Methods for facilitating application development

• US 7,814,125 B2
• Filed: 09/17/2007
• Issued: 10/12/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/15/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: LinkedIn Corporation (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Berry, Brian D., Sack, Noah G.
• Primary Examiner(s): STACE, BRENT S
• Application Number:
  US11/856,128
• Publication Number:
  US 20080109410A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,121 Days
• Field of Search: 707/3, 707/803, 707/802, 707/790, 717/100, 715/762, 715/210, 715/700, 715/200
• US Class Current: 707/803
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/38 for implementing user interfaces

Abstract

Application development is facilitated by initializing a page token in response to receiving a request. The page token comprises an abstract model component containing a specification for obtaining data designated to be sent in a response to the request or a specification for updating data obtained from the request, and also a view component for providing referential format specifications for data provided in the abstract model component. The page token is passed between at least two components of a modified model-view-controller architecture via a standard interface. The components include a user interface controller, a user interface builder implementing a first standard interface, an application layer implementing a second standard interface, a data access manager implementing a third standard interface, and at least one data access utility implementing a fourth standard interface. Business logic is applied to contents of the page token as a result of the passing, and a response is presented to the request based upon results of applying the business logic.

Claims

1. A computer program product extending functionality of a model-view-controller architecture, said computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium storing components of a modified model-view controller architecture, the components of the modified model-view controller architecture including:

a user interface controller;

a user interface builder, wherein the user interface controller is in communication with the user interface builder via a first interface;

an application layer, wherein the user interface builder is in communication with application layer via a second interface;

program code for generating a page token comprising an abstract model component containing a specification for obtaining data designated to be sent in a response to a request or updating data obtained from a request, and a view component for providing referential format specifications for data provided in the abstract model component, wherein the response comprises an entire web page including a current panel;

wherein the page token is initialized by the user interface controller and passed to one of the components via the first interface;

program code for applying business logic to contents of the page token as a result of passing, and a response to the request is presented based upon results of applying the business logic; and

a data access manager, wherein the application layer is in communication with the data access manager via a third interface, wherein in response to receiving the page token from the application layer, the data access manager parses the abstract model component and sends parsed data to at least one data access utility associated with the parsed data, wherein the data access manager is in communication with the at least one data access utility via a fourth interface;

wherein the data access manager sends at least a portion of the page token, including the specification, to the at least one data access utility via the fourth interface for use by the at least one data access utility in accessing data in a data store.

2. The computer program product of claim 1 wherein the:

at least one data access utility is associated with one or more concrete models and translates the parsed data into a language understood by corresponding data stores, executes an operation specified in the parsed data, and returns results of the executed operation to the data access manager.

3. The computer product of claim 2 wherein in response to receiving the results of the executed operation, the data access manager updates the page token with the results and passes the page token back to the application layer.

4. The computer program product of claim 3 wherein in response to receiving the page token, the application layer applies business logic and passes the page token back to the user interface builder.

5. The computer program product of claim 4 wherein in response to receiving the page token, the user interface builder formats the data in the page token into a page for viewing and passes the page back to the user interface controller.

6. A computer program product for presenting a response based upon an application of business logic in accordance with a request, said computer program product comprising:

a computer readable storage medium;

first program instructions for initializing a page token in response to receiving a request, the page token comprising an abstract model component containing a specification for obtaining data designated to be sent in a response to the request or a specification for updating data obtained from the request, and a view component for providing referential format specifications for the data provided in the abstract model component, wherein the response comprises an entire web page including a current panel;

second program instructions for passing the page token between at least two components of a modified model-view-controller architecture via an interface, the components of the modified model-view controller architecture including;

a user interface controller;

a user interface builder implementing a first interface;

an application layer implementing a second interface;

a data access manager implementing a third interface; and

at least one data access utility implementing a fourth interface;

third program instructions for applying, by the application layer, business logic to the contents of the page token as a result of passing; and

fourth program instructions for presenting a response to the request based upon results of the applying business logic;

wherein said first, second, third and fourth program instructions are stored on said computer readable storage medium;

wherein;

the user interface controller interacts with the user interface builder via the first interface;

the user interface builder interacts with the application layer via the second interface;

the application layer interacts with the data access manager via the third interface; and

the data access manager sends at least a portion of the page token, including the specification, to the at least one data access utility via the fourth interface for use by the at least one data access utility in accessing data in a data store.

7. The computer program product of claim 6, wherein the request includes at least one of:

a browser-initiated hypertext transport protocol request;

a request for at least one of data, a document, an image, and multi-media content;

a search request; and

a request to launch an application.

8. The computer program product of claim 7, further comprising:

fifth program instructions for updating the page token via at least one of;

default business logic, wherein the default business logic is applied by a call to the at least one data access utility, and the page token is updated with data from a data store or data from the user interface builder configured for rendering panels; and

custom business logic, wherein the custom business logic is applied by a call to the application layer, and wherein the custom business logic is configured for updating data retrieved or for updating a view.

9. The computer program product of claim 6, further comprising sixth program instructions for managing panel flow via the user interface controller, wherein the panel flow is managed using specification information in the page token and machine status information tracked by the user interface controller.

10. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein the user interface builder performs:

extracting data from the request and placing extracted data into the page token;

identifying fields, data, and text designated for placement on a current panel; and

identifying a format for the fields, data, and text.

11. The computer program product of claim 10, wherein the data access manager performs:

parsing the specification contained in the abstract model component into segments, each of the segments classified by a corresponding data store associated with a data access utility;

translating each of the segments using the data access utility associated with a data store specified by the segment, the translating including translating each of the segments into a language understood by the data store;

executing an operation based upon results of the translating;

updating the segments to reference the results when the operation executed is one that yields results;

aggregating the segments in the abstract model component of the page token; and

passing the page token back to the application layer.

12. A method in a data processing system for presenting a response based upon an application of business logic in accordance with a request, where the data processing system comprises a modified model-view-controller architecture that includes a user interface controller, a user interface builder implementing a first interface, an application layer implementing a second interface, a data access manager implementing a third interface, and at least one data access utility implementing a fourth interface, wherein the interface controller interacts with the user interface builder via the first interface, the user interface builder interacts with the application layer via the second interface, the application layer interacts with the data access manager via the third interface, the method comprising:

initializing, by the data processing system, a page token in response to receiving a request, the page token comprising an abstract model component containing a specification for obtaining data designated to be sent in a response to the request or a specification for updating data obtained from the request, and a view component for providing referential format specifications for the data provided in the abstract model component, wherein the response comprises an entire web page including a current panel;

passing, by the data processing system, the page token between at least two components of the modified model-view-controller architecture via an interface;

applying, by the application layer, business logic to contents of the page token as a result of the passing; and

presenting, by the data processing system, a response to the request based upon results of the applying business logic;

wherein the data access manager sends at least a portion of the page token, including the specification, to the at least one data access utility via the fourth interface for use by the at least one data access utility in accessing data in a data store.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the request includes at least one of:

a browser-initiated hypertext transport protocol request;

a request for at least one of data, a document, an image, and multi-media content;

a search request; and

a request to launch an application.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising updating, by the data processing system, the page token via at least one of:

default business logic, wherein the default business logic is applied by a call to the at least one data access utility, and the page token is updated with data from a data store or data from the user interface builder configured for rendering panels; and

custom business logic, wherein the custom business logic is applied by a call to the application layer, and wherein the custom business logic is configured for updating data retrieved or for updating a view.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein:

the user interface controller interacts with the user interface builder via the first interface;

the user interface builder interacts with the application layer via the second interface;

the application layer interacts with the data access manager via the third interface; and

the data access manager interacts with the at least one data access utility via the fourth interface.

16. The method of claim 12, further comprising managing panel flow via the user interface controller, wherein the panel flow is managed using specification information in the page token and machine status information tracked by the user interface controller.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the user interface builder performs:

extracting data from the request and placing extracted data into the page token;

identifying fields, data, and text designated for placement on a current panel; and

identifying a format for the fields, data, and text.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the data access manager performs:

parsing the specification contained in the abstract model component into segments, each of the segments classified by a corresponding data store associated with a data access utility;

translating each of the segments using the data access utility associated with a data store specified by the segment, the translating including translating each of the segments into a language understood by the data store;

executing an operation based upon results of the translating;

updating the segments to reference the results when the operation executed is one that yields results;

aggregating the segments in the abstract model component of the page token; and

passing the page token back to the application layer.

19. A system for presenting a response based upon an application of business logic in accordance with a request, the system comprising:

a central processing unit (CPU), a computer readable memory and a computer readable storage media;

first program instructions for initializing a page token in response to receiving a request, the page token comprising an abstract model component containing a specification for obtaining data designated to be sent in a response to the request or a specification for updating data obtained from the request, and a view component for providing referential format specifications for the data provided in the abstract model component, wherein the response comprises an entire web page including a current panel;

second program instructions for passing the page token between at least two components of a modified model-view-controller architecture via an interface, the components of the modified model-view-controller architecture including;

a user interface controller;

a user interface builder implementing a first interface;

an application layer implementing a second interface;

a data access manager implement a third interface; and

at least one data access utility implementing a fourth interface;

third program instructions for applying, by the application layer, business logic to contents of the page token as a result of the passing;

fourth program instructions for presenting a response to the request based upon results of the applying business logic;

wherein the user interface controller interacts with the user interface builder via the first interface, the user interface builder interacts with the application layer via the second interface, the application layer interacts with the data access manager via the third interface, and the data access manager sends at least a portion of the page token, including the specification, to the at least one data access utility via the fourth interface for use by the at least one data access utility in accessing data in a data store; and

wherein the first, second, third, and fourth program instructions are stored on the computer readable storage media for execution by the CPU via the computer readable memory.