Shared Thumbnail Caching to Cut Storage and Decoding Overhead
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Solution Overview
Problem
The storage of multiple thumbnails for the same original image on an electronic device leads to a waste of storage space, and repeated decoding and subsampling operations result in high power consumption.
Innovation Solution
Implement a unified thumbnail management system through a thumbnail service that caches thumbnails centrally, allowing applications to retrieve address identifiers instead of duplicating thumbnails, reducing the need for local caching and minimizing decoding and subsampling operations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If each application caches thumbnails independently, then each application can access thumbnails quickly, but multiple thumbnails for the same original image occupy large storage space
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the thumbnail caching function from individual applications into a unified system-level thumbnail service. The thumbnail service maintains a single copy of each thumbnail in system storage, which can be shared by multiple applications simultaneously, eliminating redundant storage while maintaining fast access through centralized caching management.
Solution Approach 2:
The thumbnail service acts as an intermediary between applications and the file system. Instead of applications directly caching and storing thumbnails, they request thumbnails from the thumbnail service, which retrieves or generates them and provides access to the centralized cache, reducing storage duplication.
2Adaptability or versatility
If applications perform decoding and subsampling operations locally, then thumbnail generation is flexible, but repeated operations consume excessive power
Solution Approach 1:
The thumbnail service performs decoding and subsampling operations in advance when thumbnails are first requested, caching the processed results. Subsequent requests for the same thumbnail reuse the pre-processed data without repeating computationally intensive operations, significantly reducing power consumption while maintaining flexibility through on-demand generation.
Solution Approach 2:
The thumbnail service autonomously manages the decoding and subsampling process without requiring applications to perform these operations. The service monitors usage patterns and pre-processes images, freeing applications from energy-intensive processing while maintaining adaptability through intelligent caching strategies.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple applications access the same original image, then each application can process the image independently, but multiple thumbnails duplicate storage resources
Solution Approach 1:
The thumbnail service provides universal access to thumbnails for multiple applications simultaneously. A single cached thumbnail can be served to any application that requests it, making the storage resource multi-functional and eliminating the need for each application to maintain its own separate copy, thereby preserving application independence while reducing storage duplication.
Data Source
AI summary
This application provides a thumbnail management method and a related apparatus. One or more applications are installed in an electronic device. The method includes: in response to an operation performed by a user on a first application, the first application invokes a thumbnail service that obtains an address identifier of a first thumbnail corresponding to a first original image in response to invoking of the first application, where the address identifier is in a storage space; the thumbnail service returns the address identifier of the first thumbnail to the first application; and the first application displays the first thumbnail. Thumbnails of original images on the electronic device are managed and stored in a unified manner through the thumbnail service, and an application does not need to cache the thumbnails. This can save storage space on the electronic device, and resolve a problem of a waste of storage space.