Method and system for providing a user interface in a computer

• US 8,782,530 B2
• Filed: 03/25/2009
• Issued: 07/15/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/25/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP AG (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Beringer, Joerg, Richter, Kai S., Hammerich, Reiner P., Tornow, Dominik R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Sax, Steven
• Assistant Examiner(s): CHOI, DAVID E
• Application Number:
  US12/411,231
• Publication Number:
  US 20100251133A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,938 Days
• Field of Search: 715/744, 715/754, 715/804
• US Class Current: 715/744
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/048 Interaction techniques based on graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0484 for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces

Abstract

Presenting a user interface in a computing system, where device-specific information is added to data defined generically with respect to a particular device or presentation technology. The generic definition can be provided via template representing data and functionality of a user interaction, which is presented to a user in a specific way on a specific user interface. A class can be derived in the user interface from the template and instantiated with data in accordance with particulars of a data type. Data can be presented via instructions representing basic presentation patterns defining how data is to be presented on a user interface. Identifications of the instructions are matched to instructions to generate instructions specific to a presentation environment.

Claims

1. A method at a development environment for providing a user interface in a first frontend computer, the method comprising:

providing at the development environment a template that represents data and user interaction functions for a native environment for the user interface in the first frontend computer, wherein the native environment includes hardware and software components that make up interface technology supported by the first frontend computer, and wherein the native environment is defined generically in the template with respect to the user interface, the generic definition including types of user interaction functions defined generically for interfaces of a plurality of frontend devices including the first frontend computer, the plurality of frontend devices having different respective interface technology and different respective native environments;

for each of the plurality of frontend devices;

generating based on the template a different respective environment-specific decoder corresponding to the interface technology of the frontend device; and

issuing the respective environment-specific decoder from the development environment, wherein the frontend device to receive and execute the respective environment-specific decoder to present the user interface with specific data and user interaction functions according to the native environment of the frontend device based on user interaction with the user interface technology supported by the frontend device;

deriving a class from the template, the class defining specific parameters to add particulars of a data-type while preserving the native environment to provide an environment specific to the user interface based on the hardware and software components supported by each different device, wherein the generating the different respective environment-specific decoders for each of the plurality of frontend devices based on the template is independent of the deriving of the class from the template;

wherein a backend device instantiates the class with data, in accordance with the particulars of the data-type according to the user interaction type of the native environment, the instantiated class defining the specific data for the user interaction, wherein the decoder is deployed to the first frontend computer prior to the backend device instantiating the class with data; and

wherein the first frontend computer evokes the respective environment-specific decoder to read the instantiated class from the backend device and to present the user interface with the user interaction functions according to the native environment of the first frontend computer, including matching user interaction native to the hardware and software components of the user interface of the first frontend computer to data and interface functions defined by the template.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the development environment derives a first class from a first template and a second class from a second template;

wherein, independent of derivation of the first class from the first template, the development environment generates based on the first template a first environment-specific decoder corresponding to a first user interaction function for interaction with the user interface;

wherein, independent of derivation of the second class from the second template, the development environment generates based on the second template a second environment-specific decoder corresponding to a second user interaction function for interaction with the user interface;

wherein the backend device executes an application to instantiate the first class with first data and to instantiate the second class with second data

wherein the first frontend computer receives the first environment-specific decoder and the second environment-specific decoder from the development environment, and executes both the first environment-specific decoder and the second environment-specific decoder to access the application for interaction with the user interface in the native environment of the first frontend computer.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein in the step providing the template, first and second templates for first and second native environments are provided, each having different hardware and software components that make up supported interface technology, in the step providing the decoder, first and second decoders are provided, and in the step evoking, the user interface is presented with first and second environments.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step deriving the class from the template is repeated while presenting the user interface, to modify the presentation in accordance with the class.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step deriving the class from the template is repeated using the earlier derived classes.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein providing the template and different respective environment-specific decoders is executed by reading from a repository.

7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising presenting at least one data record from the backend device to the first frontend computer and receiving manipulation from a user of the data record, the manipulation of the data record altering a presentation of the user interface.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein presenting the data record comprises presenting metadata and receiving manipulation of the metadata.

9. The method according to claim 7, wherein changing the presentation comprises changing a filter or sort of the data.

10. The method according to claim 1, further comprising soliciting from the user the input of a data record into the first frontend computer.

11. A method at a frontend computer device for presenting data on a user interface that is coupled to a processor of the frontend computer device, the method comprising:

receiving instructions for the processor to present data on the user interface, the instructions representing basic presentation patterns defining how the data is to be presented on the user interface and how different types of user interaction functions are to be interpreted in accordance with a native presentation of the user interface of the frontend computer device, the instructions being part of the definition of the data, the instructions being derived as an instantiation of a class by a backend device coupled to the frontend device, wherein the class is based on a template that generically defines a specific interaction circumstance of the native presentation environment of display hardware and software components associated with the user interface based on user interaction with the user interface;

receiving a signal with data from a data source in combination with identifications of the instructions;

receiving an environment-specific decoder generated based on the template independent of the class and sent to the frontend computer device, wherein the environment-specific decoder is deployed to the frontend computer device prior to the instantiation of the class by the backend device; and

executing the environment-specific decoder at the frontend computer device to read the derived instructions of the class to match the identifications to the instructions to generate instructions specific to the native presentation environment of the user interface based on the supported display hardware and software components, including matching user interaction native to the hardware and software components of the user interface to data and different types of user interaction functions defined by the template; and

processing the instructions to present the data and user interaction functions in the user interface corresponding to the presentation patterns.

12. The method for presenting data of claim 11, wherein the instructions include instructions to further process the data by the processor.

13. The method for presenting data of claim 11, wherein the template corresponds to the presentation patterns.

14. The method for presenting data of claim 11, wherein the instructions comprise pre-defined rendering schemes.

15. A frontend computer device comprising:

a user interface including hardware and software components that make up interface technology supported by the frontend computer device, on which to present data and receive user interaction of different user interaction types based on the interface technology, the interface technology providing a native presentation environment for the frontend computer device in which to present the data and receive the user interaction to cause user interaction functions;

an environment-specific decoder to receive a signal including a basic presentation pattern defining how data is to be presented on the user interface and how different types of user interaction functions are to be interpreted in accordance with the native presentation environment based on a user interaction pattern that represents a specific interaction circumstance, the presentation pattern defined generically for interfaces of different devices having different hardware and software components that make up the interface technology supported by the respective devices, and not specific to the user interface, the presentation pattern being derived as an instantiation of a class by a backend device, wherein the class is based on a template generic with respect to the hardware and software components of the native presentation environment and wherein the class is specific to data for the user interaction pattern, the environment-specific decoder generated based on the template and independent of the class, and wherein the environment-specific decoder is deployed to the frontend computer device prior to the instantiation of the class by the backend device, wherein the environment-specific decoder is to further match the presentation pattern with parameters specific to the user interface as set out in the data specific to the user interaction pattern to generate instructions for presenting data and user interaction functions on the user interface in accordance with the user interaction pattern, and the presentation pattern of the native presentation environment, including matching user interaction native to the hardware and software components of the user interface to data and different types of user interaction functions defined by the template; and

a processor to process the instructions to generate a presentation specific to the native presentation environment of the user interface.

16. The computing device of claim 15, wherein the instructions are derived in an enabling environment from templates, and wherein the templates correspond to the presentation pattern of the native presentation environment.

17. The computing device of claim 15, wherein the presentation pattern comprises a pre-defined rendering scheme based on the supported display hardware and software components of the computing device.