Providing design time projections for a visual program

• US 9,575,732 B2
• Filed: 06/17/2013
• Issued: 02/21/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 06/17/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Welicki, Leon Ezequiel, Shyamsundar, Balasubramanian, Wolf, Kenneth David
• Primary Examiner(s): Dao, Thuy
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nguyen, Mongbao
• Application Number:
  US13/919,224
• Publication Number:
  US 20140372974A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,345 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/31 Programming languages or programming paradigms
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/311 Functional or applicative languages; Rewrite languages
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/34 Graphical or visual programming
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/433 Dependency analysis; Data or control flow analysis

Abstract

Embodiments are directed to presenting multiple projections of a declarative program and to presenting partial projections of a declarative program. In one scenario, a computer system establishes a declarative program that includes various artifacts. The computer system displays a first projection of the declarative program, which includes one or more elements of a workflow. The computer system then determines that an additional projection is to be displayed in addition to the first projection, and presents a second projection based on the artifacts of the declarative program. The second projection illustrates the artifacts in a form different than that shown in the first projection, and is presented in addition to the first projection. In some cases, the computer system further receives an input and edits the declarative program according to the received input. The edits to the declarative program are substantially lossless, and can be performed using partial or full projections.

Claims

1. A method, implemented by a computer system that includes one or more processors, for presenting multiple projections of a declarative program, the method comprising:

establishing a declarative program that includes one or more artifacts comprising one or more program constructs;

visually presenting a first projection of the declarative program within an interface display, the first projection illustrating the one or more artifacts and including a first set of one or more elements of a workflow corresponding to the one or more program constructs;

determining that at least one additional projection is to be displayed in addition to the first projection;

visually presenting a second projection that corresponds to and that is based on the same one or more artifacts rendered by the first projection, the second projection being presented simultaneously with at least a portion of the first projection, the second projection illustrating the one or more artifacts with a second set of one or more elements of the workflow, the first set of one or more elements having a different form of presentation than a form of presentation used for the second set of one or more elements even though the first set and second set of one or more elements correspond to the same one or more artifacts of the declarative program; and

automatically updating the second set of one or more elements of the workflow according to edits performed in the first projection on the one or more artifacts of the declarative program, the edits being lossless such that no data is lost between the first projection and the second projection.

2. A computer system comprising the following:

one or more processors;

system memory;

one or more computer-readable storage media having stored thereon computer-executable instructions that are executable by the one or more processors and that cause the computing system to perform a method for presenting multiple projections of a declarative program, the method comprising the following;

an act of establishing a declarative program that includes one or more artifacts comprising one or more program constructs;

an act of visually presenting a first projection of the declarative program within an interface display, the first projection illustrating the one or more artifacts and including a first set of one or more elements of a workflow corresponding to the one or more program constructs;

an act of determining that at least one additional projection is to be displayed in addition to the first projection;

an act of visually presenting a second projection that corresponds to and that is based on the same one or more artifacts rendered by the first projection, the second projection being presented simultaneously with at least a portion of the first projection, the second projection illustrating the one or more artifacts with a second set of one or more elements of the workflow, the first set of one or more elements having a different form of presentation than a form of presentation used for the second set of one or more elements even though the first set and second set of one or more elements correspond to the same one or more artifacts of the declarative program; and

an act of automatically updating the second set of one or more elements of the workflow according to edits performed in the first projection on the one or more artifacts of the declarative program, the edits being lossless such that no data is lost between the first projection and the second projection.

3. The computer system of claim 2, wherein the one or more artifacts comprise workflow activities, each workflow activity comprising one or more pulses of work.

4. The computer system of claim 3, wherein the workflow comprises a representation of a business activity.

5. The computer system of claim of 2, wherein the declarative program is executable in a continuation-based runtime.

6. The computer system of claim 2, wherein the declarative program comprises a long-running program.

7. The computer system of claim 2, wherein a computer system user specifies that the at least one additional projection is to be displayed in addition to the first projection, the at least one additional projection presenting a different level of detail and abstraction than the first projection.

8. The computer system of claim of claim 2, further comprising:

an act of determining a computer system user'"'"'s declarative program objectives; and

an act of defining the second projection in accordance with the computer system user'"'"'s determined objectives.

9. The computer system of claim 2, wherein the second projection is generated by the computer system as part of the declarative program, the second projection capable of being added or removed dynamically.

10. The computer system of claim 2, further comprising:

an act of receiving a user input indicating an intent to switch from the first projection to the second projection; and

an act of displaying the first projection over the second projection.

11. The computer system of claim 2, wherein one or more presentation images of the first and second projections are automatically updated with data from the one or more artifacts.

12. The computer system of claim 2, wherein the second projection comprises a text representation that is semantically equivalent to the artifact'"'"'s data structure.

13. The computer system of claim 2, wherein the second projection is a partial projection that reflects a summary of information presented in the first projection.

14. The computer system of claim 13, further comprising an act of generating the partial projection for the identified form of the declarative program.

15. The computer system of claim 13, wherein the partial projection is provided by a third party.

16. The computer system of claim 13, further comprising showing one or more binding terminals that are currently available in the partial projection presentation.

17. The computer system of claim 13, wherein the partial projection presentation comprises an event-driven overlay, the event-driven overlay capable of being toggled on or off.

18. The computer system of claim 13, wherein the partial presentation comprises an outline view with one or more elements and one or more corresponding relationships between the elements.

19. The computer system of claim 2, wherein each element in the first set of one or more elements is self-documenting.

20. One or more hardware storage devices having stored thereon computer-executable instructions that are executable by one or more processors of a computer system to cause the computer system to present multiple projections of a declarative program by causing the computer system to:

establish a declarative program that includes one or more artifacts comprising one or more program constructs;

visually present a first projection of the declarative program within an interface display, the first projection illustrating the one or more artifacts and including a first set of one or more elements of a workflow corresponding to the one or more program constructs;

determine that at least one additional projection is to be displayed in addition to the first projection;

visually present a second projection that corresponds to and that is based on the same one or more artifacts rendered by the first projection, the second projection being presented simultaneously with at least a portion of the first projection, the second projection illustrating the one or more artifacts with a second set of one or more elements of the workflow, the first set of one or more elements having a different form of presentation than a form of presentation used for the second set of one or more elements even though the first set and second set of one or more elements correspond to the same one or more artifacts of the declarative program; and

automatically update the second set of one or more elements of the workflow according to edits performed in the first projection on the one or more artifacts of the declarative program, the edits being lossless such that no data is lost between the first projection and the second projection.