XML-based graphical user interface application development toolkit
First Claim
1. A computer-implemented system for generating a graphical user interface for an application, comprising:
- an application source code file, that specifies an application logic that is executed by an application;
an application interface file that specifies a plurality of graphical elements within an interface library to be displayed for the application graphical user interface;
an interface grammar file that specifies rules to be used in parsing the application interface file;
an interface library that comprises a plurality of graphical elements that are selectively retrieved in accordance with the specifications of the application interface file and the interface grammar file; and
a parser that parses an application source code file, application interface file, and interface grammar file to retrieve graphical elements from the interface library, and generate the application graphical user interface.
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Abstract
A system and a method for creating user interfaces for software applications. Particularly, the invention allows a developer to segregate the development of the user interface from the development of the underlying application logic. In one embodiment, an application graphical user interface is specified using an XML document as an application interface file. At application compile time this application interface file is parsed, and the specification therein used to retrieve graphical screen components from an interface library to create the user interface. A grammar file can be used to further specify the parsing of the application interface file, and impose consistency upon the interface development process.
124 Citations
19 Claims
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1. A computer-implemented system for generating a graphical user interface for an application, comprising:
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an application source code file, that specifies an application logic that is executed by an application;
an application interface file that specifies a plurality of graphical elements within an interface library to be displayed for the application graphical user interface;
an interface grammar file that specifies rules to be used in parsing the application interface file;
an interface library that comprises a plurality of graphical elements that are selectively retrieved in accordance with the specifications of the application interface file and the interface grammar file; and
a parser that parses an application source code file, application interface file, and interface grammar file to retrieve graphical elements from the interface library, and generate the application graphical user interface. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A computer-implemented method of generating a graphical user interface for an application, comprising the steps of:
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parsing an application interface file, application source code file, and interface grammar file, wherein the application interface file specifies a plurality of graphical elements within the interface library to be displayed for a graphical user interface, the application source code file specifies an application logic for the application, and the interface grammar file specifies rules to be used in parsing the application interface file; and
retrieving from the interface library the plurality of graphical elements in accordance with the specifications of the application interface file and the interface grammar file, and generating the graphical user interface. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A computer-readable medium, including instruction stored thereon, which when executed cause the computer to perform the steps of:
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parsing an application interface file, application source code file, and interface grammar file, wherein the application interface file specifies a plurality of graphical elements within the interface library to be displayed for a graphical user interface, the application source code file specifies an application logic for the application, and the interface grammar file specifies rules to be used in parsing the application interface file; and
retrieving from the interface library the plurality of graphical elements in accordance with the specifications of the application interface file and the interface grammar file, and generating the graphical user interface.
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Specification