Method and apparatus for generating object oriented user interfaces

• US 6,025,836 A
• Filed: 07/23/1997
• Issued: 02/15/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 07/23/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: RPX Corporation
• Original Assignee: Novell Incorporated (Open Text Corporation)
• Inventors: McBride, Stephen C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Kim, Matthew M.
• Assistant Examiner(s): dela Torre, Crescelle N.
• Application Number:
  US08/899,016
• Time in Patent Office: 937 Days
• Field of Search: 345/326, 345/333, 345/334, 345/335, 345/339, 704/8, 395/682, 395/683, 395/701, 709/302, 709/303
• US Class Current: 715/750
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/38 for implementing user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/454 Multi-language systems; Localisation; Internationalisation

Abstract

A user interface generator for developing object oriented user interfaces. The user interface generator creates separate class files containing user interfaces suitable for use in different languages. The interfaces can be easily implemented in an object oriented application program through inheritance. The invention allows the rapid generation of complex user interfaces to minimize costs associated with internationalization of software.

Claims

1. A method for generating a plurality of object oriented user interfaces for use in an object oriented program, the steps comprising:

reading a parameter structure containing commands identifying each user interface, each user interface including a plurality of user interface components, and each user interface being associated with a respective language;

generating a language class for each user interface based on the commands in the parameter structure, each language class containing methods and data for creating the user interface components of the respective user interface;

providing a decision class operative to instantiate one of the language classes as a function of a selected language;

determining the selected language;

instantiating, in the object oriented program, a first object from a derived class which inherits from the decision class;

instantiating a second object from one of the language classes as a function of the selected language; and

displaying the user interface associated with the selected language.

2. A method according to claim 1, further comprising generating a link class, each language class implementing the link class, and wherein the decision class contains a link class variable and is operative to set the link class variable to reference one of the language classes as a function of the selected language.

3. A method according to claim 1, wherein the commands in the parameter structure specify particular events associated with the user interface components that will be processed by the object oriented program.

4. A method according to claim 3, wherein the language class associated the particular events is operative to invoke an event method in the object oriented program upon occurrence of one of the particular events.

5. A method according to claim 4, wherein the commands in the parameter structure identify a name of the event method in the object oriented program to invoke upon occurrence of each particular event.

6. A method according to claim 5, further comprising generating an abstract contract class which inherits from the decision class, the abstract contract class containing an abstract method overridable by the event method in the object oriented program, and wherein the first object inherits from the decision class through the abstract contract class.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising generating a link class, each language class implementing the link class, and wherein the decision class contains a link class variable and is operative to set the link class variable to reference one of the language classes as a function of the selected language;

and further wherein the commands in the parameter structure specify particular events associated with the user interface components that will be processed by the object oriented program.

8. A method for creating first and second object oriented user interfaces for use in an object oriented program, the steps comprising:

reading a parameter file containing data specifying user interface components for each of the first and second user interfaces, the data including textual labels, the textual labels in the first user interface being in a first language and the textual labels in the second user interface being in a second language;

generating a first user interface class portion being operative to generate the first user interface with components having textual labels in the first language, and generating a second user interface class portion being operative to generate the second user interface with components having textual labels in the second language; and

providing a selection class operative to dynamically instantiate as a function of a specified language a first object from one of the first and second interface class portions, the selection class being inheritable by the object oriented program.

9. A method according to claim 8, further comprising:

determining which of the first and second languages is the specified language;

implementing, in the object oriented program, a derived class which inherits from the selection class;

instantiating an application object from the derived class;

instantiating, from the application object, the user interface class portion associated with the respective language;

generating a selected user interface; and

displaying the selected user interface.

10. A method according to claim 9, wherein the first user interface class portion comprises a first user interface class, and the second user interface portion comprises a second user interface class.

11. A method according to claim 9, wherein the parameter file further comprises data identifying an event the object oriented program will process, and the first and second user interface class portions are operative to invoke a method in the object oriented program upon the occurrence of the event.

12. A method according to claim 8, further comprising generating an abstract contract class which inherits from the selection class, the abstract contract class including at least one abstract event function, and wherein the abstract contract class is inheritable by the object oriented program.

13. A method according to claim 12, wherein each of the first and second user interface class portions are operative to invoke an event function in the object oriented program which overrides the abstract event function.

14. A method according to claim 8, wherein the first user interface class portion comprises a first user interface class, and the second user interface portion comprises a second user interface class.

15. A method according to claim 8, wherein the parameter file further comprises data identifying an event the object oriented program will process, and the first and second user interface class portions are operative to invoke a method in the object oriented program upon the occurrence of the event.

16. A method according to claim 15, wherein the parameter file further comprises data identifying a name of a method to invoke upon the occurrence of an event, and the first and second user interface class portions are operative to invoke the named method in the object oriented program upon the occurrence of the event.

17. A method according to claim 8, wherein the first user interface class portion comprises a first user interface class, and the second user interface portion comprises a second user interface class, further comprising generating a link class which includes a load method, wherein each of the first and second user interface classes implements the link class, and wherein the selection class dynamically instantiates the first object from the user interface class associated with the selected language, and casts the first object to a type link class object.

18. A system for generating object oriented user interfaces, comprising:

a structure containing records defining a first and a second user interface, each user interface having user interface components with textual labels, the textual labels in the first user interface being in a first language and the textual labels in the second user interface being in a second language;

a parser for parsing the command structure and being operative to generate first and second language class portions, the first language class portion being operative to create the first user interface and the second language class portion being operative to create the second user interface;

a selection class generated by the parser including methods and data for selecting and instantiating a user interface object from one of the first and second language class portions as a function of a user-selected language,

wherein the selection class is operative to be inherited by a class in an application program.

19. A system according to claim 18, wherein the records specify an event that is to be processed in the application program, and wherein the first and second language class portions are operative to invoke a method in the object oriented program upon occurrence of the event.

20. A system according to claim 19, further comprising a link class, each of the first and second language class portions implementing the link class, and wherein the user interface object is cast to a type link class object.