Information processing applications

Abstract

The present invention provides an application framework under which product applications are configured and manipulated, comprising: (a) application objects providing respective basic information processing functions for use in a product application, each application object containing its processing function within a standard interface with the inputs and output(s) of which the processing function communicates without regard to the connections of those inputs and output(s), (b) an architectural structure in which: application objects are organised into a hierarchy, the application objects being in parent/child relationship one to another in the hierarchy, and the hierarchy comprising an assembly of application objects capable of providing for a product application an application function built from the basic information processing functions of the objects, and data dependencies between application objects are established means of connections between standard interface inputs and output(s) of application objects, whereby the hierarchy can be modified at run-time, and data dependency connections can be set up and/or deleted at run-time.

1 . An application framework under which product applications are configured and manipulated, comprising:—
 (a) application objects providing respective basic information processing functions for use in a product application, each application object containing its processing function within a standard interface with the inputs and output(s) of which the processing function communicates without regard to the connections of those inputs and output(s),    (b) an architectural structure in which:—
 application objects are organised into a hierarchy, the application objects being in parent/child relationship one to another in the hierarchy, and the hierarchy comprising an assembly of application objects capable of providing for a product application an application function built from the basic information processing functions of the objects, and  
 data dependencies between application objects are established by means of connections between standard interface inputs and output(s) of application objects,  
 whereby the hierarchy can be modified at run-time, and data dependency connections can be set up and/or deleted at run-time.  
   
   
   
       2 . An application framework as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein different parts of the hierarchy are contained or run in respective different containers which each provide a single processing thread for the application objects of the part-hierarchy concerned and provide a single input messaging thread for communication with those objects, whereby the containers can be run in a distributed manner on respective different machines or processes.  
   
   
       3 . A method of configuring and manipulation information processing applications, comprising:—
 (a) creating application objects providing respective basic information processing functions for use in an information processing application, each application object containing its processing function within a standard interface with the inputs and output(s) of which the processing function communicates without regard to the connections of those inputs and output(s),    (b) creating an architectural structure in which:—
 application objects are organised into a hierarchy, the application objects being in a logical parent/child relationship one to another in the hierarchy, and the hierarchy comprising an assembly of application objects capable of providing for the information processing application an application function built from the basic information processing functions of the objects, and  
 data dependencies between application objects are established by means of connections between standard interface inputs and output(s) of application objects,  
 whereby the hierarchy can be modified at run-time, and data dependency connections can be set up and/or deleted at run-time.  
   
   
   
       4 . A computer program providing an application framework under which product applications are configured and manipulated, the computer program being operable to assemble into an architectural structure application objects providing respective basic information processing functions for use in a product application, each application object containing its processing function within a standard interface with the inputs and output(s) of which the processing function communicates without regard to the connections of those inputs and output(s), 
 the architectural structure being such that:—   application objects are organised into a hierarchy, the application objects being in parent/child relationship one to another in the hierarchy, and the hierarchy comprising an assembly of application objects capable of providing for a product application an application function built from the basic information processing functions of the objects, and    data dependencies between application objects are established by means of connections between standard interface inputs and output(s) of application objects,    whereby the hierarchy can be modified at run-time, and data dependency connections can be set up and/or deleted at run-time.    
   
   
       5 . A computer program as claimed in  claim 4 , further comprising a library of application objects available for implementation in the hierarchy.  
   
   
       6 . A computer program, as claimed in  claim 4  or  5 , providing means of visualizing the hierarchy as a tree structure.