Cross-System Drag-and-Drop via Virtual Window Protocol Bridging
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing operating system virtualization technologies, particularly containerization, face challenges in achieving compatibility between different operating systems like Android and Linux, preventing seamless drag-and-drop operations across these systems.
Innovation Solution
A method is provided to create a virtual window on the second operating system based on a drag-and-drop event, enabling the emulation of a drag-and-drop protocol to facilitate the transfer of objects between applications running on different operating systems, such as Android and Linux, using a shared directory for large data transmission to avoid memory occupation and power consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If containerization technology is used to run applications from different operating systems on a shared host OS, then resource utilization and system efficiency are improved, but compatibility between different operating systems deteriorates, preventing seamless drag-and-drop operations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a drag-and-drop service as an intermediary layer between applications running on different operating systems. This service receives drag-and-drop events from the host OS, translates them into the appropriate protocol format for the guest OS, and forwards them accordingly. The intermediary resolves the protocol incompatibility between different operating systems while maintaining the benefits of containerization for resource utilization.
2Adaptability or versatility
If drag-and-drop events are transmitted directly between operating systems, then cross-system compatibility is improved, but system complexity increases due to the need to handle multiple operating system protocols
Solution Approach 1:
The drag-and-drop service acts as a protocol translation intermediary that simplifies the system architecture. Instead of each application needing to handle multiple operating system protocols directly, the intermediary service centralizes the protocol translation logic. It receives standardized drag-and-drop events from the host OS and translates them into the specific protocol format required by the guest OS, thereby reducing overall system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The drag-and-drop service provides a universal interface that works across multiple operating systems. It implements a multi-functional protocol translation capability that can handle different operating system protocols (such as Android's drag-and-drop protocol and Linux's X11 protocol) through a single unified service, eliminating the need for separate implementation logic for each operating system pair.
3Adaptability or versatility
If a virtual window is created on the second operating system to emulate the drag-and-drop source, then drag-and-drop protocol compatibility is improved, but memory usage increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of creating a full virtual window that replicates the entire source application interface, the patent creates a minimal virtual window that only copies the essential drag-and-drop source information. This virtual window contains just enough data structure to represent the drag-and-drop event origin, such as the source application identifier and event coordinates, without duplicating the full graphical interface or application state, thereby minimizing memory consumption.
4Adaptability or versatility
If the drag-and-drop service translates events between different operating system protocols, then cross-system drag-and-drop is enabled, but processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The drag-and-drop service performs preliminary actions by pre-establishing protocol translation rules and mappings between different operating systems. Common drag-and-drop event types and their corresponding protocols are pre-configured and cached. When a drag-and-drop event occurs, the service can quickly match it against the pre-established rules and perform translation without extensive real-time analysis, significantly reducing processing time.
Data Source
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AI summary
This application provides a method for dragging and dropping a target object across systems and an electronic device. The electronic device includes a first operating system and a second operating system, a first application runs on the first operating system, and a second application runs on the second operating system. The method includes: obtaining a drag-and-drop event in response to an operation of dragging the target object from the first application and dropping the target object to the second application by a user, where the drag-and-drop event includes a drag-and-drop event type and the target object; sending the drag-and-drop event to the second operating system, and creating a virtual window of the first application on the second operating system based on the drag-and-drop event; and sending the drag-and-drop event from the virtual window of the first application to the second application, and displaying the target object on the second application. In the method provided in this application, the target object can be dragged and dropped between the first operating system and the second operating system, enhancing user experience.