JP7501092B2 - Auxiliary method, control program and device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an assistance method, a control program, and an apparatus.

JP 2002-366401 A (Patent Document 1) discloses a data mart construction and operation support system. In this data mart construction and operation support system, the user generates a data mart creation program by using a template of a program structure prepared in advance. Therefore, this data mart construction and operation support system allows the user to generate a data mart creation program in a short amount of time (see Patent Document 1).

JP 2002-366401 A

In a program development environment that supports visual programming, multiple types of program elements are prepared. In visual programming, a program is developed by connecting icons that correspond to each program element. However, beginners to visual programming often do not correctly understand how to use each icon, and it is not necessarily easy for beginners to develop a program using visual programming. A solution to this problem is not disclosed in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1.

The present invention has been made to solve these problems, and its purpose is to provide an auxiliary method, control program, and device that make program development using visual programming easier.

An assistance method according to one aspect of the present invention is a method for assisting visual programming in a program development environment. In the program development environment, multiple types of program elements, each represented as an icon, are prepared, and a program is developed by connecting all or part of the multiple types of program elements. Each of the multiple types of program elements is configured to execute a specified information processing. The assistance method includes a step of accepting a selection of one of the multiple types of program elements from a program developer, and a step of displaying a part of a program created in the past. The part of the program includes the program element selected by the program developer and program elements connected before and after the program element selected by the program developer.

In this assistance method, when a program element is selected by a program developer, a portion of a previously created program that includes the program element is displayed. The portion of the program that is displayed includes the program element selected by the program developer and program elements connected before and after the program element selected by the program developer. Therefore, the program developer can recognize examples of program elements connected before and after the selected program element, making program development easier.

In the above assistance method, the part of the program does not need to include other program elements.

In this assistance method, the portion of the program that is displayed does not include any other program elements than the program element selected by the program developer and the program elements connected before and after the program element selected by the program developer. Therefore, the program developer can easily recognize an example of a program element that is directly connected to the selected program element, making program development easier.

In the above assistance method, a portion of the program is displayed on a program development screen, and the assistance method further includes a step of displaying the program in the process of development on the program development screen, and both the portion of the program and the program in the process of development may be displayed on the program development screen.

In this assistance method, both a portion of the program and the program in the process of development are displayed on the program development screen. Therefore, the program developer can more easily develop a program while checking examples of how to use the selected program elements.

In the above-mentioned assistance method, a setting item for setting a value is provided for all or part of the multiple types of program elements, and the assistance method may further include a step of displaying the value set in the setting item for a program element selected by the program developer and included in a part of the above-mentioned program.

In this assistance method, the value set for the configuration item in the selected program element is displayed. Therefore, the program developer can easily recognize an example of the value set for the configuration item in the selected program element.

In the above assistance method, the program may be configured to execute ETL (Extract/Transform/Load) processing.

A control program according to another aspect of the present invention causes a computer to execute auxiliary operations for visual programming in a program development environment. In the program development environment, multiple types of program elements, each represented as an icon, are prepared, and a program is developed by connecting all or part of the multiple types of program elements. Each of the multiple types of program elements is configured to execute a predetermined information processing. The control program is configured to cause a computer to execute a step of accepting a selection of one of the multiple types of program elements from a program developer, and a step of displaying a part of a program created in the past. The part of the program includes the program element selected by the program developer and program elements connected before and after the program element selected by the program developer.

In this control program, when a program element is selected by a program developer, a portion of a previously created program that includes that program element is displayed. The portion of the program that is displayed includes the program element selected by the program developer and program elements connected before and after the program element selected by the program developer. Therefore, the program developer can more easily develop a program because he or she can recognize examples of program elements that are connected before and after the selected program element.

An apparatus according to another aspect of the present invention provides a program development environment. In the program development environment, multiple types of program elements, each represented as an icon, are prepared, and a program is developed by connecting all or part of the multiple types of program elements, and each of the multiple types of program elements is configured to execute a predetermined information processing. The apparatus includes a reception unit and a display unit. The reception unit is configured to receive a selection of one of the multiple types of program elements from a program developer. The display unit is configured to display a portion of a program created in the past. The portion of the program includes the program element selected by the program developer and program elements connected before and after the program element selected by the program developer.

In this device, when a program element is selected by a program developer, a portion of a previously created program that includes that program element is displayed. The portion of the program that is displayed includes the program element selected by the program developer and program elements connected before and after the program element selected by the program developer. Therefore, the program developer can more easily develop a program because he or she can recognize examples of program elements connected before and after the selected program element.

The present invention provides an auxiliary method, control program, and device that make program development using visual programming easier.

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining an overview of the device. FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a hardware configuration of the apparatus. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of program elements prepared in a program development environment. FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a program created in a program development environment. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a first example of a screen in the development process of the program shown in FIG. 4. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a second example of a screen in the development process of the program shown in FIG. 4. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a screen. 11 is a flowchart showing a first display operation of a program development screen in a program development environment. 13 is a flowchart showing a second display operation of the program development screen in the program development environment.

Below, an embodiment according to one aspect of the present invention (hereinafter also referred to as "the present embodiment") will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the same or corresponding parts in the drawings are given the same reference numerals and their description will not be repeated. Furthermore, the present embodiment described below is merely an example of the present invention in every respect. Various improvements and modifications are possible to this embodiment within the scope of the present invention. In other words, in implementing the present invention, specific configurations can be appropriately adopted depending on the embodiment.

[1. Overview]
Fig. 1 is a diagram for explaining an overview of an apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment. Referring to Fig. 1, the apparatus 100 is configured to provide a program development environment. In the apparatus 100, a program is developed by visual programming.

The program developed in device 100 is, for example, a program that performs ETL (Extract/Transform/Load) processing on data (hereinafter also referred to as an "ETL program"). When an ETL program is executed, for example, data is read from an external device such as a production line, the read data is processed, and the processed data is provided to another external device.

In the program development environment provided by device 100 (hereinafter also referred to simply as the "program development environment"), multiple types of program elements are provided. Each of the multiple types of program elements is configured to execute a specified information processing. By freely combining the program elements, the desired program can be developed.

The device 100 includes a display unit 140 and a control unit 110. The display unit 140 is configured to display a screen 200. The control unit 110 is configured to control the display unit 140.

Screen 200 is a program development screen, and includes, for example, a program creation area 202, a menu display area 201, and a usage example display area 203. A program 220 under development is displayed in program creation area 202. Program 220 includes, for example, one or more types of program elements PE. In the program development environment, a program is developed by connecting multiple icons, each of which corresponds to one of the program elements PE.

A menu 210 is displayed in the menu display area 201. The menu 210 includes a plurality of items 211. Each of the plurality of items 211 is associated with one of a plurality of types of program elements PE. When a user selects one of the items 211, the program element PE corresponding to the selected item 211 can be added to the program 220 under development.

However, beginners in visual programming often do not accurately understand how to use each program element PE. In the device 100 according to this embodiment, a function is implemented that suggests to the program developer how to use the program element PE. That is, after any of the items 211 is selected (item 3 is selected in FIG. 1), when the search instruction item 212 is selected, a portion of a previously created program 220 is displayed in the usage example display area 203.

A portion of the previously created program 220 includes a program element PE selected by the program developer and program elements PE connected before and after the program element PE selected by the program developer. Therefore, the program developer can refer to examples of program elements PE connected before and after the selected program element PE and recognize how to use the selected program element PE, making program development easier.

2. Hardware configuration of the device
Fig. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of the device 100. In this embodiment, the device 100 is realized by, for example, a general-purpose computer. In the example of Fig. 2, the device 100 includes a control unit 110, a communication I/F (interface) 130, a display unit 140, a reception unit 150, and a storage unit 120, and each component is electrically connected via a bus.

The control unit 110 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 111, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 112, and a ROM (Read Only Memory) 113, and is configured to control each component in response to information processing.

The communication I/F 130 is configured to communicate with an external device provided outside the device 100 via a network. The communication I/F 130 is configured, for example, with a wired LAN (Local Area Network) module or a wireless LAN module.

The display unit 140 is configured to display the screen 200 (FIG. 1) and the like. The display unit 140 is configured, for example, with a monitor such as a liquid crystal monitor or an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) monitor.

The reception unit 150 is configured to receive input from a user such as a program developer. The reception unit 150 is configured, for example, with some or all of a touch panel, a keyboard, a mouse, and a microphone.

The storage unit 120 is, for example, an auxiliary storage device such as a hard disk drive or a solid state drive. The storage unit 120 is configured to store, for example, an ETL program DB 101 that manages multiple ETL programs that have been developed, and a control program 102.

The control unit 110 provides a program development environment, for example, by executing the control program 102. In this program development environment, at least an ETL program creation function, an ETL program execution function, an ETL program storage function, and an ETL program search function are realized.

The ETL program creation function enables program developers to create new ETL programs. The ETL program execution function executes the created ETL program. The ETL program storage function stores the created ETL program in the ETL program DB101. The ETL program search function searches for the desired ETL program in the ETL program DB101.

As described above, multiple types of program elements PE are provided in the program development environment. Next, we will explain an example of a program element PE provided in the program development environment and an example of a program 220 to be created.

[3. Examples of program elements and programs]
3 is a diagram showing an example of a program element PE prepared in a program development environment. As shown in FIG. 3, in the program development environment, a plurality of program elements PE are prepared, each of which is included in one of the major categories such as "basic", "cloud-related", "DB-related", and "file-related".

For example, the major category "Basic" contains "medium categories" such as "Program Control" and "Table". Also, for example, the medium category "Program Control" contains program elements PE such as "Conditional Repetition", "Conditional Branch", "Multiple Conditional Branch", "Exception Check", "Repeat Exit", and "Jump". In the program development environment, a program is developed by connecting multiple icons, each of which corresponds to one of the program element PEs.

Figure 4 is a diagram showing an example of a program 220 created in a program development environment. Referring to Figure 4, program 220 is a program that sends invitations by email to applicants for a presentation. Program 220 includes program elements PE1-PE5.

Program element PE1 is "receive email" and executes the process of receiving emails related to applications from the email server. Program element PE2 is "create list of applicants" and executes the process of creating a list of applicants based on received emails. Program element PE3 is "output list" and executes the process of outputting the created list. Program element PE4 is "create invitation" and executes the process of creating invitations addressed to each applicant. Program element PE5 is "send email" and executes the process of sending the created invitations to each applicant. Next, an example of the operation of device 100 during the development process of program 220 shown in Figure 4 will be described.

[4. Example of operation in program development environment]
Fig. 5 is a diagram showing a first example of screen 200 in the development process of program 220 shown in Fig. 4. Referring to Fig. 5, when any one of items 211 (in this example, "item 3 (received mail)") included in menu 210 is selected and an instruction to display search instruction item 212 is given, search instruction item 212 is displayed. As described above, each item 211 is associated with any one of a plurality of types of program elements PE.

When the search instruction item 212 is selected, a portion of the previously created program 220 is displayed in the usage example display area 203. The portion of the previously created program 220 includes a program element PE selected by the program developer (in this example, "item 3 (receive email)") and program elements PE connected before and after the program element PE selected by the program developer.

That is, when the search instruction item 212 is selected, the control unit 110 searches the ETL program DB 101 for a program 220 that includes the selected program element PE. The control unit 110 extracts a portion of the program 220 obtained through the search. That is, the control unit 110 extracts the selected program element PE and the program elements PE connected before and after the selected program element PE from the program 220 obtained through the search. The control unit 110 controls the display unit 140 to display a portion of the program 220 in the usage example display area 203. For example, when multiple programs 220 are obtained through the search, portions of the multiple programs 220 are displayed in the usage example display area 203.

This allows the program developer to refer to examples of program elements PE connected before and after the selected program element PE and recognize how to use the selected program element PE, making it easier to develop a program. Also, in this embodiment, both the usage example display area 203 and the program creation area 202 are displayed simultaneously on the screen 200. Therefore, the program developer can develop a program more easily while checking the usage examples of the selected program element PE.

Figure 6 is a diagram showing a second example of screen 200 in the development process of program 220 shown in Figure 4. Referring to Figure 6, when a use example is displayed in use example display area 203, a program element PE (in this example, "receive email") included in the use example is selected and an instruction to display display instruction item 213 is given, whereby display instruction item 213 is displayed. When display instruction item 213 is selected, for example, screen 300 is displayed. Note that some or all of the multiple types of program elements PE provided in the program development environment are provided with setting items for setting values.

Figure 7 is a diagram showing an example of screen 300. Referring to Figure 7, screen 300 displays each setting item in the program element PE indicating "receive email" and the value set for each setting item. In the program element PE indicating "receive email", for example, the setting items provided are "server name of receiving email server", "user name of email account", "password for email account", "maximum number of received emails acquired at one time", and "encoding when receiving".

These setting items and the setting values for each setting item are displayed on screen 300. By referring to screen 300, a program developer can easily recognize an example of the value to be set for the setting item in the selected program element PE.

5. Operation of the Device
8 is a flowchart showing a first display operation of a program development screen in a program development environment. The process shown in this flowchart is repeatedly executed while the program development screen is being displayed. An example of the program development screen is shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6.

Referring to FIG. 8, the control unit 110 determines whether or not a search instruction for a usage example of the program element PE has been issued (step S100). That is, the control unit 110 determines whether or not item 211 has been selected, and then search instruction item 212 (FIG. 5) has been selected. If it is determined that there has been no search instruction for a usage example of the program element PE (NO in step S100), the process proceeds to return.

On the other hand, if it is determined that a search instruction has been given regarding a usage example of the program element PE (YES in step S100), the control unit 110 searches the ETL program DB 101 for a program 220 that includes the selected program element PE (step S110).

After the search, the control unit 110 determines whether the program 220 containing the selected program element PE is present in the ETL program DB 101 (step S120). If it is determined that the program 220 containing the selected program element PE is not present in the ETL program DB 101 (NO in step S120), the process proceeds to return.

On the other hand, if it is determined that a program 220 including the selected program element PE is found in the ETL program DB 101 (YES in step S120), the control unit 110 extracts a portion of the program 220 obtained through the search (step S130). That is, the control unit 110 extracts the selected program element PE and the program elements PE connected before and after the selected program element PE from the program 220 obtained through the search. The control unit 110 controls the display unit 140 to display a portion of the program 220 (step S140).

This allows program developers to refer to examples of program element PEs that are connected before and after a selected program element PE and understand how to use the selected program element PE, making program development easier.

Figure 9 is a flowchart showing a second display operation of a program development screen in a program development environment. The process shown in this flowchart is repeatedly executed when a usage example of a program element PE is displayed on the program development screen.

Referring to FIG. 9, the control unit 110 determines whether or not there has been an instruction to display examples of the setting values of the program element PE (step S200). That is, the control unit 110 determines whether or not any of the program elements PE included in the usage example has been selected, and then the display instruction item 213 (FIG. 6) has been selected. If it is determined that there has been no instruction to display examples of the setting values of the program element PE (NO in step S200), the process proceeds to return.

On the other hand, if it is determined that an instruction to display examples of the setting values of the program element PE has been given (YES in step S200), the control unit 110 reads out the setting values of the selected program element PE from the ETL program DB 101 (step S210). The control unit 110 controls the display unit 140 to display a screen 300 (FIG. 7) including the read setting values (step S220).

This allows the program developer to easily recognize an example of a value to be set for a configuration item in the selected program element PE by referring to screen 300.

[6. Features]
As described above, in device 100 according to the present embodiment, when a program element PE is selected by a program developer, a portion of previously created program 220 that includes the program element PE is displayed. The portion of program 220 that is displayed includes the program element PE selected by the program developer and program elements PE connected before and after the program element PE selected by the program developer. Therefore, the program developer can recognize examples of program elements PE connected before and after the selected program element PE, making it easier to develop a program.

7. Modifications
Although the embodiment has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

In the above embodiment, the selected program element PE, one program element PE connected before the selected program element PE, and one program element PE connected after the selected program element PE were extracted as part of the program 220. However, the part of the program 220 to be extracted is not limited to this. For example, the selected program element PE, two or more program elements PE connected before the selected program element PE, and two or more program elements PE connected after the selected program element PE may be extracted.

In the above embodiment, the ETL program DB 101 is included in the device 100. However, the ETL program DB 101 does not necessarily have to be present in the device 100. The ETL program DB 101 may be present outside the device 100. In this case, the device 100 and the ETL program DB 101 communicate data via, for example, the communication I/F 130.

100 device, 101 ETL program DB, 102 control program, 110 control unit, 111 CPU, 112 RAM, 113 ROM, 120 storage unit, 130 communication I/F, 140 display unit, 150 reception unit, 200, 300 screen, 201 menu display area, 202 program creation area, 203 usage example display area, 210 menu, 211 item, 212 search instruction item, 213 display instruction item, 220 program, PE, PE1, PE2, PE3, PE4, PE5 program element.

Claims (6)

A method for assisting visual programming in a program development environment, comprising:
In the program development environment, a plurality of types of program elements, each of which is represented as an icon, are prepared, and a program is developed by connecting all or a part of the plurality of types of program elements;
each of the plurality of types of program elements is configured to execute a predetermined information processing;
The assistance method includes:
receiving a selection of any one of the plurality of types of program elements from a program developer;
and displaying a portion of the program that has been previously created;
The portion of the program includes a program element selected by the program developer and program elements connected before and after the program element selected by the program developer,
A setting item for setting a value is provided for all or a part of the plurality of types of program elements,
The method further includes the step of displaying a value set in the setting item in a program element selected by the program developer and included in a portion of the program.
Assistance methods. The assistance method according to claim 1, wherein the portion of the program does not include other program elements. A portion of the program is displayed on a program development screen;
The assistance method further includes a step of displaying the program under development on the program development screen,
3. The assisting method according to claim 1, wherein both a part of the program and the program in the middle of development are displayed on the program development screen. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the program is configured to perform an Extract/Transform/Load (ETL) process. A control program for causing a computer to execute auxiliary operations of visual programming in a program development environment, comprising:
In the program development environment, a plurality of types of program elements, each of which is represented as an icon, are prepared, and a program is developed by connecting all or a part of the plurality of types of program elements;
each of the plurality of types of program elements is configured to execute a predetermined information processing;
The control program includes:
receiving a selection of any one of the plurality of types of program elements from a program developer;
and displaying a portion of the program that has been created in the past.
The portion of the program includes a program element selected by the program developer and program elements connected before and after the program element selected by the program developer,
A setting item for setting a value is provided for all or a part of the plurality of types of program elements,
a step of causing the computer to further execute a step of displaying a value set for the setting item in a program element selected by the program developer and included in a portion of the program;
Control program. An apparatus for providing a program development environment, comprising:
In the program development environment, a plurality of types of program elements, each of which is represented as an icon, are prepared, and a program is developed by connecting all or a part of the plurality of types of program elements;
each of the plurality of types of program elements is configured to execute a predetermined information processing;
The apparatus comprises:
a reception unit configured to receive a selection of any one of the plurality of types of program elements from a program developer;
a display unit configured to display a portion of the program created in the past;
The portion of the program includes a program element selected by the program developer and program elements connected before and after the program element selected by the program developer,
A setting item for setting a value is provided for all or a part of the plurality of types of program elements,
the display unit further displays a value set in the setting item in a program element selected by the program developer and included in a portion of the program.
Device.