Method and apparatus for generating forms using form types

• US 7,665,014 B2
• Filed: 06/03/2004
• Issued: 02/16/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/03/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Møller-Pedersen, Jens, Kristiansen, Freddy, Bendsen, Per, Sloth, Peter
• Primary Examiner(s): HUYNH, CONG LAC T
• Application Number:
  US10/860,226
• Publication Number:
  US 20060036634A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,084 Days
• Field of Search: 715/505, 715/506, 715/507, 715/508, 715/221, 715/222, 715/223, 715/224, 715/225, 715/226
• US Class Current: 715/221
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/30 Creation or generation of source code
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/38 for implementing user interfaces

Abstract

A method, computer readable medium and system are provided which generate model driven forms that represent data models. Using the method, to generate a form that represents a data model, such as a business model, a selection is made to identify which of a plurality of different logical form types is to be used to generate the form to represent the data model. Then, a logical form is generated at run-time using the data model and the selected logical form type.

Claims

1. A method for rendering a form of a selected form type on multiple different types of display targets, comprising:

selecting, using a processor, which of a variety of different data models and which of a plurality of different form types to use to render the form;

identifying, using the processor, a schema associated with the selected form type, the schema including a plurality of fields corresponding to the data model associated with the form type;

selecting, using the processor, fields from the plurality of fields based on preference;

determining, using the processor, meta data associated with the selected fields;

identifying, using the processor, multiple layouts, from a plurality of layouts associated with the schema, each of the plurality of layouts specifying how the form is to be rendered on different display targets, the identified multiple layouts including a plurality of interface areas, each interface area corresponding to one of the selected fields; and

rendering the form on multiple different display targets using the multiple identified layouts and the determined meta data.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the data model is a business model.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein rendering the form on multiple different display targets further comprises generating and modifying the form at a design-time, and filling the generated form with data from the data model at a run-time.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein rendering the form further comprises generating at least one logical form using the data model and the selected logical form type.

5. The method of claim 4, and further comprising rendering the form using the at least one generated logical form.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein rendering the form further comprises rendering multiple instances of the form at run-time using the at least one generated logical form such that the data model is acted on at run-time.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the schema associated with the form type represents patterns captured from a plurality of forms.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further renders a plurality of different model driven forms representing the data model, the method comprising:

selecting multiple ones of a plurality of different logical form types to use to generate a plurality of different forms representing the data model; and

rendering the plurality of different forms, wherein each of the plurality of different forms is generated using the data model and a different one of the selected multiple ones of the plurality of different logical form types.

9. The method of claim 8, and further comprising rendering the plurality of different forms at run-time such that the data model is acted on at run-time.

10. The method of claim 9, and further comprising altering each of the plurality of different forms by altering the data model a single time.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the method renders a plurality of different model driven forms representing a plurality of data models, the method further comprising:

selecting which of a plurality of different logical form types to use to generate the plurality of different model driven forms representing the plurality of data models; and

rendering the plurality of different model driven forms, wherein each of the plurality of different model driven forms is generated using one of the plurality of data models and the selected logical form type.

12. The method of claim 11, and further comprising rendering the plurality of different model driven forms at run-time such that the plurality of data models are acted on at run-time.

13. The method of claim 12, and further comprising altering each of the plurality of different user model driven forms by altering the selected logical form type a single time.

14. A computer storage medium having computer-executable instructions stored thereon for performing steps that cause form generation on a user interface that is a component of a computer, the steps comprising:

receiving a selecting input to select which of a variety of different data models and which of a plurality of different logical form types to use to generate a form representing the data model, wherein the logical form types are logical form type models, the selected one of the plurality of different logical form types having multiple defined layouts, with each of the multiple defined layouts specifying how the form representing the data model is to be rendered on different display targets; and

rendering the form representing the data model on multiple different display targets using different ones of the multiple defined layouts.

15. The computer storage medium of claim 14, wherein the data model is a business model.

16. The computer storage medium of claim 14, and further having computer-executable instructions for performing a further step of generating at least one logical form at run-time using the data model and the selected logical form type, and rendering the form at run-time using the generated at least one logical form such that the data model is acted on at run-time.

17. The computer storage medium of claim 16, wherein receiving the selecting input to select which of the plurality of different logical form types to use to generate the form further comprises receiving the selecting input to select which of a plurality of different logical form type models to use to generate the form, and wherein generating the form at run-time further comprises generating the form at run-time using both the selected logical form type model and meta data from the data model.

18. The computer storage medium of claim 14, wherein each of the plurality of different logical form types has an associated schema which defines data from the data model to be included in the form.

19. The computer storage medium of claim 18, wherein the schema of each of the plurality of different logical form types represents patterns captured from a plurality of forms.

20. The computer storage medium of claim 14, further having computer-executable instructions for performing further steps comprising:

receiving further selecting inputs to select multiple ones of the plurality of different logical form types to use to generate a plurality of different forms representing the data model; and

generating a plurality of different logical forms at run-time, wherein each of the plurality of different logical forms is generated using the data model and a different one of the selected multiple ones of the plurality of different logical form types.

21. The computer storage medium of claim 20, and further having computer-executable instructions for performing the further step of rendering the plurality of different forms at run-time using the corresponding ones of the plurality of generated logical forms such that the data model is acted on at run-time.

22. The computer storage medium of claim 14, wherein the form generation steps generate a plurality of different model driven forms representing a plurality of data models, the computer storage medium further having computer-executable instructions for performing further steps comprising:

receiving the selecting input to select which of the plurality of different logical form types to use to generate the plurality of different forms representing the plurality of data models; and

generating a plurality of different logical forms at run-time, wherein each of the plurality of different logical forms is generated using one of the plurality of data models and the selected logical form type.

23. The computer storage medium of claim 22, and further having computer-executable instructions for performing a further step of rendering the plurality of different forms at run-time using the plurality of generated logical forms such that the plurality of data models are acted on at run-time.