Graphical user interface with hierarchical structure for customizable menus and control objects
First Claim
1. A graphical user interface for a computer, said interface including graphical objects that are displayed on a monitor of the computer and that are accessed by users to control the operation of the computer, said interface comprising a plurality of definitions that are respectively associated with said graphical objects, each of said definitions comprising a hierarchical set of software code modules, including:
- a first code module at one level of the hierarchy which defines the structural relationship of elements that constitute a displayed image of the graphical object; and
a second code module at a lower level of the hierarchy which depends from said first code module, said second code module defining an appearance for each of the elements in the image of the graphical object to be displayed on the monitor.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The program code for control objects in a graphical user interface is organized in a multi-level hierarchial structure. At one level of the structure, each different type of control defines a class of objects. The definition of a class includes most, if not all, of the functionality associated with the objects of that class. In addition, the class definition includes the overall structure of the object, such as the relative positions of different elements which make up the object. The actual appearance of these elements is defined by user selectable software that resides at a lower level of the hierarchy. Using this approach, only one instance of the program code which defines the functionality and overall structure of each object is required, resulting in smaller the overall memory requirements of the program code.
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Citations
39 Claims
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1. A graphical user interface for a computer, said interface including graphical objects that are displayed on a monitor of the computer and that are accessed by users to control the operation of the computer, said interface comprising a plurality of definitions that are respectively associated with said graphical objects, each of said definitions comprising a hierarchical set of software code modules, including:
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a first code module at one level of the hierarchy which defines the structural relationship of elements that constitute a displayed image of the graphical object; and
a second code module at a lower level of the hierarchy which depends from said first code module, said second code module defining an appearance for each of the elements in the image of the graphical object to be displayed on the monitor. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A graphical user interface for a computer, said interface including graphical objects that are displayed on a monitor of the computer and that are accessed by users to control the operation of the computer, said interface comprising:
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a plurality of first code modules, each of which defines the structural relationship of elements that constitute a displayed image of an associated graphical object;
a plurality of sets of second code modules which depend from said first code modules, wherein each set of second code modules includes a code module which depends from a respective one of said first code modules, each of said second code module defining an appearance for each of the elements in the image of a graphical object to be displayed on the monitor; and
means responsive to a user command for selecting one of said sets of second code modules to controls the appearances of the graphical objects in the user interface. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method for organizing an architecture of a graphical user interface, the graphical user interface including graphical objects that are displayed on a monitor of a computer and that are accessed by users to control the operation of the computer, the graphical user interface comprising a plurality of definitions that are respectively associated with the graphical objects, each of the definitions comprising a hierarchical set of software code modules, the method comprising the steps of:
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ordering a first code module at one level of the hierarchy, wherein the first code module defines the structural relationship of elements that constitute a displayed image of the graphical object; and
ordering a second code module at a lower level of the hierarchy that depends from the first code module, wherein the second code module defines an appearance for each of the elements in the image of the graphical object to be displayed on the monitor. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
ordering a third code module at a level of the hierarchy above the first code module, wherein the third code module calls one of a plurality of first code modules in response to a command to draw one of the graphical objects.
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20. The method of claim 19, wherein the third code module identifies one of a plurality of states for one of the graphical objects when calling one of the plurality of first code modules, and wherein the one of the plurality of first code modules provides data to one of a plurality of second code modules to cause the one of the plurality of second code modules to draw the one of the graphical objects in the state.
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21. A method for controlling an appearance of a graphical user interface, the graphical user interface including graphical objects that are displayed on a monitor of a computer and that are accessed by users to control the operation of the computer, the method comprising the steps of:
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organizing a plurality of first code modules, wherein each of the plurality of first code modules defines a structural relationship of elements that constitute a displayed image of an associated graphical object;
organizing a plurality of sets of second code modules that depend from the plurality of first code modules, wherein each set of second code modules includes a code module that depends from a respective one of the plurality of first code modules, wherein each of the second code modules defines an appearance for each of the elements in the image of a graphical object to be displayed on the monitor; and
selecting one of the plurality of sets of second code modules to control the appearances of the graphical objects in the graphical user interface. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
organizing a third code module at a level of the hierarchy above the plurality of first code modules, wherein the third code module calls one of the plurality of first code modules in response to a command to draw one of the graphical objects.
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26. The method of claim 25, wherein the third code module identifies one of a plurality of states for one of the graphical objects when calling one of the plurality of first code modules, and wherein the one of the plurality of first code modules provides data to one of a plurality of second code modules from the selected set to cause the one of the plurality of second code modules to draw the one of the graphical objects in the state.
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27. A computer-readable medium, comprising:
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a first portion having stored therein a graphical user interface, wherein the graphical user interface includes graphical objects that are displayed on a monitor of a computer and that are accessed by users to control the operation of the computer, the graphical user interface comprising a plurality of definitions that are respectively associated with the graphical objects, each of the definitions comprising a hierarchical set of software code modules;
a second portion having stored therein a first code module at one level of the hierarchy, wherein the first code module defines the structural relationship of elements that constitute a displayed image of the graphical object; and
a third portion having stored therein a second code module at a lower level of the hierarchy that depends from the first code module, wherein the second code module defines an appearance for each of the elements in the image of the graphical object to be displayed on the monitor. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
a fourth portion having stored therein a third code module at a level of the hierarchy above the first code module, wherein the third code module calls one of a plurality of first code modules in response to a command to draw one of the graphical objects.
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33. The method of claim 32, wherein the third code module identifies one of a plurality of states for one of the graphical objects when calling one of the plurality of first code modules, and wherein the one of the plurality of first code modules provides data to one of a plurality of second code modules to cause the one of the plurality of second code modules to draw the one of the graphical objects in the state.
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34. A computer-readable medium, comprising:
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a first portion having stored therein a graphical user interface, wherein the graphical user interface includes graphical objects that are displayed on a monitor of a computer and that are accessed by users to control the operation of the computer;
a second portion having stored therein a plurality of first code modules, wherein each of the plurality of first code modules defines a structural relationship of elements that constitute a displayed image of an associated graphical object;
a third portion having stored therein a plurality of sets of second code modules that depend from the plurality of first code modules, wherein each set of second code modules includes a code module that depends from a respective one of the plurality of first code modules, wherein each of the second code modules defines an appearance for each of the elements in the image of a graphical object to be displayed on the monitor; and
a fourth portion having stored therein an object, responsive to a user command, for selecting one of the plurality of sets of second code modules to control the appearances of the graphical objects in the graphical user interface. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37, 38, 39)
a fifth portion having stored therein a third code module at a level of the hierarchy above the plurality of first code modules, wherein the third code module calls one of the plurality of first code modules in response to a command to draw one of the graphical objects.
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39. The computer-readable medium of claim 38, wherein the third code module identifies one of a plurality of states for one of the graphical objects when calling one of the plurality of first code modules, and wherein the one of the plurality of first code modules provides data to one of a plurality of second code modules from the selected set to cause the one of the plurality of second code modules to draw the one of the graphical objects in the state.
Specification