Composite values for declarative language applications

• US 8,250,530 B2
• Filed: 05/27/2009
• Issued: 08/21/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 05/27/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Kent, Simon David, Aitken, William Emeric, Jayadevan, Siddharth
• Primary Examiner(s): Dao, Thuy
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nguyen, Mongbao
• Application Number:
  US12/472,834
• Publication Number:
  US 20100306740A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,182 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 717/117
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/34 Graphical or visual programming

Abstract

One embodiment is directed to a method that may be practiced in a declarative application with composites organized hierarchically, including composites in the same hierarchy, but not directly related by direct intervening child/parent relationships. The method includes acts for providing a link between composites unrelated by direct intervening child/parent relationships. The method includes rendering data at a user interface. The data is associated with a first composite in a declarative application. The method further includes detecting, at the user interface, user interaction with the rendered data. As a result of detecting user interaction with the rendered data, the method further includes defining a composite path to the first composite. The method further includes providing the name of the path as a local variable to a second composite such that the second composite can interact with the data.

Claims

1. In a declarative application with composites organized hierarchically, including composites in the same hierarchy, but not directly related by direct intervening child/parent relationships, a method executable by a processor of providing a link between composites unrelated by direct intervening child/parent relationships, the method comprising:

rendering data at a user interface, the data being associated with a first composite in the declarative application;

detecting, at the user interface, user interaction with the rendered data,

as a result of detecting user interaction with the rendered data, defining a composite path to the first composite;

providing the path as a local variable to a second composite such that the second composite can interact with the data;

wherein the second composite is in the same declarative application hierarchy as the first composite but is not related to the first composite by any direct intervening child/parent relationships such that the first and second composites are in different sub-trees of the same hierarchical declarative application;

registering dependencies on the composite path with a listener, by registering a configuration builder with the listener;

receiving at the configuration builder a notification from the listener that dependencies in the path have changed; and

as a result of dependencies in the composite path changing, updating the observed value of the path.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising creating the configuration builder to perform the act of defining a composite path.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the path has a name consisting of a sequence of names and/or keys including indices.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

registering dependencies on the composite path name itself with a listener;

receiving a notification from the listener that the path name itself has changed; and

as a result of dependencies in the composite path changing, updating the observed value of the path.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein:

registering dependencies on the composite path comprises registering a dereference configuration builder with the listener; and

updating the observed value comprises the dereference configuration builder rerunning a path dereference algorithm to calculate a new path.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein dependencies in the path change as a result of observed runtime values changing.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein:

registering dependencies on the composite path comprises registering a dereference configuration builder with the listener; and

updating the path comprises the dereference configuration builder rerunning a path dereference algorithm to calculate a new observable value.

8. In a declarative application with composites organized hierarchically, including composites in the same hierarchy, but not directly related by direct intervening child/parent relationships, a method executable by a processor of using a link between composites unrelated by direct intervening child/parent relationships, the method comprising:

accessing a first composite that can interact with data;

evaluating a local variable at the first composite, the local variable comprising a composite path to a second composite, and to data associated with the second composite, the data associated with the second composite being the data that can be interacted with by the first composite, wherein the second composite is in the same declarative application hierarchy as the first composite but is not related to the first composite by any direct intervening child/parent relationships,

using the first composite, interacting with the data associated with the second composite;

registering dependencies on the composite path with a listener, by registering the dereference configuration builder with the listener;

receiving, at the dereference configuration builder, a notification from the listener that dependencies in the path have changed; and

as a result of dependencies in the composite path changing, updating the observed value of the path.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising creating the dereference configuration builder at runtime to dereference the composite path.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein dependencies in the path change as a result of the path name itself changing.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein updating the path comprises the dereference configuration builder rerunning a path dereference algorithm to calculate a new path.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein dependencies in the path change as a result of observed runtime values changing.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein updating the path comprises the dereference configuration builder rerunning a path dereference algorithm to calculate a new observable value.

14. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

for component name steps in the composite path, searching from a target domain for a composite;

finding a composite from the target; and

searching for a name component of the composite.

15. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

for index steps in the composite path, searching from a target domain for an indexed runtime value,

finding an indexed runtime value, and

looking up the indexed value.

16. In a declarative application with composites organized hierarchically, including composites in the same hierarchy, but not directly related by direct intervening child/parent relationships, a computer program product comprising a computer readable memory comprising computer executable instructions that when executed by a processor cause the following to be performed:

rendering data at a user interface, the data being associated with a first composite in the declarative application, wherein the first composite includes functionality including an interface which allows other agents to query the first composite, using a primary return value of the first composite, about objects in the composite;

detecting, at the user interface, user interaction with the rendered data,

as a result of detecting user interaction with the rendered data, defining a composite path to the first composite;

providing the path as a local variable to a second composite such that the second composite can interact with the data;

wherein the second composite is in the same declarative application hierarchy as the first composite but is not related to the first composite by any direct intervening child/parent relationships such that the first and second composites are in different axis of the same hierarchical declarative application;

registering dependencies on the composite path with a listener, by registering the dereference configuration builder with the listener;

receiving, at the dereference configuration builder, a notification from the listener that dependencies in the path have changed; and

as a result of dependencies in the composite path changing, updating the observed value of the path.

17. The computer program product of claim 16, further comprising creating a configuration builder to perform the act of defining a composite path.

18. The method computer program product of claim 16, wherein the path comprises a sequence of names and/or keys including indices.