Server-side control objects for processing client-side user interface elements

• US 6,961,750 B1
• Filed: 05/18/2000
• Issued: 11/01/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 05/18/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Millet, Stephen J., Guthrie, Scott D., Ebbo, David S., Anders, Mark T., Peters, Ted A., Burd, Gary S., Cooper, Kenneth B.
• Primary Examiner(s): LIN, WEN TAI
• Application Number:
  US09/573,769
• Time in Patent Office: 1,993 Days
• Field of Search: 709/203, 709/219, 709/248, 709/315, 715/513, 719/315, 717/100
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces

Abstract

A server-side control object processes and generates a client-side user interface element for display on a web page. Multiple server-side control objects may be combined into a hierarchy of server-side control objects that cooperate to generate the resulting authoring language code, such as HTML, for display of a web page on a client. The operation of processing the client-side user interface element may include at least one of an event handling operation, a postback data handling operation, a data binding operation, and a state management operation. The state management operation relates to the state of a server-side control object.

Claims

1. A hierarchy of server-side control objects, executable by a computer and embodied in one or more computer-readable media, for processing one or more client-side user interface elements incorporated in a web page displayed on a client, the hierarchy of server-side control objects comprising:

one or more server-side child objects corresponding to the one or more client-side user interface elements, at least one of the server-side child objects handling postback input received from the client and generating authoring language data for display of the client-side user interface element on the client;

at least one hierarchical identifier received from the client in association with the postback input specifying one of the server-side child objects; and

a server-side page object hierarchically related to the one or more server-side child objects and receiving the postback input for distribution to the one of the server-side child objects based on the hierarchical identifier.

2. The hierarchy of server-side control objects of claim 1 wherein the page object hierarchically contains the one or more server-side child objects.

3. The hierarchy of server-side control objects of claim 1 wherein each server-side child object is created responsive to an access to the server-side control object specified by the hierarchical identifier and remains in existence until after generation of the authoring language data for a corresponding client-side user interface element on the client.

4. The hierarchy of server-side control objects of claim 1 wherein each server-side child object is created responsive to an access to the server-side control object specified by the hierarchical identifier and remains in existence until after generation of the authoring language data for a corresponding client-side user interface element on the client.

5. A computer program storage medium readable by a computing system and encoding a computer program for executing a computer process that processes one or more client-side user interface elements incorporated in a web page on a client, the computer process comprising:

inputting one or more declarations from a server-side declaration datastore;

generating a hierarchy of server-side control objects programmed based on the declarations to provide functionality of the client-side user interface elements;

receiving a unique hierarchical identifier referencing one or more of the server-side control objects in the hierarchy of server-side control objects;

receiving postback input information associated with the unique hierarchical identifier;

resolving the unique hierarchical identifier to identify a referenced server-side control object;

passing the postback input information to the referenced server-side control object;

processing the postback input information using the referenced server-side control object; and

generating authoring language data from the hierarchy of server-side control objects for incorporating the client-side user interface elements in the web gage.

6. A method for processing at least one client-side user interface element incorporated in a web page displayed on a client, the method comprising:

reading a declaration from a resource;

generating a first server-side control object that corresponds to a first client-side user interface element;

generating a second server-side control object that corresponds to the first client-side user interface element, such that the first and the second server-side control objects exist concurrently;

processing the client-side user interface element using the concurrently existing server-side control objects; and

generating authoring language data from the concurrently existing server-side control objects for incorporating the client-side user interface element in the web page subsequent to the processing operation.

7. A method for processing at least one client-side user interface element incorporated in a web page displayed on a client, the method comprising:

reading a declaration from a resource;

generating a plurality of concurrently existing server-side control objects that logically correspond to the client-side user interface element, based on the declaration;

raising a server-side event associated with a first server-side control object;

handling the server-side event using a second server-side control object;

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generating authoring language data from the concurrently existing server-side control objects for incorporating the client-side user interface element in the web page, subsequent to the processing operation.

8. A method for processing at least one client-side user interface element incorporated in a web page displayed on a client, the method comprising:

reading a declaration from a resource;

generating a plurality of concurrently existing server-side control objects that logically correspond to the client-side user interface element, based on the declaration;

raising a server-side event associated with a first server-side control object;

handling the server-side event using a non-user-interface component; and

generating authoring language data from the concurrently existing server-side control objects for incorporating the client-side user interface element in the web page, subsequent to the processing operation.

9. A method for processing at least one client-side user interface element incorporated in a web page displayed on a client, the method comprising:

reading a declaration from a resource;

generating a first server-side control object that corresponds to a client-side user interface element;

generating a second server-side control object that corresponds to the client-side user interface element, such that the first and the second server-side control objects exist concurrently;

processing the client-side user interface element using the first and second sever-side control objects; and

generating authoring language data from the concurrently existing server-side control objects for incorporating the client-side user interface element in the web page, subsequent to the processing operation.