Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system – Display driving control circuitry – Controlling the condition of display elements
Reexamination Certificate
2000-10-31
2004-06-22
Nguyen, Cao (Kevin) (Department: 2173)
Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system
Display driving control circuitry
Controlling the condition of display elements
C345S215000, C345S215000, C345S215000, C345S215000, C719S316000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06753886
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Historically, computer systems provided a command-line interface for the programmer or other user of a computer system. Modern computer systems provide a graphic display for the user. Typically, the user of a modern computer system sees and interacts with several windows or frames on a display associated with the computer system. For example, a user selects a window using a mouse or keyboard and enters data or a command in the window. The user can make a selection in one window that requests the display in a second window of a spreadsheet or other data report obtained from a database or over a network. The user can then make further requests that change data in the second window. For example, the user can request that the format of the data displayed in the second window be changed or that the data report be replaced by some other data report.
In general, initiatives or interactions by the user in one window lead to results or changes in displays in another window. In effect, the user initiates a message from one window that is communicated to the second window. The message may be acted upon by scripts or program code associated with the second window to cause some change in the display in the second window or some other effect, or text provided in the message may be displayed in the second window.
Typically, the windows (or frames) are associated with each other, for example, in a hierarchical set of windows. Alternatively, one window may be the “opener,” that is, the window that opened the second window for display on the computer's display at some previous point in time. Thus, each source window originating a message has some relationship to the target window that is to the receive the message. Typically, a script associated with the source window directs the message to the target window based on this relationship.
In one conventional approach, the windows are frames in a network browser, and scripts, such as scripts based on JavaScript™ from Sun Microsystems Inc., are associated with each window. A script associated with a source frame typically generates a message based on the user's actions, using JavaScript conventions, to send to a target frame to receive the message based on the relationship between the source frame and the target frame. Each frame typically has some explicit relationship to other frames in the display. For example, one frame may be related to another frame by being the parent of that frame, that is, the frame is a parent frame in a hierarchy of parent-child frames. Alternatively, a frame may be the opener of another frame without being the parent of the opened frame.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
As described previously, the windows (or frames) shown on a conventional computer display are associated with each other, for example, in a hierarchical set of windows (e.g., frameset). For example, a conventional script (or programming code) for the window that is the source of the message must specify explicitly where the target window is in the hierarchy windows relative to the source window. Alternatively, conventional systems require that the windows have some other relationship, such as an opener relationship between the source window and the target window. In this case, the script for the source window must explicitly indicate this relationship between the source window and the target window. In some conventional systems, the relationship is stated explicitly, although referred to in a shorthand form, as when the highest level window in the hierarchy (e.g., frameset) can be referred to as the “top” window (e.g., top of a frameset) without explicitly referring to every window in the hierarchy.
As applications displayed in browsers for the web (e.g. World Wide Web or WWW) have become more complex, a large number of windows or frames in a network browser (e.g. web browser) may be open at one time for display to a user. Typically, conventional applications are implemented in a number of relatively small scripts (e.g. JavaScript code) associated with each window in the application. The conventional script associated with each window can generate messages to be sent to one or more of the other windows. With the increasing complexity of these window-based conventional applications, the writing and maintaining of the scripts becomes increasingly difficult if the relationship of each target window must be stated explicitly when sending a message to the target window. A single change in the hierarchy or relationships among the windows may require changes in many scripts associated with many windows, because each script for each window refers explicitly to the other locations of other windows in the hierarchy (e.g., locations in a frameset) when sending messages to those other windows.
Thus, there is a need for an approach that allows windows to be specified without specifying the hierarchy or relationship among the windows explicitly. The approach of the invention allows for relationships to other windows to be referred to implicitly. For example, if a source window is directing a message to a specific function in another window when using the approach of the invention, then the message in the source window need only refer to the name or identifier of the function (e.g., by a target identifier) and does not need to describe explicitly the relationship between the source window and the target window. In another example of the approach of the invention, the message need not refer to any target identifier, and the message is passed to message handlers associated with each window, without explicit references to the relationships between the source window and every other window.
Using the techniques of the invention, one or more messaging modules register target identifiers for windows, message handlers, and functions in a database. In one embodiment, there is a messaging module and database associated with each window. Thus each source window script can refer to a database to locate windows that the source window is related to. The source window script originates a message, which is sent to the windows that the source window has identified in the database. If the message refers to a function, then scripts for each of the other windows determines whether the target identifier for the function is one registered for that other window. If a match is found with the target identifier for the function in a window, then the message is passed to that function. Otherwise, the message may be passed to other windows indicated in the database. If the message (e.g., broadcast message to be sent to all windows) does not indicate any explicit function identifier, then the message is passed to the message handlers that are registered for each window.
In one embodiment, the invention is directed to a method for communicating messages between display constructs (e.g. windows or frames) presented on a display of a computer system. The method includes the steps of recording target identifiers associated with display constructs in a database, receiving a message comprising selection information (e.g., reference to a target identifier) suitable for use in selecting one of the display constructs to receive the message, and forwarding the message to one of the display constructs based on the selection information and the target identifiers in a database. Each target identifier identifies one or more aspects of a respective display construct. For example, the target identifier identifies the name of a window, the name of a function associated with a window, or some other aspect of a window (or frame). Thus, a target identifier, such as a function and/or window name, is recorded in a database, and the message selection information identifies the function name. A messaging module (or other script or program) compares the function name in the message to the function names in the database, finds the function name in the database, and passes the message to the identified function, which is typically in a script or other code associated with the target window. Th
Chapin & Huang LLC
Chapin, Esq. Barry W.
Cisco Technology Inc.
Nguyen Cao (Kevin)
Thai Cuong T.
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