USER INTERFACE DESIGN FRAMEWORK

摘要

Disclosed herein are technologies for a WYSIWYG user interface (UI) design tool that enables runtime behaviors (e.g., content update and user interaction) with UI controls during design time of such controls. That is, using a UI design tool in accordance with the technology described herein, the human designer can see and experience the runtime behavior of the UI controls while designing those controls. This Abstract is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims.

主权项

1. A method that facilitates development of a graphical user interface (GUI) for an executable application, the method comprising:
providing a user interface (UI) design tool to design a user interface (UI) control of a GUI, the UI control having a multiple layer model referred to as an active design-time object model comprising,
a first layer displays the UI control with runtime appearance and handling events for runtime actions,a second layer comprising a second design-time adjustment indicator, the second layer handles events for design-time actions to adjust design-time properties of the UI control, anda third layer comprising a third design-time adjustment indicator which serves as another design-time adjustment indicator, the third layer handles events which are defined to be handled by the third layer for design-time actions to adjust design-time properties of the UI control,
wherein the layers are depicted as overlapping layers on a two-dimensional display, andwherein the UI control is presented on the first layer; and performing, by a user, a user interface (UI) interaction, the UI interaction includes a performed event on the UI control, wherein
handling of the performed event is performed by the layer corresponding to the design-time adjustment indicator at which the performed event occurred,handling of the performed event is passed to another layer for handling if the design-time adjustment indicator at which the performed event occurred is not defined to handle the performed event, andhandling of the performed event is performed by the first layer if the performed event does not occur at any design-time adjustment.