Resolution Independent User Interface Design

Abstract

Graphical user interface material map objects are specified by a collection of attribute-value pairs, the collection of which comprises a complete description of the material map and may be used by a rendering engine to create a visual representation of the material map at any resolution. That is, material map representations in accordance with the invention are resolution independent. Another benefit of representing material maps in accordance with the invention is that they may be encrypted to prevent unauthorized inspection or use.

1 . A computer program product to define a graphical user interface element, the computer program product embodied on a non-transitory computer readable medium and comprising computer code to cause a processor to:
 make available a plurality of layers for procedurally defining a graphical user interface element;   receive an indication of association of a subset of the plurality of layers to the graphical user interface element;   receive a specification of a plurality of attribute values to associate with the subset of the plurality of layers;   store information associated with the subset of the plurality of layers and the plurality of attribute values associated with the graphical user interface element, wherein the information procedurally defines the graphical user interface element.   
     
     
         2 . The computer program product of  1 , wherein the subset of the plurality of layers is sufficiently complete to permit the graphical user interface element to be rendered. 
     
     
         3 . The computer program product of  claim 1 , further comprising computer code to cause the processor to specify a plurality of default attribute values to associate with the subset of the plurality of layers to procedurally define the graphical user interface element. 
     
     
         4 . The computer program product of  1 , wherein the computer code to cause the processor to store further comprises computer code to store the information in a material map recipe file. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  4 , wherein the information in the material map recipe file is hierarchically organized. 
     
     
         6 . The computer program product of  claim 4 , further comprising computer code to cause the processor to:
 provide at least a portion of the information in the material map recipe file to a rendering engine for rendering a visual representation of the graphical user interface element; and   generate, by the rendering engine, a visual representation of the graphical user interface element.   
     
     
         7 . The computer program product of  claim 6 , wherein the computer code to cause the processor to generate further comprises computer code to cause the processor to generate, by the rendering engine, a visual representation of the graphical user interface element at an operational resolution setting of a display device. 
     
     
         8 . A method of defining a graphical user interface element using one or more processing devices, the method comprising:
 making available a plurality of layers to procedurally define a graphical user interface element;   receiving an indication at a processing device to associate a subset of the plurality of layers to the graphical user interface element;   receiving an indication of specification of a plurality of attribute values to associate with the subset of the plurality of layers; and   storing information associated with the subset of the plurality of layers and the plurality of attribute values associated with the graphical user interface element, wherein the information provides details sufficient to permit displaying the graphical user interface element at a plurality of operational resolution settings.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  8 , wherein the subset of the plurality of layers is sufficiently complete to permit the graphical user interface element to be rendered. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  9 , further comprising using at least a portion of the stored information to cause rendering of the graphical user interface element. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  10 , wherein the act of rendering comprises rendering the graphical user interface element at an operational resolution setting of a display device. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  10 , wherein the act of rendering is performed by an operating system level module. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  8 , wherein the act of storing information comprises storing the information in a material map recipe file. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  13 , wherein the information in the material map recipe file is hierarchically organized. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  13 , further comprising providing at least a portion of the information in the material map recipe file to a rendering engine for generating a visual representation of the graphical user interface element at an operational resolution setting of a display device. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the plurality of attribute values are received through a graphical user interface design application. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the graphical user interface element is selected from the group consisting of a pushbutton, a bevel button, a metal button, a disclosure button, a pop-up button, a combo button, a pull-down button, a check box, a radio button, a segmented control, a window title bar, a scroll bar track, a scroll bar thumb, a scrollbar cap, a slider track, a slider thumb, a text field, a progress bar, a progress indicator, a list box, a drawer, and a pane splitter. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the act of receiving an indication of specification comprises automatically specifying a plurality of attribute values to associate with the subset of the plurality of layers to define the graphical user interface element. 
     
     
         19 . A non-transitory program storage device, readable by a programmable control device, comprising instructions stored thereon for causing the programmable control device to perform a method in accordance with  claim 8 . 
     
     
         20 . A computer system comprising:
 one or more processing units;   a storage unit communicatively coupled to the one or more processing devices; and   a display device communicatively coupled to the storage unit and the one or more processing units wherein the one or more processing units are collectively configured to—
 make available a plurality of layers for procedurally defining a graphical user interface element; 
 receive an indication of association of a subset of the plurality of layers to the graphical user interface element; 
 receive a specification of a plurality of attribute values to associate with the subset of the plurality of layers; and 
 store information associated with the plurality of layers and the plurality of attribute values associated with the graphical user interface element, wherein the information procedurally defines the graphical user interface element.