Source: https://patents.google.com/patent/US9875117B2/en
Timestamp: 2019-05-22 12:05:48
Document Index: 637593325

Matched Legal Cases: ['Application No. 61', 'Application No. 61', 'Application No. 61', 'Application No. 61', 'Application No. 61', 'Application No. 61', 'Application No. 61']

US9875117B2 - Management of multiple instances of legacy application tasks - Google Patents
Management of multiple instances of legacy application tasks Download PDF
US9875117B2
US9875117B2 US15/339,253 US201615339253A US9875117B2 US 9875117 B2 US9875117 B2 US 9875117B2 US 201615339253 A US201615339253 A US 201615339253A US 9875117 B2 US9875117 B2 US 9875117B2
US15/339,253
US20170090953A1 (en
2009-10-28 Priority to US28004409P priority Critical
2010-10-28 Priority to US12/914,861 priority patent/US20110231847A1/en
2014-05-07 Priority to US14/272,219 priority patent/US9519473B2/en
2016-10-31 Priority to US15/339,253 priority patent/US9875117B2/en
2016-10-31 Assigned to ADVANCED BUSINESSLINK CORPORATION reassignment ADVANCED BUSINESSLINK CORPORATION ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: LATEGAN, CHRISTOPHER F.
2016-10-31 Application filed by Advanced BusinessLink Corp filed Critical Advanced BusinessLink Corp
2017-03-30 Publication of US20170090953A1 publication Critical patent/US20170090953A1/en
2018-01-23 Publication of US9875117B2 publication Critical patent/US9875117B2/en
Methods, systems, and techniques for supporting access to multiple copies of a legacy task are provided. When there are multiple copies of a task present, then instead of showing the output from a single task, the task workspace area displays task representation pictograms that represent the state and inform the user regarding each particular instance of that legacy task running on the host. The user can use the interface to perform various operations, including to start a new copy of the task, to end a copy of the task, and to select one of the copies for viewing. Example embodiments provide a Role-Based Modernization System (“RBMS”), which uses these enhanced modernization techniques to provide role-based modernization of menu-based legacy applications.
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/272,219 filed May 7, 2014; which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/914,861 filed Oct. 28, 2010; which claims the benefit of priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application Nos. 61/280,034 filed Oct. 28, 2009, 61/280,044 filed Oct. 28, 2009, 61/280,040 filed Oct. 28, 2009, 61/280,060 filed Oct. 28, 2009, 61/280,042 filed Oct. 28, 2009, 61/280,041 filed Oct. 28, 2009, and 61/280,043 filed Oct. 28, 2009, all of which applications are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
The present disclosure relates to methods, systems, and techniques for modernizing menu-based legacy applications and, in particular, to methods, systems, and techniques for providing modernization to legacy applications that includes managing and accessing multiple instances of a legacy application task.
FIG. 18 is an example screen display of a multiple instance interface for access to an example legacy task.
In some instances it may be desirable for a user to have several instances of the same legacy task open and to navigate between them, using hotkeys or otherwise, for example, to emulate separate “sessions” of the same task but with different data and in different states. Such a scenario might occur, for example, at an order entry counter, where a clerk chooses to have some number “n” of sessions open to work with “m” customers at a time. Each customer transaction, hence each session, might be in a different state of the transaction at any moment in time.
To support such a scenario, example embodiments of an RBMS support “multi-instance” access to a particular legacy task. On the legacy task output area (the task workspace area), when there are multiple copies of a task, then instead of showing the output from a single task, the task workspace area displays task representation “pictograms” that represent the state and inform the user regarding each particular instance of that legacy task running on the host. The user can use the interface to perform various operations, including to start a new copy of the task, to end a copy of the task, and to select one of the copies for viewing. The task representation pictogram can be text and/or graphics that conveys any type of summary data such as the task name, and some type of differentiation data. Thus the task workspace area with the task representation pictograms provides a visual dialog for selection among multiple copies of the same task. In some embodiments, animations, audio, or other forms of identification may also be included.
FIG. 18 is an example screen display of a multiple instance interface for access to an example legacy task. In the example illustrated, a user has made 7 copies of the legacy task called “Client Master” 1802 as shown by the number 1803 on the tab indicating the task workspace area 1801 of the Client Master task. In this case, instead of displaying a copy of the output screen from the host legacy task in the task workspace area 1801, the RBMS displays 7 separate task representation pictograms 1810-1816 that each reflect the current state of an associated copy of the legacy task running on one or more host computing systems. Thus, for example, task representation pictogram 1810 represents the Client Master task in its “Orders by Client” sub-task state; whereas task representation pictograms 1813, 1814, and 1816 represent the Client Master task in is “Client Detail” sub-task state; task representation pictograms 1811 and 1812 represent the Client Master task in its initial state; and, task representation pictogram 1815 represents the Client Master task in its “Order Detail” state.
Each pictogram contains summarization and identifying information sufficient for a user to quickly identify which instance the user is interested in. This avoids the potentially massive searching otherwise needed in complicated systems (e.g., order entry systems) where a user might have so many host sessions open on a single display that it may be nearly impossible to avoid confusion and prone to error. For example, the task representation pictogram 1810 for “Orders by Client” contains an indication of the state of the task (the name of the sub-task) 1822; an order identifier 1823; and a client identifier 1824. In contrast, the task representation pictogram 1815 for “Order Detail” contains an indication of the state of the task (the name of the sub-task), an order identifier and other order detail information. In some embodiments visual cues are also provided, for example, icon 1821. The information can be obtained from context information detected by the client-side host interface when receiving the data stream from the corresponding host task, as described further below with respect to FIGS. 9 and 11A-11C.
To create a new copy of the task, the user can use a “Copy” command from a pulldown menu 1831 or can create one using the “New Session” template 1820. To close a copy of the task, the user selects the “X” close button, for example close button 1830.
To easily access one of the copies of the legacy task, the user can use a keyboard shortcut (e.g, ALT+TAB) if defined, type in the corresponding number of the copy (i.e., a number between 1-9 in the embodiment illustrated), or select the task representation pictogram directly with an input device. Once a selection is made, the task workspace area changes from the display shown in FIG. 18 to the output of the task, for example, as shown in FIG. 5.
Thus, the interface supports a kind of state-full visual menu or dialog to multiple instances of a task. The state of the task instance represented by the task representation pictogram is maintained for some amount of time, potentially configurable. Accordingly, if the client browser is closed and then reopened, the RBMS desktop (the task workspace area, task tabs, home, etc.) will be restored to its state just prior to closing the browser.
All of the above U.S. patents, U.S. patent application publications, U.S. patent applications, foreign patents, foreign patent applications and non-patent publications referred to in this specification and/or listed in the Application Data Sheet, including but not limited to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/272,219, entitled “MANAGEMENT OF MULTIPLE INSTANCES OF LEGACY APPLICATION TASKS,” filed May 7, 2014; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/914,861, entitled “MANAGEMENT OF MULTIPLE INSTANCES OF LEGACY APPLICATION TASKS,” filed Oct. 28, 2010; U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/280,034, entitled “ROLE-BASED MODERNIZATION OF LEGACY APPLICATIONS,” filed Oct. 28, 2009; U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/280,044, entitled “SESSION POOLING FOR LEGACY APPLICATION TASKS,” filed Oct. 28, 2009; U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/280,040, entitled “MODERNIZATION OF LEGACY APPLICATIONS USING DYNAMIC ICONS,” filed Oct. 28, 2009; U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/280,060, entitled “DYNAMIC EXTENSIONS TO LEGACY APPLICATION TASKS,” filed Oct. 28, 2009; U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/280,042, entitled “HOTKEY ACCESS TO LEGACY APPLICATION TASKS,” filed Oct. 28, 2009; U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/280,041, entitled “TIERED CONFIGURATION OF LEGACY APPLICATION TASKS,” filed Oct. 28, 2009; and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/280,043, entitled “MANAGEMENT OF MULTIPLE INSTANCES OF LEGACY APPLICATION TASKS,” filed Oct. 28, 2009; are incorporated herein by reference, in their entireties.
1. A method in a client computing system for facilitating access to multiple copies of a designated legacy task of a single instance of a hierarchical menu-based legacy application executing on a remote host computer system, wherein the designated legacy task corresponds to a code module accessible from a menu item of the hierarchical menu-based legacy application and wherein each of the multiple copies is a separate instance of the same designated legacy task having associated state, comprising:
receiving an indication of a request to copy the designated legacy task of the legacy application;
responsive to the received request, causing one or more separate sessions to be started with copies of the same designated legacy task of the legacy application, each copy of the designated legacy task executing on the remote host computing system and having an associated state;
displaying, in a task workspace area, associated summary representations of each of the copies of the executing designated legacy task to facilitate user selection on the client computing system of a desired copy of the executing designated legacy task, each summary representation identifying the associated copy and identifying the associated state of the executing designated legacy task; and
upon receiving a selection of one of the summary representations, accessing the one of the copies of the executing designated legacy task that is identified by the summary representation using the associated state of the one of the copies of the executing designated legacy task.
when input is received to indicate a selection of one of the displayed summary representations, displaying, in the task workspace area, an output screen of the associated copy of the executing designated legacy task.
3. The method of claim 2 wherein the received input is at least one of a user-defined hotkey sequence, a system defined hotkey sequence, a mouse event, or entry of a number.
4. The method of claim 1 wherein the summary representations include text and/or graphics.
5. The method of claim 1 wherein the summary representations include a title and information to identify a particular instance of the executing designated legacy task.
6. The method of claim 1 wherein the summary representations include icons.
7. The method of claim 1 wherein the summary representations are displayed in a single task workspace.
8. The method of claim 1 wherein a predetermined maximum number of copies of the designated legacy task are supported.
9. The method of claim 8 wherein the maximum number of copies is 9.
10. The method of claim 1 wherein at least one of the copies of the executing designated legacy task is an executing sub-task of the legacy task and the associated summary representations include a title that identifies the sub-task.
11. A non-transitory computer-readable medium containing content for controlling a client computing system to facilitate access to multiple copies of a designated legacy task of a single instance of a hierarchical menu-based legacy application executing on a remote host computer system, wherein the designated legacy task corresponds to a code module accessible from a menu item of the hierarchical menu-based legacy application and wherein each of the multiple copies is a separate instance of the same designated legacy task having associated state, by performing a method comprising:
responsive to the received request, causing one or more separate sessions to be started with copies of the same designated legacy task of the legacy application, each copy of the same legacy task executing on the remote host computing system and having an associated state;
displaying, in a task workspace area, associated summary representations of each of the copies of the executing designated legacy task to facilitate user selection on the client computing system of a desired copy of the executing designated legacy task, each summary representation identifying the associated copy and identifying the associated state of the same executing legacy task; and
when a first input is received to indicate a selection of a first one of the displayed summary representations, displaying, in the task workspace area, an output screen of the associated copy of the executing designated legacy task.
13. The computer-readable medium of claim 12 wherein the received first input is at least one of a user-defined hotkey sequence, a system defined hotkey sequence, a mouse event, a keyboard shortcut, or entry of a number.
14. The computer-readable medium of claim 12 wherein the method further comprises:
receiving second input to indicate a second one of the displayed summary representations; and
displaying in the task workspace area the output screen of the copy of the executing designated legacy task associated with the second one of the displayed summary representations without losing state of the copy of the executing designated legacy task associated with the first one of the summary representations.
15. The computer-readable medium of claim 11 wherein the summary representations include text and/or graphics.
16. The computer-readable medium of claim 11 wherein the summary representations include at least one of a title, information to identify a particular instance of the executing task of the legacy application, and/or icons.
17. The computer-readable medium of claim 11 wherein the computer-readable medium is a memory of a computing system and the content is instructions for controlling a computer processor to perform the method.
18. A computer system configured to facilitate access to multiple copies of a designated legacy task of a hierarchical menu-based legacy application executing on a remote host computer system comprising:
a module stored on the memory that is configured, when executed to:
receive an indication of a request to copy a designated legacy task of the legacy application, wherein the designated legacy task corresponds to a code module accessible from a menu item of the menu-based legacy application and wherein each of the multiple copies is a separate instance of the same designated legacy task of a single instance of the hierarchical menu-based legacy application;
responsive to the received request, cause one or more separate sessions to be started with copies of the same designated legacy task of the legacy application, each copy of the designated legacy task executing on the remote host computing system and having an associated state;
display, in a task workspace area, associated summary representations of each of the copies of the executing designated legacy task to facilitate user selection on a client computing system of a desired copy of the executing designated legacy task, each summary representation identifying the associated copy and identifying the associated state of the executing designated legacy task; and
19. The computer system of claim 18 wherein the module includes instructions for execution in the memory of the computer system.
20. The computer system of claim 18 wherein the computer system is a client computing system that interacts with a remote computer system to cause the one or more sessions to be started with copies of the executing task of the legal application.
US15/339,253 2009-10-28 2016-10-31 Management of multiple instances of legacy application tasks Active US9875117B2 (en)
US12/914,861 US20110231847A1 (en) 2009-10-28 2010-10-28 Management of multiple instances of legacy application tasks
US14/272,219 US9519473B2 (en) 2009-10-28 2014-05-07 Facilitating access to multiple instances of a legacy application task through summary representations
US15/339,253 US9875117B2 (en) 2009-10-28 2016-10-31 Management of multiple instances of legacy application tasks
US14/272,219 Continuation US9519473B2 (en) 2009-10-28 2014-05-07 Facilitating access to multiple instances of a legacy application task through summary representations
US20170090953A1 US20170090953A1 (en) 2017-03-30
US9875117B2 true US9875117B2 (en) 2018-01-23
US15/069,869 Pending US20160196038A1 (en) 2009-10-28 2016-03-14 Modernization of legacy applications using dynamic icons
US20190025788A1 (en) * 2017-07-20 2019-01-24 Honeywell International Inc. Legacy control functions in newgen controllers alongside newgen control functions
2016-03-14 US US15/069,869 patent/US20160196038A1/en active Pending
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:LATEGAN, CHRISTOPHER F.;REEL/FRAME:040179/0297