Declarative Cascade Reordering for Style Sheet Cohesion

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Solution Overview

Problem

The existing cascade level hierarchy in style sheets constrains authors to enter styles at a specific level, leading to accidental overwriting of property values, particularly in collaborative projects where multiple authors contribute to document components.

Innovation Solution

A document rendering device reorders the cascade level for style properties in a style sheet to maintain cohesion across multiple document components by setting a group cascade level different from the nominal level, using rules like @default to define default property values and promote consistency.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If authors use a fixed cascade level hierarchy for style sheets, then style property conflicts can be resolved systematically, but authors cannot avoid accidentally overwriting existing property values in collaborative projects

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvestyle property conflict resolutionVSAvoidavoiding accidental overwriting

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the cascade level into two independent dimensions: the nominal cascade level (indicating sheet hierarchy) and the group cascade level (controlling property group ordering). This segmentation allows style sheets to operate at their hierarchical level while property groups can be independently ordered to prevent overwriting, resolving the contradiction between systematic conflict resolution and avoiding accidental overwrites in collaborative environments.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces a new dimension (group cascade level) that is independent from the traditional nominal cascade level. By adding this second dimension for controlling property group ordering, the system enables fine-grained control over style property application without disrupting the overall style sheet hierarchy, thus preventing accidental overwrites while maintaining systematic conflict resolution.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

2Productivity

If multiple authors contribute to document components in collaborative projects, then document creation productivity increases, but style property conflicts and overwriting errors increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecollaborative document creationVSAvoidstyle property consistency

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies preliminary action by establishing group cascade levels in advance for property groups before style properties are applied. This pre-configuration of ordering rules allows multiple authors to contribute to document components simultaneously without causing style property conflicts, as the grouping and ordering framework is already in place to prevent overwriting errors.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent changes the parameter structure of cascade levels from a single hierarchical level to a two-level system (nominal cascade level and group cascade level). This parameter transformation enables the system to handle multiple collaborative contributions by controlling the ordering of property groups independently, thus maintaining style property consistency while supporting high productivity in collaborative document creation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

3Stability of the object's composition

If style sheets are constrained to a specific cascade level, then the hierarchy structure is maintained, but flexibility in resolving style conflicts across document components is reduced

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvestyle sheet hierarchy structureVSAvoidflexibility in resolving style conflicts

Core Design Contradiction:

Stability of the object's compositionVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces dynamics by making the group cascade level adjustable and independent from the fixed nominal cascade level. While the style sheet hierarchy structure remains stable at the nominal level, the group cascade level can be dynamically configured to provide flexibility in resolving style conflicts across different document components, allowing the system to adapt to various collaborative scenarios without compromising structural integrity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

Data Source

PatentUS10482165B2Declarative cascade reordering for styles

Publication Date: 2019.11.19 MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING LLC

AI summary

In one example, a document rendering device may reorder a cascade level for a style property of a style sheet to maintain cohesion across multiple document components of a document. The document rendering device may store a style sheet describing rendering of a structured document having a nominal cascade level indicating a sheet hierarchy for the style sheet to resolve conflicts with style properties in other style sheets. The document rendering device may set a group cascade level for a property group describing a set of multiple style properties in the style sheet so that the group cascade level is different than the nominal cascade level. The document rendering device may render a document component of the structured document for display based on the property group at the group cascade level.