Automating interactions with software user interfaces

• US 20040100502A1
• Filed: 11/21/2002
• Published: 05/27/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 11/21/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Siemens Industry Software Limited (Siemens AG)
• Original Assignee: Mentor Graphics Corporation (Siemens AG)
• Inventors: Ren, Bing
• Granted Patent: US 7,712,074 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/802
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces

Abstract

A method and apparatus applies an action to a software application by determining a target object for the input action. The determination of the target object is performed by identifying the target object through socially identifying object information relative to a reference object. Then, the input action is applied to the target object.

Claims

1. A method of applying an action to a software application comprising:

determining a target object for the action based upon socially identifying information of the target object relative to a reference object; and

applying the input action to the target object.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein determining the target object occurs through name information.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the name information includes an object name.

4. The method of claim 2 wherein the name information includes an identifier of a parent object to the target object and an object name.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein determining the target object occurs through signature information.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the signature information includes information about other objects related to the target object.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the information about other objects includes an identifier of an object containing information related to the target object and a location of the object containing information relative to the target object.

8. The method of claim 5 wherein the signature information includes information about a parent object to the target object.

9. The method of claim 5 wherein the signature information includes an identifier of which of a number of unnamed objects the target object is.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein determining an input location is performed by interacting with a java virtual machine.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the target object is a java component.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the java component includes a top level container name and a component name.

13. An apparatus comprising:

a processor; and

a machine readable medium coupled to the processor having stored thereon a plurality of instructions that, when executed, cause the processor to;

determine a target object for an action based upon socially identifying information of the target object relative to a reference object; and

apply the action to the target object.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein determining the target object occurs through name information.

15. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein the name information includes an object name.

16. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein the name information includes an identifier of a parent object to the target object and an object name.

17. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein determining the target object occurs through signature information.

18. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein the signature information includes information about other objects related to the target object.

19. The apparatus of claim 18 wherein the information about other objects includes an identifier of an object containing information related to the target object and a location of the object containing information relative to the target object.

20. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein the signature information includes information about a parent object to the target object.

21. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein the signature information includes an identifier of which of a number of unnamed objects the target object is.

22. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein determining an input location is performed by interacting with a java virtual machine.

23. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein the target object is a java component.

24. The apparatus of claim 23 wherein the java component includes a top level container name and a component name.

25. A method of execution of a software application comprising:

recording a user action in an interaction file wherein the user action includes execution of a software function represented by an object on a monitor and the object is recorded according to its socially-identifying information;

execution of a script file to perform the recorded action on the object, wherein the script file is derived from the interaction file.

26. The method of execution of a software application of claim 25, further comprising a first computer and a second computer that are in communication, wherein the user operates the second computer to record the user action on the first computer.

27. The method of execution of a software application of claim 26 wherein the first computer is a host computer and the second computer is a slave computer.

28. The method of execution of a software application of claim 25 wherein the user action is randomly selected from a list of possible actions.

29. The method of execution of a software application of claim 25 wherein the interaction file and the script file are the same.

30. The method of execution of a software application of claim 25 wherein the recorded action includes signature information.

31. The method of execution of a software application of claim 25 wherein the software application is a Java application.