Method and system for dynamically determining the appropriate information and/or user interface for presentation to differing users

• US 6,781,607 B1
• Filed: 01/27/2000
• Issued: 08/24/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 01/27/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Activision Publishing Incorporated (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Benham, Shawn Edward
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Cao (Kevin)
• Application Number:
  US09/492,253
• Time in Patent Office: 1,671 Days
• Field of Search: 345/762, 345/744, 345/708, 345/740, 345/797, 345/733
• US Class Current: 715/744
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6218 to a system of files or objects, e.g. local or distributed file system or database
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2141 Access rights, e.g. capability lists, access control lists, access tables, access matrices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2149 Restricted operating environment

Abstract

The present invention provides a method and system for providing information and/or an interface in a computer system. The method includes determining that a user is accessing the system; analyzing the user'"'"'s role in the system without a need for the user to provide a description of the user; returning an estimate of the user'"'"'s role based upon the analyzing step; and displaying or modifying the information and/or the interface based upon the returned estimate. The method and system in accordance with the present invention dynamically determines the appropriate information and/or interface for presentation to differing users. The present invention provides the means for information and graphical user interface (GUI) creators to present different information or GUIs to different user types, such as administrators and end users, and to different user experience levels, such as expert and novice, without requiring users to describe themselves. The present invention accomplishes this by performing a programmatic analysis of a user'"'"'s rights within a system to derive type and experience level information using information already available according to the standards used by the system.

Claims

1. A method for providing information and/or an interface in a computer system, comprising:

(a) determining a user is accessing the system;

(b) analyzing the user'"'"'s type in the system without a need for the user to provide a user profile, wherein the user'"'"'s type is based at least on privileges held by the user in the system, wherein the analyzing is not part of an authentication of the user for access to the system;

(c) returning an estimate of the user'"'"'s type based upon the analyzing step; and

(d) displaying or modifying the information and/or the interface based upon the returned estimate.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the analyzing step (b) comprises:

(b1) estimating the user'"'"'s type using data already available concerning the user'"'"'s authorities and privileges according to a standard used by the system.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the standard concerns a system which comprises structured data and user information stored with the structured data.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the standard is a relational database standard, wherein the data comprises at least one of:

an authority role;

ability to create or modify tables of a database;

ability to create or modify schemas;

ability to create, modify, or access database views;

authority to grant or revoke privileges;

number of privileges granted; and

ability to create or execute packages and/or database programmatic constructs.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the displaying step (d) comprises:

(d1) displaying or modifying help information presentation and/or a help user interface based upon the returned estimate.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the displaying step (d) comprises:

(d1) displaying the information and/or the interface for a wizard based upon the returned estimate.

7. A computer readable medium with program instructions for providing information and/or an interface in a computer system, the instructions for:

(a) determining that a user is accessing the system;

(b) analyzing the user'"'"'s type in the system without a need for the user to provide a user profile, wherein the user'"'"'s type is based at least on privileges held by the user in the system wherein the analyzing is not part of an authentication of the user for access to the system;

(c) returning an estimate of the user'"'"'s type based upon the analyzing instructions; and

(d) displaying or modifying the information and/or the interface based upon the returned estimate.

8. The medium of claim 7, wherein the analyzing instruction (b) comprises instructions for:

(b1) estimating the user'"'"'s type using data already available concerning the user'"'"'s authorities and privileges according to a standard used by the system.

9. The medium of claim 8, wherein the standard concerns a system which comprises structured data and user information stored with the structured data.

10. The medium of claim 9, wherein the standard is a relational database system standard, wherein the data comprises at least one of:

an authority role;

ability to create or modify tables of a database;

ability to create or modify schemas;

ability to create, modify, or access database views;

authority to grant or revoke privileges;

number of privileges granted; and

ability to create or execute packages and/or database programmatic constructs.

11. The medium of claim 7, wherein the displaying instruction (d) comprises instructions for:

(d1) displaying or modifying a help information presentation and/or a help user interface based upon the returned estimate.

12. The medium of claim 7, wherein the displaying instruction (d) comprises instructions for:

(d1) displaying or modifying the information and/or the interface for a wizard based upon the returned estimate.

13. A method for providing information and/or an interface in a computer system, comprising:

(a) determining that a user is accessing the system;

(b) estimating the user'"'"'s type in the system after authenticating the user, using data already available concerning the user'"'"'s authorities and privileges according to a standard used by the system, without a need for the user to provide a user profile, wherein the estimating is not part of an authentication of the user for access to system;

(c) returning an estimate of the user'"'"'s type; and

(d) displaying or modifying the information and/or the interface based upon the returned estimate.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the standard concerns a system which comprises structured data and user information stored with the structured data.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the standard is a relational database standard, wherein the data comprises at least one of:

an authority role;

ability to create or modify tables of a database;

ability to create or modify schemas;

ability to create, modify, or access database views;

authority to grant or revoke privileges;

number of privileges granted; and

ability to create or execute packages and/or database programmatic constructs.

16. A computer readable medium with program instructions for providing information and/or an interface in a computer system, the instructions for:

(a) determining that a user is accessing the system;

(b) estimating the user'"'"'s type in the system, using data already available concerning the user'"'"'s authorities and privileges according to a standard used by the system, without a need for the user to provide a user profile, wherein the analyzing is not part of an authentication of the user for access to the system;

(c) returning an estimate of the user'"'"'s type; and

(d) displaying or modifying the information and/or the interface based upon the returned estimate.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the standard concerns a system which comprises structured data and user information stored with the structured data.

18. The medium of claim 17, wherein the standard is a relational database system standard, wherein the data comprises at least one of:

an authority role;

ability to create or modify tables of a database;

ability to create or modify schemas;

ability to create, modify, or access database views;

authority to grant or revoke privileges;

number of privileges granted; and

ability to create or execute packages and/or database programmatic constructs.

19. A system, comprising:

a plurality of databases;

a server coupled to the plurality of databases; and

a plurality of clients coupled to the server,

wherein each of the plurality of clients comprises a program,

wherein a user may access the plurality of databases through the program,

wherein information and/or an interface is displayed or modified for the program based upon an estimate of the user'"'"'s type in the system without a need for the user to provide a user profile, wherein the user'"'"'s type is based at least on privileges held by the user in the system, wherein determining the estimate of the user'"'"'s type is not part of an authentication of the user for access to the system.