Display data mapping method, system, and program product

• US 7,260,784 B2
• Filed: 05/07/2003
• Issued: 08/21/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 05/07/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Crichton, Joseph M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Kincaid; Kristine
• Assistant Examiner(s): PITARO, RYAN F
• Application Number:
  US10/249,781
• Publication Number:
  US 20040239701A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,567 Days
• Field of Search: 345/750, 345/751, 345/781, 345/783, 345/733, 345/804, 345/803
• US Class Current: 715/751
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/544 Remote
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/545 Gui
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1454 involving copying of the display data of a local workstation or window to a remote workstation or window so that an actual copy of the data is displayed simultaneously on two or more displays, e.g. teledisplay
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/452 Remote windowing, e.g. X-Window System, desktop virtualisation protocols for virtual reality H04L67/131
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/542 Event management; Broadcasting; Multicasting; Notifications
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/14 Display of multiple viewports

Abstract

A method, system, and program product are provided in which display data for a display area that includes at least one window is mapped to a shared format. Attribute information for each window in the display area is determined and stored in a unique node. A hierarchy of nodes is generated using the attribute information. For each pixel in the display area, the corresponding node is determined. Using the attribute information in the node, the display data is mapped to a shared format. The mapped display data can then be shared with one or more other systems.

Claims

1. A method of mapping display data for a display area including at least one window, the method comprising:

creating a node for each window, each node including hierarchical relationship data and format data for the display data for the window;

generating a hierarchy of nodes based on the hierarchical relationship data;

dividing the display area into a plurality of sections, each section including an area within the display area that is defined independently of the at least one window;

creating a list of nodes for each section using the hierarchy of nodes, wherein the node for each window displayed in at least a portion of the section is included in the list of nodes;

storing the list of nodes; and

mapping the display data from a first format to a shared format using the hierarchy of nodes, wherein the mapping is based on the display data and the format data for a node corresponding to the display data.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

monitoring an occurrence of a window event; and

updating the hierarchy of nodes based on the occurrence of the window event.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising updating the hierarchical relationship data based on the occurrence of the window event.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein a set of sibling nodes for a set of sibling windows are located in the hierarchy of nodes based on a stacking order of the sibling windows.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising creating an array having an element for each section, wherein each element includes the list of nodes for the corresponding section.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

monitoring an occurrence of a window event; and

updating at least one of the lists of nodes based on the occurrence of the window event.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising obtaining display data for a plurality of windows having a first pixel depth in a single operation.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising repeating the obtaining and mapping steps for at least one window having a second pixel depth.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the mapping step includes:

determining the node corresponding to each pixel in the display data;

determining a first format of pixel data for each pixel using the node; and

generating pixel data in the shared format for each pixel from the pixel data in the first format.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising sharing the mapped display data with a destination computer.

11. A system for sharing display data for a shared display area including at least one window, the system comprising:

means for creating a node for each window, each node including hierarchical relationship data and format data for the display data for the window;

means for managing a hierarchy of nodes that includes each node using the hierarchical relationship data;

means for dividing the display area into a plurality of sections, each section including an area within the display area that is defined independently of the at least one window;

means for creating a list of nodes for each section using the hierarchy of nodes wherein the node for each window displayed in at least a portion of the section is included in the list of nodes;

means for storing the list of nodes; and

means for mapping the display data from a first format to a shared format using the hierarchy of nodes and the list of nodes for each section, wherein the mapping is based on the display data and the format data for a node corresponding to the display data.

12. The system of claim 11, further comprising:

means for sharing the mapped display data with a destination computer;

means for displaying the mapped display data at the destination computer; and

means for altering the shared display area using the destination computer.

13. A system for mapping display data for a shared display area including at least one window, the system comprising:

means for creating a node for each window, each node including hierarchical relationship data and format data for the display data for the window;

means for managing a hierarchy of nodes that includes each node using the hierarchical relationship data;

means for creating a plurality of lists of nodes, wherein each list of nodes includes a node for each window displayed in at least a portion of one of a plurality of sections of the shared display area;

means for storing the list of nodes; and

means for mapping pixel data in the display data to a shared format using the hierarchy of nodes, wherein the mapping is based on the pixel data and the format data for a node corresponding to the pixel data.

14. The system of claim 13, further comprising means for monitoring an occurrence of a window event.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein the means for mapping includes:

means for determining the node corresponding to each pixel in the display data;

means for determining a first format of the display data for each pixel using the node; and

means for generating display data in the shared format for each pixel from the display data in the first format.

16. A computer program product comprising a computer useable medium having computer readable program code embodied therein for mapping display data for a display area including at least one window, the program product comprising:

program code configured to create a node for each window, the node including hierarchical relationship data for the window and attribute information and format data for the display data for the window;

program code configured to manage a hierarchy of nodes that includes each node using the hierarchical relationship data;

program code configured to create a plurality of lists of nodes, wherein each list of nodes includes the node for each window displayed in at least a portion of a unique one of a plurality of sections of the shared display area;

program code configured to store the list of nodes in a computer usable medium; and

program code configured to map the display data from a first format to a shared format using the hierarchy of nodes, wherein the mapping is based on the display data and the format data for a node corresponding to the display data.

17. The program product of claim 16, further comprising:

program code configured to monitor an occurrence of a window event; and

program code configured to update at least one of;

the attribute information and the hierarchy of nodes based on the occurrence of the window event.

18. The program product of claim 16, wherein the display data is mapped at a source system, the program product further comprising:

program code configured to display the display data at a destination system; and

program code configured to alter the display data using the destination system.

19. A computer-readable storage medium having stored therein instructions for performing a method for mapping display data for a display area including at least one window, the method comprising the steps of:

creating a node for each window, each node including hierarchical relationship data and format data for the display data for the window;

generating a hierarchy of nodes based on the hierarchical relationship data;

obtaining the display data from a display memory using the hierarchy of nodes;

dividing the display area into a plurality of sections, each section including an area within the display area that is defined independently of the at least one window;

creating a list of nodes for each section using the hierarchy of nodes, wherein the node for each window displayed in at least a portion of the section is included in the list of nodes;

storing the list of nodes in a computer usable medium; and

mapping the display data from a first format to a shared format using the hierarchy of nodes, wherein the mapping is based on the display data and the format data for a node corresponding to the display data.