Postback input handling by server-side control objects

• US 7,013,340 B1
• Filed: 05/18/2000
• Issued: 03/14/2006
• 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): Donaghue, Larry D
• Application Number:
  US09/574,165
• Time in Patent Office: 2,126 Days
• Field of Search: 709/203, 709/204, 709/229
• US Class Current: 709/229
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/972 Access to data in other repository systems, e.g. legacy data or dynamic Web page generation

Abstract

One or more server-side control objects provide server-side processing of postback input received from client-side user interface elements in a request from a client. Such input may include without limitation postback data and postback events generated from a web page on a client and received by a server in an HTTP request. A hierarchy of server-side control objects can cooperate to process the postback input and to generate the resulting authoring language code, such as HTML. Server-side events can also result from the server-side processing of postback input. In addition to processing postback input, server-side processing may include, without limitation, state management of server-side control objects and binding data to and from server-side database. After the processing and generating operations, the server-side control object hierarchy is terminated until a subsequent request is received from the client.

Claims

1. A method of performing server-side processing of postback input received from a client and associated with a client-side user interface element, the method comprising:

examining the postback input received from the client to determine a hierarchical identifier of a target server-side control object in a server-side control hierarchy;

identifying the target server-side control object in the server-side control hierarchy based on the hierarchical identifier of the target server-side control object

passing the postback input received from the client to the target server-side control object; and

processing the postback input received from the client and passed to the target server-side control object.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the processing operation comprises changing a property of the target server-side control object;

and further comprising;

generating authoring language data from the target server-side control object based on the property to define the client-side user interface element for transmission to the client.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the postback input is received in a current round trip session, and further comprising:

creating a plurality of server-side control objects in a server-side control hierarchy, responsive to receipt of the postback input for the current round trip session; and

;

terminating the plurality of server-side control objects, prior to receipt of other postback input in a subsequent round trip session.

4. The method of claim 2 further comprising:

searching for the target server-side control object in a server-side control hierarchy based on the identifier;

creating the target server-side control object in the server-side control hierarchy, if the target server-side control object is not found by the searching operation; and

terminating the server-side control hierarchy, after the operation of generating authoring language data.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the hierarchical identifier has a hierarchical identifier structure indicating a plurality of levels in a server-side control hierarchy including a plurality of member server-side control objects, and the operation of identifying the target server-side control object comprises:

extracting a node level identifier from the hierarchical identifier;

passing the node level identifier to a member server-side control object corresponding to the node level identifier;

identifying the member server-side control object as the target server-side control object, if the node level identifier identifies a leaf node of the hierarchical identifier,

extracting a next node level identifier from the hierarchical identifier of the target server-side control object, if the node level identifier does not identify a leaf node of the hierarchical identifier, wherein the next node level identifier identifies a child server-side control object of the member server-side control object; and

performing recursively the passing and identifying operations and the operation of extracting a next node level identifier using the next node level identifier as the node level identifier and the child server-side control object as the member server-side control object, if the node level identifier does not identify a leaf node of the hierarchical identifier.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the operation of processing the postback input comprises:

storing a postback data value as a property of the target server-side control object.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the target server-side control object initially stores an old data value as a property, and the operation of storing a postback data value comprises:

associating the postback data value with the property;

indicating a data change associated with the target server-side control object, if the postback data value passed to the target server-side control object is different than the old data value of target server-side control object; and

replacing the old data value with the postback data value in the target server-side control object.

8. The method of claim 7 further comprising:

raising a server-side data change event after the operation of replacing of the old data value, if a data change is indicated.

9. The method of claim 6 wherein the target server-side control object is one of a plurality of member server-side control objects in a server-side control hierarchy, and the operation of storing a postback data value comprises:

storing postback data values for all of the member server-side control objects in the server side control hierarchy; and

raising at least one server-side data change event after the operation of storing a postback data value for all member server-side control objects, if at least one data change is indicated.

10. The method of claim 9 further comprising:

receiving the server-side data change event from the target server-side control object; and

invoking a function of a non-sure-interface server component, based on the server-side data change event.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the operation of processing the postback input comprises:

processing a postback event using the target server-side control object.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the operation of processing a postback event comprises:

extracting from the postback input a postback even argument associated with the identifier;

passing the postback event argument associated with the identifier to the target server-side control object; and

processing the postback event argument using the target server-side control object.

13. A computer data signal embodied in a carrier wave by a computing system and encoding a computer program for executing a computer process performing server-side processing of postback input received from a client and associated with a client-side user interface element, the computer process comprising:

examining the postback input received from the client to determine a hierarchical identifier of a target server-side control object in a server-side control hierarchy;

identifying the target server-side control object in the server-side control hierarchy based on the hierarchical identifier of the target server-side control object;

passing the postback input received from the client to the target server-side control object; and

processing the postback input received from the client and passed to the target server-side control object.

14. A computer program storage medium readable by a computer system and encoding a computer program for executing a computer process performing server-side processing of postback input received from a client and associated with a client-side use r interface element, the computer process comprising:

examining the postback input received from the client to determine a hierarchical identifier of a target server-side control object in a server-side control hierarchy;

identifying the target server-side control object in the server-side control hierarchy based on the hierarchical identifier of the target server-side control object;

passing the postback input received from the client to the target server-side control object; and

processing the postback input received from the client and passed to the target server-side control object.

15. A computer program product for processing postback input received from a client and associated with a client-side user interface element, the computer process comprising:

receiving a hierarchical identifier associated with the target server-side control object;

creating a plurality of server-side control objects in a server-side control hierarchy, the server-side control hierarchy including a target server-side control object associated with the client-side user interface element;

identifying the target server-side control object within the server-side control hierarchy, based on the hierarchical identifier;

passing the postback input to the target server-side control object;

processing the postback input received by target server-side control object; and

generating authoring language data from the plurality of server-side control objects to define a web page for display on a client.

16. The computer program product of claim 15 wherein the computer process further comprises:

terminating the plurality of server side control objects, after the operation of generating authoring language data.

17. A method comprising:

receiving at a server input data from a client, the input data being associated with an individual client-side user interface element on the client;

generating a hierarchy of server-side control objects on the server, each server-side control object corresponding to a client-side user interface element on the client;

identifying, using a hierarchical identifier received from the client, a server-side control object in the hierarchy to which the individual client-side user interface element corresponds; and

processing the input data using the identified server-side control object.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein the processing operation comprises:

setting a property value of the identified server-side control object based on the input data.

19. The method of claim 17 wherein the processing operation comprises:

raising an event in the identified server-side control object based on the input data.

20. The method of claim 17 further comprising:

generating authoring language data from a plurality of server-side control objects at a server to define a page for display on the client, the page including the individual client-side user interface element.

21. The method of claim 17 further comprising:

generating authoring language data from a plurality of server-side control objects at a server to define a page for display on the client, the authoring language data including a script that is tagged to be executed by the server to process input data received from the client.

22. A computer program product embodied in a computer readable medium for executing a computer process, the computer process comprising:

receiving at a server input data from a client, the input data being associated with an individual client-side user interface element on the client;

generating a hierarchy of server-side control objects on the server, each server-side control object corresponding to a client-side user interface element on the client;

identifying, using a hierarchical identifier received from the client, a server-side control object in the hierarchy to which the individual client-side user interface element corresponds; and

processing the input data using the identified server-side control object.

23. The computer program product of claim 22 wherein the processing operation comprises:

setting a property value of the identified server-side control object based on the input data.

24. The computer program product of claim 22 wherein the processing operation comprises:

raising an event in the identified server-side control object based on the input data.

25. The computer program product of claim 22 wherein the computer process further comprises:

generating authoring language data from a plurality of server-side control objects at a server to define a page for display on the client, the page including the individual client-side user interface element.

26. The computer program product of claim 22 wherein the computer process further comprises:

generating authoring language data from a plurality of server-side control objects at a server to define a page for display on the client, the authoring language data including a script that is tagged to be executed by the server to process input data received from the client.