Modernization of legacy applications using dynamic icons

• US 10,310,835 B2
• Filed: 03/14/2016
• Issued: 06/04/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 10/28/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ADVANCED BusinessLink Corporation
• Original Assignee: ADVANCED BusinessLink Corporation
• Inventors: Lategan, Christopher F.
• Primary Examiner(s): Pillai, Namitha
• Application Number:
  US15/069,869
• Publication Number:
  US 20160196038A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,177 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/31 User authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/629 to features or functions of an application
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• 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 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04847 Interaction techniques to control parameter settings, e.g. interaction with sliders or dials
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/51 Source to source
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/52 Binary to binary
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/65 Updates security arrangements therefor G06F21/57
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/654 using techniques specially adapted for alterable solid state memories, e.g. for EEPROM or flash memories
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/656 while running
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/66 of program code stored in read-only memory [ROM]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/70 Software maintenance or management
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/72 Code refactoring
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/74 Reverse engineering; Extracting design information from source code
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/76 Adapting program code to run in a different environment; Porting
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/448 Execution paradigms, e.g. implementations of programming paradigms
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 : Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0803 : Configuration setting
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0806 : for initial configuration or provisioning, e.g. plug-and-play
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/70 : Admission control; Resource allocation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/102 : Entity profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/104 : Grouping of entities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 : based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 : in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/141 : Setup of application sessions admission control or resource allocation in data switching networks H04L47/70
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 : User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 : specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/561 : Adding application-functional data or data for application control, e.g. adding metadata
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/565 : Conversion or adaptation of application format or content adding application control or application functional data H04L67/561
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 : in the application layer [OSI layer 7]

Abstract

Methods, systems, and techniques for automatically allocating and dynamically determining icons for placement on legacy task output as part of modernizing such tasks are provided. These enhanced modernization techniques may be used for many different applications to automatically provide graphical enhancement to legacy applications in ways heretofore not pragmatically possible because of the sheer volume of menus in typical enterprise scenarios running legacy applications. Example embodiments provide a Role-Based Modernization System (“RBMS”), which uses these enhanced modernization techniques to provide role-based modernization of menu-based legacy applications.

Claims

1. A method in a client computing system for modernizing an existing menu-based legacy application, the menu-based legacy application having a hierarchy of menus, at least some of which require a plurality of menu selections to access a given task, the existing menu-based legacy application comprising:

receiving a reorganization of the existing menu-based legacy application into a plurality of roles, wherein each role is configured to allow direct access to the menu-based legacy application through one or more tasks without invoking the menu structure of the existing menu based legacy application;

receiving from a host computing system a data stream representing output from a task of the existing menu-based legacy application executing on a host computing system;

filtering the received data stream output to identify entities to be output in a display on the client computing system of the received data stream, wherein the identified entities include multiple user interface controls to be displayed on a role desktop, wherein the role desktop displays an indicator of a current role that is associated with the one or more tasks of the existing menu-based legacy application configured for the current role, such that a user of the role is authorized to conduct the associated one or more tasks without invoking the menu structure of the existing menu based legacy application;

associating each identified entity with an associated icon that most nearly matches the identified entity by matching each entity name, in whole or in part, to an icon descriptor of the associated icon; and

outputting the received data stream in the display on the client computing system, such that each identified entity is displayed along with its associated icon on the current role of the role desktop.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the identified entities include user interface controls configured to cause, upon selection, the execution of tasks of the existing menu-based legacy application.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the identified entities include indicators of running tasks of the existing menu-based legacy application.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the identified entities include indicators of tasks of the existing menu-based legacy application that are able to be run.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the identified entities include menu items.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the multiple user interface controls on the role desktop include a task list that includes indicators of the associated one or more tasks along with one or more of the associated icons.

7. A non-transitory computer-readable memory medium whose contents are instructions configured to enable a computing system to modernize an existing menu-based legacy application, by performing a method comprising:

receiving a reorganization of the existing menu-based legacy application into a plurality of roles, wherein each role is configured to allow direct access to the menu-based legacy application through one or more tasks without invoking the menu structure of the existing menu based legacy application;

receiving from a host computing system a data stream representing output from a task of the existing menu-based legacy application executing on a host computing system;

filtering the received data stream output to identify entities to be output in a display on the client computing system of the received data stream, wherein the identified entities include multiple user interface controls on a role desktop, wherein the role desktop displays an indicator of a current role that is associated with one or more tasks of the existing menu-based legacy application configured for the current role, such that a user of the role is authorized to conduct the associated one or more tasks without invoking the menu structure of the existing menu based legacy application;

associating each identified entity with an associated icon that most nearly matches the identified entity by matching each entity name, in whole or in part, to an icon descriptor of the associated icon; and

outputting the received data stream in the display on the client computing system, such that each identified entity is displayed along with its associated icon on the current role of the role desktop.

8. The non-transitory computer-readable memory medium of claim 7 wherein the identified entities include user interface controls configured to cause, upon selection, the execution of tasks of the existing menu-based legacy application.

9. The non-transitory computer-readable memory medium of claim 7 wherein the identified entities include indicators of running tasks of the existing menu-based legacy application.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable memory medium of claim 7 wherein the identified entities include indicators of tasks of the existing menu-based legacy application that are able to be run.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable memory medium of claim 7 wherein the identified entities include menu items.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable memory medium of claim 7 wherein the multiple user interface controls on the role desktop include a task list that includes indicators of the associated one or more tasks along with one or more of the associated icons.

13. A client computing system, comprising:

a memory;

a processor; and

a client-side host interface code module stored in the memory, communicatively coupled to a host computing system, and configured, when executed on the processor, to receive screen output from at least one task of an existing menu-based legacy application running on the host computing system, wherein the legacy application accesses tasks uses a hierarchy of menus, and to modernize the received screen output by adding icons to a plurality of entities received in the screen output when the received output is displayed on a display of the client computing system on a role desktop, wherein the client-side host interface code module is further configured to;

receive from the host computing system a data stream representing the screen output from the at least one task of the existing menu-based legacy application running on the host computing system;

filter the received data stream output to identify the plurality of entities received in the screen output, wherein the identified entities include multiple user interface controls on the role desktop, wherein the role desktop displays an indicator of a current role that is associated with one or more tasks of the existing menu-based legacy application configured for the current role, such that a user of the role is authorized to conduct the associated one or more tasks without invoking the hierarchy of menus of the existing menu based legacy application;

associate each identified entity with an associated icon that most nearly matches the identified entity by matching each entity name, in whole or in part, to an icon descriptor of the associated icon; and

output the received data stream in the display of the client computing system, such that each entity is displayed along with its associated icon on the current role of the role desktop.

14. The client computing system of claim 13 wherein the identified entities include all of user interface controls, indicators of running tasks, indicators of tasks that are able to be run, menu items, and multiple user interface controls on the role desktop.

15. The client computing system of claim 13, further configured to associate each identified entity with an associated icon by determining an at least partial match between an entity description and an icon description.

16. The client computing system of claim 13 wherein the module includes instructions for execution in the memory of the client computing system.