Platform-Agnostic Mobile Layout Configuration System
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Updating mobile applications across multiple platforms and operating systems is time-consuming and costly, as developers need to alter client-specific code, which also requires publisher review, increasing development time and costs.
Innovation Solution
A platform-agnostic configuration file system allows developers to define and update mobile application layouts using a drag-and-drop interface, separating layout changes from underlying code, enabling updates to be distributed without altering the application code, thus reducing development time and eliminating the need for publisher reviews.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Shape
If developers update client-specific code to change mobile application layout, then the layout can be updated, but development time and costs increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the mobile application into two independent parts: the application code and the layout configuration. The layout is extracted as a separate configurable component that can be modified without touching the underlying code. This is achieved through a platform-agnostic configuration file system that stores layout definitions separately from the application binary, allowing developers to update layouts by modifying only the configuration files rather than the entire codebase.
Solution Approach 2:
The layout configuration is extracted from the application code into a separate platform-agnostic configuration file. This extraction allows the layout to be defined independently using a drag-and-drop interface, and the generated configuration files can be distributed and updated without repackaging the entire application, thus eliminating the need for code changes and publisher reviews for layout updates.
2Shape
If developers update client-specific code for layout changes, then the layout can be modified, but the complexity of the update process increases due to publisher review requirements
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the layout from the code and using platform-agnostic configuration files, the update process is simplified to only require configuration file distribution, eliminating the complex publisher review workflow that would otherwise be necessary for code-based updates.
Solution Approach 2:
The layout configuration is extracted into separate platform-agnostic files that can be updated and distributed independently of the application code, removing the need to go through the publisher's code review process for layout changes.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple client-specific applications are created for different platforms, then platform-specific requirements are met, but development time and maintenance costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal platform-agnostic configuration file format that can be used across multiple mobile platforms (iOS, Android, etc.). The drag-and-drop interface generates configuration files in a standardized format that any platform-compatible application can interpret, allowing a single codebase to support multiple platforms with platform-specific adaptations only in the configuration layer, not in the core application logic.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the layout definition process into a unified drag-and-drop interface that generates platform-agnostic configuration files, combining what would otherwise require separate development efforts for each platform into a single efficient process.
Data Source
AI summary
The methods and apparatuses disclosed herein generally relate to optimizing the creation and loading of application interface layouts by providing a platform for generating configuration files for mobile applications. A mobile configuration file can allow a developer to update an application layout, and for the application to render updated layouts, without any need to alter the underlying code of the application after it has been installed on the a client device. A mobile workbench receives drag-and-drop layout definition input from a developer, and creates a mobile configuration file based on the developer's input. The mobile workbench can then dynamically update the mobile configuration file as the developer updates the application layout. The developer and/or the mobile workbench can send the updated application layout to mobile applications running on client devices, such that the client devices need not redownload the mobile application to render the updated application layout.