Methods for visualizing transformations among related series of graphs

• US 6,369,819 B1
• Filed: 04/17/1998
• Issued: 04/09/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 04/17/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Xerox Corporation (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Chi, Ed H., Pirolli, Peter L. T., Pitkow, James E., Card, Stuart K., Mackinlay, Jock D., Gossweller, Rich
• Primary Examiner(s): Luu, Matthew
• Assistant Examiner(s): HARRISON, CHANTE E
• Application Number:
  US09/062,513
• Time in Patent Office: 1,453 Days
• Field of Search: 345/440, 345/356, 345/357, 345/355, 345/353, 345/145, 345/334, 345/419, 345/326, 345/853, 345/763, 345/736, 345/969, 345/810, 345/825, 702/16, 707/3, 703/22
• US Class Current: 345/440
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/958 Organisation or management of web site content, e.g. publishing, maintaining pages or automatic linking
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching

Abstract

A method for displaying in a coherent manner the changes over time of a web site'"'"'s structure, usage, and content is disclosed. Time tubes are generated by a method of displaying a related series of graphs. Time tubes illustrate changes in a graph that undergoes one or more transformations from one state to another. The transformations are displayed using the length of the cylindrical tube, filling the length of the time tube with planar slices which represent the data at various stages of the transformations. Time tubes may encode several dimensions of the transformations simultaneously by altering the representation of size, color, and layout among the planar slices. Temporal transformations occur when web pages are added or deleted over time. Value-based transformations include node colors, which may be used to encode a specific page'"'"'s usage parameter. Spatial transformations include the scaling of physical dimension as graphs expand or contract in size. The states of a graph at various times are represented as a series of related graphs. In a preferred embodiment, an inventory of all existing nodes is performed so as to generate a list of all nodes that have existed at any time. This inventory is used to produce a layout template in which each unique node is assigned a unique layout position. To produce each planar slice, the specific nodes which exist in the slice are placed at their respective positions assigned in the layout template. In another aspect, corresponding nodes in planar slices are linked, such as with translucent streamlines, in response to a user selecting a node in a planar slice by placing his cursor over the selected node, or to show clustering of two or more nodes in one planar slice into a single node in an adjacent planar slice.

Claims

1. A method for displaying a related series of graphs, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) creating an inventory of all unique nodes within the related series of graphs;

(b) assigning each unique node a unique layout position within a planar template based upon the inventory;

(c) creating a series of planar slices corresponding to the related series of graphs by placing each node of each graph into a planar slice corresponding to each graph at its unique layout position within the planar template; and

(d) simultaneously displaying the series of planar slices.

2. A method as in claim 1, wherein the planar slices are circular in shape.

3. A method as in claim 2, wherein the series of graphs comprises a series of tree structures.

4. A method as in claim 3, wherein the planar slices comprise disk trees.

5. A method for displaying a related series of graphs, the method comprising the step of:

(a) creating an inventory of all unique nodes within the related series of graphs;

(b) assigning each unique node a unique layout position within a planar template based upon the inventory;

(c) creating a series of planar slices corresponding to the related series of graphs by placing each node of each graph into a planar slice corresponding to each graph at its unique layout position within the planar template; and

(d) simultaneously displaying the series of planar slices, wherein the planar slices comprise squashed cone trees.

6. A method for displaying a related series of graphs, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) creating an inventory of all unique nodes within the related series of graphs;

(b) assigning each unique node a unique layout position within a planar template based upon the inventory;

(c) creating a series of planar slices corresponding to the related series of graphs by placing each node of each graph into a planar slice corresponding to each graph at its unique layout position within the planar template;

(d) simultaneously displaying the series of planar slices;

wherein the planar slices are circular in shape; and

,

wherein step (d) comprises the step of;

laying out the planar slices substantially parallel to one another within a cylindrical display region so that each planar slice appears elliptical.

7. A method for displaying a related series of graphs, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) creating an inventory of all unique nodes within the related series of graphs;

(b) assigning each unique node a unique layout position within a planar template based upon the inventory;

(c) creating a series of planar slices corresponding to the related series of graphs by placing each node of each graph into a planar slice corresponding to each graph at its unique layout position within the planar template; and

(d) simultaneously displaying the series of planar slices;

wherein each planar slice is scaled in physical dimension relative to another planar slice.

8. A method for displaying a related series of graphs, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) creating an inventory of all unique nodes within the related series of graphs;

(b) assigning each unique node a unique layout position within a planar template based upon the inventory;

(c) creating a series of planar slices corresponding to the related series of graphs by placing each node of each graph into a planar slice corresponding to each graph at its unique layout position within the planar template;

(d) simultaneously displaying the series of planar slices; and

,

wherein each node within each graph has a value associated with it which is color encoded on the planar graph.

9. A method for displaying relationships between nodes from among a related series of graphs, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) creating a series of planar slices corresponding to the related series of graphs;

(b) simultaneously displaying the series of planar slices substantially parallel to one another; and

(c) linking corresponding nodes in the series of planar slices.

10. A method as in claim 9, wherein step (c) comprises the step of:

(d) when a user'"'"'s cursor is placed over a node in a planar slice, linking the node'"'"'s corresponding nodes in the series of planar slices.

11. A method as in claim 9, wherein step (c) comprises the step of:

(e) when a plurality of nodes in one planar slice corresponds to a single node in an adjacent planar slice, linking the plurality of nodes to the single node in the adjacent planar slice.

12. A computer readable storage medium comprising:

computer readable program code embodied on said computer readable storage medium, said computer readable program code for programming a computer to perform a method for displaying a related series of graphs, the method comprising the steps of;

(a) creating an inventory of all unique nodes within the related series of graphs;

(b) assigning each unique node a unique layout position within a planar template based upon the inventory;

(c) creating a series of planar slices corresponding to the related series of graphs by placing each node of each graph into a planar slice corresponding to each graph at its unique layout position within the planar template; and

(d) simultaneously displaying the series of planar slices.

13. A computer readable storage medium comprising computer readable program code as in claim 12, wherein the planar slices are circular in shape.

14. A computer readable storage medium comprising computer readable program code as in claim 13, wherein the series of graphs comprises a series of tree structures.

15. A computer readable storage medium comprising computer readable program code as in claim 14, wherein the planar slices comprise disk trees.

19. A computer readable storage medium comprising computer readable program code as in claim 12, wherein each node within each graph has a value associated with it which is color encoded on the planar graph.

16. A computer readable storage medium comprising:

computer readable program code embodied on said computer readable storage medium, said computer readable program code for programming a computer to perform a method for displaying a related series of graphs, the method comprising the steps of;

(a) creating an inventory of all unique nodes within the related series of graphs;

(b) assigning each unique node a unique layout position within a planar template based upon the inventory;

(c) creating a series of planar slices corresponding to the related series of graphs by placing each node of each graph into a planar slice corresponding to each graph at its unique layout position within the planar template;

(d) simultaneously displaying the series of planar slices;

wherein the series of graphs comprises a series of tree structures; and

,

wherein the planar slices comprise squashed cone trees.

17. A computer readable storage medium comprising:

computer readable program code embodied on said computer readable storage medium, said computer readable program code for programming a computer to perform a method for displaying a related series of graphs, the method comprising the steps of;

(a) creating an inventory of all unique nodes within the related series of graphs;

(b) assigning each unique node a unique layout position within a planar template based upon the inventory;

(c) creating a series of planar slices corresponding to the related series of graphs by placing each node of each graph into a planar slice corresponding to each graph at its unique layout position within the planar template;

(d) simultaneously displaying the series of planar slices;

wherein the planar slices are circular in shape; and

,

wherein step (d) comprises the step of;

laying out the planar slices substantially parallel to one another within a cylindrical display region so that each planar slice appears elliptical.

18. A computer readable storage medium comprising:

computer readable program code embodied on said computer readable storage medium, said computer readable program code for programming a computer to perform a method for displaying a related series of graphs, the method comprising the steps of;

(a) creating an inventory of all unique nodes within the related series of graphs;

(b) assigning each unique node a unique layout position within a planar template based upon the inventory;

(c) creating a series of planar slices corresponding to the related series of graphs by placing each node of each graph into a planar slice corresponding to each graph at its unique layout position within the planar template;

(d) simultaneously displaying the series of planar slices; and

,

wherein each planar slice is scaled in physical dimension relative to another planar slice.

20. A computer readable storage medium comprising:

computer readable program code embodied on said computer readable storage medium, said computer readable program code for programming a computer to perform a method for displaying relationships between nodes from among a related series of graphs, the method comprising the steps of;

(a) creating a series of planar slices corresponding to the related series of graphs;

(b) simultaneously displaying the series of planar slices substantially parallel to one another; and

(c) linking corresponding nodes in the series of planar slices.

21. A computer readable storage medium comprising computer readable program code as in claim 20, wherein step (c) comprises the step of:

(d) when a user'"'"'s cursor is placed over a node in a planar slice, linking the node'"'"'s corresponding nodes in the series of planar slices.

22. A computer readable storage medium comprising computer readable program code as in claim 20, wherein step (c) comprises the step of:

(e) when a plurality of nodes in one planar slice corresponds to a single node in an adjacent planar slice, linking the plurality of nodes to the single node in the adjacent planar slice.

23. An apparatus for displaying a related series of graphs, comprising:

a processor;

a display device coupled to the processor; and

a processor readable storage medium coupled to the processor containing processor readable program code for programming the apparatus to perform a method for displaying the related series of graphs, the method comprising the steps of;

(a) creating an inventory of all unique nodes within the related series of graphs;

(b) assigning each unique node a unique layout position within a planar template based upon the inventory;

(c) creating a series of planar slices corresponding to the related series of graphs by placing each node of each graph into a planar slice corresponding to each graph at its unique layout position within the planar template; and

(d) simultaneously displaying the series of planar slices.

24. An apparatus for displaying relationships between nodes from among a related series of graphs, comprising:

a processor;

a display device coupled to the processor; and

a processor readable storage medium coupled to the processor containing processor readable program code for programming a computer to perform a method for displaying relationships between nodes from among a related series of graphs, the method comprising the steps of;

(a) creating a series of planar slices corresponding to the related series of graphs;

(b) simultaneously displaying the series of planar slices substantially parallel to one another; and

(c) linking corresponding nodes in the series of planar slices.