Patent ID: 8327333

Claim:
A software development assistance apparatus of assisting a user in a process of developing software, the apparatus comprising: a service store module to store in a memory service function information regarding one or more functions provided by a set of software components available for use in developing the software, the set of software components providing at least a function to access a web service through a network; an analyzing module to analyze the software under development to generate an analysis result indicating at least one function to be used for an operation test of determining whether the software under development properly operates; a first test module to perform the operation test using the at least one function indicated by the analysis result while accessing the web service; a second test module to perform the operation test using the at least one function indicated by the analysis result without accessing the web service; a test determination module to obtain service function information that corresponds to the at least one function indicated by the analysis result from the service function information stored in the service store module, to determine whether the operation test is to be performed by the first test module or the second test module based on the service function information that corresponds to the at least one function indicated by the analysis result to generate a determination result, and to cause one of the first test module and the second test module that is selected based on the determination result to generate a test result by performing the operation test; and a display module to display the test result through a display device, wherein: the service function information stored in the memory includes property data specifying a process to be performed by the corresponding function with respect to the web service, and the test determination module obtains property data that corresponds to the at least one function indicated by the analysis result, and determines that the operation test should be performed by the second test module when the property data indicates that execution of the at least one function indicated by the analysis result causes a state of the web service to be physically changed.