Method to reduce input parameter interface error and inconsistency for servlets

• US 6,983,284 B2
• Filed: 03/22/2002
• Issued: 01/03/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 04/03/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Li, Jin
• Primary Examiner(s): Ali, Mohammad
• Application Number:
  US10/104,527
• Publication Number:
  US 20020178175A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,383 Days
• Field of Search: 707 1- 10, 707100-1041, 707200-206, 715/513, 715/781, 715/762, 717/115, 345/700
• US Class Current: 717/114
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/30 Creation or generation of source code
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface

Abstract

A GUI utility tool running on a web application development environment is presented that acts to eliminate inconsistency between a given HTML user input form description file and a corresponding servlet program file. The tool allows the user to specify an HTML file. The tool may then parse the HTML file to discover input parameters and generate Java servlet program code to receive the input parameters.

Claims

1. A method of generating servlet program code, to reduce input parameter interface error, composing:

presenting to a user from a GUI utility tool a servlet program file specification page, wherein the GUI utility tool is run on a development environment by the user;

presenting to the user by the GUI utility tool a servlet program file name, wherein the servlet program file may be an existing file or a file that is to be generated by the GUI utility tool;

presenting to the user by the GUI utility tool an HTML file specification page;

presenting to the user by the GUI utility tool an HTML file name;

parsing an HTML file specified by the user to identify input parameters, wherein the parsing step further includes;

opening the HTML file specified by the user;

reading sequentially each tag in the HTML file;

determining for each read tag whether the tag identifies an input parameter;

in response to the determining step, if the tag identifies an input parameter, extracting a name of the input parameter;

if at least one of the tag is a last tag in the HTML file and the end of the HTML file is reached, determining whether any input parameters have been extracted and, if so, using names of the input parameters to assign names for use in servlet program code;

presenting the assigned names to the user; and

allowing the user to alter the assigned names;

generating, in response to a signal received from the user a servlet program file using the input parameters from the parsing step; and

writing the generated servlet program file with a time stamp to a file corresponding to the servlet program file name, wherein the GUI utility tool uses the time stamp to maintain synchronization between the servlet program file and the HTML file by comparing the time stamp of the file corresponding to the servlet program file name with a time stamp of the HTML file and generating an alarm if the time stamp of the HTML file is more recent than the time stamp of the file corresponding to the servlet program file name.