Mark-up language implementation of graphical or non-graphical user interfaces

• US 20040061713A1
• Filed: 09/18/2003
• Published: 04/01/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 09/12/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Avaya Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Avaya Technology LLC (Avaya Incorporated)
• Inventors: Jennings, Terry D.
• Granted Patent: US 7,219,305 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/700
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/38 for implementing user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

A user interface (132)—be it graphical (GUI) or telephony (TUI)—to an application (120) is defined by stored interface and feature description documents (122, 124) written in XML and JavaScript, so that the user interface and changes thereto can be effected without access to source code. Interface description documents define the appearance and the behavior of the user interface toward the user, while feature description documents define the interaction of the user interface with the interfaced-to application, both in conformity with a user-interface object model (310). Stored connector object plug-ins (126) define connector objects for rendering elements of feature description documents, and stored layout object plug-ins (128) define layout objects for rendering elements of interface description documents of one or more interfaces. An interactor (130) generates user interfaces from the stored information. The interactor is independent of any particular interface or interface type, of the interfaced-to application, and of the interfaced user device (100, 200); these dependencies are hidden from the interactor by the stored information. The interactor parses the description documents of a user interface into constituent elements and reflects the elements in the object model to form an instance thereof that represents the desired user interface. The interactor then downloads from the plug-ins the objects corresponding to the elements that are reflected in the object model, registers their interfaces in the object model instance to make them accessible by the elements, and invokes execution of each downloaded object with the corresponding element to cause the object to render the element, thereby creating the user interface to the application.

Claims

1. A method of implementing a user interface to an application, comprising:

storing at least one description document conforming to a user interface object model, defining a user interface and comprising one or more definition elements;

storing at least one description document conforming to the user interface object model, defining interaction of the user interface with the application and comprising one or more interaction elements;

storing a plurality of layout objects each comprising a control for rendering a different definition element;

storing a plurality of connector objects each comprising a control for rendering a different interaction element;

reflecting the description documents into the object model to generate an instance of the object model defining the user interface and comprising the definition elements and the interaction elements of the description documents;

downloading from storage layout objects corresponding to definition elements in the instance of the object model;

making interfaces of the downloaded layout objects accessible to the corresponding definition elements;

downloading from storage connector objects corresponding to interaction elements in the instance of the object model;

making interfaces of the downloaded connector objects accessible to the corresponding interaction elements; and

passing each element in the instance of the object model to the corresponding downloaded object and executing said object to cause the object to render the element, thereby effecting the user interface to the application.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein:

the definition elements comprise

one or more elements defining appearance of the user interface, and

one or more elements defining behavior of the user interface toward the user.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein:

the elements defining appearance are expressed in a descriptive language, and

the elements defining behavior are expressed in an interpretive language.

4. The method of claim 2 wherein:

the elements defining appearance are expressed in a markup language, and

the elements defining behavior are expressed in a scripting language.

5. The method of claim 2 wherein:

the elements defining appearance are expressed in XML, and

the elements defining behavior as expressed in JavaScript.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein:

storing at least one description document defining a user interface comprises

storing a plurality of description documents defining a plurality of user interfaces;

storing a plurality of layout objects comprises

storing a plurality of layout objects each comprising a control for rendering a different definition element of a plurality of user interfaces; and

storing a plurality of connector objects comprises

storing a plurality of connector objects each comprising a control for rendering a different interaction element of the plurality of user interfaces.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein:

the plurality of user interfaces comprise

user interfaces to a plurality of different applications; and

storing at least one description document defining interaction comprises

storing at least one plurality of description documents defining interactions of the plurality of user interfaces with the plurality of applications.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein:

the user interfaces include a telephony user interface and a graphical user interface.

9. The method of claim 6 wherein:

the plurality of user interfaces comprise

a plurality of different user interfaces to a same application; and

storing at least one description document defining a user interface comprises

storing a plurality of description documents defining the plurality of different user interfaces to the application.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein:

the interfaces include a telephony user interface and a graphical user interface.

11. The method of claim 6 wherein:

the plurality of user interfaces comprise

user interfaces of a plurality of types of user access devices to a same application; and

storing at least one description document defining a user interface comprises

storing a plurality of description documents defining the plurality of user interfaces to the application.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein:

the interfaces include a telephony user interface and a graphical user interface.

13. The method of claim 6 wherein:

the plurality of user interfaces share a common description document.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein:

the interfaces include a telephony user interface and a graphical user interface.

15. The method of claim 1 wherein:

reflecting comprises

downloading the description documents,

parsing the description documents into their constituent elements, and

generating a corresponding node in the instance of the object model for each of the constituent elements.

16. The method of claim 1 wherein:

the downloaded layout objects form a layout engine for rendering the user interface to the user.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein:

the downloaded connector objects form a connector engine for connecting the user interface to the application.

18. The method of claim 1 wherein:

the layout objects are user-interface-dependent objects, and

the connector objects are user-interface-independent objects.

19. The method of claim 1 wherein:

the layout objects are access-device-specific and application-neutral objects, and

the connector objects are application-specific and access-device-neutral objects.

20. The method of claim 1 wherein:

storing at least one description document comprises

generating the at least one description document by using a software developer'"'"'s kit, software tools, and a definition of the user interface object model.

21. The method of claim 20 wherein:

each step of storing a plurality of objects comprises

generating the plurality of objects by using the software developer'"'"'s kit, the software tools, and the definition of the user interface object model.

22. The method of claim 1 wherein:

the one or more definition elements define at least one of a menu, a prompt, and a command, and

the one or more interaction elements define features of the application.

23. The method of claim 1 wherein:

storing at least one description document defining a user interface comprises

storing a plurality of description documents defining a plurality of different user interfaces and each comprising one or more definition elements; and

storing a plurality of layout objects comprises

storing a plurality of layout objects each comprising a control for rendering a different definition element of the plurality of user interfaces.

24. The method of claim 23 wherein:

the plurality of user interfaces includes a telephony user interface and a graphical user interface.

25. The method of claim 1 wherein:

each step of making interfaces accessible comprises

registering interfaces of the downloaded objects in the instance of the object model.

27. An apparatus that effects the method of any one of the claims 1-25.

28. A computer-readable medium containing instructions which, when executed in a computer, cause the computer to perform the method of any one of the claims 1-25.

26. An apparatus for implementing a user interface to an application, comprising:

a memory for storing (a) a description document conforming to a user interface object model, defining a user interface and comprising one or more definition elements, (b) a description document conforming to the user interface object model, defining interaction of the user interface with the application and comprising one or more interaction elements, (c) a plurality of layout objects each comprising a control for rendering a different definition element, and (d) a plurality of connector objects each comprising a control for rendering a different interaction element; and

a processor for connecting to the memory and for (a) reflecting the description documents into the object model to generate an instance of the object model defining the user interface and comprising the definition elements and the interaction elements of the description documents, (b) downloading from the memory layout objects corresponding to the definition elements in the instance of the object model, (c) downloading from the memory connector objects corresponding to the interaction elements in the instance of the object model, (d) making interfaces of the downloaded layout objects accessible to the corresponding definition elements, (e) making interfaces of the downloaded connector objects accessible to the corresponding interaction elements, and (f) invoking execution of said each downloaded object with its corresponding element from the object model to cause the object to render the element, thereby effecting the user interface to the application.