Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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SYMBOLIC REFERENCE FOR A COMPUTER ADDRESSABLE DATA OBJECT
Field of Invention
The present invention relates to the field of computer addressable data
objects. In
particular, to a system, a method and a computer program product for providing
a
symbolic reference for a computer addressable data object.
Background
In an effort to provide cost effective and responsive service offerings many
industries
are turning to various forms of customer self service. A common example is the
availability of Internet accessible applications which permit customers to
select,
modify or customize service offerings themselves. These applications often are
Internet browser (herein after browser) based. That is, the application is
implemented
by the service provider on an Internet accessible server and the customer
interacts
with the server using a browser executing on a local computing platform.
A browser is a computer executable program that can request a file from a web
I S server. The file can include a web page represented in a visual markup
language such
as, for example, hypertext markup language (HTML). The browser processes the
visual markup language content of the web page and renders a visual
representation
of the content onto a computer display. The visual markup language is a text-
processing language that embeds commands into text to be processed. These
commands can, for example, instruct the browser to carry out formatting of the
text.
Tags in the form of text can be placed in the file to inform the browser of
the
commands to be processed and also to convey structural information (e.g.
delimitation or grouping) about the text. The rendered visual representation
is made
up of visual nodes (i.e. elements) that correspond to tagged elements in the
visual
markup language content.
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While sophisticated, feature-rich applications can be implemented on the
combined
server and browser platform, many customers impose restrictions with regard to
what
can be done on their local computing platforms. For example, the customer may
not
permit the use of browser capability extenders (a.k.a. "plug-ins") to support
advanced
features in the application. Also, the service provider may limit the possible
implementation strategies by choosing not to make use of solutions such as,
for
example, "applets" that execute in the browser due to performance
considerations.
The above described restrictions are problematic when the customer self
service
application is particularly demanding such as, for example, in the case of a
graphical
editor.
For example, a telecommunications service provider offering a toll-free
telephony
service may wish to provide its customers with the ability to set-up, change
and
maintain the service logic associated with their own toll-free service
subscription. A
self service application in the form of a graphical editor for editing the
service logic
(e.g. a routing tree) is well suited to this requirement. The browser-based
graphical
editor can be implemented using a browser page that contains hypertext mark-up
language (HTML) and Javascript~. Javascript~ is a programming language.
Javascript~ program units can be inserted into the HTML content of the web
page
and can be executed by the browser. The HTML content includes the visual
representations of nodes and interconnections in the routing tree in the form
of
HTML text (i.e. script) elements and the Javascript~ content includes
executable
functions and data representations for the nodes and their interconnections in
the form
of data objects. The nodes and their interconnections as rendered on to the
browser
screen can be referred to as visual elements. Complex routing trees can
contain large
numbers (e.g. hundreds or thousands) of nodes and interconnections with a
correspondingly large number of visual elements and associated data objects. A
challenge in implementing a graphical editor without the benefit of plug-ins
and
applets is associating individual data objects with their corresponding visual
elements. Markup languages such as HTML do not, in general, support memory
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references (e.g. address resolvable pointers or links) to Javascript~ objects.
Therefore, the HTML text element associated with a visual element can not
store a
'pointer' to its corresponding data object. This can present an implementation
challenge when, for example, developing an event handler for an event
associated
S with a visual element. In a case where the event handler needs to access the
data
object corresponding to the visual element it can not rely on a 'pointer' to
the data
object stored in the HTML text as none can exist. Another mechanism is
required to
associate the data object with its corresponding visual element.
Summary of Invention
The present invention is directed to a system, a method and a computer program
product for providing a symbolic reference for a computer addressable data
object.
The symbolic reference can be embedded (i.e. stored) in a mark-up language
script
element as simple text for use in accessing the data object.
The symbolic reference according to the present invention can be resolved into
an
1 S address that can be used by a computer to access the data object. The data
object can
correspond to a markup language element defined in a computer renderable page.
The markup language element can be a tagged element where the tag contains the
symbolic reference. When an event associated with the tagged element is
processed
the symbolic reference contained in the tag can be used in addressing (i.e.
locating)
the data object corresponding to the tagged element. A computer navigable link
(e.g.
a pointer) can be derived from the symbolic reference and can be used by the
event
handler to access and manipulate the data object.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a method for providing
a
symbolic reference for a computer addressable data structure to a computer
2S executable script element having an tag field and an associated element-
type, the
method comprising the steps o~ generating a index corresponding to the script
element; creating the symbolic reference using: the index; the element-type;
and a
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path descriptor denoting a computer navigable path from a known starting point
to the
data structure; and incorporating the symbolic reference into the tag field.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a system for
providing a
symbolic reference for a computer addressable data structure to a computer
executable script element having an tag field and an associated element-type,
the
system comprising: a index generator adapted to generating a index
corresponding to
the script element; a symbolic reference creator adapted to creating the
symbolic
reference using: the index; the element-type; and a path descriptor denoting a
computer navigable path from a known starting point to the data structure; and
a
symbolic reference inserter adapted to incorporating the symbolic reference
into the
tag field.
In accordance with still another aspect of the present invention, a computer
program
product for providing a symbolic reference for a computer addressable data
structure
to a computer executable script element having an tag field and an associated
element-type, the computer program product comprising: a computer usable
medium
having stored thereon computer-executable instructions, the computer-
executable
instructions when executed on a computer instructing the computer for:
generating a
index corresponding to the script element; creating the symbolic reference
using: the
index; the element-type; and a path descriptor denoting a computer navigable
path
from a known starting point to the data structure; and incorporating the
symbolic
reference into the tag field.
Other aspects and features of the present invention will become apparent to
those
ordinarily skilled in the art to which it pertains upon review of the
following
description of specific embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the
accompanying figures.
Brief Desc ~tion of Drawings
The present invention will be described in conjunction with the drawings in
which:
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Fig. 1 is a representation of a screen display presented by a graphical editor
in
accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 2 is an illustration of exemplary tag-value pairs for a plurality of data
elements
that can be included in a Javascript~ data object that is associated with a
node as
presented in the screen display of Figure 1.
Fig. 3 is an illustration of exemplary HTML text that can be placed in a web
page for
processing by a browser to render the screen display of Figure 1.
Fig. 4 is a representation of the screen display presented by the graphical
editor for an
iteration of the routing tree after modification relative to that of Figure 1.
Fig. 5 is an illustration of exemplary tag-value pairs for data elements than
can be
included in Javascript~ data objects associated with the node (Node 1) and a
child
node (Node 2), respectively, as presented in the screen display of figure 4.
Fig. 6 is an illustration of exemplary HTML text that can be placed in a web
page for
processing by the browser to render the screen display of Figure 4
Fig. 7 is a representation of the screen display presented by the graphical
editor for an
iteration of the routing tree after modification relative to that of Figure 4.
Fig. 8 is an illustration of exemplary tag-value pairs for data elements than
can be
included in Javascript~ data objects associated with node (Node 1), child node
(Node
2) and second child node (Node 3), respectively, as presented in the screen
display of
Figure 7.
Figs. 9A and B are illustrations of exemplary HTML text that can be placed in
a web
page for processing by the browser to render the screen display of Figure 7.
Fig. 10 is an illustration of an exemplary Javascript~ function that can be
invoked by
an event handler associated with a mouse event such as a mouse click.
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Fig. 11 is an illustration of an exemplary Javascript~ function in accordance
with to
the present invention that can invoked by the event handler providing as input
an
HTML tag.
Fig. 12 is a flowchart of exemplary steps in a method according to the present
invention.
Fig. 13 is a schematic representation of an exemplary embodiment of a system
according to the present invention.
Fig. 14 is a schematic representation of an exemplary network of
interconnected
switches used to illustrate an alternative embodiment of the present
invention.
Detailed Description
Described herein is a system, a method and a computer program product for
providing a symbolic reference to a computer addressable data object in
accordance
with the present invention. The symbolic reference can be embedded (i.e.
stored) in a
mark-up language script element as simple text for use in accessing an
associated (i.e.
corresponding) data object.
The present invention will be described with reference to an exemplary browser-
based graphical editor for use in a customer self service application for
editing
service logic (i.e. a routing tree) for a toll-free telephony service. The
routing tree can
contain a plurality of nodes and interconnections (i.e. branches). In the
graphical
editor each of the nodes and interconnections can have a correspondingly
visual
element and an associated data object.
Figure 1 is a representation of a screen display 100 presented by the
graphical editor
in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The
screen
display 100 is associated with a routing tree named "FOO" having a single node
currently entitled "UNASSIGNED" and identified as node ' 1' in the
corresponding
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on-screen visual element 110. Figure 3 illustrates exemplary HTML text that
can be
placed in a web page for processing by the browser to render the screen
display 100
of Figure 1. Figure 2 illustrates exemplary tag-value pairs for a plurality of
data
elements that can be included in a Javascript~ data object 112 that
corresponds to the
node (Node 1 ) and to the visual element 110 as presented in the screen
display 100 of
Figure 1. The data object 112 can be used, for example, to provide for storing
a
persistent representation of the node on a web server. The persistent
representation
can be used, for example, to reestablishing the last state of the node when a
session of
the graphical editor has been terminated and subsequently a new session is
initiated
for further manipulation (i.e. editing) of the routing tree.
Figure 4 is a representation of the screen display 100 presented by the
graphical editor
for an iteration of the routing tree "FOO" after modification relative to that
of Figure
1. In the iteration of the routing tree "FOO" of Figure 4 the 'type' of the
node (Node
1 ) has been changed to "TIME OF DATE" and the title changed accordingly.
Also, a
child node (Node 2) entitled "UNASSIGNED", represented by on-screen visual
element 120, has been created and linked to the parent node (Node 1 ) by a
branch
entitled "UNDEFINED." Figure 6 illustrates exemplary HTML text that can be
placed in a web page for processing by the browser to render the screen
display 100
of Figure 4. Figure 5 illustrates exemplary tag-value pairs for data elements
than can
be included in Javascript~ data objects 112 and 122 associated with the parent
node
(Node 1) and the child node (Node 2) as represented in the screen display 100
of
Figure 4 by visual elements 110 and 120 respectively.
Figure 7 is a representation of the screen display 100 presented by the
graphical editor
for an iteration of the routing tree "FOO" after modification relative to that
of Figure
4. In the iteration of the routing tree "FOO" of Figure 7 the title of the
branch to the
child node (Node 2) has been change to "08:00-16:00" and a second child node
(Node
3) entitled "UNASSIGNED", represented by on-screen visual element 130, has
been
created and linked to the parent node (Node 1 ) by a branch entitled
"UNDEFINED."
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Figures 9A and 9B taken together illustrate exemplary HTML text that can be
placed
in a web page for processing by the browser to render the screen display 100
of
Figure 7. Figure 8 illustrates exemplary tag-value pairs for data elements
than can
included in Javascript~ data objects 112, 122 and 132 associated with parent
node
(Node 1), child node (Node 2) and second child node (Node 3) as represented in
the
screen display 100 of Figure 7 by visual elements 110, 120 and 130
respectively.
As a user interacts with the graphical editor in order to manipulate the
routing tree
(eg. FOO), for example to create the iterations shown in Figs. 1, 3 and 5,
browser
events can be triggered. Example events include clicking of a mouse button
when an
on-screen tracker is over a visual element and the simple presence of the
tracker over
a visual element (sometimes referred to as a roll-over event). One of these or
other
similar events can cause an event-handler associated with the event to be
executed.
When an event occurs that is associated with a visual element, the event
handler or
other Javascript~ implemented code modules invoked by the event handler can
require access to a data object (e.g. 112, 122 or 132) associated with the
visual
element and its corresponding HTML text element (e.g. nodes 110, 120, 130
respectively). The event handler is invoked by supporting infrastructure
implemented
in the browser.
Figure 10 illustrates an exemplary Javascript~ function 140 that can be
invoked by
an event handler associated with a mouse event such as a mouse click. The
function
140, known as 'getSourceElement', returns as a parameter 'element' that
identifies
the visual element (e.g. nodes 110, 120, 130) over which the mouse tracker was
positioned when the event that triggered the event handler occurred.
Determining the
visual element associated with an event is provided for in the implementation
of
HTML. The function 140 also provides for the visual element associated with
the
event to be one of a number of sub-elements contained in a visual element
(e.g. visual
element 110, 120, 130) in which case the parameter 'element' returned will
identify
the containing visual element.
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Figure 11 illustrates an exemplary Javascript~ function 150 in accordance with
the
present invention that can be invoked by the event handler providing as input
(via
input parameter 'id') an HTML tag for the element returned by an invocation of
the
function 'getSourceElement' as described above with reference to Figure 10.
The
function 150, known as 'findDocumentElement', locates and returns (via return
parameter 'element') a memory resolvable reference (e.g. a Javascript~
pointer) to
the data object associated with the visual element whose HTML tag was provided
as
input ('id') to the function 150.
The function 150 can locate and return a memory resolvable reference (herein
after
reference) to the data object derived from the HTML tag (herein after tag)
that is in
the form of a symbolic reference according to the present invention. The
symbolic
reference according to the present invention comprises three components: an
index
for the visual element, an element-type indicator and a navigable path from a
known
starting point to the node associated with the visual element. The index can,
for
example, be a node number associated with the visual element such as node
numbers
1, 2 and 3 for visual elements 110, 120 and 130 respectively in Figure 7. The
element-type indicator can, for example, be a type of the associated node such
as
'box' for visual elements 110, 120 and 130. The navigable path can, for
example, be
a symbolic path created by concatenating together hierarchal ordinal indices
from a
root node to the node associated with the visual element. For example, the
navigable
path for visual element 110 can be '0' designating the associated node as the
root
node. The navigable path for visual element 120 can be '0.0' designating the
associated node as the first child of the root node (i.e. visual element 110).
The
navigable path for visual element 130 can be '0.1' designating this as the
second child
of the root node (i.e. visual element 110). A navigable path according to the
above
described approach can be generated for any root node, progeny of the root
node, sub-
progeny of the progeny of the root node, sub-progeny of the sub-progeny, and
so on
for any numerable sub-progeny of the root node. In accordance with the above
described approach the tag for the visual element 110 can be '1 box, 0'. The
tag for
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the visual element 120 can be '2 box, 0.0' and the tag for the visual element
130 can
be '3 box, 0.1'.
In an alternative embodiment of the symbolic reference according to the
present
invention the index is preferably a unique index. The unique index provides
for an
implementation that favors performance considerations in particular when the
number
of nodes is large.
In addition to using the symbolic reference according to the present invention
to
locate a data object associated with a visual element, the present invention
can also be
used to identify a visual element associated with a data object. For a given
data
object the index, element-type and the navigable path according to the present
invention are either known or can be easily derived and the symbolic reference
for the
corresponding visual element can generated. The Javascript~ function
"document.getElementById" can be used to refer to the visual element
associated
with, for example, symbolic reference '3 box, 0.1' using the following
Javascript~
instructions:
"var ve= document.getElementById('3 box, 0.1')
In the description above with reference to Fig. 11 and function 150 the
navigable path
is created by concatenating together hierarchical ordinal indices for nodes
from a
known starting point to a target node. The relationship between the nodes in
the
navigable path can be non-hierarchical while remaining within the scope and
spirit of
the present invention. Fig. 14 is a schematic representation of an exemplary
network
of interconnected switches 410, 420, 430 and 440. Switch 410, tagged
'O,switch,0', is
connected to switch 420, tagged 'l,switch,l', by line 460, tagged
'104,1ine,0.1'. The
tag '104,1ine,0.1' is a symbolic reference in accordance with the present
invention.
The navigable path component of the symbolic reference (i.e '0.1') represents
the
connectivity relationship ('0' to '1') of switch 410 to 420 rather than a
hierarchical
relationship. Similarly, the navigable path components of the symbolic
reference tags
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of lines 450 and 470 (i.e. '0.2' and '2.3') represent the connectivity
relationships of
switch 410 to 430 ('0' to '2') and 430 to 440 ('2' to '3') respectively. The
relationship between the known starting point to the target node in the
navigable path
of a symbol reference according to the present invention can be any navigable
relationship while remaining within the spirit and scope of the present
invention.
Fig. 12 is a flowchart of exemplary steps in a method 200 according to the
present
invention. The method 200 will be described with reference to visual element
110
and corresponding data object 112 but it will be understood that the steps of
the
method can apply to other visual elements and their corresponding data
objects. An
index is generated 210 that is associated with the visual element 110 that
corresponds
the data object 112. A symbolic reference is created 220 that includes three
components: the index of step 210, an element-type indicator and a navigable
path
from a known starting point to a node associated with the visual element 110.
The
element-type indicator is a type associated with the visual element 110. The
navigable path is a computer navigable path from a known starting point such
as, for
example, a root node to the node associated with the visual element 110. The
path
can be navigated both from the starting point to the node associated with the
visual
element 110 and from the node associated with the visual element to the
starting
point. The navigable path is mirrored in a navigable relationship amongst data
objects that correspond to: the starting point, the node associated with the
visual
element 110 and any other intermediate nodes along the path. The navigable
relationship can, for example, take the form of containment of child data
objects
within parent data objects. It is possible to navigate from the data object
corresponding to the known starting point to the data object corresponding to
visual
element 110 and also to navigate in the opposite direction. The symbolic
reference is
incorporated 230 into a markup language tag associated with markup language
text
that is processed by the browser to render the visual element 110.
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The method 200 according to the present invention can be implemented by a
computer program product comprising a computer usable medium having stored
thereon computer-executable instructions corresponding to the steps of method
200.
The computer-executable instructions can be executed on any conventional
computing platform (not illustrated).
Fig. 13 is a schematic representation of an exemplary embodiment of a system
300
according to the present invention. The system 300 will be described with
reference
to visual element 110 and corresponding data object 112 but it will be
understood that
the system 300 can be applied to other visual elements and their corresponding
data
objects. The system 300 comprises an index generator 310, a symbolic reference
generator 320 and a symbolic reference inserter 330. The index generator 310
generates an index to be associated with the visual element 110. The index can
be
unique within a defined space of possible indices. The indices can, for
example, take
the form of sequential whole numbers (e.g. 1, 2, 3, ... etc.). The symbolic
reference
generator 320 generates a symbolic reference that includes three components:
the
index generated by the index generator 310, an element-type indicator and a
navigable path from a known starting point to the node associated with the
visual
element 110. The element-type indicator is a type indicator associated with
the visual
element 110 that can, for example, take the form of a text string (e.g.
'box'). The
navigable path can, for example, be a symbolic path created by concatenating
together hierarchal ordinal indices from a root node to the node associated
with the
visual element that isassociated with the tag as described above with
reference to
Figure 11. The generated symbolic reference is symbolic in that it is encoded
in a
manner that is independent of a specific computer language or a computer
memory
addressing implementation. The symbolic reference can, for example, be encoded
in
the form of a text string (e.g. an ASCII string). The symbolic reference
inserter 330
inserts the symbolic reference into a markup language tag associated with
markup
language text that is processed by the browser to render the visual element
110. The
symbolic reference can comprise a part or the whole of the tag.
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The system 300 according to the present invention can be implemented using:
logic
processing devices adapted to performing the functions described above, a
general
purpose computing platform in combination with computer executable
instructions
stored in a computer usable storage medium for performing the functions
described
above, and combinations thereof.
The present invention has been described above with reference to an exemplary
embodiment wherein the symbolic reference is placed in an HTML tag to provide
a
reference to a Javascript~ data object. It will be understood that the
symbolic
reference can be placed in fields associated with a computer executable script
element
(e.g. other markup language scripts) and the data object can be defined in a
computer
programming language other than Javascript~ while remaining within the spirit
and
scope of the present invention.
It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that numerous modifications and
departures from the specific embodiments described herein may be made without
departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
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