METHODS FOR FACILITATING APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT

• US 20080109410A1
• Filed: 09/17/2007
• Published: 05/08/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 09/15/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LinkedIn Corporation (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Sack, Noah, Berry, Brian
• Granted Patent: US 7,814,125 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/3
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/38 for implementing user interfaces

Abstract

Application development is facilitated by initializing a page token in response to receiving a request. The page token comprises an abstract model component containing a specification for obtaining data designated to be sent in a response to the request or a specification for updating data obtained from the request, and also a view component for providing referential format specifications for data provided in the abstract model component. The page token is passed between at least two components of a modified model-view-controller architecture via a standard interface. The components include a user interface controller, a user interface builder implementing a first standard interface, an application layer implementing a second standard interface, a data access manager implementing a third standard interface, and at least one data access utility implementing a fourth standard interface. Business logic is applied to contents of the page token as a result of the passing, and a response is presented to the request based upon results of applying the business logic.

Claims

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15. A computer readable storage medium for embodying a modified model-view-controller architecture, wherein components of the modified model-view-controller architecture include:

a user interface controller;

a user interface builder, wherein the user interface controller is in communication with the user interface builder via a first standard interface;

an application layer, wherein the user interface builder is in communication with application layer via a second standard interface;

a page token comprising an abstract model component containing a specification for obtaining data designated to be sent in a response to a request or updating data obtained from a request, and a view component for providing referential format specifications for data provided in the abstract model component, wherein the response comprises an entire web page including a current panel;

wherein, the page token is initialized by the user interface controller and passed to one of the components via the first standard interface; and

wherein further, business logic is applied to contents of the page token as a result of passing, and a response to the request is presented based upon results of applying the business logic.

16. The computer readable storage medium of claim 15 wherein the modified model-view-controller architecture further comprises:

a data access manager, wherein the application layer is in communication with the data access manager via a third standard interface; and

concrete models, wherein the data access manager is in communication with the concrete models via a fourth standard interface, each of the concrete models comprising a corresponding data access utility and a corresponding data store;

wherein in response to receiving the page token from the application layer, the data access manager parses the abstract model component and sends parsed data to one or more concrete models associated with the parsed data; and

wherein further, corresponding data access utilities associated with the one or more concrete models translate the parsed data into a language understood by corresponding data stores, execute an operation specified in the parsed data, and return results of the executed operation to the data access manager.

17. The computer readable storage medium of claim 16 wherein in response to receiving the results of the executed operation, the data access manager updates the page token with the results and passes the page token back to the application layer.

18. The computer readable storage medium of claim 17 wherein in response to receiving the page token, the application layer applies business logic and passes the page token back to the user interface builder.

19. The computer readable storage medium of claim 18 wherein in response to receiving the page token, the user interface builder formats the data in the page token into a page for viewing and passes the page back to the user interface controller.

20. The computer readable storage medium of claim 19 wherein in response to receiving the page, the user interface controller sends the page to a display device.

21. The computer readable storage medium of claim 20 wherein the display device includes one of:

a web browser; and

a cell phone.

22. A storage medium encoded with machine-readable program code for presenting a response based upon an application of business logic in accordance with a request, the program code including instructions for causing a host system to implement a method, comprising:

initializing a page token in response to receiving a request, the page token comprising an abstract model component containing a specification for obtaining data designated to be sent in a response to the request or a specification for updating data obtained from the request, and a view component for providing referential format specifications for the data provided in the abstract model component, wherein the response comprises an entire web page including a current panel;

passing the page token between at least two components of a modified model-view-controller architecture via a standard interface, the components of the modified model-view-controller architecture including;

a user interface controller;

a user interface builder implementing a first standard interface, an application layer implementing a second standard interface;

a data access manager implementing a third standard interface; and

at least one data access utility implementing a fourth standard user interface;

applying business logic to contents of the page token as a result of the passing; and

presenting a response to the request based upon results of the applying business logic.

23. The storage medium of claim 22, wherein the business logic is one of default business logic and custom business logic.

24. The storage medium of claim 23, wherein the request includes at least one of:

a browser-initiated hypertext transport protocol request;

a request for at least one of data, a document, an image, and multi-media content;

a search request; and

a request to launch an application.

25. The storage medium of claim 24, further comprising instructions for causing the host system to perform:

updating the page token via at least one of;

the default business logic, wherein the default business logic is applied by a call to the at least one data access utility, and the page token is updated with data from a data store or data from the user interface builder operable for rendering panels; and

the custom business logic, wherein the custom business logic is applied by a call to the application layer, and wherein further the custom business logic is for updating data retrieved or for updating a view; and

updating a data store with data in the page token by the default business logic.

26. The storage medium of claim 23, wherein:

the user interface controller interacts with the user interface builder via the first standard interface;

the user interface builder interacts with the application layer via the second standard interface;

the application layer interacts with the data access manager via the third standard user interface; and

the data access manager interacts with the at least one data access utility via the fourth standard interface.

27. The storage medium of claim 23, further comprising instructions for causing the host system to implement managing panel flow via the user interface controller, wherein the panel flow is managed using specification information in the page token and machine status information tracked by the user interface controller.

28. The storage medium of claim 27, wherein the user interface builder performs:

extracting data from the request and placing extracted data into the page token;

identifying fields, data, and text designated for placement on a current panel; and

identifying a format for the fields, data, and text.

29. The storage medium of claim 28, wherein the application layer performs:

validating the extracted data by applying business logic to the page token.

30. The storage medium of claim 29, wherein the data access manager performs:

parsing the specification contained in the abstract model component into segments, each of the segments classified by a corresponding type of data store, each type of data store associated with a data access utility;

translating each of the segments using the data access utility associated with a data store specified by the segment, the translating including translating each of the segments into a language understood by the data store;

executing an operation based upon results of the translating;

updating the segments to reference the results when the operation executed is one that yields results;

aggregating the segments in the abstract model component of the page token; and

passing the page token back to the application layer.