Server-page based software architecture enabling use-case oriented evolutionary software prototyping

• US 8,479,147 B2
• Filed: 12/16/2005
• Issued: 07/02/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 01/12/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Siemens Corp. (Siemens AG)
• Original Assignee: Siemens Corp. (Siemens AG)
• Inventors: Nelson, Christopher Roy, Song, Xiping, Foster, Herbert R. Jr., Matos, Gilberto Augusto, Tanikella, Rajanikanth
• Primary Examiner(s): Zhen, Li B
• Assistant Examiner(s): Pan, Hang
• Application Number:
  US11/303,698
• Publication Number:
  US 20060156279A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,755 Days
• Field of Search: 717/104, 717/120
• US Class Current: 717/104
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/10 Requirements analysis; Specification techniques

Abstract

A system for use-case software development includes an interface renderer for interpreting a user interface definition code and displaying a user interface, a request dispatcher for processing a request from the interface renderer, and a request handler for processing the request and checking a use-case name contained in the request. The system further includes a use-case handling program, invoked by the request handler, for performing logic defined by a use-case corresponding to the use-case name and according to a use-case state and returning an interface definition specifying an interface layout and controls that are interpretable by the interface renderer, and a server page container for receiving the interface definition and providing the user interface definition code to the interface renderer.

Claims

1. A computer system for use-case software development comprising:

a client-side processor executing computer code for an interface renderer for interpreting a user interface definition code and displaying a user interface; and

a server-side processor executing computer code for;

a request dispatcher for processing a request from the interface renderer;

a request handler for processing the request and checking a use-case name contained in the request;

a use-case handling program, invoked by the request handler, for performing logic defined by a use-case for implementing a feature corresponding to the use-case name and according to a use-case state and returning an interface definition specifying an interface layout and controls that are interpretable by the interface renderer, wherein the use-case handling program determines a modification to the feature implemented by the use case and determines at least one additional use-case related to the use-case and changes the at least one additional use-case to invoke the feature to change a system behavior consistently over the related use-cases, wherein each use-case is a unique description of a client interaction with a software application for implemented the feature; and

a server page container for receiving the interface definition and providing the user interface definition code to the interface renderer in response to the request from the interface renderer.

2. The computer system for use-case software development of claim 1, wherein the request dispatcher determines that the request handler is responsible for the request and assigns the request to the request handler.

3. The computer system for use-case software development of claim 2, wherein the request includes a pattern of a uniform resource locator, and the request dispatcher determines which request handler the request is assigned to according to the uniform resource locator.

4. The computer system for use-case software development of claim 1, wherein the interface definition reads an interface layout control of the user-case handling program and determines the interface layout to be displayed.

5. The computer system for use-case software development of claim 1, further comprising:

a built-in data component hard-coded in the use-case handling program;

a selectable data component loaded into the use-case handling program based upon a user selection; and

a semi-complete data component representing a data set for implementing variants of the use-case.

6. The computer system for use-case software development of claim 5, wherein each of the built-in data component, the selectable data component and the semi-complete data component correspond to different levels of development of the use-case.

7. The computer system for use-case software development of claim 1, wherein the use-case handling program links a plurality of use-cases together as the software application.

8. A non-transitory computer readable medium embodying instructions executed by a processor to perform a method for development of a software application comprising:

receiving a request for an identified function by a request handler;

receiving a use-case by a handling program code, an interface layout control code and an interface definition comprising built-in data, wherein the handling program code links related use-case implementations to the software application for implementing the identified function consistently over the related use-case implementations, and wherein each use-case is a unique description of a client interaction with the software application for implemented the identified function;

receiving a generalization of at least one use-case implementation of the related use case implementations;

receiving a first modification of the at least one use-case implementation to retrieve predetermined selectable data according to the generalization; and

receiving a second modification of the at least one use-case implementation to receive user-input data,

wherein the handling program code is processed according to a use-case state and returns an interface definition supporting the identified function for user interaction for each of the related use-case implementations.

9. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 8, wherein the handling program code links the related use-case implementations to one or more other use-case implementations of the web-based software application.