Plug and play interface for user actions

• US 7,240,323 B1
• Filed: 04/25/2002
• Issued: 07/03/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 07/26/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Emc IP Holding Company LLC (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Original Assignee: EMC Corporation (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Inventors: Gruttadauria, Brian R., Bauer, Andreas L., Desai, Munish T.
• Primary Examiner(s): An; Weng-Al T.
• Assistant Examiner(s): MITCHELL, JASON D
• Application Number:
  US10/132,769
• Time in Patent Office: 1,895 Days
• Field of Search: 717/121, 717168-178, 717/100, 717106-109, 345/760, 345762-767, 713/100, 707/1, 707100-102, 715/762
• US Class Current: 717/100
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/38 for implementing user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99942 Manipulating data structure, e.g. compression, compaction, compilation

Abstract

There is disclosed a technique for creating a plug and play interface for user actions on a graphical user interface (GUI) on a computer system such as might be used in a client-server network. A text file is prepared in XML language containing all possible user actions. The text file is read by GUI framework application software running on the operating system, and the results are stored in at least one table as Java code. The framework application software calls the Java code in response to user requests. The technique lends itself to modularization and therefore to ease of manufacture of such software plug and play interface. Such software can be easily modified at any time up to runtime.

Claims

1. In a computer system having a processor and a graphical user interface, a plug and play interface for user actions enabling software developers of said plug and play interface to implement certain graphical user interface code changes before runtime, said plug and play interface comprising:

framework means for providing infrastructure for said graphical user interface and to support information about every possible one of said user actions;

module means, pluggable into and un-pluggable from said framework means for providing at least some of said information;

means for establishing before said runtime an XML text file containing said information about said user actions;

said framework means including means for reading before said runtime said file to obtain certain of said user actions to be implemented, said certain of said user actions being determined by said some of said information; and

,

means for permitting said user to execute during said runtime a portion of said certain of said user actions through operation of said graphical user interface, said portion being determined by said some of said information.

2. The plug and play interface of claim 1 and wherein said file establishing means includes means for establishing a plurality of files containing a like plurality of subsets of said information respectively, where totality of said subsets of said information encompasses said every possible one of said user actions.

3. The plug and play interface of claim 1 wherein said computer system is included within a client-server network.

4. The plug and play interface of claim 1 wherein:

said computer system has memory including at least one table;

said file reading means includes;

censoring means to censor other than said certain of said user actions to be implemented; and

means for storing said certain of said user actions to be implemented in said at least one table and formulated in JAVA language; and

said user permitting means includes means, operating on said graphical user interface, for graying-out other than said portion of said certain of said user actions.

5. A method for manufacturing graphical user interface software employed in a computer system to be utilized by a user, said method to be implemented prior to runtime and comprising:

establishing, before runtime, a text file containing both all possible menus of said graphical user interface and their respective menu items, said all possible menus corresponding respectively to all system objects in said system;

integrating, before runtime, first code and second code into said software to be supplied to said user, said first and second code to operate on selected objects responsive to requests from said user;

including, before runtime, censor code into said software that eliminates availability of certain of said selected objects;

reading, before runtime, said text file to obtain said menus and to obtain said their respective menu-items;

storing, before runtime, said menus and said their respective menu-items as Java language objects; and

,

testing and preparing, before runtime, said software for shipment to said user.

6. The method of claim 5 and wherein said text file is written in XML computer language.

7. The method of claim 6 and wherein said first code is Java is Available code and said second code is Java actionPerformed code.