Graphical user interface including updating of multiple panels using what you see is what you get (WYSIWYG) editor

• US 5,347,629 A
• Filed: 04/07/1992
• Issued: 09/13/1994
• Est. Priority Date: 04/07/1992
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Montgomery, John D., Barrett, John P., Hoffmann, Robert P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Phu K.
• Application Number:
  US07/864,770
• Time in Patent Office: 889 Days
• Field of Search: 395/155, 395/156, 395/157, 395/159, 395/161, 345/157, 345/158, 345/902
• US Class Current: 715/762
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces

Abstract

A method of defining, creating, or editing a graphical user interface panel file. The graphical user interface panel contains a plurality of nested graphical objects. According to the disclosed method the end-user opens a graphical user interface source code file and operates on an object that contains at least further nested object. For example, the nesting object may be a box, and the nested objects may be pushbuttons. The nested object file is a linked list that includes an object start identifier, an object end identifier, and included object pointers therebetween for the included objects. Each included object has an included object pointer. The enables the end-user to perform an operation on the object start identifier, which initiates a search for included objects having pointers between the object start identifier and the object end identifier. This allows the same operation to be performed on the included objects.

Claims

1. A method of doing one or more of defining, creating, or editing a target graphical user interface panel file, said graphical user interface panel file containing at least one graphical object, which method comprises:

a. opening a source graphical user interface file and identifying an object to be copied, said object being a linked list comprising

i. an object start identifier, and an object end identifier, and

ii. pointers therebetween for attributes of the object to be copied;

b. copying the source object start identifier, the object end identifier, the pointers therebetween for the attributes thereof, and the code corresponding to the attributes to the target graphical user interface file; and

c. storing the copied graphical user interface code file in a Panel Binary Intermediate file.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the object contains at least a further object nested therein.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the source object file is a source code file.

4. The method of claim 3 comprising compiling the copied object file.