Method and apparatus for constructing network interfaces
First Claim
1. A method of providing a network interface comprising the steps of:
- generating a network view portion of the network interface using at least one of a plurality of software components programmed in a first programming language, each of at least a subset of the components programmed in the first programming language including a network base class for managing view operations and interactions with a database, and a display class for managing display operations; and
generating a user interface portion of the network interface using at least one of a plurality of software components programmed in a second programming language at a higher level than the first programming language, each of at least a subset of the components programmed in the second programming language including a standard interface corresponding to a given one of the network base classes, and a special interface associated with a particular type of network view.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A network interface includes a network view portion developed using a low-level, high-performance programming language such as C++, and a user interface portion developed using a higher level scripted programming language such as Tcl/Tk. Variables in the C++ network view portion are linked to corresponding variables in the Tcl/Tk user interface portion. The network view and user interface portions are developed in accordance with a general framework, which in an illustrative embodiment includes: (1) a set of network structures stored in a database; (2) a C++ component including a network base class to generate functions common to multiple views, and a display class derived from the network base class to generate operations specific to a particular view; and (3) a Tcl/Tk component including a standard user interface corresponding to the network base class associated with a given view, and a special interface corresponding to the display class derived from that network base class. The network base classes support a range of viewing functions including identification, selection, zooming, panning, rotation, elision, collapse, expand, repositioning and transforming. The invention may be used to generate many different types of network views, including a hemisphere view based on a conformal warping of a two-dimensional network map onto a three-dimensional object, an arc map view, and a helix view illustrating network data hierarchies.
132 Citations
29 Claims
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1. A method of providing a network interface comprising the steps of:
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generating a network view portion of the network interface using at least one of a plurality of software components programmed in a first programming language, each of at least a subset of the components programmed in the first programming language including a network base class for managing view operations and interactions with a database, and a display class for managing display operations; and generating a user interface portion of the network interface using at least one of a plurality of software components programmed in a second programming language at a higher level than the first programming language, each of at least a subset of the components programmed in the second programming language including a standard interface corresponding to a given one of the network base classes, and a special interface associated with a particular type of network view. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A network interface comprising:
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a network view portion generated using at least one of a plurality of software components programmed in a first programming language, each of at least a subset of the components programmed in the first programming language including a network base class for managing view operations and interactions with a database, and a display class for managing display operations; and a user interface portion generated using at least one of a plurality of software components programmed in a second programming language at a higher level than the first programming language, each of at least a subset of the components programmed in the second programming language including a standard interface corresponding to a given one of the network base classes, and a special interface associated with a particular type of network view. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. An apparatus for providing a network interface, comprising:
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means for generating a network view portion of the network interface using at least one of a plurality of software components programmed in a first programming language, each of at least a subset of the components programmed in the first programming language including a network base class for managing view operations and interactions with a database, and a display class for managing display operations; and means for generating a user interface portion of the network interface using at least one of a plurality of software components programmed in a second programming language at a higher level than the first programming language, each of at least a subset of the components programmed in the second programming language including a standard interface corresponding to a given one of the network base classes, and a special interface associated with a particular type of network view.
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28. An apparatus for providing a network interface, comprising:
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a processor operative (i) to generate a network view portion of the network interface using at least one of a plurality of software components programmed in a first programming language, each of at least a subset of the components programmed in the first programming language including a network base class for managing view operations and interactions with a database, and a display class for managing display operations, (ii) to generate a user interface portion of the network interface using at least one of a plurality of software components programmed in a second programming language at a higher level than the first programming language, each of at least a subset of the components programmed in the second programming language including a standard interface corresponding to a given one of the network base classes, and a special interface associated with a particular type of network view; and a display device coupled to the processor for displaying the network view portion and the user interface portion of the network interface.
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29. An apparatus for providing a network interface, comprising:
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a processor operative (i) to implement a network view portion of the network interface, wherein the network view portion is generated using at least one of a plurality of software components programmed in a first programming language, each of at least a subset of the components programmed in the first programming language including a network base class for managing view operations and interactions with a database, and a display class for managing display operations, and (ii) to implement a user interface portion of the network interface, wherein the user interface portion is generated using at least one of a plurality of software components programmed in a second programming language at a higher level than the first programming language, each of at least a subset of the components programmed in the second programming language including a standard interface corresponding to a given one of the network base classes, and a special interface associated with a particular type of network view; and a memory coupled to the processor for storing code used to implement the network view portion and the user interface portion.
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Specification