Graphical user interface (GUI) script generation and documentation
AssigneeInternational Business Machines Corporation
InventorAlan John McLean
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
There is disclosed a method for generating documentation for a GUI usage scenario. There is also disclosed a method for assembling a GUI script from a plurality of pre-scripted parts. In an embodiment, shadow objects are created to listen to and report activities of each GUI object of interest during a GUI usage session. The shadow objects may listen to shadowed GUI object activities during playback of the GUI script, or during a live GUI usage session. GUI object activities reported by the shadow objects are identified and converted into narrative language statements, using a pre-determined conversion list, to create human-readable documentation.
Claims7
A method of generating documentation for a graphical user interface usage session, the method comprising:
- creating a plurality of shadow objects that correspond to a plurality of graphical user interface objects, wherein creating the plurality of shadow objects comprises instantiating each shadow object from one of a plurality of shadow classes, and wherein the plurality of shadow classes are children of a base shadow class;
- shadowing each of the plurality of graphical user interface objects of interest using a corresponding shadow object, the corresponding shadow object being configured to listen to and report activities of the corresponding graphical user interface objects it is shadowing;
- identifying each activity of interest reported by the corresponding shadow object using a predetermined list of graphical user interface object activities;
- converting each graphical user interface object activity identified into a pre-determined narrative language statement, wherein converting the each graphical user interface object activity identified further comprises:
- matching each activity in the pre-determined list of graphical user interface object activities with the pre-determined narrative language statement in a corresponding list of pre-determined narrative language statements;
- and
- presenting converted narrative language statements as human-readable documentation.
A method of generating documentation for a graphical user interface usage session, the method comprising:
- creating a plurality of shadow objects that correspond to a plurality of graphical user interface objects, wherein creating the plurality of shadow objects comprises instantiating each shadow object from one of a plurality of shadow classes, and wherein the plurality of shadow classes are children of a base shadow class;
- shadowing each of the plurality of graphical user interface objects of interest using a corresponding shadow object, the corresponding shadow object being configured to listen to and report activities of the corresponding graphical user interface object;
- identifying each activity of interest reported by the corresponding shadow object using a predetermined list of graphical user interface object activities, wherein identifying the each activity of interest reported by the corresponding shadow object further comprises:
- comparing a reported graphical user interface object activity with an activity in the pre-determined list of graphical user interface object activities;
- converting each graphical user interface object activity identified into a pre-determined narrative language statement, wherein converting the each graphical user interface object activity identified further comprises matching each activity in the pre-determined list of graphical user interface object activities with the pre-determined narrative language statement in a corresponding list of pre-determined narrative language statements;
- presenting converted narrative language statements as human-readable documentation, wherein the converted narrative language statements contain formatting, and wherein the formatting is one of HyperText Markup Language, Extensible Markup Language, and Extensible HyperText Markup Language code;
- displaying formatted narrative language statements corresponding to the graphical user interface usage session;
- and
- responsive to playback of a graphical user interface script, triggering at least one of a plurality of screen captures, wherein the at least one of the plurality of screen captures is selectively embedded in the documentation.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.