Patent ID: 7886280

Claim:
A computer system comprising a processor and computer readable memory, said memory storing software for flattening a hierarchically structured source flow, said source flow including at least two levels of hierarchy with each level of hierarchy including one or more nodes interconnected by connectors, said software adapting said system to: (a) identify, at a current top level of hierarchy in said source flow, any primitive node; (b) add to a target flow said primitive node identified in (a); (c) identify, at said current top level of hierarchy in (a), any complex node, each complex node containing at least one subflow with one or more nodes interconnected by connectors; (d) add to said target flow said at least one subflow in place of said complex node identified in (c); (e) re-establish connections between any nodes and subflows added to said target flow, and maintain node terminal connections such that any data flowing through said target flow is processed as if through said source flow.