Software application development methods and framework

• US 7,076,766 B2
• Filed: 06/03/2002
• Issued: 07/11/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 06/03/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Eric Lazarus, Gary Albelli, Steve Wirts
• Original Assignee: Eric Lazarus, Gary Albelli, Steve Wirts
• Inventors: Lazarus, Eric, Wirts, Steve, Albelli, Gary
• Primary Examiner(s): CHAVIS, JOHN Q
• Application Number:
  US10/158,911
• Publication Number:
  US 20030226111A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,499 Days
• Field of Search: 717/116, 717/762, 717/121
• US Class Current: 717/121
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/38 for implementing user interfaces

Abstract

Described is a framework that enables a Delegating Visitor Pattern. In the Delegating Visitor Pattern, a visitor object (a) performs operations on a parent object; (b) selects which objects are child objects of the parent object; and (c) selects a child visitor object for each of the child objects. In one embodiment, the framework is one for developing user interfaces that enables a programmer to use Mirror Composition to construct user interfaces. Mirror Composition is an extension of the model-view-controller paradigm. In Mirror Composition, the UI is generated from a tree of view objects, where each view object is an object editor that provides for the modification and viewing of an underlying domain object. The tree of the view objects closely mirrors the tree of the domain objects.

Claims

1. An application development framework comprising:

an inclusion mechanism to construct a visitor object that (a) performs operations on a object;

(b) selects which objects are child objects of the parent object; and

(c) selects a child visitor object for each of the child objects.

2. The framework, as per claim 1, wherein the visitor object selects a child visitor by requesting an identification of the child visitor object from the child object.

3. The framework, as per claim 1, wherein the visitor object is a transducer object whose operations on the parent object produces result data.

4. The framework, as per claim 3, wherein the transducer object is a view object and the result data is part of a user interface.

5. The framework, as per claim 4, wherein the parent object that a view object performs operations on is an editable domain object and the operations comprise viewing and modifying properties of the editable domain object.

6. The framework, as per claim 5, wherein a tree of view objects is constructed by constructing a plurality of view objects.

7. The framework, as per claim 6, wherein the user interface is a composition of each part produced by a view object in the tree of view objects.

8. The framework, as per claim 7, further comprising a debug mechanism that demarcates the part of the user interface produced by each view object.

9. The framework, as per claim 6, wherein the framework further comprises an automatic user interface tool to automatically generate the tree of view objects from a tree of editable domain objects.

10. The framework, as per claim 9, wherein the tree of editable domain objects is generated from example data.

11. The framework, as per claim 10, wherein the example data is created in XML.

12. The framework, as per claim 5, wherein the framework is packaged as a set of JSP tags.

13. The framework, as per claim 12, wherein a view object is a JSP page.

14. The framework, as per claim 13, wherein the inclusion mechanism is a subview tag that includes a sub-view JSP page in a parent JSP page such that the parent JSP page calls the sub-view JSP page when producing part of the user interface.

15. The framework, as per claim 14, wherein all of the set of JSP tags are implemented as subview tags such that for each tag, the parent JSP page calls a JSP page to implement the corresponding tag.

16. The framework, as per claim 15, wherein a JSP tag is automatically created from a JSP page.

17. The framework, as per claim 13, wherein the set of JSP tags includes a block tag to enable or hide portions of the user interface.

18. The framework, as per claim 13, wherein the set of JSP tags comprise widget tags to cause a JSP page to produce controls as part of the user interface.

19. The framework, as per claim 18, wherein the widget tags comprise collection tags for producing controls that edit collections of objects.

20. The framework, as per claim 19, wherein the legal values displayed in a control that edits collections of objects is determined by a domain object.

21. The framework, as per claim 5, further comprising:

an editor context class, wherein an instance of the editor context class is instantiated for at least one view object and associated with the editable domain object, the editor context instance functioning as a namespace for viewing and modifying the properties of the corresponding editable domain object.

22. The framework, as per claim 21, wherein the editable domain object is viewed and modified by requesting the editor context instance to get or set the property on the corresponding editable domain object.

23. The framework, as per claim 22, wherein the editor context instance gets or sets properties on the corresponding editable domain object via a model accessor.

24. The framework, as per claim 22, wherein the view object views and modifies an object other than the corresponding editable domain object by requesting a namespace other than the editor context instance to get or set the property on the other object.

25. The framework, as per claim 24, wherein the other namespace gets or sets properties on the other object via the model accessor.

26. The framework, as per claim 3, wherein the transducer object is an XML serializer object and the result data is XML serialization data.

27. An article of manufacture comprising a computer usable medium having computer readable program code embodied therein which implements a framework, the computer readable program code comprising:

computer readable program code for constructing a visitor object that (a) performs operations on a parent object;

(b) selects which objects are child objects of the parent object; and

(c) selects a visitor object for each of the child objects.

28. The article of manufacture, as per claim 27, wherein the visitor object selects a child visitor by requesting an identification of the child visitor object from the child object.

29. The article of manufacture, as per claim 27, wherein the visitor object is a transducer object whose operations on the parent object produces result data.

30. The article of manufacture, as per claim 29, wherein the transducer object is a view object and the result data is part of a user interface.

31. The article of manufacture, as per claim 30, wherein the parent object that a view object performs operations on is an editable domain object and the operations comprise viewing and modifying properties of the editable domain object.

32. The article of manufacture, as per claim 31, wherein a tree of view objects is constructed by constructing a plurality of view objects.

33. The article of manufacture, as per claim 32, wherein the user interface is a composition of each part produced by a view object in the tree of view objects.

34. The article of manufacture as per claim 33, wherein the computer readable program code further comprises:

computer readable program code implementing a debug mechanism that demarcates the part of the user interface produced by each view object.

35. The article of manufacture as per claim 32, wherein the computer readable program code further comprises:

computer readable program code implementing an automatic user interface tool to automatically generate the tree of view objects from a tree of editable domain objects.

36. The article of manufacture, as per claim 35, wherein the tree of editable domain objects is generated from example data.

37. The article of manufacture, as per claim 36, wherein the example data is created in XML.

38. The article of manufacture, as per claim 31, wherein the framework is packaged as a set of JSP tags.

39. The article of manufacture, as per claim 38, wherein a view object is a JSP page.

40. The article of manufacture, as per claim 39, wherein computer readable program code for constructing a visitor object implements a subview tag that includes a sub-view JSP page in a parent JSP page such that the parent JSP page calls the sub-view JSP page when producing part of the user interface.

41. The article of manufacture, as per claim 40, wherein all of the set of JSP tags are implemented as subview tags such that, for each tag, the parent JSP page calls a JSP page to implement the corresponding tag.

42. The article of manufacture, as per claim 41, wherein a JSP tag is automatically created from a JSP page.

43. The article of manufacture, as per claim 39, wherein the set of JSP tags includes a block tag to enable or hide portions of the user interface.

44. The article of manufacture, as per claim 39, wherein the set of JSP tags comprise widget tags to cause a JSP page to produce controls as part of the user interface.

45. The article of manufacture, as per claim 44, wherein the widget tags comprise collection tags for producing controls that edit collections of objects.

46. The article of manufacture, as per claim 45, wherein the legal values displayed in a control that edits collections of objects is determined by a domain object.

47. The article of manufacture, as per claim 31, wherein the computer readable program code further comprises:

computer readable program code for instantiating an editor context for at least one view object in the tree of view objects and associating the editor context with the view object'"'"'s corresponding editable domain object, the editor context instance functioning as a namespace for editing of the corresponding editable domain object.

48. The article of manufacture, as per claim 47, wherein the editable domain object is viewed and modified by requesting the editor context instance to get or set the property on the corresponding editable domain object.

49. The article of manufacture, as per claim 48, wherein the editor context instance gets or sets properties on the corresponding editable domain object via a model accessor.

50. The article of manufacture, as per claim 48, wherein the view object views and modifies an object other than the corresponding editable domain object by requesting a namespace other than the editor context instance to get or set the property on the other object.

51. The article of manufacture, as per claim 50, wherein the other namespace gets or sets properties on the other object via the model accessor.

52. The article of manufacture, as per claim 29, wherein the transducer object is an XML serializer object and the result data is XML serialization data.

53. A software framework to interconnect a model comprising a tree of editable domain objects;

a view comprising a tree of view objects, wherein each view object is an editor of a corresponding domain object in the tree of editable domain objects and wherein each view object generates a part of a user interface; and

at least one controller to translate user actions in the user interface to activity in the domain objects, the framework comprising;

an editor context class, wherein an instance of the editor context class is instantiated for at least one view object and associated with the editable domain object, the editor context instance functioning as a namespace for editing the properties of the corresponding editable domain object

an update manager to update domain objects via the associated editor context instance; and

a request processor to receive requests that contain indications of user actions in the user interface and domain object updates, the request processor sending domain object updates to the update manager;

calling a method on the controller to translate the user actions into activity in the domain objects; and

calling a parent view object in the tree of view objects so that the user interface is generated.

54. The framework, as per claim 53, wherein the request processor receives requests via the parent view object in the tree of view objects.

55. The framework, as per claim 53, wherein the update manager performs selection updates after updates to domain object properties.

56. The framework, as per claim 53, wherein the update manager updates domain objects via the associated editor context instance by requesting the editor context instance to set or get properties on the corresponding editable domain object.

57. The framework, as per claim 56, wherein a domain object property is marked as invalid in context if there is a validation error while updating it and widgets in the user interface corresponding to the marked property are rendered with a configurable visual cue.

58. The framework, as per claim 56, further comprising:

a model accessor, wherein the editor context instance gets or sets properties on the corresponding editable domain object via the model accessor.

59. The framework, as per claim 58, wherein the editable domain objects are Enterprise Java-Beans (EJBs) in an Enterprise Java-Bean container.

60. The framework, as per claim 59, wherein the model accessor logs sets or gets from the editor context and performs them as a single batch change.

61. The framework, as per claim 53, further comprising:

a namespace dispatcher,

wherein a view object edits an object other than the corresponding editable domain object by requesting a namespace other than the editor context instance to get or set the property on the other object; and

wherein the namespace dispatcher receives the request to the other namespace and dispatches the request to the other namespace.