System and method for managing a suite of data management tools

• US 6,789,251 B1
• Filed: 07/28/1999
• Issued: 09/07/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 07/28/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Unisys Corporation
• Original Assignee: Unisys Corporation
• Inventors: Johnson, David R.
• Primary Examiner(s): ZHEN, WEI Y
• Application Number:
  US09/362,942
• Time in Patent Office: 1,868 Days
• Field of Search: 717/100-105, 717/120, 707/1-10, 707/100-104, 707/200
• US Class Current: 717/100
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces

Abstract

A tool management system and interface for a disparate set of data processing tools is disclosed. A main tool menu allows selected tools to be launched so that each tool populates a respective window. A tool is selected by choosing an associated window as the currently-active window. Next, a list of all data items that are available for processing by the tool set may be obtained. A data item that is to undergo processing may be selected. A user interface provides a list of all operations that may be used to process the selected data item, including those operations that are supported by the currently-selected tool, and those operations that are not supported by the selected tool. Following selection of the operation, processing of the selected data item is completed by automatically invoking the appropriate tool.

Claims

1. For use in a data processing system having a memory and an instruction processor coupled to the memory, the memory for storing data items and further for storing a set of tools, each of the tools in the set of tools for performing an associated set of operations on associated ones of the data items, a tool management system comprising:

a user interface coupled to the memory to allow a user to select any of the tools as the currently-selected tool, to select any of the data items as the currently-selected data item, and to select, for said currently-selected data item, an associated one of the operations to be executed as said currently-selected operation on said currently-selected data item;

selection means responsive to said user interface for determining whether said currently-selected operation is included in the associated set of operations performed by said currently-selected tool, and if said currently-selected operation is included in said associated set of operations performed by said currently-selected tool, for providing said currently-selected operation to said currently-selected tool for execution on said currently-selected data item; and

a command routing interface responsive to said user interface to route a first indicator indicative of said currently-selected operation and a second indicator indicative of said currently-selected data item to a second one of the tools, said second one of the tools being the one of the tools including said currently-selected operation in its associated set of operations, whereby said second one of the tools executes said currently-selected operation on said currently-selected data item.

2. A tool management system, comprising:

a storage device to store groups of data signals and further to store software tools each for providing an associated set of operations on ones of said groups of data signals;

an instruction processor coupled to said storage device to execute each said set of operations provided by an associated one of said software tools;

a user interface coupled to said storage device to allow a user to select one of said software tools as a currently-selected tool, to allow the user to select one of said groups of data signals as a currently-selected group, and to allow the user to select from among predetermined ones of the operations in predetermined ones of said sets of operations that are associated with said selected group to choose a currently-selected operation;

selection interface means responsive to said user interface for determining if said currently-selected operation is included in the associated set of operations performed by said currently-selected tool, and if said currently-selected operation is included in said associated set of operations performed by said currently-selected tool, causing said instruction processor, under the control of said currently-selected tool, to execute said currently-selected operation on said currently-selected group; and

routing interface means responsive to said selection interface means for providing an indication of said currently-selected operation to a second one of said software tools, said second one of said software tools being one of the software tools including said currently-selected operation in its associated set of operations, said routine interface means further for causing said instruction processor, under the control of said second one of said software tools, to execute said currently-selected operation on said currently-selected group.

3. The tool management system of claim 2, wherein said routing interface means includes means for causing said second one of said software tools to be selected as said currently-selected tool.

4. The tool management system of claim 3, wherein said user interface includes an interface responsive to said second one of said software tools, whereby following execution of said currently-selected operation, the user is allowed to select a different one of said groups of data signals as said currently-selected group, and is further allowed, based on said currently-selected group, to select from among predetermined ones of the operations in predetermined ones of said sets of operations that are associated with said currently-selected group to choose a new currently-selected operation.

5. The tool management system of claim 2, wherein said storage device includes circuits to store, for ones of said software tools, indicators indicating a respective default one of said associated set of operations, and wherein said user interface including a default selection interface to allow said respective default one of said associated set of operations to be selected for said currently-selected tool.

6. The tool management system of claim 2, wherein said storage device includes an object repository, and each of said groups of data signals are stored as an object in said object repository.

7. The tool management system of claim 6, wherein said object repository includes first circuits to designate ones of said objects as tool objects, each of said tool objects storing data signals describing a respective one of the software tools, and wherein said user interface includes means for reading each of said tool objects for use in allowing the user to select one of said software tools as said currently-selected tool.

8. The tool management system of claim 7, wherein said object repository includes second circuits to designate ones of said objects as operations objects, each of said operations objects storing data signals describing a respective one of said operations, and wherein said user interface includes means for reading predetermined ones of said operation objects for use in allowing the user to choose said currently-selected operation.

9. The tool management system of claim 8, wherein said object repository includes third circuits to designate first relationships, each of said first relationships associating a first respective object with a respective one of said operation objects, and wherein said user interface includes means for reading, as said predetermined ones of said operation objects, each operation object having one of said first relationships associating said each operation object with the object selected as said currently-selected group.

10. The tool management system of claim 9, wherein said object repository includes fourth circuits to designate second relationships, each of said second relationships associating a respective one of said operation objects with a respective one of said tool objects, and wherein said selection interface means includes means to select the one of said tool objects that is associated via one of said second relationships with the operations object representing said currently-select operation, and to further select for executing the currently-selected operation, the one of said tools that is represented by said selected tool object.

11. The tool management system of claim 6, wherein said object repository is model-driven such that each of said objects is created according to an object type defined by a model stored in said object repository.

12. The tool management system of claim 2, wherein said routing interface means includes means for determining whether said second one of said software tools is active, and if said second one of said software tools is not active, to launch said second one of said software tools.

13. The tool management system of claim 2, wherein said currently-selected operation is included within the associated set of operations of more than one of said tools, and further including operation override means coupled to said user interface for determining which one of said more than one of said tools should be used to provide the associated set of operations that is included among said predetermined ones of said sets of operations used to choose a currently-selected operation.

14. For use in a data processing system including a memory for storing data items, the memory further for storing tools that each performs an associated set of operations, each of the operations being associated with ones of the data items for performing data processing tasks on the associated ones of the data items, the computer-implemented method for managing the tools, comprising the steps of:

(a) selecting any of the tools as the currently-selected tool;

(b) using said currently-selected tool to obtain a list of the data items stored in the memory;

(c) selecting one of the data items as the currently-selected data item;

(d) using said currently-selected tool to obtain a list of all of the operations that are associated with said currently-selected data item;

(e) selecting one of the listed operations as the currently-selected operation;

(f) using said currently-selected tool to perform said currently-selected operation if said currently-selected operation is included in the associated set of operations performed by said currently-selected tool; and

(g) routing said currently-selected operation to a different one of the tools to be performed if said currently-selected operation is not included in the associated set of operations performed by said currently-selected tool, wherein said currently-selected operation is included in the associated set of operations performed by said different one of the tools for said currently-selected data item.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein step (g) includes the step of launching said different one of the tools if said different one of the tools is not currently active.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the data processing system allows multiple ones of the tools to be active simultaneously, each in a respective window, and wherein step (a) includes the step of selecting a window, whereby said currently-selected tool is the tool populating the currently-selected window.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein the memory includes an object repository for storing objects, and wherein each of the data items is one of the objects stored in the object repository, and wherein step (b) includes the step of retrieving a list of predetermined ones of the objects stored in the object repository for use in selecting a selected object as said currently-selected data item.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the object repository stores objects that are designated as tool objects, each of the tool objects storing data signals representing and describing a respective one of the tools, and wherein step (a) includes the steps of:

retrieving from the object repository each of the tool objects; and

using data signals stored in the retrieved tool objects to build a tools menu for use in selecting one of the tools as said currently-selected tool.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the object repository stores objects that are designated as operations objects, each of the operations objects storing data signals representing and describing a respective one of the operations in the object repository, and wherein step (e) includes the steps of:

(e1) retrieving predetermined ones of the operations objects stored in the object repository; and

(e2) using data signals read from retrieved ones of the operations objects to build an operations menu for use in selecting one of the operations as said currently-selected operation.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the data processing system further includes a resource file for storing language-specific information describing the operations, and wherein step (e2) includes the steps of:

reading a resource index from each of said retrieved ones of the operations objects; and

using each said resource index to read language specific information from the resource file for use in building said operations menu.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the object repository further stores operation relationship indicators each to indicate a relationship existing between a respective one of said operation objects and other ones of the objects stored in the object repository, and wherein step (e) includes the step of retrieving as said list of predetermined ones of the operations all of said operation objects indicated as having a relationship to said selected object.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the object repository further stores tool relationship indicators each to indicate a relationship existing between a respective one of the operation objects and a respective one of the tool objects, and wherein step (f) includes the step of determining whether said currently-selected operation is included in said associated set of operations performed by said currently-selected tool by determining whether the one of the operations objects representing said currently-selected operation is related to the one of the tool objects representing the currently-selected tool.

23. The method of claim 14 wherein ones of the tools are each associated with a default one of the operations, and further including the step of allowing the default one of the operations for said currently-selected tool to be selected using a predetermined default selection mechanism.

24. The method of claim 18, wherein the object repository stores objects that are designated as operations objects, each of the operations objects storing data signals representing and describing a respective one of the operations in the object repository, and wherein step (e) includes the steps of:

(e1) retrieving predetermined ones of the operations objects stored in the object repository; and

(e2) using data signals read from retrieved ones of the operations objects to build an operations menu for use in selecting one of the operations as said currently-selected operation.

25. The method of claim 14 wherein multiple ones of the operations that are associated with said currently-selected data item are available for performing similar ones of the data processing tasks and are associated with said currently-selected data item, and wherein step (e1) includes the step of selecting the one of said multiple ones of the operations that is most specifically designed to process said currently-selected data item.

26. For use in a data management system having an instruction processor, a memory coupled to the instruction processor, and a repository to store data items managed by the data management system, wherein the memory stores a tool set for providing a predetermined set of functions to be executed by the instruction processor, the tool set including multiple tools each for providing respective ones of functions, and wherein each data item is associated with the ones of the functions capable of being performed on the data item, a tool management system, comprising:

first memory circuits to store, for each of the functions, an associated function description, and function relationship indicators that each associates the function description with a data item that is associated with the function;

second memory circuits coupled to the first memory circuits to store, for each of the tools, a tool description, and tool relationship indicators that each associates the tool description with a function description that describes a function performed by the tool;

selection means coupled to the first memory circuits for allowing for the selection of a data item and a tool, and for searching the repository to find the selected data item;

relationship traversal means for utilizing the function relationship indicators to locate each of the function descriptions associated with the selected data item;

command routing means for receiving functions from the selection means; and

wherein the selection means further includes means for allowing one of the located functional descriptions to be selected, and means for invoking the selected tool to execute the function described by the selected function description if the described function is provided by the selected tool, and otherwise, for providing the described function to the command routing means.

27. The system of claim 26, wherein said command routing means includes means for utilizing the tool relationship indicators to locate a tool description describing a tool that performs the described function, and for utilizing the located tool description to invoke the described tool to execute the described function.