Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system – Display driving control circuitry – Controlling the condition of display elements
Reexamination Certificate
1995-06-07
2001-11-20
Saras, Steven (Department: 2675)
Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system
Display driving control circuitry
Controlling the condition of display elements
C345S215000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06320602
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The invention relates to generating views on a display screen including multiple graphic objects and to laying out graphic objects within a displayed view.
BACKGROUND ART
The IBM ScreenView product is a set of services which can be installed on an operating system for developing applications with a consistent user interface and for running these applications. ScreenView essentially consists of two parts, a Runtime Service (RTS) which provide services to applications at run time, and an Application Development Services (ADS) which support programmers to develop various user interface types for those applications which are consistent across all applications. ScreenView version 1.1. is described in the following publications:
ScreenView User's Guide (IBM Publications Number SC33-6451);
ScreenView Application Developer's Guide (IBM Publications Number SC33-6452); and
ScreenView Application Developer's Reference (IBM Publications Number SC33-6453).
When working with ScreenView, all the ScreenView applications appear as a number of objects on which the end user can perform certain actions. For example, when configuring a computer system, the objects that would be seen (so-called graphic objects) include processors, disks and/or control units and the actions that may be performed would include delete, connect and/or add. ScreenView enables object sharing and eases interoperability among applications. An example of such an application is described in the IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin, vol 35, no 2, July 1992, pp 58-63 in an article entitled “Graphical Definition of Configuration Objects”.
The design of the end user interface for ScreenView applications focuses on the objects which the end user can view and manipulate. The end user interface specification is programmed using a declarative language called a user interface declaration (UID).
A view in ScreenView is a representation of details of an object, for example what the object contains, how it is composed and/or what its properties are. Views allow a user to look at details of an object and to manipulate the object. When using a graphical display device, a view could represent the picture displayed on the display screen and the objects would be shown as icons on the display screen. The term “graphic objects” is often used to describe the objects displayed on the graphical display device.
Once the objects are defined, the designer of the user interface must select the views which would give the end users the best access to the objects to enable them to fulfill their tasks. The designer must determine which graphic objects the end user needs to see simultaneously in order to be able to manipulate the object relationships. As the number of graphic objects increases, the number of relations increases dramatically. The designer must ensure that graphic objects which bear a close relationship with each other are displayed near each other on the screen.
Additional problems arise when the user is able to manipulate the interface himself so that the position of graphic objects in the view is changed. This can lead to some graphic objects being hidden under other graphic objects as the resolution of the graphical display device on which the graphic objects are placed is not sufficient to display both graphic objects simultaneously.
Known from the prior art is an article entitled “Dynamic Repositioning of Object Areas on a Page” in the IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin, vol 32, no 10B, March 1990, pp 77-78. In this article, a reusable shell-layout definition for a page in a document is used to provide automatic changes to the layout of the page as information is placed into object areas.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the invention is to provide a flexible means for laying out graphic objects in a view on a display screen. This object is solved by defining with the view region and associating with the graphic objects region attributes to indicate in which of the regions the graphic object is located. The structure of the regions are described in region definition files.
Layout routines are provided which loop through all the graphic objects to be positioned in one of the views to extract the region attributes and to lay the graphic objects out in the regions. Moving routines are also provided which change the region attributes when one of the graphic objects is moved from one of the regions to another of the regions.
The object is also solved by a method including a first step of defining the view within which the graphic objects are to be displayed, a second step of defining regions within the view within which some of the graphic objects are to be displayed, a third step of associating with some or all of the graphic objects a region attribute to indicate within which of the regions the graphic object is to be displayed, a fourth step of laying out the graphic objects within the regions, and a fifth step of presenting the laid out view on the graphical display apparatus.
The second step of the method includes creating a region definition file containing the definitions of the regions.
The fourth step of the method includes looping though the graphic objects to be positioned in the view to extract the value of the region attribute, searching through the region definition file to select the region corresponding to the extracted region attribute, and positioning the graphic objects within the selected region. The step of positioning the graphic objects includes passing all the graphic objects within the selected region together with the region size, region shape and region layout to a sub-layouter which then determines the optimal positions of the graphic objects within the selected region.
The invention also provides a method of moving a graphic object within a view with regions including a first step of selecting the graphic object to be moved, a second step of selecting the new position to which the graphic object is to be moved, a third step of placing the graphic object to the selected new position and a fourth step of reordering the view.
In this second step the region is determined in which the selected new position is located and in the third step the value of the region attribute is changed from the region in which the graphic object is located to the region in which it is to be located.
The apparatus and method as described and claimed has the advantage over the prior art in that it provides a flexible and comprehensive method of displaying a view on a display device. The developer of an applications program does not need to concern himself in great detail about the position and display of the graphic objects on the display device, he will merely need to define the regions and associate with each object to be displayed a region attribute. The layout routines will then ensure that each graphic object is visibly displayed within the region.
For the end user of the applications program, the inventive method and apparatus has the advantage that he or she is able to manipulate the instances of the graphic objects on the display device and reposition them. The moving and layout routines then reorder the display so as to produce an improved layout.
A further feature of the invention ensures that an end user may not manipulate an instance of a graphic object in an unallowed manner. This has the advantage that instances of graphic objects in a view which must be always kept together or which may only move from one region to another will only be allowed to undergo these actions. The end user cannot therefore reorder the view in a manner which would later complicate the use of the applications program.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5107443 (1992-04-01), Smith et al.
Patent Abstracts of Japan, vol. 015, No. 015 (P-1151), Jan. 11, 1991, JP-A-22 57 373.
Werdel, W.S., “Graphical Definition of Configuration Objects”,IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin,V. 35, N. 2, Jul. 1992, pp. 58-63.
Barker et al., “Dynamic Repositioning of Object Areas on a Page”,IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin,V. 32, N. 10B, Mar. 1990, pp. 77-
Burkardt Pit
Feigel Roy Alan
Land Jutta
Westermann Herbert
International Business Machines - Corporation
Kinnaman, Jr. William A.
Saras Steven
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