Specification language for defining user interface panels that are platform-independent
First Claim
1. An apparatus comprising:
- at least one processor;
a memory coupled to the at least one processor; and
a specification language residing in the memory for defining at least one platform-independent user interface panel that may be displayed on a plurality of computer platforms without compilation, the specification language allowing the specification of exact location of a plurality of components in each panel, wherein the specification language comprises a panel definition markup language (PDML) that is defined using extensible markup language (XML).
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Abstract
A specification language allows a user to define platform-independent user interface panels without detailed knowledge of complex computer programming languages. The specification language is referred to herein as a Panel Definition Markup Language (PDML), which defines tags that are used in similar fashion to those defined in Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), that allow a user to specify the exact location of components displayed in the panel. A graphical editor allows the creation and modification of platform-independent user interface panels without programming directly in the specification language. A conversion tool may be used to convert platform-specific user interface panels to corresponding platform-independent user interface panels. A help generator tool also facilitates the generation of context-sensitive help for a user interface panel.
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Citations
33 Claims
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1. An apparatus comprising:
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at least one processor;
a memory coupled to the at least one processor; and
a specification language residing in the memory for defining at least one platform-independent user interface panel that may be displayed on a plurality of computer platforms without compilation, the specification language allowing the specification of exact location of a plurality of components in each panel, wherein the specification language comprises a panel definition markup language (PDML) that is defined using extensible markup language (XML). - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. An apparatus comprising:
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at least one processor;
a memory coupled to the at least one processor;
a specification language residing in the memory for defining at least one platform-independent user interface panel that may be displayed on a plurality of computer platforms without compilation, the specification language comprising a panel definition markup language (PDML) that is defined using extensible markup language (XML), the PDML defining a plurality of tags that define a plurality of components in a panel, the plurality of tags defining a location for at least one of the plurality of components in cartesian coordinates within the panel, the plurality of tags specifying the size of the panel and the size of the plurality of components in the panel;
at least one platform-independent user interface panel defined using the specification language and residing in the memory for display to a user of the apparatus. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method for defining a platform-independent user interface panel, the method comprising the steps of:
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providing a panel editor that defines a platform-independent specification language for defining a plurality of platform-independent user interface panels that may be displayed on a plurality of computer platforms without compilation, wherein the specification language comprises a panel definition markup language (PDML) that is defined using extensible markup language (XML); and
defining in the panel editor a platform-independent user interface panel using the platform-independent specification language to specify exact location of at least one of a plurality of components in the platform-independent user interface panel. - View Dependent Claims (16)
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17. A method for converting a platform-specific user interface panel to a platform-independent user interface panel, the method comprising the steps of:
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processing the platform-specific user interface panel to identify components and attributes; and
representing the components and attributes in the platform-specific user interface panel that may be displayed on a plurality of computer platforms without compilation in a platform-independent specification language that allows the specification of exact location of the plurality of components in each panel, wherein the platform-independent specification language comprises a panel definition markup language (PDML) that is defined using extensible markup language (XML).
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18. A method for generating a platform-independent user interface panel, the method comprising the steps of:
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graphically defining the user interface panel;
graphically placing a plurality of components in the user interface panel; and
converting the graphical representation of the user interface panel to a representation of the user interface panel in a platform-independent specification language that allows the specification of exact location of at least one of the plurality of components in each panel, wherein each panel may be displayed on a plurality of computer platforms without compilation, wherein the platform-independent specification language comprises a panel definition markup language (PDML) that is defined using extensible markup language (XML).
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19. A method for generating context-sensitive help for a selected user interface panel, the method comprising the steps of:
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generating a selected user interface panel that may be displayed on a plurality of computer platforms without compilation using a platform-independent specification language, the selected user interface panel including a plurality of components, the platform-independent specification language allowing the specification of exact location of the plurality of components, wherein the platform-independent specification language comprises a panel definition markup language (PDML) that is defined using extensible markup language (XML);
generating a help skeleton corresponding to the selected user interface panel, the help skeleton including a heading for at least one of the plurality of components. - View Dependent Claims (20)
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21. A program product comprising:
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a specification language for defining at least one platform-independent user interface panel that may be displayed on a plurality of computer platforms without compilation, the specification language allowing the specification of exact location of a plurality of components in each platform-independent user interface panel, wherein the specification language comprises a panel definition markup language (PDML) that is defined using extensible markup language (XML); and
signal bearing media bearing the specification language. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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31. A program product comprising:
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a specification language residing in the memory for defining at least one platform-independent user interface panel that may be displayed on a plurality of computer platforms without compilation, the specification language comprising a panel definition markup language (PDML) that is defined using extensible markup language (XML), the PDML defining a plurality of tags that define a plurality of components in a panel, the plurality of tags defining the location for at least one of the plurality of components in cartesian coordinates within the panel, the plurality of tags specifying the size of the panel and the size of the plurality of components in the panel; and
(B) signal bearing media bearing the specification language. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33)
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Specification