Proxy-computer-based provision of alternative graphical user interfaces

• US 10,257,303 B2
• Filed: 03/31/2016
• Issued: 04/09/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Arning, Andreas, Engelke, Jens, Rindtorff, Klaus, Stober, Thomas
• Primary Examiner(s): Shiberou, Mahelet
• Application Number:
  US15/086,223
• Publication Number:
  US 20170289292A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,104 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/565 Conversion or adaptation of application format or content adding application control or application functional data H04L67/561

Abstract

The invention relates to a computer-implemented method for providing an alternative GUI to a client application. A proxy computer comprises a history with request sequences respectively representing a part of a workflow predefined by an original GUI. Each request sequence in the history has been transmitted previously from an original GUI displayed in a client application via the proxy computer and via a network to a backend application. The proxy computer intercepts a current request transmitted from the original GUI to the backend application via the network and the proxy computer, compares the current intercepted request with the request sequences in the history, identifies and evaluates a matching request sequence for generating the alternative GUI, the alternative GUI completely or partially implementing the part of the workflow represented by the identified request sequence and returns the generated alternative GUI via the network to the client application.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for providing an alternative GUI to a client application, the method comprising:

providing a proxy computer, the proxy computer comprising a history with one or more request sequences, each request sequence being a sequence of consecutive requests having been transmitted previously from an original GUI displayed by said or by another client application via the proxy computer and via a network to a backend application, each request sequence representing a part of a workflow predefined by the original GUI;

intercepting, by the proxy computer, one or more current requests transmitted from the original GUI displayed by the client application to the backend application via the network and via the proxy computer;

comparing, by the proxy computer, the one or more current intercepted requests with the request sequences in the history for identifying a request sequence that matches at least partially with the one or more current intercepted requests;

evaluating, by the proxy computer, the identified request sequence for generating the alternative GUI, the alternative GUI completely or partially implementing the part of the workflow represented by the identified request sequence; and

returning, by the proxy computer, the generated alternative GUI via the network to the client application for enabling a user to perform the parts of the workflow represented by the alternative GUI via the alternative GUI instead of the original GUI;

wherein the generation of the alternative GUI that completely or partially implements the part the workflow represented by the identified request includes;

identifying, by the proxy computer, a plurality of request sequences stored in the history and covering said part of the workflow, each of said identified request sequences corresponding to a sequence of requests transmitted by a user via the original GUI from said or the other client application to the backend application previously, each of the identified request sequences comprising, for each request, one or more parameter values provided by the user or by the original GUI per default for submission to the backend application;

identifying, by the proxy computer, for each of the parameters in each of the requests of the identified request sequences, if the parameter is an invariable parameter or a variable parameter, an invariable parameter being a parameter whose value is identical for said request in each of the identified request sequences, a variable parameter being a parameter of a request whose value differs for said request in two or more of the identified request sequences; and

performing the generation of the alternative GUI by generating a GUI that selectively comprises data entry fields for the variable a parameters and that lacks data entry fields for the invariable parameters;

wherein the computer-implemented method further includes analyzing, by the proxy computer, meta data stored in association with the variable parameters in the history for identifying human-readable labels of the variable parameters, wherein the generation of the alternative GUI is performed such that the data entry fields for the variable parameters are associated with and displayed together with the respectively identified human-readable labels.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, the client application being a standard or special-purpose browser running on a client device, the method comprising:

transmitting a specification of a layout and function of the original GUI by the backend application to the client application via the network; and

instantiating the original GUI in accordance with the transmitted specification by the client application.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, the client application being an application running on a client device, the method further comprising:

reading, by one or more processors of the client device, computer-interpretable instructions which are part of the client application from a storage of the client device; and

instantiating the original GUI by executing the read instructions.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, the method comprising generating the history by:

monitoring, by the proxy computer, if a start signal and/or an end signal are received while a user interacts with the original GUI displayed by the client application;

recording, by the proxy computer, each sequence of requests consecutively received from the original GUI displayed by the client application that is delimited by a start signal and a completion signal and storing the request sequence in the history.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 4,

the start signal and the completion signal being signals triggered by a user interacting with a user interface element, the user interface element provided by the proxy computer via a network to a client device hosting the client application;

or

the start signal being a first request received by the proxy computer after initialization of the client application or after a previous completion signal was received by the proxy computer, the completion signal being a timeout signal after a predefined time interval lapsed since the start signal was received;

or

the start signal and the completion signal respectively being the time of receiving, by the proxy computer, a request of the original GUI displayed by the client application that has a particular, predefined start position or end position in a known request sequence order.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, the alternative GUI being a more lightweight version of the original GUI.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, the alternative GUI comprising a lower number of GUI elements and/or a lower number of pages than the original GUI.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, submission of each of the one or more current intercepted requests and each of the requests in the request sequences in the history being triggered by a user interacting with a GUI element for indicating completion of entering parameter values in one or more data entry fields in a page of the original GUI.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, submission of each of the one or more current intercepted requests and each of the requests in the request sequences in the history being triggered by a user interacting with a GUI element for indicating completion of entering a single parameter value in a corresponding parameter specific data entry field in a page of the original GUI.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, the client application running on a client device comprising a display, the backend application running on a backend server connected via a network to the client device, the method comprising:

automatically determining, by the proxy computer, a size of the display of the client device; and

selectively generating and providing the alternative GUI instead of the original GUI in case the size of the display of the client device is below a size threshold.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

upon performing the comparison, identifying two or more request sequence candidates that match at least partially with the one or more current intercepted requests and that represent different parts of the workflow implemented by the original GUI;

prompting, by the proxy computer, a user of the client application to select one of the request sequence candidates;

performing the generation of the alternative GUI, the alternative GUI completely or partially implementing the part of the workflow represented by the selected request sequence candidate.

12. A computer program product for providing an alternative GUI to a client application, the computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium having program instructions embodied therewith, the program instructions executable by a processor of a proxy computer to cause the processor to execute a method comprising:

providing a proxy computer, the proxy computer comprising a history with one or more request sequences, each request sequence being a sequence of consecutive requests having been transmitted previously from an original GUI displayed by said or by another client application via the proxy computer and via a network to a backend application, each request sequence representing a part of a workflow predefined by the original GUI;

intercepting, by the proxy computer, one or more current requests transmitted from the original GUI displayed by the client application to the backend application via the network and the proxy computer;

comparing, by the proxy computer, the one or more current intercepted requests with the request sequences in the history for identifying a request sequence that matches at least partially with the one or more current intercepted requests;

evaluating, by the proxy computer, the identified request sequence for generating the alternative GUI, the alternative GUI completely or partially implementing the part of the workflow represented by the identified request sequence; and

returning, by the proxy computer, the generated alternative GUI via the network to the client application for enabling a user to perform the parts of the workflow represented by the alternative GUI via the alternative GUI instead of the original GUI;

wherein the generation of the alternative GUI that completely or partially implements the part of the workflow represented by the identified request includes;

identifying, by the proxy computer, a plurality of request sequences stored in the history and covering said part of the workflow, each of said identified request sequences corresponding to a sequence of requests transmitted by a user via the original GUI from said or the other client application to the backend application previously, each of the identified request sequences comprising, for each request, one or more parameter values provided by the user or by the original GUI per default for submission to the backend application;

identifying, by the proxy computer, for each of the parameters in each of the requests of the identified request sequences, if the parameter is an invariable parameter or a variable parameter, an invariable parameter being a parameter whose value is identical for said request in each of the identified request sequences, a variable parameter being a parameter of a request whose value differs for said request in two or more of the identified request sequences; and

performing the generation of the alternative GUI by generating a GUI that selectively comprises data entry fields for the variable parameters and that lacks data entry fields for the invariable parameters;

wherein the method further includes analyzing, by the proxy computer, meta data stored in association with the variable parameters in the history for identifying human-readable labels of the variable parameters wherein the generation of the alternative GUI is performed such that the data entry fields for the variable parameters are associated with and displayed together with the respectively identified human-readable.

13. A proxy computer comprising:

a network interface for connecting the proxy computer with a client application via a network;

a storage medium comprising a history with one or more request sequences, each request sequence being a sequence of consecutive requests having been transmitted previously from an original GUI displayed by said or by another client application via the proxy computer and via the network to a backend application, each request sequence representing a part of a workflow predefined by the original GUI;

one or more processors configured for;

intercepting, by the proxy computer, one or more current requests transmitted from the original GUI displayed by the client application to the backend application via the network and the proxy computer;

comparing the one or more current intercepted requests with the request sequences in the history for identifying a request sequence that matches at least partially with the one or more current intercepted requests;

evaluating the identified request sequence for generating an alternative GUI, the alternative GUI completely or partially implementing the part of the workflow represented by the identified request sequence; and

returning the generated alternative GUI via the network to the client application for enabling a user to perform the parts of the workflow represented by the alternative GUI via the alternative GUI instead of the original GUI;

wherein the generation of the alternative GUI that completely or partially implements the part of the workflow represented by the identified request includes;

identifying, by the proxy computer, a plurality of request sequences stored in the history and covering said part of the workflow, each of said identified request sequences corresponding to a sequence of requests transmitted by a user via the original GUI from said or the other client application to the backend application previously, each of the identified request sequences comprising, for each request, one or more parameter values provided by the user or by the original GUI per default for submission to the backend application;

identifying, by the proxy computer, for each of the parameters in each of the requests of the identified request sequences, if the parameter is an invarible parameter or a variable parameter, an invariable parameter being a parameter whose value is identical for said request in each of the identified request sequences, a variable parameter being a parameter of a request whose value differs for said request in two or more of the identified request sequences; and

performing the generation of the alternative GUI by generating a GUI that selectively comprises data entry fields for the variable parameters and that lacks data entry fields for the invariable parameters;

wherein the one or more processors are further configured for analyzing, by the proxy computer, meta data stored in association with the variable parameters in the history for identifying human-readable labels of the variable parameters, wherein the generation of the alternative GUI is performed such that the data entry fields for the variable parameters are associated with and displayed together with the respectively identified human-readable labels.