Trailing Tag Message System for Application Responsiveness Measurement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for measuring application responsiveness are either inaccurate and unreliable, as they indirectly gauge system performance through resource usage, or cumbersome and expensive, as they require application-specific knowledge to measure response times.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that measures the time elapsed between inserting a trailing tag message into a message queue and its processing by a default message handler, allowing for system-wide responsiveness measurement without requiring application-specific knowledge.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If application-specific measurement methods are used to directly measure response time, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity and implementation cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal message injection mechanism that works across all Windows applications without requiring application-specific modifications. The trailing tag message technique uses a standardized approach where a test message is injected into the application's message queue, and the time to process this message is measured. This universal method eliminates the need for separate measurement systems for each application, thereby reducing overall system complexity while maintaining measurement precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary measurement mechanism that operates at the message queue level rather than requiring direct integration into application logic. By injecting trailing tag messages into the existing message queue and measuring processing time through a standardized handler, the system achieves accurate measurements without complicating the application-specific code paths.
2Ease of operation
If indirect resource usage measurement is used to gauge system performance, then ease of operation is improved, but measurement precision deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces indirect resource-based measurement (CPU usage, memory usage) with direct timing measurement of message processing. Instead of inferring responsiveness from resource consumption metrics, the system directly measures the time elapsed between message injection and processing completion using timestamp comparison. This substitution provides actual responsiveness data rather than proxy indicators.
3Reliability
If comprehensive system-wide measurement is implemented, then reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the measurement approach into two distinct components: (1) a universal message injection mechanism that can be applied to any application, and (2) a standardized trailing tag message handling function that processes measurements consistently across all applications. This segmentation allows system-wide measurement reliability without requiring a monolithic complex measurement system, as each component remains simple and reusable.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for measuring application responsiveness measures the time elapsed between receiving and processing a trailing tag message inserted into the application's message queue. The method receives a message, generates a trailing tag message associated with the message, and inserts the trailing tag message into the application's message queue. The trailing tag message includes a timestamp indicating when the trailing tag message was queued. A default message handler calculates the time elapsed between when the trailing tag message was queued and when the trailing tag message was processed. The elapsed time may then be used to calculated system responsiveness.