JPH09134267A - Graphical user interface device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To develop a graphical user interface input/output management part and an application in parallel to each other by setting the graphical user interface input/output management part and an internal processing part in different processes. SOLUTION: A message command processing part 133 sends the data which are checked at a graphical user interface input/output part 131 to an internal processing part 141 of a client process 14 via a message production part 1331. Then the message command outputted from the part 141 of the process 14 is analyzed in a different process by a message analysis part 1332, and the data are transferred to the part 131. As a result, the part 131 and an application can be developed in parallel to each other.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a graphical user interface device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the conventional GUI construction method, a program is created using the C language and an environment "toolkit" for program creators, so it takes time to learn programming technology and it is difficult to make modifications and changes. There was a problem like that. On the other hand, the current market is G
A tool that can create a UI is available on the market, and a desired GUI can be created by interactively arranging GUI parts on the screen using a mouse.

Such a method is introduced in the method of creating a graphical user interface in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-2477.

[0004]

The above-mentioned prior art is based on the GU
By using the I tool, the GUI could be created interactively and easily. Furthermore, some tools provide a mechanism that reduces the burden on the program developer by combining it with the processing program. But GU
The check function of the data input / output to / from the I-part cannot be dealt with only by the conventional GUI tool, so that the GUI creator side and the application creator side need to meet and create them separately. That is, since the functional division between the GUI unit including the data check function and the internal processing unit of the application is not achieved, the development efficiency is reduced and the parallel development of both is hindered. Furthermore, there was a problem that most of the system had to be changed due to the change of platform.

An object of the present invention is to create a message and analyze a message in order to realize separation / independence by dividing the two into different processes by paying attention to the data input / output between the GUI unit and the internal processing unit. It is to provide a GUI construction method that includes a message / command processing unit and a message communication processing unit that controls message transmission / reception.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention interprets a component input / output data definition file that stores a definition body that includes GUI component attribute information and data information that is input / output to / from the GUI component, and a component input / output data definition file. Then, the GUI input / output data information management unit for storing the attribute information and the data information in the component input / output data information management table and the data input / output to / from the GUI component are checked according to the data information in the component input / output data information management table. A GUI input / output data management unit and a message sent to the client are created based on a request from the GUI input / output data management unit, and the message sent from the client is analyzed to
The GUI system is provided with a message / command processing unit that notifies UI input / output data management and a message communication processing unit that manages the client process connected to the server and controls message transmission / reception.

That is, all G
Attribute information and data check information for UI parts are registered in the part input / output data definition file at the screen design stage. When there is an input / output to / from a GUI part, the GUI input / output data management unit performs an input / output check process based on the data check information of the part. Further, the input data is interpreted by the message / command processing unit, and the message communication processing unit performs message communication between the GUI unit and the internal processing unit to change the display on the screen according to the request of the internal processing unit or It became possible to send the input of to the internal processing unit.

According to the construction method of the present invention, the attribute information and the data information are registered in the component input / output data definition file, the data is checked from the GUI component generation, and the GUI part and the internal processing part are divided into separate processes and separated / independent. Therefore, the burden on the program developer can be reduced, and the GUI part and the application can be concurrently developed. That is, the input / output check processing that was conventionally performed by the program developer is unnecessary, and the component input / output data definition file may be registered.

[0009]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an essential part of the present invention.
In the figure, 11 is a screen group, 12 is a component input / output data definition file, 13 is a GUI server process or GUI system, 131 is a GUI input / output data management unit, 132 is a GUI input / output data information management unit, and 133 is a message.
Command processing unit, 134 is a message communication processing unit, 1
Reference numerals 4 and 15 are client processes or applications. By the way, GUI input / output data management unit 1
The function of 31 is the following four points. That is, (1) it is checked whether or not the data input from the GUI screen 11 conforms to the data information of the GUI component. (2) The data output from the client process 14 is GU
When outputting to the I screen 11, it is checked whether or not it matches the data information of the GUI component, (3) obtain the data value handled by the GUI component by the command from the client process 14, (4) GUI The screen 11 is displayed on the CRT or erased. The function of the GUI input / output data information management unit 132 interprets the contents of the component input / output data definition file 12 and stores the attribute information and data information registered for each GUI component in the component input / output data information management table 1321. It is to be. The GUI input / output data management unit 131 performs each process while searching the component input / output data information management table 1321. Further, the message / command processing unit 133 puts the data checked by the GUI input / output data management unit 131 into a format that can be transmitted to the client process 14 by the message creating unit 1331, and outputs the message command output from the client process 14. Is analyzed by the message analysis unit 1332, and the data is passed to the GUI input / output data management unit 131. Also, the message communication processing unit 134 uses the client process management unit 1341 that manages a plurality of client processes 14 and 15 in the client management table 1344 as an axis, and sends the message created by the message command processing unit 133 to the client The message transmission unit 1342 that transmits to the process 14 and the message reception unit 13 that receives the message command output from the client process 14.
Have 43.

2 and 3 are explanatory views of the processing procedure of the present invention. The processing procedure will be described in detail with reference to this figure.

When the GUI system 13 is activated, the GUI
The input / output data information management unit 132 interprets the component input / output data definition file 12 registered in advance and creates the component input / output data information management table 1321. GUI components are created based on the attribute information in the component input / output data information management table 1321. Next, the message communication processing unit 134 performs a message communication initialization process to enter a state of waiting for an event from the screen group 11 and a state of waiting for a message from the client process 14. And
After event analysis such as passing data to the internal processing unit 141 according to an event from the screen group 11, various event processes are performed. In addition, various event processing is performed after analyzing a message such as displaying a screen in response to a request from the client process 14 or outputting data to the screen.
The process is terminated by the termination request from the client process 14.

In the client process 14, the GUI
After issuing an initialization request to the server process 13, the process waits for a message. It receives a message from the GUI server process 13 due to the occurrence of an event and executes internal processing corresponding to the message. Then, various requests are made to the GUI server process 13. GUI server process 1
When the end request is issued to 3, the process ends.

Next, the processing procedure of the present invention will be described using a specific example.

Taking a sample screen as shown in FIG. 4 as an example, G
The functional configuration and operation flow of the UI system 13 will be described.
The sample screen 111 has a function of displaying a command input in the text area on the lower side of the screen in the list on the upper side. Enter "New Command" in the text area from the keyboard and press the return key.
The UI server process 13 first searches the component input / output data information management table 1321 for necessary information such as a data format, performs an input process 1311, and then creates a message that is information to be transmitted to the client process 14 by the message creating unit 1331. Create with. The message sending unit 1342 sends this message to the client
Send to process 14. The message receiving unit 1411 of the client process 14 that receives the message
The message transmission unit 1413 transmits an output request message to the GUI server process 13 so that the input “New Command” is displayed in the text area. Upon receiving the request message, the message receiving unit 1343 of the GUI server process 13 interprets the content of the request message by the message analyzing unit 1332 and outputs necessary information such as the format and data type from the component input / output data information management table 1321. A search is performed and output processing 1312 is performed, and after the output is completed, a reply message is transmitted to the client process 14. As a result, a sample screen 112 is obtained.

This is an example of input / output processing on a simple sample screen, but even for a complicated GUI screen that handles common data among a plurality of GUI parts, separation / independence of the GUI part and internal processing part is effective. is there.

In this way, if the GUI server process and the client process are divided into separate processes, the GUI
Since the server process can perform the GUI component generation and the input / output data check, it does not impose a great burden on the program developer for realizing the GUI.

[0018]

According to the present invention, the attribute information and the data information are registered in the component input / output data definition file, the data is checked from the GUI component generation, and the GUI part and the internal processing part are separated into separate processes. Since it is independent, the burden on the program developer can be reduced, parallel development of the GUI part and the application can be performed, and since the platform can be changed, the productivity can be increased.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a main configuration of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of processing of a GUI server process.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of processing of a client process.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a specific example of an operation flow.

[Explanation of symbols]

11 ... Screen group, 12 ... Component input / output data definition file,
13 ... GUI system, 14 ... Client process, 131 ... GUI input / output data management unit, 132 ... GU
I / O data information management unit 133 ... Message / command processing unit, 134 ... Message communication processing unit

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A component input / output data definition file for storing a definition body comprising attribute information of a graphical user interface component and data information input / output to / from the graphical user interface component, and the component input / output data definition file. And a graphical user interface input / output data information management unit that interprets the attribute information and the data information in the component input / output data information management table, and the graphical user interface according to the data information in the component input / output data information management table. A graphical user interface input / output data management unit for checking the data input / output to / from the user interface component, and a message to be sent to the client based on a request from the graphical user interface input / output data management unit. And, and analyzes the messages sent from the client, the graphical
The user interface input / output includes a message / command processing unit for transmitting to a data management unit and a message communication processing unit for managing a client process connected to a server and controlling transmission / reception of messages. A graphical user interface device characterized in that the data management unit and the internal processing unit are separate processes.