International Business Machines Corporation

April D Stiles

Floyd W Shackelford

Robert L Abraham

Richard E Moore

Herman Mitchell

Sujan K Mukherjee

Badari N Panuganti

Michael P Priven

Thomas P Moorman

Reino A Maki

Jane E Schrock

Kenneth D Yates

Judith A Smith

A method and system in a data processing system for the establishment of relationships between reference objects in an object oriented environment and an associated data object residing outside an object oriented environment. A data object within an application outside an object oriented environment is identified. Multiple reference objects within an oriented environment are then established. Each reference object has a unique identifier and is associated with one of multiple users. Each reference object is associated with the identified data object so that multiple users may concurrently access the data object utilizing an associated reference object. The associated data object may then be modified in response to a modification of any reference object. Similarly, the reference objects may be modified in response to a modification of the associated data object.

Method and system in a data processing system for the enhancement of

In an Object Oriented Programming System, a Communications Interface Packet (CIP) enables processing in either a remote system or in a batch environment. A CIP is an object in an Object Oriented Programming System, and like any other object, the CIP object contains data or attributes surrounded by or encapsulated by methods or actions for those data or attributes. Unique to a CIP, however, are attributes which contain an action, an object and parameters. An Application Programming Interface (API) method enables remote processing. An IPA method, which is the reverse of the API method, creates the CIP object which is to be executed in a remote or batch system through the application programming interface. After a CIP object has been created, it must be flattened or formatted prior to submission to the batch system or prior to sending the CIP object to a remote system. Flattening or formatting puts the CIP object into a flat sequential file known as a product data interface (PDIF) file for use by either the remote or batch system. The PDIF file includes three major sections known as the administrative header section, the data dictionary section, and the object data section.

Remote and batch processing in an object oriented programming system

The invention creates a number of End Item Configuration lists, each End Item Configuration list including a listing of those custom components and variations of standard components which are utilized for a selected configuration of a complex product. A basic bill of materials is also created including a listing of those standard components utilized for all configurations of the complex product. Thereafter, a relationship is established between a particular End Item Configuration list and a customer contract for the manufacture of a selected configuration of a complex product. Based upon the established relationship, a selected one of the End Item Configuration lists is retrieved and combined with a basic bill of materials to create a complete bill of material utilizing both the End Item Configuration list and the basic bill of materials, which may then be utilized in the manufacture of a particular configuration of a complex product. A unique End Item Configuration identifier is established for each configuration of the complex product and is then utilized to maintain an engineering change history associated with each unique End Item Configuration independent of engineering change histories associated with other configurations for the complex product. In this manner, the configuration data utilized to create a bill of material explosion may be stored in a nonredundant manner independently of the configuration which utilizes that data. In this manner, the End Item Configuration list feature may be added to existing bill of material systems without requiring a redesign of such systems.

Method and system for product configuration management in a computer

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Atlanta, GA, United States of America

April D Stiles