Methods, systems, and computer program products for associating a persistent information element with a resource-executable pair

• US 20070198542A1
• Filed: 02/09/2006
• Published: 08/23/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 02/09/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Scenera Technologies LLC (Scenera Research LLC)
• Original Assignee: Scenera Technologies LLC (Scenera Research LLC)
• Inventors: Morris, Robert
• Application Number:
  US11/351,142
• Publication Number:
  US 20070198542A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/543 Local
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/545 Gui
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/542 Event management; Broadcasting; Multicasting; Notifications

Abstract

Methods, systems, and computer program products for a method for associating a persistent information element with a resource-executable pair are disclosed. According to one method, a computer system resource is associated with an executable to form a resource-executable pair. A persistent information element is associated with this pair. The persistent information element is stored independently from the resource and executable such that the persistent information element survives termination of a first instantiation of the executable. The method provides for performing an operation on or using the persistent information element with a second instantiation of the executable.

Claims

1. A method for associating a persistent information element with a resource-executable pair, the method comprising:

(a) associating a computer system resource with an executable to form a resource-executable pair;

(b) associating a persistent information element with the resource-executable pair and storing the persistent information element independently from the resource and the executable in a manner that survives termination of a first instantiation of the executable; and

(c) providing for performing an operation on or using the persistent information element with a second instantiation of the executable.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein associating a computer system resource with an executable includes associating the computer system resource with a class that includes the executable to form a resource-class pair.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein associating a computer system resource with an executable includes associating a group of computer system resources with the executable to form a resource group-executable pair.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein associating a computer system resource with an executable includes associating a group of computer system resources with a class that includes the executable to form a resource group-class pair.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising providing for performing an operation on or using the persistent information element in response to an instantiation of an executable not included in the resource-executable pair.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein associating a computer system resource with an executable and associating the persistent information element with the resource-executable pair includes adding an identifier to a context menu associated with the computer system resource to trigger execution of the executable and performance of the operation.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein associating a computer system resource with an executable and associating a persistent information element with the resource-executable pair and includes providing an application programming interface (API) for making the associations.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein associating a persistent information element with the resource-executable pair and storing the persistent information element includes the storing the persistent information element in a data store maintained in persistent media and linking the resource-executable pair to the persistent information element via the data store.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein storing the persistent information element in the persistent media includes storing the persistent information element in a manner such that the persistent information element is associated with a plurality of different resource-executable pairs.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the persistent information element comprises an input data variable for the executable and wherein providing for performing an operation on or using the persistent information element includes providing the input data variable as input to the executable.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the persistent information element comprises an output data variable and wherein providing for performing an operation on or using the persistent information element includes changing a value of the output data variable using the executable.

12. A method for associating a persistent information element with a resource-class pair, the method comprising:

(a) associating a computer system resource with a class including a plurality of executables to form a resource-class pair;

(b) associating a persistent information element with the resource-class pair and storing the persistent information element independently from the resource and the class executables in a manner that survives termination of an instantiation of the class; and

(c) providing for performing an operation on or using the persistent information element using an executable of the class.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the persistent information element comprises a class element associated with the class and wherein the class element is available to all class executables for performing the operation.

14. The method of claim 12 wherein providing for performing an operation on or using the persistent information element includes invoking one class executable with another class executable using the persistent information element.

15. The method of claim 12 wherein the class comprises a container class including an executable element for displaying a plurality of system resources that are associated with the resource-class pair.

16. A system for associating a persistent information element with a resource-executable pair, the system comprising:

(a) a persistent information element data store for storing a persistent information element independently from a computer system resource and an executable that form a resource-executable pair in a manner that survives termination of a first instantiation of the executable that is associated with the resource-executable pair; and

(b) an association manager for providing for performing an operation on or using the persistent information element with a second instantiation of the executable.

17. The system of claim 16 wherein the association manager is adapted to perform an operation on or using the persistent information element in response to an instantiation of an executable not included in the resource-executable pair.

18. The system of claim 16 wherein the association manager is adapted to associate the resource with the executable and the persistent information element with the resource-executable pair using a context menu associated with the system resource.

19. The system of claim 16 comprising an application programming interface (API) for allowing an application to associate the resource with the executable to form the resource-executable pair and for associating the persistent information element with the resource-executable pair.

20. The system of claim 16 wherein the persistent information element data store is adapted to maintain the association between the persistent information element and the resource-executable pair in persistent media.

21. The system of claim 16 wherein the persistent information element data store is adapted to link the persistent information element to a plurality of different resource-executable pairs.

22. The system of claim 16 wherein the persistent information element comprises an input data variable and wherein the association manager is adapted to provide the input data variable to the executable as input.

23. The system of claim 16 wherein the persistent information element comprises an output data variable and wherein the association manager is adapted to store, in the persistent information element data store, a value of the output data variable modified by the executable.

24. A system for associating a persistent information element with a resource-class pair, the system comprising:

(a) a persistent information element data store for storing a persistent information element independently from a computer system resource and a class including a plurality of executables that form a resource-class pair in a manner that survives termination of a first instantiation of the class; and

(b) an association manager for providing for performing an operation on or using the persistent information element with a second instantiation of the class.

25. The system of claim 24 wherein the persistent information element comprises a class element associated with the class and wherein the class element is available to all class executables for performing the operation.

26. The method of claim 24 wherein providing for performing an operation on or using the persistent information element includes invoking one class executable with another class executable using the persistent information element.

27. The system of claim 24 wherein the class comprises a container class including a container element for displaying a plurality of system resources associated with the resource-class pair.

28. A system for associating a persistent information element with a resource executable pair, the system comprising:

(a) means for associating a computer system resource with an executable to form a resource-executable pair;

(b) means for associating a persistent information element with the resource-executable pair and storing the persistent information element independently from the resource and the executable in a manner that survives termination of a first instantiation of the executable; and

(c) means for providing for performing an operation on or using the persistent information element with a second instantiation of the executable.

29. A computer program product comprising computer executable instructions embodied in a computer readable medium for performing steps comprising:

(a) associating a computer system resource with an executable to form a resource-executable pair;

(b) associating a persistent information element with the resource executable pair and storing the persistent information element independently from the resource and the executable in a manner that survives termination of a first instantiation of the executable; and

(c) providing for performing an operation on or using the persistent information element with a second instantiation of the executable.