Plug-in Module Architecture for Device-Independent User Interface Content
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing plug-in architectures for user interfaces are device-specific, limiting the versatility of third-party content modules developed for one type of user interface, such as sidebar applications, from being suitable for other interfaces like web pages or devices like cellular phones.
Innovation Solution
A user interface architecture that abstracts display and user interaction management from plug-in modules, allowing them to provide content device-independently across various user interfaces and devices, using software development kits with helper objects to handle presentation and input functions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If plug-in modules manage their own content display and user interaction, then they can provide basic drawing commands and user input messages, but they become device-specific and cannot be reused across different user interfaces and devices
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the display management and user interaction handling functions from the plug-in modules and places them in the host application. This allows plug-in modules to focus solely on providing content and defined interactions, while the host application handles the device-specific presentation and input management, enabling device independence and reusability across different platforms
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary layer (the host application) that sits between the plug-in modules and the user interface. This intermediary translates the generic content and interaction definitions from plug-in modules into device-specific display commands and input handling, allowing modules to remain device-independent while still functioning correctly on specific devices
2Adaptability or versatility
If plug-in modules are developed for a particular user interface type, then they can provide customized content for that interface, but they cannot be used with other interface types such as web pages or mobile devices
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes plug-in modules universal by designing them to provide content and define user interactions in a device-independent manner. The same plug-in module can be used across different interface types (desktop applications, web pages, mobile devices) because the host application on each platform handles the adaptation to local interface conventions, eliminating the need for multiple versions
3Quantity of substance
If third-party developers create plug-in modules, then content diversity increases, but each developer must understand multiple interface-specific implementation details
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the complexity of interface-specific display and interaction implementation from the plug-in modules and concentrates it in the host application. This allows third-party developers to create content modules without needing to understand multiple interface implementations, as the host application handles all interface-specific details automatically
Data Source
AI summary
A user interface application, such as a sidebar application or web page, receives content from a set of plug-in modules. The user interface handles the display of the content and manages any user interaction with the content, thus abstracting these features from the plug-in modules. The plug-in modules may thus be device-independent and possibly used to display the same or corresponding content in other interfaces and/or other devices. One or more of the plug-in modules may also be designed to obtain and populate their content automatically based on user activity, including web browsing or interactions with documents on the local system.