BEHAVIOR-FIRST EVENT PROGRAMMING MODEL

• US 20100162207A1
• Filed: 12/18/2008
• Published: 06/24/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/18/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Wong, Chi Wai, Nathan, Adam D.
• Granted Patent: US 8,543,975 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 717/107
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/20 Software design

Abstract

Traditional programming environments that support event-driven programming typically expose a model where the developer chooses an event to handle on a given object, and then writes the code for that event handler. In contrast, as described herein, the traditional flow of program development is reversed. A (configurable) event-handler (“behavior”) is selected. Upon selection of one of the behaviors, the event triggering the behavior is selected. This is a “what-then-when” approach rather than the traditional “when-then-what” approach for event-driven programming.

Claims

1. A system for exposing a behavior-first event programming model comprising:

a behavior-first component executed by a processor of a software development computer, the behavior-first component exposing a behavior-first programming model for software development via at least one user interface, wherein a behavior comprising a configurable event-handler is selected before an event is selected for the behavior.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

the at least one user interface, wherein the at least one user interface receives input from a user and transfers the received input to the behavior-first component.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the behavior-first component receives configuration settings for events, conditions and actions associated with the selected behavior.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the behavior-first component generates an event-driven program from information received via the at least one user interface.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the behavior-first component generates output from which an event-driven program is generated.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the event-driven program is a video game.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the event handler is user-defined.

8. A method for creating an event-driven program comprising:

receiving a behavior comprising a configurable event-handler based on input received from a user of a behavior-first programming model executed by a processor via at least one user interface;

in response to receiving the behavior, providing a list of a plurality of events associated with the behavior via the at least user interface;

receiving an event of the plurality of events on the list to trigger the behavior via the at least one user interface;

transforming the received behavior and event into an executable program.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

receiving configuration settings via the at least one user interface for events, conditions and actions associated with the received behavior.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

generating a file from which the executable program is generated.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the file comprises an XML file, wherein the XML in input to a game engine and the executable program is a video game.

12. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

receiving input from a user via a user interface.

13. A computer-readable storage medium comprising computer-executable instructions which when executed cause a computing environment to:

receive a behavior comprising a configurable event-handler based on input received from a user of a behavior-first programming model executed by a processor via at least one user interface;

in response to receiving the behavior, provide a list of a plurality of events associated with the behavior via the at least user interface; and

receive an event of the plurality of events on the list to trigger the behavior via the at least one user interface.

14. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, comprising further computer-executable instructions, which when executed cause the computing environment to:

transform the received behavior and event into an executable program.

15. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 14, comprising further computer-executable instructions, which when executed cause the computing environment to:

generate a file from which the executable program is generated.

16. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, comprising further computer-executable instructions, which when executed cause the computing environment to:

wherein the file comprises an XML file, wherein the XML in input to a game engine and the executable program is a video game.

17. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 14, comprising further computer-executable instructions, which when executed cause the computing environment to:

generate a file from which the executable program is generated, the file comprising a source code file, an XML file, a script file, or a text file.

18. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 14, comprising further computer-executable instructions, which when executed cause the computing environment to:

generate the executable program directly.