Abstract: A model for displaying multiple user interface elements such that each control includes a container that includes standard functionality across at least a majority of the user interface elements. For instance, such standard functionality might include a part status indication, a title, a content status indication, a command invocation function, a part resizing function, and so forth. The model may also provide for standardization of resizing of user interface elements. For a given user interface element, there would be a predetermined number of possible size and shapes, each corresponding to a different projection of data. For instance, all of the user interface elements on a screen may fall within the predetermined number of possible size and shapes, thereby allowing more functional layout of the user interface on the display.

Abstract: At least some embodiments described herein refer to the user of a rendering interpreter that receives data object(s) from code executing within a restricted environment container (such as an IFrame). The restricted environment container prevents the code from adversely impacting the performance and consistency of the user interface system as a whole, and also prevents the code from adversely impacting the performance of code running in other restricted environment containers.

Abstract: Dialogs within a user interface. The user interface has one or more selectable elements, the selection of each of which initiating a corresponding action. Each time that any of the elements is selected, and a corresponding action initiated, there is the potential for the user interface to display a dialog associated with the initiated action. The dialogs are displayed so as to be positioned with respect to the element whose selection caused the corresponding action to be initiated.

Abstract: Computing systems in which multiple non-context-sensitive or core commands may be initiated from each of a number of different user interface contexts. There are also multiple context-sensitive mechanism for visualizing the commands depending on which of the multiple possible user interface contexts that the commands appear. At least some embodiments described herein also related to the presentation of dialogs at various stages of the command lifecycle without the system needing to know the underlying operations of the command, and allowing the developer to specify when dialogs are to appear in that lifecycle.

Abstract: A selection component that facilitates selection of user interface items. Upon receiving a user interface item identification from a data model component, the selection component determines a selection state of the identified user interface item using maintained selection state. The selection component then propagates the selection state in two directions. In one direction, the selection component notifies the identified user interface item of the selection state so that the user interface item may visualize its selection state. In the other direction, the selection component notifies an action module of the selection state of the user interface item so that the action module may take further action external to the user interface item based on the selection state. For instance, the action module might create a new user interface element.

Abstract: The management of application state storage associated with a hierarchical application. The hierarchical application includes multiple parent user interface elements, each of at least some having child user interface elements arranged in a corresponding hierarchy. The user may navigate through the hierarchical application. For instance, by selecting a child user interface element of a first parent user interface element having a first hierarchy of child user interface elements, the user might navigate to (and potentially also create) a second parent user interface element having a second hierarchy of child user interface elements. A hierarchical storage agent manages the state of the hierarchical application. The hierarchical storage agent provides application state to a remote storage over an application program interface in a manner that preserves at least some of the hierarchy of one or more parent user interface elements of the hierarchical application.

Abstract: A multi-act creation user interface element that is displayed when a user instructs a computing system to initiate creation of a resource that has multiple associated creation processing acts. For each of some or all of the creation processing acts, the multi-act creation user interface element causes a set of one or more controls to appear, which the user may then enter creation information into. The multi-step creation user interface element persists creation information so entered so that the creation information is available for further creation processing acts.

Abstract: A user interface that has a canvas that is extendable in an extendable dimension and on which multiple selectable elements may be placed. In this context, when a selecting control is associated with a particular selectable element, and further user gestures are provided, a pan detection mechanism is configured to distinguish between an intent to pan the canvas and an intent to select the particular selectable element. When a selecting control is associated with a particular orthogonally scrollable element, the pan detection mechanism may be distinguish between an intent to pan the canvas and an intent to scroll the orthogonally scrollable element in a direction perpendicular to the extendible dimension of the canvas.

Abstract: A user interface that includes a canvas that extends in one direction. An activation mechanism may be used to generate an initial blade in the canvas. A blade is a user interface element that occupies a portion of the canvas in the dimension along which the canvas extends. The blade includes multiple selectable elements that each have a corresponding blade. The user interface includes an extension mechanism configured to present a corresponding subsequent blade on the canvas perhaps adjacent to the prior blade when a selected element from a prior blade is selected, the subsequent blade also including multiple selectable elements that may be hierarchically structured. In this manner, blade chains may be created representative of a journey that the user has taken since initiating the first blade.

Abstract: A hierarchy of controls and parts, that are each in accordance with constraints of a computing executing context. A control is executable code that performs a function and which may impart a visualization. A part is a unit of visualization container that has its own visualization and/or shows visualizations from one or more compliant controls associated with the part.

Abstract: A query building mechanism in which a query builder component assists a user in generating queries to be used to populate user interface elements. A control provides a query schema to the query builder component. The query schema identifies available query parameters that the control is capable of using to populate a corresponding user interface element. The query builder component presents at least some of the available query parameters the user, such that the user may edit these parameters. The query builder component gathers those edits and generates a query therefrom. The query parameters may be provided to the query builder component in consistent manner across a wide variety of possible user interface controls. Furthermore, the resulting query is provided in a uniform query format.

Abstract: Changes are managed in a multi-user database application environment. Proposed changes are collected, including changes to data, schema, and/or application descriptions. A user may specify foreign key relationships between items belonging to one or more of these categories. A view is produced showing the impact proposed changes would have on the environment if successfully committed. The user's proposed changes are ordered according to their dependencies, and submitted for committal together in a single transaction, subject to optimistic concurrency and consistency checks. For example, a proposed change to a data value may be inconsistent with a change which removed a data element containing the data value. The commitment operation may return identifiers and other return values, in addition to indicating whether the commitment was successful.

Abstract: Changes are managed in a multi-user database application environment. Proposed changes are collected, including changes to data, schema, and/or application descriptions. A user may specify foreign key relationships between items belonging to one or more of these categories. A view is produced showing the impact proposed changes would have on the environment if successfully committed. The user's proposed changes are ordered according to their dependencies, and submitted for committal together in a single transaction, subject to optimistic concurrency and consistency checks. For example, a proposed change to a data value may be inconsistent with a change which removed a data element containing the data value. The commitment operation may return identifiers and other return values, in addition to indicating whether the commitment was successful.

Abstract: The present invention extends to methods, systems, and computer program products for accessing and manipulating data in a data flow graph. A data flow graph includes one more transforms for transforming data from one or more data stores into different formats accessible to clients. Transforms can be configured to join and split data from the same or different data stores. A metadata tree logically represents the data flow graph including locations that provide output from transforms of the data flow graph. The locations can be referenced by clients to access transformed outputs. Clients can register dependencies on data at various locations and can request evaluation of the data in response to data changes at a corresponding data store. Clients can also request data changes be propagated back through the data flow graph to one or more data stores and implemented at the one or more data stores.

Abstract: The present invention comprises phasing systems and methods for software systems. In embodiments of the present invention, the phasing system comprises a multi-tiered phasing space where operations within the software system are constrained to a phase or a sub-phase. The operations execute only in the specified phase. Thus, operations that could yield improper results in large and complex software systems do not execute simultaneously but follow a certain order. The present invention also provides a data structure to introduce the phase constraints as software attributes into the software code.

Abstract: A method and system for maintaining isolated data in an application is disclosed which data to be selectively isolated until a data client orders the changes to be committed or abandoned. A computer-readable medium for constructing an application capable of localized data isolation is also disclosed. An application specification is used to determine which data entities should be isolated, and one or more transaction transforms are implemented for each data entity to be isolated.

Abstract: Methods, systems and computer products are provided for partitioning software application components into separate domains called concurrency domains. Computationally expensive, slow or long-running methods may be deployed into such domains, thus keeping the associated application more responsive to the end user. According to one aspect of the invention, a given concurrency domain is a partition of runtime objects for providing synchronization and thread isolation within the partition and for providing concurrency with other such partitions in a data-driven dynamically composed and reconfigured application.

Abstract: Strategies are described for organizing the runtime components of an application into an entity domain framework. The entity domain framework includes one or more entity domains arranged in a hierarchical fashion. Each entity domain further groups one or more components together in a hierarchical fashion. Each entity domain can include one or more services that provide a policy to the components within the entity domain. Composite functionality couples the framework together, and further provides a bus-like mechanism whereby an entity can forward service requests up through the hierarchy until a domain is found that satisfies the requests. Exemplary services provided by the entity domain framework include lifetime management services, error handling services, and so forth.