Autonomous Metadata Containers for Dynamic User Interface Generation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current ERP software architectures face challenges in providing flexible and customized user interface functionality, especially in multi-tenant environments, where hard coding navigation targets is cumbersome and resource-intensive, particularly for smaller organizations lacking IT resources and budget.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of autonomous metadata containers that store all relevant metadata for user interface functionality, allowing for dynamic generation of user interface views based on user permissions, authorizations, and business scope, without the need for hard coding, and enabling flexible combination and reuse of user interface entities across different work centers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If hard coding navigation targets is used to provide user interface functionality, then the user interface can be provided, but the complexity and cost of implementation and maintenance increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments user interface functionality into autonomous metadata containers, where each container encapsulates specific UI elements, navigation targets, and associated metadata. This segmentation allows independent management and retrieval of UI components without requiring hard-coded implementations across the entire system, thereby reducing implementation complexity while maintaining operational ease.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary layer between the user interface and the underlying system functionality through metadata containers. These containers act as mediators that store and manage navigation targets, allowing the system to dynamically retrieve and present UI elements without direct hard-coding, thus reducing maintenance costs and implementation complexity while preserving ease of operation.
2Ease of operation
If hard coding navigation targets is used to provide user interface functionality, then the user interface can be provided, but the cost of implementation and maintenance increases
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting UI functionality into reusable metadata containers with standardized structures, the system enables cost-effective implementation and maintenance. Organizations can retrieve and assemble pre-defined UI components from containers rather than hard-coding each element, significantly reducing development costs and maintenance expenses while maintaining ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent enables copying and reusing of metadata containers across different user interfaces and contexts. Instead of hard-coding navigation targets separately for each UI instance, the system creates and stores template containers that can be replicated and adapted, reducing implementation costs and maintenance burden while preserving operational ease.
3Adaptability or versatility
If autonomous metadata containers are used to store all metadata relevant to user interface functionality, then flexibility and customization of user interface is improved, but the quantity of data to be managed increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates universal metadata containers that can serve multiple functions and contexts. Each container is designed with a standardized structure that allows it to be reused across different user interfaces, applications, and organizational contexts. This universality enables the system to manage metadata efficiently while maintaining high flexibility and adaptability, as the same container structures can accommodate various UI requirements without proportionally increasing management complexity.
4Adaptability or versatility
If dynamic generation of user interface views is implemented based on user permissions and authorizations, then user-specific customization is improved, but the processing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-defining and storing user permissions, authorizations, and UI configuration metadata within the autonomous containers before runtime. This allows the system to dynamically generate user-specific views by simply retrieving and assembling pre-prepared metadata based on user credentials, rather than performing complex processing at runtime. The customization capability is thus achieved with minimal processing complexity during actual user interactions.
Data Source
AI summary
All metadata relevant to user interface functionality needed to provide a specific unit of business functionality can be stored in one of a plurality of autonomous metadata containers retained on at least one data storage device. After a subset of available business functionality to be provided to a user is determined, a set of the plurality of autonomous metadata containers required to provide the subset of available business functions can be identified. A user interface view can be generated to present a view associated with each of the set of the plurality of autonomous metadata containers, and the generated user interface view can be provided for display to the user. Related systems, articles of manufacture, and computer-implemented methods are described.