UPDATING EXECUTABLE GRAPHS

A method for generating an updated graph based on a base graph includes identifying differences between a base graph and each of a source and a target graph. The specification of each graph defines nodes representing data processing components defining operations for processing data, and links representing flow of data. The identifying includes: comparing specifications of base and source graphs to identify a first set of differences between the base and source graph, and comparing specifications of base and target graphs to identify a second set of differences between the base and the target graph. The method includes characterizing a correspondence between the differences in the first set and the differences in the second set, determining a set of combined differences based on the correspondence and the first and second sets of differences, and generating the updated graph based on the base graph and the set of combined differences.