Focus system for user interfaces, methods of focus system use, and uses thereof

A computer-implemented method for maintaining focus in a dynamic user interface displayed on a user device, the method comprising:

• maintaining, by a processor, an internal focus-state database storing focusable user-interface elements and hierarchical relationships among the elements, including Parent, Child, and Sibling relationships, independently of a document object model representing the user interface;
• synchronizing the internal focus-state database with changes to the document object model including addition, removal, and reordering of user-interface elements;
• determining focus transitions using the hierarchical relationships and navigation rules stored in the internal focus-state database;
• and
• applying the focus transitions to preserve focus continuity during dynamic modification of the user interface.

A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a user device, cause the one or more processors to:

• maintain an internal focus-state database storing focusable user-interface elements and hierarchical relationships among the elements, including Parent, Child, and Sibling relationships, independently of a document object model representing a user interface,
• synchronize the internal focus-state database with changes to the document object model including addition, removal, and reordering of user-interface elements;
• determine focus transitions using the hierarchical relationships and navigation rules stored in the internal focus-state database rather than a visual hierarchy of the document object model;
• and
• apply focus transitions that preserve focus continuity during dynamic modification of the user interface.

A focus system for maintaining focus in a dynamic electronic program guide displayed on a television device, comprising:

• a processor, and
• a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:
• maintain an internal focus-state database storing only focusable user-interface elements and Parent-Child relationships independently of a document object model representing the electronic program guide;
• update the internal focus-state database in response to removal of a focused element from the document object model;
• determine a replacement focused element by traversing the Parent-Child relationships stored in the internal focus-state database according to navigation rules;
• and
• apply focus to the replacement focused element without relying on spatial distance or angular calculations.