Method and apparatus for form pooling

• US 7,590,931 B2
• Filed: 01/20/2005
• Issued: 09/15/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 01/20/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Pahl, Shannon
• Primary Examiner(s): Basehoar; Adam L
• Application Number:
  US11/038,999
• Publication Number:
  US 20060161510A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,699 Days
• Field of Search: 715/500, 715/505, 715/507, 715/511, 715221-226, 707/1, 707/100, 707/200, 707/202, 707/204, 707/104.1, 717/100, 709/223, 709/226
• US Class Current: 715/221
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/174 Form filling; Merging

Abstract

A form pooling system allows efficient management of various forms used by a computer application. The form pooling system provides a close form module and an open form module to manage closing and opening various forms related to the application. The form pooling system significantly reduces form load time for complex forms by not having to re-create a form each time a client requests a form. The form pool may contain various types of previously used modeless forms and manages an upper limit of the number of forms that may be pooled to limit memory overhead. A form used in the form pooling system may be designed in a manner such that the form performs an unbinding operation when it is placed in a form pool and it performs a rebinding operation every time that form is retrieved from the form pool.

Claims

1. A method of managing forms, the method comprising:

receiving a request for closing a first form;

determining if an instance of the first form is to be saved in a form pool implemented by a random access memory that contains a program immediately accessible to and presently being operated on by a processing unit; and

if the first form instance is to be saved in the form pool then;

hiding the first form without closing the first form instance, unbinding various data related to the first form instance, and placing the first form instance in the form pool; and

if the first form instance is not to be saved in the form pool then closing the first form instance;

upon receiving a request for opening the first form from the program in the random access memory, determining if an instance of the first form is in the form pool;

if the first form instance is in the form pool, then retrieving the first form instance from the form pool, wherein retrieving the first form instance from the form pool further includes;

(1) binding new application data related to the first form; and

(2) setting various controls related to the first form; and

if the first form instance is not in the form pool then opening a new instance of the first form from a form storage other than the random access memory.

2. A method of claim 1, wherein placing the first form instance in the form pool further comprises:

(1) determining if the form pool is full;

(2) selecting a form instance from the form pool based on a first criteria; and

(3) removing the selected form instance from the form pool.

3. A method of claim 1, further comprising:

reviewing a plurality of form instances in the form pool;

determining if one of the plurality of form instances has been in the form pool for longer than a predetermined period of time; and

removing the one of the plurality of form instances from the form pool.

4. A first computer storage medium having computer-executable instructions for performing operations comprising:

a form opening module adapted to;

(1) receive a request for a form;

(2) retrieve a form instance of the form from a form pool implemented on a first computer storage medium, wherein the form pool comprises a plurality of lists, each of the plurality of lists containing form instances of a particular type of form, the first computer storage medium being a random-access memory that contains a program immediately accessible to and presently being operated on by a processing unit, bind various data to the form instance related to the form, and set various controls related to the form, if the form instance is in the form pool; and

(3) to open a new instance of the form from a form storage implemented on a second computer storage medium different from the first computer storage medium if the form instance is not in the form pool; and

a form closing module adapted to;

(1) receive a request to close the form;

(2) to determine if a form instance of the form needs to be saved in the form pool;

(3) to save the form instance in the form pool and unbind various data related to the first form instance if it is determined that the form instance needs to be saved in the form pool; and

(4) to close the form instance without saving it in the form pool if it is determined that the form instance does not need to be saved in the form pool.

5. The computer storage medium of claim 4, further comprising an inactive form detection module adapted to:

(1) review a plurality of form instances in the form pool;

(2) determine if one of the plurality of form instances has been in the form pool for longer than a pre-determined period of time; and

(3) remove the one of the plurality of form instances from the form pool.