Hotkey access to legacy application tasks

• US 9,841,964 B2
• Filed: 04/27/2015
• Issued: 12/12/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 10/28/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ADVANCED BusinessLink Corporation
• Original Assignee: ADVANCED BusinessLink Corporation
• Inventors: Lategan, Christopher F.
• Primary Examiner(s): Xiao, Di
• Application Number:
  US14/697,417
• Publication Number:
  US 20150317047A1
• Time in Patent Office: 960 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/31 User authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/629 to features or functions of an application
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• 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 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04847 Interaction techniques to control parameter settings, e.g. interaction with sliders or dials
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/51 Source to source
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/52 Binary to binary
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/65 Updates security arrangements therefor G06F21/57
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/654 using techniques specially adapted for alterable solid state memories, e.g. for EEPROM or flash memories
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/656 while running
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/66 of program code stored in read-only memory [ROM]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/70 Software maintenance or management
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/72 Code refactoring
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/74 Reverse engineering; Extracting design information from source code
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/76 Adapting program code to run in a different environment; Porting
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/448 Execution paradigms, e.g. implementations of programming paradigms
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 : Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0803 : Configuration setting
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0806 : for initial configuration or provisioning, e.g. plug-and-play
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/70 : Admission control; Resource allocation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/102 : Entity profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/104 : Grouping of entities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 : based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 : in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/141 : Setup of application sessions admission control or resource allocation in data switching networks H04L47/70
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 : User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 : specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/561 : Adding application-functional data or data for application control, e.g. adding metadata
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/565 : Conversion or adaptation of application format or content adding application control or application functional data H04L67/561
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 : in the application layer [OSI layer 7]

Abstract

Methods, systems, and techniques for assigning hotkeys to legacy tasks as part of modernizing such tasks are provided. A user can assign a hotkey to an individual task so that the user can have instant access to a legacy or a non-legacy task without needing to navigate to “sub-” tasks of the legacy task. Hotkey access may be used with role-based modernization of legacy tasks to provide navigation to and from legacy tasks without starting and stopping sessions. Example embodiments provide a Role-Based Modernization System (“RBMS”), which uses these enhanced modernization techniques to provide role-based modernization of menu-based legacy applications.

Claims

1. A method in a computer system for modernizing an existing menu-based legacy application, comprising:

by a client application executing within a Web browser executed by the computer system,

receiving an indication of a user defined key sequence;

associating the user defined key sequence with an executing task of the existing menu-based legacy application executing on a host system, wherein the executing task corresponds to a code module of the existing menu-based legacy application; and

facilitating access to the executing task by displaying screen output of the executing task whenever the associated user defined key sequence is entered; and

wherein the computer system is a client computing system that interacts with a remote computer system that hosts the existing menu-based legacy application, wherein the existing menu-based legacy application presents screen output via a series of hierarchical menus, each menu represented as a character stream for presentation line-by-line on a distinct terminal screen without pixel addressing, wherein facilitating access to the executing task includes displaying the screen output of the executing task in one user action of entering the defined key sequence instead of by navigating a series of hierarchical menus displayed line-by-line on the distinct terminal screen, and wherein the series of hierarchical menus includes multiple menus that each correspond to a separately executable task on the remote computer system.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

associating a set of default key sequences each associated with an other display screen; and

displaying the associated other display screen whenever one of the set of default key sequences is entered.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein at least one of the set of default key sequences is configured to cause a workspace associated with a role to be displayed.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein facilitating access to the executing task includes causing the workspace associated with the role to be displayed.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein causing the workplace associated with the role to be displayed includes displaying a home task workspace that is associated with a client role.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the key sequence is a combination of one or more of the ALT, TAB, SHIFT, or CTRL keys in conjunction with an alphanumeric key.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the series of hierarchical menus includes at least ten menus that each correspond to a separately executable task on the remote computer system.

8. A non-transitory computer-readable medium whose contents enable a computing system to modernize an existing menu-based legacy application, by performing a method comprising:

by a client application executing within a Web browser executed by the computer system,

receiving an indication of a user defined key sequence;

associating the user defined key sequence with an executing task of the existing menu-based legacy application executing on a host system, wherein the executing task corresponds to a code module of the existing menu-based legacy application; and

facilitating access to the executing task by displaying screen output of the executing task whenever the associated user defined key sequence is entered; and

wherein the computer system is a client computing system that interacts with a remote computer system that hosts the existing menu-based legacy application, wherein the existing menu-based legacy application presents screen output via a series of hierarchical menus, each menu represented as a character stream for presentation line-by-line on a distinct terminal screen without pixel addressing, and wherein facilitating access to the executing task includes displaying the screen output of the executing task in one user action of entering the defined key sequence instead of by navigating a series of hierarchical menus displayed line-by-line on the distinct terminal screen, and wherein the series of hierarchical menus includes multiple menus that each correspond to a separately executable task on the remote computer system.

9. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein the method further comprises:

associating a set of default key sequences each associated with an other display screen; and

displaying the associated other display screen whenever one of the set of default key sequences is entered.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9 wherein at least one of the set of default key sequences is configured to cause a workspace associated with a role to be displayed.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10 wherein facilitating access to the executing task includes causing the workspace associated with the role to be displayed.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11 wherein causing the workplace associated with the role to be displayed includes displaying a home task workspace that is associated with a client role.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8 wherein the key sequence is a combination of one or more of the ALT, TAB, SHIFT, or CTRL keys in conjunction with an alphanumeric key.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8 wherein the computer-readable medium is a memory of the computing system, and wherein the contents are instructions that are stored on the memory and that are configured to cause the computing system to perform the method.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8 wherein the series of hierarchical menus includes at least ten menus that each correspond to a separately executable task on the remote computer system.

16. A computer system configured to modernize an existing menu-based legacy application, comprising:

a memory; and

a module that is stored on the memory and that is configured, when executed by a client application executing within a Web browser executed by the computer system, to;

receive an indication of a user defined key sequence;

associate the user defined key sequence with an executing task of the existing menu-based legacy application executing on a host system; and

facilitate access to the executing task by displaying screen output of the executing task whenever the associated user defined key sequence is entered; and

wherein the computer system is a client computing system that interacts with a remote computer system that hosts the existing menu-based legacy application, wherein the existing menu-based legacy application presents screen output via a series of hierarchical menus, each menu represented as a character stream for presentation line-by-line on a distinct terminal screen without pixel addressing, wherein facilitating access to the executing task includes displaying the screen output of the executing task in one user action of entering the defined key sequence instead of by navigating a series of hierarchical menus displayed line-by-line on the distinct terminal screen, and wherein the series of hierarchical menus includes multiple menus that each correspond to a separately executable task on the remote computer system.

17. The computer system of claim 16 wherein the module includes instructions for execution in the memory of the computer system.

18. The computer system of claim 16 wherein the module is further configured to:

associate a set of default key sequences each associated with an other display screen; and

display the associated other display screen whenever one of the set of default key sequences is entered.

19. The computer system of claim 16 wherein the module is further configured to:

request user selection of the user defined key sequence; and

present user interface controls configured for specifying the user defined key sequence.

20. The computer system of claim 16 wherein the series of hierarchical menus includes at least ten menus that each correspond to a separately executable task on the remote computer system.