Graphical Interface for Input-Output Synchronization Rules
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current software development tools are cumbersome and prone to errors when defining correspondences between user inputs and application outputs, making it difficult to create interactive and intuitive applications that respond to various input types beyond time-based interactions.
Innovation Solution
A method and graphical interface that allow users to select source attributes, define rules of transformation for these attributes, and generate computer instructions to control object representations, enabling intuitive synchronization of multiple objects' behaviors and layouts based on user inputs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If developers code all correspondences between inputs and outputs manually, then the application can achieve precise control over output behavior, but the development process becomes cumbersome, error-prone, and difficult to maintain
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a visual programming interface as an intermediary tool that translates user-friendly graphical operations into precise control instructions. This mediator handles the complexity of correspondence management between inputs and outputs, allowing developers to achieve precise control without manually coding each relationship. The visual interface acts as a buffer that converts simple user actions into complex control logic.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical coding process with a visual programming system. Instead of manually writing and managing code lines to establish input-output correspondences, developers use graphical elements and visual operations. This substitution eliminates the error-prone manual coding process while maintaining precise control capabilities through automated generation of control instructions from visual definitions.
2Reliability
If developers manually code correspondences between inputs and outputs, then specific control logic can be implemented, but modification and maintenance become difficult requiring changes at multiple code locations
Solution Approach 1:
The visual programming interface serves as a centralized mediator that manages all correspondence definitions in a single location. When modifications are needed, developers interact with the visual interface rather than searching through multiple code files. The system automatically updates all relevant control logic from this single point of modification, ensuring consistency and reducing maintenance errors while preserving control reliability.
3Productivity
If a graphical interface like Adobe Flash Builder is used for time-based animation synchronization, then animation creation becomes rapid and intuitive, but the system cannot synchronize objects according to input values other than time
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extends the graphical programming interface to handle multiple types of input synchronizations beyond just time-based animations. The same visual interface that enables rapid animation creation is enhanced to support synchronization based on various input values including user interactions, sensor data, and other non-time parameters. This multi-functional approach maintains the speed advantage while adding versatility for different input types.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from static time-based animation control to dynamic input-driven synchronization. The graphical interface allows developers to define correspondences between various input values and object attributes, enabling the system to adapt its behavior based on different input types. This dynamic capability maintains the rapid development advantage while allowing flexible response to diverse input sources.
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a method to generate computer instructions to control a representation of one or more objects, said representation being defined at least by attributes of said one or more objects, said method comprising: representing, in a graphical form, a source attribute of an object, possible values of the source attribute and one or more target attributes of said one or more objects; allowing a user to select a subset of the possible values of the source attribute; allowing a user to define a rule of transformation of the subset of the possible values of said source attribute into values of target attributes of said one or more objects; generating computer instructions configured to cause a processor to execute the rule of transformation.