System, method and article of manufacture for creating a live application or applet development environment

• US 6,044,218 A
• Filed: 01/31/1997
• Issued: 03/28/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 01/31/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sun Microsystems Incorporated (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Sun Microsystems Incorporated (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Faustini, Antony Azio
• Primary Examiner(s): Hafiz, Tariq R.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Chaki, Kakali
• Application Number:
  US08/792,478
• Time in Patent Office: 1,152 Days
• Field of Search: 395/701, 395/702, 395/703, 395/683, 364/280, 364/280.9, 364/975.4, 364/976, 364/977, 364/977.2, 345/967, 707/103
• US Class Current: 717/107
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/20 Software design
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/34 Graphical or visual programming

Abstract

A system for a live applet or application development environment includes software that cooperatively promotes and permits immediate socialization of new components with existing components as the new components are instantiated or dropped onto the development desktop. This is achieved by registering a new component being instantiated with the development environment'"'"'s kernel. Registration, in turn, invokes an initialization method derived from the class template that yielded the new component. The initialization method appropriately personalizes the new component when it executes its associated logic. The initialization method provide an editor for the new component if its properties are to be made editable. The software environment, its kernel, templates, components, editor and methods are preferably programmed in the Java programming language or a Java compatible language.

Claims

1. A method of creating a software application or applet using object oriented components in a development environment that provides substantially immediate response of the operation of the software being created to modifications made to the object oriented components by a software application or applet developer, said method comprising the steps of:

a) providing an object oriented component having defined methods in addition to an initialization method in the class template from which the component is to be instantiated;

b) introducing the object oriented component into a development environment in which the software is being constructed from the object oriented components, the development environment having a software kernel configured to cause instantiation of the object oriented component;

c) registering the newly instantiated object oriented component with the development environment'"'"'s software kernel; and

d) invoking the newly instantiated object oriented component'"'"'s initialization method to initialize the object oriented component such that the object oriented component is capable of executing any of its defined methods within the development environment such that operation of the object oriented component'"'"'s methods can be invoked within the development environment to affect the operation of the software being constructed within the development environment.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of introducing and instantiating the software object includes the step of personalizing each newly instantiated component in full by executing the initialization method'"'"'s logic readying the new component for complete socialization with existing components.

3. The method according to claim 2 which includes the step of providing an integrated editor as part of newly instantiated components if the initialization method calls for one.

4. The method according to claim 3 which includes the step of coding the software environment, its kernel, class templates and the initialization method for each component in the Java programming language or a Java compatible programming language.

5. The method according to claim 2 which includes the step of coding the software environment, its kernel, class templates and the initialization method for each component to be used in the Java programming language or a Java compatible programming language.

6. The method according to claim 1 which includes the step of coding the software environment, its kernel, class templates and the initialization method for each component to be used in the Java programming language or a Java compatible programming language.

7. A system for creating a software application or applet using object oriented components that provides substantially immediate response of the software to modifications made to the object oriented components by a software application or applet developer, said system comprising:

a) an object oriented component including an initialization method in the class template from which the object oriented component is to be instantiated and an initialization system;

b) a development environment in which the software is constructed from object oriented components, the development environment having a software kernel configured to cause instantiation of the object oriented component when the object oriented component is introduced to the development environment;

c) registration logic to register the object oriented component with the development environment'"'"'s software kernel when the object oriented component is instantiated by the software kernel; and

d) invocation logic to call and run the instantiated object oriented component'"'"'s initialization system to initialize the object oriented component such that the object oriented component is capable of executing any of its defined methods within the development environment such that operation of the object oriented component'"'"'s methods can be invoked within the development environment to affect the operation of the software being constructed in the development environment.

8. The system according to claim 7, wherein the development environment additionally comprises instantiated object oriented components that are ready for complete socialization with newly installed components.

9. The system according to claim 8 wherein the software environment, its kernel, class templates, the initialization method for each component and the personalized components are programmed in the Java programming language or a Java compatible programming language.

10. The system according to claim 7 wherein the software environment, its kernel, class templates, the initialization method for each component and the personalized components are programmed in the Java programming language or a Java compatible programming language.

11. The system according to claim 7 which additionally comprises an integrated editor as part of newly instantiated components if the initialization method calls for one.

12. The system according to claim 11 wherein the software environment, its kernel, class templates, the personalized components and the editor are programmed in the Java programming language or a Java compatible programming language.

13. A computer program embodied on a computer-readable medium for creating a software application or applet using object oriented components in a development environment that provides substantially immediate response of the operation of the software being created to modifications made to the object oriented components by a software application or applet developer, said computer program comprising:

a) first software configured to create an object oriented component that includes an initialization method in the class template from which the object oriented component is to be instantiated;

b) second software configured to provide a development environment for the construction of the software from object oriented components, the development environment having a software kernel configured to cause instantiation of an object oriented component when the object oriented component is introduced to the development environment;

c) third software configured to register the newly instantiated object oriented component with the development environment'"'"'s software kernel; and

d) fourth software configured to invoke the newly instantiated component'"'"'s initialization system to initialize the object oriented component such that the object oriented component is capable of executing any of its defined methods within the development environment such that the object oriented component'"'"'s methods can be invoked within the development environment to affect the operation of the software being constructed within the development environment.

14. The computer program embodied on a computer-readable medium as recited in claim 13, which additionally comprises fifth software configured to personalize the newly instantiated component in full by executing the initialization methods logic readying the new component for complete socialization with existing components in the development environment.

15. The computer program embodied on a computer-readable medium as recited in claim 14, which additionally comprises sixth software configured to provide an integrated editor associated with a newly instantiated object oriented component if the initialization method of the object oriented component calls for one.

16. The computer program embodied on a computer-readable medium as recited in claim 15 wherein the software environment, its kernel, the first, second, third, fourth and fifth software are all programmed in the Java programming language or a Java compatible programming language.

17. The computer program embodied on a computer-readable medium as recited in claim 14 wherein the software environment, its kernel, the first, second, third and fourth software are all programmed in the Java programming language s or a Java compatible programming language.

18. The computer program embodied on a computer-readable medium as recited in claim 13 wherein the software environment, its kernel, the first, second and third software are all programmed in the Java programming language or a Java compatible programming language.