Software Overlay Mechanism for Customization Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Customers face challenges in updating software applications while preserving customizations, as existing solutions require redoing customizations with new releases and struggle with independent customizations across different user groups in a shared environment, leading to complex data sharing issues.
Innovation Solution
The method employs overlays to separate and manage customizations independently, allowing multiple users to use the same software application with different customizations by associating overlaid objects with permission groups, enabling secure and hierarchical execution based on user permissions, and allowing updates to the base application without affecting customizations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If software updates are applied to preserve base application functionality, then software reliability is improved, but customizations are lost requiring reapplication
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the software into base application objects and overlaid objects (customizations). The overlay mechanism allows customizations to be separated from the base application, enabling independent updates of the base application while preserving customizations through the overlay layer that can be reapplied to updated base objects.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple independent customizations are created for different user groups, then adaptability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple customization sets into a single software environment using the overlay mechanism. Different overlay groups can be applied to the same base application objects, allowing multiple user groups to have their customizations simultaneously active without creating separate independent implementations, thus reducing environmental complexity while maintaining adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The base application objects serve multiple functions by supporting different overlay groups. The same base object can be overlaid with different customizations for different user groups, making the base application universal and multi-functional rather than requiring separate instances for each customization set.
3Adaptability or versatility
If overlay groups are implemented to enable independent customizations, then adaptability is improved, but security management complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments permission management by associating permissions with overlay groups rather than individual objects. This segmentation allows centralized management of access control at the group level, simplifying security management while maintaining the ability to provide independent customizations through different overlay groups with different permission assignments.
Data Source
AI summary
In one example embodiment, a method includes, in one of an interpreted computer environment and a compiled computer environment, generating a software application. Generating the software application includes associating at least one first overlaid object with a first overlay group, the at least one overlaid object having a corresponding base object of the software application, assigning a first permission to the first overlay group, determining if a user is authorized to use the first overlay group based on the first permission, and configuring the software application to execute in the computer system using the at least one first overlaid object and the corresponding base object upon determining the user is authorized to use the first overlay group.