Event-Based Help Content Retrieval Using Alert Identifiers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current systems for reporting software product data from users to developers provide limited help to users even when errors occur, unless the user actively sends an error report, and do not offer detailed help content unless a report is sent.
Innovation Solution
A method and data structure that allow for the retrieval and storage of help content associated with specific events on a user's computer, enabling the provision of detailed help content without requiring an error report, using parameters such as alert identifiers, assert tags, and function results to identify and display relevant help content.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If detailed help content is provided to users when errors occur, then user assistance quality improves, but system complexity and data storage requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by collecting and storing help content, event types, and parameters before errors occur. Help files are pre-configured with detailed information about various error conditions, and the system maintains templates for different event types. When an error occurs, the system simply matches the event against pre-stored patterns and retrieves the corresponding help content, avoiding the need to generate or search for help information in real-time.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates simplified copies of error events by generating standardized event reports that capture essential information (event type, parameters, context) without duplicating the entire system state. These event copies are used to index and retrieve corresponding help content, allowing the system to provide detailed assistance while maintaining efficient data structures and avoiding excessive complexity.
2Reliability
If help content is stored locally on user computers, then help availability improves, but storage space requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments help content into modular components organized by event type and parameters. Instead of storing complete help files for all possible error conditions, the system divides help information into reusable templates and parameters that can be combined dynamically. This allows local storage of only essential indexing data and configuration information, while detailed help content can be retrieved on-demand or stored in a compact, structured format.
Solution Approach 2:
Rather than storing complete help content locally and searching through it when errors occur, the system inverts the approach by storing compact event signatures and indices locally, then using these to retrieve corresponding help content from centralized sources or generate appropriate responses. This reverses the traditional model of local comprehensive storage to local minimal storage with on-demand retrieval.
3Reliability
If the system collects and processes detailed event data from users, then software debugging capability improves, but user privacy concerns and data transmission requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts only the essential elements needed for debugging by capturing specific event types, parameters, and context information while deliberately excluding sensitive user data. The event reporting mechanism is designed to pull out only the technical information necessary for identifying and fixing software bugs, separating this from any personally identifiable information or sensitive user content. This extraction approach enables effective debugging while minimizing privacy intrusion.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces an intermediary layer between error events and data transmission by using standardized event templates and parameter structures. Instead of transmitting raw system state or detailed user context, the system processes events through an intermediary formatting layer that converts them into standardized reports containing only necessary debugging information. This intermediary process filters out sensitive data while preserving the technical information needed for software improvement.
Data Source
AI summary
A method and apparatus are provided for displaying help content corresponding to the occurrence of an event occurring within a computer. An alert help data file is periodically downloaded at a client computer. When a program alert occurs within a client computer, the alert help data file is searched to identify help content corresponding to the particular occurrence of the alert. An alert identifier may be uniquely assigned to each alert to assist in locating the corresponding help content. Moreover, an assert tag and a function result value may also be utilized to define and locate particular help content. Once located, the help content may be displayed to a user.