Automatic component interface creator

التفاصيل البيبلوغرافية
العنوان: Automatic component interface creator
Patent Number: 7,502,031
تاريخ النشر: March 10, 2009
Appl. No: 11/642431
Application Filed: December 20, 2006
مستخلص: A cross-platform interface tool provides a common interface for any hardware or software component having some advertising mechanism listing its features, input, and output requirements. The advertising mechanism can take a number of different forms, including data, a software object definition, or a communications system. The cross-platform interface tool includes a parsing mechanism for parsing through a component description associated with at least one of the plurality of components to gather information relating to the components. A component interface creator automatically generates a component interface based on the information gathered by the parsing mechanism.
Inventors: Pike, Melissa J. (Milford, MA, US); Edson, Patrick L. (Newton, MA, US); Yang, Li (Franklin, MA, US); Portal, Christian (Holliston, MA, US); Gaudette, Thomas (Jamaica Plain, MA, US)
Assignees: The MathWorks, Inc. (Natick, MA, US)
Claim: 1. A method of testing a device interface object automatically created by a cross-platform interface tool, the device interface object for communicating with a component, the method comprising: identifying the device interface object and a driver associated with the component; receiving, from a user, a plurality of test steps; receiving, from a user, a pass requirement for a first test step; receiving, from a user, an action in response to a second test step failing, the action being one of continuing to run the plurality of test steps, stopping the plurality of test steps, resetting the component and continuing to run the plurality of test steps, and resetting the component and stopping the plurality of test steps; running each of the plurality of test steps; generating a plurality of test results, wherein the running includes determining if the first test step satisfied the received pass requirement and, in response to the second test step failing, executing the received action; and saving the plurality of test steps and the pass requirement as an executable function in the driver associated with the component.
Claim: 2. The method of claim 1 further comprising saving the test in a file.
Claim: 3. The method of claim 2 wherein the file is an eXtensible Markup Language (XML) file.
Claim: 4. The method of claim 1 further comprising saving the plurality of test results in a file.
Claim: 5. The method of claim 4 wherein the file is a HyperText Markup Language (HTML) file.
Claim: 6. The method of claim 1 wherein at least one of the plurality of steps is a property sweep operation.
Claim: 7. The method of claim 1 wherein the component is a hardware instrument.
Claim: 8. A computer storage medium holding computer-executable instructions for testing a device interface object automatically created by a cross-platform interface tool, the medium comprising instructions for: identifying the device interface object and a driver associated with the component; receiving, from a user, a plurality of test steps; receiving, from a user, a pass requirement for a first test step; receiving, from a user, an action in response to a second test step failing, the action being one of continuing to run the plurality of test steps, stopping the plurality of test steps, resetting the component and continuing to run the plurality of test steps, and resetting the component and stopping the plurality of test steps; running each of the plurality of test steps; generating a plurality of test results, wherein the running includes determining if the first test step satisfied the received pass requirement and, in response to the second test step failing, executing the received action; and saving the plurality of test steps and the pass requirement as an executable function in the driver associated with the component.
Claim: 9. The computer storage medium of claim 8 further comprising instructions for saving the test in a file.
Claim: 10. The computer storage medium of claim 9 wherein the file is an eXtensible Markup Language (XML) file.
Claim: 11. The computer storage medium of claim 8 further comprising instructions for saving the plurality of test results in a file.
Claim: 12. The computer storage medium of claim 11 wherein the file is a HyperText Markup Language (HTML) file.
Claim: 13. The computer storage medium of claim 8 wherein at least one of the plurality of steps is a property sweep operation.
Claim: 14. The computer storage medium of claim 8 wherein the component is a hardware instrument.
Current U.S. Class: 345/589
Patent References Cited: 7055067 May 2006 DiJoseph
7165253 January 2007 Pike et al.


Other References: IVI - Interchangeable Virtual Instruments: IVI-3.1: Driver Architecture Specification. IVI Foundation, Aug. 22, 2003 Edition, pp. 1-111. cited by other
VXI Plug & Play Systems Alliance: VPP-4.3: The Visa Library. VXI Plug & Play Systems, Mar. 17, 2000, pp. 1-285. cited by other
VXI Plug & Play Systems Alliance: VPP-4.3.2: Visa Implementation Specification for Textual Languages. VXI Plug & Play Systems, Mar. 17, 2000, pp. 1-84. cited by other
Primary Examiner: Nguyen, Phu K
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Lahive & Cockfield, LLP
Canning, Kevin J.
رقم الانضمام: edspgr.07502031
قاعدة البيانات: USPTO Patent Grants