Class and namespace discovery in prototype based language
Structure of a prototype-based programming language program is determined based on results of program execution. The structure determined can be implied by a program rather than explicitly declared. For example, classes and namespaces of a prototype-based program can be detected or inferred by identifying patterns that indicate the presence of a class or namespace. Furthermore, members of classes and namespaces can also be determined.
1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:
initiating execution of a prototype-based program on a computer;
receiving a result of execution;
determining a structure implied by the program automatically based on recognition of a pattern in the result of execution; and
outputting the structure to a software development application that presents the structure on a display device.
2. The method of claim 1 , determining the structure comprises detecting a class.
3. The method of claim 2 , detecting the class comprises identifying a method on a prototype object.
4. The method of claim 2 , detecting the class comprises identifying a field set on a function.
5. The method of claim 2 , further comprises identifying members of the class.
6. The method of claim 1 , determining the structure comprises detecting a namespace.
7. The method of claim 6 , detecting the namespace comprises detecting a class.
8. The method of claim 6 , detecting the namespace comprised detecting another namespace.
9. The method of claim 1 further comprising constraining the determining act to one or more portions of the program that changed since a previous execution.
10. A system, comprising:
a processor coupled to a memory, the processor configured to execute computer-executable instructions stored in the memory to perform operations comprising:
initiating execution of a prototype-based program;
receiving a result of execution;
detecting a class implied by the program based on recognition of a pattern in the result of execution indicative of a class; and
supplying the class to a software development application for presentation on a display device.
11. The system of claim 10 , the operations further comprise detecting the class based on identification of a function that includes a method on a prototype object.
12. The system of claim 10 , the operations further comprise identifying members of the class.
13. The system of claim 10 , the operations further comprise detecting a namespace implied by the program based on another pattern in the result of execution.
14. The system of claim 13 , the operations further comprise detecting the namespace based on identification of an object that includes the class.
15. The system of claim 13 , the operations further comprise detecting the namespace based on identification of an object that includes another namespace.
16. A computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon that enable at least one processor to perform a method upon execution of the instructions, the method comprising:
initiating execution of a dynamic prototype-based program on a computer;
receiving a result of execution;
detecting a class implied by the program based on recognition of a pattern in the result of execution; and
presenting the class on a display device in conjunction with a software development environment.
17. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 16 , the method further comprises detecting the class by identifying a method on a prototype object.
18. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 16 , the method further comprises detecting the class by identifying a field set on a function with a “this” keyword.
19. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 16 , the method further comprises detecting a namespace based on recognition of another pattern in the result of execution.
20. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 19 , the method further comprises detecting the namespace comprises identifying an object that includes the class.