Software development tool that supports use of a design-time data feed

1. A method comprising:

receiving, by a software development tool executed by a processing device, an identification of a design-time data feed for at least one run-time data feed that is referenced in a software application under development, wherein the referenced at least one run-time data feed provides run-time data at run-time and the design-time data feed provides design-time data if the run-time data is not accessible by the software development tool at design-time, wherein the identification of the design-time data feed comprises a key in a key-value pair, and wherein the key-value pair associates the design-time data feed with one or more elements in the software application under development that reference the referenced at least one run-time data feed; and

accessing, by the software development tool executed by the processing device, the design-time data feed in place of the referenced at least one run-time data feed.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

storing the identification of the design-time data feed for the referenced at least one run-time data feed as metadata associated with the software application under development, wherein the metadata includes the key-value pair.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein said storing comprises:

storing the identification of the design-time data feed for the referenced at least one run-time data feed in a design-notes file associated with the software application under development.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the design-time data feed is representative of the referenced at least one run-time data feed.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the design-time data feed comprises characteristics consistent with the referenced at least one run-time data feed.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the characteristics comprise whether the referenced at least one run-time data feed is a dynamic feed or a static feed.

7. The method of claim 5 wherein the characteristics comprise being a streaming feed.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

when the software application under development is developed, deploying the developed software application in a run-time environment, wherein the deployed software application accesses the referenced at least one run-time data feed.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein said receiving comprises:

receiving, by a software development tool, identification of the design-time data feed for a plurality of run-time data feeds that are referenced in the software application under development; and

wherein said accessing comprises accessing, by the software development tool, the design-time data feed in place of the referenced plurality of run-time data feeds.

10. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

determining, by the software development tool, that the software application under development contains a reference to a run-time data feed that is not available for access by the software application under development; and

responsive to said determining, outputting, by the software development tool, a prompt requesting the identification of the design-time data feed for the unavailable run-time data feed.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the referenced run-time data feed is not available for access by the software application under development for at least one of the following reasons:

the referenced run-time data feed is not yet developed, the referenced run-time data feed is not yet active, the referenced run-time data feed is not yet stored to a location accessible by the software application under development, and the software application under development does not yet have access rights granted to it for accessing the referenced run-time data feed.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more elements comprise one or more displayed elements that are displayed in the software application under development and reference the referenced at least one run-time data feed, and further comprising displaying, via the software development tool, the one or more displayed elements with the design-time data from the design-time data feed, wherein the design-time data feed is separate from the software application under development.

13. A method comprising:

determining, by a software development tool, whether access to a run-time data feed referenced in a software application under development is available for access by the software application under development;

when determined to be unavailable, outputting, by the software development tool, a prompt requesting a definition of a design-time data feed to be used by the software development tool in place of the referenced run-time data feed; and

storing, by the software development tool, an identification of the design-time data feed, wherein the identification of the design-time data feed comprises a key in a key-value pair, wherein the key-value pair associates the design-time data feed with one or more elements in the software application under development that reference the referenced run-time data feed, and wherein the referenced run-time data feed provides run-time data at run-time and the design-time data feed provides design-time data if the run-time data is not accessible by the software development tool at design-time.

14. The method of claim 13 further comprising:

when determined to be unavailable, the software development tool accessing a corresponding user-defined design-time data feed in place of the referenced run-time data feed.

15. The method of claim 14 further comprising:

determining, by the software development tool, the corresponding user-defined design-time data feed to access in place of the referenced run-time data feed.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein said determining the corresponding user-defined design-time data feed to access comprises:

determining the corresponding user-defined design-time data feed to access in place of the referenced run-time data feed from metadata associated with the software application under development.

17. The method of claim 14 further comprising:

when determined to be available, the software development tool accessing the referenced run-time data feed.

18. The method of claim 13 wherein said determining comprises:

determining if the referenced run-time data feed is not available for access by the software application under development for at least one of the following reasons:

the referenced run-time data feed is not yet developed, the referenced run-time data feed is not yet active, the referenced run-time data feed is not yet stored to a location accessible by the software application under development, and the software application under development does not yet have access rights granted to it for accessing the referenced run-time data feed.

19. A method comprising:

determining, by a software development tool executed by a processor, from metadata associated with a software application under development, whether a design-time data feed is defined for at least one run-time data feed referenced in the software application under development; and

for the design-time data feed defined for the at least one run-time data feed referenced in the software application under development, selecting, by the software development tool executed by the processor, the design-time data feed for access in place of the referenced at least one run-time data feed for which the design-time data feed is defined;

wherein the referenced at least one run-time data feed provides run-time data at run-time and the design-time data feed provides design-time data if the run-time data is not accessible by the software development tool at design-time, wherein accessing the design-time data feed comprises accessing an identification of the design-time data feed, wherein the identification of the design-time data feed comprises a key in a key-value pair, and wherein the key-value pair associates the design-time data feed with one or more elements in the software application under development that reference the referenced at least one run-time data feed.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein the metadata associated with the software application under development comprises:

a design-notes file associated with the software application under development.

21. The method of claim 19 wherein the design-time data feed is representative of the referenced at least one run-time data feed for which the design-time data feed is defined.

22. A system comprising a processor configured to execute program components tangibly embodied in a non-transitory computer-readable medium, the program components comprising:

a software development environment that comprises a software development tool, wherein said software development tool is configured to:

determine whether a design-time data feed is defined for at least one run-time data feed referenced in a software application under development; and

access the design-time data feed in place of the referenced at least one run-time data feed for which the design-time data feed is defined;

wherein the referenced at least one run-time data feed provides run-time data at run-time and the design-time data feed provides design-time data if the run-time data is not accessible by the software development tool at design-time, wherein accessing the design-time data feed comprises accessing an identification of the design-time data feed, wherein the identification of the design-time data feed comprises a key in a key-value pair, and wherein the key-value pair associates the design-time data feed with one or more elements in the software application under development that reference the referenced at least one run-time data feed.

23. The system of claim 22 wherein said software development tool is further configured to determine whether the design-time data feed is defined for the referenced at least one run-time data feed from metadata associated with the software application under development.

24. The system of claim 22 wherein said software development tool is further configured to present a code view of the software application under development, wherein reference to the referenced at least one run-time data feed is presented in the code view.

25. The system of claim 24 wherein said software development tool is further configured to present a graphical-based design-time view of the software application under development, wherein the design-time data feed is presented in the graphical-based design-time view in place of the referenced at least one run-time data feed for which the design-time data feed is defined.

26. The system of claim 22 further comprising:

a run-time environment, wherein the software application under development is further configured to access the referenced at least one run-time data feed when the software application under development is deployed in the run-time environment.

27. Computer-executable software code stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium, which when executed by a computer provides a software development environment with which a designer can interact to develop a software application, and when executed by the computer the computer-executable software code causes the computer to perform a method comprising:

receiving an identification of a design-time data feed for at least one run-time data feed that is referenced in a software application under development, wherein the referenced at least one run-time data feed provides run-time data at run-time and the design-time data feed provides design-time data if the run-time data is not accessible by the software development environment at design-time, wherein the identification of the design-time data feed comprises a key in a key-value pair, and wherein the key-value pair associates the design-time data feed with one or more elements in the software application under development that reference the referenced at least one run-time data feed; and

accessing the design-time data feed in place of the referenced at least one run-time data feed.

28. The computer-executable software code of claim 27 wherein the design-time data feed comprises at least one of a dynamic feed and a static feed.

29. The computer-executable software code of claim 27 wherein the design-time data feed comprises a streaming feed.

30. The computer-executable software code of claim 27 further comprising:

storing identification of the design-time data feed for the referenced at least one run-time data feed as metadata associated with the software application under development.