Object-oriented viewing framework having view grouping
AssigneeTaligent, Inc.
InventorsDebra L. Orton, Eric M. Berdahl
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A view system provides an extensible mechanism for associating a logical set of windows and manipulating them as a unit. For example, operations can be applied across address spaces to all the members of the group. A group is constructed by inserting a reference to each view in the group in a layer object. The layer object, in turn, can be inserted into a data hierarchy structure in a hierarchy object. The data hierarchy structure defines front to back display levels on a display and defines which windows overlap. Since all the members of the group are in the same layer object, they move to different levels as a group. Polymorphism and extensibility are provided via the object-oriented architecture of the operating system.
Claims7
A system for displaying a plurality of views in which one view may partially obscure another view leaving a non-obscured, visible area of the another view, each of the plurality of views having an identifier, the system comprising:
- (a) a display;
- (b) a screen buffer for storing screen information;
- (c) display adapter means for directly obtaining the screen information from the screen buffer and for displaying the screen information on the display;
- (d) a processor and an attached memory, holding application programs;
- (e) hierarchy object means having a data hierarchy structure for defining a frontmost display level to a rearmost display level of views and means responsive to a user request to reorder the display hierarchy for reordering data in the data hierarchy structure to change display levels of the views;
- (f) grouping means for storing identifiers for a set of the views in the memory to form a group and for inserting the group into the data hierarchy structure so that each of the set of views in the group has the same display level;
- (g) view system means, cooperating with the hierarchy object means and responsive to user requests to change a view, for maintaining a visible area definition for each of the views, each visible area definition designating a portion of the screen buffer for holding screen information for a visible area of a corresponding view;
- and
- (h) wherein the application programs each comprise
- means for obtaining a visible area definition from the view system means, and
- means for directly storing screen information in the screen buffer under the control of the obtained visible area definition.
A method of displaying a plurality of views in which a set of the plurality of views may be positioned on a display as a group and in which one view may partially obscure another view leaving a non-obscured, visible area of the another view, the method using a processor attached to a memory, a screen buffer for storing screen information, and a display adapter for directly obtaining the screen information from the screen buffer and for displaying the screen information on the display, the method comprising the steps of:
- (a) creating a data hierarchy structure in the memory for defining a frontmost display level to a rearmost display level of views and placing a reference to each of the plurality of views in the data hierarchy structure;
- (b) storing identifiers for a set of the views in the memory to form a group and for inserting a reference to the group into the data hierarchy structure so that each of the set of views in the group has the same display level;
- (c) in response to user requests to change the display appearance of a view and the group, creating and maintaining a visible area definition for each of the views, each visible area definition designating a portion of the screen buffer for holding screen information for a visible area of a corresponding view;
- (d) each application program obtaining a visible area definition maintained in step (c);
- and
- (e) each application program directly storing screen information in the screen buffer under the control of the visible area definition obtained in step (d).
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.