1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to stylizing of user interfaces for mobile and web applications.
2. Description of the Related Art
The prior art discusses various methods to for styling of user interfaces. The prior art solution is to either subclass the original objects (e.g. Button class), configure a user interface element via properties and attributes, or use appearance proxy objects to set properties. The prior art discloses methods that generally require developers to subclass the original class and override methods in order to present an alternate visual appearance. Proxy objects can also be used to apply styling to their corresponding object. Both of these techniques create an additional burden on the developer, and also make the code harder to maintain and less portable across platforms.
General definitions for terms utilized in the pertinent art are set forth below.
APP is a software application for a mobile phone such as a smart phone.
Applets or Java Applets are mini-executable programs named with the .class suffix and are placed on the web page and provide interactive and multimedia uses.
Application Programming Interface (API) is a collection of computer software code, usually a set of class definitions, that can perform a set of related complex tasks, but has a limited set of controls that may be manipulated by other software-code entities. The set of controls is deliberately limited for the sake of clarity and ease of use, so that programmers do not have to work with the detail contained within the given API itself.
BLUETOOTH technology is a standard short range radio link that operates in the unlicensed 2.4 gigaHertz band.
Cascading Style Sheets (“CSS”) separates the styling of a web page from the content of the web page by styling individual HTML elements on a web page according to a predefined set of properties for each element type. CSS is a declarative language. Each CSS rule is composed of two parts: selector and declarations. The selector indicates which element a rule applies to. Declarations indicate the properties of an element to change, such as typeface, color, and the value desired, such as Ariel typeface and red color. CSS allows a programmer to specify rules for how the content of elements within a document appear on the page.
FTP or File Transfer Protocol is a protocol for moving files over the Internet from one computer to another.
GSM, Global System for Mobile Communications is a second generation digital cellular network.
HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) is the language that describes the structure and the semantic content of a Web document. HTML is designed to specify the logical organization of text documents.
Hypertext Transfer Protocol (“HTTP”) is a set of conventions for controlling the transfer of information via the Internet from a web server computer to a client computer, and also from a client computer to a web server, and Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (“HTTPS”) is a communications protocol for secure communication via a network from a web server computer to a client computer, and also from a client computer to a web server by at a minimum verifying the authenticity of a web site.
Internet is the worldwide, decentralized totality of server computers and data-transmission paths which can supply information to a connected and browser-equipped client computer, and can receive and forward information entered from the client computer.
Long Term Evolution (“LTE”) is a next generation communication network.
Multimedia messaging service (“MMS”) communication is a communication transmitted to and from a mobile phone that includes a multimedia content such as a digital photograph (JPEG), videos, and the like.
“PX” is the name used herein for the application of the present invention.
“PX Engine” is the name used herein for the engine of the present invention.
Short Message Service (“SMS”) is text messaging communication using a mobile phone or other device to send messages up to 160 characters in length.
Short message peer-to-peer (“SMPP”) is a telecommunications protocol for exchanging SMS messages between SMS peer entities.
Simple object access protocol (“SOAP”) is a computer network protocol for exchanging information.
Simple mail transfer protocol (“SMTP”) is a delivery protocol for email.
A SMS aggregator is an entity that provides connectivity with a mobile phone carrier by offering a SMS gateway to send and receive messages and other digital content.
A SMS Gateway is used to send text messages with or without a mobile phone, and is used by aggregators to forward text messages to mobile phones.
Transfer Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (“TCP/IP”) is a protocol for moving files over the Internet.
URL or Uniform Resource Locator is an address on the World Wide Web.
User Interface or UI is the junction between a user and a computer program. An interface is a set of commands or menus through which a user communicates with a program. A command driven interface is one in which the user enter commands. A menu-driven interface is one in which the user selects command choices from various menus displayed on the screen.
Web-Browser is a complex software program, resident in a client computer, that is capable of loading and displaying text and images and exhibiting behaviors as encoded in HTML (HyperText Markup Language) from the Internet, and also from the client computer's memory. Major browsers include MICROSOFT INTERNET EXPLORER, NETSCAPE, APPLE SAFARI, MOZILLA FIREFOX, and OPERA.
Web-Server is a computer able to simultaneously manage many Internet information-exchange processes at the same time. Normally, server computers are more powerful than client computers, and are administratively and/or geographically centralized. An interactive-form information-collection process generally is controlled from a server computer, to which the sponsor of the process has access.
Wireless Application Protocol (“WAP”) is an open, global specification that empowers users with mobile wireless communication devices (such as mobile phones) to easily access data and to interact with Websites over the Internet through such mobile wireless communication device. WAP works with most wireless communication networks such as CDPD, CDMA, GSM, PDC, PHS, TDMA, FLEX, reflex, iDEN, TETRA, DECT, DataTAC, Mobitex and GRPS. WAP can be built on most operating systems including PalmOS, WINDOWS, CE, FLEXOS, OS/9, JavaOS and others. VML (Vector Markup Language) supports the markup of vector graphic information in the same way that HTML supports the markup of textual information. VML is written using the syntax of XML.
WAP Push is defined as an encoded WAP content message delivered (pushed) to a mobile communication device which includes a link to a WAP address.
XML (Extensible Markup Language) is a meta markup language, for creating special-purpose markup languages. It is a simplified subset of SGML, capable of describing many different kinds of data. Its primary purpose is to facilitate the sharing of data across different systems, particularly systems connected via the Internet.
The prior art has failed to provide an effective solution that does not create an additional burden on the developer, and also make the code harder to maintain and less portable across platforms.