System and method for applying development patterns for component based applications

• US 20060206864A1
• Filed: 03/14/2005
• Published: 09/14/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 03/14/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: Mateescu, Daniel, Shenfield, Michael, Goring, Bryan R.
• Granted Patent: US 7,657,868 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 717/107
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/20 Software design

Abstract

A system and method for coordinating the development of an application including a first component having definitions expressed in a structured definition language and a second component having a series of instructions. The components define the processing on a device runtime environment of messages communicated over a network between the device and a datasource. The system and method comprise a first development pattern configured for interaction with a development enviroment provided by a computer user interface, the first pattern for guiding a user of the user interface with a plurality of predefined steps to coordinate the development of the application components through user input events via the user interface The first pattern is configured for selecting from a plurality of patterns based on a component type central to the first development pattern such that he component type is selected from a plurality of types including at least one of data, message, screen, and workflow. The system and method also include a first module corresponding to the selected component type and configured for coupling to the first pattern. The first module is for developing the definitions of at least one of the components through interaction with a data model of the development environment providing a persistent state of the application. The operation of the first module is coordinated using the plurality of the predefined steps communicated to the user through the user interface; wherein the developed components are subsequently assembled as the application.

Claims

1. A system for coordinating the development of an application including a first component having definitions expressed in a structured definition language and a second component having a series of instructions, the components for defining the processing on a device runtime environment of messages communicated over a network between the device and a datasource, the system comprising:

a first development pattern module configured for interaction with a development enviroment provided by a computer user interface, the first pattern for guiding a user of the user interface with a plurality of predefined steps to coordinate the development of the application components through user input events via the user interface, the first pattern configured for selecting from a plurality of patterns based on a component type central to the first development pattern, the component type for selecting from a plurality of types including at least one of data, message, screen, and workflow; and

a first module corresponding to the selected component type and configured for coupling to the first pattern, the first module for developing the definitions of at least one of the components through interaction with a data model of the development environment providing a persistent state of the application, the operation of the first module being coordinated using the plurality of the predefined steps communicated to the user through the user interface;

wherein the developed components are subsequently assembled as the application.

2. The system of claim 1 further comprising a second development pattern module configured for interaction with the development enviroment provided by the computer user interface, the second pattern coupled to the first pattern such that the first pattern cooperates with the second pattern, the second pattern for guiding a user of the user interface with a portion of plurality of the predefined steps to coordinate the development of the application components through user input events via the user interface, the second pattern chosen from the plurality of patterns based on a component type central to the second development pattern, the component type for selecting from the pluralitu of types.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the first pattern is a primary pattern configured for either directly selecting the module or for indirectly selecting the module through cooperation with the second pattern as a secondary pattern.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein the second pattern is a secondary pattern configured for returning coordination of the development of the components to the first pattern being a primary pattern.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the primary pattern employs the predefined steps to aid in selecting a second module corresponding to the selected component type different from that of the first module.

6. The system of claim 4, wherein the secondary pattern returns the coordination of the development of the components to another primary pattern different to the original primary pattern.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the first pattern is selected from the group comprising:

a pattern for generating the suitable application based on an available backend datasouce messaging description;

a pattern for developing the suitable application based on an available backend datasouce messaging description such that the entire application is developed including data components and screen components;

a pattern for developing the application 105 based on an existing database schema; and

a pattern for developing a standard set of data components that model a particular business domain for the application.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the first pattern is selected from the group comprising:

a screen pattern for coordinating the development of a screen component as the first component;

a message pattern for coordinating the development of a message component as the first component; and

a script pattern for coordinating the development of a workflow component as the second component.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein a data component as the first component is developed through applying a first pattern selected from the group comprising:

a screen pattern and a message pattern.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the second pattern is selected from the group comprising:

a screen pattern for coordinating the development of a screen component as the first component;

a message pattern for coordinating the development of a message component as the first component; and

a script pattern for coordinating the development of a workflow component as the second component.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein a data component as the first component is developed through applying a second pattern selected from the group comprising:

a screen pattern and a message pattern.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the module further comprises a command configured for accessing and changing the state of the data model.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the module is configured for being affected by an event notification from the data model in response to the command.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein the module is selected from the group comprising editors and viewers.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the module is selected from the group comprising:

a screen module;

a data module;

a message module;

a workflow module;

a message and data relationship module;

a backend visualizer module;

a localization module;

a script editor module;

a testing module, a data and screen relationship module; and

a navigation module.

16. The system of claim 2, wherein the second pattern is a validator pattern for confirming the data model representation of application messages is consistent with the datasource presentation of messaging operations.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the validator pattern coordinates the operation of the module as a validator module having functionality selected from the group comprising workflow integrity of a workflow component;

consistency of parameters and field level mappings of the components;

consistency of screen control mappings of a screen component;

consistency of screen refresh messages of a screen component;

confirming a presence of message duplications in a message component;

confirming a presence of data duplications in components; and

validating the data model representation of datasource messaging relationships.

18. The system of claim 1, wherein the components are selected from the group comprising:

data components for defining data entities used by the application;

screen components for defining the appearance and behavior of the application as displayed on the device;

message components for defining the format of messages used by the application to communicate with the datasource; and

workflow components for defining application processing that occurs when an action is to be performed.

19. The system of claim 1, wherein the data model contains model constituents selected from the group comprising:

Data Component Definitions;

Global Variable Definitions;

Message Component Definitions;

Resource Definitions;

Screen Component Definitions;

Scripts;

Style Definitions; and

Mapping Descriptors of the data source.

20. The system of claim 2 further comprising a third pattern module for guiding the developer in selection of the first pattern being best suited to the current application development activity, the first pattern selected from the group comprising:

a pattern for generating the suitable application based on an available backend datasouce messaging description, a pattern for developing the suitable application based on an available backend datasouce messaging description such that the entire application is developed including data components and screen components;

a pattern for developing the application 105 based on an existing database schema; and

a pattern for developing a standard set of data components that model a particular business domain for the application.

29. The method of claim 8, wherein a data component as the first component is developed through applying a first pattern selected from the group comprising:

a screen pattern and a message pattern.

32. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of generating a command by the module for accessing and changing the state of the data model.

33. The method of claim 32 further comprising the step of affecting the module by an event notification from the data model in response to the command.

21. A method for coordinating the development of an application including a first component having definitions expressed in a structured definition language and a second component having a series of instructions, the components for defining the processing on a device runtime environment of messages communicated over a network between the device and a datasource, the method comprising the steps of:

selecting a first development pattern module configured for interaction with a development enviroment provided by a computer user interface;

guiding a user of the user interface through the first pattern with a plurality of predefined steps to coordinate the development of the application components through user input events via the user interface, the first pattern configured for selecting from a plurality of patterns based on a component type central to the first development pattern, the component type for selecting from a plurality of types including at least one of data, message, screen, and workflow;

selecting a first module corresponding to the selected component type and configured for coupling to the first pattern; and

developing by the first module the definitions of at least one of the components through interaction with a data model of the development environment providing a persistent state of the application, the operation of the first module being coordinated using the plurality of the predefined steps communicated to the user through the user interface;

wherein the developed components are subsequently assembled as the application.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein a second development pattern module is configured for interaction with the development enviroment provided by the computer user interface, the second pattern coupled to the first pattern such that the first pattern cooperates with the second pattern, the second pattern for guiding a user of the user interface with a portion of plurality of the predefined steps to coordinate the development of the application components through user input events via the user interface, the second pattern chosen from the plurality of patterns based on a component type central to the second development pattern, the component type for selecting from the pluralitu of types.

23. The method of claim 22, further comprising the step of either selecting directly the module by the first pattern as is a primary pattern configured or selecting indirectly the module through cooperation with the second pattern as a secondary pattern.

24. The method of claim 22 further comprising the step of returning by the second pattern being a secondary pattern coordination of the development of the components to the first pattern being a primary pattern.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the primary pattern employs the predefined steps to aid in selecting a second module corresponding to the selected component type different from that of the first module.

26. The method of claim 24, wherein the secondary pattern returns the coordination of the development of the components to another primary pattern different to the original primary pattern.

27. The method of claim 21, wherein the first pattern is selected from the group comprising:

a pattern for generating the suitable application based on an available backend datasouce messaging description;

a pattern for developing the suitable application based on an available backend datasouce messaging description such that the entire application is developed including data components and screen components;

a pattern for developing the application 105 based on an existing database schema; and

a pattern for developing a standard set of data components that model a particular business domain for the application.

28. The method of claim 21, wherein the first pattern is selected from the group comprising:

a screen pattern for coordinating the development of a screen component as the first component;

a message pattern for coordinating the development of a message component as the first component; and

a script pattern for coordinating the development of a workflow component as the second component.

30. The method of claim 21, wherein the second pattern is selected from the group comprising:

a screen pattern for coordinating the development of a screen component as the first component;

a message pattern for coordinating the development of a message component as the first component; and

a script pattern for coordinating the development of a workflow component as the second component.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein a data component as the first component is developed through applying a second pattern selected from the group comprising:

a screen pattern and a message pattern.

34. The method of claim 21, wherein the module is selected from the group comprising editors and viewers.

36. The method of claim 22, wherein the second pattern is a validator pattern for confirming the data model representation of application messages is consistent with the datasource presentation of messaging operations.

37. The method of claim 36, wherein the validator pattern coordinates the operation of the module as a validator module having functionality selected from the group comprising workflow integrity of a workflow component;

consistency of parameters and field level mappings of the components;

consistency of screen control mappings of a screen component;

consistency of screen refresh messages of a screen component;

confirming a presence of message duplications in a message component;

confirming a presence of data duplications in components; and

validating the data model representation of datasource messaging relationships.

38. The method of claim 21, wherein the components are selected from the group comprising:

data components for defining data entities used by the application;

screen components for defining the appearance and behavior of the application as displayed on the device;

message components for defining the format of messages used by the application to communicate with the datasource; and

workflow components for defining application processing that occurs when an action is to be performed.

39. The method of claim 21, wherein the data model contains model constituents selected from the group comprising:

Data Component Definitions;

Global Variable Definitions;

Message Component Definitions;

Resource Definitions;

Screen Component Definitions;

Scripts;

Style Definitions; and

Mapping Descriptors of the data source.

40. The method of claim 22 further comprising the step of guiding the developer by a third pattern in selection of the first pattern being best suited to the current application development activity, the first pattern selected from the group comprising:

a pattern for generating the suitable application based on an available backend datasouce messaging description, a pattern for developing the suitable application based on an available backend datasouce messaging description such that the entire application is developed including data components and screen components;

a pattern for developing the application 105 based on an existing database schema; and

a pattern for developing a standard set of data components that model a particular business domain for the application.

35. The method of claim 44, wherein the module is selected from the group comprising:

a screen module;

a data module;

a message module;

a workflow module;

a message and data relationship module;

a backend visualizer module;

a localization module;

a script editor module;

a testing module, a data and screen relationship module; and

a navigation module.

41. A computer program product for coordinating the development of an application including a first component having definitions expressed in a structured definition language and a second component having a series of instructions, the components for defining the processing on a device runtime environment of messages communicated over a network between the device and a datasource, computer program product comprising:

a computer readable medium;

a first development pattern module stored on the computer readable medium configured for interaction with a development enviroment provided by a computer user interface, the first pattern for guiding a user of the user interface with a plurality of predefined steps to coordinate the development of the application components through user input events via the user interface, the first pattern configured for selecting from a plurality of patterns based on a component type central to the first development pattern, the component type for selecting from a plurality of types including at least one of data, message, screen, and workflow; and

a first module stored on the computer readable medium corresponding to the selected component type and configured for coupling to the first pattern, the first module for developing the definitions of at least one of the components through interaction with a data model of the development environment providing a persistent state of the application, the operation of the first module being coordinated using the plurality of the predefined steps communicated to the user through the user interface;

wherein the developed components are subsequently assembled as the application.