Extensible application state preservation architecture

• US 10,031,959 B2
• Filed: 01/30/2015
• Issued: 07/24/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 06/08/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Freedman, Gordon J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Shih, Haoshian
• Application Number:
  US14/610,734
• Publication Number:
  US 20150205851A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,271 Days
• Field of Search: 715745, 715762, 709203, 707779
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1438 Restarting or rejuvenating
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/27 Replication, distribution or synchronisation of data between databases or within a distributed database system; Distributed database system architectures therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/449 Object-oriented method invocation or resolution
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H01B 7/292 using material resistant to heat
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1095 Replication or mirroring of data, e.g. scheduling or transport for data synchronisation between network nodes
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49123 Co-axial cable

Abstract

The preservation of the user interface state of first application on a first device allows, in one embodiment, a user to resume use of at least a portion of the user interface state on a second application on second devices. The first and second applications can be the same or different (with some common user interface UI features or elements and other UI features that are different). Other embodiments are also described.

Claims

1. A machine readable non-transitory computer readable medium having executable program instructions stored thereon which, when executed by a data processing system, cause the data processing system to perform a method comprising:

storing state information of at least some first user interface elements of a first user interface of a first application on a first electronic device that is registered to a user, wherein the storing is in response to one of;

terminating the first application or moving at least a window of the first application to a background state;

determining that a second electronic device is registered to the user;

synchronizing, via a synchronization server, between the first electronic device registered to the user and the second electronic device registered to the user, a first content item that was opened on the first electronic device using the first application that includes the first user interface comprising first user interface elements; and

synchronizing, via the synchronization server, the stored state information of the at least some of the first user interface elements that are in common with second user interface elements of a second user interface of a second application on the second electronic device.

2. The medium of claim 1, wherein synchronizing the stored state information is performed in response to determining a setting on each of the first and second electronic devices indicating that the first and second electronic devices have been opted in to performing state synchronization.

3. The medium of claim 1, wherein synchronizing the stored state information is performed in response to the first application having been opted in to user interface state preservation via a developer setting in the first application or a user selection on the first electronic device and the second application having been opted in to user interface state preservation via a developer setting in the second application or a user selection on the second electronic device.

4. The medium of claim 3, further comprising:

receiving, by the second electronic device, the first content item to synchronize the first content item on the second electronic device; and

receiving, by the second electronic device, the state information on the second electronic device.

5. The medium of claim 1, wherein storing state information of at least some of the first user interface elements that are in common with second user interface elements of the second user interface of the second application is performed in response to an event comprising one of:

termination of the first application in response to an operating system request on the first electronic device,

the first application being terminated by the operating system, or

the first application being moved to the background on the first electronic device.

6. The medium of claim 5, further comprising:

presenting the first content item in the second user interface of the second application on the second electronic device using at least some of the user interface elements that are in common with both the first user interface on the first application of the first electronic device and the second user interface of the second application on the second electronic device, wherein the at least some of the user interface elements that are in common and are to be synchronized have been specified by a developer.

7. The medium of claim 6, wherein:

synchronizing the first content item comprises synchronizing a first state of the first content item, the first state of the first content item comprises the first content item having been opened for editing by the first application on the first electronic device, synchronizing the first state of the first content item comprises synchronizing at least some edits performed upon the first content item using the first application on the first electronic device, and

presenting the first content item in the second user interface comprises presenting the first content item as open for editing by the second application with the at least some edits performed upon the first content item.

8. The medium of claim 6, wherein the at least some user interface elements that are in common with both the first user interface and the second user interface comprise elements of a view controller of a window.

9. The medium of claim 1, wherein a synchronization operation is initiated by the first electronic device, and synchronization is performed using a synchronization service distinct from the first and second electronic devices, and the synchronization service stores a plurality of types of user data for two or more devices of the user.

24. The medium of claim 1, wherein the synchronization is performed independent of proximity of the first electronic device and the second electronic device.

10. A machine implemented method comprising:

storing state information of at least some first user interface elements of a first user interface of a first application on a first electronic device that is registered to a user, wherein the storing is in response to one of;

terminating the first application or moving at least a window of the first application to a background state;

determining that a second electronic device is registered to the user;

synchronizing, via a synchronization server, between the first electronic device registered to the user and the second electronic device registered to the user, a first content item that was opened on the first electronic device using the first application that includes the first user interface comprising first user interface elements; and

synchronizing, via the synchronization server, the stored state information of at the least some of the first user interface elements that are in common with second user interface elements of a second user interface of a second application on the second electronic device.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein synchronizing the stored state information is performed in response to determining a setting on each of the first and second electronic devices indicating that the first and second electronic devices have been opted in to performing state synchronization.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein synchronizing stored state information is performed in response to the first application having been opted in to user interface state preservation via a setting in the first application by a developer setting in the first application or a user selection on the first electronic device and the second application has been opted in to user interface state preservation via a developer setting in the second application or a user selection on the second selected device.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

receiving, by the second electronic device, the first content item to synchronize the first content item on the second electronic device;

receiving, by the second electronic device, the state information on the second electronic device.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein storing state information of at least some of the first user interface elements that are in common with second user interface elements of the second user interface of the second application is performed in response to an event comprising one of:

termination of the first application in response to an operating system request on the first electronic device,

the first application being terminated by the operating system, or

the first application being moved to the background on the first electronic device.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

presenting the first content item in the second user interface of the second application on the second electronic device using at least some of the user interface elements that are in common with both the first user interface on the first application of the first electronic device and the second user interface of the second application on the second electronic device, wherein the at least some of the user interface elements that are in common and are to be synchronized have been specified by a developer.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein:

synchronizing the first content item comprises synchronizing a first state of the first content item, the first state of the first content item comprises the first content item having been opened for editing by the first application on the first electronic device, synchronizing the first state of the first content item comprises synchronizing at least some edits performed upon the first content item using the first application on the first electronic device, and

presenting the first content item in the second user interface comprises presenting the first content item as open for editing by the second application with the at least some edits performed upon the first content item.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the at least some user interface elements that are in common with both the first user interface and the second user interface comprise elements of a view controller of a window.

18. The method of claim 10, wherein a synchronization operation is initiated by the first electronic device, and synchronization is performed using a synchronization service distinct from the first and second electronic devices, and the synchronization service stores a plurality of types of user data for two or more devices of the user.

19. A data processing device, comprising:

a processing system, coupled to a memory, the memory storing instructions that, when executed, perform a method comprising;

storing, by a first electronic device registered to a user, state information of at least some first user interface elements of a first user interface of a first application on the first electronic device that is registered to the user, wherein the storing is in response to one of;

terminating the first application or moving at least a window of the first application to a background state;

initiating a determination that a second electronic device is registered to the user;

initiating a synchronization operation between the first electronic device registered to the user and the second electronic device registered to the user, wherein the synchronization operation synchronizes a first content item that was opened on the first electronic device using the first application that includes the first user interface comprising first user interface elements; and

synchronizing, via the synchronization server, the stored state information of at the least some of the first user interface elements that are in common with second user interface elements of a second user interface of a second application on the second electronic device.

20. The device of claim 19, wherein storing state information of at least some of the first user interface elements that are in common with second user interface elements of the second user interface of the second application is performed in response to an event comprising to one of:

termination of the first application in response to an operating system request on the first electronic device;

the first application being terminated by the operating system;

or

the first application being moved to the background on the first electronic device.

21. The device of claim 19, wherein the first application and the second application comprise different versions of a same application or two different applications, and wherein the synchronization of the first content item is performed by the first electronic device transmitting data from the first electronic device.

22. The device of claim 21, further comprising:

receiving, by the second electronic device, the first content item to synchronize the first content item on the second electronic device; and

receiving, by the second electronic device, the state information on the second electronic device.

23. The device of claim 19, wherein the at least some of the first user interface elements that are in common with second user interface elements of the second user interface of the second application comprise a view controller of a window.