System and method for extending legacy applications with undo/redo functionality

• US 9,298,429 B2
• Filed: 04/03/2014
• Issued: 03/29/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/28/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP SE
• Inventors: Bohle, Holger
• Primary Examiner(s): VU, TUAN A
• Application Number:
  US14/244,393
• Publication Number:
  US 20140215449A1
• Time in Patent Office: 726 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/36 Software reuse
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/38 for implementing user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/65 Updates security arrangements therefor G06F21/57
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/70 Software maintenance or management

Abstract

In a system and method for recalling a state in an application, a processor may store in a memory data representing a first set of previously executed commands, the first set representing a current application state, and, for recalling a previously extant application state different than the current application state, the processor may modify the data to represent a second set of commands and may execute in sequence the second set of commands.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for providing an undo functionality, comprising:

maintaining, by a processor, a first action identification stack that includes identifications of previously executed actions;

providing, by the processor, a user interface that includes a first button and a second button;

receiving, by the processor, a plurality of successive user-selections of the first button, wherein each of the user-selections is recorded by the processor as a respective undo command;

subsequent to the receipt of all of the plurality of successive user-selections of the first button, receiving, by the processor, a user-selection of the second button; and

responding, by the processor and to the user-selection of the second button, by (a) removing from the first action identification stack a number, that is more than one and that is selected by the processor depending on the number of the received plurality of successive user-selections of the first button, of those of the identifications of previously executed actions that have most recently been added to the first action identification stack, and (b) reinstating a prior application state corresponding to the identifications of previously executed actions remaining in the first action identification stack after the removal;

wherein;

no change occurs to the application state in response to any of the plurality of successive user-selections of the first button prior to the selection of the second button;

the identifications being removed correspond to a plurality of user interface actions previously performed and targeted to be undone in response to the user-selection of the second button; and

the reinstating of the prior application state is performed by, subsequent to the removing, re-executing, by the processor and in sequence, the actions identified by remaining identifications of the first action identification stack;

the re-execution is performed only once for all of the plurality of user-selections of the first button;

the sequence of actions re-executed (a) does not include the actions whose identifications have been removed from the first action identification stack, and (b) effects the prior application state; and

none of the actions whose identifications have been removed from the first action identification stack are at any point executed based on selection of the first button.

2. A method for providing an undo functionality, comprising:

maintaining a first action identification stack that includes identifications of previously executed actions that were previously executed to attain a current application state;

subsequent to the execution of all of the previously executed actions identified in the first action identification stack and while in the current application state, receiving a user-input undo command to obtain a prior application state instead of the current application state; and

responding to the user-input undo command by;

subsequent to the receipt of the user-input undo command, removing, by a computer processor and from the first action identification stack, a number of identifications of a plurality of latest-entered ones of the previously executed actions, wherein the identifications being removed correspond to a plurality of user interface actions previously performed and targeted to be undone in response to the user-input undo command; and

subsequent to the removing, re-executing, by the processor and in sequence, the actions identified by remaining identifications of the first action identification stack, the re-execution being performed only once for the user-input undo command, and the sequence of actions re-executed (a) not including the actions whose identifications have been removed from the first action identification stack, and (b) effecting the prior application state;

wherein the user-input undo command is input by a user performing a combination of (i) inputting into a user interface field an integer (1) equaling and identifying the number and (2) not being greater than the total number of identifications included in the first action identification stack, and (ii) selecting a user interface undo button.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the number of identifications removed for executing the user-input undo command is based on the input into the user interface field of, and corresponds to, the integer identifying the number.