Software robots for programmatically controlling computer programs to perform tasks

1. A system for controlling at least one application program for performing a task comprising a sequence of actions, the at least one application program including a first application program and a second application program, the first and second application programs implemented using different graphical user interface (GUI) technologies and configured to execute at least in part by using different GUI application libraries, the system comprising:

at least one computer hardware processor; and

at least one non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing processor-executable instructions that, when executed by the at least one computer hardware processor, cause the at least one computer hardware processor to perform:

controlling the first application program and the second application program using an object hierarchy comprising a first portion of the object hierarchy for the first application program and a second portion of the object hierarchy for the second application program, wherein controlling the first application program and the second application program using an object hierarchy comprises:

controlling the first application program to perform a first action in the sequence of actions using the first portion of the object hierarchy, the first portion of the object hierarchy comprising a first plurality of objects corresponding to a first plurality of active GUI elements of the first application program, wherein controlling the first application program comprises:

using a first object of the first plurality of objects to cause, via a first active GUI element of the first plurality of active GUI elements, the first application program to at least partially perform the first action, the first action programmatically emulating a user's interaction with the first active GUI element; and

after the first application program performs the first action, refreshing the object hierarchy to obtain a first refreshed object hierarchy comprising a second plurality of objects corresponding to a second plurality of active GUI elements reflecting changes in a user interface of the first application program; and

controlling the second application program to perform a second action in the sequence of actions using the second portion of the object hierarchy, the second portion of the object hierarchy comprising a third plurality of objects corresponding to a third plurality of active GUI elements of the second application program, wherein controlling the second application program comprises:

using a third object of the third plurality of objects to cause, via a third active GUI element of the third plurality of active GUI elements, the second application program to at least partially perform the second action, the second action programmatically emulating a user's interaction with the third active GUI element; and

after the second application program performs the second action, refreshing the object hierarchy to obtain a second refreshed object hierarchy comprising a fourth plurality of objects corresponding to a fourth plurality of active GUI elements reflecting changes in a user interface of the second application program.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein refreshing the object hierarchy comprises:

refreshing at least one object in the object hierarchy, adding at least one object to the object hierarchy, and/or removing at least one object from the object hierarchy.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein refreshing the object hierarchy comprises:

refreshing only a subset of objects in the object hierarchy.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein controlling the first application program to perform the first action in the sequence of actions comprises:

accessing the first object in the object hierarchy corresponding to the first active GUI element of the first application program.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein refreshing the object hierarchy comprises:

refreshing only one or more parent objects of the first object in the object hierarchy, one or more descendant objects of the first object in the object hierarchy, and/or the first object.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein refreshing the object hierarchy comprises:

adding a new object to the object hierarchy, wherein the new object is associated with an active GUI element of the first application program.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first active GUI element of the first application program is a visible GUI element of the first application program.

8. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a display, wherein the processor-executable instructions further cause the at least one computer hardware processor to perform:

displaying the user interface of the first application program on the display during the performance of at least some of the sequence of actions.

9. The system of claim 1 , further comprising:

generating the object hierarchy comprising a plurality of objects corresponding to active GUI elements of the at least one application program, the generating comprising:

identifying the first plurality of active GUI elements of the first application program and the third plurality of active GUI elements of the second application program; and

generating the first portion of the object hierarchy comprising the first plurality of objects and the second portion of the object hierarchy comprising the third plurality of objects.

10. The system of claim 9 , wherein generating the object hierarchy comprises:

obtaining a first hierarchical representation of the first plurality of active GUI elements of the first application program from an operating system; and

identifying the first plurality of active GUI elements of the first application program using the first hierarchical representation.

11. The system of claim 10 , wherein obtaining the first hierarchical representation is performed by using the WINDOWS Automation API.

12. The system of claim 1 , wherein the processor-executable instructions, when executed by the at least one computer hardware processor, further cause the at least one computer hardware processor to perform:

controlling the first application program to perform a third action in the sequence of actions using the first refreshed object hierarchy at least in part by:

using a second object of the second plurality of objects to cause, via a second active GUI element of the second plurality of active GUI elements, the first application program to at least partially perform the third action, the third action programmatically emulating a user's interaction with the second active GUI element.

13. The system of claim 12 , wherein the processor-executable instructions, when executed by the at least one computer hardware processor, further cause the at least one computer hardware processor to perform:

controlling the second application program to perform a fourth action in the sequence of actions using the second refreshed object hierarchy at least in part by:

using a fourth object of the fourth plurality of objects to cause, via a fourth active GUI element of the fourth plurality of active GUI elements, the second application program to at least partially perform the fourth action, the fourth action programmatically emulating a user's interaction with the fourth active GUI element.

14. A method for controlling at least one application program for performing a task comprising a sequence of actions, the at least one application program including a first application program and a second application program, the first and second application programs implemented using different graphical user interface (GUI) technologies and configured to execute at least in part by using different GUI application libraries, the method comprising:

using at least one computer hardware processor to perform:

controlling the first application program and the second application program using an object hierarchy comprising a first portion of the object hierarchy for the first application program and a second portion of the object hierarchy for the second application program, wherein controlling the first application program and the second application program using an object hierarchy comprises:

controlling the first application program to perform a first action in the sequence of actions using the first portion of the object hierarchy, the first portion of the object hierarchy comprising a first plurality of objects corresponding to a first plurality of active GUI elements of the first application program, wherein controlling the first application program comprises:

using a first object of the first plurality of objects to cause, via a first active GUI element of the first plurality of active GUI elements, the first application program to at least partially perform the first action, the first action programmatically emulating a user's interaction with the first active GUI element; and

after the first application program performs the first action, refreshing the object hierarchy to obtain a first refreshed object hierarchy comprising a second plurality of objects corresponding to a second plurality of active GUI elements reflecting changes in a user interface of the first application program; and

controlling the second application program to perform a second action in the sequence of actions using the second portion of the object hierarchy, the second portion of the object hierarchy comprising a third plurality of objects corresponding to a third plurality of active GUI elements of the second application program, wherein controlling the second application program comprises:

using a third object of the third plurality of objects to cause, via a third active GUI element of the third plurality of active GUI elements, the second application program to at least partially perform the second action, the second action programmatically emulating a user's interaction with the third active GUI element; and

after the second application program performs the second action, refreshing the object hierarchy to obtain a second refreshed object hierarchy comprising a fourth plurality of objects corresponding to a fourth plurality of active GUI elements reflecting changes in a user interface of the second application program.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein refreshing the object hierarchy comprises:

refreshing at least one object in the object hierarchy, adding at least one object to the object hierarchy, and/or removing at least one object from the object hierarchy.

16. The method of claim 14 , wherein refreshing the object hierarchy comprises:

refreshing only a subset of objects in the object hierarchy.

17. The method of claim 14 , wherein controlling the first application program to perform the first action in the sequence of actions comprises:

accessing the first object in the object hierarchy corresponding to the first active GUI element of the first application program.

18. The method of claim 14 , wherein refreshing the object hierarchy comprises:

refreshing only one or more parent objects of the first object in the object hierarchy, one or more descendant objects of the first object in the object hierarchy, and/or the first object.

19. The method of claim 14 , further comprising:

generating the object hierarchy comprising a plurality of objects corresponding to active GUI elements of the at least one application program, the generating comprising:

identifying the first plurality of active GUI elements of the first application program and the third plurality of active GUI elements of the second application program; and

generating the first portion of the object hierarchy comprising the first plurality of objects and the second portion of the object hierarchy comprising the third plurality of objects.

20. At least one non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing processor-executable instructions that, when executed by at least one computer hardware processor, causes the at least one computer hardware processor to perform a method for controlling at least one application program for performing a task comprising a sequence of actions, the at least one application program including a first application program and a second application program, the first and second application programs implemented using different graphical user interface (GUI) technologies and configured to execute at least in part by using different GUI application libraries, the method comprising:

controlling the first application program and the second application program using an object hierarchy comprising a first portion of the object hierarchy for the first application program and a second portion of the object hierarchy for the second application program, wherein controlling the first application program and the second application program using an object hierarchy comprises:

controlling the first application program to perform a first action in the sequence of actions using the first portion of the object hierarchy, the first portion of the object hierarchy comprising a first plurality of objects corresponding to a first plurality of active GUI elements of the first application program, wherein controlling the first application program comprises:

using a first object of the first plurality of objects to cause, via a first active GUI element of the first plurality of active GUI elements, the first application program to at least partially perform the first action, the first action programmatically emulating a user's interaction with the first active GUI element; and

after the first application program performs the first action, refreshing the object hierarchy to obtain a first refreshed object hierarchy comprising a second plurality of objects corresponding to a second plurality of active GUI elements reflecting changes in a user interface of the first application program;

controlling the second application program to perform a second action in the sequence of actions using the second portion of the object hierarchy, the second portion of the object hierarchy comprising a third plurality of objects corresponding to a third plurality of active GUI elements of the second application program, wherein controlling the second application program comprises:

using a third object of the third plurality of objects to cause, via a third active GUI element of the third plurality of active GUI elements, the second application program to at least partially perform the second action, the second action programmatically emulating a user's interaction with the third active GUI element; and

after the second application program performs the second action, refreshing the object hierarchy to obtain a second refreshed object hierarchy comprising a fourth plurality of objects corresponding to a fourth plurality of active GUI elements reflecting changes in a user interface of the second application program.