System and methodology for dynamic application environment employing runtime execution templates

• US 7,111,231 B1
• Filed: 02/24/1999
• Issued: 09/19/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 02/24/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Intellisync Corporation (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Intellisync Corporation (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Huck, Theodore Allen, LaRue, Chris
• Primary Examiner(s): Shah, Sanjiv
• Application Number:
  US09/256,845
• Time in Patent Office: 2,764 Days
• Field of Search: 707/513, 707/522, 707/523, 707/526, 707/517, 707/532, 715/513, 715/517, 715/522, 715/523, 715/526, 715/532, 709/318
• US Class Current: 715/205
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/60 Software deployment

Abstract

A dynamic application environment or system is described that includes a client, a run-time system, and a back-end database. The client comprises a workstation or desktop PC running browser software, such as Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator. The back-end database comprises a back-end (e.g., server-based) database system, such as an SQL-based database system. The run-time system includes a collection or repository module for storing “presentation templates,” a Template Services Module or engine, a Template Parameters Module, and a Database Accessor Module. The presentation templates are employed for presentation of the application to the user interface (at the client). At application run-time, the templates are provided to the Template Services Module, which includes a Template Manager and a Template Parser. These provide generic processing of the templates, which may be assembled to complete a finished product (i.e., run-time application). For instance, the Template Services Module knows how to load and parse a template and then look up its parameters, regardless of the application-specific details (e.g., user interface implementation) embodied by the template. In use, the system is deployed with presentation templates that represent the various client views of the target application, for the various platforms that the application is deployed to. In this manner, when new functionality needs to be added to the system, it may simply be added by expanding the run-time library portion of the system.

Claims

1. A method of creating and deploying an application that provides access to back-end information access functionality, including:

creating at least one template including one or more abstract references that specify functionality to be invoked when a given client requests the template;

registering the abstract references with a dictionary that associates the abstract references with at least one run-time handler and one or more run-time services; and

providing the specified functionality to access information, including;

receiving a request from the given client that identifies at least one template;

accessing the identified template and determining the abstract references in the identified template;

accessing the dictionary and determining the run-time handler and the run-time services associated with the abstract references; and

invoking the run-time handler and the run time services to access to the back-end information access functionality.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one template comprises at least one page description language template.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein said at least one page description language template comprises at least one Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) document.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein said at least one page description language template comprises at least one Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) document.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the references are embedded in the at least one template using user-defined tags.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the back-end information access functionality that is actually invoked is determined based, at least in part, on which platform a given client executes.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein a template manager stores parsed versions of templates in a template cache, so that each template need only be parsed once.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the parsed versions of templates are maintained on a persistent storage, so that the parsed templates are available from one session to another.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein at least one parsed version of a template is flushed, so that said system is forced to again parse the at least one template.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the back-end information access functionality invoked is based, at least in part, on a specific client session that is executing.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein logic that implements the action of providing the specified functionality to access information consists of a single code base application that is deployed on multiple platforms.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the abstract references include tokens specifying programming constructs.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein said programming constructs include conditional logic statements.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein said conditional logic statements include “

if”

statements.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein said conditional logic statements include “

for”

loops.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the back-end functionality includes accessing information in a back-end database.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the back-end database includes an SQL database system that retrieves information in response to SQL queries.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the request can be resolved to the given client and a platform from which the request originates, further including invoking the run-time handler and the run time services using parameters corresponding to the given client and the platform.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein the back-end functionality includes accessing information in a configuration table.

20. The method of claim 1, wherein the back-end functionality includes accessing information from machine services.

21. The method of claim 1, wherein the request can be resolved to the given client, further including invoking the run-time handler and the run time services using parameters corresponding to the client identity.

22. The method of claim 1, wherein the request can be resolved to a platform from which the request originates, further including invoking the run-time handler and the run time services using parameters corresponding to the platform.

23. The method of claim 1, wherein the request can be resolved to the given client and a platform from which the request originates, further including invoking the run-time handler and the run time services using parameters corresponding to the given client and the platform.

24. The method of claim 1, wherein the abstract references specify functionality that is independent of a platform from which the request originates.

25. The method of claim 1, wherein the abstract references specify functionality that is Independent of the given client.

26. The method of claim 1, wherein the abstract references specify functionality that is independent of any particular back-end database.

27. The method of claim 1, wherein the back-end database includes a synchronization engine.

28. The method of claim 1, wherein the request can be resolved to a platform from which the request originates, further including composing a presentation adapted to the platform.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein the run time services that access information in the back-end database are independent of logic that composes the adapted presentation.

30. A template repository and template manager system that provide access to a back-end information access functionality in response to a client request for a template, including:

a template repository that stores templates, a particular template including one or more abstract references that specify back-end information access functionality to be invoked when the client requests the particular template;

a dictionary that associates the abstract references with one or more run-time services; and

a template manager, responsive to the client request that identifies the particular template, including logic that

accesses the template repository and parses the particular template, accesses the dictionary and resolves the abstract references to the associated run-time services, and

invokes the associated run-time services that provide back-end information access functionality.

31. The system of claim 30, wherein the particular template includes at least one page description language template.

32. The system of claim 31, wherein said at least one page description language template comprises a Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) document.

33. The system of claim 31, wherein said at least one page description language template comprises a Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) document.

34. The system of claim 30, wherein the abstract references are embedded in the particular template using user-defined tags.

35. The system of claim 30, wherein which run-time services that are actually invoked is determined based, at least in part, on which platform a given client executes.

36. The system of claim 30, wherein said template manager stores parsed templates in a template cache, so that each template need only be parsed once.

37. The system of claim 36, wherein said parsed templates are maintained on a persistent storage, so that the parsed templates are available from one application execution session to another.

38. The system of claim 36, wherein any parsed templates are occasionally flushed, so that said system is forced to again parse the particular template.

39. The system of claim 30, wherein the back-end database comprises an SQL database system that retrieves information in response to SQL queries.

40. The system of claim 30, wherein the particular template comprises at least one read-only template.

41. The system of claim 30, wherein the particular template is loaded by browser software running at said particular client.

42. The system of claim 30, wherein the particular template comprises an input form having a platform-specific presentation when rendered at a given client.

43. The system of claim 30, wherein which run-time services are invoked is determined based, at least in part, on a specific client session that is executing.