Application State Preservation During Unexpected Shutdown
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing data processing systems fail to effectively save the operational state of running applications during unexpected shutdowns, leading to potential loss of unsaved work, as prior solutions like hibernate functions or Advanced App Saver only restart applications without preserving their status before shutdown.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that monitor system activities to detect impending shutdowns, suspend the shutdown process, record and store the current application status, and automatically restart applications to their saved state after reboot, using a software tool that runs as a daemon to manage and restore application states.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the hibernate function is used to freeze the system before shutdown, then the system state is preserved, but the system cannot accept registry key changes during shutdown
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by detecting the shutdown event and suspending it before it executes, then recording the application status in advance. This allows the system to prepare the state information before the shutdown would normally occur, enabling both state preservation and subsequent registry modifications during the pause window.
2Productivity
If the system allows automatic restart of applications after shutdown, then user productivity is improved, but application status information is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent records the application status (window positions, file states, etc.) before the shutdown occurs. This preliminary recording ensures that when applications are automatically restarted after shutdown, their previous status information is available for restoration, preventing information loss while maintaining productivity benefits.
3Reliability
If the shutdown process is suspended to save application status, then data loss is prevented, but shutdown execution is delayed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent suspends the shutdown process only long enough to record the essential application status information, then quickly restores shutdown execution. This minimal interruption approach captures the necessary data to prevent loss while minimizing the time delay, allowing the shutdown to complete promptly after the status snapshot is taken.
Data Source
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AI summary
Method and system for saving operational state and data of applications which are running on an operating system when an unexpected shutdown is invoked by the operating system. When an unexpected event causing the system shutdown occurs, the method according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention saves the current status of the applications, to avoid that any un-saved work or data could be lost during shutdown. In order to do that, a software tool, hereinafter called Saving Tool must be started at start up and be always active (e.g. as a daemon) to monitor the system and detect any possible occurrences of a shutdown request. When such a shutdown request is detected, the Saving Tool suspends the shutdown operations to allow the currently open applications saving their current status and any un-saved data.