Declarative Application Access to DASE System Services
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current DASE standards do not provide declarative applications with access to System services, such as channel switching and Electronic Program Guide (EPG), which are available to procedural applications, limiting their functionality and requiring programmer intervention for data access.
Innovation Solution
A method and system enabling declarative applications, like XDML, to access DASE System services through a novel XML API Module and JavaScript DOM access extension, allowing HTML pages to perform active dynamic discovery of content and services by converting Program and System Information (PSI) into XML documents and applying transformations for real-time rendering.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If declarative applications are used to replace procedural applications, then development cost is reduced and portability is improved, but access to System services and PSI data is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary mechanism that bridges declarative applications and System services. The declarative application includes markup language code that references PSI data, and the system provides automatic generation of procedural code that accesses this data through existing APIs. This intermediary automatic code generation process allows declarative applications to access System services without requiring direct API integration or programmer intervention.
2Adaptability or versatility
If declarative applications are used instead of procedural applications, then portability is improved, but functionality for accessing PSIP data and generating EPG is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by automatically generating the necessary procedural code and EPG data structures before the declarative application needs to access PSIP data. The automatic generation process pre-processes the markup language code, resolves PSI data references, and creates the appropriate data structures and access routines in advance, enabling the portable declarative application to function with full access to PSIP data without requiring the programmer to write platform-specific access code.
3Productivity
If automatic EPG generation is implemented, then programmer intervention is reduced, but complexity of the system increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements self-service by enabling declarative applications to automatically generate their own EPG content and access the PSIP data they need. The automatic generation process is triggered by the declarative application itself through its markup language code, which contains embedded references to the required PSI data. The system automatically processes these references, retrieves the necessary data, and generates the EPG content without requiring external programmer intervention or complex manual configuration processes.
Data Source
AI summary
A method and system are described that enable the construction of declarative applications, such as XDML, that can access DASE System services. DASE System services include among other things, channel switching and electronic program guide application within a broadcast environment established under the standards of Advanced Television System Committee (ATSC). For example, when a Program and System Information (PSI) application is stored in a Document Object Model (DOM) data structure or database, an Electronic Program Guide (EPG) application can be automatically generated using an EPG-transform method in accordance with the present invention. This method would: 1) Convert DOM structure into an XML document; 2) Apply an XML Style Sheet Transformation (XSLT) to the XML document; and 3) Render the resulting XML document using a conventional web-browser or XML renderer.