Symbiotic computer application and system and method for generation and presentation of same

• US 20040015842A1
• Filed: 05/17/2001
• Published: 01/22/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 05/17/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Attachmate Corporation (Open Text Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Attachmate Corporation (Open Text Corporation)
• Inventors: Daniel, Kingsley, Nanivadekar, Hemant, Narayanaswamy, Kalpana, Constans, J. Michael
• Granted Patent: US 7,882,497 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 717/109
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/34 Graphical or visual programming

Abstract

A system and method for a symbiotic computer application and system and method for generation and presentation of same. The symbiotic computer application allows end-user devices to access back-end data systems including legacy host data systems having legacy host applications and other alternative data systems not directly compatible with the end-user devices. In some embodiments, the symbiotic computer application is generated by a symbiotic computer application generator to include user interface forms and discrete associations, which relate the user interface forms to the back-end data systems. A symbiotic computer application presentation end-user system allows the end-user device to perform desired functions of the back-end data systems through programs and user interfaces configured for the end-user device.

Claims

1. A symbiotic computer application designer for generating symbiotic computer applications for communication between an end-user device having an input and an output and a back-end data system having a back-end application, the symbiotic computer application designer comprising:

a user interface form generator configured to receive and analyze data system navigation recordings associated with the back-end application of the back-end data system, the user interface form generator configured to generate default user interface forms based upon predefined procedures to process the data system navigation recordings including those related to output screens, other output segments, and screen transitions of the back-end data system, the default user interface forms configured to operate with the end-user device to present controls and data fields to the output of the end-user device and to receive data from the input of the end-user device; and

a task object generator configured to generate task objects to respond to input from the end-user device, to transmit data to the back-end data system and to receive data from the back-end data system, each of the task objects having one or more task object inputs, task object outputs, and transfer functions, the one or more transfer functions configured to operate on the task object inputs to result in the task object outputs, some of the plurality of task objects having one or more first discrete associations with one or more of the default user interface forms, the first discrete associations including receiving data from one or more of the default user interface forms as one or more of the task object inputs and sending data to one or more of the default user interface forms as one or more of the task object outputs, some of the task objects having one or more second discrete associations with the back-end application including receiving data from the back-end application as one or more of the task object inputs and sending data to the back-end application as one or more of the task object outputs.

2. The symbiotic computer application system of claim 1 wherein the task object generator is configured to generate task objects based upon at least one of the following:

the controls and data fields of the default user interface forms generated by the user interface form generator and the data system navigation recordings including those related to the output screens and screen transitions of the back-end data system, and developer input.

3. The symbiotic computer application designer of claim 1 for use with the output of the end-user device including audio output, wherein the user interface form generator generates the default user interface forms to operate with the audio output.

4. The symbiotic computer application designer of claim 1 wherein the user interface form generator is configured to generate the default user interface forms according to a one-to-one mapping of the default user interface forms with output screens of the back-end application.

5. The symbiotic computer application designer of claim 1 wherein the one or more of the transfer functions of the task objects involve execution of operations independent from operations of the back-end data system.

6. The symbiotic computer application designer of claim 1 wherein the user interface form generator is configured to generate the default user interface forms according to one or more of the following rules:

all unprotected fields of output screens of the back-end application become inputs to task objects to be executed when a user is viewing at least one of the default user interface forms, all protected fields of the output screens are classified as one of the following;

static and dynamic, all fields of at least one of the output screens that are static and protected become static text of one of the default user interface forms, all fields of at least one of the output screens that are variable protected become outputs of those task objects that transition to the default user interface form associated with the output screen, each field of the output screens that is unprotected and contains data becomes output of those task objects that transition to the default user interface form linked to the output screen of the field, and all end-user defined fields in protected areas of the screen are variable protected fields.

7. The symbiotic computer application designer of claim 1 wherein the user interface form generator is further configured to determine which protected text on a data field is variable based upon one of the following:

analysis of multiple data system recordings to find suspect fields that have different content from one data system recording to another and an explicit definition of a field as being variable.

8. The symbiotic computer application designer of claim 1 wherein the user interface form generator is further configured to generate the default user interface forms by merging and displaying data in ways other than found with the output screens, the other output segments, and the screen transitions of the back-end data system.

9. The symbiotic computer application designer of claim 1 wherein the user interface form generator is configured to receive developer input and modify generating of the default user interface forms related to data fields and controls, the developer input including at least one of the following:

selection of output screens and other output segments of the back-end data system.

10. The symbiotic computer application designer of claim 1, further including a user interface form designer configured to generate input based user interface forms based upon developer input and previously generated default user interface forms received by the default user interface form designer.

11. The symbiotic computer application designer of claim 1, further including a screen transition analyzer configured to produce analysis concerning transitions between display screens and between other output segments of the back-end data system.

12. The symbiotic computer application designer of claim 11 wherein the task object generator is further configured to generate task objects based upon the analysis of the screen transition analyzer.

13. The symbiotic computer application designer of claim 1, further including a user interface form designer configured to modify the default user interface forms based upon developer input.

14. The symbiotic computer application designer of claim 13 wherein the user interface form designer is configured to add and delete controls on the default user interface forms.

15. The symbiotic computer application designer of claim 13 wherein the controls on the default user interface forms include at least one of the following:

a sizing attribute, a font attribute, and text descriptions contained within the control.

16. The symbiotic computer application designer of claim 13 wherein the user interface form designer is configured to specify the type of the controls found on the default user interface forms, the control type including controls having an edit box having alphanumeric data and a check box having binary data.

17. The symbiotic computer application designer of claim 13 wherein the user interface form designer is configured to specify the type of data associated with outputs of the default user interface forms.

18. The symbiotic computer application designer of claim 13 wherein the user interface form designer is further configured to allow selection of output screens of the back-end application for navigation of the back-end application by the task objects as linked to the default user interface forms.

19. The symbiotic computer application designer of claim 13 wherein the user interface form designer is configured to link controls of the default user interface forms to one or more inputs and outputs of the task objects.

20. The symbiotic computer application designer of claim 19 wherein the linking of the controls by the user interface form designer includes button activation on one or more of the default user interface forms to execute transfer functions of one or more of the task objects.

21. The symbiotic computer application designer of claim 1, further including a symbiotic computer application packager configured to package the default user interface forms and task objects into a symbiotic computer application template.

22. The symbiotic computer application designer of claim 21, further including a symbiotic computer application deployer configured to deploy the symbiotic computer application template to a server computer configured to configure the symbiotic computer application template for operation on the server computer.

23. The symbiotic computer application designer of claim 21 wherein the symbiotic computer application packager is further configured to test controls and data fields of the default user interface forms and to test transitions based upon association links between the default user interface forms and the task objects.

24. The symbiotic computer application designer of claim 21 wherein the symbiotic computer application packager further includes a user interface form post generator configured to determine task objects unmatched with the default user interface forms and configured to generate matching default user interface forms for the unmatched task objects.

25. The symbiotic computer application designer of claim 24 wherein the symbiotic computer application packager is further configured to link the matching default user interface forms to the unmatched task objects.

26. A method for generating symbiotic computer applications for communication between an end-user device having an input and an output and a back-end data system having a back-end application, the method comprising:

analyzing data system navigation recordings associated with the back-end application of the back-end data system regarding host screens and screen transitions of the back-end application;

generating user interface forms based upon predefined procedures to process the data system navigation recordings, the user interface forms configured to operate with the end-user device to present controls and data fields to the output of the end-user device and to receive data from the input of the end-user device; and

generating task objects to respond to input from the end-user device, to transmit data to the back-end data system and to receive data from the back-end data system, each of the task objects having one or more task object inputs, task object outputs, and transfer functions, the one or more transfer functions configured to operate on the task object inputs to result in the task object outputs, some of the plurality of task objects having one or more first discrete associations with one or more of the user interface forms, the first discrete associations including receiving data from one or more of the user interface forms as one or more of the task object inputs and sending data to one or more of the user interface forms as one or more of the task object outputs, some of the task objects having one or more second discrete associations with the back-end application including receiving data from the back-end application as one or more of the task object inputs and sending data to the back-end application as one or more of the task object outputs.

27. The method of claim 26 wherein generating task objects is based upon at least one of the following:

the user interface forms, the analysis of the data system navigation recordings, and developer input.

28. The method of claim 26 wherein generating the user interface forms is done according to a one-to-one mapping of the user interface forms with output screens of the back-end application.

29. The method of claim 26 wherein the transfer functions of the task objects include operations independent from operations of the back-end application.

30. The method of claim 26 wherein the user interface forms are generated according to one or more of the following rules:

all unprotected fields of output screens of the back-end application become inputs to task objects to be executed when a user is viewing at least one of the user interface forms, all protected fields of the output screens are classified as one of the following;

static and dynamic, all fields of at least one of the output screens that are static and protected become static text of one of the user interface forms, all fields of at least one of the output screens that are variable protected become outputs of those task objects that transition to the user interface form associated with the output screen, each field of the output screens that is unprotected and contains data becomes output of those task objects that transition to the user interface form linked to the output screen of the field, and all end-user defined fields in protected areas of the screen are variable protected fields.

31. The method of claim 26, further including determining which protected text on a data field is variable based upon one of the following:

user input and analysis of multiple data system recordings to find suspect fields that have different content from one data system recording to another, and an explicit definition of a field as being variable.

32. The method of claim 26, further including receiving developer input regarding data input fields and controls to be used with the user interface forms and generating the user interface forms and task objects based in part on the developer input.

33. The method of claim 26 wherein generating user interface forms includes merging and displaying data in ways other than found with the output screens, the other output segments, and the screen transitions of the back-end data system.

34. The method of claim 26 wherein the system navigation recordings include output screens, other output segments, and screen transitions of the back-end application.

35. The method of claim 26, further including generating user interface forms based upon developer input and previously generated user interface forms.

36. The method of claim 26 wherein the user interface forms are generated to operate with an audio output of the end-user device.

37. The method of claim 35, further including specifying control types including controls with an edit box having alphanumeric data and controls with a check box having binary data.

38. The method of claim 35, further including specifying the type of data associated with outputs of the user interface forms.

39. The method of claim 35, further including modifying user interface forms based upon developer input, the modifying including adding and deleting controls on one or more of the user interface forms.

40. The method of claim 39 wherein the controls on the user interface forms include at least one of the following:

a sizing attribute, a font attribute, and text descriptions contained within the control.

41. The method of claim 35, further including linking controls on one or more of the user interface forms to one or more inputs and outputs of the task objects.

42. The method of claim 41 wherein the linking of controls includes button activation to execute transfer functions of the task objects.

43. The method of claim 41, further including selecting output screens of the back-end application for navigation of the back-end application by the task objects according to how the controls of the user interface forms are linked to the task objects.

44. The method of claim 26, further including packaging the user interface forms and task objects into a symbiotic computer application template.

45. The method of claim 44, further including deploying the symbiotic computer application template to a server computer to configure the symbiotic computer application template for operation on the server computer.

46. The method of claim 44, further including testing controls and data fields of the user interface forms and testing transitions between the user interface forms based upon association links between the user interface forms and the task objects.

47. The method of claim 44, further including determining task objects that are unmatched with the user interface forms and generating matching user interface forms for the unmatched task objects.

48. The method of claim 47, further including linking the matching user interface forms to the unmatched task objects.

49. A method for generating symbiotic computer applications for communication between an end-user device having an input and an output and a back-end data system having a back-end application, the method comprising:

accessing data system navigation recordings;

designating a plurality of host screens described by the data system navigation recordings;

generating a plurality of default user interface forms from the designated host screens;

customizing some of the plurality of default user interface forms to produce customized user interface forms;

producing a transition analysis of the data system navigation recordings;

generating task objects based upon the default and customized user interface forms and the transition analysis; and

packaging the task objects and customized user interface forms into a symbiotic computer application template.

50. The method of claim 49 wherein the system navigation recordings include output screens, other output segments, and screen transitions of the back-end data system.

51. The method of claim 49, further including testing the default user interface forms and the customized user interface forms regarding transitions between the default and customized user interface forms and linking of controls of the default and customized user interface forms with the task objects.

52. A method for generating symbiotic computer applications for communication between an end-user device having an input and an output and a back-end data system having a back-end application, the method comprising:

generating a plurality of user interface forms based on developer input regarding placement on the user interface forms of controls and data fields;

generating a plurality of task objects based upon controls and data fields of the plurality of the user interface forms; and

packaging the plurality of task objects and the plurality of user interface forms into a symbiotic computer application template.

53. The method of claim 52, further including testing the plurality of user interface forms regarding linking of controls found on the plurality of user interface forms with the plurality of task objects.

54. A method for generating symbiotic computer applications for communication between an end-user device having an input and an output and a back-end data system having a back-end application, the method comprising:

generating a plurality of user interface forms based upon one or more of the following;

designating host screens described by data system navigation recordings, developer input regarding customization of designated host screens described by data system navigation recordings, and developer input regarding placement on the user interface forms of controls and data fields other than those found on host screens of data system navigation recordings, the user interface forms configured to operate with the end-user device to present controls and data fields to the output of the end-user device and to receive data from the input of the end-user device; and

generating task objects to respond to input from the end-user device and to transmit and receive data from the back-end data system, each of the task objects having one or more task object inputs, task object outputs, and transfer functions, the one or more transfer functions configured to operate on the task object inputs to result in the task object outputs, some of the plurality of task objects having one or more first discrete associations with one or more of the user interface forms, the first discrete associations including receiving data from one or more of the user interface forms as one or more of the task objects inputs and sending data to one or more of the user interface forms as one or more of the task object outputs, some of the task objects having one or more second discrete associations with the back-end application including receiving data from the back-end application as one or more of the task object inputs and sending data to the back-end application as one or more of the task object outputs.

55. A method for testing task objects comprising:

opening a task object temporary storage containing a plurality of task objects;

reading a plurality of user interface forms;

determining if any of the plurality of task objects have no corresponding one or more of the plurality of user interface forms to identify a set of non-linked task objects;

associated with the non-linked task objects, reading user interface generation rules;

generating user interface forms from the user interface generation rules; and

linking the generated user interface forms with the non-linked task objects.

56. A computer-readable memory medium containing instructions for communicating between an end-user device having an input and an output and a back-end data system having a back-end application by:

analyzing data system navigation recordings associated with the back-end application of the back-end data system regarding host screens and screen transitions of the back-end application;

generating user interface forms based upon predefined procedures to process the data system navigation recordings, the user interface forms configured to operate with the end-user device to present controls and data fields to the output of the end-user device and to receive data from the input of the end-user device; and

generating task objects to respond to input from the end-user device, to transmit data to the back-end data system and to receive data from the back-end data system, each of the task objects having one or more task object inputs, task object outputs, and transfer functions, the one or more transfer functions configured to operate on the task object inputs to result in the task object outputs, some of the plurality of task objects having one or more first discrete associations with one or more of the user interface forms, the first discrete associations including receiving data from one or more of the user interface forms as one or more of the task object inputs and sending data to one or more of the user interface forms as one or more of the task object outputs, some of the task objects having one or more second discrete associations with the back-end application including receiving data from the back-end application as one or more of the task object inputs and sending data to the back-end application as one or more of the task object outputs.

57. The computer-readable memory medium of claim 56 wherein generating task objects is based upon at least one of the following:

the user interface forms, the analysis of the data system navigation recordings, and developer input.

58. The computer-readable memory medium of claim 56 wherein generating the user interface forms is done according to a one-to-one mapping of the user interface forms with output screens of the back-end application.

59. The computer-readable memory medium of claim 56 wherein the transfer functions of the task objects include operations independent from operations of the back-end application.

60. The computer-readable memory medium of claim 56 wherein the user interface forms are generated according to one or more of the following rules:

all unprotected fields of output screens of the back-end application become inputs to task objects to be executed when a user is viewing at least one of the user interface forms, all protected fields of the output screens are classified as one of the following;

static and dynamic, all fields of at least one of the output screens that are static and protected become static text of one of the user interface forms, all fields of at least one of the output screens that are variable protected become outputs of those task objects that transition to the user interface form associated with the output screen, each field of the output screens that is unprotected and contains data becomes output of those task objects that transition to the user interface form linked to the output screen of the field, and all end-user defined fields in protected areas of the screen are variable protected fields.

61. The computer-readable memory medium of claim 56, further including determining which protected text on a data field is variable based upon one of the following:

user input and analysis of multiple data system recordings to find suspect fields that have different content from one data system recording to another, and an explicit definition of a field as being variable.

62. The computer-readable memory medium of claim 56, further including receiving developer input regarding data input fields and controls to be used with the user interface forms and generating the user interface forms and task objects based in part on the developer input.

63. The computer-readable memory medium of claim 56 wherein generating user interface forms includes merging and displaying data in ways other than found with the output screens, the other output segments, and the screen transitions of the back-end data system.

64. The computer-readable memory medium of claim 56 wherein the system navigation recordings include output screens, other output segments, and screen transitions of the back-end application.

65. The computer-readable memory medium of claim 56, further including generating user interface forms based upon developer input and previously generated user interface forms.

66. The computer-readable memory medium of claim 56 wherein the user interface forms are generated to operate with an audio output of the end-user device.

67. The computer-readable memory medium of claim 65, further including specifying control types including controls with an edit box having alphanumeric data and controls with a check box having binary data.

68. The computer-readable memory medium of claim 65, further including specifying the type of data associated with outputs of the user interface forms.

69. The computer-readable memory medium of claim 65, further including modifying user interface forms based upon developer input, the modifying including adding and deleting controls on one or more of the user interface forms.

70. The computer-readable memory medium of claim 69 wherein the controls on the user interface forms include at least one of the following:

a sizing attribute, a font attribute, and text descriptions contained within the control.

71. The computer-readable memory medium of claim 65, further including linking controls on one or more of the user interface forms to one or more inputs and outputs of the task objects.

72. The computer-readable memory medium of claim 71 wherein the linking of controls includes button activation to execute transfer functions of the task objects.

73. The computer-readable memory medium of claim 71, further including selecting output screens of the back-end application for navigation of the back-end application by the task objects according to how the controls of the user interface forms are linked to the task objects.

74. The computer-readable memory medium of claim 56, further including packaging the user interface forms and task objects into a symbiotic computer application template.

75. The computer-readable memory medium of claim 74, further including deploying the symbiotic computer application template to a server computer to configure the symbiotic computer application template for operation on the server computer.

76. The computer-readable memory medium of claim 74, further including testing controls and data fields of the user interface forms and testing transitions between the user interface forms based upon association links between the user interface forms and the task objects.

77. The computer-readable memory medium of claim 74, further including determining task objects that are unmatched with the user interface forms and generating matching user interface forms for the unmatched task objects.

78. The computer-readable memory medium of claim 77, further including linking the matching user interface forms to the unmatched task objects.

79. A computer-readable memory medium containing instructions for communicating between an end-user device having an input and an output and a back-end data system having a back-end application by:

accessing data system navigation recordings;

designating a plurality of host screens described by the data system navigation recordings;

generating a plurality of default user interface forms from the designated host screens;

customizing some of the plurality of default user interface forms to produce customized user interface forms;

producing a transition analysis of the data system navigation recordings;

generating task objects based upon the default and customized user interface forms and the transition analysis; and

packaging the task objects and customized user interface forms into a symbiotic computer application template.

80. The computer-readable memory medium of claim 79 wherein the system navigation recordings include output screens, other output segments, and screen transitions of the back-end data system.

81. The computer-readable memory medium of claim 79, further including testing the default user interface forms and the customized user interface forms regarding transitions between the default and customized user interface forms and linking of controls of the default and customized user interface forms with the task objects.

82. A computer-readable memory medium containing instructions for communicating between an end-user device having an input and an output and a back-end data system having a back-end application by:

generating a plurality of user interface forms based on developer input regarding placement on the user interface forms of controls and data fields;

generating a plurality of task objects based upon controls and data fields of the plurality of the user interface forms; and

packaging the plurality of task objects and the plurality of user interface forms into a symbiotic computer application template.

83. The computer-readable memory medium of claim 82, further including testing the plurality of user interface forms regarding linking of controls found on the plurality of user interface forms with the plurality of task objects.

84. A computer-readable memory medium containing instructions for communicating between an end-user device having an input and an output and a back-end data system having a back-end application by:

generating a plurality of user interface forms based upon one or more of the following;

designating host screens described by data system navigation recordings, developer input regarding customization of designated host screens described by data system navigation recordings, and developer input regarding placement on the user interface forms of controls and data fields other than those found on host screens of data system navigation recordings, the user interface forms configured to operate with the end-user device to present controls and data fields to the output of the end-user device and to receive data from the input of the end-user device; and

generating task objects to respond to input from the end-user device and to transmit and receive data from the back-end data system, each of the task objects having one or more task object inputs, task object outputs, and transfer functions, the one or more transfer functions configured to operate on the task object inputs to result in the task object outputs, some of the plurality of task objects having one or more first discrete associations with one or more of the user interface forms, the first discrete associations including receiving data from one or more of the user interface forms as one or more of the task objects inputs and sending data to one or more of the user interface forms as one or more of the task object outputs, some of the task objects having one or more second discrete associations with the back-end application including receiving data from the back-end application as one or more of the task object inputs and sending data to the back-end application as one or more of the task object outputs.

85. For communication between an end-user device having an input and an output and a back-end data system having a back-end application, a symbiotic computer application system comprising:

a symbiotic computer application runtime engine having a symbiotic computer application storage configured to store one or more symbiotic computer applications, each symbiotic computer application containing user interface forms and task objects, the user interface forms configured to operate with the end-user device to present controls and data fields to the output of the end-user device and to receive data from the input of the end-user device, each of the task objects having one or more task object inputs, task object outputs, and transfer functions, the one or more transfer functions configured to operate on the task object inputs to result in the task object outputs, some of the plurality of task objects having one or more first discrete associations with one or more of the user interface forms, the first discrete associations including receiving data from one or more of the user interface forms as one or more of the task object inputs and sending data to one or more of the user interface forms as one or more of the task object outputs, some of the task objects having one or more second discrete associations with the back-end application including receiving data from the back-end application as one or more of the task object inputs and sending data to the back-end application as one or more of the task object outputs; and

a symbiotic computer application presentation end-user system having a user interface forms rendering system communicatively linked to the input and the output of the end-user device and operating on the end-user device to render the user interface forms for presentation of the user interface forms on the output of the end-user device and for receipt of data through the user interface forms from the input of the end-user device.

86. The symbiotic computer application system of claim 85 wherein the symbiotic computer application runtime engine is configured to operate on a server computer communicatively linked to the end-user device and communicatively linked to the back-end data system.

87. The symbiotic computer application system of claim 85 wherein each of the plurality of task objects has one or more transfer functions selected from the following:

a data throughput operation, a data verification operation, an operation to generate screen transition instructions to the back-end application, an operation to establish communication between the end-user device and the back-end data system, and an operation to discontinue communication between the end-user device and the back-end data system.

88. The symbiotic computer application system of claim 85 wherein the symbiotic computer application presentation end-user system is configured to operate on a client computer.

89. The symbiotic computer application system of claim 85 wherein the symbiotic computer application presentation end-user system is configured to operate on a wireless device.

90. The symbiotic computer application system of claim 85 wherein the symbiotic computer application presentation end-user system is configured to operate on a device selected from the following:

a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant, a paging device, a laptop computer, a digital television, an Internet appliance, and a digital presentation monitor.

91. The symbiotic computer application runtime engine of claim 85, further including an application request handler, a request parser, and a task executor, the application request handler configured to receive requests from the symbiotic computer application presentation end-user system, the request parser configured to parse the requests regarding content related to user interface forms and task objects, the application request handler further configured to retrieve user interface forms from the symbiotic computer application storage based upon the user interface forms content of the requests, the task executor configured to retrieve task objects from the symbiotic computer application storage based upon task object content of the requests and to execute the retrieved task objects with task object input being associated with the requests and task object output being associated with operation of the transfer functions of the task objects on the task object input.

92. The symbiotic computer application runtime engine of claim 91 wherein the task executor is further configured to execute one or more of the transfer functions of the task objects.

93. For communication between an end-user device having an input and an output and a back-end data system having a back-end application, a symbiotic computer application comprising:

a plurality of user interface forms configured to operate with the end-user device to present controls and data fields to the output of the end-user device and to receive data from the input of the end-user device; and

a plurality of task objects each having one or more task object inputs, one or more task object outputs, and one or more transfer functions to operate on the one or more task object inputs to result in the one or more task object outputs, some of the plurality of task objects having one or more first discrete associations with one or more of the user interface forms, the first discrete associations including receiving data from one or more of the user interface forms as one or more of the task object inputs and sending data to one or more of the user interface forms as one or more of the task object outputs, some of the task objects having one or more second discrete associations with the back-end application including receiving data from the back-end application as one or more of the task object inputs and sending data to the back-end application as one or more of the task object outputs.

94. The symbiotic computer application of claim 93 wherein the task objects are configured to operate on a server computer communicatively linked to the end-user device and communicatively linked to the back-end data system.

95. The symbiotic computer application of claim 93 wherein each of the plurality of task objects has one or more transfer functions selected from the following:

a data throughput operation, a data verification operation, an operation to generate screen transition instructions to the back-end application, an operation to establish communication between the end-user device and the back-end data system, and an operation to discontinue communication between the end-user device and the back-end data system.

96. The symbiotic computer application of claim 93 wherein the user interface forms are configured to operate on a client computer.

97. The symbiotic computer application of claim 93 wherein the user interface forms are configured to operate on a wireless device.

98. The symbiotic computer application of claim 93 wherein the user interface forms are configured to operate on a device selected from the following:

a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant, a paging device, a laptop computer, a digital television, an Internet appliance, and a digital presentation monitor.

99. A method for communicating between an end-user device having an input and output and a back-end data system having a back-end application, the method comprising:

receiving a presentation request from the end-user device;

retrieving a plurality of user interface forms based upon the presentation request, the user interface forms configured to operate with the end-user device to present controls and data fields to the output of the end-user device and to receive data from the input of the end-user device;

retrieving a plurality of task objects based upon the presentation request, each of the task objects having one or more task object inputs, task object outputs, and transfer functions, the one or more transfer functions configured to operate on the task object inputs to result in the task object outputs, some of the plurality of task objects having one or more first discrete associations with one or more of the user interface forms, the first discrete associations including receiving data from one or more of the user interface forms as one or more of the task object inputs and sending data to one or more of the user interface forms as one or more of the task object outputs, some of the plurality of task objects having one or more second discrete associations with the back-end application including receiving data from the back-end application as one or more of the task object inputs and sending data to the back-end application as one or more of the task object outputs;

executing one or more of the plurality of task objects to establish a communication link to the back-end data system;

designating one of the plurality of user interface forms as being a current user interface form;

transmitting the current user interface form to the end-user device for presentation by the output of the end-user device;

receiving an execution request from the end-user device; and

executing one or more of the plurality of task objects based upon the received execution request to perform one of the following;

sending data to the back-end data system and receiving data from the back-end data system.

100. The method of claim 99 wherein executing to establish the communication link to the back-end data system includes use of a pool of pre-initialized connections.

101. The method of claim 99, further including generating user interface forms based upon recently accessed screens of the back-end data system.

102. The method of claim 99, further including generating the execution request by the end-user device by activating a web page link through operation of a computer implemented pointing device.

103. The method of claim 99, further including validating the received presentation request of the end-user device.

104. The method of claim 99 wherein transmitting the current user interface form to the end-user device includes downloading a user interface form description and static data from a caching scheme on the end-user device and transmitting updated dynamic data to the end-user device.

105. The method of claim 99 wherein retrieving the plurality of user interface forms involves use of state information and a state map to identify one or more of the user interface forms and associated controls data for retrieval.

106. The method of claim 99 wherein retrieving the plurality of user interface forms involves generating the user interface forms using a rules engine.

107. The method of claim 99, further including parsing data from the presentation request of the end-user device.

108. The method of claim 99 wherein executing to establish the communication link to the back-end data system involves one or more preprogrammed task objects configured to send a request to the back-end data system to establish communication.

109. The method of claim 99, further including executing a close operation to cease the communication link to the back-end data system based upon receiving another execution request from the end-user device.

110. The method of claim 99, further including determining whether the presentation request can be serviced by task objects stored in the end-user device.

111. A method for communicating between an end-user device having an input and output and a back-end data system having a back-end application, the method comprising:

generating a presentation request by the end-user device;

determining availability of local user interface forms stored on the end-user device to service the presentation request, the local user interface forms being part of a plurality of user interface forms configured to operate with the end-user device to present controls and data fields to the output of the end-user device and to receive data from the input of the end-user device;

determining availability of local task objects stored on the end-user device to service the presentation request, the local task objects being part of a plurality of task objects, each of the plurality of task objects having one or more task object inputs, task object outputs, and transfer functions, the one or more transfer functions configured to operate on the task object inputs to result in the task object outputs, some of the plurality of task objects having one or more first discrete associations with one or more of the plurality of user interface forms, the first discrete associations including receiving data from one or more of the plurality of user interface forms as one or more of the task object inputs and sending data to one or more of the plurality of user interface forms as one or more of the task object outputs, some of the plurality of task objects having one or more second discrete associations with the back-end application including receiving data from the back-end application as one or more of the task object inputs and sending data to the back-end application as one or more of the task object out puts;

based upon determining the availability local user interface forms and local task objects, sending a modified presentation request, the modified presentation request configured in part to cause one or more task objects to establish a communication link to the back-end data system;

receiving a user interface form designated as a current user interface for presentation by the output of the end-user device based upon the modified presentation request; and

sending an execution request from the end-user device for one or more task objects to perform one of the following;

sending data to the back-end data system and receiving data from the back-end data system.

112. The method of claim 111 wherein generating the presentation request by the end-user device is achieved by activating a web page link through operation of a computer implemented pointing device.

113. The method of claim 111 wherein receiving the current user interface form includes downloading a user interface form description and static data from a caching scheme on the end-user device and receiving updated dynamic data by the end-user device.

114. The method of claim 111, further including sending a request to execute a close operation to cease the communication link to the back-end data system.

115. The method of claim 111, further including determining whether the presentation request can be serviced by task objects stored in the end-user device.

116. A method for communicating between an end-user device having an input and output and a back-end data system having a back-end application, the method comprising:

receiving a presentation request from the end-user device;

executing one or more of a plurality of task objects to establish a communication link to the back-end data system, each of the plurality of task objects having one or more task object inputs, task object outputs, and transfer functions, the one or more transfer functions configured to operate on the task object inputs to result in the task object outputs, some of the plurality of task objects having one or more first discrete associations with one or more of a plurality of user interface forms, the first discrete associations including receiving data from one or more of the user interface forms as one or more of the task object inputs and sending data to one or more of the user interface forms as one or more of the task object outputs, some of the plurality of task objects having one or more second discrete associations with the back-end application including receiving data from the back-end application as one or more of the task object inputs and sending data to the back-end application as one or more of the task object outputs;

designating one of the user interface forms as a current user interface form based upon the received presentation request, the user interface forms configured to operate with the end-user device to present controls and data fields to the output of the end-user device and to receive data from the input of the end-user device;

transmitting the current user interface form to the end-user device for presentation by the output of the end-user device;

receiving an execution request from the end-user device; and

executing one or more of the plurality of task objects based upon the received execution request to perform one of the following;

sending data to the back-end data system and receiving data from the back-end data system.

117. A method for communicating between an end-user device having an input and output and a back-end data system having a back-end application, the method comprising:

sending a presentation request from the end-user device to cause user interface forms to service the presentation request, the user interface forms configured to operate with the end-user device to present controls and data fields to the output of the end-user device and to receive data from the input of the end-user device and to cause task objects to service the presentation request, each of the task objects having one or more task object inputs, task object outputs, and transfer functions, the one or more transfer functions configured to operate on the task object inputs to result in the task object outputs, some of the task objects having one or more first discrete associations with one or more of the user interface forms, the first discrete associations including receiving data from one or more of the user interface forms as one or more of the task object inputs and sending data to one or more of the user interface forms as one or more of the task object outputs, some of the task objects having one or more second discrete associations with the back-end application including receiving data from the back-end application as one or more of the task object inputs and sending data to the back-end application as one or more of the task object outputs, the presentation request configured in part to cause one or more task objects to establish a communication link to the back-end data system;

receiving a user interface form designated as a current user interface form for presentation by the output of the end-user device based upon the presentation request; and

sending an execution request from the end-user device for one or more task objects to perform one of the following;

sending data to the back-end data system and receiving data from the back-end data system.

118. A computer-readable memory medium containing instructions for communicating between an end-user device having an input and output and a back-end data system having a back-end application by:

receiving a presentation request from the end-user device;

retrieving a plurality of user interface forms based upon the presentation request, the user interface forms configured to operate with the end-user device to present controls and data fields to the output of the end-user device and to receive data from the input of the end-user device;

retrieving a plurality of task objects based upon the presentation request, each of the task objects having one or more task object inputs, task object outputs, and transfer functions, the one or more transfer functions configured to operate on the task object inputs to result in the task object outputs, some of the plurality of task objects having one or more first discrete associations with one or more of the user interface forms, the first discrete associations including receiving data from one or more of the user interface forms as one or more of the task object inputs and sending data to one or more of the user interface forms as one or more of the task object outputs, some of the plurality of task objects having one or more second discrete associations with the back-end application including receiving data from the back-end application as one or more of the task object inputs and sending data to the back-end application as one or more of the task object outputs;

executing one or more of the plurality of task objects to establish a communication link to the back-end data system;

designating one of the plurality of user interface forms as being a current user interface form;

transmitting the current user interface form to the end-user device for presentation by the output of the end-user device;

receiving an execution request from the end-user device; and

executing one or more of the plurality of task objects based upon the received execution request to perform one of the following;

sending data to the back-end data system and receiving data from the back-end data system.

119. The computer-readable memory medium of claim 118 wherein executing to establish the communication link to the back-end data system includes use of a pool of pre-initialized connections.

120. The computer-readable memory medium of claim 118, further including generating user interface forms based upon recently accessed screens of the back-end data system.

121. The computer-readable memory medium of claim 118, further including generating the execution request by the end-user device by activating a web page link through operation of a computer implemented pointing device.

122. The computer-readable memory medium of claim 118, further including validating the received presentation request of the end-user device.

123. The computer-readable memory medium of claim 118 wherein transmitting the current user interface form to the end-user device includes downloading a user interface form description and static data from a caching scheme on the end-user device and transmitting updated dynamic data to the end-user device.

124. The computer-readable memory medium of claim 118 wherein retrieving the plurality of user interface forms involves use of state information and a state map to identify one or more of the user interface forms and associated controls data for retrieval.

125. The computer-readable memory medium of claim 118 wherein retrieving the plurality of user interface forms involves generating the user interface forms using a rules engine.

126. The computer-readable memory medium of claim 118, further including parsing data from the presentation request of the end-user device.

127. The computer-readable memory medium of claim 118 wherein executing to establish the communication link to the back-end data system involves one or more preprogrammed task objects configured to send a request to the back-end data system to establish communication.

128. The computer-readable memory medium of claim 118, further including executing a close operation to cease the communication link to the back-end data system based upon receiving another execution request from the end-user device.

129. The computer-readable memory medium of claim 118, further including determining whether the presentation request can be serviced by task objects stored in the end-user device.

130. A computer-readable memory medium containing instructions for communicating between an end-user device having an input and output and a back-end data system having a back-end application by:

generating a presentation request by the end-user device;

determining availability of local user interface forms stored on the end-user device to service the presentation request, the local user interface forms being part of a plurality of user interface forms configured to operate with the end-user device to present controls and data fields to the output of the end-user device and to receive data from the input of the end-user device;

determining availability of local task objects stored on the end-user device to service the presentation request, the local task objects being part of a plurality of task objects, each of the plurality of task objects having one or more task object inputs, task object outputs, and transfer functions, the one or more transfer functions configured to operate on the task object inputs to result in the task object outputs, some of the plurality of task objects having one or more first discrete associations with one or more of the user interface forms, the first discrete associations including receiving data from one or more of the local user interface forms as one or more of the task object inputs and sending data to one or more of the local user interface forms as one or more of the task object outputs, some of the plurality of task objects having one or more second discrete associations with the back-end application including receiving data from the back-end application as one or more of the task object inputs and sending data to the back-end application as one or more of the task object outputs;

based upon determining the availability of local user interface forms and local task objects, sending a modified presentation request, the modified presentation request configured in part to cause one or more task objects to establish a communication link to the back-end data system;

receiving a user interface form designated as a current user interface for presentation by the output of the end-user device based upon the modified presentation request; and

sending an execution request from the end-user device for one or more task objects to perform one of the following;

sending data to the back-end data system and receiving data from the back-end data system.

131. The computer-readable memory medium of claim 130 wherein generating the presentation request by the end-user device is achieved by activating a web page link through operation of a computer implemented pointing device.

132. The computer-readable memory medium of claim 130 wherein receiving the current user interface form includes downloading a user interface form description and static data from a caching scheme on the end-user device and receiving updated dynamic data by the end-user device.

133. The computer-readable memory medium of claim 130, further including sending a request to execute a close operation to cease the communication link to the back-end data system.

134. The computer-readable memory medium of claim 130, further including determining whether the presentation request can be serviced by task objects stored in the end-user device.

135. A computer-readable memory medium containing instructions for communicating between an end-user device having an input and output and a back-end data system having a back-end application by:

receiving a presentation request from the end-user device;

executing one or more of a plurality of task objects to establish a communication link to the back-end data system, each of the plurality of task objects having one or more task object inputs, task object outputs, and transfer functions, the one or more transfer functions configured to operate on the task object inputs to result in the task object outputs, some of the plurality of task objects having one or more first discrete associations with one or more of a plurality of user interface forms, the first discrete associations including receiving data from one or more of the user interface forms as one or more of the task object inputs and sending data to one or more of the user interface forms as one or more of the task object outputs, some of the plurality of task objects having one or more second discrete associations with the back-end application including receiving data from the back-end application as one or more of the task object inputs and sending data to the back-end application as one or more of the task object outputs;

designating one of the user interface forms as a current user interface form based upon the received presentation request, the user interface forms configured to operate with the end-user device to present controls and data fields to the output of the end-user device and to receive data from the input of the end-user device;

transmitting the current user interface form to the end-user device for presentation by the output of the end-user device;

receiving an execution request from the end-user device; and

executing one or more of the plurality of task objects based upon the received execution request to perform one of the following;

sending data to the back-end data system and receiving data from the back-end data system.

136. A computer-readable memory medium containing instructions for communicating between an end-user device having an input and output and a back-end data system having a back-end application, the method comprising:

sending a presentation request from the end-user device to cause user interface forms to service the presentation request, the user interface forms configured to operate with the end-user device to present controls and data fields to the output of the end-user device and to receive data from the input of the end-user device and to cause task objects to service the presentation request, each of the task objects having one or more task object inputs, task object outputs, and transfer functions, the one or more transfer functions configured to operate on the task object inputs to result in the task object outputs, some of the task objects having one or more first discrete associations with one or more of the user interface forms, the first discrete associations including receiving data from one or more of the user interface forms as one or more of the task object inputs and sending data to one or more of the user interface forms as one or more of the task object outputs, some of the task objects having one or more second discrete associations with the back-end application including receiving data from the back-end application as one or more of the task object inputs and sending data to the back-end application as one or more of the task object outputs, the presentation request configured in part to cause one or more task objects to establish a communication link to the back-end data system;

receiving a user interface form designated as a current user interface form for presentation by the output of the end-user device based upon the presentation request; and

sending an execution request from the end-user device for one or more task objects to perform one of the following;

sending data to the back-end data system and receiving data from the back-end data system.