Responsive user interface to manage a non-responsive application

• US 20050091611A1
• Filed: 09/20/2004
• Published: 04/28/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 04/06/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Bermudez, Gerardo, Colleran, John David, Gorokhovsky, Vadim
• Granted Patent: US 7,624,352 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/804
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1415 at system level

Abstract

A method and system are provided for managing application programs with non-responsive user interfaces, possibly due to a bottleneck in handling events/messages. The method and system make an apparently frozen application user interface responsive so as to permit alternative tasks be executed or close the hung application. This is enabled by implementing routines to (a) detect if an application is hung, (b) replace the user interface for the hung application with a ghost interface, implemented by a separate thread, that permits system functionality such as sizing, minimization and closing of the application, and (c) destroying the ghost interface if the hung application becomes responsive again along with restoring the application'"'"'s user interface along with updated event queues. Furthermore, creation of the ghost user interface is accompanied by placing a high priority special event in the hung application'"'"'s queue to detect renewed responsiveness without requiring explicit monitoring.

Claims

1-35. -35. (canceled)

36. A method for managing an original user interface of an application, the method comprising:

signaling a hung state for the application;

creating a ghost user interface in response to the hung state that appears in place of the original user interface;

placing a high priority special event in an event queue of the application; and

replacing the ghost user interface with the original user interface as a result of the high priority special event being handled by the application.

37. The method of claim 36, wherein the event queue is a user interface event queue.

38. The method of claim 36, wherein, in addition, the event queue of the application contains user interface events.

39. The method of claim 36, wherein the high priority special event is a user interface event.

40. The method of claim 36, wherein the high priority special event is a special purpose activity-detect event.

41. The method of claim 36 wherein the step of signaling includes signaling a hung state if a last handled timestamp for an event queue of the application is older than a threshold.

42. The method of claim 36 wherein the step of creating the ghost user interface includes creating a ghost thread, which, in turn, creates the ghost user interface.

43. The method of claim 42 wherein the step of creating the ghost thread includes determining if a ghost thread exists and creating a ghost thread if the ghost thread does not exist.

44. The method of claim 36 wherein the step of creating the ghost user interface includes creating the ghost user interface in an area occupied by the original user interface element.

45. The method of claim 44, the method further having the step of directing input events corresponding to the area covered by the ghost user interface, which includes at least some of the area covered by the original user interface element, to the ghost thread.

46. The method of claim 45, the method further having the step of having the ghost thread handle at least one event corresponding to the area covered by the ghost user interface.

47. The method of claim 45 having the step of having the ghost thread cache at least one event corresponding to the area covered by the ghost user interface to the ghost thread for handling by the application.

48. The method of claim 45, the method further having the step of having the ghost thread handle at least one event corresponding to a minimization operation in the area covered by the ghost user interface.

49. The method of claim 45, the method further having the step of having the ghost thread handle at least one event corresponding to a resizing operation in the area covered by the ghost user interface.

50. The method of claim 45, the method further having the step of having the ghost thread handle at least one event corresponding to a close operation in the area covered by the ghost user interface.

51. The method of claim 45, the method further having the step of having the ghost thread handle at least one event corresponding to a move operation in the area covered by the ghost user interface.

52. The method of claim 45, the method further having the step of having the ghost thread cache at least one event corresponding to a keyboard input corresponding to the ghost user interface.

53. The method of claim 45, the method further having the step of having the ghost thread handle at least one event corresponding to a keyboard input corresponding to the ghost user interface.

54. A method of substituting substitute user interfaces for original user interfaces, the method comprising:

generating first and second flip-window signals corresponding to first and second threads, respectively;

in response to the first flip-window signal, replacing a first window controlled by the first thread with a first substitute window controlled by a thread designated to ghost the first window;

in response to the second flip-window signal, replacing a second window controlled by the second thread with a second substitute window controlled by the designated thread; and

placing a high priority special event in event queues associated with the first and second threads, wherein handling of the high priority special event by each of the first and second threads causes generation of a flop-window signal.

55. The method of claim 54, further comprising:

generating a first flop-window signal; and

in response to the first flop-window signal, replacing a first substitute window controlled by the designated thread with the first window controlled by the first thread.

56. A multithreaded computing system for executing an application having a user interface, wherein if the application is non-responsive, the user interface is replaced by a ghost user interface, the system comprising:

non-responsive-application detecting code for detecting a non-responsive application;

a ghost thread for creating the ghost user interface to replace the user interface in response to detection of a non-responsive application;

a high priority special entry in a message queue of the application for detecting if the application is responsive; and

a plurality of computer executable instructions for destroying the ghost user interface in response to handling of the high priority special entry by the application.

57. The system of claim 56 further comprising a cache of events and messages for handling by the application wherein the events and messages are directed at the ghost thread.

58. The system of claim 56 further comprising a second non-responsive application with a second user interface and a second ghost user interface created by the ghost thread.

59. The system of claim 56 further comprising responsive-application detecting code for detecting when a non-responsive application becomes responsive.

60. The system of claim 59 further comprising responsive-application user interface restoring code for replacing the ghost user interface with the user interface in response to detecting that the first application has become responsive.

61. A computer-readable media having computer executable instructions for carrying out the steps of a method for managing an original user interface of an application, method comprising:

signaling a hung state for the application;

creating a ghost user interface in response to the hung state that appears in place of the original user interface;

placing a high priority special event in an event queue of the application; and

replacing the ghost user interface with the original user interface as a result of the high priority special event being handled by the application.

62. The computer-readable media of claim 61, wherein:

the ghost user interface is created by a ghost thread; and

the ghost thread handles at least one event corresponding to an area covered by the original user interface.

63. The computer-readable media of claim 62, wherein events and messages directed at the ghost thread are cached in a cache of events and messages for handling by the application.

64. The computer-readable media of claim 63, wherein at least one entry in the cache of events and messages is selectively discarded.