System and method of conclusively verifying the correctness of an information system without needing to test every combination of behaviour at run-time

Abstract

An architecture for the initial development and later adaptation of information systems comprising a database, one or more clients and any number of supporting libraries whose system data, application data and rule data are stored in the database alongside the content data so that the correctness of the system can be conclusively verified without having to test every combination of behaviour at run-time. A framework in the database stores system, application and rule data and frameworks in the clients load the system, application and rule data to generate objects and, in doing so, define an domain-specific system. The integrity of system and application data is maintained by the database though predefined triggers and the integrity of content data is maintained by the database through triggers loading rule data and executing the rule definitions calling functions in dynamically linked libraries. The integrity of system and application data is maintained by each client though predefined rules in the meta system and the integrity of content data is maintained by the clients through an interpreter using rule data and executing the rule definitions calling functions in dynamically linked libraries. Preferably the system structures, application structures, system data, application data, rule data and content data are stored in the same relational database but may instead be stored in different relational databases, in non-relational databases, in any persistent store or an in-memory structure; all application-specific properties and events are stored in the database but some properties and events can be stored external to the database; the integrity checking occurs both at the user-interface or client and then again at the database but such checks could occur any number of times at the point of selecting the options in the user-interface, in a middleware application through which data is passed between the user-interface or client and the database, or on committing the changes in the database.

1 . A system comprising a database which stores the system meta data, application meta data and rule meta data of the information system, which represent the structure of the information system, in tables and fields with triggers on the tables to ensure that the integrity of the system is maintained, and one or more clients which load the system meta data, application meta data and rule meta data from the database into a meta system object with rules on the meta system to ensure that the integrity of the system is maintained during each step of development without having to test every combination of behaviour at run-time. 
     
     
         2 . A system as claimed in  claim 1  where system meta data, application meta data and rule meta data is loaded from the database into one or more client frameworks to define and from which to generate the information system clients. 
     
     
         3 . A system as claimed in  claim 1  where rules on the database and the clients ensure the validity of system meta data, application meta data and rule meta data thus maintaining the integrity of the system. 
     
     
         4 . A system as claimed in  claim 1  where validations of the system meta data, application meta data and rule meta data can be performed at the client, in a middleware application through which data is passed between the client and the database, on the database or any combination of these before the data is committed to the database. 
     
     
         5 . A system as claimed in  claim 1  where rule meta data, which is executed by the database and clients call the same dynamically loaded function libraries. 
     
     
         6 . A system as claimed in  claim 1  where clients permit only references to existing objects and options which are computationally compatible, as defined in the meta data, thus maintaining the integrity of the system during each stage of development. 
     
     
         7 . An information system substantially as herein described above and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.