Tile cache

• US 10,114,865 B2
• Filed: 12/02/2014
• Issued: 10/30/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/09/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Garside, Adrian J., Salman, Milena, Tripathi, Vivek Y.
• Primary Examiner(s): Crawford, Jacinta M
• Application Number:
  US14/558,666
• Publication Number:
  US 20150186376A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,428 Days
• Field of Search: 345557, 345530, 345543, 345544, 715700
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24552 Database cache management
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/033 Pointing devices displaced or positioned by the user , e.g. mice, trackballs, pens or joysticks; Accessories therefor digitisers characterised by the transducing means G06F3/041
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0485 Scrolling or panning
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 15/005 General purpose rendering architectures
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2354/00 Aspects of interface with display user
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/36 characterised by the display of a graphic pattern, e.g. using an all-points-addressable [APA] memory

Abstract

Tile cache techniques are described. In at least some embodiments, a tile cache is maintained that stores tile content for a plurality of tiles. The tile content is ordered in the tile cache to match a visual order of tiles in a graphical user interface. When tiles are moved (e.g., panned and/or scrolled) in the graphical user interface, tile content can be retrieved from the tile cache and displayed.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

one or more processors; and

one or more computer-readable storage media storing instructions that are executable by the one or more processors to perform operations including;

storing tile content for a tile in a first tile slot in a cache, the tile being selectable in a user interface to invoke an associated functionality;

receiving new tile content for the tile;

detecting that the new tile content exceeds available storage in the first tile slot;

creating, based on the detecting, a second tile slot in the cache and at a different location in the cache than the first tile slot;

storing the new tile content in the second tile slot;

mapping the tile to the second tile slot; and

reordering the cache to incorporate the second tile slot such that a tile slot order in the cache matches a visual order of a group of tiles that includes the tile.

2. A system as described in claim 1, wherein the new tile content includes one or more of replacement tile content, content that is additional to existing tile content, or a new version of existing tile content.

3. A system as described in claim 1, wherein the second tile slot is located after a last tile slot in the cache.

4. A system as described in claim 1, wherein said storing the new tile content comprises storing at least some existing content from the first tile slot in the second tile slot.

5. A system as described in claim 1, wherein said storing the new tile content comprises storing at least some existing content from the first tile slot in the second tile slot, the existing content comprising existing tile content that is not replaced by the new tile content.

6. A system as described in claim 1, wherein said mapping comprises mapping a visual ordering of the tile in a display to the second tile slot.

7. A system as described in claim 6, wherein said mapping comprises editing a cache header for the cache to reflect the mapping of the visual ordering of the tile in the display to the second tile slot.

8. A system as described in claim 1, wherein said reordering comprises scheduling an idle time reorder operation to cause the cache to be reordered.

9. A system as described in claim 1, wherein said reordering causes tile slots for the group of tiles to be stored in contiguous portions of the cache.

10. A system as described in claim 1, wherein the operations further include retrieving tile content for the group of tiles via a single storage access operation from the cache.

11. A computer-implemented method comprising:

storing tile content for a tile in an existing tile slot in a cache, the tile being selectable in a user interface to invoke an associated functionality;

detecting that new tile content for the tile exceeds available storage in the existing tile slot;

creating, based on the detecting, a new tile slot in the cache and at a different location in the cache than the existing tile slot;

storing the new tile content in the new tile slot;

mapping the tile to the new tile slot; and

reordering the cache to incorporate the new tile slot such that a tile slot order in the cache matches a visual order of a group of tiles that includes the tile.

12. A computer-implemented method as described in claim 11, wherein the new tile content includes one or more of replacement tile content, content that is additional to existing tile content, or a new version of existing tile content.

13. A computer-implemented method as described in claim 11, wherein the new tile slot is located after a last tile slot in the cache.

14. A computer-implemented method as described in claim 11, wherein said storing the new tile content comprises storing at least some existing content from the tile slot in the new tile slot.

15. A computer-implemented method as described in claim 11, further comprising retrieving tile content for the group of tiles via a single storage access operation from the cache.

16. One or more computer-readable storage devices storing processor-executable instructions which, responsive to execution by at least one processor, perform operations comprising:

receiving new tile content for a tile stored in an existing tile slot in a cache the tile being selectable in a user interface to invoke an associated functionality;

detecting that the new tile content exceeds available storage in the existing tile slot;

creating, based on the detecting, a new tile slot in the cache and at a different location in the cache than the existing tile slot;

storing the new tile content in the new tile slot such that the tile is mapped to the new tile slot; and

reordering the cache to incorporate the second tile slot such that a tile slot order in the cache matches a visual order of a group of tiles that includes the tile.

17. One or more computer-readable storage devices as described in claim 16, wherein the new tile content includes one or more of replacement tile content, content that is additional to existing tile content, or a new version of existing tile content.

18. One or more computer-readable storage devices as described in claim 16, wherein the new tile slot is located after a last tile slot in the cache.

19. One or more computer-readable storage devices as described in claim 16, wherein said storing the new tile content comprises storing at least some existing content from the tile slot in the new tile slot.

20. One or more computer-readable storage devices as described in claim 16, wherein the operations further include retrieving tile content for the group of tiles via a single storage access operation from the cache.