Object oriented framework mechanism for a source code repository

Claim 2

A computer system, the computer system containing a source code repository to track at least one release for at least one software product, the computer system comprising: a central processing unit; and a main memory coupled to the central processing unit, the main memory containing an object-oriented framework mechanism executing on the central processing unit, the framework mechanism including at least one core function that cannot be modified by a user and at least one extensible function defined by a user to customize the framework mechanism and thereby define at least one source code repository environment.

Claim 3

The computer system of claim 1 wherein the framework mechanism comprises a source class, the source class defining: at least one source object corresponding to the at least one source code repository environment; and a first set of object methods to perform a plurality of predetermined functions to implement the source code repository environment.

Claim 4

The computer system of claim 2 wherein the first set of object methods comprises: at least one object method that checks in a version of a source code module into the repository; and at least one object method that checks out a version of a source code module from the repository.

Claim 5

The computer system of claim 3 wherein the first set of object methods further comprises: at least one object method that extracts a version of a source code module from the repository; and at least one object method that undoes the effect of a previous object method that checked in a version of the source code module into the repository.

Claim 6

The computer system of claim 2 wherein the source class is an extensible class of the framework mechanism, the implementation of which by a user defines a first portion of the source code repository environment.

Claim 7

The computer system of claim 1 wherein the framework mechanism comprises a product class, the product class defining: at least one product object corresponding to a software product stored in the repository; and a second set of object methods to add a source code module to the at least one product object.

Claim 8

The computer system of claim 1 wherein the framework mechanism comprises a release class, the release class defining: at least one release object corresponding to a release of a software product stored in the repository; and a third set of object methods to assign a specified version to the at least one release object and to identify a version specified in the release object for a specified source object.

Claim 9

The computer system of claim 1 wherein the framework mechanism comprises a version class, the version class defining: at least one version object corresponding to a specified version of a source code module stored in the repository; and a fourth set of object methods to determine the previous version of the source code module based on the current version.

Claim 10

The computer system of claim 1 wherein the framework mechanism comprises a data class and a lock state class, the data class defining: at least one data object representing at least one source code module that is stored in the source code repository; the lock state class defining: at least one lock state object corresponding to each data object; and a fifth set of object methods for locking and unlocking a specified version of the at least one source code module in a corresponding data object.

Claim 11

The computer system of claim 3 wherein the framework mechanism further comprises: a product class, the product class defining: at least one product object corresponding to a release of a software product stored in the repository; and a second set of object methods to add a source code module to the at least one product object; a release class, the release class defining: at least one release object corresponding to a release of a software product stored in the repository; and a third set of object methods to assign a specified version to the at least one release object and to identify a version specified in the release object for a specified source object; a version class, the version class defining: at least one version object corresponding to a specified version of a source code module stored in the repository; and a fourth set of object methods to determine the previous version of the source code module based on the current version; a data class, the data class defining: at least one data object representing at least one source code module that is stored in the source code repository; a lock state class, the lock state class defining: at least one lock state object corresponding to each data object; and a fifth set of object methods for locking and unlocking a specified version of the at least one source code modules in a corresponding data object.

Claim 12

The computer system of claim 10 wherein the source class, the product class, the release class, the version class, the data class, and the lock state class are extensible classes of the framework mechanism, the implementation of which by a user defines the at least one source code repository environment.

Claim 13

The computer system of claim 10 wherein the source class has a "has by reference" relationship with the version class, the product class has a "has by reference" relationship with the source class, the release class has a "has by reference" relationship with the version class, and the version class has a "has by reference" relationship with the source class, the lock state class, and the data class.

Claim 14

The computer system of claim 1 wherein the main memory contains an application program that supports an object oriented programming environment containing the framework mechanism, and wherein the framework mechanism is extended by providing information that implements the at least one source code repository environment.

Claim 15

The computer system of claim 1 wherein: the at least one core function is defined by the relationships between a plurality of classes within the framework mechanism; and the at least one extensible function is defined by at least one extensible class, wherein the implementation of the at least one extensible function is defined by the user of the framework mechanism by extending the at least one extensible class.

Claim 18

The method of claim 15 further comprising the step of: extending the framework mechanism to define the desired source code repository environment.

Claim 19

The method of claim 15 further including the step of checking out at least one of the source code modules from the repository.

Claim 20

The method of claim 17 further including the step of locking the at least one source code module that is checked out of the repository.

Claim 21

The method of claim 18 wherein the step of locking the at least one source code module includes the steps of: checking a lock state corresponding to the at least one source code module; and if the lock state indicates that the at least one source code module is locked: returning an indication of unsuccessful lock; if the lock state indicates that the at least one source code module is unlocked: locking the lock state; and returning an indication of successful lock.

Claim 22

The method of claim 15 further including the step of checking in at least one of the source code modules into the repository.

Claim 23

The method of claim 20 further including the step of unlocking at least one source code module that is a previous version of the at least one source code module that is checked into the repository.

Claim 24

The method of claim 15 further including the step of extracting at least one of the source code modules from the repository.

Claim 25

The method of claim 15 further including the step of undoing the changes effected by a previous step of checking in at least one of the source code modules into the repository.

Claim 26

The method of claim 15 further including the step of building and maintaining a release object that has a plurality of version objects corresponding to a desired release of the software product.

Claim 27

The method of claim 15 further including the step of adding at least one source code module to the at least one release of the at least one software product.

Claim 28

A program product comprising: an object-oriented framework mechanism for tracking at least one release of at least one software product, the framework mechanism including an extensible source code repository mechanism that stores and retrieves at least one source code module in a source code repository according to extended portions of the framework mechanism, the framework mechanism including at least one core function that cannot be modified by a user, the extended portions being defined by a user to customize the framework mechanism and thereby define at least one source code repository environment; and signal bearing media bearing the framework mechanism.

Claim 29

A program product comprising: an object-oriented framework mechanism for tracking at least one release of at least one software product, the framework mechanism including an extensible source code repository mechanism that stores and retrieves at least one source code module in a source code repository according to extended portions of the framework mechanism, the framework mechanism including at least one core function that cannot be modified by a user, the extended portions being defined by a user to customize the framework mechanism and thereby define at least one source code repository environment; and signal bearing media bearing the framework mechanism.

Claim 30

The program product of claim 26 wherein the signal bearing media comprises recordable media.

Claim 31

The program product of claim 26 wherein the signal bearing media comprises transmission media.

Claim 32

The program product of claim 26 wherein the framework mechanism comprises: a source object that has at least one version of the at least one source code module; and a first set of object methods to perform a plurality of predetermined functions to implement the source code repository environment.

Claim 33

The program product of claim 29 wherein the first set of object methods includes: at least one object method that checks in a version of a source code module into the repository; and at least one object method that checks out a version of a source code module from the repository.

Claim 34

The program product of claim 29 wherein the first set of object methods includes: at least one object method that extracts a version of a source code module from the repository; and at least one object method that undoes the effect of a previous object method that checked in a version of the source code module into the repository.

Claim 35

The program product of claim 29 wherein the source class is an extensible class of the framework mechanism, the implementation of which by a user defines a first portion of the source code repository environment.

Claim 36

The program product of claim 26 wherein the framework mechanism comprises a product class, the product class defining: at least one product object corresponding to a release of a software product stored in the repository; and a second set of object methods to add a source code module to the at least one product object.

Claim 37

The program product of claim 26 wherein the framework mechanism comprises a release class, the release class defining: at least one release object corresponding to a release of a software product stored in the repository; and a third set of object methods to assign a specified version to the at least one release object and to identify a version specified in the release object for a specified source object.

Claim 38

The program product of claim 26 wherein the framework mechanism comprises a version class, the version class defining: at least one version object corresponding to a specified version of a source code module stored in the repository; and a fourth set of object methods to determine the previous version of the source code module based on the current version.

Claim 39

The program product of claim 26 wherein the framework mechanism comprises a data class and a lock state class, the data class defining: at least one data object representing at least one source code module that is stored in the source code repository; the lock state class defining: at least one lock state object corresponding to each data object; and a fifth set of object methods for locking and unlocking a specified version of the at least one source code modules in a corresponding data object.

Claim 40

The program product of claim 33 wherein the framework mechanism further comprises: a product class, the product class defining: the repository; and a second set of object methods to add a source code module to the at least one product object; a release class, the release class defining: at least one release object corresponding to a release of a software product stored in the repository; and a third set of object methods to assign a specified version to the at least one release object and to identify a version specified in the release object for a specified source object; a version class, the version class defining: at least one version object corresponding to a specified version of the code module stored in the repository; and a fourth set of object methods to determine the previous version of the source code module based on the current version; a data class, the data class defining: at least one data object representing at least one source code module that is stored in the source code repository; a lock state class, the lock state class defining: at least one lock state object corresponding to each data object; and a fifth set of object methods for locking and unlocking a specified version of the at least one source code modules in a corresponding data object.

Claim 41

The program product of claim 37 wherein the source class, the product class, the release class, the version class, the data class, and the lock state class are extensible classes of the framework mechanism, the implementation of which by a user defines the at least one source code repository environment.

Claim 42

The program product of claim 26 wherein the main memory contains an application program that supports an object oriented programming environment containing the framework mechanism, and wherein the framework mechanism is extended by providing information that implements the at least one source code repository environment.

Claim 43

The program product of claim 26 wherein the framework mechanism comprises: at least one core function defined by the relationships between a plurality of classes within the framework mechanism, wherein the implementation of the at least one core function is defined by the framework mechanism and cannot be modified by a user of the framework mechanism; and at least one extensible function defined by at least one extensible class, wherein the implementation of the at least one extensible function is defined by the user of the framework mechanism by extending the at least one extensible class.

Claim 44

An object oriented framework mechanism for use in a computer system that supports an object oriented programming environment, the framework mechanism comprising: at least one source object, the at least one source object including a first set of object methods to perform a plurality of predetermined functions to implement a source code repository environment; at least one product object corresponding to a software product stored in the repository, the at least one product object including a second set of object methods to add a source code module to the at least one product object; at least one release object corresponding to a release of the software product stored in the repository, the at least one release object including a third set of object methods to assign a specified version to the at least one release object and to identify a version specified in the release object for a specified source object; at least one version object corresponding to a specified version of a source code module stored in the repository, the at least one version object including a fourth set of object methods to determine the previous version of the source code module based on the current version; at least one data object representing at least one source code module that is stored in the source code repository; and at least one lock state object corresponding to each data object, the at least one lock state object including a fifth set of object methods for locking and unlocking a specified version of the at least one source code modules in a corresponding data object.

Claim 45

An object oriented framework mechanism for use in a computer system that supports an object oriented programming environment, the framework mechanism comprising: at least one source object, the at least one source object including a first set of object methods to perform a plurality of predetermined functions to implement a source code repository environment; at least one product object corresponding to a software product stored in the repository, the at least one product object including a second set of object methods to add a source code module to the at least one product object; at least one release object corresponding to a release of the software product stored in the repository, the at least one release object including a third set of object methods to assign a specified version to the at least one release object and to identify a version specified in the release object for a specified source object; at least one version object corresponding to a specified version of a source code module stored in the repository, the at least one version object including a fourth set of object methods to determine the previous version of the source code module based on the current version; at least one data object representing at least one source code module that is stored in the source code repository; and at least one lock state object corresponding to each data object, the at least one lock state object including a fifth set of object methods for locking and unlocking a specified version of the at least one source code modules in a corresponding data object.

Claim 46

The object oriented framework mechanism of claim 41 wherein the framework mechanism comprises: at least one core function defined by relationships between a plurality of classes that define the plurality of objects within the framework mechanism, wherein the implementation of the at least one core function is defined by the framework mechanism and cannot be modified by a user of the framework mechanism; and at least one extensible function defined by at least one extensible class, wherein the implementation of the at least one extensible function is defined by the user of the framework mechanism by extending the at least one extensible class.

Claim 49

The method of claim 43 further comprising the step of: implementing the desired source code repository environment by extending the framework mechanism.

Claim 50

The method of claim 44 further comprising the steps of: selecting at least one check-in criterion for determining at least one step to be performed during check-in; and the step of implementing the desired source code repository environment further including the step of defining the extended portions in accordance with the at least one check-in criterion.

Claim 51

The method of claim 44 further comprising the steps of: selecting at least one check-out criterion for determining at least one step to be performed during check-out; and the step of implementing the desired source code repository environment further including the step of defining the extended portions in accordance with the selected at least one check-out criterion.

Claim 52

The method of claim 45 further comprising the steps of: selecting at least one assigning criterion for assigning at least one version of at least one source code module to the at least one release object; the step of implementing the desired source code repository environment further including the step of defining the extended portions in accordance with the selected at least one assigning criterion.

Claim 53

A program product comprising: (A) an object oriented framework mechanism for tracking at least one release of at least one software product according to extended portions that are customized to provide a desired source code repository environment, the framework mechanism including: at least one source object, the at least one source object including a first set of object methods to perform a plurality of predetermined functions to implement the source code repository environment; at least one product object corresponding to a software product stored in the repository, the at least one product object including a second set of object methods to add a source code module to the at least one product object; at least one release object corresponding to a release of the software product stored in the repository, the at least one release object including a third set of object methods to assign a specified version to the at least one release object and to identify a version specified in the release object for a specified source object; at least one version object corresponding to a specified version of a source code module stored in the repository, the at least one version object including a fourth set of object methods to determine the previous version of the source code module based on the current version; at least one data object representing at least one source code module that is stored in the source code repository; and at least one lock state object corresponding to each data object, the at least one lock state object including a fifth set of object methods for locking and unlocking a specified version of the at least one source code modules in a corresponding data object; wherein the object oriented framework mechanism tracks the at least one release of the at least one software product according to extended portions of the framework mechanism that are customized to provide the desired source code repository environment; and (B) signal bearing media bearing the object oriented framework mechanism.

Claim 54

A program product comprising: (A) an object oriented framework mechanism for tracking at least one release of at least one software product according to extended portions that are customized to provide a desired source code repository environment, the framework mechanism including: at least one source object, the at least one source object including a first set of object methods to perform a plurality of predetermined functions to implement the source code repository environment; at least one product object corresponding to a software product stored in the repository, the at least one product object including a second set of object methods to add a source code module to the at least one product object; at least one release object corresponding to a release of the software product stored in the repository, the at least one release object including a third set of object methods to assign a specified version to the at least one release object and to identify a version specified in the release object for a specified source object; at least one version object corresponding to a specified version of a source code module stored in the repository, the at least one version object including a fourth set of object methods to determine the previous version of the source code module based on the current version; at least one data object representing at least one source code module that is stored in the source code repository; and at least one lock state object corresponding to each data object, the at least one lock state object including a fifth set of object methods for locking and unlocking a specified version of the at least one source code modules in a corresponding data object; wherein the object oriented framework mechanism tracks the at least one release of the at least one software product according to extended portions of the framework mechanism that are customized to provide the desired source code repository environment; and (B) signal bearing media bearing the object oriented framework mechanism.

Claim 55

The program product of claim 48 wherein the signal bearing media comprises recordable media.

Claim 56

The program product of claim 48 wherein the signal bearing media comprises transmission media.

Claim 57

The program product of claim 48 wherein the source class, the product class, the release class, the version class, the data class, and the lock state class are extensible classes of the framework mechanism, the implementation of which by a user defines the at least one source code repository environment.

Claim 58

An object oriented framework mechanism for a source code repository, the framework mechanism comprising: at least one core function defined by relationships between a plurality of classes within the framework mechanism, wherein the implementation of the at least one core function is defined by the framework mechanism and cannot be modified by a user of the framework mechanism; and at least one extensible class wherein the implementation of the at least one extensible class is defined by the user of the framework mechanism, by extending the at least one extensible class, thereby defining at least one source code repository environment.

Claim 59

An object oriented framework mechanism for a source code repository, the framework mechanism comprising: at least one core function defined by relationships between a plurality of classes within the framework mechanism, wherein the implementation of the at least one core function is defined by the framework mechanism and cannot be modified by a user of the framework mechanism; and at least one extensible class wherein the implementation of the at least one extensible class is defined by the user of the framework mechanism, by extending the at least one extensible class, thereby defining at least one source code repository environment.

Claim 60

The object oriented framework mechanism of claim 52 further comprising: at least one source object, the at least one source object including a first set of object methods to perform a plurality of predetermined functions to implement the source code repository environment; at least one product object corresponding to a software product stored in the repository, the at least one product object including a second set of object methods to add a source code module to the at least one product object; at least one release object corresponding to a release of the software product stored in the repository, the at least one release object including a third set of object methods to assign a specified version to the at least one release object and to identify a version specified in the release object for a specified source object; at least one version object corresponding to a specified version of a source code module stored in the repository, the at least one version object including a fourth set of object methods to determine the previous version of the source code module based on the current version; at least one data object representing at least one source code module that is stored in the source code repository; and at least one lock state object corresponding to each data object, the at least one lock state object including a fifth set of object methods for locking and unlocking a specified version of the at least one source code modules in a corresponding data object.

Claim 63

The method of claim 54 further comprising the steps of: (a) checking in a version of a source code module into the repository; and (b) checking out a version of a source code module from the repository.

Claim 64

The method of claim 55 further comprising the steps of: (c) extracting a version of a source code module from the repository; and (d) undoing the effect of a previous object method that checked in a version of the source code module into the repository.

Claim 65

A program product comprising: an object oriented framework mechanism for tracking at least one release of at least one software product within a source code repository, the framework mechanism including at least one core function defined by relationships between a plurality of classes within the framework mechanism, wherein the implementation of the at least one core function is defined by the framework mechanism and cannot be modified by a user of the framework mechanism, the framework mechanism further including at least one extensible function defined by at least one extensible class, wherein the implementation of the at least one extensible class is defined by the user of the framework mechanism by extending the at least one extensible class, thereby defining a source code repository environment that governs the operation of the framework mechanism; and signal bearing media bearing the object oriented framework mechanism.

Claim 66

A program product comprising: an object oriented framework mechanism for tracking at least one release of at least one software product within a source code repository, the framework mechanism including at least one core function defined by relationships between a plurality of classes within the framework mechanism, wherein the implementation of the at least one core function is defined by the framework mechanism and cannot be modified by a user of the framework mechanism, the framework mechanism further including at least one extensible function defined by at least one extensible class, wherein the implementation of the at least one extensible class is defined by the user of the framework mechanism by extending the at least one extensible class, thereby defining a source code repository environment that governs the operation of the framework mechanism; and signal bearing media bearing the object oriented framework mechanism.

Claim 67

The program product of claim 57 wherein the signal bearing media comprises recordable media.

Claim 68

The program product of claim 57 wherein the signal bearing media comprises transmission media.

Claim 69

The program product of claim 57 wherein the framework mechanism comprises: at least one source object, the at least one source object including a first set of object methods to perform a plurality of predetermined functions to implement the source code repository environment; at least one product object corresponding to a software product stored in the repository, the at least one product object including a second set of object methods to add a source code module to the at least one product object; at least one release object corresponding to a release of the software product stored in the repository, the at least one release object including a third set of object methods to assign a specified version to the at least one release object and to identify a version specified in the release object for a specified source object; at least one version object corresponding to a specified version of a source code module stored in the repository, the at least one version object including a fourth set of object methods to determine the previous version of the source code module based on the current version; at least one data object representing at least one source code module that is stored in the source code repository; and at least one lock state object corresponding to each data object, the at least one lock state object including a fifth set of object methods for locking and unlocking a specified version of the at least one source code modules in a corresponding data object; wherein the object oriented framework mechanism tracks the at least one release of the at least one software product according to extended portions of the framework mechanism that are customized to provide the desired source code repository environment.