This invention generally relates to computer systems and more specifically relates to a user interface with a depth indicator for an embedded link in a document.
The development of the EDVAC computer system of 1948 is often cited as the beginning of the computer era. Since that time, computer systems have evolved into extremely sophisticated devices, and computer systems may be found in many different settings. Computer systems typically include a combination of hardware, such as semiconductors and circuit boards, and software, also known as computer programs. As advances in semiconductor processing and computer architecture push the performance of the computer hardware higher, more sophisticated computer software has evolved to take advantage of the higher performance of the hardware, resulting in computer systems today that are much more powerful than just a few years ago.
One of the most important developments in making computers not only more powerful, but easier to use, was the development of sophisticated user interfaces. Early computer systems were programmed with a series of switches or buttons and provided little relevant feedback during the operation of the computer system. This type of interface proved cumbersome and, accordingly, increasingly more functional and interactive interfaces were developed to extend the functionality of computer systems.
One very popular user interface, that ultimately gained widespread adoption on many different computer systems, was the “command line interface.” Using a command line interface, the user interacted with the computer system by typing a specific command on a keyboard to instruct the computer regarding the desired operation to be performed. The command line interface was not intuitive, however, and still limited the use of computers to those who had the time and desire to learn a large number of relatively cryptic commands.
Recognizing the growing need for a more user-friendly interface, computer engineers and programmers developed the Graphical User Interface (GUI). A GUI uses visual representations of common items to allow a user to operate a computer system. In most GUI-based systems, various icons, symbols, menus, etc. are manipulated or activated by a computer user via a pointing device (e.g., a keyboard, mouse, trackball, touchpad, trackpad, or speech recognition device), which allows the user to give instructions to the computer. The movement of the pointing device is usually translated to the movement of an animated arrow or cursor, displayed on the computer screen. By moving the pointing device, the user can position the cursor at various locations on the computer screen. Then, by activating a button on the pointing device, the user can invoke various commands and options on the graphical user interface.
With the advent of the Internet or World Wide Web, graphical user interfaces have evolved into a style that is often called a web-based interface, where documents are linked together via hypertext. The links may be selected via the aforementioned pointing device, which causes the linked document to be retrieved and displayed. One document may contain multiple links to other documents, which in turn also contain further links, and so on indefinitely. These linked documents may be contained on the same computer or may be widely dispersed on multiple computers connected via a network.
Because a document may contain many links, and because these links may point to chains of linked documents that continue indefinitely, users may experience difficulty in knowing which link to follow. For example, one link may point to a deep chain of linked documents that provides a great deal of information while another link may point to a shallow chain of linked documents that provides comparatively little information. Further, one of the documents may provide the information in which the user is especially interested, such as an error or problem report, but the user does not know which chain to follow in order to find that document. Thus, users may spend valuable time manually following various chains of linked documents in order to find the one document of interest.
Thus, a need exists for an improved technique to show the context of linked documents.
A method, apparatus, system, and signal-bearing medium are provided that, in an embodiment, determine a tree representing links embedded in documents, create a depth indicator having a size proportional to the size of the tree, and display the depth indicator with a root link in a root document. The tree is determined by repeatedly probing the links to retrieve the documents. In various embodiments, the size of the tree may be the number of levels in the tree or the number of links in the tree. The depth indicator may include representations of the links and represents a possible future context of the root document. In various embodiments, a graphical representation of the tree may be displayed, hover help that includes the tree size may be displayed, and an indication of a condition reported by a document may be displayed. In various embodiments, the condition may include a message, updated content, new content, or an error.
Various embodiments of the present invention are hereinafter described in conjunction with the appended drawings:
It is to be noted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate only example embodiments of the invention, and are therefore not considered limiting of its scope, for the invention may admit to other equally effective embodiments.
In an embodiment, in response to the display of a document having embedded links to other documents, which in turn may also have embedded links, the embedded links are probed to create a tree that represents the embedded links. A depth indicator having a size proportional to the size of the tree is also created and is displayed with its associated root link. In various embodiments, the size of the tree may be the number of levels in the tree or the number of links in the tree. The depth indicator may include representations of the links and represents a possible future context of the root document. In various embodiments, a graphical representation of the tree may be displayed, hover help that includes the tree size may be displayed, and an indication of a condition associated with a document may be displayed. In various embodiments, the condition may include a message associated with a document pointed to by an embedded link, updated content associated with a document pointed to by an embedded link, new content associated with a document pointed to by an embedded link, or an error associated with a document pointed to by an embedded link.
Referring to the Drawings, wherein like numbers denote like parts throughout the several views,
The major components of the computer system 100 include one or more processors 101, a main memory 102, a terminal interface 111, a storage interface 112, an I/O (Input/Output) device interface 113, and communications/network interfaces 114, all of which are coupled for inter-component communication via a memory bus 103, an I/0 bus 104, and an I/0 bus interface unit 105.
The computer system 100 contains one or more general-purpose programmable central processing units (CPUs) 101A, 101B, 101C, and 101D, herein generically referred to as the processor 101. In an embodiment, the computer system 100 contains multiple processors typical of a relatively large system; however, in another embodiment the computer system 100 may attentively be a single CPU system. Each processor 101 executes instructions stored in the main memory 102 and may include one or more levels of on-board cache.
The main memory 102 is a random-access semiconductor memory for storing data and programs. In another embodiment, the main memory 102 represents the entire virtual memory of the computer system 100, and may also include the virtual memory of other computer systems coupled to the computer system 100 or connected via the network 130. The main memory 102 is conceptually a single monolithic entity, but in other embodiments the main memory 102 is a more complex arrangement, such as a hierarchy of caches and other memory devices. For example, the main memory 102 may exist in multiple levels of caches, and these caches may be further divided by function, so that one cache holds instructions while another holds non-instruction data, which is used by the processor or processors. The main memory 102 may be further distributed and associated with different CPUs or sets of CPUs, as is known in any of various so-called non-uniform memory access (NUMA) computer architectures.
The main memory 102 includes tree link data 154, a depth indicator 156, a controller 158, and documents 160. Although the tree link data 154, depth indicator 156, the controller 158, and the documents 160 are illustrated as being contained within the memory 102 in the computer system 100, in other embodiments some or all of them may be on different computer systems (for example, the servers 132) and may be accessed remotely, e.g., via the network 130. The computer system 100 may use virtual addressing mechanisms that allow the programs of the computer system 100 to behave as if they only have access to a large, single storage entity instead of access to multiple, smaller storage entities. Thus, while the tree link data 154, the depth indicator 156, the controller 158, and the documents 160 are illustrated as being contained within the main memory 102, these elements are not necessarily all completely contained in the same storage device at the same time. Further, although the tree link data 154, the depth indicator 156, the controller 158, and the documents 160 are illustrated as being separate entities, in other embodiments some of them, or portions of some of them, may be packaged together.
The controller 158 retrieves the documents 160 from the computer 100 or the servers 132, creates the tree link data 154, creates the depth indicator 156, and presents user interfaces based on the tree link data 154, the depth indicator 156, and the documents 160. The controller 158 includes instructions capable of executing on the processor 101 or statements capable of being interpreted by instructions executing on the processor 101 to perform the functions as further described below with reference to
The documents 160 may include any appropriate displayable or presentable data and optional control tags or statements. Some or all of the documents 160 may further include embedded links 170, the organization of which is represented by the tree link data 154. A tree is a graphical technique for displaying or representing a hierarchical organization of linked data. A tree takes its name from an analogy to trees in nature, which have a hierarchical organization of branches and leaves. For example, a leaf is connected to a small branch, which further is connected to a large branch, and all branches of the tree have a common starting point at the root.
Analogously, the links 170 have a hierarchical organization, in that a link 170 is embedded in a document 160 and points to another document, which itself may have further embedded links, which point to still further documents, and so on. Thus, all of the links 170 and the documents 160 can be divided up into sub-groups and groups that ultimately are all pointed to by a root link.
To define a tree more formally, a tree structure defines the hierarchical organization of nodes, which can represent any data. Hence, a tree is a finite set, T, of one or more nodes, such that
a) there is one specially designated node called the root of the tree; and
b) the remaining nodes (excluding the root) are partitioned into m>=0 disjoint sets T1, . . . Tm, and each of these sets is in turn a tree.
The trees T1, . . . , Tm are called the subtrees of the root. Thus, every node in a tree is the root of some subtree contained in the whole tree. The number of subtrees of an node is called the degree of that node. An node of degree zero is called a terminal node or a leaf. A non-terminal node is called a branch node. The level of a node with respect to T is defined by saying that the root has level 0, and other nodes have a level that is one higher than they have with respect the subtree that contains them. Each root is the parent of the roots of its subtrees, and the latter are siblings, and they are also the children of their parent. The nodes in the subtrees of a root are the root's descendants. The root of the entire tree has no parent. Trees are represented by the tree link data 154, which is further described below with reference to
The memory bus 103 provides a data communication path for transferring data among the processor 101, the main memory 102, and the I/O bus interface unit 105. The I/O bus interface unit 105 is further coupled to the system I/O bus 104 for transferring data to and from the various I/O units. The I/O bus interface unit 105 communicates with multiple I/O interface units 111, 112, 113, and 114, which are also known as I/O processors (IOPs) or I/O adapters (IOAs), through the system I/O bus 104. The system I/O bus 104 may be, e.g., an industry standard PCI bus, or any other appropriate bus technology.
The I/O interface units support communication with a variety of storage and I/O devices. For example, the terminal interface unit 111 supports the attachment of one or more user terminals 121, 122, 123, and 124. The storage interface unit 112 supports the attachment of one or more direct access storage devices (DASD) 125, 126, and 127 (which are typically rotating magnetic disk drive storage devices, although they could alternatively be other devices, including arrays of disk drives configured to appear as a single large storage device to a host). The contents of the main memory 102 may be stored to and retrieved from the direct access storage devices 125, 126, and 127, as needed.
The I/O and other device interface 113 provides an interface to any of various other input/output devices or devices of other types. Two such devices, the printer 128 and the fax machine 129, are shown in the exemplary embodiment of
Although the memory bus 103 is shown in
The computer system 100 depicted in
The network 130 may be any suitable network or combination of networks and may support any appropriate protocol suitable for communication of data and/or code to/from the computer system 100. In various embodiments, the network 130 may represent a storage device or a combination of storage devices, either connected directly or indirectly to the computer system 100. In an embodiment, the network 130 may support Infiniband. In another embodiment, the network 130 may support wireless communications. In another embodiment, the network 130 may support hard-wired communications, such as a telephone line or cable. In another embodiment, the network 130 may support the Ethernet IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 802.3x specification. In another embodiment, the network 130 may be the Internet and may support IP (Internet Protocol).
In another embodiment, the network 130 may be a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN). In another embodiment, the network 130 may be a hotspot service provider network. In another embodiment, the network 130 may be an intranet. In another embodiment, the network 130 may be a GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) network. In another embodiment, the network 130 may be a FRS (Family Radio Service) network. In another embodiment, the network 130 may be any appropriate cellular data network or cell-based radio network technology. In another embodiment, the network 130 may be an IEEE 802.11B wireless network. In still another embodiment, the network 130 may be any suitable network or combination of networks. Although one network 130 is shown, in other embodiments any number (including zero) of networks (of the same or different types) may be present.
The servers 132 may include some or all of the hardware and/or software elements previously described above for the computer system 100. The servers 132 may further include some or all of the documents 160. In another embodiment, the servers 132 are optional, not present, or not used.
It should be understood that
The various software components illustrated in
Moreover, while embodiments of the invention have and hereinafter will be described in the context of fully-functioning computer systems, the various embodiments of the invention are capable of being distributed as a program product in a variety of forms, and the invention applies equally regardless of the particular type of signal-bearing medium used to actually carry out the distribution. The programs defining the functions of this embodiment may be delivered to the computer system 100 via a variety of tangible signal-bearing media, which include, but are not limited to the following computer-readable media:
(1) information permanently stored on a non-rewriteable storage medium, e.g., a read-only memory storage device attached to or within a computer system, such as a CD-ROM, DVD-R, or DVD+R;
(2) alterable information stored on a rewriteable storage medium, e.g., a hard disk drive (e.g., the DASD 125, 126, or 127), CD-RW, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, DVD-RAM, or diskette; or
(3) information conveyed by a communications or transmissions medium, such as through a computer or a telephone network, e.g., the network 130.
Such tangible signal-bearing media, when carrying or encoded with computer-readable, processor-readable, or machine-readable instructions that direct the functions of the present invention, represent embodiments of the present invention.
Embodiments of the present invention may also be delivered as part of a service engagement with a client corporation, nonprofit organization, government entity, internal organizational structure, or the like. Aspects of these embodiments may include configuring a computer system to perform, and deploying software systems and web services that implement, some or all of the methods described herein. Aspects of these embodiments may also include analyzing the client company, creating recommendations responsive to the analysis, generating software to implement portions of the recommendations, integrating the software into existing processes and infrastructure, metering use of the methods and systems described herein, allocating expenses to users, and billing users for their use of these methods and systems.
In addition, various programs described hereinafter may be identified based upon the application for which they are implemented in a specific embodiment of the invention. But, any particular program nomenclature that follows is used merely for convenience, and thus embodiments of the invention should not be limited to use solely in any specific application identified and/or implied by such nomenclature.
The exemplary environments illustrated in
In an embodiment, the breadcrumbs 215 show the linked path within the documents 160 that a user might typically take to access the current document if the user were to start from the homepage of a web site. The breadcrumbs 215 may, but do not necessarily, follow a directory structure within a web site. In other words, the breadcrumbs 215 represent how the user might view the structure of the web site represented by the documents 160, and not how the directories are physically structured within the computer 100. The breadcrumbs 215 provide a single hierarchical path, but multiple paths to access a specific document may exist. In another embodiment, the breadcrumbs 215 show the actual path of links 170 that the user took in order to arrive at the current document illustrated in the user interface 200. The user may request navigation to any of the documents illustrated within the breadcrumbs 215 by selecting its respective link.
Also illustrated within the user interface 200 are depth indicators 156-1, 156-2, and 156-3, associated with the link 170-1, the link 170-2, and the link 170-3, respectively. The depth indicators 156-1, 156-2, and 156-3 are all examples of the depth indicator 156 (
The size of each of the depth indicators 156-1, 156-2, and 156-3 is proportional to the size of its respective tree. In an embodiment, the size of a tree is the number of levels in the tree. In another embodiment, the size of the tree is the number of the links (the number of the nodes) in the tree.
The depth indicator 156-1 includes hot links 220, which are representations of the links in the tree represented by the depth indicator 156-1, and the user may request navigation to, or retrieval of, a document by selecting its associated hotlink 220. Although only the depth indicator 156-1 is illustrated as including the hot links 220, in other embodiments, any or all of the depth indicators 156 may include hot links. Associated with the depth indicator 156-3 is hover help 225, which indicates the number of links (the number of nodes) in the tree represented by the depth indicator 156-3. The controller 158 displays the hover help 225 in response to a pointing device passing over or near the associated depth indicator 156-3. Any of the depth indicators 156 may have associated hover help.
The example user interface 400 further includes a graphical representation 405 of the tree link data 154 (
The example user interface 400 further includes an indication 440, which represents a condition associated with one of the documents 160 that is pointed to by the link 170-6 illustrated in the graphical representation 405 of the link data 154. The link 170-6 is an example of the link 170 (
The user interface elements and data illustrated in
The link identifier field 510 identifies one of the links 170. The record 505-1 represents the root node of the tree and the link identifier 510 in the record 505-1 is the root link.
The address field 515 indicates the address to which the link identifier field 510 points. For example, the address field 515 may contain a universal resource locator (URL) or any other appropriate address. A URL may include, for example, the domain name, the directory, and subdirectory structure where the document 160 is located.
The child field 520 points to a child record. For example, the record 505-2 is the child of the record 505-1 because the child field 520 in the record 505-1 points to the record 505-2.
The sibling field 525 points to a sibling record. For example, the record 505-4 is a sibling of the record 505-2 because the sibling field in the record 505-2 points to the record 505-4. In another embodiment, the sibling field 525 is not present or not used, and the child field 520 points to any and all child records of the record containing the child field 520.
The flag field 530 indicates a condition associated with the document to which the address field 515 points. For example, the flag field 530 may indicate that the document reports an error, has a message waiting, or has new or updated content. But in other embodiments, any appropriate condition may be indicated in the flag field 530.
Control then continues to block 610 where the controller 158 retrieves the document 160 via the address and displays the document, for example on one or more of the terminals 121, 122, 123, or 124, as previously described above in the examples of
Control then continues to block 615 were the controller 158 updates the bread crumbs 215 to indicate the historical context of the document 160, as previously described above with reference to
If the determination of block 715 is true, then an unprobed link in the current document does exist and the probed depth is less than the threshold, so control continues to block 720 where the controller 158 retrieves the document for the current link. Control then continues to block 725 where the controller 158 creates a record for the retrieved document in the tree link data 154, as previously described above with reference to
Control then continues to block 730 where the controller 158 determines whether a condition exists in the retrieved document. In various embodiments, examples of conditions include the document reporting an error, the document reporting a message waiting, the document reporting that new hardware or software has been installed or updated, or any other appropriate condition. If the determination at block 730 is true, then a condition does exist in the retrieved document, so control continues to block 735 where the controller 158 sets the flag 530 in the created record in the tree link data 154 to reflect the indicated condition. Control then continues to block 740 where the controller 158 recursively probes the retrieved document using the logic of
If the determination of block 730 is false, then a condition does not exist in the current document, so control continues from block 730 to block 740, as previously described above.
If the determination of block 715 is false, then either all links in the current document have been probed, or the probed depth exceeds the threshold, so control continues from block 715 to block 799 where the logic of
In the previous detailed description of exemplary embodiments of the invention, reference was made to the accompanying drawings (where like numbers represent like elements), which form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration specific exemplary embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. These embodiments were described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, but other embodiments may be utilized and logical, mechanical, electrical, and other changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. Different instances of the word “embodiment”as used within this specification do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, but they may. The previous detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention is defined only by the appended claims.
In the previous description, numerous specific details were set forth to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the invention. But, the invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known circuits, structures, and techniques have not been shown in detail in order not to obscure the invention.