JP2001350628A - Application development tool and development method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To device the display method and using method of parts by use of a graphical user interface to efficiently develop an application. SOLUTION: A tool processing part 1 has an item-part correspondence information 15. In the application development, application constitution information 2 including the information concerning which item is necessary is inputted to the tool 1. The tool 1 extracts 12 the item necessary for the application, then extracts 13 a part from the item-part correspondence information, and displays 14 the part on a screen 3.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to an application development tool and a development method using a graphical user interface, and more particularly, to a component display method and a utilization method that enable efficient application development. Application development tools and development methods.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, application development tools have
Those using a graphical user interface are becoming mainstream. These application development tools are configured so that applications can be developed by pasting parts prepared by the tools. However, these tools, of course, not only paste parts, but also customize parts,
It usually requires some coding.

For example, components for accepting a character string input from a keyboard are limited to several types such as text fields. A component that accepts only a number or a component in which the maximum number of digits is set can be realized by customizing a text field component prepared by the tool.

On the other hand, it is conceivable to prepare parts expected from the beginning as much as possible. For example, a text field having only seven digits and accepting only numbers is developed and prepared as an account number component.
By doing so, advantages such as less coding work, easier development, and less variation among developers can be obtained than using a small number of general parts. In accordance with this concept, application development tools provide a wide variety of components.

However, in a development tool that provides a variety of parts, if the number of parts increases too much, it becomes difficult for a developer to know which part to use or to find a part to use. The problem arises.

As a conventional technique capable of solving such a problem, for example, techniques described in JP-A-8-314670 and JP-A-10-187669 are known. In the former conventional technique, when a plurality of identical parts are pasted in a screen editing area, usually, one is used.
Since there is a tendency that the component is selected and pasted only once and the rest is often copied, the icon of the component that was selected once and pasted in the area for screen editing is displayed.
The operability can be improved by moving to a lower priority position on the screen. Also, in the latter conventional technique, the tool buttons constituting the toolbar are rearranged in descending order of execution number,
Frequently used items are displayed at the front so that operability can be improved in the same manner as described above.

[0007]

The prior art described above is
In each case, the method of displaying the options is improved in order to make it possible to easily select the required parts from the increasing parts group, and the act of selecting the required parts from all the options. There is a problem in that the operability itself is not improved, and there is a limit in improving the operability.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art and to utilize a graphical user interface,
An object of the present invention is to provide an application development tool and a development method capable of efficiently developing an application by devising a method of displaying and using a component.

[0009]

According to the present invention, the object is to provide a graphical user interface including a function of displaying an icon used when pasting a component, and a screen for each item constituting an application. In an application development tool for developing an application by arranging parts in an editing area, an application configuration information input unit for inputting application configuration information that is information on an application to be developed, and extracting identification information of the item from the application configuration information Item / part correspondence information storage means for storing item / part correspondence information which is information for associating item identification information for identifying the item with part identification information for identifying the part; / Parts correspondence information storage means A component extraction unit that extracts the component identification information corresponding to the item identification information extracted by the item identification information extraction unit, and the component indicated by the component identification information extracted by the component extraction unit And a component display means for displaying an icon representing the icon in the extracted component display area on the screen, and displaying the components required by the application to be developed.

In the above description, when application configuration information including item information is input to the tool, the tool extracts the item from the input information. Next, by referring to the correspondence information between the item and the component from the extracted item,
Extract the parts corresponding to the item. The components extracted here are displayed in a specific area on the screen.

For example, considering the banking system,
Client application development is the development of a data transmission screen and a data reception screen for transmitting and receiving data between a client and a server. At the time of development, a communication interface for determining which data is transmitted and which data is received is determined.
finition Language). When the file that defines this communication interface is input to the tool, the tool extracts data items such as the transferor account number and transfer amount, and other items such as a lump of processing called transfer, and then handles the parts corresponding to the item. The information is extracted by referring to the information, and icons representing those components are displayed in a specific area on the screen.

This eliminates the need for the developer to select the necessary parts from many options. In addition, if all the components displayed in the specific area are arranged, all the application configuration information input to the tool is reflected in the application, so that the components are not forgotten to be arranged.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of an application development tool and a development method according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. The embodiment of the present invention described here is an example of a case where an online system in a bank called a bank office system is constructed. First, an outline of the bank office system will be described.

FIG. 12 is a system configuration diagram showing an outline of a bank office system. 12, reference numeral 91 denotes a host computer, 92 denotes a server computer, 93 denotes a client computer, 94 denotes an input device, 95 denotes a cash processor, 96 denotes a passbook printer, and 97 denotes other terminals.

As shown in FIG. 12, a bank office system includes a host computer 91 (hereinafter, referred to as a host) for managing account information of a customer, and a client computer 93 (hereinafter, referred to as a client) installed at a bank branch or the like. ) And a server computer 92 (hereinafter, referred to as a server) between the client 93 and the host 91 for performing protocol conversion, business processing not provided by the host, and the like. The client 93 communicates with the server 92 even when the business uses the host 91. Although the example shown in FIG. 12 is illustrated as including one host 91, one server 92, and one client 93, it is common that a plurality of servers and clients are provided. Stands may be installed.

The client 93 obtains information entered by an operator using an input device 94 such as a keyboard or a scanner on a voucher, and counts the amount of cash received from the customer counted by a cash processor 95. By acquiring the information or reading the information stored in the magnetic stripe portion of the passbook with the passbook printer 96, information necessary for the business requested by the customer (specifically, depositing / withdrawing, transferring, etc.) is collected.

The client 93 transmits the information collected as described above to the server. Client 9
The server 92 that has received the information transmitted from the server 3 processes the information received by the host 91 and itself,
The result is returned to the client 93. The client 93 displays the result returned from the server 92 on a screen, stores cash, or prints it on a passbook. In other words, the processing performed by the client 93 can be summarized as follows: collecting information necessary for business, transmitting the collected information to the server 92, receiving processing result information from the server 92, and displaying a screen according to the received information. And output to devices.

As described above, the development of the application of the client 93 includes the development of a screen for collecting transmission data and transmitting the data to the server, and the development of a screen for processing data received from the server. I understand. Various elements required for input and output exist on the screen. Here, these elements required for application development are called items. To be specific, items such as the transferor account number and date are required to develop a screen to be transmitted to the server for performing the transfer business, and items such as the transaction number are required to develop the screen to be received from the server. Become. These items are realized by some components on the application. For example, for the transferor account number item, the part for inputting the transferee account number from the keyboard, for the date item, the part for acquiring and displaying the date, for the transaction number item, the received transaction number The components to be displayed are realized by being arranged on the screen. Note that the transmission screen and the reception screen may be the same screen. Developing a screen means that development is performed on a screen-by-screen basis.
It does not mean that only processes visible on the screen are developed.

The client 93 and the server 92 communicate with each other along a predetermined communication interface. Normally, when an application to be executed on the client 93 is developed, a communication interface between the client 93 and the server 92 is default. In other words, what information the client 93 should transmit to the server 92 and what information it receives from the server is known at the time of application development. The communication interface is IDL (Inter
face definition language). The IDL defines information such as an operation name indicating what kind of processing is to be performed, a variable name of data necessary for the processing, and a transmission / reception type. Therefore, by examining this communication interface, it is possible to determine what data should be transmitted and in what form. Therefore, by inputting the communication interface into the tool as application configuration information, it is necessary to extract the parts necessary for the application. Can be.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a program structure and an input / output relationship of an application development tool (hereinafter, may be simply referred to as a tool) according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 shows a layout example of an output screen. FIG.
1 and 2, 1 is a tool processing unit, 2 is application configuration information, 3 is an output screen, 11 is application configuration information input means, 12 is item identification information extraction means,
Reference numeral 13 denotes a defective item extracting means, 14 denotes a part display means, 15 denotes an item / part correspondence information updating means, 16 denotes an item / part correspondence information storage means, 31 denotes an extracted part display area, 32 denotes a screen editing area, and 33 denotes a menu display. Area.

The application development tool according to the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 1 includes a tool processing unit that receives an input of application configuration information 2 which is input information to the tool and outputs an output screen 3. FIG.
Describes only the functions and inputs and outputs of the tool related to the present invention, but does not limit the functions of the tool.

The tool processing unit 1 corresponds to the application configuration information input unit 11 for receiving the input of the application configuration information 2, the item identification information extraction unit 12 for extracting the item identification information from the application configuration information 2, and the item identification information. A component extracting unit 13 for extracting component identification information and a component display unit 14 for displaying a component indicated by the component identification information on a screen are provided. Further, the tool processing unit 1 includes an item / component correspondence information 16 which is correspondence information between the item identification information and the component identification information to be referred to by the component extraction unit 13, and an item / component for updating the item / component correspondence information 16 And a correspondence information updating unit 15.

The output screen 3 output from the component display means 14 in FIG. 1 is roughly divided into an extracted component display area 31, a screen edit area 32, and a menu display area 33 as shown in FIG. And has three areas. The screen editing area 32 and the menu display area 33 are equivalent to those realized by an application development tool having a general graphical user interface. Screen editing area 32
Is an area for developing an application while displaying and arranging various parts and visually deciding a layout. A menu display area 33 is a menu for selecting and executing basic functions such as a file operation and an editing function. Is the area displayed. The menu display area 33 may have a function of selecting a component to be used during application development. The extracted component display area 31 is an area for displaying components output by the component display unit 14 in the tool processing unit 1.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining an application development processing operation executed by the client 93 of the bank office system. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of an input file based on a table storing application configuration information.
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a table in which specific information extracted by the item identification information extracting means is stored, and FIG. 6 is an example of a table of item / part correspondence information stored in the item / part correspondence information storage means. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a table storing component identification information extracted by the component extracting means;
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example in which an icon indicating the component indicated by the extracted component identification information is displayed in the extracted component display area. Hereinafter, the flow of FIG. 3 will be described with reference to FIGS. I do.

(1) First, application configuration information 2
, A file defining a communication interface between the client 93 and the server 92 is input using the application configuration information input unit 11. The communication interface can be defined by various methods such as the IDL described above. Here, it is assumed that the communication interface is a file including an operation name indicating what kind of processing is to be performed, a variable name of data necessary for the processing, and information of a transmission / reception type. The application configuration information input unit 11 has a general file selection function, and allows an operator to select a necessary file from a plurality of communication interface definition files. When the operator selects the communication interface of the communication for performing the transfer processing, a file holding information as shown in a table 201 shown in FIG. 4 is input. In the table 201, the arguments to be transmitted for executing the process of transfer are date, transferer account number, transfer destination account number, transfer amount, transferor name, and the return value received from the server 92 after the process is It is shown that they are a transferor account number, a transfer destination account number, a transfer amount, and a transaction number (step S11).

(2) Next, the application configuration information input means 11 allows the operator to select the transmission / reception type of the screen to be developed. Here, it is assumed that the operator selects the transmission screen. The item identification information extracting means 12 extracts information necessary for the transmission screen from the table 201 which is the application configuration information. In this example, information that the operation name = transfer and information that includes transmission in the transmission / reception type are extracted. Application configuration information 2
Has been developed in advance according to the type of application configuration information to be input (step S12).

(3) The item identification information extracting means 12 extracts item identification information from the information extracted in step 12. Specifically, the transfer indicated by the operation name,
The extracted variable names are extracted as item identification information. The extracted item identification information is as shown in a table 202 in FIG. (Send) is added to the item name to indicate that it is an item for transmission. Even if the same item name is used, different parts are assigned for transmission and reception. (Step S1
3).

(4) Subsequently, the component extracting means 13 extracts corresponding component identification information from the extracted item identification information. The item / part correspondence information stored in the item / part correspondence information storage means 16 has information shown in a table 161 in FIG. The component extracting means 13 includes a table 161
A component is extracted using the information shown in (1). In the extraction of the part, the transfer of the item identification information corresponds to the transfer of the part identification information, and the transferor account number (transmission) of the item identification information includes:
The account number (transmission) of the component identification information is extracted so as to correspond. Since the component identification information corresponding to the transferee name (transmission) of the item identification information is not included in the information shown in the table 161, the component identification information of the dummy component indicating that the corresponding component does not exist is extracted. The extracted component identification information is as shown in the table 203 of FIG. Here, item identification information excluding transmission / reception information is associated with component identification information (step S1).
4).

(5) When the component identification information is extracted in step 14, the component display means 14 displays an icon indicating the component indicated by the extracted component identification information in the extracted component display area 31. In the extracted component display area 31 after the display, as shown in FIG. 8, the extracted component and the corresponding icon are displayed. By selecting the displayed icon with a pointing device such as a mouse, a corresponding component can be arranged in the screen editing area 32. Here, a name description based on item identification information and a picture indicating a part are displayed on the icon.
For example, select the icon with the bank account number,
When an operation such as dragging to be arranged in the screen editing area 32 is performed, the parts arranged in the screen editing area 32 become parts of the account number. However, a transferor account number is used as an ID for identifying the arranged component. FIG.
In the example shown in the figure below, the icons corresponding to the transfer, the transferee account number, and the transferee account number show nothing, but they may be the same picture or may be different. It is preferable because it is difficult. Further, since the transferee name corresponds to the dummy part, a picture indicating the dummy part is displayed on the corresponding icon (step S15).

According to the above-described processing, a file defining a communication interface between the server 92 and the client 93 is input to the tool, and only icons representing components required for developing a specific application are displayed in the extracted component display area 31. can do. Note that the above-mentioned example is 1
One application is composed of transmission and reception, and transmission and reception each have one screen. Therefore, icons of parts required as two applications divided into transmission and reception are displayed. However, when one application has one screen, all icons representing components necessary for developing the application are displayed.

In the above description, the date (transmission) component is a label having a function of acquiring the time from the client OS at the start of display and displaying it on the screen, and the account number (transmission) component is a seven-digit numerical value only. A text field component that accepts input, the amount (send) component is a function that inserts a comma every three digits, and a text field that accepts input of only numeric values. The transfer component is an ID called date.
Information from the date part with the ID, the account number part with the ID of the transferee account number, the account number part with the ID of the transferee account number, and the money amount part with the ID of the transfer amount. Assuming that the components have a function of performing communication, by arranging all of these components on the screen, it becomes possible to develop an application for inputting data and transmitting the data to the server.

FIGS. 9 and 10 are diagrams showing specific examples of display in the extracted component display area and the screen editing area.
Next, an application development method will be described with reference to FIGS.

The current extracted component display area 31 and the screen editing area 32 after the necessary components have been extracted by the processing described with reference to FIG. 3 and displayed on the screen are in the state shown in FIG. In the display area 31, all component icons necessary for application development are displayed, and nothing is displayed in the screen editing area 32.

The developer arranges the component indicated by the icon in the extracted component display area 31 in the screen editing area 32 from the state of the screen shown in FIG. Here, it is assumed that the developer has performed an operation of selecting a transfer amount icon displayed in the extracted component display area 31 and arranging the icon in the screen editing area. The tool receives it,
Both processing of displaying the money amount component indicating the transfer amount in the screen editing area 32 and processing of deleting the transfer amount icon in the extracted component display area 31 are performed. By this processing, the extracted component display area 31 and the screen editing area 32 are, as shown in FIG.
2 is displayed. After that, it is assumed that the developer selects an amount component indicating the transfer amount displayed in the screen editing area 32 and performs an operation of deleting the component. In response to this, the tool deletes the money amount component indicating the transfer amount in the screen editing area 32, and displays the transfer amount icon in the portion where the transfer amount icon was originally displayed in the extracted component display area 31. Both processes for displaying again are performed.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a table of updated item / part correspondence information. Hereinafter, processing for registering a dummy part as a new part will be described.

In the above description, the item / part correspondence information 161 held by the item / part correspondence information storage means 16 is
Since there was no component corresponding to the transfer person name (transmission) as shown in FIG. 6, the component extraction means 13 extracted a dummy part from the transfer person name (transmission). After that, the component display means 14 displays the dummy component corresponding to the transferee name (transmission) in the extracted component display area 31. In the embodiment of the present invention, the component extracting means 13 determines the name of the transfer person (transmission).
In response to the extraction of the dummy part, the item / part correspondence information updating means 15 performs display for prompting the operator to select a part corresponding to the extracted dummy part. Thereby, the dummy part can be additionally registered as a formal part.

That is, when the operator selects a name part as the part corresponding to the transferee name (transmission), the item / part correspondence information updating means 15 stores the item / part correspondence information stored in the item / part correspondence information storage means 16 shown in FIG. Parts correspondence information 161
Is updated to the item / part correspondence information 162 as shown in FIG. Thus, when another application is developed, if a transferee name (transmission) is input as item identification information, a name component can be associated.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the component display means 14 displays the dummy component in the extracted component display area 31 in response to the fact that the component extraction means 13 has extracted the dummy component for the transfer person name (transmission). Display icon, where:
When the operator selects either an icon in the extracted component display area 31 or a dummy component arranged in the screen editing area 32 and performs an operation of selecting a component corresponding to the dummy component, item / component correspondence information The updating means 15 can perform a display for selecting a component corresponding to the selected dummy component. When the operator selects the name part as the part corresponding to the transferee name (transmission), the item / part correspondence information updating means 15 stores the part / part correspondence information storage means 16 in FIG.
Is updated to the item / part correspondence information 162 as shown in FIG. This allows
When developing another application, if a transferee name (transmission) is input as item identification information, a name component can be associated.

Although the above-described embodiment of the present invention has been described as treating only the transmission / reception data item and the communication operation name as items, the present invention can also treat bank marks, loan calculations, and the like as items. In this case, as a part corresponding to each item, for example,
A part for displaying the bank mark is associated with the bank mark. In the loan calculation, parts for inputting a borrowing amount, a borrowing rate, and a repayment period are associated with parts for which a calculation start button and parts for outputting monthly repayment amounts and total repayment amounts are combined. In this manner, the present invention can be applied to various application components as items.

In the above-described embodiment of the present invention, the definition of the communication interface is used as the application configuration information. However, the present invention may use a method definition on the client, a user-defined file, or the like. In this case, for each type of application configuration information,
Item identification information extraction means is developed so that item identification information can be extracted.

According to the above-described embodiment of the present invention, components necessary for an application can be automatically extracted from application configuration information created before starting application development of a client.
Only parts necessary for application development can be displayed in a specific area. As a result, the embodiment of the present invention can eliminate the need for the developer to select necessary parts from many options, and arrange all the parts displayed in a specific area. Then, all of the application configuration information input to the tool is reflected in the application, and it is possible to prevent forgetting to place components.

[0042]

As described above, according to the present invention, only the parts necessary for a certain application can be displayed by using the graphical user interface, so that the application can be efficiently developed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a program structure and an input / output relationship of an application development tool according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a layout example of an output screen.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a processing operation of application development executed by a client of the bank office system.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of an input file based on a table storing application configuration information.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a table in which specific information extracted by an item identification information extracting unit is stored.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a table of item / part correspondence information stored in an item / part correspondence information storage unit.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a table storing component identification information extracted by component extraction means.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example in which an icon indicating a component indicated by extracted component identification information is displayed in an extracted component display area.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a specific display example in an extracted component display area and a screen editing area.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a specific display example in an extracted component display area and a screen editing area.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a table of updated item / part correspondence information.

FIG. 12 is a system configuration diagram showing an outline of a bank office system.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 tool processing unit 2 application configuration information 3 output screen 11 application configuration information input means 12 item identification information extraction means 13 rejection extraction means 14 parts display means 15 item / part correspondence information update means 16 item / part correspondence information storage means 31 extraction Parts display area 32 Screen editing area 33 Menu display area 91 Host computer 92 Server computer 93 Client computer 94 Input device 95 Cash processor 96 Passbook printer 97 Other terminals

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing from the front page (72) Inventor Kotoku Terahama 1099 Ozenji Temple, Hitachi, Ltd. Hitachi, Ltd. System Development Laboratory (72) Inventor Akihito Ito 890 Kashimada, Saiwai-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture F-term in the Financial Systems Division, Hitachi, Ltd. AC10 AC34 BA05 CA03 CB09 EA11 EB05 FA04 FA23 FA43

Claims (6)

[Claims] An application is developed by arranging a component in a screen editing area for each item constituting the application using a graphical user interface including a function of displaying an icon used when pasting the component. In the application development tool, application configuration information input means for inputting application configuration information that is information on an application to be developed, item identification information extraction means for extracting identification information of the item from the application configuration information, and identifying the item By referring to the item / part correspondence information storage means for storing item / part correspondence information, which is information for associating the item identification information with the part identification information for identifying the part, and referring to the item / part correspondence information storage means, Extract item identification information A component extracting unit for extracting the component identification information corresponding to the item identification information extracted by the unit; and displaying an icon representing the component indicated by the component identification information extracted by the component extracting unit on a screen. Component display means for displaying in the area,
An application development tool that displays parts required by the application to be developed. 2. The application development tool according to claim 1, further comprising an item / part correspondence information updating unit that updates the item / part correspondence information stored in the item / part correspondence information storage unit. . 3. An application development method using an application development tool according to claim 1, wherein an icon representing the component displayed in the extracted component display area is selected and arranged in the screen editing area. If performed, the application development tool displays the component indicated by the selected icon in the screen editing area, erases the selected icon on the extracted component display area, and edits the screen. When an operation of selecting and deleting the part arranged in the area is performed, the application development tool deletes the selected part from the screen editing area and displays the icon indicating the selected part. The extraction that was displayed before the icon was erased. An application development method characterized by redisplaying at a corresponding position in a component display area. 4. An application development method using an application development tool according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said part / part correspondence information has no information, so said part extraction means extracts said part corresponding to a certain item. If it is not possible to do so, the component extracting means extracts the component identification information of a dummy component indicating that there is no corresponding component. 5. An application development method using an application development tool according to claim 2, wherein the component extraction means extracts the component corresponding to a certain item because there is no information in the item / component correspondence information. If not possible, the component extracting means extracts component identification information of a dummy component indicating that there is no corresponding component,
The item / part correspondence information updating means corresponds to the item from which the dummy part is extracted before the part display means displays the part extracted by the part extracting means in the extracted part display area. A display prompting the operator to select the part is displayed, and when the selection is performed by the operator, information indicating that the selected part corresponds to the item from which the dummy part is extracted is indicated by an item /
An application development method characterized by additionally storing in a part correspondence information storage means. 6. An application development method using an application development tool according to claim 2, wherein said part / extractor extracts said part corresponding to a certain item because there is no information in said item / part correspondence information. If not possible, the component extracting means extracts component identification information of a dummy component indicating that there is no corresponding component,
The component display means displays the component including the dummy component in the extracted component display area, and the operator selects the dummy component in the extracted component display area or the screen editing area, and the selected dummy component is displayed. When an operation for selecting the part corresponding to the indicated item is performed, the item / part correspondence information updating unit causes the operator to select a part corresponding to the item indicated by the selected dummy part. Is displayed, and when an operator makes a selection, information indicating that the selected component corresponds to the item from which the dummy component has been extracted is additionally stored in the item / component correspondence information storage means. Characteristic application development method.