App Multi-Window Startup in a Shared Process to Cut Memory Use
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing multi-window display technologies in electronic devices, such as smartphones and tablets, face challenges in managing dual display windows simultaneously due to increased system memory usage, leading to degraded user experience and synchronization issues.
Innovation Solution
An application multi-window display method that creates an activity object with a process name and unique identifier, allowing components to be started within the same application process, ensuring simultaneous management of multiple display windows without occupying system memory.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If activities are run in separate system process and application process for dual display windows, then multi-window display functionality is achieved, but system memory usage increases and simultaneous management becomes impossible
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the system process and application process by running both the first activity (from application) and second activity (from system) within the same application process. This is achieved by modifying the activity startup mechanism to create activities in the application's own process context rather than requiring separate system process instances, thereby reducing memory usage while maintaining multi-window functionality
2Adaptability or versatility
If activities are run in separate system process and application process, then dual-window display is enabled, but simultaneous management of display windows deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
By combining both activities in the same application process, the patent enables unified process-level management of multiple display windows. The application can now manage both windows through a single process context, improving coordination and simultaneous control of display states without the complexity of inter-process communication
Data Source
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AI summary
This application provides an application multi-window display method and an electronic device. The method includes: An electronic device receives a first operation of a user, where the first operation is used to start an application, the application supports an app multiplier mode, the app multiplier mode includes a first window and a second window, the first window corresponds to a component started by the application, and the second window corresponds to a component created by a system of the electronic device; in response to the first operation, the electronic device creates an activity object and starts the component created by the system, where the activity object includes a process name and a unique identifier of the application; and the component created by the system is started in a process of the application based on the process name and the unique identifier of the application in the activity object. The method provided in this application ensures that both activities corresponding to the first window and the second window are started in a same application process. This ensures that the electronic device simultaneously manages the two display windows, without occupying system memory, thereby improving user experience.