Application programs with dynamic components

• US 7,363,612 B2
• Filed: 03/06/2002
• Issued: 04/22/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/06/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Oracle America, Inc. (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Sun Microsystems Incorporated (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Satuloori, Sridhar, Ramprasad, Madhurabaratula Srinivas, Susarla, Hanumantha Rao
• Primary Examiner(s): Zhen; Li B
• Application Number:
  US10/092,168
• Publication Number:
  US 20030172370A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,239 Days
• Field of Search: 707/10, 707/103.R, 707/1, 717/126, 717/143, 717/153, 717/106, 717/104, 717/120, 717/107, 717/108, 717/111, 719/328, 719/315, 705/38, 715/513, 715/700, 709/218
• US Class Current: 717/107
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/656 while running

Abstract

An application program may include application modules. One or more of the application modules may each include a dynamic component and static component. The dynamic components and the static components may be configured to function according to an initial set of requirements for the application. A dynamic component generator may receive a new set of requirements for the application and generate updated dynamic components to replace the current dynamic components. The updated dynamic components may be configured to function according to the new set of requirements.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a processor;

a computer-accessible storage medium coupled to the processor, wherein the computer-accessible medium stores program instructions executable by the processor to implement an application program comprising;

one or more application modules, wherein at least a first one of the application modules comprises a first dynamic component and a static component, wherein the first dynamic component and the static component are configured to function according to an initial set of requirements for the application; and

a dynamic component generator configured to;

receive a new set of requirements for the application;

determine whether the new set of requirements includes changes from the initial set of requirements; and

if the new set of requirements includes changes from the initial set of requirements, generate a second dynamic component to replace the first dynamic component in the application, wherein the second dynamic component is configured to function according to the new set of requirements;

wherein the dynamic component generator is configured to generate the second dynamic component to replace the first dynamic component by modifying or overwriting the first dynamic component;

wherein the first application module is a model module, wherein the static component is a static data model configured to function independent of an application data representation, and wherein the dynamic component is a dynamic data model configured to function dependent upon the application data representation and according to a current set of application requirements in response to the user input; and

wherein the new set of requirements indicates a change to the application data representation, and wherein the dynamic component generator is configured to generate a new dynamic data model in response to the change to the application data representation.

2. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the dynamic component generator does not change the static component in response to the new set of requirements.

3. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the dynamic component generator is configured to generate the second dynamic component to replace the first dynamic component by modifying the first dynamic component in response to the new set of requirements.

4. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the dynamic component generator is configured to replace the first dynamic component by overwriting the first dynamic component in the computer-accessible storage medium in response to the new set of requirements.

5. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the new set of requirements is formatted according to an eXtensible Mark-up Language (XML) schema and stored in the computer-accessible storage medium.

6. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the one or more application modules comprise a second application module comprising a static component and a dynamic component.

7. The system as recited in claim 6, wherein the dynamic component generator is configured to generate a new dynamic component for the second application module in response to receiving the new set of requirements.

8. The system as recited in claim 6, further comprising another dynamic component generator for the dynamic component of the second application module, wherein the other dynamic component generator is configured to generate a new dynamic component for the second application module in response to receiving a new set of requirements for the second application module.

9. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the first application module is a controller module, wherein the static component is a router component configured to receive user input, and wherein the dynamic component is an application logic component coupled to the router component, wherein the application logic component is configured to function according to a current set of application requirements in response to the user input.

10. The system as recited in claim 9, wherein the application logic component comprises an Enterprise Java Bean (EJB) session bean.

11. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the dynamic data model comprises an Enterprise Java Bean (EJB) entity bean.

12. A method, comprising:

installing one or more application modules each comprising a static component;

one or more dynamic component generators receiving an initial set of requirements for the application modules;

the one or more dynamic component generators generating one or more initial dynamic components for the one or more application modules, wherein the one or more initial dynamic components are configured to function according to the initial set of requirements;

receiving a new set of requirements for the application modules;

determining whether the new set of requirements includes changes from the initial set of requirements; and

if the new set of requirements includes changes from the initial set of requirements, generating one or more new dynamic components to replace the one or more initial dynamic components in the application modules, wherein the one or more new dynamic components are configured to function according to the new set of requirements, wherein said generating one or more new dynamic components comprises replacing the one or more initial dynamic components by the one or more new dynamic components by modifying or overwriting each of the one or more initial dynamic components;

wherein one of the one or more application modules is a model module, wherein the static component is a static data model configured to function independent of an application data representation, and wherein a dynamic component generated for the one of the one or more application modules is a dynamic data model configured to function dependent upon the application data representation and according to a current set of requirements in response to the user input;

wherein the method further comprises;

receiving a new set of requirements indicating a change to the application data representation; and

generating a new dynamic data model in response to the change to the application data representation.

13. The method as recited in claim 12, wherein said generating one or more new dynamic components comprises replacing the one or more initial dynamic components by the one or more new dynamic components by modifying the each of the one or more initial dynamic components in response to the new set of requirements.

14. The method as recited in claim 12, wherein said generating one or more new dynamic components comprises replacing the one or more initial dynamic components by the one or more new dynamic components by overwriting each of the one or more initial dynamic components in a computer-accessible storage medium in response to the new set of requirements.

15. The method as recited in claim 12, wherein the one or more dynamic component generators are comprised within the same application as the one or more application modules.

16. The method as recited in claim 12, wherein said generating is performed by one or more dynamic component generators comprised within an application server container, wherein the application modules are comprised within the same application server container.

17. The method as recited in claim 12, wherein, in said generating, the static components comprised by the one or more application modules are not changed in response to the new set of requirements.

18. The method as recited in claim 12, wherein the new set of requirements is formatted according to an eXtensible Mark-up Language (XML) schema.

19. The method as recited in claim 12, wherein one of the one or more application modules is a controller module, wherein the static component is a router component configured to receive user input, and wherein a dynamic component generated for the one of the one or more application modules is an application logic component coupled to the router component, wherein the application logic component is configured to function according to a current set of requirements in response to the user input.

20. The method as recited in claim 19, wherein the application logic component comprises an Enterprise Java Bean (EJB) session bean.

21. The method as recited in claim 12, wherein the dynamic data model comprises an Enterprise Java Bean (EJB) entity bean.

22. A method, comprising:

installing one or more application modules, wherein at least a first one of the application modules comprises a first dynamic component and a static component, wherein the first dynamic component and the static component are configured to function according to an initial set of requirements for the application;

one or more dynamic component generators receiving a new set of requirements for the application modules;

the one or more dynamic component generators determining whether the new set of requirements includes changes from the initial set of requirements; and

if the new set of requirements includes changes from the initial set of requirements, the one or more dynamic component generators generating a new dynamic component to replace the first dynamic component in the application modules, wherein the new dynamic component is configured to function according to the new set of requirements, wherein said generating comprises replacing the first dynamic component with the new dynamic component by modifying or overwriting the first dynamic component;

wherein the first application module is a model module, wherein the static component is a static data model configured to function independent of an application data representation, and wherein the dynamic component is a dynamic data model configured to function dependent upon the application data representation and according to a current set of application requirements in response to the user input; and

wherein the new set of requirements indicates a change to the application data representation, and wherein, in said generating, a new dynamic data model is generated in response to the change to the application data representation.

23. The method as recited in claim 22, wherein the one or more dynamic component generators are comprised within the same application server as the one or more application modules.

24. The method as recited in claim 22, wherein the one or more dynamic component generator are comprised within an application server container, wherein the one or more application modules are comprised within the same application server container.

25. The method as recited in claim 22, wherein, in said generating, the static component does not change in response to the new set of requirements.

26. The method as recited in claim 22, wherein, in said generating, the new dynamic component replaces the first dynamic component by modifying the first dynamic component in response to the new set of requirements.

27. The method as recited in claim 22, wherein, in said generating, the new dynamic component replaces the first dynamic component by overwriting the first dynamic component in a computer-accessible storage medium in response to the new set of requirements.

28. The method as recited in claim 22, wherein the new set of requirements is formatted according to an eXtensible Mark-up Language (XML) schema and stored in the computer-accessible storage medium.

29. The method as recited in claim 22, wherein the one or more application modules comprise a second application module comprising a static component and a dynamic component.

30. The method as recited in claim 29, further comprising generating a new dynamic component for the second application module in response to receiving the new set of requirements.

31. The method as recited in claim 22, wherein the first application module is a controller module, wherein the static component is a router component configured to receive user input, and wherein the dynamic component is an application logic component coupled to the router component, wherein the application logic component is configured to function according to a current set of application requirements in response to the user input.

32. The method as recited in claim 31, wherein the application logic component comprises an Enterprise Java Bean (EJB) session bean.

33. The method as recited in claim 22, wherein the dynamic data model comprises an Enterprise Java Bean (EJB) entity bean.

34. A tangible, computer-accessible storage medium, storing program instructions, wherein the program instructions are executable by a processor to implement an application program comprising:

one or more application modules, wherein at least a first one of the application modules comprises a first dynamic component and a static component, wherein the first dynamic component and the static component are configured to function according to an initial set of requirements for the application; and

a dynamic component generator configured to;

receive a new set of requirements for the application;

determine whether the new set of requirements includes changes from the initial set of requirements; and

if the new set of requirements includes changes from the initial set of requirements, generate a second dynamic component to replace the first dynamic component in the application, wherein the second dynamic component is configured to function according to the new set of requirements;

wherein the dynamic component generator is configured to generate the second dynamic component to replace the first dynamic component by modifying or overwriting the first dynamic component;

wherein the first application module is a model module, wherein the static component is a static data model configured to function independent of an application data representation, and wherein the dynamic component is a dynamic data model configured to function dependent upon the application data representation and according to a current set of application requirements in response to the user input; and

wherein the new set of requirements indicates a change to the application data representation, and wherein the dynamic component generator is configured to generate a new dynamic data model in response to the change to the application data representation.

35. The medium as recited in claim 34, wherein the dynamic component generator does not change the static component in response to the new set of requirements.

36. The medium as recited in claim 34, wherein the dynamic component generator is configured to generate the second dynamic component to replace the first dynamic component by modifying the first dynamic component in response to the new set of requirements.

37. The medium as recited in claim 34, wherein the dynamic component generator is configured to replace the first dynamic component by overwriting the first dynamic component in the computer-accessible medium in response to the new set of requirements.

38. The medium as recited in claim 34, wherein the new set of requirements is formatted according to an eXtensible Mark-up Language (XML) schema and stored in the computer-accessible medium.

39. The medium as recited in claim 34, wherein the one or more application modules comprise a second application module comprising a static component and a dynamic component.

40. The medium as recited in claim 39, wherein the dynamic component generator is configured to generate a new dynamic component for the second application module in response to receiving the new set of requirements.

41. The medium as recited in claim 39, further comprising another dynamic component generator for the dynamic component of the second application module, wherein the other dynamic component generator is configured to generate a new dynamic component for the second application module in response to receiving a new set of requirements for the second application module.

42. The medium as recited in claim 34, wherein the first application module is a controller module, wherein the static component is a router component configured to receive user input, and wherein the dynamic component is an application logic component coupled to the router component, wherein the application logic component is configured to function according to a current set of application requirements in response to the user input.

43. The medium as recited in claim 42, wherein the application logic component comprises an Enterprise Java Bean (EJB) session bean.

44. The medium as recited in claim 34, wherein the dynamic data model comprises an Enterprise Java Bean (EJB) entity bean.