Creating a graphical user interface for selected parameters of a graphical program

• US 7,533,347 B2
• Filed: 08/13/2004
• Issued: 05/12/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/13/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: National Instruments Corporation (Emerson Electric Company)
• Original Assignee: National Instruments Corporation (Emerson Electric Company)
• Inventors: Santori, Michael L., Morrow, Gregory O., Limroth, John C.
• Primary Examiner(s): BAUTISTA, XIOMARA L
• Application Number:
  US10/918,215
• Publication Number:
  US 20050066285A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,733 Days
• Field of Search: 715/700, 715/762, 715/763, 715/764, 715/765, 715/771, 715/810, 715/853, 715/967, 717/100, 717/113, 717/114
• US Class Current: 715/763
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/34 Graphical or visual programming

Abstract

System and method for providing a graphical user interface (GUI) for selected parameters of a graphical program, e.g., a model. The program is analyzed to determine a plurality of parameters, which are displayed, e.g., in a list, tree diagram, palette, etc. User input is received selecting one or more of the plurality of parameters. A GUI for the one or more parameters is generated, comprising one or more GUI elements, e.g., controls and/or indicators, corresponding respectively to the one or more parameters, e.g., the one or more parameters are analyzed with respect to data type, and the one or more GUI elements determined based on the analysis, e.g., by user selection from a plurality of GUI elements presented in response to the analysis, added to the GUI and associated with the one or more parameters. During execution of the graphical program, the one or more GUI elements access corresponding parameters.

Claims

1. A computer-accessible memory medium that stores program instructions for providing a graphical user interface (GUI) having GUI elements for selected parameters of a data flow diagram wherein, the program instructions are executable by a processor to perform:

displaying a data flow diagram on a display, wherein the data flow diagram comprises a plurality of interconnected nodes which visually indicate functionality of the data flow diagram, wherein the plurality of interconnected nodes comprise a plurality of nodes displayed on the display connected by lines displayed on the display, wherein the lines specify data flow among the plurality of nodes, wherein at least a subset of the plurality of nodes comprise user configurable parameters;

displaying the user configurable parameters on the display, wherein the user configurable parameters are displayed separately from the data flow diagram;

receiving user input selecting one or more of the user configurable parameters on the display;

associating one or more GUI elements with the selected user configurable parameters in response to the user input; and

automatically creating a GUI for the data flow diagram that includes the one or more GUI elements, wherein, during execution of the data flow diagram, each of the one or more GUI elements is operable to access a corresponding parameter of the one or more user configurable parameters to modify or display the parameter.

2. The memory medium of claim 1, wherein the program instructions are further executable to perform:

analyzing the data flow diagram to determine the user configurable parameters.

3. The memory medium of claim 1, wherein the data flow diagram implements a model of a physical system.

4. The memory medium of claim 1, wherein said displaying the user configurable parameters comprises displaying the user configurable parameters in a list.

5. The memory medium of claim 1, wherein said displaying the user configurable parameters comprises displaying the user configurable parameters in a tree diagram.

6. The memory medium of claim 5, wherein said displaying the user configurable parameters in a tree diagram comprises:

displaying the user configurable parameters in a hierarchy, wherein the hierarchy represents a structure and/or operation of the data flow diagram.

7. The memory medium of claim 1, wherein said automatically creating the GUI comprises:

analyzing the one or more user configurable parameters, including analyzing the data types of the one or more user configurable parameters; and

determining the one or more GUI elements based on said analyzing.

8. The memory medium of claim 7, wherein at least one of the one or more GUI elements comprises:

a control, wherein during execution of the data flow diagram the control is operable to receive input specifying a modification to the corresponding parameter, and modify the corresponding parameter in accordance with the input.

9. The memory medium of claim 7, wherein at least one of the one or more GUI elements comprises:

an indicator, wherein during execution of the data flow diagram the indicator is operable to read the corresponding parameter, and display the corresponding parameter on a display device.

10. The memory medium of claim 7,

wherein said automatically creating the GUI further comprises:

receiving user input indicating whether each of the one or more user configurable parameters is to be read, written, or both; and

wherein said determining the one or more GUI elements based on said analyzing further comprises determining the one or more GUI elements based on the received user input indicating whether each of the one or more user configurable parameters is to be read, written, or both.

11. The memory medium of claim 1,

wherein said automatically creating the GUI comprises:

analyzing each parameter of the one or more user configurable parameters, including analyzing the data type of each parameter;

determining a respective one or more GUI elements for each parameter based on said analyzing, wherein each of the respective one or more GUI elements for each parameter are operable to access parameters of the data type of the parameter;

presenting the respective one or more GUI elements for each parameter to the user;

receiving user input selecting a first GUI element for each parameter from the respective one or more GUI elements for the parameter, thereby selecting one or more first GUI elements corresponding to the one or more user configurable parameters, wherein the one or more first GUI elements comprise the one or more GUI elements; and

including the one or more first GUI elements in the GUI; and

wherein said associating the one or more GUI elements with the one or more user configurable parameters comprises;

associating each of the one or more first GUI elements with a respective one of the one or more user configurable parameters.

12. The memory medium of claim 11, wherein said presenting the respective one or more GUI elements for each parameter to the user further comprises:

indicating the parameter to the user.

13. The memory medium of claim 11, wherein said presenting the respective one or more GUI elements for each parameter to the user comprises:

displaying the respective one or more GUI elements for each parameter in a palette.

14. The memory medium of claim 11, wherein said presenting the respective one or more GUI elements for each parameter to the user comprises:

displaying respective names or text descriptions of the respective one or more GUI elements for each parameter.

15. The memory medium of claim 1, wherein said associating is performed in an iterative manner, comprising:

for each parameter of the one or more user configurable parameters,

analyzing the parameter, including analyzing the data type of the parameter;

determining a respective one or more GUI elements for the parameter based on said analyzing, wherein the respective one or more GUI elements are operable to access parameters of the data type of the parameter;

presenting the respective one or more GUI elements to the user;

receiving user input selecting a first GUI element of the respective one or more GUI elements;

including the first GUI element in the GUI; and

associating the first GUI element with the parameter.

16. The memory medium of claim 15, wherein said presenting the respective one or more GUI elements to the user further comprises:

presenting the parameter to the user.

17. The memory medium of claim 15, wherein said presenting the respective one or more GUI elements to the user comprises:

displaying the respective one or more GUI elements in a palette.

18. The memory medium of claim 15, wherein said presenting the respective one or more GUI elements to the user comprises:

displaying respective names or text descriptions of the respective one or more GUI elements.

19. The memory medium of claim 1, wherein the program instructions are further executable to perform:

receiving further user input specifying a modification to the GUI; and

modifying the GUI in response to the further user input.

20. The memory medium of claim 19,

wherein said receiving further user input specifying a modification to the GUI comprises:

receiving user input selecting an additional parameter of the user configurable parameters;

wherein said modifying the GUI comprises;

determining an additional GUI element corresponding to the additional parameter;

including the additional GUI element in the GUI; and

associating the additional GUI element with the additional parameter; and

wherein, during execution of the data flow diagram, the additional GUI element is operable to access the additional parameter.

21. The memory medium of claim 19,

wherein said receiving further user input specifying a modification to the GUI comprises:

receiving user input selecting a first parameter of the one or more user configurable parameters for disassociation from the GUI, wherein the first parameter corresponds to a first GUI element of the one or more GUI elements;

wherein said modifying the GUI comprises;

disassociating the first GUI element from the additional parameter; and

removing the first GUI element from the GUI.

22. The memory medium of claim 19,

wherein said receiving further user input specifying a modification to the GUI comprises:

receiving user input indicating a replacement GUI element for a first parameter of the one or more user configurable parameters, wherein the first parameter is associated with a first GUI element;

wherein said modifying the GUI comprises;

removing the first GUI element from the GUI;

disassociating the first GUI element from the first parameter;

including the replacement GUI element in the GUI; and

associating the replacement GUI element with the first parameter;

wherein, during execution of the data flow diagram, the replacement GUI element is operable to access the first parameter.

23. The memory medium of claim 19,

wherein said receiving further user input specifying a modification to the GUI comprises:

receiving user input specifying a modification for a first GUI element of the one or more GUI element, wherein the first GUI element corresponds to a first parameter of the one or more user configurable parameters;

wherein said modifying the GUI comprises;

modifying the first GUI element in response to the user input specifying the modification, thereby generating a modified first GUI element; and

wherein, during execution of the data flow diagram, the modified first GUI element is operable to access the first parameter.

24. The memory medium of claim 1, wherein the program instructions are further executable to perform:

determining a plurality of GUIs;

wherein each of the plurality of GUIs comprises a respective subset of the one or more GUI elements;

wherein each of the plurality of GUIs corresponds to a respective portion of the data flow diagram; and

wherein during execution of the data flow diagram, each GUI operates to access parameters associated with the respective subset of the one or more GUI elements.

25. The memory medium of claim 24, wherein, during execution of the data flow diagram, each of the plurality of GUIs is active during execution of the respective portion of the data flow diagram.

26. The memory medium of claim 25, wherein, during execution of the data flow diagram, each of the plurality of GUIs is only displayed during execution of the respective portion of the data flow diagram.

27. The memory medium of claim 1, wherein at least one of the one or more GUI elements comprises:

a control, wherein during execution of the data flow diagram the control is operable to receive input specifying a modification to the corresponding parameter, and modify the corresponding parameter in accordance with the input.

28. The memory medium of claim 1, wherein at least one of the one or more GUI elements comprises:

an indicator, wherein during execution of the data flow diagram the indicator is operable read the corresponding parameter, and display the corresponding parameter on a display device.

29. The memory medium of claim 1,

wherein the program instructions are further executable to perform:

receiving user input indicating whether each of the one or more user configurable parameters is to be read, written, or both; and

determining a plurality of GUI elements based on the user input indicating whether each of the one or more user configurable parameters is to be read, written, or both;

receiving user input selecting the one or more GUI elements from the plurality of GUI elements.

30. The memory medium of claim 1,

wherein the program instructions are further executable to perform:

analyzing each parameter of the one or more user configurable parameters, including analyzing the data type of each parameter;

determining a respective one or more GUI elements for each parameter based on said analyzing, wherein each of the respective one or more GUI elements for each parameter are operable to access parameters of the data type of the parameter;

presenting the respective one or more GUI elements for each parameter to the user;

receiving user input selecting a first GUI element for each parameter from the respective one or more GUI elements for the parameter, thereby selecting one or more first GUI elements corresponding to the one or more user configurable parameters, wherein the one or more first GUI elements comprise the one or more GUI elements; and

including the one or more first GUI elements in the GUI; and

wherein said associating the one or more GUI elements with the one or more user configurable parameters comprises;

associating each of the one or more first GUI elements with a respective one of the one or more user configurable parameters.

31. The memory medium of claim 30, wherein said presenting the respective one or more GUI elements for each parameter to the user further comprises:

indicating the parameter to the user.

32. The memory medium of claim 30, wherein said presenting the respective one or more GUI elements for each parameter to the user comprises:

displaying the respective one or more GUI elements for each parameter in a palette.

33. The memory medium of claim 30, wherein said presenting the respective one or more GUI elements for each parameter to the user comprises:

displaying respective names or text descriptions of the respective one or more GUI elements for each parameter.

34. The memory medium of claim 1, wherein the program instructions are further executable to perform:

executing the data flow diagram, wherein said executing comprises;

the one or more GUI elements accessing the one or more user configurable parameters.

35. The memory medium of claim 1, wherein the program instructions are further executable to implement a configuration tool for said displaying the user configurable parameters, said receiving the user input, and for presenting the one or more GUI elements to the user.

36. The memory medium of claim 35,

wherein the configuration tool is further operable to perform:

displaying a plurality of GUI elements;

receiving user input selecting a parameter from the user configurable parameters; and

displaying the one or more GUI elements in response to the user input selecting the parameter, wherein the one or more GUI elements are each suitable for accessing the selected parameter during execution of the data flow diagram.

37. The memory medium of claim 36, wherein the configuration tool is further operable to perform:

receiving user input selecting a GUI element from the one or more GUI elements; and

associating the selected GUI element with the selected parameter;

wherein the selected GUI element is operable to access the parameter during execution of the data flow diagram.

38. A method for programmatically creating a graphical user interface (GUI) having GUI elements for selected parameters of a data flow diagram, the method comprising:

displaying a data flow diagram on a display, wherein the data flow diagram comprises a plurality of interconnected nodes which visually indicate functionality of the data flow diagram, wherein the plurality of interconnected nodes comprise a plurality of nodes displayed on the display connected by lines displayed on the display, wherein the lines specify data flow among the plurality of nodes, wherein at least a subset of the plurality of nodes comprise user configurable parameters;

displaying the user configurable parameters on the display, wherein the user configurable parameters are displayed separately from the data flow diagram;

receiving user input selecting one or more of the user configurable parameters on the display;

associating one or more GUI elements with the selected user configurable parameters in response to the user input; and

automatically creating a GUI for the data flow diagram that includes the one or more GUI elements, wherein, during execution of the data flow diagram, each of the one or more GUI elements is operable to access a corresponding parameter of the one or more user configurable parameters to modify or display the parameter.

39. A system for configuring a user interface for a data flow diagram, wherein the user interface has at least one graphical user interface (GUI) element, the system comprising:

means for displaying a data flow diagram on a display, wherein the data flow diagram comprises a plurality of interconnected nodes which visually indicate functionality of the data flow diagram, wherein the plurality of interconnected nodes comprise a plurality of nodes displayed on the display connected by lines displayed on the display, wherein the lines specify data flow among the plurality of nodes, wherein at least a subset of the plurality of nodes comprise user configurable parameters;

means for displaying the user configurable parameters on the display, wherein the user configurable parameters are displayed separately from the data flow diagram;

means for receiving user input selecting one or more of the user configurable parameters on the display;

means for associating one or more GUI elements with the selected user configurable parameters in response to the user input; and

means for automatically creating a GUI for the data flow diagram that includes the one or more GUI elements, wherein, during execution of the data flow diagram, each of the one or more GUI elements is operable to access a corresponding parameter of the one or more user configurable parameters to modify or display the parameter.

40. A computer-accessible memory medium that stores program instructions for programmatically creating a graphical user interface (GUI) having GUI elements for selected parameters of a data flow diagram, wherein the program instructions are executable by a processor to perform:

displaying a data flow diagram on a display, wherein the data flow diagram comprises a plurality of interconnected nodes which visually indicate functionality of the data flow diagram, wherein the plurality of interconnected nodes comprise a plurality of nodes displayed on the display connected by lines displayed on the display, wherein the lines specify data flow among the plurality of nodes, wherein at least a subset of the plurality of nodes comprise user configurable parameters;

programmatically analyzing the data flow diagram to determine the user configurable parameters;

displaying the user configurable parameters on the display, wherein the user configurable parameters are displayed separately from the data flow diagram;

receiving user input selecting a first parameter of the user configurable parameters;

receiving user input selecting a first GUI element for the first parameter, wherein the user input associates the first GUI element with the first parameter; and

automatically creating a GUI for the data flow diagram that includes the first GUI element, wherein, during execution of the data flow diagram, the first GUI element is operable to access the first parameter to modify or display the first parameter.

41. A method for providing a graphical user interface (GUI) having GUI elements for selected parameters of a data flow diagram, the method comprising:

displaying a data flow diagram on a display, wherein the data flow diagram comprises a plurality of interconnected nodes which visually indicate functionality of the data flow diagram, wherein the plurality of interconnected nodes comprise a plurality of nodes displayed on the display connected by lines displayed on the display, wherein the lines specify data flow among the plurality of nodes, wherein at least a subset of the plurality of nodes comprise user configurable parameters;

programmatically analyzing the data flow diagram to determine the user configurable parameters;

displaying the user configurable parameters on the display, wherein the user configurable parameters are displayed separately from the data flow diagram;

receiving user input selecting a first parameter of the user configurable parameters;

receiving user input selecting a first GUI element for the first parameter, wherein the user input associates the first GUI element with the first parameter; and

automatically creating a GUI for the data flow diagram that includes the first GUI element, wherein, during execution of the data flow diagram, the first GUI element is operable to access the first parameter to modify or display the first parameter.