Plug and play interface for user actions
First Claim
1. In a computer system having a processor and a graphical user interface, a plug and play interface for user actions enabling software developers of said plug and play interface to implement certain graphical user interface code changes before runtime, said plug and play interface comprising:
- framework means for providing infrastructure for said graphical user interface and to support information about every possible one of said user actions;
module means, pluggable into and un-pluggable from said framework means for providing at least some of said information;
means for establishing before said runtime an XML text file containing said information about said user actions;
said framework means including means for reading before said runtime said file to obtain certain of said user actions to be implemented, said certain of said user actions being determined by said some of said information; and
,means for permitting said user to execute during said runtime a portion of said certain of said user actions through operation of said graphical user interface, said portion being determined by said some of said information.
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Accused Products
Abstract
There is disclosed a technique for creating a plug and play interface for user actions on a graphical user interface (GUI) on a computer system such as might be used in a client-server network. A text file is prepared in XML language containing all possible user actions. The text file is read by GUI framework application software running on the operating system, and the results are stored in at least one table as Java code. The framework application software calls the Java code in response to user requests. The technique lends itself to modularization and therefore to ease of manufacture of such software plug and play interface. Such software can be easily modified at any time up to runtime.
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Citations
7 Claims
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1. In a computer system having a processor and a graphical user interface, a plug and play interface for user actions enabling software developers of said plug and play interface to implement certain graphical user interface code changes before runtime, said plug and play interface comprising:
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framework means for providing infrastructure for said graphical user interface and to support information about every possible one of said user actions; module means, pluggable into and un-pluggable from said framework means for providing at least some of said information; means for establishing before said runtime an XML text file containing said information about said user actions; said framework means including means for reading before said runtime said file to obtain certain of said user actions to be implemented, said certain of said user actions being determined by said some of said information; and
,means for permitting said user to execute during said runtime a portion of said certain of said user actions through operation of said graphical user interface, said portion being determined by said some of said information. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A method for manufacturing graphical user interface software employed in a computer system to be utilized by a user, said method to be implemented prior to runtime and comprising:
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establishing, before runtime, a text file containing both all possible menus of said graphical user interface and their respective menu items, said all possible menus corresponding respectively to all system objects in said system; integrating, before runtime, first code and second code into said software to be supplied to said user, said first and second code to operate on selected objects responsive to requests from said user; including, before runtime, censor code into said software that eliminates availability of certain of said selected objects; reading, before runtime, said text file to obtain said menus and to obtain said their respective menu-items; storing, before runtime, said menus and said their respective menu-items as Java language objects; and
,testing and preparing, before runtime, said software for shipment to said user. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7)
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Specification