Modeling system for graphic user interface

• US 9,348,483 B2
• Filed: 09/12/2013
• Issued: 05/24/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 11/14/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP SE
• Inventors: Gilboa, Yuval
• Primary Examiner(s): Mills, Frank D
• Application Number:
  US14/025,282
• Publication Number:
  US 20140026084A1
• Time in Patent Office: 985 Days
• Field of Search: 715/763
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04803 Split screen, i.e. subdividing the display area or the window area into separate subareas
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/048 Interaction techniques based on graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• 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 40/103 Formatting, i.e. changing of presentation of documents automatic justification G06F40/189; automatic line break hyphenation G06F40/191
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/143 Markup, e.g. Standard Generalized Markup Language [SGML] or Document Type Definition [DTD]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/146 Coding or compression of tree-structured data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/166 Editing, e.g. inserting or deleting
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/197 Version control for software G06F8/71
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/38 for implementing user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/067 Enterprise or organisation modelling

Abstract

A modeling system for universal specification of user interfaces. The system provides a means for defining user interfaces, including highly complex and dynamic user interfaces, in a manner that is independent of any implementation context. The modeling system leads from a user-friendly visual representation of the user interface, through progressively detailed specifications of structural and behavioral aspects of the user interface parts, until a rigorous definition of the user interface in all its contexts of use is achieved. Using the information captured in the model, tools that automatically generate the fully working user interface code can be built.

Claims

1. A method for generating a user interface using a modeling system, comprising:

providing an editor for designing a visual representation of a user interface from a server system to a client system, the editor providing a workspace and a task panel to be displayed on a display device on the client system, the workspace being provided to design the visual representation thereon, the task panel providing a plurality of elements for use in designing the visual representation, one or more of the elements being associated with the server system remotely located from the client system;

displaying a scenario selected by a user on the workspace, the scenario being compatible with user requirements for the user interface, the scenario including a plurality of interleaved scenes;

defining each of the plurality of interleaved scenes according to inputs received from the user, each scene including concurrently active and collaborating actors, the actors being specialized computational units that represent threads of activities, where each scene is defined by diagrammatically defining a relationship between the actors associated with that scene;

generating a canonic representation of a model represented by the scenario and the scenes; and

generating executable user interface code of from the canonic representation.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of interleaved scenes represent a plurality of coupled activities.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein each of the interleaved scenes represents a particular task.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein each of the interleaved scenes represents a particular dialogue state.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of interleaved scenes is based on one of a plurality of scene prototypes, wherein each of the plurality of scene prototypes comprises a fixed set of sub scenes.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein each of the plurality of scene prototypes is associated with a particular class of user interface or industry.

7. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising instructions, that when executed on a computer processor, causes the computer processor to:

provide an editor for designing a visual representation of a user interface, the editor providing a workspace and a task panel to be displayed on a display device, the workspace being provided to design the visual representation thereon, the task panel providing a plurality of elements for use in designing the visual representation;

display a scenario selected by a user on the workspace, the scenario being compatible with user requirements for the user interface, the scenario including a plurality of interleaved scenes;

define each of the plurality of interleaved scenes according to inputs received from the user, each scene including concurrently active and collaborating actors, the actors being specialized computational units that represent threads of activities, where each scene is defined by diagrammatically defining a relationship between the actors associated with that scene;

generate a canonic representation of a model represented by the scenario and the scenes; and

generate executable user interface code from the canonic representation.

8. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 7, wherein the plurality of interleaved scenes represent a plurality of coupled activities.

9. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 8, wherein each of the interleaved scenes represents a particular task.

10. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 8, wherein each of the interleaved scenes represents a particular dialogue state.

11. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 7, wherein each of the plurality of interleaved scenes is based on one of a plurality of scene prototypes, wherein each of the plurality of scene prototypes comprises a fixed set of sub scenes.

12. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11, wherein each of the plurality of scene prototypes is associated with a particular class of user interface or an industry.

13. A system comprising:

one or more computer processors; and

a non-transitory computer readable medium comprising instructions, that when executed by the one or more computer processors, cause the computer processors to;

provide an editor for designing a visual representation of a user interface, the editor providing a workspace and a task panel to be displayed on a display device, the workspace being provided to design the visual representation thereon, the task panel providing a plurality of elements for use in designing the visual representation;

display a scenario selected by a user on the workspace, the scenario being compatible with user requirements for the user interface, the scenario including a plurality of interleaved scenes;

define each of the plurality of interleaved scenes according to inputs received from the user, each scene including concurrently active and collaborating actors, the actors being specialized computational units that represent threads of activities, where each scene is defined by diagrammatically defining a relationship between the actors associated with that scene;

generate a canonic representation of a model represented by the scenario and the scenes; and

generate executable user interface code from the canonic representation.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the plurality of interleaved scenes represent a plurality of coupled activities.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein each of the interleaved scenes represents a particular task.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein each of the interleaved scenes represents a particular dialogue state.

17. The system of claim 13, wherein each of the plurality of interleaved scenes is based on one of a plurality of scene prototypes, wherein each of the plurality of scene prototypes comprises a fixed set of sub scenes.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein each of the plurality of scene prototypes is associated with a particular class of user interface or an industry.