CN1757015B - Systems and methods for building and executing platform-neutral common service client applications - Google Patents

Abstract

A system and method of building component applications are provided. Component applications are executed on terminal devices, which communicate with a schema-based service via a network and the Internet. The component applications comprise data components, presentation components, and message components, which are written a structured definition language such as XML code. The component applications further comprise workflow components which can be written as a series of instructions such as in a subset of ECMAScript, and are embedded in the XML code.

Description

Systems and methods for building and executing platform-neutral common service client applications

technical field

This application relates to service communication to a device via a network.

Background technique

The number of terminal devices in use today is constantly increasing, such as mobile phones, PDAs with wireless communication capabilities, personal computers, kiosks and two-way pagers. Software applications running on these devices increase their usefulness. For example, a mobile phone may include an application to retrieve the weather for a city-wide, or a PDA may include an application to enable the user to shop for groceries. These software applications utilize connections to networks to provide timely and useful services to users. However, developing software applications for various devices remains a difficult and time-consuming task due to the limited resources of some devices and the complexity of providing large amounts of data to the devices.

Currently, devices are configured to communicate with Web services through Internet-based browsers and/or native applications. The browser has the advantage of being adapted to operate on a cross-platform basis for various devices, but has the disadvantage of requesting pages from web services (HTML screen resolution), which will prevent the persistence of the data included in this screen . Another disadvantage of browsers is that the screen is rendered at runtime, which can be a heavy hog of resources. Native applications have the advantage of being specially developed for the type of device platform, thereby providing relatively optimized applications for each operating environment. However, a native application has the disadvantage that it is not platform independent, thus requiring the development of multiple versions of the same application, and relatively large in scale, thereby consuming memory resources of the device. Also, developers of applications need experience with programming languages such as Java and C++ to build these hard-coded native applications. It is therefore desirable to have applications that are capable of running on clients with various operating environments, yet have reduced device resource consumption.

The systems and methods disclosed herein provide a component-based application environment to overcome, or at least mitigate to some extent, the above-mentioned disadvantages.

Contents of the invention

Current applications are not adapted to run on clients with various operating environments and would undesirably consume too many device resources. A browser is an application that has a drawback of requesting a page (screen resolution of HTML) from a Web service, which prevents the persistence of the data contained in the screen. Another disadvantage of browsers is that the screen is rendered at runtime, which can be a heavy hog of resources. A native application is another example of a current application, and has the disadvantage that it is not an independent operating platform, thus requiring the development of multiple versions of the same application, and relatively large in size, thereby consuming the memory of the device resource. Contrary to current applications, provide a system for building and executing services defined by a platform-neutral class plan through component applications. The system includes component applications executing on devices that communicate with web services over a network, such as the Internet. The component application includes one or more data components, display components, and/or message components written in a structured definition language such as XML code. The component application may further include a workflow component comprising a series of instructions written, for example, in a subset of ECMAScript, and in some embodiments may be embedded in XML code. A method of building component applications is also provided. The method includes the steps of: generating data components, generating display components, and creating message components. The data component, display component and message component can be written in a structured definition language such as XML. The method also includes the step of tying the data component, display component and message component together with the workflow component in a scripting language such as ECMAScript or a subset of ECMAScript.

The invention provides a method for interacting with planning-defined services via a network by means of a terminal device. The method includes the steps of: receiving a request network message for establishing communication between the service and the device; sending a component application program including a plurality of components in response to the request network message, a first set of components having a structured definition language descriptors and a second set of components represented as a series of instructions configured to be provided by the runtime environment of the device to produce an executable version of the component application that configures the device as a client of the service; Wherein execution of the executable version provides for subsequent exchange of information between the service and the device over the network.

Further disclosed is a terminal device configured to interact with a program-based service via a network using an executable version of a component application comprising a plurality of components. The device includes: a device infrastructure for operating the device, the device infrastructure including a processor and associated memory for executing the executable version; a user interface coupled to the device infrastructure, the user interface having an input device and an output device configured to communicate with the executable version, a network connection interface coupled to the device infrastructure and configured to communicate with the network; and a runtime environment for coordinating Execution of the executable version to configure the device as a client of a service, the runtime environment is configured for use with a first set of components having descriptors expressed in a structured definition language and a second set of components expressed as a series of instructions Group components interact; wherein execution of the executable version provides for subsequent exchange of information between the service and the device over the network.

A computer program product is also provided for configuring a terminal device to interact with a program-based service over a network using an executable version of a component application comprising a plurality of components. Such a computer program product includes: a computer-readable medium; a runtime environment module stored on the computer-readable medium for coordinating the execution of the executable version to configure the device as a client of a service, the runtime The runtime environment is configured for interacting with a first set of components having descriptors expressed in a structured definition language and a second set of components expressed as a series of instructions; wherein execution of the executable version provides for communication between services and devices over a network subsequent exchange of information.

In addition, a server is disclosed which is configured to provide a plan-based service for interacting with an end device via a network. The server includes: a network interface for receiving a network request message to establish communication between the service and the device; a component application coupled to the network interface for sending a network request message in response to the request, the component The application program comprises a plurality of components, a first set of components having descriptors expressed in a structured definition language and a second set of components expressed as a series of instructions configured to provide to generate an executable version of the component application that configures the device as a client of the service; wherein execution of the executable version provides for subsequent information exchange between the service and the device over the network.

Also disclosed is a terminal device configured to interact with a program-based service via a network using an executable version of a component application comprising a plurality of components. The device includes: an infrastructure device for operating the device to execute the executable version; a user interface device coupled to the infrastructure device configured to communicate with the executable version; a network interface coupled to the device infrastructure and is configured to communicate with the network; and a runtime device for coordinating the execution of the executable version to configure the device as a client of the service, the runtime device being configured for communicating with the A first set of components having descriptors expressed in a structured definition language interacts with a second set of components expressed as a series of instructions; wherein execution of the executable version provides for subsequent exchange of information between services and devices over a network .

Description of drawings

These and other features will become apparent from the following detailed description, made with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a network system;

Fig. 2 is a block diagram of a generic terminal device of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is the block diagram of the component frame structure of Fig. 2 device;

Figure 4 is a block diagram of a component application of Figure 2;

Figure 4a shows a schematic diagram of a representative application package and master control model for the system of Figure 1;

Figure 4b is a model of the client runtime of the device of Figure 1;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method of building the wireless component application of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a method for communicating between the apparatus of FIG. 1 and plan-defined services;

Figure 7 illustrates an example method for implementing the component application of Figure 4;

Figure 8 illustrates another example method for implementing the component application of Figure 4; and

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of another example of the apparatus of FIG. 1 .

specific implementation

Network Systems

Referring to FIG. 1 , a network system 10 includes a plurality of generic terminal devices 100, via a coupled wide area network (WAN) 104, such as but not limited to the Internet and defined by one or more generic programs provided by a web server 106. service interaction. These types of terminal devices 100 may be, but not limited to, eg, personal computers 116, wireless devices 101, PDAs, self-service kiosks, and the like. Common services provided by server 106 may be web services and/or other services such as, but not limited to, SQL databases, IDL-based CORBA and RMI/IIOP systems, legacy databases, J2EE, SAP RFC, and COM/DCOM components. In addition, the system 10 may also have a gateway server 112 for connecting desktop terminals 116 to the server 106 via a local area network (LAN) 114 . Furthermore, the system 10 also has a wireless network 102 for connecting the wireless device 101 to the WAN 104. It can be appreciated that other devices and computers (not shown) may be connected to Web server 106 via WAN 104 and related networks other than those shown in FIG. 1 . For simplicity, the generic terminal device 100 , wireless device 101 and personal computer 116 are referred to as device 100 hereinafter. For simplicity, Web services are chosen for the following description of system 10 . It will be appreciated, however, that other generic plan-defined services could be substituted for the Web service, if desired. Also for simplicity, the networks 102 , 104 , 112 of the system 10 will be referred to as the network 104 hereafter.

Referring again to FIG. 1, when communicating with the Web service of the server 106, the device 100 sends and receives request/response messages 105, respectively. Using the request/response message 105 in the form of message header information and associated data content, the device 100 can operate as a Web client for the Web service, such as requesting and receiving product offers and availability from an online merchant. A web service is an example of a system by which client application 302 (see FIG. 2 ) interacts on communication device 100 over wireless network 104 to provide tools to a user of communication device 100 . Messages 105 sent between the communication device 100 and the Web service can traverse a message mapping service (not shown) that converts the information 105 between the different formats used by the device 100 and the Web service.

In order to satisfy the appropriate request/response message 105, the Web server 106 can communicate with an application server 110 via various protocols (such as but not limited to HTTP and component API) in order to provide information to the client application 302 already provided on the device 100 ( See Figure 2) to show the associated business logic (method). The application server 110 may also include web server 106 software such that the web server 106 can be considered a subset of the application server 110 . Similar to invoking a method (or a function) on an object, the application 302 of the device 100 can use the business logic of the application server 110 . It should be appreciated that the client application 302 involving the application server 110 can be downloaded/uploaded directly to the device 100 via the network 104 through this message 105 . It should further be appreciated that the device 100 may communicate with one or more web servers 106 and associated application servers 110 over the network 104 . It should also be appreciated that the apparatus 100 can be coupled directly to the application server 110, thereby bypassing the Web server 106 as desired.

server environment

Referring to FIG. 1, the Web server 106 provides an information message 105, which is consumed on the device 100 by the client application 302 (see FIG. 2). Additionally or alternatively, Web server 106 may receive and use information messages 105 provided by, or perform tasks on behalf of, client application 302 executing on device 100 . A Web service can be defined as a software service of a Web server 106 that implements an interface expressed, for example, using the Web Services Description Language (WSDL) registered in the Universal Discovery Description and Integration (UDDI), and that can communicate via a message 105 Communicates with client device 100 expressed over Internet network 104 through a suitable protocol such as Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP). In some embodiments, SOAP is a specification that defines the XML format for the message 105, comprising a well-formed XML fragment wrapped in a SOAP component. Other parts of SOAP specify how to represent program data as XML and how to implement remote procedure calls (RPC) using SOAP. These optional SOAP parts are used to implement RPC-style applications where a SOAP request message 105 is sent from the client device 100 including a callable function and the parameters to be passed to the function, and the server 106 utilizes the executed The response message 105 is answered by the result of the function. SOAP also supports document form applications, where the SOAP message 105 is a wrapper function around an XML document. Another optional part of SOAP defines HTTP constraints (ie headers), some of which SOAP implementations support MSMQ, MQ series, SMTP or TCP/IP transfer protocols. Additionally, the web service may use other known communication protocols, message 105 formats, and the interface may be expressed in web service languages other than those described above.

Typically, Web services emerge as an alternative to traditional browser-based and client-server TCP/IP connections for infrastructure and applications. Originally started as a generic machine-to-machine (M2M) communication protocol, Web services are becoming a standard for any service-to-service (S2S) or service-to-consumer (S2C) communication. Web services can provide eg XML-based platform neutral communication channels, capable of supporting synchronous and/or asynchronous delivery of messages 105, according to a set of standard protocols (eg WSDL, SOAP, UDDI). The system 10 of FIG. 1 is preferably related to this S2C model and involves a user operating a Web service from some common terminal device 100 . Thus, the user of the device 100 utilizes the services provided by the server 106 via the network 104 .

client environment

Referring to FIG. 2 , the component application 302 is sent over the network 104 and loaded into the memory module 210 of the device infrastructure 204 of the device 100 . Additionally, component application 302 may be loaded via a serial connection, USB connection, or short-range wireless communication system (not shown) such as IR, 802.11(x) Bluetooth ^(TM ). Once loaded into the device 100, the component application 302 is executable by the component framework 206 on the device 100, which converts the component application 302 into native code for execution by the processor 208 in the device infrastructure 204. machine code. Additionally, the component application 302 may be executed as native code, or compiled by other software modules or an operating system on the device 100 . In any case, the component application runs in the terminal runtime environment provided by the device 100 .

Referring again to FIG. 1 , the client runtime environment provided by the apparatus 100 can be configured to enable the apparatus 100 to operate as a Web client for Web services (the Web client for the Web server 106 ). It should be appreciated that the client runtime environment may also enable the apparatus 100 to act as a client of any other general program-defined service provided by the server 106 . The client runtime environment of the device 100 is preferably capable of generating, hosting and executing the client application 302 (the component application is in the form of a component application, see FIG. 4 and description below) on the device 100 . Additionally, specific functions of the client runtime environment may include, but are not limited to, for example, for languages, coordinating storage allocation, networking, data management during I/O operations, coordinate mapping on output devices of device 100, and Provides support for directional taxonomy and access to core objects supporting files/libraries. Examples of runtime environments implemented by the apparatus 100 may include, for example but not limited to, the Common Language Runtime (CLR) provided by Microsoft Corporation and the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) provided by Sun Microsystems Corporation.

The terminal runtime environment of the device 100 preferably supports the following basic functions for resident executable versions of the client application 302 (see FIG. 2 ), such as but not limited to:

providing communication capabilities for sending messages 105 to Web services of the Web server 106, or providing communication capabilities for sending messages 105 to any other general planning-defined service connected to the device 100 via the network 104;

The ability to provide data input by the user on an input device of the device 100 to provide the data portion of the travel message 105 (message to the service) for the Web service of the Web server 106;

Provides data representation or output capability to provide response messages 105 (input messages) for web services or irrelevant prompts from web servers 106 on output devices;

providing a data storage service to maintain native client data in the memory module 210 (see FIG. 2 ) of the device 100; and

An execution environment is provided for a scripting language to coordinate the operation of the application components 400, 402, 404, 406 (see FIG. 4) of the client application 302.

Referring to Figures 2, 4 and 4a, the client runtime (provided, for example, by the component architecture framework 206) loads the metadata contained in the definitions of the components 400, 402, 404, 406 and builds the Executable version of application 302 on 100 . For example, there are two operating models for the client runtime: native execution against templates, and execution based on metadata. With a template-based native execution model, the runtime hosts the data, messages, and screen templates 500 pre-built on the device 100 using native code. When the application 302 definition is loaded, the client environment provided by the component framework 206 populates the template 500 with metadata defined parameters from the components 400, 402, 404 and builds the executable client application 302 in native format. Workflow scripts (e.g., ECMAScript) of workflow components 406 may be converted to native code, or executed using an appropriate script compiler 502 (e.g., an ECMAScript translator) for a native code redirector 504 that converts Calls to scripting languages are compiled into operations on native components by a native runtime engine 506 . With metadata-based execution, the runtime environment of the component framework 206 is either maintained as defined by components 400, 402, 404, 406 in XML (for example) parsed during execution time, or using XML (for example) nodes native expression. During execution, the native runtime engine 506 operates on the definition of the component 400, 402, 404, 406 rather than on the native component entity. It should be appreciated that this template-based approach can be more energy efficient than metadata-based execution, but requires a more complex execution environment and more memory resources.

Thus, the native client terminal runtime environment provides the client application 302 with an interface to the functionality of the processor 208 and associated operating system of the device infrastructure 204 of the device 100 . The runtime environment preferably provides a controlled, secure and stable environment on device 100 in which to execute component applications 302 . The runtime environment provides definitions of the components 400 , 402 , 404 , 406 in order to create actual web clients specific to each respective device infrastructure 204 of the device 100 . It should be appreciated that, in order to simplify the following description, reference to the client runtime environment provided by the component framework 206 will hereafter be taken as an example only.

communication device

Referring again to FIG. 2, the device 100 is, for example but not limited to, a mobile phone, a PDA, a two-way pager, or a dual mode communication device (see FIG. 9). Device 100 includes network connection interface 200 , such as a wireless transceiver or a wired network interface card or modem coupled to device infrastructure 204 via connection 218 . The connection interface 200 can be connected to the network 104 during the operation of the device 100, for example, can be connected to the wireless network 102 through a wireless link (such as RF, IR, etc.), which will enable the device 100 to communicate with external systems (such as Web The servers 106) communicate with each other and coordinate request/response messages 105 between the client application 302 and the servers 106, 110 (see FIG. 1). The network 104 supports data transmission in request/response messages 105 between devices connected to the network 104 and external systems. The network 104 may also support voice communication for telephone calls between the device 100 and devices external to the network 104 . Wireless network 102 can use a wireless data transmission protocol such as but not limited to Data TAC, GPRS or CDMA protocols.

Referring again to FIG. 2, device 100 also has a user interface 202 coupled to device infrastructure 204 via connection 222 for interaction with a user (not shown). User interface 202 includes one or more user input devices such as, but not limited to, a QWERTY keyboard, keypad, track wheel, stylus, mouse, microphone, and user output devices such as an LCD screen display and/or speakers. The display can also be used as a user input device controlled through the device infrastructure 204 if the screen is touch sensitive. A user of device 100 employs the user interface 202 to coordinate the request/response message 105 through the system 10 (see FIG. 1 ), as described further below, when the client application 302 employs the request/response message 105 .

Referring again to FIG. 2 , operation of the device 100 is initiated through the device infrastructure 204 . The device infrastructure 204 includes a computer processor 208 and associated memory modules 210 . Computer processor 208 controls the operation of network interface 200 , user interface 202 and component framework 206 of communication device 100 by executing associated instructions provided by the operating system and client application programs 302 residing in memory module 210 . It should be further appreciated that the device infrastructure 204 may include a computer-readable storage medium 212 coupled to the processor 208 for providing instructions to the processor and/or loading/updating the client application 302 in the memory module 210 . Computer readable media 212 may include hardware and/or software such as magnetic disks, tapes, optical readable media such as CD/DVD, ROMS, and memory cards, by way of example only. In each case, the computer readable medium 212 may take the form of a compact disk, floppy disk, cassette tape, hard drive, solid state memory card, or RAM provided in the memory module 210 . It should be noted that the above-listed example computer readable media 212 can be used alone or in combination.

Component frame structure of the device

Referring again to FIG. 2 , component framework structure 206 of device 100 is coupled to device infrastructure 204 by connections 220 . The client runtime environment is provided to the device 100 by the component framework 206 and is preferably capable of generating, hosting and executing client applications 302 from metadata definitions (the client applications are in the form of component applications-- see description below). Thus, the component framework 206 provides the native client runtime environment for the client application 302 and is an interface to the functionality of the processor 208 and associated operating system of the device infrastructure 204 of the device 100 . The component framework 206 preferably provides the runtime environment by providing a controlled, secure and stable environment on the device 100 in which the component application 302 is executed with an application container 300 . The application container 300 can be referred to as a smart host container for the client application 302 and can be responsible for analyzing message metadata (message 105 - see FIG. 1 ) and for updating metadata in memory module 210. representation of data.

Referring to FIG. 3, the component framework 206 can be used to execute a client application 302 (such as a Web service client application) within the terminal runtime environment, and can support the Web server 106 via the request/response message 105. Service operations and access to related application servers 110 (see FIG. 1 ). The component applications 302 include software applications executed by the component framework 206 . Each time the component application 302 is executed, the component framework 206 generates an application container 300 for each component 400 , 402 , 404 , 406 (see FIG. 4 ) of the application 302 . The application container 300 loads the components 400 , 402 , 404 , 406 of the application 302 and can create native code that is executed by the processor 208 in the device infrastructure 204 . The component framework 206 thus provides the main application container 300 for providing definitions of the components 400, 402, 404, 406 to create the actual Web Client computer. The application container can provide component applications 302 per template-based native execution and metadata-based execution models as described above.

Referring again to FIG. 3 , where certain services are not included as part of 400 , 402 , 404 , 406 (see FIG. 4 ), or are received as part of component application 302 as separate components (not shown) In the case of , the component framework 206 can also provide a framework service 304 (a standard setting of a common service) to the client application 302 . Application 302 has communication 214 with application container 300, coordinating communication 216 with framework service 304 as needed. The framework service 304 of the component framework 206 coordinates communications with the device infrastructure 204 over the connection 220 . Thus, access to the device infrastructure 204 , user interface 202 and network interface 200 is provided by the component framework 206 to the client application 302 . Furthermore, the client application 302 may be a suitably virus-resistant client application since the application container 300 is able to control and enable all access of the component framework 206 to the client application 302 for communications 214 , 216 to and from it. It should be appreciated that part of the operating system of the device infrastructure 204 (see FIG. 2 ) can represent the application container 300 .

Referring again to FIG. 3, the components 400, 402, 404, 406 (see FIG. 4) of the application 302 described below, once provided on the communication device 100, 116, are given the right by the application container 300 of the component framework 206. Access to a predetermined set of framework services 304 . Framework services 304 include, for example and without limitation: communication service 306 , display service 308 , persistence service 310 , access service 312 , provision service 314 , and utility service 316 . The communication service 306 manages the connectivity between the component application 302 and the external system 10 , such as the sending/receiving of messages 105 and related data involving web services on behalf of the component application 302 (via the communication service 306 ). The display service 308 manages the display when the component application is output on the output device of the user interface 202 (see FIG. 2 ). The persistent service 310 causes the component application 302 to store data in the memory module 210 (see FIG. 2 ) of the device infrastructure 204 . Access service 312 provides the component application 302 access to other software applications present on the communication device 100 , 116 . Provisioning service 314 manages the provisioning of software applications on communication devices 100 , 116 . Application provisioning may include requesting and receiving new and updated component applications 302, configuring component applications 302 for access to services accessible over network 104, modifying configurations of component applications 302 and services, and Delete component applications 302 and services. Tool services 316 are used to implement various common tasks, such as data processing that performs transformations of strings to different formats.

It should be appreciated that the framework services 304 of the communication device 100 may provide functionality including the services described above to the component applications 302 . As a result, the component application 302 can have access to the functionality of the communication device 100 without having to implement that functionality. The component framework 206 of the device 100 (see FIG. 2 ) preferably has only one copy of the code that implements these services residing in the framework services 304, regardless of the number of component applications 302 present, thereby minimizing the framework services 304. 304 code copy. Also, unlike common applications where all service requests or service API calls are programmed by the developer in native code, the component definitions 400, 402, 404 and workflow 406 will use a structured definition language such as XML and such as ECMAScript's instruction set to describe service requests. The structured definition language provides a non-procedural definition of the application's user interface 202, persistent storage, and communication with Web services, while the instructions provide component connectivity on the program. The client runtime environment interprets these definitions 400, 402, 404 as native calls to supporting services.

component application

Referring to FIG. 2, for example, the Web service client application 302 is executed in the terminal runtime environment of the component framework 206 and supports access to Web service operations provided by the server 106 (see FIG. 1). WSDL and SOAP protocol definitions clearly imply a message/data schema. In a WSDL Web service definition, the concept of message and data parts is used to define the operation, which defines the Web service client application 302 as a set of related data components 400 and message components 404 (see FIG. 4 ).

Referring to FIG. 4 , a block diagram of a component application 302 includes a data component 400 , a display component 402 , and a message component 404 , which are coordinated by communication 214 with the application container 300 through a workflow component 406 . The structured definition language can be used to structure components 400, 402, 404 as a series of metadata records that include several predefined units representing specific attributes of a resource, such that each unit can have one or more values . Each metadata plan typically has defined characteristics such as, but not limited to: a limited number of cells, a name for each cell, and meaning for each cell. Exemplary metadata schemes include such as, but not limited to, Dublin Core (DC), Anglo-American Classification Rules (AACR2), Government Information Location Service (GES), Encoded Archive Description (EAD), IMS Global Academic Society (IMS ), and the Australian Government Location Service (AGLS). The encoding syntax enables the device infrastructure 204 (see FIG. 2 ) to process metadata for the components 400, 402, 404, and encoding schemes include, for example but not limited to, XML, HTML, XHTML, XSML, RDF, Machine Readable Catalog (MARC), and Multi Uses Internet Mail Extensions (MIME).

Referring again to FIG. 4 , the data component 400 defines data entities used by the component application 302 . Examples of data entities that data component 400 may describe are: users and financial transactions. The data component 400 is defined to describe the information required by the data entity and the information format of the representation. For example, the data component 400 may define an order that includes, for example but without limitation, a unique identifier for the order formatted as a number, a list of items formatted as a string, in a date-time format The time when the order was created, the order status formatted as a character string, and a user who issued the order, the order is formatted according to another definition of the data component 400 . Since data parts (units) are usually transformed from message 105 to message 105 according to Web service stage rules, there is preferably persistence of data component 400 . Data components 400 may be dynamically generated based on Web service stage definitions (if available), or defined by the application programmer based on composite type definitions and/or message related information.

Referring again to FIG. 4, the message component 404 defines the message format used by the component application 302 to communicate with external systems, such as Web services. For example, one of the message components 404 may describe, for example but not limited to, a message for placing an order including a unique identifier for the order, the status of the order, and notes associated with the order. Message component 404 definitions written in this structured definition language can uniquely represent (and map to) WSDL messages, and can be dynamically generated at execution time. Thus, from standard Web service metadata in a definition language used to represent the Web service interface, such as but not limited to WSDL and BPEL, components for client application messages 105, and associated data content, can be implemented Defined dynamic generation. Web service messages 105 are defined in an operational environment and therein are dependencies between the message components 404 defined in the component application 302 definitions. This correlation can be achieved using predefined message parameters and/or by separating workflow components 406 as further defined below.

Referring again to FIG. 4 , the display component 402 defines the appearance and behavior of the component application 302 when the component application 302 is displayed by the user interface 202 . The display component 402 is capable of specifying GUI screens and controls, and actions to be performed when a user interacts with the component application 302 using the user interface 202 . For example, the display component 402 can define screens, labels, edit boxes, buttons, and menus, as well as actions to be taken when the user types in an edit box or presses a button. Most Web service consumers use the visual display of Web service operation results, so this runtime environment is provided on the device 100 capable of displaying user interface screens.

Referring to Figures 1, 4 and 4b, it should be appreciated that in the client component application 302 definition hosting model described above, the display component 402 can vary depending on the client platform and device 100 environment. For example, in some cases, Web service users do not require a visible display. The application definitions for the components 400, 402, 404, 406 of the component application 302 can be hosted in a Web service registry in the metadata store 700 as platform-neutral data 400, messages 404, with A set of Platform-Specific Display Components 402 Descriptor Workflow 406 A Bundle of Component Descriptors for Scheduled Client Runtime (ie Component Framework 206 - see Figure 2). When the discovery or configuration request message 105 is sent, the client type should be specified as part of this request message 105 . To avoid duplicating data, messages, and workflow metadata while packaging component applications 302 for different client platforms of the device 100, the definitions of applications can be hosted on the application server 110 (for example) as The different sets of 403a, 403b, 403c linked platform-neutral components define a bundle representing the user interface 202 of the different supported devices 100 . It should also be appreciated that a standard display component 402 can be used without the specific device 100 being explicitly supported, thereby providing at least a reduced set of display features. When a user makes a discovery or download request message 105 , the client runtime type of the device 100 is confirmed and an appropriate bundle is configured, delivered by the Web server 106 to the device 100 over the network 104 . For those Web service consumers, the client application 302 can include selected display components 403a, 403b, 403c linked with data 400 and information 404 through a workflow component 406, thereby providing a customized component application 302.

Referring again to FIG. 4 , the workflow component 406 of the component application 302 defines the processing that occurs when an operation is to be performed, such as an operation specified by the display component 402 as described above, or when a message 105 (see FIG. 1 ) An action to be performed upon arrival from system 10. The process of displaying the workflow and message 105 is defined by the workflow component 406 . The workflow component 406 is written as a series of instructions in a programming language or a scripting language, such as but not limited to ECMAScript, and can be compiled into native code and executed by the application container 300 as described. An example of a workflow component 406 may be for data assignment, managing screens, or sending the message 105 . The workflow component 406 supports correlation between the messages 105 and defines the application flow according to a set of rules regarding the operation of other components 400 , 402 , 404 . Multiple workflow components can be defined with respect to a given application 302 . This additional workflow component is similar to the plurality of display components 403a, 403b, 403c, and different workflows can be defined according to different support capabilities or specific device 100 characteristics.

ECMA (European Computer Manufacturers Association) script is a standard scripting language in which a script can be referred to as a sequence of instructions compiled or executed by another program rather than by a computer processor. Examples of other scripting languages are Perl, Rexx, VBScript, JavaScript, and Tcl/Tk. Generally, a scripting language is a language of instructions for managing, customizing, and automating the facilities of an existing system, such as device 100 . In such a system, useful functions are already available through the user interface 202 (see FIG. 2), and the scripting language is a mechanism for expressing programmed control functions. In this way, device 100 provides a host runtime environment for objects and facilities that implement the scripting language capabilities.

Specifically, EMCAScript is an object-oriented programming language for performing calculations and managing calculated objects in the host runtime environment. ECMAScript can be used as a Web scripting language, providing a mechanism to perform computations on servers 106, 110 as part of the Web-based client-server architecture of system 10 (see FIG. 1). ECMAScript provides core scripting capabilities for a variety of host runtime environments, and thus the core scripting language can be considered operating platform neutral to several specific host runtime environments. The component framework 206 (see FIG. 2 ) can provide an ECMAScript host runtime environment for client-side computing of the device 100, such as but not limited to; presentation windows, menus, popups, dialog boxes, text fields, anchor points , frames, history, cookies and I/O objects. Additionally, the host runtime environment of the component framework 206 provides a means for attaching script code to events such as, but not limited to, focus changes, page and image loads, unloads, errors and aborts, selections, form submissions, and mouse actions. The script code appears in the workflow component 406 , combines user interface elements with fixed and computed text and images, and reacts to user interactions on the user interface 202 . Web server 106 (see FIG. 1 ) provides a distinct hosting environment for server-side computing, including objects representing requests, clients, and files, and mechanisms for locking and sharing data. By using client-side and server-side scripting together, it is possible to distribute computing between the client device 100 and the servers 106, 110 while providing a customized user interface 202 for the Web-based component application 302 .

ECMAScript also defines a set of built-in operators, which may not be strictly functions or methods. ECMAScript operators include, but are not limited to, various unary operators, multiplication operators, addition operators, bitwise shift operators, relational operators, equality operators, binary bitwise operators, binary logical operators, assignment operator and comma operator. While ECMAScript syntax is similar to Java syntax, ECMAScript syntax is relaxed so that it can be used by developers as an easy-to-use scripting language. For example, a variable in ECMAScript is not required to declare its type, nor is it a type associated with a property, and a defined function is not required to have a literal declaration before it is called. It should be recognized that in a class-based object-oriented programming language, the state is usually represented by the instance, the method is represented by the class, and only the structure and behavior are inherited. In ECMAScript, the state and methods are represented by objects, and the structure, behavior, and state are all inheritable.

Component application example

Thus, referring to FIG. 4, a client application 302 can be defined as a set of platform-neutral component definitions, namely a data component 400 and a message component 404 and a display component 402 using XML (or any other suitable structured definition language). Workflow components 406 can be defined using ECMAScript (or any other suitable platform-neutral scripting language). When the components 400, 402, 404, 406 of the component application 302 are provided on the device 100, the client runtime environment of the framework 206 (see FIG. 2) can generate the component templates described below based on the meta definitions. Using a broad class of terminal runtime environments, cross-platform standards such as XML or ECMAScript can be used to define application component metadata rather than pre-building the component application 302 . This latency constraint enables the generic application definition of the component application 302 to be run on a variety of end system environments represented by a variety of different devices 100 .

Expressing the data component 400, message component 404, and display component 402 using XML or its derivatives, and expressing the workflow component 406 using the ECMAScript language or a subset thereof, enables an application developer to extract The Web service client, and in principle executes "build once, run everywhere" applications. The following example shows the way a Web service client application 302 can be represented using a structured definition language such as but not limited to XML and operating platform neutral scripting/programming language definition components such as but not limited to ECMAScript :

Sample XML Data Component 400

<dataname="Order">

<item name="orderld"type="Number"key="true"/>

<item name="items"type="String"array="true"/>

<item name="user" comp="true" compName="User"/>

<item name="orderStatus"type="String"/>

</data>

Example XML message component 404

<msg name="ordConfirmation" type="response"

action="mhConfirmation">

<part name="orderld"type="String"/>

<part name=″status″type=″String″/>

</msg>

Example XML display component 402

<

screenname="scrConfinnation" title="OrderConfirmation" param="Order">

<layouttype="vertical">

<widget type=″label″value=″Order Confirmation Result:″/>

<widgettype=″edit″value=″@commat; Order.orderStatus″/

>

</layout>

<menu>

<item label="Continue"

Navigate="&commat;scrMain"/>

</menu>

</screen>

Sample ECMAScript Workflow Component 406

<actions>

<function name=″mhConfirmation″>

key=ordConfirmation.orderId;

Order = Order.get(key);

Order.orderStatus=ordConfirmation.status;

scrConfirmation.display(order);

</function>

</actions>

Referring to FIG. 4 , it can be seen that the message component 404 forwards the data required for the input and output of the message 105 , as was the case given above. A corresponding data component 400 coordinates the storage of data in the memory module 210 (see FIG. 2 ) of the device 100 for subsequent display by the display component 402 on the user interface 202 (see FIG. 2 ). Workflow component 406 coordinates the transformation of data between data component 400 , display component 402 and message component 404 .

There are several potential advantages to the component application model described above. For example, the requirement for an arbitrator in the service agreement between the client runtime and the service endpoint is minimized. Unlike browser-based applications that require a web server to host add-ons (servlets, JSP, ASP, etc.) to connect HTML page data/requests to service endpoints, the component application model uses web services (in The messaging components on the server 106 are defined to enable peer-to-peer direct connections between client runtimes of the appliance 100 .

Furthermore, the component application model combines the simplicity of browser-based applications with the efficiency of native application execution. Unlike browser applications, runtime rendering of screens is minimized because the entire application 302 definition is preferably downloaded immediately, and the client runtime environment can produce a native display of the application screens. Additionally, since the component application model structure is based on message components 404 containing data, the request page (screen resolution in HTML) from the server is minimized.

Furthermore, the component application structure can provide a small application download size (only component definitions), as well as efficient data storage and persistence model compared to hard-coded native applications. In contrast to managing the display of rendered HTML pages, eg for a browser application, the client runtime can store and update atomic data entities directly.

Furthermore, the component application structure can provide a platform-neutral model. Unlike native applications developed specifically for a specific client runtime, applications 302 built using widely adopted standards such as XML and ECMAScript can be reused on a variety of platforms and truly "build once, run everywhere" principle. Moreover, the combination of non-procedural and procedural application definitions can greatly reduce programming time and effort.

Operations on the Component Application Model

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for setting up the wireless component application 302 for subsequent communication to the device 100 over the network 104 . Referring also to FIG. 3 , the method starts with step 600 of creating the data component 400 , defining data entities such as users and orders. The method continues with a step 602 of creating a display component 402 for defining user interface elements such as screens, buttons, menus and images. The method continues with a step 604 of creating a message component 402 for defining the format of a message sent to an external system, such as a Web service on server 106 (see FIG. 1 ). Components 400, 402, 404 are represented in a structured definition language, such as but not limited to an XML-based one. The method ends at step 606 , where an attempt is made to bring together the data component 400 , display component 402 and message component 404 with the workflow component 406 in order to define the behavior of the application 302 . Workflow components 406 are written in accordance with a scripting language such as a subset of ECMAScript described above. The method of building a wireless component application 302 may include fewer or more steps than those shown in FIG. 5 .

Referring to Figures 1 and 6, operations 800 of interaction between the device 100 and the Web service of the Web server are shown. The Web service receives the request message 105 requesting that the apparatus 100 start communicating with the Web service (802). The Web service uploads (804) the required components 400, 402, 404, 406 (if any) of the component application 302 to the device 100 to support subsequent information exchange between the Web service and the device 100. The device receives the sent component application 302 and begins provisioning (806) the components 400, 402, 404, 406 by the runtime environment to configure the device by generating an executable version of the component application 302 A web client for web services. The user of the device 100 enters (808) data into the user interface 202 of the device 100 (see FIG. 2) for subsequent sending (810) to the Web service as a request message 105 for receiving Web service operations. The web service processes the request message 105 and sends ( 812 ) an appropriate response message 105 including data for subsequent output on the user interface 202 . The device 100 receives (814) the message 105 containing the data, and the executable version of the component application 302 outputs the data on the user interface 202 as appropriate. Also as described above, a data exchange is performed (816) between the device 100 and the Web service, or the exchange is terminated (818), and the executable version of the component application 302 is saved as desired or in the memory 210 (see FIG. 2) Or remove from the runtime environment.

1, 3 and 7, for example, the operational process (900) shows that when the device 100 receives (902) a response message containing message data, the appropriate workflow component 406 compiles (904) the message from the appropriate message component 404 105 of the data content of the case. The workflow component 406 then processes (906) the data content and inserts (910) the data into the corresponding data component 400 for subsequent storage (912) in the memory module 210 (see FIG. 2). And, if necessary, the workflow component 406 also inserts (908) the data into the appropriate display component 402 for subsequent display (914) on the user interface 202 (see FIG. 2).

Referring to Figures 1, 3 and 8, the operational process (1000) illustrates data entry (1002) for an action, such as pressing a button or selecting a menu option, through which the user interfaces 202 (see Figure 2) in a These actions are performed on the user interface unit (1003). The associated workflow component 406 compiles ( 1004 ) the input data from the appropriate display component 404 and creates ( 1006 ) the data entity defined by the appropriate data component 400 . The workflow component 406 then populates (1010) the data component 400 with the input data provided by the user for subsequent storage (1012) in the memory module 210 (see FIG. 2). Moreover, the workflow component 406 also inserts (1008) the input data into the appropriate message component 404, as defined by the message component 404, for subsequently sending the input data as a data entity in a message 105 ( 1014) to the web service.

It should be appreciated that a component application 302 created using the methods described above will be able to require Less time to create than hardcoding applications. The method enables the implementation of component applications 302 in which the definition of the user interface 202 and data is separated. This separation is such that modification of any component 400, 402, 404, 406 in the component application 302 does not affect and require substantial changes in the other components 400, 402, 404, 406 in the component application 302, and therefore Maintenance of the component application 302 , including modification and updating of the component application 302 on the device 100 , may be facilitated.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a dual-mode mobile communication device 710 which is a further example of the device 100 of FIGS. 1 and 6 . The dual-mode mobile communication device 710 includes: a transceiver 711, a microprocessor 738, a display 722, a flash memory 724, a RAM memory 726, an auxiliary input/output (I/O) device 728, a serial port 730, a keyboard 732, Speaker 734 , microphone 736 , short-range wireless communication subsystem 740 , and other device subsystem 742 may also be included. The transceiver 711 preferably includes: transmit and receive antennas 716 and 718 , a receiver 712 , a transmitter 714 , one or more local oscillators 713 and a digital signal processor 720 . In the flash memory 724, the dual-mode mobile communication device 710 preferably includes a plurality of software modules 724A-724N executable by the microprocessor 738 (and/or the DSP 720), including a voice communication module 724A, a data communication module 724B, and a number of other operating modules 724N for performing a number of other functions.

The dual-mode mobile communication device 710 is preferably a two-way communication device having voice and data communication capabilities. Thus the dual mode mobile communication device 710 may eg communicate over a voice network, eg either an analog or digital cellular network, and may also communicate over a data network. The voice and data network is shown in FIG. 9 as a communication tower 719 . These voice and data networks can be separate communication networks, using separate infrastructures such as base stations, network controllers, etc., or can be integrated into a single wireless network.

The communications subsystem 711 is used to communicate with the voice and data network 719 and includes a receiver 712 , a transmitter 714 , one or more local oscillators 713 , and may also include a DSP 720 . The DSP 720 is used to receive and transmit signals from the transmitter 714 and receiver 712 , and is also used to receive control information from the transmitter 714 and provide control information to the receiver 712 . A single local oscillator 713 may be used in conjunction with transmitter 714 and receiver 712 if the voice and data communications occur on a single frequency, or closely spaced frequencies. Additionally, multiple local oscillators 713 may be used to generate multiple frequencies corresponding to the voice and data network 719 if different frequencies are used to effectuate voice communications than corresponding data communications. Although two antennas 716, 718 are depicted in FIG. 9, the dual mode mobile communication device 710 can be used in a single antenna configuration. Information, including voice and data information, is communicated with the communication module 711 via a link between the DSP 720 and the microprocessor 738 . The detailed design of the communication subsystem 711, such as frequency bands, component selection, power levels, etc., depends on the communication network 719 in which the dual-mode mobile communication device 710 is to be operated. For example, a dual-mode mobile communication device 710 intended to operate in the North American market may include a communication subsystem 711 designed to utilize the Mobitex ^™ or DataIAC ^™ mobile data communication networks, and may also be designed to utilize, for example, AMPS, TDMA, Operates on any of a variety of voice communication networks such as CDMA, PCS, etc.; whereas device 710 intended for use in Europe may be configured to operate using both a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) data communication network and a GSM voice communication network. Other types of separate and integrated data and voice networks may also utilize the dual-mode mobile communication device 710 .

Depending on the type of single or several networks 719, the access requirements for the dual mode mobile communication device 710 may also vary. For example, in the Mobitex and DataTAC data networks, mobile devices are registered on the network using a unique identification number associated with each device. But in a GPRS data network, network access is associated with the user or user of the mobile device. GPRS devices typically require a Subscriber Identity Module ("SIM"), which is required to operate a dual-mode mobile communication device on a GPRS network. Can operate local i.e. non-network communication functions (if any) without the SIM, but apart from any legally required operations, such as 911 emergency calls, a dual mode mobile communication device will not be able to perform any communication function.

Upon completion of any required network registration or activation processes, the dual-mode mobile communication device 710 may then send and receive communication signals, including both voice and data signals, over the network 719 (or networks). Signals received by antenna 716 from communication network 719 are routed to the receiver 712, which provides signal amplification, frequency down conversion, filtering, channel selection, etc., and may also provide analog to digital conversion. Analog-to-digital conversion of the received signal enables more complex communication functions such as digital demodulation and decoding performed using the DSP 720. Signals to be transmitted to network 719 are processed in a similar manner, including modulation and encoding by DSP 720, and then provided to transmitter 714 for digital-to-analog conversion, up-conversion, filtering, amplification, and transmission via antenna 718 Sent to communication network 719 (or several networks). Although FIG. 9 shows a single transceiver 711 for both voice and data communications, it is possible that the dual-mode mobile communication device 710 includes two different transceivers, the first for sending and receiving voice signals , the second transceiver is used to send and receive data signals.

In addition to processing the communication signals, the DSP 720 also provides control of the receiver and transmitter. For example, the gain levels of the communication signals applied to the receiver 712 and transmitter 714 may be adaptively controlled by an automatic gain control algorithm implemented in the DSP 720. Other transceiver control algorithms may also be implemented in DSP 720 to provide more complex control of transceiver 711.

Microprocessor 738 preferably manages and controls the overall operation of the dual mode mobile communication device 710 . Many types of microprocessors or microcontrollers can be used therein, or alternatively a single DSP 720 can be used to perform the functions of the microprocessor 738. Low-level communications including at least data and voice communications are performed in the transceiver 711 through the DSP 720. Additionally, advanced communication applications such as voice communication application 724A and data communication application 724B may be stored in flash memory 724 for execution by microprocessor 738 . For example, the voice communication module 724A may provide an advanced user interface operable to send and receive voice calls between the dual-mode mobile communication device 710 and a plurality of other voice devices via the network 719 . Similarly, the data communication module 724B may provide a high-level user interface operable to send and receive data, such as e-mail, for example, between the dual-mode mobile communication device 710 and a plurality of other data devices via the network 719 Data such as messages, files, organizer data, short text messages, etc. In the dual-mode mobile communication device 710, a component framework 206 as described above may also be implemented as a software module or application, or incorporated into one of the software modules 724A-724N.

Microprocessor 738 also interacts with other dual-mode mobile communication device subsystems, such as display 722, flash memory 724, random access memory (RAM) 726, auxiliary input/output (I/O) subsystem 728, serial port 730 , keypad 732 , speaker 734 , microphone 736 , short-range communication subsystem 740 , and any other dual-mode mobile communication device subsystem generally designated 742 .

Some of the subsystems shown in FIG. 9 perform communication-related functions, while other subsystems may be provided to perform resident or device-related functions. It is worth noting that certain subsystems, such as keyboard 732 and display 722, can be used for both communication-related functions, such as entering text messages for sending over a data communications network, and device-resident functions, such as computers or task lists or other PDA-type functions.

Operating system software used by microprocessor 738 is preferably stored in a persistent memory such as flash memory 724 . In addition to this operating system, which controls all low-level functions of the dual-mode mobile communication device 710, the flash memory 724 may include a number of high-level software applications or modules, such as a voice communication module 724A, a data communication module 724B, a manager module (not shown) or any other type of software module 724N. Flash memory 724 may also include a file system for storing data. These modules are executed by the microprocessor 738 and provide a high level interface between the user of the dual mode mobile communication device and the mobile device. Such interfaces typically include graphics components provided through display 722 , and input/output components provided through auxiliary I/O 728 , keyboard 732 , speaker 734 and microphone 736 . The operating system, specifically the dual-mode mobile communication device software applications or modules, or portions thereof, may be temporarily loaded into a volatile memory such as RAM 726 for faster operation. Also, received communication signals may also be temporarily stored in RAM 726 before being permanently written to persistent memory 724 .

One exemplary application module 724N that can be loaded onto the dual-mode mobile communication device 710 is a personal information manager (PIM) application that provides PDA functionality such as calendar events, appointments, and to-do items. This module 724N may also interact with a voice communication module 724A, which manages phone calls, voice mail, etc., and may also interact with a data communication module, which manages email communications and other data transmissions. In addition, all functions of the voice communication module 724A and the data communication module 724B can be integrated into the PIM module.

The flash memory 724 preferably provides a file system provision to facilitate storage of PIM data items on the dual-mode mobile communication device 710 . The PIM application preferably includes the ability to send and receive data items over the wireless network 719, either by itself or in conjunction with the voice and data communication modules 724A, 724B. PIM data items are preferably seamlessly integrated, synchronized and updated over the wireless network 719 with a corresponding set of data items stored or associated with a host system, thereby creating a mirror system for data items associated with a particular user.

The dual-mode mobile communication device 710 can also be manually synchronized with a host system by placing the dual-mode mobile communication device 710 in an interface box that couples the serial port 730 of the dual-mode mobile communication device 710 to The serial port of the host system. The serial port 730 may also be used to enable a user to set preferences through an external device or software application, or download other application modules 724N for installation. This wired download path can be used to load an encryption key onto the dual mode mobile communication device 710, which is a more secure method than exchanging encrypted information over the wireless network 719.

Additionally, the application module 724N may be loaded onto the dual-mode mobile communication device 710 via the network 719, the auxiliary I/O subsystem 728, the serial port 730, the short-range communication subsystem 740, or any other suitable subsystem 742, and accessed by The user is installed in flash memory 724 or RAM 726. This flexibility in application installation increases the functionality of the dual-mode mobile communication device 710 and may provide enhanced on-device functionality, communication-related functionality, or both. For example, a secure communication application may enable the use of dual-mode mobile communication device 710 to perform e-commerce functions and other such financial transactions.

When operating the dual mode device in data communication mode, a received signal such as a text message or downloaded web page will be processed by transceiver 711 and provided to microprocessor 738, preferably further processed for output to display 722, or Output to an auxiliary I/O device 728 is also possible. The user of the dual-mode mobile communication device 710 can also utilize the keyboard 732 composition of a complete alphanumeric keyboard, preferably arranged in a QWERTY format, although other forms of full alphanumeric keypads such as the known DVORAK form can also be used. An example of a data item for an email message. User input to the dual mode mobile communication device 710 is further enhanced with a number of auxiliary I/O devices 728, which may include a thumbwheel input device, touch pad, various switches, shake input switches, and the like. The constituent data items entered by the user may then be transmitted by the transceiver 711 via the communication network 719 .

When the dual-mode mobile communication device 710 operates in a voice communication mode, the overall operation of the dual-mode mobile communication device 710 is substantially similar to the data mode, except that the receive signal is preferably output to the speaker 734 and used for sending Voice signals are generated by microphone 736 . Additionally, voice or audio I/O subsystems such as voice message recording subsystems may also be implemented on the dual mode mobile communication device 710 . While output of speech or audio signals is preferably accomplished primarily through speaker 734, display 722 may also be used to provide an indication of the identification of the calling party, the duration of the voice call, or other voice call-related information. For example, the microprocessor 738, in conjunction with the voice communication module and operating system software, can detect the caller identification information of an incoming voice call and display the voice call on the display 722.

The dual-mode mobile communication device 710 also includes a short-range communication subsystem 740 . For example, the short-range communication subsystem 740 may include an infrared device and associated circuits and components, or a short-range wireless communication module such as a Bluetooth module or an 802.11 module, to provide communication with similarly initiated systems and devices. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that "Bluetooth" and 802.11 refer to sets of specifications available from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) standards relating to wireless personal area networks and wireless LANs, respectively.

Although the disclosure of the specification herein depicts one or more example systems and methods, many variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and such variations are within the scope of this application. For example, although a subset of XML and ECMAScript are used in this provided example, other languages and language variants may be used to define component application 302 .

Claims (40)

1. mutual method is carried out in the service by end device (100,101,116) process network (102,104,114) and planning qualification, and the method comprising the steps of:

Transmission is used for setting up a request internet message of communication between service and end device (100,101,116);

Respond this request internet message and receive a component applications (302) that comprises a plurality of assemblies (400-406), first group of assembly has the meta-data descriptor of representing with structured definition language, the configuration information that is used for definitions component application program (302), and second group of assembly is expressed as a series of directive scripts of being associated with meta-data descriptor, the workflow that is used for definitions component application program (302), these assemblies (400-406) are arranged to by end device (100,101,116) runtime environment provides, can carry out version so that produce configuration as of this component applications of the end device of the client computer of service, described runtime environment is used based on the execution model of template or based on the execution model of metadata;

Wherein this execution that can carry out version is convenient to through subsequently the exchanges data of network (102,104,114) between service and end device (100,101,116).

2. according to the process of claim 1 wherein that this runtime environment provides this can carry out an interface (220) of version to the processor (208) of the foundation structure (204) of this end device and the function of relevant operation system.

3. according to the method for claim 2, wherein this runtime environment is arranged to and implements to comprise following any ability: be provided for an internet message is sent to the communication of this service; Provide data, so that be provided for and the data content of serving a relevant internet message by user's input of this end device (100,101,116); The internet message that response is relevant with service provides data presentation; Provide data storage service to be used for remaining on this messenger client data of a storer (210) of this end device; And/or be provided for an execution environment of programming language, be used for coordinating can carry out the operation of the assembly (400-406) of version at this.

4. according to the method for claim 2 or 3, wherein this runtime environment is configured to the part of this operating system.

5. according to the method for claim 2 or 3, further comprise step: from according with at dynamically producing the component description that is used for client application message and related data the metadata of this service definition.

6. according to the method for claim 5, wherein this service is the service that comprises that the common planning of following service limits: network service, database service and based on the CORBA service of IDL.

7. according to the method for claim 2 or 3, further comprise step: a data assembly (400) is included in first group of component definition, and this assembly (400) is used for describing the form of the data entity that is used by program (302).

8. according to the method for claim 7, further comprise step: at least one message components (404) is included in first group of component definition, each this message components (404) is used to describe a form by the message of this program (302) use, so that through network (102,104,114) and communication for service.

9. method according to Claim 8, wherein this data package definition and message component definition are platform neutrality, so that adapt to various runtime environment.

10. method according to Claim 8, further comprise step: a display module (402) is included in first group of assembly, display module (402) is used for definition and appears at end device (100 when component applications (302), the outward appearance and the behavior of this component applications (302) a when user interface (202) 101,116) is gone up.

11. method according to claim 10, further comprise step: be defined in this end device (100 in this request internet message, 101,116) client type is used to provide for a kind of predefined runtime environment the display module (402) that is platform-specific.

12. method according to claim 10, further comprise step: a workflow component (406) is included in second group of assembly, and this workflow component (406) is used to be defined in will be according to carried out a processing procedure that occurs when operating by the regulation of one of first group of assembly.

13. method according to claim 2 or 3, further comprise step: by carry out the version carried out of this machine code based on the execution model of template, this model adopts and is arranged to the some predefined template of filling with the meta-data descriptor of this assembly (400-406), and wherein this predefined template is provided for any one a plurality of assemblies that comprise following assembly: data package (400), message components (404) and/or display module (402).

14., further comprise step: utilize the parameter of the meta data definition relevant to fill this predefined template, and use the template of this filling to make up the version carried out of this this machine code with this meta-data descriptor according to the method for claim 13.

15. method according to claim 2 or 3, further comprise step: carry out this by one based on the metadata execution model and can carry out version, this model is arranged to this meta data definition is remained in this structured definition language so that resolve in the process of implementation.

16. according to the method for claim 2 or 3, further comprise step: carry out this by one based on the metadata execution model and can carry out version, this model is arranged to this machine demonstration of utilization structure definitional language node in the process of implementation.

17. method according to claim 12, further comprise step: send by this end device (100,101, an internet message of the user 116) and the mutual initiation of user interface section, this internet message comprise the data entity of creating by corresponding to the workflow component (406) of this user interface section.

18. according to the method for claim 17, wherein dispose this internet message, so that comprise data entity based on this structured definition language according to this message components (406).

19. method according to claim 18, further comprise step: receive a response to network message that comprises the message data that relates to the notebook data entity, this response to network message is arranged at this end device (100,101,116) show this message data subsequently on the user interface, wherein this message data is based on this structured definition language and is formative.

20. according to the method for claim 19, wherein this end device (100,101,116) comprises any with lower device: personal computer (116), wireless device (100), PDA (101), bootstrap message platform and/or desktop terminal (116).

A 21. end device (100,101,116), be arranged to through network (102,104,114), use comprises the version carried out of a component applications (302) of a plurality of assemblies (400-406), with based on planning service carry out alternately, this end device comprises:

Be used to operate the device basic structure (204) of this end device, this device basic structure comprises and is used to carry out this processor (208) that can carry out version and relational storage (210);

Be coupled to the user interface (202) of this device basic structure (204), this user interface (202) has to be arranged to this can carry out input media and the output unit that version is communicated by letter;

Network connection interface is coupled to this device basic structure (204) and is arranged to and this network service; With

Component framework structure (206), runtime environment is provided, to be used to use based on the execution model of template or based on the execution model of metadata, processing components application program (302) can be carried out version to produce this, so that this end device (100,101,116) be configured to the client computer of this service, this runtime environment is arranged to second group of assembly of a series of directive scripts of handling first group of assembly with meta-data descriptor of representing with structured definition language and being expressed as being associated with meta-data descriptor, described first group of assembly is used for the configuration information of definitions component application program (302), and second group of assembly is used for the workflow of definitions component application program (302);

Wherein this execution that can carry out version is convenient to be used for through subsequently the exchanges data of network between service and end device (100,101,116).

22. end device (100 according to claim 21,101,116), wherein this runtime environment this end device (100, a processor (208) of device basic structure (204) 101,116) and the function of relevant operation system offer the interface (220) that this can carry out version.

23. according to the end device (100,101,116) of claim 22, wherein this runtime environment is arranged to and realizes comprising following any ability: be provided for an internet message is sent to the communication of this service; Provide data, so that be provided for and the data content of serving a relevant internet message by user's input of this end device; The internet message that response is relevant with service provides data presentation; Provide data storage service to be used for remaining on this messenger client data of a storer (210) of this end device; And/or be provided for an execution environment of programming language, be used for coordinating can carry out the operation of the assembly (400-406) of version at this.

24. according to the end device (100,101,116) of claim 22 or 23, wherein this runtime environment is configured the part as this operating system.

25. according to the end device (100,101,116) of claim 22 or 23, wherein from according with at dynamically producing the component description that is used for client application message and related data the metadata of this service definition.

26. according to the end device (100,101,116) of claim 25, wherein this service is the service that common planning limits, and comprising: network service, database service and based on the CORBA service of IDL.

27. end device (100 according to claim 22 or 23,101,116), further comprise: the data assembly (400) in first group of component definition, this data package (400) are used for describing a form of the data entity that is used by this program (302).

28. end device (100 according to claim 27,101,116), further comprise: at least one message components (404) in first group of component definition, each message components (404) of at least one message components is used for describing the form of the message of being used by this program (302), so that through network (102,104,114) and this communication for service.

29. according to the end device (100,101,116) of claim 28, wherein this data package definition and message component definition are platform neutrality, so that adapt to various runtime environment.

30. end device (100 according to claim 28,101,116), further comprise: the display module (402) in first group of assembly, this display module (402) is used to be defined in component applications (302) and appears at end device (100, the outward appearance of this component applications (302) a when user interface (202) 101,116) is gone up.

31. according to the end device (100,101,116) of claim 30, the client type of this end device of in this request internet message, the stipulating display module (402) that to provide for a predefined runtime environment be platform-specific wherein.

32. end device (100 according to claim 30,101,116), further comprise: the workflow component (406) in this second group of assembly, this workflow component (406) are used to be defined in will be according to carried out a processing procedure that occurs when operating by the regulation of one of first group of assembly.

33. end device (100 according to claim 22 or 23,101,116), wherein be used to carry out the version carried out of this machine code based on the execution model of template, this model adopts and is arranged to the some predefined template of filling with the meta-data descriptor of this assembly, wherein this predefined template is provided for a plurality of assemblies, and described a plurality of assemblies comprise: data package (400), message components (404) and/or display module.

34. according to the end device (100,101,116) of claim 33, wherein utilize the parameter of the meta data definition relevant to fill this predefined template, use the template of this filling to make up in this this machine code and can carry out version with this meta-data descriptor.

35. end device (100 according to claim 22 or 23,101,116), wherein be used to carry out this based on the execution model of metadata and can carry out version, this model is arranged to this meta data definition is remained in this structured definition language so that resolve in the process of implementation.

36. according to the end device (100,101,116) of claim 22 or 23, wherein be used to carry out this based on the execution model of metadata and can carry out version, this model is arranged in the process of implementation that this machine of utilization structure definitional language node shows.

37. end device (100 according to claim 32,101,116), wherein this can be carried out version and be arranged to transmission by end device (100,101, an internet message of the user 116) and the mutual initiation of user interface section, this internet message comprise the data entity of creating by corresponding to the workflow component (406) of this user interface section.

38. the end device (100,101,116) according to claim 37 wherein disposes this internet message according to this message components (406), so that comprise the data entity based on this structured definition language.

39. end device (100 according to claim 38,101,116), wherein, this can be carried out version and be arranged to the response to network message that reception comprises the message data that relates to this data entity, this response to network message is arranged on a user interface (202) of this end device and shows this message data subsequently, and wherein this message data is according to this structured definition language and formative.

40. according to the end device (100,101,116) of claim 39, wherein said end device comprise following any: personal computer (116), wireless device (100), PDA (101), bootstrap message platform and/or desktop terminal (116).

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