End-user application customization using rules

• US 20050246304A1
• Filed: 07/30/2004
• Published: 11/03/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Curley, Vincent H., Gerber, Robert H., Knight, Holly, Pather, Shyamalan, Seshadri, Praveen, Dossick, Stephen E.
• Application Number:
  US10/903,762
• Publication Number:
  US 20050246304A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 706/47
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/34 Graphical or visual programming
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 5/025 Extracting rules from data

Abstract

Rules architecture that facilitates data management of an application such that the application can be personalized by the end-user for the end-user. Included is a customization component that facilitates the exposing of an application generated event to an end-user. A rules component allows the end-user to create one or more rules to process the event, which one or more rules facilitate the submission of application data associated with the event for external and internal processing.

Claims

1. A system that facilitates data management of an application, comprising:

a customization component that facilitates exposing of an application-generated event to an end-user; and

a rules component that allows the end-user to create one or more rules to process the event, which the one or more rules facilitate the submission of application data associated with the event for processing.

2. The system of claim 1, the event is associated with a rules-based decision point.

3. The system of claim 1, the application data is processed at least one of externally and internally to return a result to the application that modifies behavior of the application.

4. The system of claim 1, the end-user creates explicit rules that define how the event will be processed and the application customized.

5. The system of claim 1, further comprising a learning component that facilitates the application learning end-user behavior, and captures the behavior in the form of rules.

6. The system of claim 1, the end-user can explicitly modify the one or more rules.

7. The system of claim 1, the application exposes an item that is a decision point at which the end-user can customize behavior of the application.

8. The system of claim 7, the application exposes a name that identifies context of the decision in which the one or more rules are applied.

9. The system of claim 7, the application exposes a signature that describes input data types and an expected result type.

10. The system of claim 7, the decision point is registered when the application is installed.

11. The system of claim 1, the customization component facilitates selection of one of a loosely-bound model and a tightly-bound model for customization of the application.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein an application that is tightly bound chooses a subset of the one or more rules created by the end-user, and directly executes the subset to produce a customization decision.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the application exposes a decision point that provides a name to identify the nature of a decision that is to be made, an application name that identifies the owning application, and a rule constraint that identifies the kind of rules allowed for the decision point.

14. A computer readable medium having stored thereon computer executable instructions for carrying out the system of claim 1.

15. A computer readable medium having stored thereon the components of claim 1.

16. A computer that employs the system of claim 1.

17. A system that facilitates data management of an application, comprising:

a customization component that facilitates customization of the application by an end-user by exposing of an application-generated decision point to the end-user; and

a rules component that facilitates the creation of one or more rules by the end-user to associate with the decision point, which one or more rules facilitate the submission of application data associated with the decision point for external processing.

18. The system of claim 17, the end-user can explicitly modify the one or more rules.

19. The system of claim 17, the application exposes a name that identifies context of the decision point in which the one or more rules are applied and a signature that describes input data types and an expected result type.

20. The system of claim 17, wherein the application directly executes the one or more rules to produce a customization decision.

21. The system of claim 17, wherein the application identifies one or more correct rulesets in accordance with a query for the one or more correct rulesets that correspond to the application.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the query corresponds to the application, user, decision, and input that is to be provided to the one or more rules.

23. The system of claim 21, wherein the decision point is associated with a decision point input method that is invoked by a calling application.

24. The system of claim 17, the rules component facilitates associating a rule constraint with the decision point, which rule constraint filters which rules will run for a given invocation and a particular input.

25. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for performing a method of facilitating end-user customization of an application, the method comprising:

exposing an application-generated decision point of the application;

creating one or more rules that operate on data of the decision point;

associating the one or more rules with the decision point; and

processing the one or more rules to expose the data for external processing.

26. The method of claim 25, further comprising directly executing the one or more rules to produce a customization decision.

27. The method of claim 25, further comprising querying for one or more correct rules that correspond to the application.

28. The method of claim 25, wherein the end-user explicitly modifies the one or more rules.

29. The method of claim 25, further comprising invoking a decision point input method that is called by a calling application.

30. The method of claim 25, further comprising filtering which rules will run for a given invocation by processing a rule constraint associated with the decision point.

31. The method of claim 25, further comprising exposing a name that identifies context of the decision point in which the one or more rules are applied and a signature that describes input data types and an expected result type.

32. The method of claim 25, further comprising associating a rule constraint with the decision point and one or more of the rules.

33. The method of claim 25, further comprising the acts of,

directly invoking an execute method on the one or more rules;

passing an input item that is an input to the one or more rules; and

passing a rule constraint that enforces an input and an output.

34. A method of facilitating end-user customization of an application, comprising:

exposing an application-generated decision point of the application;

creating by an end-user one or more rules that operate on data of the application;

in first mode, attaching the one or more rules to a decision point and calling a method on an item of the decision point to expose the data for processing; and

in a second mode, identifying correct one or more rules for the application, and processing the correct one or more rules directly to expose the data for processing.

35. The method of claim 34, further comprising filtering which of the one or more rules will run for a given invocation by processing a rule constraint associated with the decision point.

36. The method of claim 34, further comprising employing both the first mode and the second mode for end-user customization of the application.