Mechanism for intelligent user interface presentation of a software agent

• US 7,721,218 B2
• Filed: 03/31/2003
• Issued: 05/18/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Kugel, Jacob, Dunbar, Anthony M., Awe, Jeffrey T., Bigus, Joseph P., Schlosnagle, Donald A., Hintermeister, Gregory R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hailu; Tadesse
• Assistant Examiner(s): CHAUDHURI, ANITA
• Application Number:
  US10/403,893
• Publication Number:
  US 20040215710A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,605 Days
• Field of Search: 715/760, 715/764, 715/763, 715/762
• US Class Current: 715/762
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/75 Indicating network or usage conditions on the user display
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]

Abstract

The present invention generally relates to intelligent software agents. Agents are interfaced with through user interfaces that are generated according to the agent'"'"'s intelligence. In one aspect, the interfaces are dynamically and programmatically generated in response to a request from a user desiring to interface with a particular agent. In this way, the interface may be generated in real time according to the applied intelligence of the agent. Interfaces may also be updated periodically and, in this way, be available prior to a user'"'"'s request.

Claims

1. A method of providing user interfaces for interfacing with intelligent software agents, comprising:

receiving a first request for an user interface for a particular intelligent software agent; and

programmatically generating the user interface according to information learned by the particular intelligent software agent, wherein the user interface provides a plurality of agent configuration elements for configuring the particular intelligent software agent.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, via the user interface, user-selected agent configuration input; and

configuring the particular intelligent software agent according to the user-selected agent configuration input.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising storing the user selected agent configuration input in a common description language.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein programmatically generating the user interface is performed by the particular intelligent software agent.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a second request for the agent user interface for the particular intelligent software agent; and

programmatically generating the user interface according to information learned by the particular intelligent software agent since the first request.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the user interface generated in response to the first request comprises different agent configuration elements than the user interface generated in response to the second request.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein generating the agent user interface in response to the first and second requests is performed by the particular intelligent software agent.