Mobile App Environment Switching via Runtime Config
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional software testing requires modifying and recompiling application code to switch between different environments, leading to inconsistencies and inefficiencies.
Innovation Solution
A system that allows a mobile application to retrieve an environment selector value from a separate memory location, initializing configuration data for multiple environments, enabling the application to execute correctly without needing specific environment data during compilation, by using a configuration module that maps to different environments based on the selector value.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If application code is modified and recompiled to switch between different environments, then the application can adapt to different environments, but the process becomes time-consuming and inconsistent
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the application into two independent parts: the application code and the configuration data. The application code remains unchanged and is compiled once, while the configuration data is separated and can be selectively loaded for different environments. This segmentation allows environment switching without recompilation, resolving the contradiction between adaptability and compilation time.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the environment-specific configuration data from the application code itself. By taking out the configuration information into a separate data structure that can be loaded at runtime, the system eliminates the need to recompile the application code when switching environments, thus reducing time loss while maintaining environment adaptability.
2Adaptability or versatility
If application code is modified and recompiled to switch between different environments, then the application can adapt to different environments, but inconsistencies arise during the process
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the application into code and configuration data, the patent ensures that the code remains consistent across all environments while the configuration data can be selectively loaded. This eliminates inconsistencies that arise from modifying code, as the same codebase is used universally with only configuration variations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary action by pre-defining all possible environment configurations in a centralized configuration data structure before the application runs. This allows the system to load the appropriate pre-configured environment data without modifying code, ensuring consistency and reliability across environment switches.
3Reliability
If environment-specific code is used, then the application executes correctly in each environment, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements universality by designing a single application codebase that can function in multiple environments. Instead of creating separate environment-specific code versions, the same universal code loads different configuration data for different environments, reducing device complexity while maintaining execution correctness.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces configuration data as an intermediary between the universal application code and the different environments. This intermediary layer allows the code to adapt to various environments without direct environment-specific code modifications, simplifying the overall code structure while ensuring correct execution in each environment.
4Ease of manufacture
If configuration data is stored within the application, then the application is self-contained, but the flexibility to switch environments is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the application into the application code and the configuration data, allowing the code to be self-contained while configuration data can be externally loaded. This segmentation maintains self-containment for the core functionality while enabling environment switching flexibility through separate configuration loading.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces dynamics by allowing the configuration data to be loaded dynamically at runtime rather than being statically embedded. This enables the application to adapt to different environments dynamically while maintaining a clean separation between the self-contained code and the flexible configuration data.
Data Source
AI summary
A user device receives a mobile application that defines multiple environments associated with the mobile application and launches the mobile application. After the launching the mobile application, the user device retrieves an environment selector value for the mobile application and initializes the mobile application with configuration data for a particular environment of the multiple environments. The particular environment is selected from the multiple environments based on the environment selector value.