Unified expression and location framework

• US 8,181,155 B2
• Filed: 02/29/2008
• Issued: 05/15/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 02/29/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Pinto, Edmund Samuel Victor, Wolf, Kenneth David, Schmidt, Robert Brian, Talbert, Nathan C., Kizer, Geoffrey M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Dam, Tuan
• Assistant Examiner(s): Wei, Zheng
• Application Number:
  US12/040,567
• Publication Number:
  US 20090222794A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,537 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 717/116
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4488 Object-oriented

Abstract

Allowing a continuation based runtime to resolve different types of location expressions, value expressions, and/or locations. This may be accomplished using a different class for each particular type. The location expression classes may each have a common method used for all of the location expression classes. The value expression classes may each have a common method, and the locations may also each have a common method. This allows the resolution of such location and value expressions to be treated in a unified fashion regardless of the type of location expression, or the type of value expression. Also, the location may be treated in a unified manner regardless of the type of location.

Claims

1. A computer program product comprising one of more computer-readable storage devices having stored thereon computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a computing system capable of running a continuation based runtime, causes the computing system to perform a method for allowing the continuation based runtime to resolve location expressions of multiple location expression classes, the method comprising:

an act of providing a first abstract base class that defines a method for resolving a value expression into a value, a second abstract class that derives from the first abstract base class and that defines a method for resolving a variable into a location, and multiple location expression classes that each derive from the second abstract class such that each of the multiple location expression classes inherits the method for resolving a value expression into a value defined in the first abstract base class and inherits the method for resolving a variable into a location from the second abstract class, such that each location expression class implements a common method for resolving a variable into a location, and is used to resolve a respective distinct category of location expressions into a location in a continuation based runtime;

an act of accessing a location expression of a particular type;

an act of identifying a location expression class of the multiple location expression classes that is used for resolving location expressions of the particular type;

an act of using the location expression to identify one or more input parameters representing an environment for the location expression to provide to an object instance of the identified location expression class;

an act of requesting a resolved location of the location expression using the common method of the object instance of the identified location expression class; and

an act of receiving the resolved location of the location expression in response to the act of requesting.

2. The computer program product in accordance with claim 1, wherein the particular type of location expression comprises a variable location expression, wherein the multiple location expression classes include at least one other location expression class that is for location expression types that are not variable location expressions.

3. The computer program product in accordance with claim 1, wherein the particular type of location expression comprises a lambda location expression, wherein the multiple location expression classes include at least one other location expression class that is for location expression types that are not lambda location expressions.

4. The computer program product in accordance with claim 1, wherein the requested resolution occurs asynchronously in a continuation-based fashion.

5. The computer program product in accordance with claim 1, wherein the location expression is a first location expression of a first particular type, the location expression class is a first location expression class, the one or more input parameters are first one or more input parameters, the object instance is a first object instance, and the function call is a first function call, the method further comprising:

an act of accessing a second location expression of a second type;

an act of identifying a second location expression class of the multiple location expression classes that is used for resolving location expressions of the second type;

an act of using the second location expression to identify second one or more input parameters representing an environment for the second location expression to provide to a second object instance of the second location expression class;

an act of requesting a resolved location of the second location expression using the common method of the second object instance of the second identified location expression class; and

an act of receiving the resolved location of the second location expression in response to the act of requesting a resolved location of the second location expression.

6. The computer program product in accordance with claim 5, wherein the first location expression comprises a variable location expression, and the second location expression comprises a lambda location expression.

7. The computer program product in accordance with claim 1, further comprising:

adding an additional location expression class to the multiple location expression classes, the additional location expression class also derive from the second abstract class.

8. The computer program product in accordance with claim 1, the method further comprising:

an act of providing multiple value expression classes that each derive from the first abstract base class such that each of the multiple value expression classes inherits the method for resolving a value expression into a value defined in the first abstract base class such that each value expression class implements a common method for resolving a value expression into a value, each value expression class used to resolve a respective distinct category of value expressions into a value in the continuation based runtime;

an act of accessing a value expression of a particular type;

an act of identifying a value expression class of the multiple value expression classes that is used for resolving value expressions of the particular type;

an act of using the value expression to identify one or more input parameters to representing an environment of the value expression to provide to an object instance of the identified value expression class;

an act of requesting a resolved value of the value expression using the common method of the object instance of the identified value expression class; and

an act of receiving the resolved value of the value expression in response to the act of requesting.

9. A computer program product comprising one of more computer-readable storage devices having stored thereon computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a computing system capable of running a continuation based runtime, causes the computing system to perform a method for allowing the continuation based runtime to resolve value expressions of multiple value expression classes, the method comprising:

an act of providing a first abstract base class that defines a method for resolving a value expression into a value, and multiple value expression classes that each derive from the first abstract base class such that each of the multiple value expression classes inherits the method for resolving a value expression into a value defined in the first abstract base class such that each value expression class implements a common method for resolving a value expression into a value, and is used to resolve a respective distinct category of value expressions into a value in the continuation based runtime;

an act of an activity manager requesting an expression resolution module to resolve a value expression using the common method without determining the particular category of the value expression; and

an act of the expression resolution module responding to the request by identifying the particular category of the value expression and invoking a value expression class that corresponds to the particular category to the value expression to generate and return a resolved value of the value expression.

10. The computer program product in accordance with claim 9, wherein the particular type of value expression comprises a literal value expression.

11. The computer program product in accordance with claim 9, wherein the particular type of value expression comprises a string format value expression.

12. The computer program product in accordance with claim 9, wherein the expression represents a property of an activity.

13. The computer program product in accordance with claim 9, wherein the expression binds an activity parameter to an environment.

14. A computer program product comprising one of more computer-readable storage devices having stored thereon computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a computing system capable of running a continuation based runtime, causes the computing system to perform a method for allowing the continuation based runtime to resolve location expressions of multiple location expression classes, the method comprising:

an act of providing;

a first abstract base class that defines a method for resolving a value expression into a value;

a second abstract class that derives from the first abstract base class and that defines a method for resolving a variable into a location;

multiple location expression classes that each derive from the second abstract class such that each of the multiple location expression classes inherits the method for resolving a value expression into a value defined in the first abstract base class and inherits the method for resolving a variable into a location from the second abstract class, such that each location expression class implements a common method for resolving a variable into a location, and is used to resolve a respective distinct category of location expressions into a location in a continuation based runtime;

an act of accessing a location expression of a particular type; and

multiple value expression classes that each derive from the first abstract base class such that each of the multiple value expression classes inherits the method for resolving a value expression into a value defined in the first abstract base class such that each value expression class implements a common method for resolving a value expression into a value, each value expression class used to resolve a respective distinct category of value expressions into a value in the continuation based runtime;

an act of identifying a location expression class of the multiple location expression classes that is used for resolving location expressions of the particular type;

an act of using the location expression to identify one or more input parameters representing an environment for the location expression to provide to an object instance of the identified location expression class;

an act of requesting a resolved location of the location expression using the common method of the object instance of the identified location expression class; and

an act of receiving the resolved location of the location expression in response to the act of requesting.

15. The computer program product in accordance with claim 14, wherein a first location class is a variable location class, and a second location class is a data source location class.

16. The computer program product in accordance with claim 14, further comprising:

an act of accessing a value expression of a particular type;

an act of identifying a value expression class of the multiple value expression classes that is used for resolving value expressions of the particular type;

an act of using the value expression to identify one or more input parameters to representing an environment of the value expression to provide to an object instance of the identified value expression class;

an act of requesting a resolved value of the value expression using the common method of the object instance of the identified value expression class; and

an act of receiving the resolved value of the value expression in response to the act of requesting.