Hierarchical Data Binding for Scalable Industrial Process GUIs
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Solution Overview
Problem
Designing graphical user interfaces (GUIs) for industrial processes is time-consuming and infeasible when developers need to hardcode and update information for multiple machines, especially for managers overseeing large-scale industrial operations, as existing methods require manual configuration and understanding of software development.
Innovation Solution
A system that allows users to design and implement GUIs through web browsers, enabling the selection of preprogrammed components, generating new components, and associating data values with component properties using property tree structures, with data bindings between subtrees representing components and data sources, allowing for dynamic updates and scalability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If manual configuration and hardcoding of machine information is used, then the system can be customized for specific industrial processes, but the time and effort required for designing and updating GUIs increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by automatically generating component hierarchies and data bindings based on received industrial process data structures. When data is received from industrial processes, the system proactively creates the corresponding GUI structure, component properties, and data bindings without waiting for manual configuration, thereby saving time while maintaining adaptability
Solution Approach 2:
The system serves itself by automatically generating GUI components and their configurations from received industrial process data. The system uses its own received data to populate component hierarchies, define properties, and establish data bindings autonomously, eliminating the need for manual hardcoding while preserving customization capabilities
2Ease of operation
If developers need to understand software development to create user interfaces, then the system allows for precise control and customization, but the complexity and difficulty of the development process increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system introduces an intermediary layer that automatically translates received industrial process data into complete GUI configurations including component hierarchies, properties, and data bindings. This intermediary processing layer shields users from software development complexity by handling the complex tasks of component creation and data binding automatically, while still allowing precise control through the received data specifications
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates copies of industrial process data structures as GUI components and their configurations. By copying the structure and relationships from the received industrial process data into the GUI component hierarchy, the system eliminates the need for developers to manually recreate these structures, thereby reducing complexity while maintaining the ability to precisely represent industrial processes
3Productivity
If pre-configured templates and automatic data binding are used, then the scalability of the system improves, but the flexibility for custom configurations may be reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically generates and configures GUI components based on the specific industrial process data received. Rather than using static pre-configured templates, the system adapts its component hierarchy, properties, and data bindings in real-time according to the received data structure, thereby maintaining both scalability through automation and flexibility through dynamic adaptation to custom configurations
Data Source
AI summary
A system provides a design interface for designing and implementing graphical user interfaces that users can access through web browsers. Depending on the configuration of the graphical user interfaces, the users may be able to monitor and control industrial processes by interacting with components that correspond to the industrial processes as displayed in user interfaces at client devices. The design interface includes functionality for selecting preprogrammed components, or for generating new components for display. The design interface further allows designers to associate data values received from a variety of sources with properties of the components in the user interfaces. In particular, properties associated with a component of an interface are stored in property tree structures, making dynamic changes to the components possible. Data bindings between subtrees representing components and sets of data from industrial and other sources allows for designs that scale with the availability of the data.