Automatic insertion point identification in model merging operations

A tangible computer-usable medium having embodied therein computer-readable program code means for causing a data processing system to perform a method for automatic identification, in a data processing system, of an insertion point in a first model stored in memory of the system for a predetermined element t of a second model, the method comprising:

• providing in the memory a comparison of the first and second models defining the correspondence between elements of the models;
• analyzing the sequence order of elements in the second model to identify predecessor and successor elements of an element t in the second model;
• using said comparison to identify a set of first model predecessors, comprising elements of the first model which correspond to said predecessor elements in the second model, and a set of first model successors comprising elements of the first model which correspond to said successor elements in the second model;
• and
• for pairs of adjacent elements x, y in the first model, comparing positions of the elements x, y in the sequence order of the first model with positions of elements in the sets of first model predecessors and successors, determining if a position of an edge between elements x and y relative to the first model predecessors and successors is consistent with the sequence order of the element t and the predecessor and successor elements in the second model, and identifying the edge as an insertion point if the position of the edge between elements x and y is determined to be consistent with the sequence order of element t and the predecessor and successor elements in the second model.

A computer system for automatic identification of an insertion point in a first model for a predetermined element t of a second model, the computer system comprising memory for storing the first model and a comparison of the first and second models which defines the correspondence between elements of the models, and processor with control logic adapted to perform an insertion point identification process by:

• analyzing a sequence order of elements in the second model to identify predecessor and successor elements of element t in the second model;
• using said comparison to identify a set of first model predecessors, comprising elements of the first model which correspond to said predecessor elements in the second model, and a set of first model successors comprising elements of the first model which correspond to said successor elements in the second model;
• and
• for pairs of adjacent elements x, y in the first model, comparing positions of the elements x, y in the sequence order of the first model with the positions of elements in the sets of first model predecessors and successors, and to identify an edge between the elements x and y as an insertion point if the position of the edge relative to the first model predecessors and successors is consistent with the sequence order of the element t and the predecessor and successor elements in the second model.