Method and system for converting user interface source code of a legacy application to web pages

• US 20020178290A1
• Filed: 06/11/2001
• Published: 11/28/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 05/25/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Reinhardt, Edmund Horst, Hockings, Michael A., Coulthard, Philip S.
• Granted Patent: US 7,904,803 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/246
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/972 Access to data in other repository systems, e.g. legacy data or dynamic Web page generation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

A method and apparatus that has the ability to convert display pages of interactive legacy applications for use on a network, such as the Internet. The display source code of the legacy application is first parsed into a network-based language, such as XML, preserving the structure and hierarchy of the display source to create a plurality of network user interface pages. The network user interface pages are then converted to a dynamic platform-independent language in which the static portion of the display page is converted to a web page, such as a JavaServer Page, and the dynamic portion of the display page for input/output/feedback is converted to data objects, such as JavaBeans. The intermediate network user interface pages may be stored on the server with the legacy application. The conversion program to convert the intermediate network user interface pages may be stored on a computer program product, a client connected to the server with the legacy application, or the server itself. The method of this invention provides an environment such that when an application is invoked from a client, the runtime data manager may use either the traditional display source code or the generated intermediate network user interface pages as its user interfaces. Thus, the legacy application'"'"'s data stream need not be redirected but is already in the format accessible to the network server across the network to the network user agent as network pages, such as JavaServer Pages with the dynamic input/output/feedback data as JavaBeans.

Claims

1. A method for converting display source code of an application on a server to a network interactive web-browser page, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) resolving the display source code of the application into a plurality of record formats;

(b) for each of the plurality of record formats, resolving a plurality of references within the record format to database files;

(c) determining the hierarchy and relationships of the plurality of references;

(d) parsing the plurality of references to a web-language file using nested tags to capture the hierarchy and relationship of the plurality of references to create network user interface pages; and

(e) converting the network user interface pages to an object-oriented platform-independent network language by;

(i) creating dynamic components for input, output, and feedback references; and

(ii) creating a static component for unchanging references of each record format.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the network interactive web-browser page is displayed on the Internet.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the network interactive web-browser page is displayed on a network selected from the group consisting of:

an internal network, an Intranet, a LAN, a WAN, an internal bus, a wireless network.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the web-language file is an XML language file.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the XML language file is an HTML file.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the XML language file is a WML file.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the static component further comprises a JavaServer Page.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the dynamic components further comprise JavaBeans.

9. The method of claim 2, wherein the network user interface pages are stored on the server.

10. A computer readable medium containing program instructions for creating web interfaces of an application stored on a computer, said program instructions for:

(a) parsing display file data description source of the application to render the source into a plurality of network user interface pages, each network user interface page to display a record format of the application;

(b) converting the network user interface page, wherein at least one data object maintains the application'"'"'s input, output, feedback data on a client and at least one web-browser page maintains the application'"'"'s static content;

(c) dynamically updating the web-browser page with the application'"'"'s input, output, feedback data via a servlet instance; and

(d) displaying the web-browser page on a client via a network.

11. A computer readable medium containing program instructions for use in a computer network, said computer readable medium containing program instructions for:

(a) providing a plurality of network user interface pages of format records of display source code of a application;

the network user interface pages to receive data from the application and in response thereto; and

(b) converting the network user interface pages to web-browser pages, a static portion of which displays the static portion of the format record and a dynamic portion of which interacts with the web-browser page to display input, output, feedback data required by/from/of the application.

12. A computer system for executing an application, comprising:

a central processing unit;

a main memory connected to the central processing unit with a communication bus;

a data storage unit connected to a data storage interface which is connected to said communication bus;

at least one input/output device connected to said communication bus and connected to a network interface to an external computer network,

an application stored in said main memory and capable of executing on said central processing unit; and

a plurality of intermediate network user interface pages, each of which correspond to a record format of the application;

wherein as the application executes, the application logic may use either a traditional display of the record format or the plurality of intermediate network user interfaces pages for communication of the application to a user over the external computer network.

13. A computer server for converting the display source of an application stored and executing on a computer, comprising:

a central processing unit;

a parser to parse the display source into a plurality of record formats;

each of the record formats unique to each input/output screen definition of the application;

a generator of web-language user interface files having nested tags of each of the record formats; and

a converter of web-language user interface files, the converter further comprising;

an object creator to create dynamic components for the dynamic portions of the display source; and

a static component for display of the unchanging aspects of the record formats.