Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system – Display driving control circuitry – Controlling the condition of display elements
Reexamination Certificate
2000-06-02
2003-08-12
Bayerl, Raymond J. (Department: 2173)
Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system
Display driving control circuitry
Controlling the condition of display elements
C345S215000, C345S215000, C345S172000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06606106
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Technical Field
The invention relates to windowing toolkits for computers. More particularly, the invention relates to definition and manipulation of a focus owner within a focus traversal cycle.
2. Background Art
The basic functionality of a computer is dictated both by the hardware of the computer and by the type of operating system it uses. Various operating systems exist in the marketplace, including Solaris from Sun Microsystems, Mac OS from Apple Computer, the “Windows” operating systems, e.g., Windows 95/98 and Windows NT, from Microsoft, and Linux. A given combination of computer hardware, an operating system
1
and a windowing system will be referred to herein as a “platform”. Prior to the popularity of the Internet, software developers wrote programs specifically designed for individual platforms. Thus, a program written for one platform could not be run on another. However, the advent of the Internet made cross-platform compatibility a necessity.
Prior art
FIG. 1
illustrates a conceptional arrangement wherein a first computer
3
running the Solaris platform and a second computer
5
running the Windows 98 platform are connected to a server
9
via the Internet
7
. A resource provider using the server
9
might be any type of business, governmental, or educational institution. The resource provider has a need to be able to provide its resources to both the user of the Solaris platform and the user of the Windows 98 platform, but does not have the luxury of being able to custom design its content for the individual platforms.
The Java™ programming language was developed by Sun Microsystems to address this problem. The Java™ programming language was designed to be simple for the programmer to use, yet able to run securely over a network and work on a wide range of platforms.
Referring to
FIG. 2
, in order to create a Java™ application, the developer first writes the application in human-readable Java™ source code. As used herein, the term “application” refers to both true Java™ applications and Java™ “applets” which are essentially small applications usually embedded in a web page. In the example shown, the application “Program”
11
is created as a human-readable text file. The name of this text file is given the required extension “.java”.
A Java™ compiler such as Sun Microsystem's “javac”
13
is used to compile the source code into a machine-readable binary file
15
. The text file will contain Java™ language commands, e.g., “import java.awt.Frame”. A discussion of the Java™ language itself is beyond the scope of this document. However, complete information regarding the Java™ programming language is available from Sun Microsystems both in print and via the Internet. The resulting binary file
15
will automatically receive the same file name as the source text file, but will use “.class” as the trailing extension. The Java™ runtime environment incorporates a Java™ “virtual machine” (JVM)
16
to convert the “.class” byte codes into actual machine executions
17
. The machine executions (like drawing windows, buttons, and user prompt fields) will occur in accordance to the application developer's code instructions. Because Sun Microsystems specifically designed the JVM to run on different platforms, a single set of “.class” byte codes will execute on any platform where a JVM has been installed. An Internet browser that incorporates a JVM, such as Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer, “Java™-enabled” browser.
The cross-platform architecture of the Java™ programming language is illustrated in FIG
3
, which shows how the Java™ language enables cross-platform applications over the Internet. In the figure, the computer
3
running the Solaris platform and the computer
5
running the Windows 98 platform are each provided with a Java™ virtual machine
21
. The resource provider creates a Java™ application using the Java™ software development kit (“SDK”)
23
and makes the complied Java™ byte codes available on the server
9
, which in this example is running on a Windows NT platform. The server
9
may, but need not, be provided with its own JVM
21
. Through standard Internet protocols, both the computer
3
and the computer
5
may obtain a copy of the same byte codes and, despite the difference in platforms, execute the byte codes through their respective JVMs.
FIG. 4
illustrates an exemplary display on a screen
31
including top-level windows
33
,
34
, and
35
. Each window includes a title bar
37
for displaying the title of the window and, if applicable, a menu bar
39
containing a number of pull down menu buttons defined by the developer. In this example, window
34
is the “active” window, as indicated by the darkened title bar. Windows
33
and
35
are inactive as indicated by the grayed out title bar. The window
33
includes a number of typical components, including “radio buttons”
41
which in this case allow the user to select a prefix when check box
42
is checked, a text field
43
for entering a name, and an address field
45
for entering an address. Component
47
is a “chooser” allowing the user to choose a state. Components
49
are check boxes that allow the user to check one or all of the options that apply. Associated with these check boxes are additional radio buttons
51
and
53
that allow the user to select a desired means of transmission. If the “quote” check box
49
is selected and the telephone radio button is selected, the window
34
appears allowing the user to enter telephone numbers. An additional text area
57
is associated with the “other” check box
49
. Finally, “submit” and “reset” buttons
59
are provided to allow the user to either submit the form or reset it.
Generally speaking, there is a particular look to the components of the type described above depending upon the type of platform being used. Thus, check boxes on the Solaris platform would appear different from check boxes on the Windows 98 platform. One of the early innovations of the Java™ programming language was to allow cross-platform applicability while retaining the look and feel of the native platform on which the application was running. This was done by incorporating “heavyweight components”, namely, incorporating components from the native platform into the Java™ application itself. This would ensure that a Java™ application running on a particular platform would have a look and feel that was consistent with what th user, of that platform would expect. The Java™ Abstract Windowing Toolkit or “AWT,” is a library of such heavyweight components for use by application developers.
As the popularity of the Internet has increased, users have become accustomed to many different types of interfaces. Thus, aesthetic conformity within a particular native platform has become less of an issue. At the same time, functionality, and versatility have become increasingly important. Particularly, developers now desire the flexibility to customize the appearance of a particular site to a company's own look and feel. Therefore, the Java™ 2 Standard Edition SDK includes a new package for the developer called the Java™ Foundation Classes (also known as Swing). Swing is essentially a library of “lightweight components”. Lightweight components are components that are not derived from a particular native platform. A primary motivation behind use of lightweight components is aesthetic conformity within a particular application. Swing components have “pluggable look and feel”, meaning that the developer can use them with their default appearance or define a different appearance for a particular application.
This new package of lightweight components is simply one library that is possible; other libraries may be created and in fact are available from third parties. Swing provides the developer with the option and flexibility to use lightweight components to customize appearance in a given application. A detailed discussion of the Java™ AWT and the Swing package is beyond the scope of this document. Complete docum
Gajewska Hania
Mendenhall David P.
Bayerl Raymond J.
Rosenthal & Osha L.L.P.
Sun Microsystems Inc.
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