Application Snapshot Preview System with Periodic Data Scheduling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Mobile devices with limited processing power and battery life face impracticality in constantly updating application data for display, leading to battery drain and process delays.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a system that allows for the creation and display of application snapshots in preview mode without actively requesting data from the application, using a rendering engine to store and composite image layers, and managing data updates through a scheduler to conserve energy and bandwidth.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If application data is constantly updated for display, then the information displayed is current and accurate, but battery life is drained and other processes are delayed
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements periodic updates of application data in the preview dock rather than continuous updates. The scheduler component periodically retrieves updated application data at scheduled intervals, balancing information currency with energy conservation. This periodic action allows the limited-resource device to maintain relatively current information while avoiding the energy expenditure of constant real-time updates.
2Loss of information
If application data is constantly updated for display, then the information displayed is current and accurate, but other processes are stalled and delays occur
Solution Approach 1:
The scheduler implements periodic data retrieval at controlled intervals, preventing continuous updates from stalling other processes. By spacing out update operations, the system maintains information currency while allowing other application processes to execute without interruption or delay.
Solution Approach 2:
The system retrieves updated application data in advance of when it is needed for display. The scheduler proactively fetches data updates during idle periods or scheduled times, so that current information is already available when the preview dock needs to display it, eliminating the need for time-critical updates that would stall other processes.
3Loss of information
If snapshots are created by requesting data from the application, then the snapshot data is accurate and current, but communication overhead and latency increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system retrieves updated application data in advance and stores it locally before snapshot creation is requested. When a snapshot needs to be created, the pre-retrieved data is already available in local storage, eliminating the need for time-consuming communication with the application or data source at snapshot creation time. This preliminary data retrieval maintains accuracy while reducing latency.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates local copies of application data that can be used for snapshot generation without requiring real-time communication with the original data source. These copied data sets are maintained and updated periodically, allowing snapshots to be created quickly from local copies rather than through time-consuming data retrieval processes.
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments provide methods and systems for updating application data in snapshots of applications for previewing. Some embodiments update application data by determining when current application data may expire and retrieving updated application data. The application data for various applications in a preview mode may be updated based on an allotted budget. Permission can be selectively granted to applications to obtain updated data so as to control the budget. Application data in the snapshots may appear updated to a user as the user browses the dock without requiring the applications to request updated application data when the user enters the dock, regardless of whether each application is active. Further, some embodiments may generate a snapshot using a layer hierarchy and image layer data generated while the application was last running if the time associated with when the application was last active is later than the time associated with an existing snapshot.