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US 7,412,658 B2Granted
Modeling system for graphic user interface
AssigneeSap SE
InventorYuval Gilboa
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A modeling system for universal specification of user interfaces. The system provides a means for defining user interfaces, including highly complex and dynamic user interfaces, in a manner that is independent of any implementation context. The modeling system leads from a user-friendly visual representation of the user interface, through progressively detailed specifications of structural and behavioral aspects of the user interface parts, until a rigorous definition of the user interface in all its contexts of use is achieved. Using the information captured in the model, tools that automatically generate the fully working user interface code can be built.
Claims24
A method for generating a user interface, the user interface being configured for use in a client-server environment, the method comprising:
- providing an editor for designing a visual representation of a user interface, the editor providing a workspace and a task panel to be displayed on a display device on a client system, the workspace being provided to design the visual representation thereon, the task panel providing a plurality of elements for use in designing the visual representation, one or more of the elements being associated with a server system remotely located from the client system;
- selecting a first actor from the task panel, the first actor being a data source object that is one of the elements and includes application logic needed to access application layer provided in the server system;
- inserting the first actor into the workspace;
- inserting a second actor selected from the task panel into the workspace;
- diagrammatically defining a behavioral relationship between the first actor and the second actor;
- generating a canonic representation of said visual representation;
- and
- generating first and second executable code from the canonic representation of said visual representation, wherein the first executable code is compatible with a first platform and the second executable code is compatible with a second platform that is different from the first platform, and wherein the first executable code is generated by a first platform-specific code generator and the second executable code is generated by a second platform-specific code generator.
5 more elements
A method for generating a user interface using a modeling system, comprising:
- providing an editor for designing a visual representation of a user interface from a server system to a client system, the editor providing a workspace and a task panel to be displayed on a display device on the client system, the workspace being provided to design the visual representation thereon, the task panel providing a plurality of elements for use in designing the visual representation, one or more of the elements being associated with the server system remotely located from the client system;
- displaying a scenario selected by a user on the workspace, the scenario being compatible with user requirements for the user interface, the scenario including a plurality of interleaved scenes;
- defining each of the plurality of scenes according to inputs received from the user, each scene including concurrently active and collaborating actors, the actors being specialized computational units that represent threads of activities, where each scene is defined by diagrammatically defining a behavioral relationship between the actors associated with that scene;
- generating a canonic representation of a model represented by the scenario and the scenes;
- and
- generating a first and second executable code from the canonic representation, wherein the first executable code is compatible with a first platform and the second executable code is compatible with a second platform that is different from the first platform, and wherein the first executable code is generated by a first platform-specific code generator and the second executable code is generated by a second platform-specific code generator.
3 more elements
A method for generating a user interface in a computer system comprising a plurality of computers coupled in a network, the method comprising:
- displaying a first business function component selected by a first user on a first display area of a frontend system, the first business function component being associated with first application logic to access a first business application provided in a server system;
- displaying a second business function component selected by the first user on the first display area of the client system, the second business function component being associated with second application logic to access a second business application provided in the server system;
- forming a behavioral relationship between the first and second business function components;
- creating a visual representation of the user interface based on the displaying steps and the forming step;
- generating a canonic representation of the visual representation;
- and
- generating a first and second executable user interface code from the canonic representation, the first and second executable user interface code being operable to access the first and second applications provided in the server system to retrieve desired data, wherein the first executable user interface code is compatible with a first platform and the second executable user interface code is compatible with a second platform that is different from the first platform, and wherein the first executable user interface code is generated by a first platform-specific code generator and the second executable user interface code is generated by a second platform-specific code generator.
4 more elements
A computer system comprising a plurality of computers coupled in a network, comprising:
- means for displaying a first business function component selected by a first user on a first display area of a client system, the first business function component being associated with first application logic to access a first business application provided in a server system;
- means for displaying a second business function component selected by the first user on the first display area of the client system, the second business function component being associated with second application logic to access a second business application provided in the server system;
- means for forming a behavioral relationship between the first and second business function components, wherein a visual representation of the user interface is created based on the displaying steps and the forming step;
- means for generating a canonic representation of the visual representation;
- and
- means for generating a first and second executable user interface code from the canonic representation, the first and second executable user interface code being operable to access the first and second applications provided in the server system to retrieve desired data, wherein the first executable user interface code is compatible with a first platform and the second executable user interface code is compatible with a second platform that is different from the first platform, and wherein the first executable user interface code is generated by a first platform-specific code generator and the second executable user interface code is generated by a second platform-specific code generator.
3 more elements
A computer readable medium including a computer program, the computer program including:
- code for displaying a first business function component selected by a first user on a first display area of a client system, the first business function component being associated with first application logic to access a first business application provided in a server system;
- code for displaying a second business function component selected by the first user on the first display area of the client system, the second business function component being associated with second application logic to access a second business application provided in the server system;
- code for forming a behavioral relationship between the first and second business function components, wherein a visual representation of the user interface is created based on the displaying steps and the forming step;
- code for generating a eanonic representation of the visual representation;
- and
- code for generating a first and second executable user interface code from the canonic representation, the first and second executable user interface code being operable to access the first and second applications provided in the server system to retrieve desired data, wherein the first executable user interface code is compatible with a first platform and the second executable user interface code is compatible with a second platform that is different from the first platform, and wherein the first executable user interface code is generated by a first platform-specific code generator and the second executable user interface code is generated by a second platform-specific code generator.
3 more elements
A computer system, comprising:
- applications provided on a server system coupled to a client system;
- and
- a computer readable medium including:
- code for displaying a first business function component selected by a first user on a first display area of the client system, the first business function component being associated with first application logic to access one or more business applications provided in a server system;
- code for displaying a second business function component selected by the first user on the first display area of the client system, the second business function component being associated with second application logic to access one or more business applications provided in the server system;
- code for forming a behavioral relationship between the first and second business function components, wherein a visual representation of the user interface is created based on the displaying steps and the forming step;
- and
- code for generating a canonic representation of the visual representation;
- and
- code for generating a first and second executable user interface code from the canonic representation, the first and second executable user interface code being operable to access the first and second applications provided in the server system to retrieve desired data, wherein the first executable user interface code is compatible with a first platform and the second executable user interface code is compatible with a second platform that is different from the first platform, and wherein the first executable user interface code is generated by a first platform-specific code generator and the second executable user interface code is generated by a second platform-specific code generator.
7 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.