Method and system for converting between structured language elements and objects embeddable in a document

• US 6,182,092 B1
• Filed: 07/14/1997
• Issued: 01/30/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 07/14/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Little, Robert A., Mantek, Frank, Francis, James Lee, Apfel, Darren Alexander, Layman, Andrew
• Primary Examiner(s): Feild, Joseph H.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Bourque, Robert D.
• Application Number:
  US08/892,579
• Time in Patent Office: 1,296 Days
• Field of Search: 707/101, 707/1, 707/100, 707/103, 707/513
• US Class Current: 715/227
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/258 Data format conversion from or to a database
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/143 Markup, e.g. Standard Generalized Markup Language [SGML] or Document Type Definition [DTD]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/151 Transformation

Abstract

A converter converts between structured language elements and objects embeddable in the native format of a document editor. A data structure representing the embeddable object is created without instantiating an instance of the object and includes the associated structured language element. Subsequently, the structured language element is used to instantiate an object and set its properties. Any portion of the structured language element not recognized during the conversion process is retained by the embeddable object. If conversion back to a structured language element is subsequently required, the conversion process is facilitated by the presence of the original structured language element within the embeddable object as well as the retained portion of the structured language element not recognized.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for converting a structured language element representing an element to be rendered within a document to a data structure representing a software object of a software object class having a method for setting properties of the software object based on a passed structured language element, the method comprising:

reading the structured language element representing the element to be rendered within the document;

determining a class identifier associated with the structured language element representing the element to be rendered within the document and indicative of the software object class having a method for setting properties of the software object based on a passed structured language element; and

without instantiating an instance of the represented software object of the software object class, converting the structured language element representing the element to be rendered within the document to the data structure representing the software object of the software object class having a method for setting properties of the software object based on a passed structured language element, the data structure containing the persistent state of the represented object of the software object class, wherein the data structure comprises the class identifier associated with the structure language element representing the element to be rendered within the document and indicative of the software object class having a method for setting properties of the software object based on a passed structured language element.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the structured language element has a tag name indicating characteristics of a visible element in the document and wherein determining the class identifier associated with the structured language element comprises:

finding a class identifier associated with the tag name of the structured language element, wherein the class identifier identifies a software object class providing the characteristics of the visible element indicated by the tag name.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the class identifier identifies a software object class embeddable and editable in a converted document edited by a document editor.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the data structure further comprises the structured language element.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the data structure comprises the structured language element, the method further comprising:

instantiating an instance of an object identified by the class identifier;

locating the structured language element in the data structure; and

setting the properties of the instance of the object by passing the located structured language element to the method for setting properties of the software object based on the passed structured language element.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the structured language element comprises and HTML attribute keyword and an associated HTML attribute value and the setting comprises:

matching the HTML attribute keyword with an object property identifier identifying a property of the object;

setting the property identified by the object property identifier to a value according to the associated HTML attribute value.

7. A method for converting a structured language element to a data structure representing a software object, the method comprising:

reading the structured language element;

converting the structured language element to the data structure representing the software object without instantiating an instance of the represented software object, the represented software object being of a software object class having a method defined to set properties of the represented software object based on the data structure representing the software object.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the data structure representing a software object comprises a class identifier chosen according to the following method:

selecting a structured language tag component of the structured language element; and

finding the structured language tag component in an entry of a data structure associating the structured language tag component with the class identifier.

9. A method of converting a software object to a structured language element, wherein the software object represents an original structured language element comprising a portion of structured language not recognized when creating the software object, and the software object comprises the portion of structured language not recognized when creating the software object, the method comprising:

reading the portion of structured language not recognized when creating the software object; and

reconstituting the original structured language element from the software object to produce the converted structured language element, including in the converted structured language element the portion of structured language not recognized when creating the software object.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the converted structured language element is a form element representing an original structured language element that is a form element.

11. A method for converting a data structure representing a represented software object to a structured language element, wherein the data structure was created without creating an instance of the represented software object and comprises text of the structured language element, the method comprising:

reconstituting the structured language element of the represented software object by reading the text of the structured language element stored in the data structure without instantiating the represented software object.

12. A method for converting a software object to a structured language element, the method comprising:

providing a data structure to a software routine extrinsic to the software object, the data structure with entries associating a structured language attribute keyword with a property identifier, the software routine performing the following for a plurality of entries in the data structure;

reading a has-been-set value in the software object indicative of whether a property value of the software object identified by the property identifier in the entry has been set; and

if the has-been-set value is indicative of having set the property value, producing a portion of the structured language element comprising the structured language attribute keyword in the entry and the property value identified by the property identifier.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the structured language attribute keyword is an HTML attribute keyword and the property identifier is an integer value.

14. A converter for converting a structured language element to an embeddable data structure representing a represented object, the converter comprising:

a parser operative for selecting a tag component of the structured language element;

a data structure with an entry, the entry associating a structured language tag component with an object class identifier;

a table look-up logic operative for selecting a class identifier associated in the data structure with the selected tag component; and

a structured language element data structure logic operative for creating a data structure comprising the structured language element and the class identifier to generate an embeddable representation of the represented object without instantiating an instance of the represented object.

15. A computer-implemented method for converting an HTML element representing an HTML form user interface feature to a data structure representing a software object for depicting a form user interface feature corresponding to the HTML form user interface feature in a document editor, the represented software object being of a software object class having a method for setting properties of the represented software object when supplied with an HTML element, the method comprising:

reading the HTML element representing the HTML form user interface feature;

determining a class identifier associated with the HTML form user interface feature and indicative of the software object class having a method for setting properties of the represented software object when supplied with an HTML element;

without instantiating an instance of the represented software object of the software object class, converting the HTML element to the data structure representing the software object for depicting the form user interface feature corresponding to the HTML form user interface feature in the document editor, the data structure comprising the persistent state of the represented object of the software object class, wherein the data structure comprises the class identifier associated with the HTML form user interface feature and indicative of the software object class having a method for setting properties of the represented software object when supplied with an HTML element.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein the data structure further comprises the HTML element.

17. The method of claim 15 wherein

the HTML element representing an HTML form user interface feature comprises a tag name; and

the determining determines the class identifier by determining the class identifier is associated with the tag name.