Method and system for modifying the execution of a native application running on a portable electronic device

Abstract

A method and system for modifying the execution of a native application running on a portable electronic device are disclosed. A module may be downloaded and executed by a portable electronic device to modify the execution of a native enterprise application running on the portable electronic device, where the native enterprise application enables user interaction with remotely-executed enterprise applications which are used to generate data for display on the portable electronic device. The module may enable modification of the appearance and/or behavior of a graphical user interface generated by the native enterprise application. The module may enable alteration of the data sharing between the enterprise applications running on the remote system.

1 . A method of modifying execution of an application on a portable electronic device, said method comprising:
 in response to a request for a program module, downloading said program module to said portable electronic device;   displaying a graphical user interface on a display device of said portable electronic device responsive to execution of a first application on said portable electronic device, wherein said displaying further comprises rendering content on said portable electronic device that is associated with execution of a second application on a remote system, and wherein said first application controls the manner in which said content is accessed and displayed on said display device; and   modifying at least one feature of said graphical user interface responsive to execution of said program module on said portable electronic device.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said modifying at least one feature of said graphical user interface further comprises altering an appearance of said graphical user interface. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein said altering an appearance is selected from a group consisting of adding an element to said graphical user interface and changing the appearance of an element of said graphical user interface. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said modifying at least one feature of said graphical user interface further comprises altering a behavior of said graphical user interface. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein said altering a behavior is selected from a group consisting of changing a function of an element of said graphical user interface and adding an element to said graphical user interface. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said program module is specific to said second application. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising:
 modifying data sharing between said second application and a third application executed on said remote system, and wherein said modifying data sharing further comprises modifying said data sharing responsive to execution of said program module on said portable electronic device.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising:
 tracking user navigation through said content rendered on said display device; and   wherein said displaying further comprises re-rendering a previously-displayed portion of said content responsive to a user input to a user input device of said portable electronic device.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said request is selected from a group consisting of: a user-generated request input via a user input device of said portable electronic device; and a request generated automatically by said portable electronic device. 
     
     
         10 . A portable electronic device comprising:
 a processor;   a memory coupled to said processor;   a display device coupled to said processor;   a user input device coupled to said processor;   a first application operable to display a graphical user interface on said display device, and wherein said first application is further operable to render, on said display device, content associated with execution of a second application on a remote system; and   a program module operable to modify at least one feature of said graphical user interface, wherein said program module is downloaded to said memory responsive to a request for said program module.   
     
     
         11 . The portable electronic device of  claim 10 , wherein said program module is further operable to modify said at least one feature of said graphical user interface by altering an appearance of said graphical user interface. 
     
     
         12 . The portable electronic device of  claim 11 , wherein said altering an appearance is selected from a group consisting of adding an element to said graphical user interface and changing the appearance of an element of said graphical user interface. 
     
     
         13 . The portable electronic device of  claim 10 , wherein said program module is further operable to modify said at least one feature of said graphical user interface by altering a behavior of said graphical user interface. 
     
     
         14 . The portable electronic device of  claim 13 , wherein said altering a behavior is selected from a group consisting of changing a function of an element of said graphical user interface and adding an element to said graphical user interface. 
     
     
         15 . The portable electronic device of  claim 10 , wherein said program module is specific to said second application. 
     
     
         16 . The portable electronic device of  claim 10 , wherein said program module is further operable to modify data sharing between said second application and a third application executed on said remote system. 
     
     
         17 . The portable electronic device of  claim 10 , wherein said first application is further operable to track user navigation through said content rendered on said display device, and wherein said first application is further operable to re-render, on said display device, a previously-displayed portion of said content responsive to a user input to a user input device of said portable electronic device. 
     
     
         18 . The portable electronic device of  claim 10 , wherein said request is selected from a group consisting of: a user-generated request input via said user input device; and a request generated automatically by a component of said portable electronic device. 
     
     
         19 . A portable electronic device comprising:
 a processor;   a memory coupled to said processor;   a display device coupled to said processor;   a user input device coupled to said processor;   a first application operable to display a graphical user interface on said display device, wherein said first application is further operable to render, on said display device, content associated with execution of a second application on a remote system, wherein said first application is further operable to track user navigation through said content rendered on said display device, and wherein said first application is further operable to re-render, on said display device, a previously-displayed portion of said content responsive to a user input to a user input device of said portable electronic device; and   a program module operable to modify at least one feature of said graphical user interface, wherein said program module is downloaded to said memory responsive to a request for said program module.   
     
     
         20 . The portable electronic device of  claim 19 , wherein said program module is further operable to modify said at least one feature of said graphical user interface by altering an appearance of said graphical user interface. 
     
     
         21 . The portable electronic device of  claim 20 , wherein said altering an appearance is selected from a group consisting of adding an element to said graphical user interface and changing the appearance of an element of said graphical user interface. 
     
     
         22 . The portable electronic device of  claim 19 , wherein said program module is further operable to modify said at least one feature of said graphical user interface by altering a behavior of said graphical user interface. 
     
     
         23 . The portable electronic device of  claim 22 , wherein said altering a behavior is selected from a group consisting of changing a function of an element of said graphical user interface and adding an element to said graphical user interface. 
     
     
         24 . The portable electronic device of  claim 19 , wherein said program module is specific to said second application. 
     
     
         25 . The portable electronic device of  claim 19 , wherein said program module is further operable to modify data sharing between said second application and a third application executed on said remote system. 
     
     
         26 . The portable electronic device of  claim 19 , wherein said request is selected from a group consisting of: a user-generated request input via said user input device; and a request generated automatically by a component of said portable electronic device.