Binding to business objects and web services

• US 7,926,027 B2
• Filed: 10/19/2004
• Issued: 04/12/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/19/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Lasker, Steven M, Zadora-Przylecki, Karol, Stegman, Joseph P, Chen, John Z
• Primary Examiner(s): Bullock, Jr.; Lewis A
• Assistant Examiner(s): WANG, JUE S
• Application Number:
  US10/968,693
• Publication Number:
  US 20060085342A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,366 Days
• Field of Search: 715/744, 715/762, 715/769, 715/866, 717/106, 717/108
• US Class Current: 717/106
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management

Abstract

A system and method for method facilitating design-time data binding of business object(s) and/or web service(s) is provided. Developer(s) can specify their own class(es) that do not require specific inheritance, interface implementation or default public constructors.

The system includes a binding component that generates control information associated with control(s) based, at least in part, upon binding information associated with an entity (e.g., object, business object and/or web service). The system further includes a control generator that generates control(s) of a form associated with the entity based upon the generated by the binding component.

The binding component can utilize public property(ies) of the entity (e.g., object, business object and/or web service). The entity can represent a hierarchy of objects that drill down (e.g., endlessly), including circular relationships.

At design-time, a user (e.g., developer) can drag the root of an object (e.g., a business object and/or a web service) onto a form. Control(s) associated with the form are created by the system based on a schema of the object.

Claims

1. A method that facilitates data binding between controls of a form and properties of an object of an object oriented programming language comprising:

receiving information associated with introduction of a representation of an object onto a designer form stored in a computer readable storage medium, wherein the introduction of the representation of the object comprises a drag and drop of a representation of the object onto the form;

determining one or more public properties of the object, including determining which public properties of the object are marked to indicate that no control should be created for the properties;

automatically creating, labeling, and naming a control in the form for each of the one or more public properties of the object that are not marked to indicate that no control should be created for the property in accordance with the corresponding public property'"'"'s name such that no control is automatically created, labeled, or named for any properties thus marked;

automatically binding each control to the corresponding public property of the object;

receiving information associated with introduction of a representation of a public property of the object that is marked to indicate that no control should be created for the property onto the designer form, wherein the introduction of the representation of the public property of the object comprises a drag and drop of a representation of the public property onto the form;

automatically creating, labeling, and naming a control in the form for the public property that was dropped onto the form;

automatically binding the control to the public property that was dropped onto the form, such that the control is created and bound to the public property even though the public property is marked to indicate that no control should be created for the property.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving information associated with introduction of a representation of a public property of an object returned by a method of a Web Service, wherein the introduction of the representation of the public property comprises a drag and drop of the representation of the public property onto the form; and

automatically creating, labeling, and naming a control in the form for the public property of the object returned by the method of the Web Service.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving information associated with introduction of a representation of a public property of the object onto a designer form, wherein the introduction of the representation of the public property comprises a drag and drop of the representation of the public property onto an existing control of the form;

automatically labeling and naming the existing control in accordance with the name of the public property; and

automatically binding the existing control to the public property.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the object includes sub-objects such that a control is created, labeled, and named for each public property of each sub-object, and bound to the corresponding public property of the corresponding sub-object.

5. A computer readable storage medium storing computer executable instructions which, when executed by a processor, implement a method comprising:

receiving information associated with introduction of a representation of an object onto a designer form stored in a computer readable storage medium, wherein the introduction of the representation of the object comprises a drag and drop of a representation of the object onto the form;

determining one or more public properties of the object, including determining which public properties of the object are marked to indicate that no control should be created for the properties;

automatically creating, labeling, and naming a control in the form for each of the one or more public properties of the object that are not marked to indicate that no control should be created for the property in accordance with the corresponding public property'"'"'s name such that no control is automatically created, labeled, or named for any properties thus marked;

automatically binding each control to the corresponding public property of the object;

receiving information associated with introduction of a representation of a public property of the object that is marked to indicate that no control should be created for the property onto the designer form, wherein the introduction of the representation of the public property of the object comprises a drag and drop of a representation of the public property onto the form;

automatically creating, labeling, and naming a control in the form for the public property that was dropped onto the form;

automatically binding the control to the public property that was dropped onto the form, such that the control is created and bound to the public property even though the public property is marked to indicate that no control should be created for the property.

6. The computer readable storage medium of claim 5, further comprising:

receiving information associated with introduction of a representation of a public property of an object returned by a method of a Web Service, wherein the introduction of the representation of the public property comprises a drag and drop of the representation of the public property onto the form; and

automatically creating, labeling, and naming a control in the form for the public property of the object returned by the method of the Web Service.

7. The computer readable storage medium of claim 5 wherein the object includes sub-objects such that a control is created, labeled, and named for each public property of each sub-object, and bound to the corresponding public property of the corresponding sub-object.

8. The computer readable storage medium of claim 5, further comprising:

receiving information associated with introduction of a representation of a public property of the object onto a designer form, wherein the introduction of the representation of the public property comprises a drag and drop of the representation of the public property onto an existing control of the form;

automatically labeling and naming the existing control in accordance with the name of the public property; and

automatically binding the existing control to the public property.