Multi-entry Navigation Components for Hierarchical UI Consistency
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Solution Overview
Problem
User interfaces for navigating hierarchically-related views often lack a visual summary, leading to inconsistencies and obsolescence when views become invalid due to changes in the underlying data or infrastructure, such as deletion of virtual machines or datacenter outages.
Innovation Solution
Implementing multiple independent navigation components that provide entry points into the hierarchy, with real-time updates using a backend navigation service to ensure consistency and validity of views, and rebuilding the navigation hierarchy when views become invalid.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a single navigation component is used to navigate through the hierarchy of views, then the device complexity is reduced, but the reliability deteriorates because the user interface becomes inconsistent and obsolete when views become invalid
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the single navigation component into multiple independent navigation components (first navigation component and second navigation component). Each component can independently navigate through the hierarchy of views, providing redundancy and ensuring that if one component becomes inconsistent or obsolete, the other can still provide valid navigation paths, thus maintaining user interface consistency and reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a mechanism where navigation components monitor the validity of views in the hierarchy. When a view becomes invalid (e.g., due to VM deletion or datacenter outage), the system detects this change and updates the navigation components accordingly. This feedback loop ensures that navigation components remain synchronized with the current state of the infrastructure, maintaining reliability without requiring complex restructuring
2Reliability
If multiple navigation components are implemented to improve reliability and provide visual hierarchy summary, then the user interface consistency is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent designs multiple navigation components to perform the same navigation functions through different entry points into the hierarchy of views. Each navigation component is universal in its capability to navigate through any level of the hierarchy, allowing them to be implemented as standardized modules. This multi-functionality approach improves reliability through redundancy while controlling complexity by reusing the same navigation logic across multiple components
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates copies of the navigation component structure (first navigation component and second navigation component) that mirror each other's functionality. These copied components provide parallel navigation paths through the hierarchy, ensuring that if one component becomes invalid, the copied component remains valid. This copying strategy improves reliability while maintaining manageable complexity through structural repetition rather than complex interdependencies
3Reliability
If real-time updates are implemented to maintain view validity, then the user interface remains up-to-date with current navigation data, but the loss of time for updating and rebuilding the navigation hierarchy increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent pre-establishes multiple navigation components with complete navigation paths to all levels of the hierarchy before navigation is needed. These components are prepared in advance with valid paths to datacenters, VMs, and other hierarchical elements. When navigation is required, the pre-prepared components can be immediately used without real-time computation, reducing update time while maintaining data validity through periodic refreshes of the pre-established paths
4Reliability
If the navigation hierarchy is rebuilt when views become invalid, then the reliability is improved by ensuring valid navigation paths, but the productivity deteriorates due to interruption of user navigation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent maintains multiple valid navigation paths in advance through redundant navigation components. When a view becomes invalid (e.g., datacenter outage or VM deletion), the system has already prepared alternative navigation paths through other components that remain valid. This cushioning approach allows the system to absorb invalidations without requiring immediate rebuilding, as valid alternative paths are already in place, thus maintaining both reliability and user navigation productivity
Data Source
AI summary
Examples are disclosed for a navigation system that facilitates navigation through hierarchically-related views within a user interface using multiple independent entry points. In one example, a system is configured to generate a user interface that includes a hierarchy of views based on navigation data and display a plurality of navigation components in the user interface. A selection of a navigation entry is received that corresponds to a desired view from one of the navigation components. A request is sent to a remote navigation service for data associated with the navigation entry of the desired view. The navigation components are updated based on updated navigation data received from the remote navigation service. An updated user interface is displayed that includes a dynamically generated view for the navigation entry based on the updated structure of the hierarchy of views in the plurality of navigation components.