JPH03211621A - Interactive user interface generation system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To easily generate a user interface by deciding a temporary display state for input means, output means and transmission means, and displaying the temporary display form on the screen of a display device. CONSTITUTION:The temporary display form is decided as against only the input means, the output means and the transmission means, which are required for user interface generation work, among various means as parts. At the time of generating the user interface, the input means 11 and 12, the output means 21-23 and the transmission means 41-45 are displayed. Consequently, objects to be connected can be designated by selecting the means among the means displayed on the screen by two mice. Thus, the grasp of conditions is prevented from coming to difficult owing to unnecessary information and screen informa tion displayed by pointing devices such as the mouse, etc. can be instructed on the screen, whereby the generation of the user interface is facilitated.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to an interactive user interface creation method, and particularly to an interactive user interface creation method for an information processing device that defines or changes a user interface such as a display format or an input format.・Regarding interface creation method.

[Conventional technology]

When creating software that implements a user interface for a device that implements a certain function, such as an information processing device, a group of parts is prepared in advance in order to reduce the number of steps required to create it. . These parts groups can generally be classified into the following:

(a) Input means. Receives input from the user and communicates it to a vehicle coupled to it. Usually, multiple pieces are prepared as parts.

(b) Output means. Output (eg, display) output information from the communication means coupled to the user to the user. Usually, multiple pieces are prepared as parts.

(c) Function realizing means. Perform actual processing.

(d) Means of communication. The input means and the function realization means are coupled, or the output means and the function realization means are coupled. Receives input information from the input means and transmits it to the function realizing means, and
The output information from the function realizing means is transmitted to the output means. Usually, multiple pieces are prepared depending on the input/output information.

When creating a user interface, by selecting these parts and coupling one of the input means with one of the transmission means, or one of the output means with one of the transmission means, one of the input means can be changed. A user interface is created by realizing the combination between the output means and the function implementation means or between the output means and the function implementation means. In other words, creating a user interface involves selecting some of the provided input means, output means, and transmission means and specifying the connection relationship between them.

In some cases, the input means and the output means are integrated and prepared as one component, and in some cases, the transmission means and the function realizing means are integrated.

When actually creating a user interface, the following two steps are required:
It takes two forms.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a portion displayed to a user when a user interface creation environment is used in a conventional interactive user interface creation method.

In addition to specifying the parts to be used from among the parts presented by the user interface creation environment by "name" and specifying the connection between them, there are the following specifying methods.

Regarding the output means, since it is originally displayed, it has a shape when displayed, so its approximate shape is displayed on the screen of the display device, and some of the displayed images are displayed. - can be selected by specifying the creator using a pointing device such as a mouse.

Furthermore, since the input means is not originally displayed, it does not have a shape when displayed.

Therefore, since they are not displayed on the screen, they must be designated by "names" given to them in advance. In other words, it is impossible to select the parts displayed on the screen using an intuitive operation such as specifying the parts using a pointing device such as a mouse. In reality, in many cases, input is performed on some kind of output display, so when input means and output means are always used in one-to-one correspondence, it is difficult to select an output means. It can be substituted by However, this advantage cannot be obtained when it is desired to select one to use from a plurality of input means.

On the other hand, since the transmission means is not originally displayed like the input means, it does not have a shape when displayed. Therefore, since they are not displayed on the screen, they must be designated by "names" given to them in advance. In other words, it is impossible to select the parts displayed on the screen using an intuitive operation such as specifying the parts using a pointing device such as a mouse.

FIG. 3 shows with diagonal lines the portions that would be displayed to the user using a typical user interface creation environment. In this case, input means 11, - 12, output means 21. .about.23 are displayed, so these and the transmission means 41. -45 cannot be specified on the screen.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the portions that are displayed to a user when using a programming environment in a conventional interactive user interface creation method.

In addition to specifying the parts to be used in the programming environment by "name" and specifying the connections between them, there are the following specification methods.

When using a programming environment rather than one prepared as a user interface creation environment, give a temporary display shape to all input means, output means, communication means, and function realization means and display it on the screen. Therefore, the creator can select a certain one from among several displayed ones.

FIG. 4 shows, with diagonal lines, the portion that would be displayed to the user if all of the components were displayed using the programming environment. In this case, the input means 11. ~12
, output means 21. ~23, transmission means 41. In addition to ~45, means for realizing functions unnecessary for user interface creation 36
．． ~39 is also displayed.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, the conventional interactive user interface creation method has the following problems when selecting parts.

When using the user interface creation environment,
Regarding the selection of the transmission means, since the shape in which they are displayed is not provided, it is necessary to specify them by "names" given to each of them in advance. In other words, it is impossible to select parts displayed on the screen using a pointing device such as a mouse, which is an intuitive operation, making it difficult to create a user interface. A similar situation occurs when specifying input means because intuitive operations are not possible with some exceptions.

In addition, when using a programming environment, since it is not configured as a user interface construction environment, it is necessary to remove all unnecessary means when creating the user Φ interface, such as parts that make up the function implementation means. The means are displayed as parts in a disorderly manner, making it difficult for the user to grasp the relationship between the parts when making a selection. As a result, creating the user interface itself becomes difficult.

An object of the present invention is to enable a user interface creator to select a component displayed on a screen by an intuitive operation such as specifying a component using a pointing device such as a mouse; It is an object of the present invention to provide an interactive user interface creation method in which it is easy to grasp the mutual relationship of parts by displaying an appropriate amount of means, and as a result, it is easy to create a user group interface.

[Means to solve the problem]

The interactive user interface creation method of the present invention is an interactive user interface creation method used when creating a user interface. an input means for transmitting information; an output means for outputting output information such as displaying the output information to a user; a function realizing means for performing actual processing; a combination of the input means and the function realizing means; The input means is classified into a transmission means which performs combination of output means, receives input information from the input means after combination and transmits it to the function implementation means, and transmits output information from the function implementation means to the output means, and the input means ,
The output means.

A user interface is created by determining a temporary display form for the transmission means and displaying the temporary display form on the screen of a display device used by a user interface creator.

[Effect]

The interactive user interface creation method of the present invention temporarily creates only those necessary for user interface creation work (specifically, input means, output means, and transmission means) among various means as parts. By determining the display format and displaying it on the screen of the display device used by the user interface creator, the user interface creator can obtain the necessary and sufficient information, making it easier to understand the situation using unnecessary information. This makes it possible to specify them on the screen using a pointing device such as a mouse, making it extremely easy to create a user interface.

〔Example〕

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

The components of an information processing system are classified into input means, output means, function realization means, and communication means, and provisional displays are determined and displayed only for input means, output means, and function realization means. Explain an example.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the portions displayed to the user in one embodiment of the present invention. Further, FIG. 2 is a screen information diagram showing an example of display for a program for calculating the sum of two numerical values.

As an example, let's take the example of creating a program that calculates the sum of two numerical values using software on a normal computer system. When the end user inputs two numerical values into the completed program, the sum is calculated and displayed. FIG. 2 shows an example of the screen displayed. As shown in FIG. 2, 51. -53 are areas for inputting or outputting numerical values. Select area 51 with a mouse or the like and input the first number 12. Next, select the area 52 with a mouse or the like and input the second numerical value 5. As a result, 17, which is the sum of the two numerical values, is displayed in area 53.

When creating such a user interface,
As shown in FIG. 1, the parts that constitute the interior and are displayed to the user are indicated by diagonal lines.

In Figure 1, 11. -12 are input means; 21. 23 is an output means, 31. -39 are function realizing means, and 41 and -45 are transmission means. Now, it is assumed that the input means 11 and the output means 21 are connected to the area 51, the input means 12 and the output means 23 are connected to the area 52, and the output means 22 is connected to the area 53.

When a number is input into the area 51, the input means 11 receives the user's keyboard input and transmits it to the transmission means 41 as a numerical value, and the transmission means 41 informs the function implementation means 31 that the numerical value has been set. Similarly, the numbers input into the area 52 are transmitted to the function realizing means 34 as numerical values. Each component of the function realizing means calculates the sum of two numerical values and transmits it to the transmitting means 43 as a numerical value. The transmission means 43 transmits to the output means 22 that the numerical value it holds has been changed. The output means 22 receives the numerical value held by the transmission means 43 and displays it as characters.

When creating a user interface, among these means, input means 11. ~12, output means 21°~23, transmission means 41. ~45 is displayed. Therefore, the creator of the user interface only has to specify these coupling relationships, and in this case, specify the objects to be coupled by selecting two of the means displayed on the screen using a mouse or the like. Is possible.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, the interactive user interface creation method of the present invention allows the user interface creator to obtain necessary and sufficient information, so unnecessary information does not make it difficult to understand the situation. Furthermore, it is possible to indicate displayed screen information on the screen using a pointing device such as a mouse, which has the effect of making it extremely easy to create a user interface.

Furthermore, the interactive user interface creation method of the present invention has the effect that it is no longer necessary to memorize the names of each means in advance, which was necessary when specifying the means to be used by name.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing the part displayed to the user in an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a screen information diagram showing an example of display for a program that calculates the sum of two numerical values, and Fig. 3 is a conventional Figure 4 is a block diagram showing an example of the part displayed to the user when the user interface creation environment is used in the interactive user interface creation method of . FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a portion displayed to the user when using the . 11... input means, 21. ~23... Output means, 3
1° to 39... Function realizing means, 41° to 45... Transmission means, 51° to 53... Area.

Claims (1)

[Claims] In the interactive user interface creation method used when creating user interfaces,
an input means for receiving input information from a user and transmitting the input information to an element for which an interface is to be created;
An output means for outputting output information such as displaying output information to a user, a function realizing means for performing actual processing, and a combination of the input means and the function realizing means, and a combination of the function realizing means and the output means. Thereafter, the input means receives input information from the input means and transmits it to the function realizing means, and the transmitting means transmits output information from the function realizing means to the output means. An interactive user interface characterized in that a user interface is created by determining a temporary display form for a user interface and displaying the temporary display form on the screen of a display device used by a user interface creator.
Interface creation method.