We Claim:
1. A method for contract-based loading of executable-graph based models, the
method comprising:
receiving, by processing circuitry, a stimulus and an associated context, wherein
5 the stimulus is associated with a contract node having a contract identifier;
obtaining, by the processing circuitry and based on the contract identifier, a
contract node manifest associated with the contract node, the contract node manifest
comprising the contract identifier, a first storage location associated with a contract
node state, and one or more node identifiers of one or more nodes associated with the
10 contract node;
obtaining, by the processing circuitry, the contract node state from the first
storage location;
generating, by the processing circuitry, the contract node based on the contract
node manifest and the contract node state;
15 obtaining, by the processing circuitry and based on the one or more node
identifiers, one or more node manifests associated with the one or more nodes, wherein
each of the one or more node manifests comprises a respective node identifier of the
one or more node identifiers and a storage location associated with a respective node
state;
20 obtaining, by the processing circuitry, one or more node states for the one or
more nodes, wherein each node state is obtained from the storage location associated
with the respective node state;
generating, by the processing circuitry, the one or more nodes based on the one
or more node manifests and the one or more node states;
25 generating, by the processing circuitry, one or more mappings from the contract
node to the one or more nodes such that the contract node acts as a proxy for the one or
more nodes; and
processing, by the processing circuitry, the stimulus based on the contract node
2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the contract node manifest is
obtained from a contract node manifest state, the contract node manifest state
comprising the contract identifier.
3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the one or more node
5 manifests are obtained from respective manifest states comprising the respective node
identifiers.
4. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the one or more node
manifests further comprise a node group identifier associated with a first node group,
the one or more nodes forming part of the first node group.
10 5. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the one or more nodes comprise a
subset of all nodes within the first node group.
6. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:
obtaining, by the processing circuitry and based on the node group identifier, a
node group manifest associated with a node group node, wherein the node group
15 manifest comprises the node group identifier and a second storage location associated
with a node group node state;
obtaining, by the processing circuitry, the node group node state from the
second storage location;
generating, by the processing circuitry, a node group node based on the node
20 group manifest and the node group node state; and
associating, by the processing circuitry, the one or more nodes with the node
group node thereby generating the node group.
7. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the contract node acts as a proxy for
the one or more nodes in relation to requests from outside of the node group.
25 8. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the node group manifest is obtained
from a node group manifest state, the node group manifest state comprising the node
group identifier.
9. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the step of processing the stimulus
further comprises:
mapping, by the processing circuitry, the stimulus to the contract node to
determine an access response; and
5 when the access response comprises an acceptance notification, providing, by
the processing circuitry, access to the contract node.
10. The method as claimed in claim 9, further comprising:
generating, by the processing circuitry, an outcome in accordance with access
to the contract node being provided; and
10 outputting, by the processing circuitry, the outcome.
11. A system for contract-based loading of executable graph-based models, the
system comprising processing circuitry and a memory unit operatively coupled to the
processing circuitry and having instructions stored thereon that, when executed by the
processing circuitry, cause the processing circuitry to:
15 receive a stimulus and an associated context, wherein the stimulus is associated
with a contract node having a contract identifier;
obtain, based on the contract identifier, a contract node manifest associated with
the contract node, the contract node manifest comprising the contract identifier, a first
storage location associated with a contract node state, and one or more node identifiers
20 of one or more nodes associated with the contract node;
obtain the contract node state from the first storage location;
generate the contract node based on the contract node manifest and the contract
node state;
obtain, based on the one or more node identifiers, one or more node manifests
25 associated with the one or more nodes, wherein each of the one or more node manifests
comprises a respective node identifier of the one or more node identifiers and a storage
location associated with a respective node state;
obtain one or more node states for the one or more nodes, wherein each node
state is obtained from the storage location associated with the respective node state;
generate the one or more nodes based on the one or more node manifests and
the one or more node states;
5 generate one or more mappings from the contract node to the one or more nodes
such that the contract node acts as a proxy for the one or more nodes; and
process the stimulus based on the contract node.
12. The system as claimed in claim 11, wherein the contract node manifest is obtained
from a contract node manifest state, the contract node manifest state comprising the
10 contract identifier.
13. The system as claimed in claim 11, wherein each of the one or more node
manifests are obtained from respective manifest states comprising the respective node
identifiers.
14. The system as claimed in claim 11, wherein each of the one or more node
15 manifests further comprise a node group identifier associated with a first node group,
the one or more nodes forming part of the first node group.
15. The system as claimed in claim 11, wherein the one or more nodes comprise a
subset of all nodes within the first node group.
16. The system as claimed in claim 11, wherein the instructions, when executed by
20 the processing circuitry, further cause the processing circuitry to:
obtain, based on the node group identifier, a node group manifest associated
with a node group node, wherein the node group manifest comprises the node group
identifier and a second storage location associated with a node group node state;
obtain the node group node state from the second storage location;
25 generate a node group node based on the node group manifest and the node
group node state; and
associate the one or more nodes with the node group node thereby generating
the node group 17. The system as claimed in claim 16, wherein the contract node acts as a proxy
for the one or more nodes in relation to requests from outside of the node group.
18. The system as claimed in claim 16, wherein the node group manifest is obtained
from a node group manifest state, the node group manifest state comprising the node
5 group identifier.
19. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the instructions when executed by
the processing circuitry, further cause the processing circuitry to:
map the stimulus to the contract node to determine an access response; and
when the access response comprises an acceptance notification, provide access
10 to the contract node to process the stimulus.
20. The system as claimed in claim 19, wherein the instructions when executed by
the processing circuitry, further cause the processing circuitry to:
generate an outcome in accordance with access to the contract node being
provided; and
15 output the outcome.