Application abstraction with dialog purpose

• US 7,711,570 B2
• Filed: 10/21/2001
• Issued: 05/04/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/21/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Galanes, Francisco M., Jacoby, James D., Lecoueche, Renaud J., Potter, Stephen F., Hon, Hsiao-Wuen
• Primary Examiner(s): Han; Qi
• Application Number:
  US10/087,608
• Publication Number:
  US 20030130854A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,117 Days
• Field of Search: 704/277, 704/270, 704/275, 704/270.1
• US Class Current: 704/277
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces

Abstract

Controls are provided for a web server to generate client side markups that include recognition and/or audible prompting. The controls comprise elements of a dialog such as a question, answer, confirmation, command or statement. A module forms a dialog by making use of the information carried in the controls.

Claims

1. A computer readable storage media having instructions, which when executed on a computer generate client side markup for a client in a client/server system, the instructions comprising:

a set of controls comprising voice activated controls and visual controls configured for use on a server remote from the client for defining a dialog in an authoring page for a website and used to dynamically generate client side markup in accordance with the dialog including both audio prompts and visual prompts, the controls comprising at least a question control for generating visual markup related to audible prompting of a question, and an answer control for generating markup related to a grammar for recognition, each of the controls having attributes including an attribute to indicate whether the associated control is available for activation, wherein the controls are arranged in a hierarchical structure and repeatedly used with attributes having different values in order to define the dialog;

a module, using the attributes provided directly from the controls in the authoring page and when executed on the server, generates audio and visual client side markup based on the dialog as a function of which controls are activated; and

a module configured for use on the client and when executed on the client and using the client side markup creates the audio and visual dialog as a function of which controls are activated.

2. The computer readable storage media of claim 1 wherein the question control activates the answer control.

3. The computer readable storage media of claim 2 wherein the controls comprise:

a command control for generating markup related to a grammar for one of navigation in the markup, help with a task, and repeating an audible prompt.

4. The computer readable storage media of claim 3 wherein the controls comprise:

a confirmation control for generating markup related to confirming that a recognized result is correct.

5. The computer readable storage media of claim 4 wherein the confirmation control is activated as a function of a confidence level or a received result.

6. The computer readable storage media of claim 5 wherein the answer control includes an attribute related to a confidence level.

7. The computer readable storage media of claim 5 wherein the confirmation control activates an accept control to accept the recognized result.

8. The computer readable storage media of claim 5 wherein the confirmation control activates a deny control to deny the recognized result.

9. The computer readable storage media of claim 5 wherein the confirmation control activates a correct control to correct the recognized result.

10. The computer readable storage media of claim 2 wherein the answer control includes a mechanism to associate a received result with one control of the set of controls.

11. The computer readable storage media of claim 10 wherein the mechanism includes binding a recognition value.

12. The computer readable storage media of claim 11 wherein the mechanism includes issuing an event related to operation of binding.

13. The computer readable storage media of claim 1 and further comprising a second set of controls for generating markup related to visual rendering on a client, wherein each control of the first-mentioned set of controls is associated with at least one of the controls of the second set of controls.

14. A computer readable storage media having instructions, which when executed on a computer define a dialog, the instructions comprising:

a set of controls configured for use on a server remote from a client for defining a dialog in an authoring page, the controls comprising at least a question control having an attribute directly related to generating an audible prompt of a question, and an answer control having an attribute directly related to using a grammar for recognition, wherein the attribute directly related to recognition include at least one of location of grammar for use in recognition and confidence level thresholds for recognition and wherein the attribute directly related to audible prompting include at least one of inline text for text-to-speech conversion, location of data for audible rendering and playing of a prerecorded audio file, wherein the controls are repeatedly used with attributes having different values in order to define the dialog, and wherein each of the controls further has an attribute to indicate whether the associated control is available for activation, and wherein at least some of the controls have a second attribute indicative of a hierarchal relationship of when controls are activated; and

a module, which when executed on the server and using the attributes provided directly from the controls in the authoring page, generates markup by incorporating the attributes directly related to recognition and audible prompting in the markup that is that is sent to the remote client over a network, the markup being based on the dialog as a function of which controls are activated.

15. The computer readable storage media of claim 14 wherein the question control activates the answer control.

16. The computer readable storage media of claim 15 wherein the controls comprise:

a command control for generating code related to a grammar for one of navigation in the markup, help with a task, and repeating an audible prompt.

17. The computer readable storage media of claim 16 wherein the controls comprise:

a confirmation control for generating code related to confirming that a recognized result is correct.

18. The computer readable storage media of claim 17 wherein the confirmation control is activated as a function of a confidence level or a received result.

19. The computer readable storage media of claim 18 wherein the answer control includes an attribute related to a confidence level.

20. The computer readable storage media of claim 18 wherein the confirmation control activates an accept control to accept the recognized result.

21. The computer readable storage media of claim 18 wherein the confirmation control activates a deny control to deny the recognized result.

22. The computer readable storage media of claim 18 wherein the confirmation control activates a correct control to correct the recognized result.

23. The computer readable storage media of claim 15 wherein the answer control includes a mechanism to associate a received result with one control of the set of controls.

24. The computer readable storage media of claim 23 wherein the mechanism includes issuing an event related to operation of binding.

25. The computer readable storage media of claim 14 and further comprising a second set of controls related to visual rendering, wherein each control of the first-mentioned set of controls is associated with at least one of the controls of the second set of controls.

26. A computer implemented method for performing recognition and/or audible prompting on a client in a client/server system, the method comprising:

defining a dialog with a set of controls in an authoring page for a website, the set of controls comprising at least a question control having an attribute directly related to generating an audible prompt of a question, and an answer control having an attribute directly related to using a grammar for recognition, wherein the attribute directly related to recognition include at least one of location of grammar for use in recognition and confidence level thresholds for recognition and wherein the attribute directly related to audible prompting include at least one of inline text for text-to-speech conversion, location of data for audible rendering and playing of a prerecorded audio file, each of the controls further having an attribute to indicate whether the associated control is available for activation, wherein the controls are arranged in a hierarchical structure and repeatedly used with attributes having different values in order to define the dialog;

dynamically generating client side markup on a server remote from the client in accordance with the controls in the authoring page and by incorporating the attributes directly related to recognition and audible prompting in the markup; and

receiving the client side markup in the client and creating the dialog on the client as a function of execution of the client side markup related to which controls are activated, wherein creating the dialog on the client includes executing the client side markup for activated controls in a loop manner until a form having a plurality of values to be obtained from a user is complete, and wherein execution of the dialog includes activation being based on values obtained from the user during execution of the dialog.

27. The computer implemented method of claim 26 wherein creating the dialog includes activation of the answer control through the question control.

28. The computer implemented method of claim 27 wherein the set of controls include a command control for generating code related to a grammar for one of navigation in the markup, help with a task, and repeating an audible prompt.

29. The computer implemented method of claim 28 wherein the set of controls include a confirmation control for generating code related to confirming that a recognized result is correct.

30. The computer implemented method of claim 29 wherein creating the dialog includes activation of the confirmation control as a function of a confidence level or a received result.

31. The computer implemented method of claim 26 and further comprising associating each control of the first-mentioned set of controls with at least one control of a second set of controls, the second set of controls used for generating markup related to visual rendering on the client.