Method, apparatus, and system for immediate posting of changes in a client server environment

• US 20050177587A1
• Filed: 04/07/2005
• Published: 08/11/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Alex Goldstein, Anil Mukundan, John Coker, Thomas M. Rothwein
• Original Assignee: Alex Goldstein, Anil Mukundan, John Coker, Thomas M. Rothwein
• Inventors: Mukundan, Anil, Coker, John, Goldstein, Alex, Rothwein, Thomas M.
• Granted Patent: US 7,962,551 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/545 Gui
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/465 Distributed object oriented systems remote method invocation [RMI] G06F9/548
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/542 Event management; Broadcasting; Multicasting; Notifications
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/201 Price look-up processing, e.g. updating
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]

Abstract

According to one aspect of the present invention, a method is provided in which a first field and a second field of a data record are displayed to a user using a client program, the second field having one or more attributes that are dependent upon the value of the first field. In response to a detection that the value of the first field has changed, the value of the first field is sent to a server program. The server program is configured to process the change in value of the first field and determine corresponding changes with respect to the one or more attributes of the second field. The corresponding changes with respect to the one or more attributes of the second field are sent from the server program to the client program.

Claims

1-30. -30. (canceled)

31. A computer-readable medium having stored thereon a set of instructions which when executed perform a method, comprising:

displaying a first field and a second field together on a user interface of a client system, the first field displayed on the user interface capable of receiving user input on the client system to change a value of the first field, the second field displayed on the user interface having at least an attribute that is dependent upon the value of the first field;

detecting, on the client system, whether or not the value of the first field has changed;

in response to a determination from said detecting that the value of the first field has changed, sending the value of the first field for reception at a server system over a network, the server program being configured to process the value of the first field and determine an update to the attribute of the second field; and

receiving the update to the attribute of the second field from the server system.

32. The medium of claim 31, wherein a record on the server system includes the value of the first field and a value of the second field.

33. The medium of claim 31, wherein in response to the determination from said detecting that the value of the first field has changed, a changed values of a third field displayed on the user interface is sent together with the value of the first field for reception at the server system.

34. The medium of claim 31, wherein the user interface is displayed within a web browser on the client system.

35. The medium of claim 34, wherein the method further comprises:

updating a display of the second field on the user interface according to the update to the second field.

36. The medium of claim 35, wherein said updating comprises:

changing a respresentation of the second field in the user interface from a first type of user interface elements to a second type of user interface elements.

37. The medium of claim 36, wherein a text box displayed on the user interface for the second field is changed into a combo box.

38. The medium of claim 34, wherein the attribute of the second field includes the value of the second field which is dependent upon the value of the first field.

39. The medium of claim 34, wherein the attribute of the second field includes a set of valid values that can be entered in the second field;

and the set of valid values is dependent upon the value of the first field.

40. The medium of claim 34, wherein the attribute of the second field includes a type of format used to display the second field;

and the type of format is dependent upon the value of the first field.

41. The medium of claim 34, wherein the attribute of the second field includes modifiability information indicating whether or not the second field is modifiable;

and the modifiability information is dependent upon the value of the first field.

42. The medium of claim 34, wherein said detecting further determines whether the value of first field is changed by a user.

43. The medium of claim 34, wherein the update to the attribute of the second field is received using a notification mechanism between the server system and an application running in the web browser.

44. The medium of claim 34, wherein the method further comprises:

receiving an indication to configure the user interface to immediately send the value of the first field to the server system for processing in response to a change in the value of the first field.

45. The medium of claim 44, wherein said indication marks the first field for immediate server processing of change in the value of the first field.

46. The medium of claim 45 wherein a property of the first field is set to a specific value to mark the first field for immediate server processing of change in the value of the first field.

47. A method, comprising:

displaying a first field and a second field together on a user interface of a client system, the first field displayed on the user interface capable of receiving user input on the client system to change a value of the first field, the second field displayed on the user interface having at least an attribute that is dependent upon the value of the first field;

detecting, on the client system, whether or not the value of the first field has changed;

in response to a determination from said detecting that the value of the first field has changed, sending the value of the first field for reception at a server system over a network, the server program being configured to process the value of the first field and determine an update to the attribute of the second field; and

receiving the update to the attribute of the second field from the server system.

48. The method of claim 47, wherein when a value of the third field has also been changed, in response to the determination said sending further sends the value of a third field of the user interface together with the value of the first field for reception at the server system.

49. A client system, comprising:

means for displaying a first field and a second field together on a user interface of a client system, the first field displayed on the user interface capable of receiving user input on the client system to change a value of the first field, the second field displayed on the user interface having at least an attribute that is dependent upon the value of the first field;

means for detecting, on the client system, whether or not the value of the first field has changed;

means for, in response to a determination from said detecting that the value of the first field has changed, sending the value of the first field for reception at a server system over a network, the server program being configured to process the value of the first field and determine an update to the attribute of the second field; and

means for receiving the update to the attribute of the second field from the server system.

50. The client system of claim 49, wherein the user interface is displayed through a web browser.