Method for handling user-level events for programming an application

• US 10,162,602 B2
• Filed: 07/05/2016
• Issued: 12/25/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 07/06/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: IntuiLab
• Original Assignee: IntuiLab
• Inventors: Encontre, Vincent, Cunin, Nicolas, Marchesson, Bruno
• Primary Examiner(s): Khatri, Anil
• Application Number:
  US15/201,882
• Publication Number:
  US 20170010868A1
• Time in Patent Office: 903 Days
• Field of Search: 717101-109, 717120-121
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0484 for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/30 Creation or generation of source code
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/36 Software reuse
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/46 Multiprogramming arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/542 Event management; Broadcasting; Multicasting; Notifications

Abstract

The invention relates to methods for handling user-level events for programming an application. The methods aim at providing the designer of an application the ability to use easily understandable user-level events rather than low-level, often platform dependant input events, whose use generally requires important programming skills. It also aims at optimizing the generation of user-level events, by improving the detection of events and detecting only a subset of possible user-level events depending on the context of the application.

Claims

1. A method for using a collection of user-level events, said method comprising for each application event to be entered in a computer application:

retrieving from the collection of user-level events, a corresponding user-level event and a transformation of a sequence of input events into the corresponding user-level event,

said transformation having associated therewith the contexts of the computer application in which the corresponding user-level event can be fired and/or wait for;

and only if a context of the computer application belongs to the contexts associated to the transformation;

obtaining an executable form of the transformation, whenever the contextual parameters of said transformation define that said transformation should be called;

configuring at least one of the application and an environment of the application for sending, to the transformation, a series of bit patterns as sequences of input events expected as inputs to the transformation;

wherein obtaining an executable form of the transformation comprises compiling a source code corresponding to the transformation, in order to generate said executable form.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein configuring at least one of the application and an environment of the application for sending, to the transformation, a series of bit patterns as sequences of input events expected as inputs to the transformation comprises at least one of activating and deactivating input event channels relative to input events expected as inputs to the transformation.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein activating and deactivating input event channels relative to input events expected as inputs to the transformation comprises:

obtaining a collection of transformations comprising, in a context of execution of the computer application, the transformations that should be called;

obtaining a collection of input event channels comprising input events channels relative to input events expected as inputs to at least one transformation in the collection of transformations;

at least one of activating an input event channel which is in the collection of input event channels, or deactivating an input event channel which is not in the collection of input event channels.

4. A device equipped with at least a processing capability configured for executing the steps of a method according to claim 1.

5. An application, stored on a non-transitory medium, comprising code instructions for causing a processor to execute the steps of a method according to claim 1.

6. The method of claim 1, comprising updating a list of active transformations, and executing an active transformation when the corresponding sequence of input events occurs.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the environment of the application is configured to execute a plurality of applications expecting said user-level events as input, said plurality of applications comprising said computer application;

each application of said plurality indicates to the environment the user-level events it is waiting for in its current context;

the environment updates a list of active transformations of sequences of input events into user-level events that are wait for at least one application;

the environment is configured to executing an active transformation when the corresponding sequence of input events occurs.

8. The method of one of claim 1, wherein the contexts of the computer application in which the corresponding user-level event can be fired and/or wait for is stored within metadata associated with the transformation.

9. A method for using a collection of user-level events, said method comprising for each application event to be entered in a computer application:

retrieving from the collection of user-level events, a corresponding user-level event and a transformation of a sequence of input events into the corresponding user-level event,

said transformation having associated therewith the contexts of the computer application in which the corresponding user-level event can be fired and/or wait for;

and only if a context of the computer application belongs to the contexts associated to the transformation;

obtaining an executable form of the transformation, whenever the contextual parameters of said transformation define that said transformation should be called;

configuring at least one of the application and an environment of the application for sending, to the transformation, a series of bit patterns as sequences of input events expected as inputs to the transformation; and

wherein obtaining an executable form of the transformation comprises, at runtime, retrieving the memory address at which the executable form can be called.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein configuring at least one of the application and an environment of the application for sending, to the transformation, a series of bit patterns as sequences of input events expected as inputs to the transformation comprises at least one of activating and deactivating input event channels relative to input events expected as inputs to the transformation.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein activating and deactivating input event channels relative to input events expected as inputs to the transformation comprises:

obtaining a collection of transformations comprising, in a context of execution of the computer application, the transformations that should be called;

obtaining a collection of input event channels comprising input events channels relative to input events expected as inputs to at least one transformation in the collection of transformations;

at least one of activating an input event channel which is in the collection of input event channels, or deactivating an input event channel which is not in the collection of input event channels.

12. A device equipped with at least a processing capability configured for executing the steps of a method according to claim 9.

13. An application, stored on a non-transitory medium, comprising code instructions for causing a processor to execute the steps of a method according to claim 9.

14. The method of claim 9, comprising updating a list of active transformations, and executing an active transformation when the corresponding sequence of input events occurs.

15. The method of claim 9, wherein:

the environment of the application is configured to execute a plurality of applications expecting said user-level events as input, said plurality of applications comprising said computer application;

each application of said plurality indicates to the environment the user-level events it is waiting for in its current context;

the environment updates a list of active transformations of sequences of input events into user-level events that are wait for at least one application; and

the environment is configured to executing an active transformation when the corresponding sequence of input events occurs.

16. The method of claim 9, wherein the contexts of the computer application in which the corresponding user-level event can be fired and/or wait for is stored within metadata associated with the transformation.