionality related to copying or reusing various operations and may perform a validation process as described herein. 
     In  802 , the system may receive, via the automation building tool, a first user input selecting an option (e.g. selection option  230 ) to select one or more operations of the program. In one embodiment, the system may interact with the selection service to initialize a selection data store (e.g. selection array) in response to a user selecting the selection option  230 . 
     In  803 , in response to the first user input, the system may switch the automation building tool from a build-mode to a select-mode. In one embodiment, the build-mode may allow the user to at least add or delete operations, and the select-mode may limit the user to only select one or more operations. 
     In  804 , the system may receive, via the automation building tool, a second user input selecting (e.g. via the operation-specific selection option  310 ) one or more operations of the program. In one embodiment, in response to each selection, the system may append or remove various operations from the selection array data store that may be managed by the selection service. 
     In some embodiments, the system may determine whether the selected one or more operations comprises a valid portion of reusable programming logic. In one embodiment, the system may perform such a determination after each selection of the one or more operations. For example, if the user selects three operations, the validation may occur after selecting the first operation, again after selecting the second operation, and again after selecting the third operation. Accordingly, if the combination of selected operations is invalid after selecting the third operation, the system may disable (or maintain as disabled) the copy option (e.g. save snippet option  232 ); however, if the combination of selected operations is valid after selecting a fourth operation, the copy option may then be enabled. Accordingly, the system may provide an on-the-fly, or real-time (or near real-time) validation of the selected operations to provide immediate feedback to the user with respect to whether such a portion of programming logic may be reused. Alternatively, in one embodiment, the system may determine whether the selected set of operations is valid in response to (or after) a user selecting the copy option (e.g. save snippet option  232 ). In one embodiment, the selected operation may be copied to a clipboard, and the system may interact with the copy service. In one embodiment, the copy service may perform the validation process of the selected operations. 
     As described, the system may determine whether the selected operations are a valid portion of reusable programming logic based on various criteria or rules as described above with reference to  FIG. 7 . In one embodiment, the system may determine the selected or more operations comprise a valid portion of reusable programming logic based on an entry path or an exit path of the selected one or more operations. In one embodiment, the system may validate a portion of reusable programming logic in response to determining the selected one or more operations include a single entry path and a single exit path. In addition, in one embodiment, the system may validate a portion of reusable programming logic in response to determining a plurality of the selected operations include only a single exit path. 
     In one embodiment, the system may invalidate a portion of reusable programming logic in response to determining at least a first operation and a second operation of the selected one or more operations are disconnected. For example, if the process flow is broken or includes any gaps the system may deem such a selection as invalid. As another example, if the selected portion of programming logic does not include an exit path, the system may determine the selected portion of programming logic is invalid. In one embodiment, in response to determining the current selection of the one or more operations comprises an invalid portion of reusable programming logic (e.g. a selection that is invalid to save as a snippet), the system may disable, or maintaining as disabled, the option to copy (e.g. save snippet option  232 ) the selected one or more operations of the program. In one embodiment, in response to determining the selected one or more operations comprise a valid portion of reusable programming logic (e.g. a select that is valid to be saved as a snippet), the system may enable an option to copy the selected one or more operations of the program (e.g. enable save snippet option  232 ). 
     In  805 , the system may receive, via the automation building tool, a third user input selecting the option to copy (or save, reuse, store, etc.) the selected one or more operations. For example, the input may include selecting the save snippet option  232 . In one embodiment, the system may provide a message (e.g. “toast” message or notification) indicating that the save snippet request was successful. For example, the copy service may provide such indication. 
     In  806 , in response to the third user input, the system may switch the automation building tool from the select-mode to the build-mode. Accordingly, a user may continue to create or build a program after saving a snippet for later reuse. 
     In  807 , the system may store the first snippet (e.g. selected one or more operations) as a first reusable portion of programming logic. As described, the system may store the first snippet as part of a repository that may be accessed by existing or subsequent programs. The snippets may be stored in any suitable format. For example, in one embodiment, the snippets may be stored in database tables, or various structured formats (e.g. JSON, XML, etc.). In addition, the repository may also store various other pre-built snippets such as those provided by an entity associated with an on-demand service (e.g. cloud service). When storing the copied operations, the system may remove (or delete, or clear out) any unnecessary data associated with the operations to prepare them for insertion. For example, the system may remove one or more parameters associated with the selected stored operations. For example, various operations may be associated with parameters or attributes associated with a particular object, customer, program, etc. Such parameters may be saved, or may be removed to facilitate the ability to insert the operations in various types of programs or contexts. 
       FIG. 9  is a process flow diagram  900  illustrating an example method of inserting a saved snippet of visual programming logic within a program according to one or more embodiments of the disclosure. Process  900  may use processing logic, which may include software, hardware, or a combination thereof. For example, process  900  may be performed by a system including one or more components described in the operating environment  100  (e.g. system  160 , or automation building tool  191 ). 
     In  901 , the system may provide, within the automation building tool, visual programming logic for a second program. For example, the second program may be different from the program in which the snippet may have been saved. The visual programming logic may be represented as a second directed acyclic graph (DAG) including a plurality of nodes each representing an operation to be performed by the system 
     In  902 , the system may receive, via the automation building tool, a fourth user input selecting an option to insert an element into the second program at an insertion point of the second DAG. 
     In  903 , the system may provide a first list of elements to add to the second program at the insertion point. In one embodiment, the first list of elements may include one or more operations and an insert snippet option (e.g. as shown in the example diagram  606 ). 
     In  904 , in response to receiving a user input selecting the insert snippet option, the system may display a list of stored snippets including at least the first snippet (e.g. as shown in the example diagram  607 ). 
     As described, in some embodiments, in response to receiving a user input selecting the option to insert a snippet, the system may provide a second list of stored reusable programming logic including the first reusable programming logic. In one embodiment, in response to receiving an option to paste programming logic, the system may provide a request that the operations be copied from a particular location. For example, the system may interact with the copy service to provide a location, source, destination, and information related to the positioning of the insertion point. In response, the copy service may retrieve the set of selected operations, and in one embodiment, transform the set of operations to a particular data structure (e.g. JSON). This transformed data may then be provided to backend database (or database API) as a request to be processed. In response to authenticating the request, the database may iterate through the data structure and add each operation to the underlying data store. Upon a successful request, the copy service may provide a resulting data structure to be included within the program. In one embodiment, the system may remove any unnecessary data (e.g. parameters) from the operations to be inserted and may draw new edges (or paths) that correspond to the specified insertion point. 
     In  905 , in response to receiving a user input selecting the first snippet, the system may insert the stored first reusable portion of programming logic of the first snippet at the insertion point within the DAG (e.g. as shown in the example diagram  608 ). In one embodiment, the system may provide a message (e.g. “toast” message or notification) indicating that the insertion was successful. 
     Accordingly, described is an efficient and user-friendly mechanism to save snippets of visual programming logic to be reused within an automation building tool. 
     As described, some embodiments of the disclosure may be used in conjunction with an on-demand database service. 
       FIG. 10  is a block diagram illustrating of an example environment  10  in which on-demand database services may be provided to be used in conjunction with one or more embodiments of the disclosure. 
     Environment  10  may include user systems  12 , network  14 , database system  16 , processor system  17 , application platform  18 , network interface  20 , tenant data storage (or data store)  22 , system data storage (or data store)  24 , program code  26 , and process space  28 . In other embodiments, environment  10  may not have all of these components and/or may have other components instead of, or in addition to, those listed above. 
     A user system  12  may be implemented as any computing device(s) or other data processing apparatus such as a machine or system used by a user to access a database system  16 . For example, any of user systems  12  can be a handheld and/or portable computing device such as a mobile phone, a smartphone, a laptop computer, or a tablet. Other examples of a user system include computing devices such as a work station and/or a network of computing devices. As shown, user systems  12  might interact via a network  14  with an on-demand database service, which is implemented, in this example, as database system  16 . 
     An on-demand database service, implemented using system  16  by way of example, is a service that is made available to users who do not need to necessarily be concerned with building and/or maintaining the database system. Instead, the database system may be available for their use when the users need the database system, i.e., on the demand of the users. Some on-demand database services may store information from one or more tenants into tables of a common database image to form a multi-tenant database system (MTS). A database image may include one or more database objects. A relational database management system (RDBMS) or the equivalent may execute storage and retrieval of information against the database object(s). A non-relational database management system (NRDBMS) or the equivalent may execute storage and fast retrieval of large sets of information against the database object(s). Application platform  18  may be a framework that allows the applications of system  16  to run, such as the hardware and/or software, e.g., the operating system. In some embodiments, application platform  18  enables creation, managing and executing one or more applications developed by the provider of the on-demand database service, users accessing the on-demand database service via user systems  12 , or third party application developers accessing the on-demand database service via user systems  12 . 
     The users of user systems  12  may differ in their respective capacities, and the capacity of a particular user system  12  might be entirely determined by permissions (permission levels) for the current user. For example, when a salesperson is using a particular user system  12  to interact with system  16 , the user system has the capacities allotted to that salesperson. However, while an administrator is using that user system to interact with system  16 , that user system has the capacities allotted to that administrator. In systems with a hierarchical role model, users at one permission level may have access to applications, data, and database information accessible by a lower permission level user, but may not have access to certain applications, database information, and data accessible by a user at a higher permission level. Thus, different users will have different capabilities with regard to accessing and modifying application and database information, depending on a user&#39;s security or permission level, also called authorization. 
     Network  14  is any network or combination of networks of devices that communicate with one another. For example, network  14  can be any one or any combination of a LAN (local area network), WAN (wide area network), telephone network, wireless network, point-to-point network, star network, token ring network, hub network, or other appropriate configuration. Network  14  can include a TCP/IP (Transfer Control Protocol and Internet Protocol) network, such as the global internetwork of networks often referred to as the Internet. The Internet will be used in many of the examples herein. However, it should be understood that the networks that the present implementations might use are not so limited. 
     User systems  12  might communicate with system  16  using TCP/IP and, at a higher network level, use other common Internet protocols to communicate, such as HTTP, FTP, AFS, WAP, etc. In an example where HTTP is used, user system  12  might include an HTTP client commonly referred to as a “browser” for sending and receiving HTTP signals to and from an HTTP server at system  16 . Such an HTTP server might be implemented as the sole network interface  20  between system  16  and network  14 , but other techniques might be used as well or instead. In some embodiments, the network interface  20  between system  16  and network  14  includes load sharing functionality, such as round-robin HTTP request distributors to balance loads and distribute incoming HTTP requests evenly over a plurality of servers. At least for users accessing system  16 , each of the plurality of servers has access to the MTS&#39; data; however, other alternative configurations may be used instead. 
     In one embodiment, system  16  may implement a web-based CRM system. For example, in one embodiment, system  16  includes application servers configured to implement and execute CRM software applications as well as provide related data, code, forms, web pages and other information to and from user systems  12  and to store to, and retrieve from, a database system related data, objects, and Webpage content. With a multi-tenant system, data for multiple tenants may be stored in the same physical database object in tenant data storage  22 , however, tenant data typically is arranged in the storage medium(s) of tenant data storage  22  so that data of one tenant is kept logically separate from that of other tenants so that one tenant does not have access to another tenant&#39;s data, unless such data is expressly shared. In certain embodiments, system  16  implements applications other than, or in addition to, a CRM application. For example, system  16  may provide tenant access to multiple hosted (standard and custom) applications, including a CRM application. User (or third party developer) applications, which may or may not include CRM, may be supported by the application platform  18 , which manages creation, storage of the applications into one or more database objects and executing of the applications in a virtual machine in the process space of the system  16 . 
     In one embodiment, an arrangement for elements of system  16  may include a network interface  20 , application platform  18 , tenant data storage  22  for tenant data  23 , system data storage  24  for system data  25  accessible to system  16  and possibly multiple tenants, program code  26  for implementing various functions of system  16 , and a process space  28  for executing MTS system processes and tenant-specific processes, such as running applications as part of an application hosting service. Additional processes that may execute on system  16  include database indexing processes. 
     Several elements in the system shown in this example include conventional, well-known elements that are explained only briefly here. For example, each user system  12  could include a personal computer, server, smart phone, or any wireless access protocol (WAP) enabled device or any other computing device capable of interfacing directly or indirectly to the Internet or other network connection. User system  12  may run an HTTP client, e.g., a browsing program or “browser”, or a WAP-enabled browser in the case of a cell phone, PDA or other wireless device, or the like, allowing a user (e.g., subscriber of the multi-tenant database system) of user system  12  to access, process and view information, pages and applications available to it from system  16  over network  14 . Each user system  12  also typically includes one or more user input devices, such as a keyboard, a mouse, trackball, touch pad, touch screen, pen or the like, for interacting with a GUI provided by the browser on a display (e.g., a monitor screen, LCD display, OLED display, etc.) of the computing device in conjunction with pages, forms, applications and other information provided by system  16  or other systems or servers. Thus, “display device” as used herein can refer to a display of a computer system such as a monitor or touch-screen display, and can refer to any computing device having display capabilities such as a desktop computer, laptop, tablet, smartphone, a television set-top box, or wearable device such a smart watch or other human body-mounted display apparatus. For example, the display device can be used to access data and applications hosted by system  16 , and to perform searches on stored data, and otherwise allow a user to interact with various GUI pages that may be presented to a user. As discussed above, implementations are suitable for use with the Internet, although other networks can be used instead of or in addition to the Internet, such as an intranet, an extranet, a virtual private network (VPN), a non-TCP/IP based network, any LAN or WAN or the like. 
     According to one embodiment, each user system  12  and all of its components are operator configurable using applications, such as a browser. Similarly, system  16  (and additional instances of an MTS, where more than one is present) and all of its components might be operator configurable using applications using processor system  17 , which include one or more processors. Non-transitory computer-readable media as further described herein can have instructions stored thereon/in, that can be executed by or used to program a computing device to perform any of the methods of the embodiments described herein. Computer program code  26  implementing instructions for operating and configuring system  16  to intercommunicate and to process web pages, applications and other data and media content as described herein is preferably downloadable and stored on a hard disk, but the entire program code, or portions thereof, may also be stored in any other volatile or non-volatile memory medium or device as is well known, such as a ROM or RAM, or any other type of computer-readable medium or device suitable for storing instructions and/or data. Additionally, the entire program code, or portions thereof, may be transmitted and downloaded from a source over a network connection. It will also be appreciated that computer code for the disclosed embodiments can be realized in any programming language that can be executed on a client system and/or server or server system such as, for example, C, C++, HTML, any other markup language, Java, JavaScript, ActiveX, any other scripting language, such as VBScript, and many other programming languages as are well known may be used. 
     According to some embodiments, each system  16  is configured to provide web pages, forms, applications, data and media content to user (client) systems  12  to support the access by user systems  12  as tenants of system  16 . As such, system  16  provides security mechanisms to keep each tenant&#39;s data separate unless the data is shared. If more than one MTS is used, they may be located in close proximity to one another (e.g., in a server farm located in a single building or campus), or they may be distributed at locations remote from one another (e.g., one or more servers located in city A and one or more servers located in city B). As used herein, each MTS could include one or more logically and/or physically connected servers distributed locally or across one or more geographic locations. Additionally, the term “server” is meant to refer to one type of computing device such as a system including processing hardware and process space(s), an associated storage medium such as a memory device or database, and, in some instances, a database application (e.g., OODBMS or RDBMS) as is well known in the art. It should also be understood that “server system” and “server” are often used interchangeably herein. Similarly, the database objects described herein can be implemented as single databases, a distributed database, a collection of distributed databases, a database with redundant online or offline backups or other redundancies, etc., and might include a distributed database or storage network and associated processing intelligence. 
       FIG. 11  is a block diagram illustrating an of example of elements of  FIG. 10  and various possible interconnections between these elements according to one or more embodiments of the disclosure. 
     As shown, elements of system  16  and various interconnections in some embodiments are further illustrated. As shown, in one embodiment, the user system  12  may include processor system  12 A, memory system  12 B, input system  12 C, and output system  12 D. This example shows network  14  and system  16 , and also shows that system  16  may include tenant data storage  22 , tenant data  23 , system data storage  24 , system data  25 , User Interface (UI)  30 , Application Program Interface (API)  32 , PL/SOQL  34 , save routines  36 , application setup mechanism  38 , application servers  501 - 50 N, system process space  52 , tenant process spaces  54 , tenant management process space  60 , tenant storage space  62 , user storage  64 , and application metadata  66 . In other embodiments, environment  10  may not have the same elements as those listed above and/or may have other elements instead of, or in addition to, those listed above. 
     Regarding user system  12 , processor system  12 A may be any combination of one or more processors. Memory system  12 B may be any combination of one or more memory devices, short term, and/or long term memory. Input system  12 C may be any combination of input devices, such as one or more keyboards, mice, trackballs, scanners, cameras, and/or interfaces to networks. Output system  12 D may be any combination of output devices, such as one or more monitors, printers, and/or interfaces to networks. As shown in this example, system  16  may include a network interface  20  implemented as a set of application servers  50 , an application platform  18 , tenant data storage  22 , and system data storage  24 . Also shown is system process space  52 , including individual tenant process spaces  54  and a tenant management process space  60 . Each application server  50  may be configured to communicate with tenant data storage  22  and the tenant data  23  therein, and system data storage  24  and the system data  25  therein to serve requests of user systems  12 . The tenant data  23  might be divided into individual tenant storage spaces  62 , which can be either a physical arrangement and/or a logical arrangement of data. Within each tenant storage space  62 , user storage  64  and application metadata  66  might be similarly allocated for each user. For example, a copy of a user&#39;s most recently used (MRU) items might be stored to user storage  64 . Similarly, a copy of MRU items for an entire organization that is a tenant might be stored to tenant storage space  62 . A UI  30  provides a user interface and an API  32  provides an application programmer interface to system  16  resident processes to users and/or developers at user systems  12 . The tenant data and the system data may be stored in various databases, such as one or more Oracle® or HBase databases. 
       FIG. 12  shows a block diagram of an example of a computing system that may be used in conjunction with one or more embodiments of the disclosure. For example, computing system  1200  (or system, or server, or computing device, or device) may represent any of the devices or systems (e.g. system  160 , system  16 , automation building tool  191 , etc.) described herein that perform any of the processes, operations, or methods of the disclosure. As referred to herein, a system, for example, with reference to the claims, may include one or more computing systems that may include one or more processors. Note that while the computing system  1200  illustrates various components, it is not intended to represent any particular architecture or manner of interconnecting the components as such details are not germane to the present disclosure. It will also be appreciated that other types of systems that have fewer or more components than shown may also be used with the present disclosure. 
     As shown, the computing system  1200  may include a bus  1205  which may be coupled to a processor  1210 , ROM (Read Only Memory)  1220 , RAM (or volatile memory)  1225 , and storage (or non-volatile memory)  1230 . The processor (or processors)  1210  may retrieve stored instructions from one or more of the memories  1220 ,  1225 , and  1230  and execute the instructions to perform processes, operations, or methods described herein. These memories represent examples of a non-transitory computer-readable medium (or machine-readable medium, a computer program product, etc.) containing instructions (or program code) which when executed by a processor (or system, device, etc.), cause the processor to perform operations, processes, or methods described herein. As referred to herein, for example, with reference to the claims, a processor may include one or more processors. The RAM  1225  may be implemented as, for example, dynamic RAM (DRAM), or other types of memory that require power continually in order to refresh or maintain the data in the memory. Storage  1230  may include, for example, magnetic, semiconductor, tape, optical, removable, non-removable, and other types of storage that maintain data even after power is removed from the system. It should be appreciated that storage  1230  may be remote from the system (e.g. accessible via a network). 
     A display controller  1250  may be coupled to the bus  1205  in order to receive display data to be displayed on a display device  1255 , which can display any one of the user interface features or embodiments described herein and may be a local or a remote display device. The computing system  1200  may also include one or more input/output (I/O) components  1265  including mice, keyboards, touch screen, network interfaces, printers, speakers, and other devices. Typically, the input/output components  1265  are coupled to the system through an input/output controller  1260 . 
     Program code  1270  may represent any of the instructions, applications, software, libraries, toolkits, modules, components, engines, units, functions, logic, etc. as described herein. Program code  1270  may reside, completely or at least partially, within the memories described herein (e.g. non-transitory computer-readable media), or within a processor during execution thereof by the computing system. Program code  1270  may include both machine code, such as produced by a compiler, and files containing higher-level or intermediate code that may be executed by a computing system or other data processing apparatus (or machine) using an interpreter. In addition, program code  1270  can be implemented as software, firmware, or functional circuitry within the computing system, or as combinations thereof. Program code  1270  may also be downloaded, in whole or in part, through the use of a software development kit or toolkit that enables the creation and embodiment of the described embodiments. 
     Moreover, any of the disclosed embodiments may be embodied in various types of hardware, software, firmware, and combinations thereof. For example, some techniques disclosed herein may be implemented, at least in part, by non-transitory computer-readable media that include program instructions, state information, etc., for performing various methods and operations described herein. 
     It should be noted that the term “approximately” or “substantially” may be used herein and may be interpreted as “as nearly as practicable,” “within technical limitations,” and the like. In addition, the use of the term “or” indicates an inclusive or (e.g., and/or) unless otherwise specified. 
     Other embodiments of the disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as examples only, with a true scope and spirit of the embodiments being indicated by the claims.