Server-Side UI Region Visibility Control in CI Environments
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Solution Overview
Problem
Continuous integration (CI) tools often overwhelm users with irrelevant parameters in their user interfaces due to the inability to conditionally display UI content, as they enforce sandbox restrictions that block client-side scripting.
Innovation Solution
The technique involves providing user-interface regions in a UI page downloaded from a server, where changes in specific parameters trigger server-side updates to hide irrelevant UI regions, using server-configured code that circumvents sandbox restrictions, such as CSS styles to selectively show or hide UI content.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If all parameters are displayed in the UI, then complete information is provided, but users become overwhelmed and the interface becomes confusing
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and hides irrelevant parameters from the UI based on the state of other parameters. When a parameter value makes certain parameters irrelevant (e.g., if 'Start Virtual Machine?' is false, then 'VM name' is irrelevant), those irrelevant parameters are automatically hidden from the interface, presenting only the subset of parameters that are currently relevant to the user.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamic UI behavior where the visibility of parameters changes automatically in response to user input. As users modify parameter values, the system dynamically updates the UI to show or hide parameters based on their relevance, making the interface adaptive rather than static.
2Adaptability or versatility
If client-side scripting is used to conditionally show/hide UI content, then UI flexibility is improved, but sandbox restrictions block script execution
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses an intermediary approach by leveraging the CI tool's existing parameter processing mechanisms rather than introducing client-side scripts. The system uses the tool's native ability to process parameter dependencies and automatically hide irrelevant parameters, working within the sandbox restrictions rather than against them.
3Loss of information
If the UI displays all parameters regardless of relevance, then no information is lost, but the user burden increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes irrelevant parameters from the visible UI based on the current parameter state. By automatically identifying and hiding parameters that are not relevant given the current configuration choices, the system reduces the time users spend navigating and configuring jobs while preserving the ability to access all parameters if needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary filtering of parameters based on initial parameter values before the user even begins configuration. By pre-calculating which parameters will be relevant based on the current state, the system proactively presents only the necessary parameters, saving users time from the outset.
Data Source
AI summary
A technique for managing a user interface in a continuous integration (CI) environment includes providing user-interface (UI) regions in a UI page downloaded from a server. The UI regions correspond to respective parameters of a CI job. In response to a change in a particular parameter associated with a UI region, the technique further includes updating, by the server, the UI page to contain code configured to hide a specified set of other UI regions, such as those rendered irrelevant based on the parameter change.