Application development and extensibility/customization using entity modeling systems and methods

• US 10,732,939 B2
• Filed: 12/03/2018
• Issued: 08/04/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 05/04/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Open Text Sa Ulc (Open Text Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Open Text Sa Ulc (Open Text Corporation)
• Inventors: Khoyi, Dana Lawrence, Roos, Albertus Hendrik, Bolling, Richard Winfield, Prins, Renatus Cornelis
• Primary Examiner(s): Jeon, Jae U
• Application Number:
  US16/207,577
• Publication Number:
  US 20190114153A1
• Time in Patent Office: 610 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/22 Indexing; Data structures therefor; Storage structures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04847 Interaction techniques to control parameter settings, e.g. interaction with sliders or dials
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/20 Design optimisation, verification or simulation optimisation, verification or simulation of circuit designs G06F30/30
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/34 Graphical or visual programming
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/35 model driven
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/36 Software reuse
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/60 Software deployment

Abstract

Embodiments of systems and methods disclosed herein provide an application development platform in an enterprise computing environment. More specifically, in certain embodiments, systems and methods are disclosed that enable an application development platform to reuse, extend, and/or customize entity-based applications in an enterprise computing environment. The application development platform can extend an entity to include user configured settings including zero or at least one of a property, a permission, an action, a behavior, or a resource to the entity to generate user customized versions of the entity. The applications may be customized by an end user, while allowing the underlying application to be updated without losing any user customizations.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

importing an application package into an application development environment on a computer, the importing performed by the computer, the application package including an entity model of an entity from a first application and a file associated with the entity model, the file containing a property name and corresponding data type for every property of the entity;

creating, by the computer responsive to an indication from the user, a placeholder entity model for an entity in a second application; and

importing the entity model into the placeholder entity model, the importing performed by the computer responsive to the entity model being selected by the user, the importing automatically extending the entity in the second application with building blocks of the entity from the first application such that the entity in the second application is composed of the building blocks of the entity from the first application;

responsive to an instruction from the user, customizing the entity in the second application, the customizing performed by the computer and having no effect on the entity from the first application, wherein the customizing the entity in the second application comprises configuring settings of a building block of the entity in the second application, deleting a building block from the entity in the second application, or adding a building block to the entity in the second application; and

storing configured settings of the building block of the entity in the second application separately from the building block of the entity in the second application.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

tracking information relating to a user customization of a building block of the entity in the second application.

3. The method according to claim 2, further comprising:

storing the information separately from the second application so that the user customization of the building block of the entity in the second application is preserved and not affected by a change or update to the second application.

4. The method according to claim 2, further comprising:

applying the user customization to the building block of the entity in an updated version of the second application.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein each of the building blocks comprises code instantiated from a class to implement settings of the entity.

6. A system, comprising:

a processor;

a non-transitory computer-readable medium; and

stored instructions translatable by the processor for;

importing an application package into an application development environment on a computer, the application package including an entity model of an entity from a first application and a file associated with the entity model, the file containing a property name and corresponding data type for every property of the entity;

creating, responsive to an indication from the user, a placeholder entity model for an entity in a second application; and

importing the entity model into the placeholder entity model, the importing responsive to the entity model being selected by the user, the importing automatically extending the entity in the second application with building blocks of the entity from the first application such that the entity in the second application is composed of the building blocks of the entity from the first application;

responsive to an instruction from the user, customizing the entity in the second application, the customizing having no effect on the entity from the first application, wherein the customizing the entity in the second application comprises configuring settings of a building block of the entity in the second application, deleting a building block from the entity in the second application, or adding a building block to the entity in the second application; and

storing configured settings of the building block of the entity in the second application separately from the building block of the entity in the second application.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the stored instructions are further translatable by the processor for:

tracking information relating to a user customization of a building block of the entity in the second application.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the stored instructions are further translatable by the processor for:

storing the information separately from the second application so that the user customization of the building block of the entity in the second application is preserved and not affected by a change or update to the second application.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the stored instructions are further translatable by the processor for:

applying the user customization to the building block of the entity in an updated version of the second application.

10. The system of claim 7, wherein each of the building blocks comprises code instantiated from a class to implement settings of the entity.

11. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions translatable by a processor for:

importing an application package into an application development environment on a computer, the application package including an entity model of an entity from a first application and a file associated with the entity model, the file containing a property name and corresponding data type for every property of the entity;

creating, responsive to an indication from the user, a placeholder entity model for an entity in a second application; and

importing the entity model into the placeholder entity model, the importing responsive to the entity model being selected by the user, the importing automatically extending the entity in the second application with building blocks of the entity from the first application such that the entity in the second application is composed of the building blocks of the entity from the first application;

responsive to an instruction from the user, customizing the entity in the second application, the customizing having no effect on the entity from the first application, wherein the customizing the entity in the second application comprises configuring settings of a building block of the entity in the second application, deleting a building block from the entity in the second application, or adding a building block to the entity in the second application; and

storing configured settings of the building block of the entity in the second application separately from the building block of the entity in the second application.

12. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein the instructions are further translatable by the processor for:

tracking information relating to a user customization of a building block of the entity in the second application.

13. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the instructions are further translatable by the processor for:

storing the information separately from the second application so that the user customization of the building block of the entity in the second application is preserved and not affected by a change or update to the second application.

14. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the instructions are further translatable by the processor for:

applying the user customization to the building block of the entity in an updated version of the second application.