Processing of graphical objects with distinct stretch and compression properties

A method of processing graphical objects having content to layout the graphical objects comprising:

• defining stretch properties of the graphical objects having content, the stretch properties comprising stretchiness coefficients to be applied to sizes designated for the graphical objects and stretch orders to indicate substantial relative differences between stretchiness relative to other graphical objects;
• defining compression properties of the graphical objects having content, the compression properties comprising compressibility coefficients to be applied to the sizes designated for the graphical objects and compression orders to indicate substantial relative differences between compressibility relative to other graphical objects, distinct from the stretch properties;
• processing properties of the graphical objects having content, including the stretch and compression properties, to define individual layouts of the graphical objects within an overall graphical layout, including performing an add operation in which the stretchiness and compressibility coefficients of plural graphical objects are summed dependent on the relative stretch and compression orders;
• and
• wherein the stretchiness and compressibility coefficients, respectively, are summed if the respective stretch and compression orders are equal and, if the respective stretch and compression orders are not equal, the stretchiness and compressibility coefficients of the graphical objects indicated to be most elastic by the stretch and compression orders are taken as an add result.

A method of processing graphical objects having content to layout the graphical objects comprising:

• defining stretch properties of the graphical objects having content, the stretch properties comprising stretchiness coefficients to be applied to sizes designated for the graphical objects;
• defining compression properties of the graphical objects having content, distinct from the stretch properties, the compression properties comprising compressibility coefficients to be applied to the sizes designated for the graphical objects;
• processing properties of the graphical objects having content, including the stretch and compression properties, to define individual layouts of the graphical objects within an overall graphical layout and performing a max operation which selects a size from two graphical objects which is dependent on the relative compressibility and stretchability of the graphical objects;
• wherein the stretch properties and compression properties respectively comprise stretch orders and compression orders to indicate substantial relative differences between stretchiness and compressibility relative to other graphical objects;
• and
• wherein a result of the max operation is the size of one of the two graphical objects whose elasticity toward the size of the other of the two graphical objects is the least.

A data structure in a data processing system defining elastics for layout of a graphical object having content comprising:

• a size value of the graphical object having content;
• a stretch property of the graphical object having content;
• and
• a compression property of the graphical object having content independent of the stretch property, providing for the graphical object to stretch and compress at different rates in response to a resize operation on the graphical object.

A data processing system comprising:

• means for defining stretch properties of graphical objects having content;
• means for defining compression properties of the graphical objects having content distinct from the stretch properties, such that the graphical objects can stretch and compress at different rates in response to a resize operation on the graphical object;
• and
• means for processing properties of the graphical objects having content, including the stretch and compression properties, to define individual layouts of the graphical objects within an overall graphical layout.

A data processing system comprising:

• means for defining stretch properties of graphical objects having content, the stretch properties comprising stretchiness coefficients to be applied to sizes designated for the graphical objects;
• means for defining compression properties of the graphical objects having content distinct from the stretch properties, the compression properties comprising compressibility coefficients to be applied to the sizes designated for the graphical objects;
• means for processing properties of the graphical objects having content, including the stretch and compression properties, to define individual layouts of the graphical objects within an overall graphical layout, including performing an add operation in which the stretchiness and compressibility coefficients of plural graphical objects are summed dependent on the relative stretch and compression orders;
• and
• wherein the stretchiness and compressibility coefficients, respectively, are summed if the respective stretch and compression orders are equal and, if the respective stretch and compression orders are not equal, the stretchiness and compressibility coefficients of the graphical objects indicated to be most elastic by the stretch and compression orders are taken as an add result.

A data processing system comprising:

• means for defining stretch properties of graphical objects having content, the stretch properties comprising stretchiness coefficients to be applied to sizes designated for the graphical objects;
• means for defining compression properties of the graphical objects having content distinct from the stretch properties, the compression properties comprising compressibility coefficients to be applied to the sizes designated for the graphical objects;
• means for processing properties of the graphical objects having content, including the stretch and compression properties, to define individual layouts of the graphical objects within an overall graphical layout and for performing a max operation which selects a size from two graphical objects which is dependent on the relative compressibility and stretchability of the graphical objects;
• and
• wherein a result of the max operation is the size of one of the two graphical objects whose elasticity toward the size of the other of the two graphical objects is the least.