Declarative Portal Page Generation Separating Layout from Data
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current web page design methods require technical expertise for generating pages, leading to bottlenecks as non-technical page designers rely on developers to write software code, and pre-built pages lack flexibility in displaying various data types.
Innovation Solution
A declarative specification interface allows users to specify data sources and layouts without writing code, enabling the generation of web pages or graphical user interfaces based on user-defined access and layout information, separating data source and layout specifications for flexible data display.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a page developer writes software code to generate web pages according to page designer's preferences, then the page can be customized according to design requirements, but the development process becomes a bottleneck and reduces productivity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the coding task from the page creation process. Instead of requiring developers to write code, the system uses pre-built page templates that can be configured through declarative specifications. This separates the template structure from the data content, allowing page designers to customize pages without involving developers for every change.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-building page templates with common layouts and structures. These templates are prepared in advance with placeholder elements that can be easily configured. This eliminates the need for developers to create pages from scratch each time, significantly improving productivity while maintaining customization capability.
2Productivity
If pre-built pages are used to display data, then development time is reduced, but the pages lack flexibility in displaying various data types
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the page into two independent parts: the page template (layout structure) and the data source specification. The template contains placeholder elements that can be bound to different data sources through declarative configurations. This segmentation allows the same template to display various data types by simply changing the data source binding, not the template structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates universal page templates that can serve multiple data types and purposes. A single template can be configured to display different data sources (databases, web services, files, etc.) by modifying the declarative data source specification. This makes the templates multi-functional and highly adaptable without requiring separate templates for each data type.
3Adaptability or versatility
If developers create custom pages for different data types, then data display flexibility is improved, but the complexity of page maintenance increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary layer: the declarative specification system. This intermediary sits between the page templates and data sources, providing a standardized interface for binding. Instead of creating custom pages for each data type, users configure declarative specifications that act as intermediaries, simplifying the management of diverse data sources through a unified approach.
Data Source
AI summary
Techniques for generating a page from a declarative specification are provided. An interface is provided that enables a user to declaratively specify a data source. Also, an interface is provided that allows a user to declaratively specify layout information for data from the data source. A page is then generated based on the declarative specification for the data source and the layout information.