Formatting and viewing source objects

• US 7,877,731 B2
• Filed: 02/12/2007
• Issued: 01/25/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 02/12/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Bekelman, Igor A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Zhen; Wei Y
• Assistant Examiner(s): Coyer; Ryan D
• Application Number:
  US11/674,109
• Publication Number:
  US 20080196015A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,443 Days
• Field of Search: 717/100, 717104-113, 717120-123, 703 22- 28, 700 29- 31
• US Class Current: 717/123
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/10 Requirements analysis; Specification techniques

Abstract

A system, method, and computer readable storage medium for formatting and viewing a source object that allows software developers to select their own preferences for formatting and/or viewing the same source object.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for formatting and viewing representations of source objects, the method comprising:

accessing a source object;

parsing the source object and creating a structural representation of the source object;

at a first computing system, accessing a first set of rules and using the first set of rules for formatting the structural representation of the source object into a first formatted structural representation of the source object, the first set of rules including preferences defined by a first user to be applied in displaying the first formatted structural representation of the source object, wherein a second computing system also accesses a second set of rules that are used to format the structural representation of the source object into a second formatted structural representation of the source object according to preferences defined by a second user;

displaying the first formatted structural representation of the source object at the first computing system with a first viewer, wherein a second formatted structural representation of the source object is displayed simultaneously at a second computing system, the second formatted structural representation of the source object being distinguished from the first formatted structural representation of the source object;

receiving and mapping changes that are received at the first computing system to the first formatted structural representation of the source object; and

synchronizing changes to the structural representation of the source object according to the changes made to the first formatted structural representation of the source object, wherein the synchronized changes to the structural representation of the source object are updated in real-time and are displayed to the second user and are used to notify the second user at the second computing system which first one or more components of the structural representation of the source object are checked out for editing at the first computing system, and wherein second one or more components of the structural representation of the source object are checked out for editing by the second computing system simultaneously to the first one or more components being checked out for editing by the first computing system and wherein the method includes notifying the first user at the first computing system that the second one or more components are checked out for editing.

2. The method recited in claim 1, wherein the structural representation of the source object contains one or more identifier tags for each of a plurality of structural components.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the method includes using a formatter that is configured to create a mapping unit that maps one or more line numbers corresponding to the rendered first formatted structural representation of the source object with an appropriate identifier tag.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further includes discarding the source object from storage and replacing the source object with the structural representation of the source object.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the method further includes re-creating the source object from the structural representation of the source object.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the method further includes re-creating the source object from the synchronized version of the structural representation of the source object after changes have been made to the first formatted structural representation of the source object and after synchronizing the changes to the structural representation of the source object.

7. A computer storage device storing computer-executable instructions for implementing a method of formatting and viewing representations of source objects, wherein the method comprises:

accessing a source object;

parsing the source object and creating a structural representation of the source object;

at a first computing system, accessing a first set of rules and using the first set of rules for formatting the structural representation of the source object into a first formatted structural representation of the source object, the first set of rules including preferences defined by a first user to be applied in displaying the first formatted structural representation of the source object, wherein a second computing system also accesses a second set of rules that are used to format the structural representation of the source object into a second formatted structural representation of the source object according to preferences defined by a second user;

displaying the first formatted structural representation of the source object at the first computing system with a first viewer, wherein a second formatted structural representation of the source object is displayed simultaneously at a second computing system, the second formatted structural representation of the source object being distinguished from the first formatted structural representation of the source object;

receiving and mapping changes that are received at the first computing system to the first formatted structural representation of the source object; and

synchronizing changes to the structural representation of the source object according to the changes made to the first formatted structural representation of the source object, wherein the synchronized changes to the structural representation of the source object are updated in real-time and are displayed to the second user and are used to notify the second user at the second computing system which first one or more components of the structural representation of the source object are checked out for editing at the first computing system, and wherein second one or more components of the structural representation of the source object are checked out for editing by the second computing system simultaneously to the first one or more components being checked out for editing by the first computing system and wherein the method includes notifying the first user at the first computing system that the second one or more components are checked out for editing.

8. The computing device recited in claim 7, further comprising one or more processors.