Automated web interface generation for software coded applications

• US 7,404,177 B1
• Filed: 10/23/1998
• Issued: 07/22/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 10/23/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Unisys Corporation
• Original Assignee: Unisys Corporation
• Inventors: Loboz, Charles Zdzislaw, Greenfield, Paul Aubrey, Emberson, Mark Alexander Hugh
• Primary Examiner(s): An; Meng-Ai
• Assistant Examiner(s): Cao; Diem K
• Application Number:
  US09/830,226
• Time in Patent Office: 3,560 Days
• Field of Search: 709/310, 709/316, 717106-108, 717110-119, 717136-140, 719310-320, 719328-332
• US Class Current: 717/106
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/38 for implementing user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/70 Software maintenance or management
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/541 via adapters, e.g. between incompatible applications

Abstract

A method is disclosed for adapting a legacy software application developed for an environment comprising a centralized computing resource interconnected to a series of computer terminal devices applications to a network environment wherein the network environment can comprise a system of distributed, interconnected network computing resources, the method comprising the steps of: creating translatable source code and executable code for the initial legacy software application and; utilizing the translatable source code to produce a series of software components, the components being executable by at least one of the computing resources in the network environment, and upon execution, the computing resource is caused to interconnect with the executable code of the legacy software application over the network so as to interact with the legacy software application in the transmission or receipt of information to and from the legacy software application.

Claims

1. A method for automatically adapting a legacy software application that includes interface specification definitions which include definitions of screen formats, including data fields created from legacy source code and developed for an environment comprising a centralized computing resource interconnected to a series of computer terminal devices, to a network environment, wherein said network environment comprises a system of distributed, interconnected network computing resources, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) providing a software application which utilizes said legacy source code to automatically generate a series of user interface software components from the screen format definitions to provide a graphical user interface providing at least data entry and display facilities of the interface specification definitions, the series of executable software components being executable by a scripting language running on said interconnected network computing resource, the components containing object oriented methods for setting or obtaining values of said data fields and being executable by at least one of said computing resources in said network environment, and upon execution, said computing resource is caused to interconnect with said legacy software application over said network so as to interact with said legacy software application in the transmission or receipt of information to and from said legacy software application, wherein the executable software components are capable of interacting with one of the scripting language or an intermediary software application to invoke user provided code.

2. A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the interface software components are arranged to generate forms corresponding to forms generated by the legacy software application.

3. A method in accordance with claim 2, the client interface components include a user input object which is arranged to receive data input by a user of the network computing resource and transmit the data to the legacy application, over the network.

4. A method in accordance with claim 1, comprising the step of generating client interface components, the client interface components being arranged to interact over the network with the legacy software application.

5. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said series of software components are loadable and executable by an Internet Browser.

6. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said series of software components comprise Java code applets.

7. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said network environment comprises the Internet network.

8. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said network environment utilizes TCP/IP transfer protocols.

9. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said source code is written in 4GL language.

10. A method as claimed in claim 9 wherein said source code is written in the LINC language.

11. A program storage device readable by a machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform method steps for automatically adapting a legacy software application that includes interface specification definitions which include definitions of screen formats, created from legacy source code including data fields and developed for an environment comprising a centralized computing resource interconnected to a series of computer terminal devices, to a network environment, wherein said network environment comprises a system of distributed, interconnected network computing resources, said method comprising the steps of:

providing a software application which utilizes said source code to automatically generate a series of user interface software components from the screen format definitions to provide a graphical user interface providing at least data entry and display facilities of the interface specification definitions, the series of executable software components executable by a scripting language running on said interconnected network computing resource, said components containing object oriented methods for setting and obtaining values of said data fields and being executable by at least one of said computing resources in said network environment, and upon execution, said computing resource is caused to interconnect with said legacy software application over said network so as to interact with said legacy software application in the transmission of receipt information to and from said legacy software application, wherein the executable software components are capable of interacting with one of the scripting language or an intermediary software application to invoke user provided code.

12. A program storage device in accordance with claim 11, wherein the interface software components are arranged to generate forms corresponding to forms generated by the legacy software application.

13. A program storage device in accordance with claim 11, the method further comprising the step of generating client interface components, said client interface components being arranged to interact over the network with the legacy software application.

14. A program storage device in accordance with claim 13, wherein the client interface components include a user input object which is arranged to receive data input by a user of the network computing resource and transmit the data to the legacy application, over the network.

15. A program storage device in accordance with claim 11, wherein said series of software components are loadable and executable by an Internet Browser.

16. A program storage device in accordance with claim 11, wherein said series of software components comprise Java code applets.

17. A program storage device in accordance with claim 11, wherein said network environment comprises the Internet network.

18. A program storage device in accordance with claim 11, wherein said network environment utilizes TCP/IP transport protocols.

19. A program storage device in accordance with claim 11, wherein said source code is written in the LINC language.

20. A program storage device in accordance with claim 11, wherein said terminal screen definitions are written in a screen control language.

21. A system for automatically adapting a legacy software application that includes interface specification definitions which include definitions of screen formats, including data fields created from legacy source code and developed for an environment comprising a centralized computing resource interconnected to a series of computer terminal devices, to a network environment, wherein said network environment comprises a system of distributed, interconnected network computing resources, the system comprising:

means utilizing said legacy source code to automatically generate a series of user interface software components from the screen format definitions to provide a graphical user interface providing at lest data entry and display facilities of the interface specification definitions, the series of executable software components executable by a scripting language running said interconnected network computing resource, said executable software components containing objection oriented methods for obtaining values of said data fields and being executable by at least one of said computing resources in said network environment, and upon execution, said computing resource is caused to interconnect with said legacy software application over said network so as to interact with said legacy software application in the transmission or receipt of information to and from said legacy software application, wherein the executable software components are capable of interacting with one of the scripting language or an intermediary software application to enable the use of user hooks permitting users to have their own code invoked without requiring any changes to the generated client code.

22. A system in accordance with claim 21, wherein the interface software components are arranged to generate forms corresponding to forms generated by the legacy software application.

23. A system in accordance with claim 21, the means for producing the series of software components including means for producing the series of software components including means for generating client interface components, the client interface components being arranged to interact over the network with the legacy software application.

24. A system in accordance with claim 23, the client interface components including a user input object which is arranged to receive data input by a user of the network computing resource and transmit the data to the legacy application, over the network.

25. A system in accordance with claim 21, wherein said series of software components are loadable and executable by an Internet Browser.

26. A system in accordance with claim 21, wherein the series of software components comprise Java code applets.

27. A system in accordance with claim 21, wherein said network environment comprises the Internet network.

28. A system in accordance with claim 21, wherein said network environment utilizes TCP/IP transfer protocols.

29. A system in accordance with claim 21, wherein said source code is written in 4GL language.

30. A system in accordance with claim 21, wherein said source code is written in the LINC language.

31. A method for adapting a legacy software application wherein said legacy software application includes interface specification definitions and which includes definitions of screen formats created from legacy source code and developed for an environment comprising a centralized computing resource interconnected to a series of computer terminal devices, said centralized computing resource connected to a network environment, wherein said network environment comprises a system of distributed, interconnected network computing resources, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) providing a software application which utilizes said legacy source code to automatically produce a series of executable software components that provide the functionality for interact with said legacy software application including the steps of;

(a1) producing said series of executable software components which include the step of;

(a1a) generating a series of user interface software components from said screen format definitions, said user interface components being arranged for execution on the network computing resource to provide a graphical user interface providing at least data entry and display facilities of the interface specification definitions;

(a1b) enabling said series of software components to be executable by scripting languages on running said network computing resource;

(b) enabling said components to be executable by at least one of said computing resources in said network environment;

(c) upon execution, causing said computing resource to interconnect with said legacy software application over said network so as to interact with said legacy software application in the transmission or receipt of information to and from said legacy software application; and

(d) interacting, by said executable software components, with one of said scripting languages or an intermediary software application to enable the use of hooks permitting users to have their own code invoked without requiring any changes to the generated client code.