Method for automatically obtaining an operational sequence of processes and a corresponding tool therefor

A method for checking a sequence of processes to be worked through to ascertain loops in the data flow, with the following steps:

• a multitude of processes whose inputs are provided with at least one of the attributes
• “input value of the same calculation cycle”,
• “input value of the preceding calculation cycle”,
• “input value from any calculation cycle” are arranged in such a way that in a first step a process which has no input with the attribute “input value of the same calculation cycle” is determined as the first process,
• the first process is assigned to a first group of processes and removed from the set of processes to be investigated,
• the processes remaining are respectively investigated in further steps to ascertain processes to which no reference is set,
• the processes found in each step are respectively removed from the set of processes to be investigated and assigned to successive groups, until no process which has no input with the attribute “input value of the same calculation cycle” can be identified in a step,
• the processes remaining are identified and output.

A tool for arranging or testing a sequence of processes to be worked through, which has:

• input means for the input of a multitude of processes whose inputs are respectively provided with at least one of the attributes
• “input value of the same calculation cycle”,
• “input value of the preceding calculation cycle”,
• “input value from any calculation cycle”,
• at least one microprocessor for calculating an executable sequence of processes by a method according to one of the preceding method claims,
• an output means for outputting the sequence found.