Hierarchical UI Virtualization for Non-Uniform Elements
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing user interface (UI) virtualization technologies are limited in handling complex and non-uniform UI elements, as they typically require uniform shapes and sizes, and struggle with efficient management of focus changes and buffering in scenarios with diverse UI configurations.
Innovation Solution
A hierarchical UI structure where parent and child elements communicate through a virtualization interface, allowing changes in the parent's view to propagate and manage virtualization and rendering, and enabling focus changes and buffering across the UI hierarchy, even with non-uniform element sizes and shapes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If UI elements are virtualized to conserve resources, then resource usage is reduced, but handling complex and non-uniform UI elements becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The UI hierarchy is segmented into parent and child elements, where each level can be independently virtualized. This allows the system to apply virtualization selectively to different portions of the UI hierarchy, conserving resources for elements that need it while maintaining full functionality for complex non-uniform elements.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a hierarchical dimension to traditional UI virtualization. Instead of flattening all UI elements into a single virtualized list, the system creates multiple levels of containment where parent containers manage their own virtualization independently of their children, enabling efficient handling of non-uniform element structures.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a hierarchical UI structure is implemented to handle complex configurations, then adaptability is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The parent container class is designed to be universal, capable of containing any type of child element (UI controls, containers, or custom elements) with varying shapes and sizes. This multi-functional design allows the same parent container structure to handle diverse UI configurations without requiring specialized container types for each scenario.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a virtualization interface as an intermediary between parent and child elements. This interface standardizes communication and coordination, allowing complex hierarchical relationships to be managed through a simple, consistent protocol rather than complex direct relationships between all elements.
3Ease of operation
If focus changes are propagated through the UI hierarchy, then user interaction is improved, but processing overhead increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary calculations to determine the visible region and which child elements are currently visible before processing focus changes. This pre-computation allows focus propagation to occur efficiently by only considering visible elements, rather than iterating through the entire UI hierarchy.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of propagating focus changes through the entire UI hierarchy, the system performs partial propagation only to the extent necessary - focusing on visible child elements and their immediate descendants. This selective approach reduces processing overhead while maintaining responsive user interaction.
Data Source
AI summary
The described technology is directed towards having UI elements structured in a hierarchical configuration, in which parent and child UI elements communicate via a virtualization interface. A change to any parent UI element view propagates to each impacted descendant, e.g., each child, any children of that child and so on, whereby each child can manage virtualization and rendering based upon the change. Focus changes among the UI elements are also handled by propagating information via the virtualization interface.