Extensible mechanism for object composition

• US 7,779,043 B2
• Filed: 12/29/2005
• Issued: 08/17/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/06/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Wilson, Bradley J., Provost, Peter G., Jezierski, Eduardo A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Jalil; Neveen Abel
• Assistant Examiner(s): Syed; Farhan M
• Application Number:
  US11/321,209
• Publication Number:
  US 20070083551A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,692 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 707/802
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/24 Object-oriented
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/36 Software reuse
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4488 Object-oriented

Abstract

An extensible framework for object oriented programming comprises a reception component that receives a customized strategy relating to composing a target object. An implementation component automatically implements the customized strategy to compose the target object based at least in part upon context associated with the target object. The extensible framework can further comprise a context component that determines the context, including context of an application associated with the target object, existing objects associated with the target object, and relationships between the existing objects.

Claims

1. A system for automatically building objects and automatically defining a relationship between objects based upon context during runtime of an application using the objects, the system comprising:

one or more computer storage media having stored thereon;

a reception component that, when executed by a processor, receives a customized composition strategy given in a context associated with a target object, wherein the received customized composition strategy is independently built and used, without requiring changes to a consuming application and without requiring changes to other strategies of a plurality of customized composition strategies;

an implementation component that automatically implements the customized composition strategy to create the target object based at least in part upon the context associated with the target object, wherein;

the context associated with the target object is based on a current context of the consuming application separate from the reception and implementation components that uses the target object, the consuming application being at runtime such that the current context corresponds to a runtime context of the consuming application; and

a framework associated with implementing the customized composition strategy allows for an addition of new customized composition strategies and defines a use for such strategies, and such that creation of the target object is performed during runtime of the consuming application;

an ordering component that facilitates execution of the customized composition strategy in an order that is determined by the context associated with the target object, such that the customized composition strategy is ordered for execution in a different order with respect to the other strategies of the plurality of customized composition strategies when the consuming application has different contexts at runtime; and

a context component that determines the context associated with the target object, wherein the context associated with the target object includes context of the application associated with the target object, existing objects associated with the target object, and relationships between the existing objects, wherein the context is a set of components that are relevant to the application and the target object at runtime of the consuming application, and at least one of the existing objects is a remote object.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the reception component receives the plurality of customized composition strategies.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the ordering component facilitates execution of the plurality of customized composition strategies based on the context associated with the target object.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the customized composition strategy is a permanent policy or a transient policy.

5. The system of claim 1 configured to employ inferences in connection with composing the target object.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the inferences generated are based at least in part upon one or more of analyzed metadata and explicit commands.

7. The system of claim 5, further comprising an external configuration file that is employed in connection with generating the inferences.

8. An extensible method for composing an object comprising based upon a current context of a run time application, the method comprising:

executing the following computer executable acts on a processor;

receiving a call from an application at run time of the application, wherein the call includes at least a request for at least one composition strategy and a specification of default policies associated with the composition strategy;

receiving the a plurality of composition strategies;

receiving a command to compose a target object for the run time application;

determine a context associated with the target object, wherein the context associated with the target object includes a set of entities existing in the application and relevant to the application and the target application at run time when the call is received, including at least a context of the application for which the target object is composed, existing objects associated with the target object, and relationships between the existing objects, wherein at least one of the existing objects is a remote object;

composing an object based at least upon the context and the call, and during run time of the application; and

ordering the plurality of composition strategies based on the context and the call, such that the same plurality of composition strategies is ordered differently for different contexts of the application at run time.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising executing at least two of the composition strategies in a parallel manner.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising executing at least two of the composition strategies sequentially in a specified order.

11. The method of claim 8, further comprising performing one or more of constructor dependency injection and setter injection upon executing the at least one strategy.

12. The method of claim 8, further comprising performing one or more of registering the target object, storing the target object in a container and retrieving the target object from a container upon executing the at least one strategy.

13. The method of claim 8, further comprising performing at least one of type mapping with respect to the target object upon executing the at least one strategy and providing a proxy object to the target object upon executing the at least one strategy.

14. The method of claim 8, further comprising performing attribute reflection upon executing the at least one strategy.

15. An extensible system for object composition during run time of an application requesting composition of the object, and based on then current context of the application, the extensible system comprising:

one or more processors; and

one or more computer storage media having stored thereon computer executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, causes the extensible system to;

receive a call from an application at run time of the application, wherein the call initiates a request for creation of at least one target object;

receive a chain of sequential composition strategies, wherein the chain of composition strategies relate to building the at least one target object;

implement the chain of composition strategies with respect to the at least one target object;

determine a context associated with the at least one target object, wherein the determined context associated with the at least one target object includes a current context of the application at run time of the application associated with the target object, and includes existing objects associated with the target object, relationships between the existing objects, and an identification of object instances running within the application, wherein the context is a set of components that are relevant to the application and the target object at run time of the application, and at least one of the existing objects is a remote object;

interrogate a policy, wherein the policy specifies rules for the implementation of the chain of composition strategies, and such that changes in run time context of the application change an order in which the chain of sequential composition strategies are used; and

create the at least one target object based at least in part upon the received chain of composition strategies in the order determined by interrogation of the policy in view of the run time context of the application, wherein creating the at least one target object includes ordering the chain of composition strategies based on the context of the application at run time, such that the same chain of composition strategies is ordered differently for at least two different contexts of the application at run time.