Hierarchical encapsulation of instantiated objects in a multimedia authoring system
US5680619A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 3, 1995 |
| Grant date | Oct 21, 1997 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 3, 2015 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F16/9558
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
An application development system, optimized for authoring multimedia titles, enables its users to create selectively reusable object containers merely by defining links among instantiated objects. Employing a technique known as Hierarchical Encapsulation, the system automatically isolates the external dependencies of the object containers created by its users, thereby facilitating reusability of object containers and the objects they contain in other container environments. Authors create two basic types of objects: Elements, which are the key actors within an application, and Modifiers, which modify an Element's characteristics. The object containers (Elements and Behaviors--i.e., Modifier containers) created by authors spawn hierarchies of objects, including the Structural Hierarchy of Elements within Elements, and the Behavioral Hierarchy, within an Element, of Behaviors (and other Modifiers) within Behaviors. The system utilizes an Element's dual hierarchies to make that Element an environmental frame of reference to the objects it contains. Through techniques known as Hierarchical Message Broadcasting, Hierarchical Variable Scoping and Hierarchical Relative Positioning, objec…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.