Convertible runtime graphical user interface

• US 20050125787A1
• Filed: 12/05/2003
• Published: 06/09/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 12/05/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Andrei Ivanov, Leonid Tertitski
• Original Assignee: Andrei Ivanov, Leonid Tertitski
• Inventors: Ivanov, Andrei, Tertitski, Leonid Mark
• Application Number:
  US10/707,343
• Publication Number:
  US 20050125787A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 717/162
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces

Abstract

Method to change Graphical User Interface that support runtime modification of the application'"'"'s GUI without access to the application source code and/or needs no recompilation/restart of the application executable. This method allows the end-user to make runtime modifications of a widget'"'"'s attributes and/or runtime conversion of widgets into different types of widgets

Claims

1. A method of managing graphical user interfaces associated with application programs operable on a computing device having a visual display device and a user input device for controlling a pointer on said display device, said graphical user interfaces having a plurality of windows containing widgets for visualization and manipulation of application program data (variables and/or callback functions).

2. A method of claim 1, comprising the usage of dynamic links (connections) between said data and their corresponding representations (widgets) in the graphical user interface.

3. A method of claim 2, comprising the possibilities to create new, remove or replace existing said dynamic links.

4. A method of claim 1, comprising the possibilities for GUI modification during an execution of said application programs.

5. A method of claim 4, comprising the default said dynamic links for newly implemented said data.

6. A method of claim 4, comprising the change of default attributes for widgets used by said dynamic links.

7. A method of claim 4, comprising read/write procedures for previously established said dynamic links and/or the widget attributes.

8. A method of claim 4, comprising the replacement of a widget in said dynamic link by another widget from a predefined list.

9. A method of claim 8, wherein said predefined list is constructed according to the type of data associated with the said dynamic link.

10. A method of claim 4, wherein the GUI'"'"'s element (widget) representing an integer editable limited value can be converted into the slider type element (widget).

11. A method of claim 1, comprising the recording/replaying functionality for user'"'"'s interaction with convertible GUI.

12. A method of claim 11, wherein a prerecorded sequence of said user'"'"'s interaction for any initial state of GUI can be replayed for any new (converted) state of the same GUI.

13. A method of claim 1, comprising the support of widget library, designed to work with the said dynamic links.

14. A method of claim 6, comprising the automatic recalculation of coordinates and sizes for widget during resizing of its parent widget.

15. A method of claim 8, comprising the automatic rule based conversion of attributes of replaced widget.

16. A method of claim 15, comprising the customization of rules for said rule based conversion of attributes of replaced widget.

17. A method of claim 13, comprising the run time creation of new and modification of existing widgets including their associations with the callback functions.