EXTENSIBLE USER INTERFACE
A user interface is provided for rendering platform data to an output device. The data is sent to the user interface from the protocol along with self-describing rendering information. This information can be in a transform format, such as extensible stylesheet language (XSL) and the like, and/or code-based language such as an object-oriented language, sequential language, hierarchical (such as XML) and the like. The user interface utilizes the self-describing rendering information (and/or a rendering method contained therein) to render the data to the output device. In this regard, the user interface is extensible by modifying the self-describing rendering information, which mitigates the need for additional development to the user interface when rendering methods change (for new field additions, cosmetic preferences, etc.).
1 . An interface for outputting platform data, comprising:
a data receiving component that receives data from a platform, the received data includes at least one self-describing rendering instruction specified by the platform; and
a data rendering component that utilizes the self-describing rendering instruction to output the received data to an output device.
2 . The interface of claim 1 , further comprising a data requesting component that forwards a request for data from a requesting entity to the platform, the received data based at least in part on the request for data.
3 . The interface of claim 2 , the requesting entity is the output device.
4 . The interface of claim 2 , the platform determines the at least one self-describing rendering instruction from a context of the requesting entity.
5 . The interface of claim 1 , the output device is an auditory alarm.
6 . The interface of claim 1 , the output device is a personal health device.
7 . The interface of claim 1 , the data rendering component outputs the received data in a tabular format for viewing on a digital display by utilizing the self-describing rendering instruction.
8 . The interface of claim 1 , the data rendering component outputs the received data in a graphical form for viewing on a digital display by utilizing the self-describing rendering instruction.
9 . The interface of claim 1 , the self-describing rendering instruction comprises an XML document that is executed by the data rendering component.
10 . The interface of claim 1 , the platform is a health integration network comprising a plurality of databases that respectively store health related data originating from disparate sources.
11 . A method for rendering platform data to disparate applications and devices, comprising:
receiving data to be rendered along with self-describing rendering information from a platform;
rendering the data to at least one application or device based at least in part on the self-describing rendering information.
12 . The method of claim 11 , further comprising sending a request for data to the platform on behalf of the application or device, the received is data related to the request.
13 . The method of claim 12 , the platform utilizes at least one value relating to a context of the request for data to provide the self-describing rendering information.
14 . The method of claim 11 , the data is rendered in a tabular format according to the self-describing rendering information.
15 . The method of claim 11 , the data is rendered to an alarm for auditory notification based on the self-describing rendering information.
16 . The method of claim 11 , further comprising choosing at least one of a plurality of rendering methods residing in the self-describing rendering information to be utilized in rendering the data.
17 . The method of claim 11 , further comprising executing software code provided in the self-describing rendering information.
18 . The method of claim 17 , the software code performs a request to the platform for additional information relating to the data to be rendered.
19 . A system that utilizes a user interface to provide platform data to a client, comprising:
means for receiving data to be output to a display;
means for receiving self-describing rendering information related to the data;
means for selecting a rendering method from the self-describing rendering information; and
means for rendering the data to the display in a layout specified by the rendering method.
20 . The system of claim 19 , the rendering method is chosen based at least in part on a context of a request made for the data.