Modernization of legacy applications using dynamic icons

A non-transitory computer-readable memory medium whose contents are instructions configured to enable a computing system to modernize an existing menu-based legacy application, by performing a method comprising:

• receiving a reorganization of the existing menu-based legacy application into a plurality of roles, wherein each role is configured to allow direct access to the menu-based legacy application through one or more tasks without invoking the menu structure of the existing menu based legacy application;
• receiving from a host computing system a data stream representing output from a task of the existing menu-based legacy application executing on a host computing system;
• filtering the received data stream output to identify entities to be output in a display on the client computing system of the received data stream, wherein the identified entities include multiple user interface controls on a role desktop, wherein the role desktop displays an indicator of a current role that is associated with one or more tasks of the existing menu-based legacy application configured for the current role, such that a user of the role is authorized to conduct the associated one or more tasks without invoking the menu structure of the existing menu based legacy application;
• associating each identified entity with an associated icon that most nearly matches the identified entity by matching each entity name, in whole or in part, to an icon descriptor of the associated icon;
• and
• outputting the received data stream in the display on the client computing system, such that each identified entity is displayed along with its associated icon on the current role of the role desktop.

A client computing system, comprising:

• a memory;
• a processor;
• and
• a client-side host interface code module stored in the memory, communicatively coupled to a host computing system, and configured, when executed on the processor, to receive screen output from at least one task of an existing menu-based legacy application running on the host computing system, wherein the legacy application accesses tasks uses a hierarchy of menus, and to modernize the received screen output by adding icons to a plurality of entities received in the screen output when the received output is displayed on a display of the client computing system on a role desktop, wherein the client-side host interface code module is further configured to:
• receive from the host computing system a data stream representing the screen output from the at least one task of the existing menu-based legacy application running on the host computing system;
• filter the received data stream output to identify the plurality of entities received in the screen output, wherein the identified entities include multiple user interface controls on the role desktop, wherein the role desktop displays an indicator of a current role that is associated with one or more tasks of the existing menu-based legacy application configured for the current role, such that a user of the role is authorized to conduct the associated one or more tasks without invoking the hierarchy of menus of the existing menu based legacy application;
• associate each identified entity with an associated icon that most nearly matches the identified entity by matching each entity name, in whole or in part, to an icon descriptor of the associated icon;
• and
• output the received data stream in the display of the client computing system, such that each entity is displayed along with its associated icon on the current role of the role desktop.