Enterprise JavaBeans Metadata Model

Abstract

A method and system to construct Java representations of metadata in an enterprise application. The system extracts metadata from application source code and deployment descriptors to construct a single output available to the application.

1 . A method of generating a unified metadata model for a java enterprise application comprising:
 extracting metadata from program code;   building a first java model of the metadata extracted from the program code;   extracting metadata from a deployment descriptor;   building a second java model of the metadata extracted from the deployment descriptor; and   merging the first and second models.   
   
   
       2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein program code comprises java source code and bytecode. 
   
   
       3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein extracting metadata from program code comprises:
 parsing the program code; and   identifying metadata in the program code.   
   
   
       4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein building the first java model from the metadata extracted from the program code comprises:
 accessing a model comprising java classes representing metadata in java code;   identifying an instance of a class from the model that represents the extracted metadata; and   mapping the extracted metadata to the identified instance of the class.   
   
   
       5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein extracting metadata from a deployment descriptor comprises:
 parsing the deployment descriptor; and   identifying metadata in the deployment descriptor.   
   
   
       6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein building the second java model from the metadata extracted from the deployment descriptor comprises:
 accessing a model comprising java classes representing metadata in java code;   identifying an instance of a class from the model that represents the extracted metadata; and   mapping the extracted metadata to the identified instance of the class.   
   
   
       7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein merging comprises:
 parsing the first metadata model;   parsing the second metadata model;   combining the first and second models in a unified model using a set of rules;   constructing a logical graph of the unified model; and   assigning each element in the unified model a unique identifier representing the absolute path to the model element in the graph.   
   
   
       8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein combining the first model and the second model into a unified model comprises applying the set of rules so that no conflicts exist in the application logic. 
   
   
       9 . An apparatus comprising:
 a core metadata model to maintain java representations of metadata objects;   a first builder to construct a java model of metadata in program code using the core metadata model responsive to receiving the program code;   a second builder to construct a java model of metadata in a deployment descriptor using the core metadata model responsive to receiving the deployment descriptor; and   a merger to receive the models from the first and second builder and unite the first model and the second model.   
   
   
       10 . The apparatus of  claim 9 , wherein each of the builders maps metadata objects to instances of classes from the core metadata model. 
   
   
       11 . The apparatus of  claim 9 , wherein the merger merges the models against a set of rules. 
   
   
       12 . A system to run Enterprise Java Beans (EJB) applications, the system comprising:
 an input module to receive an EJB application;   a parsing module to parse the metadata in the EJB application; and   a set of builder modules to build Java models of the metadata in the EJB application;   a permanent store to store processed EJB applications; and   a network infrastructure to connect the permanent store to the container.   
   
   
       13 . The system of  claim 12 , further comprising a logging module to log events produced by the EJB application. 
   
   
       14 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the set of builder modules comprises:
 a first builder module to build a first Java model of metadata from Java source code; and   a second builder module to build a second Java model of metadata from a deployment descriptor.   
   
   
       15 . A machine readable medium having instructions therein that when executed by the machine, cause the machine to:
 extract metadata from program code;   build a first java model of the metadata extracted from the program code;   extract metadata from a deployment descriptor;   build a second java model of the metadata extracted from the deployment descriptor; and   merge the first and second models.   
   
   
       16 . The machine readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein program code comprises java source code and bytecode. 
   
   
       17 . The machine readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein instructions causing the machine to extract metadata from program code, cause the machine to:
 parse the program code; and   identify metadata in the program code.   
   
   
       18 . The machine readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein instructions causing the machine to build the java model from the metadata extracted from the program code, cause the machine to:
 access a model comprising java classes representing metadata in java code;   identify an instance of a class from the model that represents the extracted metadata; and   map the extracted metadata to the identified instance of the class.   
   
   
       19 . The machine readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein instructions causing the machine to extract metadata from a deployment descriptor, cause the machine to:
 parse the deployment descriptor; and   identify metadata in the deployment descriptor.   
   
   
       20 . The machine readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein instructions causing the machine to build the java model from the metadata extracted from the deployment descriptor, cause the machine to:
 access a model comprising java classes representing metadata in java code;   identify an instance of a class from the model that represents the extracted metadata; and   map the extracted metadata to the identified instance of the class.   
   
   
       21 . The machine readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein instructions causing the machine to merge, cause the machine to:
 parse the first metadata model;   parse the second metadata model;   compare the first metadata model to the second metadata model using a set of rules;   combine the first and second models in a unified model;   construct a logical graph of the unified model; and   assign each element in the unified model a unique identifier representing the absolute path to the model element in the graph.   
   
   
       22 . The machine readable medium of  claim 21 , wherein instructions causing the machine to combine the first model and the second model into a unified model, cause the machine to apply the set of rules so that no conflicts exist in the application logic.