17986040. SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT TOOL INSTALLATION AND COMMAND ROUTING simplified abstract (Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC)

SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT TOOL INSTALLATION AND COMMAND ROUTING

Organization Name

Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Inventor(s)

Daniel John Imms of Bothell WA (US)

SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT TOOL INSTALLATION AND COMMAND ROUTING - A simplified explanation of the abstract

This abstract first appeared for US patent application 17986040 titled 'SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT TOOL INSTALLATION AND COMMAND ROUTING

Simplified Explanation

The system command line interface (CLI) is enhanced by software development tool autoloading functionality. A textual command is routed to a development tool autoloader, which maps the command to a development tool and checks if a conformant version of the tool is installed. If not, the autoloader locates and installs a conformant version before forwarding the command for processing. The textual command is intercepted and routed to the autoloader by a shell alias or search path, and development tool installation conformance is determined using a predefined tool configuration specification. This innovation helps new developers by eliminating research burdens, security risks, and delays caused by the lack of a conformant tool version on their systems.

• Enhanced system command line interface (CLI) with software development tool autoloading functionality
• Autoloader maps textual commands to development tools and installs conformant versions if needed
• Shell alias or search path intercepts commands and routes them to the autoloader
• Conformance determined using predefined tool configuration specification
• Benefits new developers by removing research burdens, security risks, and delays

Potential Applications

The technology can be applied in software development environments, particularly for new developers who may not have the necessary tools installed on their systems.

Problems Solved

This technology solves the problem of new developers facing challenges due to the lack of conformant versions of development tools on their systems.

Benefits

The main benefits of this technology include reducing research burdens, eliminating security risks, and avoiding delays in the software development process.

Potential Commercial Applications

The technology can be commercially applied in software development tools and platforms to streamline the onboarding process for new developers.

Possible Prior Art

One possible prior art could be the use of package managers in software development to automatically install and manage dependencies.

How does the autoloader determine if a conformant version of the development tool is installed?

The autoloader checks the installed versions against a predefined tool configuration specification to ascertain conformance.

What measures are in place to ensure the security of the autoloading process?

Security measures such as digital signatures or checksum verification may be implemented to validate the authenticity of the installed development tools.

Original Abstract Submitted

A system command line interface (CLI) is enhanced by software development tool autoloading functionality. A textual command is routed to a development tool autoloader, which maps the command to a development tool and ascertains whether a conformant version of the tool is installed. If no version is installed, or only a nonconformant version is installed, then the autoloader locates a conformant version and installs it. Then the textual command is forwarded to the installed conformant version for processing. The textual command entered in the CLI is intercepted and routed to the autoloader by a shell alias, or a search path such as an environment variable, or both. Development tool installation conformance is determined using a predefined tool configuration specification. New developers are accordingly freed from research burdens, security risks, and delays otherwise imposed by the lack of a conformant tool version on their systems.