Graphical User Interface Driven Programming Development Environment

What is this patent about?

’889 is related to the field of computer technology, specifically application development systems. Traditional software development requires extensive programming expertise, making it difficult and expensive for individuals or businesses without such expertise to automate business processes. This patent addresses the need for a more accessible and efficient way to develop applications.

The underlying idea behind ’889 is to use metadata descriptions created through a graphical user interface to define data structures and applications. These metadata descriptions are then converted at runtime into underlying software code, such as C#, SQL, or JavaScript, to implement the application. This approach allows non-expert users to design applications without needing deep programming knowledge.

The claims of ’889 focus on a system providing a graphical user interface-based application development environment. This environment includes a metadata database storing application data elements in a data serialization format (like JSON), a web service for receiving and processing updated data values, and a relational database for storing user data. The web service automatically generates SQL update statements based on the metadata.

In practice, a user interacts with a GUI to define application data elements, specifying fields with labels, data types, and attributes. The system stores these definitions as metadata. When data is updated, the web service retrieves the relevant metadata, parses it, and dynamically generates code to update the relational database. This includes calculating derived data values and validating user input, all driven by the metadata definitions.

This approach differs from traditional software development by abstracting away the need for manual coding. Instead of writing code directly, users define the application's structure and behavior through metadata. This allows for rapid application development and modification, as changes are reflected in the metadata and do not require recompilation or redeployment. The system also facilitates integration with third-party systems and hosted environments, making it a versatile solution for enterprise application development. The event bus and rule handler components enable complex business flows to be defined and executed based on data changes.