System and method for data-driven web page navigation control

• US 9,471,204 B2
• Filed: 10/01/2013
• Issued: 10/18/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 07/30/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Akolkar, Rahul P., Boyer, John M., Wiecha, Charles F.
• Primary Examiner(s): Ries, Laurie
• Application Number:
  US14/042,969
• Publication Number:
  US 20140033082A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,113 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/954 Navigation, e.g. using categorised browsing
• 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 40/143 Markup, e.g. Standard Generalized Markup Language [SGML] or Document Type Definition [DTD]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/174 Form filling; Merging

Abstract

A system and method for web application navigation control includes updating navigation data models used in navigation constraints with received data from an end-user or system. Without needing a centralized application-specific controller, from a collection of extensible navigation rules associated with each page of a plurality of pages, the extensible navigation rules are automatically selected which depend on changed data values and need re-evaluation. The navigation constraints associated only with the pages potentially changing their ready state to execute from among the plurality of pages in an entire application are evaluated to determine which pages are ready to run based on updated data from the navigation data models. A preferred page to be actually navigated to next is selected from among a set of all available and ready pages by execution of a set of second and separate navigation constraints using results of the navigation constraints of the evaluating step.

Claims

1. A method for web application navigation control, comprising:

updating navigation data models used in navigation constraints with received data from an end-user or system, the data models being stored on a computer storage medium;

without needing a centralized application-specific controller, automatically selecting from a collection of extensible navigation rules associated with each page of a plurality of pages the extensible navigation rules;

evaluating the navigation constraints associated only with the pages potentially changing their ready state to execute from among the plurality of pages in an entire application to determine which pages are ready to run, wherein determining which pages are ready to run is based on updated data from the navigation data models; and

selecting a preferred page to be actually navigated to next from among a set of all available and ready pages.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein selecting includes tie-breaking between pages based on the navigation constraints to select a next qualified page from the set of all available and ready pages.

3. The method as recited in claim 2, wherein tie-breaking is customized by a non-developer end-user.

4. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein selecting includes controlling navigation in accordance with a presence or absence of data values or conditions over those values.

5. The method as recited in claim 4, wherein controlling navigation includes controlling a web page navigation sequence.

6. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising triggering a return to earlier pages based upon changes to data values without need for explicit error or exception handling logic provided by an application author.

7. The method as recited in claim 6, further comprising resuming execution of the earlier page without reprompting for intermediate steps but with reprompting for data values made invalid by new user inputs.

8. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein with received data from an end-user or system includes a presence of data provided by one of a user and memory storage independent of the user.

9. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising adding data dependency constraints including bind statements without need for pre-determined extension points to customize navigation behavior.

10. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the selected extensible navigation rules depend on changed data values and need re-evaluation.

11. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the preferred page to be actually navigated to is selected by execution of a set of second and separate navigation constraints using results of the navigation constraints of the evaluating step.

12. A method for web application navigation control, comprising:

relating data entry fields in a page stored in computer readable storage memory with non-procedural computed dependency constraints that provide navigation control when a condition is met;

checking a presence of user-side information to determine if the condition is met and the indicated navigation control is to be invoked; and

if the condition is met, evoking a trigger event to navigate to a new page based on at least one of a set of entry fields where data was entered in and a type of data content entered in the entry fields.

13. The method as recited in claim 12, further comprising evoking the trigger event without guidance from procedural navigation code.

14. A method for web application navigation control, comprising:

updating navigation data models used in navigation constraints with received data from an end-user or system, the data models being stored on a computer storage medium;

without needing a centralized application-specific controller, automatically selecting from a collection of extensible navigation rules associated with each page of a plurality of pages the extensible navigation rules, wherein selected extensible navigation rules depend on changed data values and need re-evaluation;

evaluating the navigation constraints associated only with the pages potentially changing their ready state to execute from among the plurality of pages in an entire application to determine which pages are ready to run; and

selecting a preferred page to be actually navigated to next from among a set of all available and ready pages.

15. The method as recited in claim 14, wherein selecting includes tie-breaking between pages based on the navigation constraints to select a next qualified page from the set of all available and ready pages.

16. The method as recited in claim 15, wherein tie-breaking is customized by a non-developer end-user.

17. The method as recited in claim 14, wherein selecting includes controlling navigation in accordance with a presence or absence of data values or conditions over those values.

18. The method as recited in claim 17, wherein controlling navigation includes controlling a web page navigation sequence.