Equipment and method for interactive testing and simulating of a specification of a network system

An apparatus for observing a behavior of a real time system in real time and sequentially displaying the behavior, on a display screen, the apparatus comprising:

• a data processor executing processing to display said behavior of the real time system on the display screen;
• a plurality of simulation program objects each defining an operation of a specific one of a plurality of components of said real time system, and a relationship between said specific one of said components and at least one other components of the real time system and each of said plurality of simulation program objects having a function to simulate the operation of said specific one of said components according to a given operation control message for simulating the behavior of the real time system applied from said inter-program communication control routine;
• a plurality of symbol representation program objects each functioning to represent one of an operational state of a specific one of said components of said real time system and a relationship between the specific one of said components and at least one of the other of said components on the display screen in a form of a pictorial graphical symbol;
• communication control program having a function of performing message communication with said simulation program objects and said symbol representation program objects;
• command menu display program object for providing on the display screen a presentation of a command menu for use in selection of an operation command or a symbol of an operation command by a user;
• and,
• a command issue program object for issuing the operation command message for simulating the behavior of the real time system applied from said inter-program communication control routine indicative of said operation command selected among said command menu on the display screen by the user, said operation command message including destination information for indicating one of said plurality of simulation program objects by which the operation command message is to be processed,
• wherein said communication control program operates to receive the operation command message from said command issue program and to distribute the operation command message to one of said simulation program objects specified by the destination information of the operation command message, each of said simulation program objects includes a module means for generating, when receiving the operation command message from said communication control program, a new operation control message to e processed by another one of said simulation program objects and/or a symbol control message to be processed by specific one of the symbol representation program objects which controls a representation of a symbol corresponding to a specific one of said components on which an operational state change is caused by a result of simulation operation executed according to the operation command message, said new operation control message and said symbol control message being supplied to said another one of said simulation program objects or said specific one of said symbol representation program objects via said communication control program, and
• respectively, whereby said specific one of said symbol representation program object changes the operational state of associated one of the pictorial graphical symbols on said display screen according to contents of the symbol control message.

A computer implemented method for observing a behavior of a real time system in real time and sequentially displaying the behavior on a display screen with use of a data processor including:

• i) a plurality of simulation program modules, each defining an operation of a specific one of a plurality of components of said real time system and a relationship between said specific one of the components and at least one of the other of said components of the real time system and each of said plurality of said simulation program modules having a function to simulate the operation of said specific one of the components according to contents of an operation control message for simulating the behavior of the real time system applied from said inter-program communication control routine, ii) a plurality of symbol representation program modules each having a function to present one of an operational state of one of said plurality of components and a relationship between the components and at least said one of the other of said components on the display screen in a form of a pictorial graphical symbol, and iii) a control routine for communicating operation control messages with said simulation program modules, said method comprising the steps of:
• providing a first operation control message from said control routine to a first one of said simulation program modules determined by destination information embedded in the first operation control message;
• executing a simulation operation by said first one of said simulation program modules according to said contents of said first operation control message and generating by said first one of said simulation program modules a symbol control message indicative of an operational state change of said specified one of said components caused by execution of said simulation operation;
• providing said symbol control message to a first one of the symbol representation program modules related to said first one of said simulation program modules, via said control routine;
• and,
• changing, by first one of the symbol representation program modules, the operational state of one of pictorial graphical symbols corresponding to said specified one of said components on the display screen according to the contents of said symbol control message to represent a visual image of the real time system in the display.

A computer implemented method for observing a behavior of a real time system in real time and sequentially displaying the behavior on a display screen with use of data processor provided with a plurality of simulation program modules each defining operation of a specific one of a plurality of components of said real time system represented by a component object and a relationship between the component object and at least one of the other component objects and having a function to simulate the operation of the specific one of the components according to contents of an operation control message for simulating the behavior of the real time system applied from said inter-program communication control routine, a plurality of symbol control program modules each having a function to present an operational state of each of said components or a relationship between the component and at least one of the other components on said display screen in a form of a pictorial graphical symbol, a menu control program module for outputting a command menu to said display screen, a command control program module for issuing operation control messages each including an operation command which depends on input operations on the display screen by a user, and an inter-program control program module for controlling communication of said operational control messages with said simulation program modules, symbol control program modules, menu control program module and command control program module, said method comprising the steps of:

• displaying a diagram including a plurality of symbols indicative of an arrangement of said plurality of components of said real time system on the display screen;
• designating one of the symbols displayed on the display screen by a user;
• issuing, by said command control program module, a first operation control message including a command and destination information corresponding to the symbol designated by the user;
• providing by said inter-program control program module said first operation control message to first one of said simulation program modules specified by said destination information of the first operation control message;
• issuing by said first one of said simulation program modules, in response to said first operation control message, a menu control message for instructing said menu control program module to present a group of commands in said command menu;
• providing by said inter-program control program module said menu control message to said menu control program module;
• outputting by said menu control program module the group of commands in said command menu on the display screen in response to said menu control message;
• designating one of the groups of commands in said command menu by the user;
• issuing by said command control program module a second operation control message addressed to said first one of said simulation program modules and including a command corresponding to said one of commands designated by the user;
• providing by said inter-program control program module said second operation control message to said first one of said simulation program modules;
• issuing by said first one of said simulation program modules, in response to said second operation control message, a third operation control message addressed to a second one of said simulation program modules;
• providing by said inter-program control program module said third operation control message to said second one of said program modules;
• performing by said second one of said simulation program modules a simulation operation based on contents of said third operation control message and issuing a symbol control message which is addressed to one of said symbol control program modules and indicative of an object operational state change caused by a result of the simulation operation;
• providing, by said inter-program control program module, said symbol control message to said one of the symbol control program modules;
• and,
• changing by said one of said symbol control program objects the operational state of one of the components pictorial graphical symbols on the display screen based on contents of said symbol control message.