Suggestive form factors

• US 7,577,912 B2
• Filed: 03/27/2003
• Issued: 08/18/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/27/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP AG (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Govindan, Balaji, Bachiraju, Ramesh Gangadhar
• Primary Examiner(s): Huynh; Ba
• Application Number:
  US10/402,443
• Publication Number:
  US 20040189670A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,336 Days
• Field of Search: 715517-525, 715/762, 715/744, 715/746, 715/747, 715/764, 715/765
• US Class Current: 715/746
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces

Abstract

A development environment and/or method for generating a user interface for a plurality of computing devices. The development environment and/or method may include a user interface modeling process for configuring information representing display capabilities of computing devices. The display capabilities may include a desired screen size parameter. As a function of the information configured, indicators are displayed or implemented to represent the respective screen size parameters of the computing devices. The development environment and/or method may also include an application generation process for comparing the information of the display capabilities of the computing devices with the information indicating placement location of a user interface component. If the information indicating placement location of the user interface component complies with a display capability, then the user interface component is stored in a database. The database may be stored in repository; a generator is used to read the database to generate the application requested by one of the computing devices.

Claims

1. A development environment for generating a first user interface for a first computing device and a second user interface for a second computing device comprising:

a user interface modeling process, the user interface modeling process including;

receiving a first information representing a first display capability of the first computing device, wherein the first display capability includes a first view size;

receiving a second information representing a second display capability of the second computing device, wherein the second display capability includes a second view size;

as a function of the first information and the second information, displaying respectively a first indicator representing the first view size and a second indicator representing the second view size, where the first and second indicators are concurrently superimposed to show an overlapping region and a non-overlapping region of the first and second display capabilities when such regions exist; and

receiving a third information indicating a desired placement of a user interface component; and

an application generation process, the application generation process including;

comparing the first information with the third information, wherein if the desired placement of the user interface component complies with the first display capability, storing the third information in a first database, wherein the first database is used to generate the first user interface for the first computing device; and

comparing the second information with the third information, wherein if the desired placement of the user interface component complies with the second display capability, storing the third information in a second database, wherein the second database is used to generate the second user interface for the second computing device.

2. The development environment of claim 1, wherein the application generation process further includes:

for third information indicating that the desired placement is in the overlapping region, storing the third information in a third database, wherein the third database is used to generate a generic user interface for the first computing device and the second computing device.

3. The development environment of claim 2, wherein the displaying of the first indicator and the second indicator is manifested as at least one of:

a gridline;

a device type information;

a size information;

an audio signal;

a voice alert;

a screen background color;

a screen background shade; and

a combination of these indicators.

4. The development environment of claim 3, wherein the first display capability and the second display capability are each configured by a respective at least one stored screen size parameter.

5. The development environment of claim 3, wherein the desired placement of the user interface component is positionable at pixel-level.

6. The development environment of claim 3, wherein the desired placement of the user interface component is effected by drag-and-drop of the user interface component from at least one of a toolbox and a business object listing.

7. The development environment of claim 2, wherein the first computing device is one of a laptop, a pocket PC, a PDA, a Half-VGA, a Full-VGA, a mobile telephone, an electronic device, a desktop computer, and a server, and wherein the second computing device is one of a laptop, a pocket PC, a PDA, a Half-VGA, a Full-VGA, a mobile telephone, an electronic device, a desktop computer, and a server.

8. The development environment of claim 2, further comprising:

a repository of a mobile application in which respective metadata associated with the respective first database, second database and third database are stored; and

an application generator for reading the metadata to generate an application.

9. A method for generating at least one of a first user interface for a first computing device, a second user interface for a second computing device, and a generic user interface for the first and second computing devices, comprising:

providing a user interface modeling process, the user interface modeling process including;

receiving a first information representing a first display capability of the first computing device;

receiving a second information representing a second display capability of the second computing device;

as a function of the first information displaying a first indicator representing the first display capability and as a function of the second information displaying a second indicator representing the second display capability, where the first and second indicators are concurrently superimposed to show an overlapping region and a non-overlapping region of the first and second display capabilities when such regions exist;

receiving a third information indicating a desired placement of a user interface component; and

providing an application generation process, the application generation process including at least one of;

comparing the first information with the third information, wherein if the desired placement of the user interface component complies with the first display capability, storing the third information in a first database, wherein the first database is used to generate the first user interface for the first computing device; and

comparing the second information with the third information, wherein if the desired placement of the user interface component complies with the second display capability, storing the third information in a second database, wherein the second database is used to generate the second user interface for the second computing device; and

comparing the third information with the overlapping region, wherein if the desired placement of the user interface component is in overlapping region, storing the third information in a third database, wherein the third database is used to generate the generic user interface for the first computing device and the second computing device.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the first indicator and the second indicator are displayed as at least one of:

a gridline;

a device type information, a size information, an audio signal, a voice alert, a screen background color, a screen background shade, and a combination of these indicators.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the first display capability and the second display capability are each configured by a respective at least one screen size parameter.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the desired placement of the user interface component is effected by drag-and-drop of the user interface component from one of a toolbox and a business object listing.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein the desired placement of the user interface component is positionable by pixel-level.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein the first computing device is one of a laptop, a PDA, a pocket PC, a Half-VGA, a Full-VGA, a mobile telephone, an electronic device, a desktop computer, and a server, and wherein the second computing device is one of a laptop, a PDA, a pocket PC, a Half-VGA, a Full-VGA, a mobile telephone, an electronic device, a desktop computer, and a server.

15. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

a repository of a mobile application in which respective metadata associated with the respectively first database, second database and third database are stored; and

an application generator for reading the metadata to generate an application.

16. The method of claim 9, further comprising, during the application generation process, validating the metadata by the generator to insure the respective user interface is appropriate for the respective at least one of the first computing device and the second computing device.