Patent ID: 8046732

Claim:
A computer implemented method of distributing changes in a network-based application, the method comprising: providing a graphical application modeling tool displaying a model of a pattern of the network-based application, the model comprising a plurality of elements, each element being linked to another element via a port, each port representing a class that contains information about pattern qualities of that port as related to the element; propagating within the computer-implemented graphical model comprising the linked plurality of elements a change applied to a first element of the plurality of elements of the model, displayed on the graphical application modeling tool, of the pattern of the network-based application to a second element of the plurality of elements of the model of the pattern of the network-based application by the first element distributing the change to the second element via linked ports associated with the first element and the second element to cause the change to be applied to the second element by updating the information at ports of the second element based on the change and updating the second element based on the change; and propagating, within the computer-implemented graphical model comprising the linked plurality of elements, the change applied to the second element of the model, displayed on the graphical application modeling tool, of the pattern of the network-based application to any other element of the plurality of elements of the model of the pattern of the network-based application linked to the second element via ports associated with the second element and the any other element such that each of the any other element is configured to receive the change propagating within the computer-implemented graphical model from a linked element as defined by the model of the pattern of the network-based application, wherein information of respective ports of the each of the any other element receiving the change are updated based on the received change, and the each of the any other element receiving the change is updated based on the received change.