A method for specifying computer software called the Data Flow Net ("DF Net") which enables the reusability of portions of the software. Computer software is specified by combining sets of code fragments which implement some coherent functionalities. A method to represent a set of code fragments is provided. A method for combining sets of code fragments specified according to the DF Net method is described. A method for transforming software specified according to the DF Net method into executable instructions is further provided.
Provided is a method for generating an on-demand, custom runtime solution to a user or business's computing needs A library of software components corresponding to different computing tasks of a business situation is created. Each software component is associated with one or more meta descriptors. The software components and related meta descriptors are managed by means of a software component meta management system (SCMMS). Meta descriptors are self adaptive in a manner that reflects real use scenarios. Meta descriptors describe both static and dynamic attributes of components.
Described herein is an operator-based approach to representing dataflows. A dataflow is a set of one or more operations and one or more flows of data that are processed successively by the set of operations. A dataflow is described by a generic description in which operations in a dataflow are represented by operators. An operator defines a primitive operation (e.g. join, filter), specifying not only the type of operation, but the inputs and outputs, rules, and criteria that govern the operation. From the generic description, a code implementation is generated that may be completely executed on a source database system and target data warehouse, without need for an intermediate system to participate in the execution of the code implementation, such as a data movement engine.
