Grammar checker for visualization

• US 8,229,735 B2
• Filed: 06/27/2008
• Issued: 07/24/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/27/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Robertson, George G., Ruble, Brian Scott, Morein, William G., Boon, Sean Michael, McCoy, Nathan Paul, Nielsen, Jakob Peter, Ehrenberg, Michael, Lee, Joshua Wyndham, Weber, Jason Joseph, Krishnan, Murali R., Chan, Stella Yick
• Primary Examiner(s): Vo, Huyen X.
• Application Number:
  US12/147,890
• Publication Number:
  US 20090326921A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,488 Days
• Field of Search: 704 1- 10, 704/257, 704/235, 704/275, 704/231, 704/272, 715/236
• US Class Current: 704/9
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3604 Software analysis for verifying properties of programs byte-code verification G06F9/44589
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/34 Graphical or visual programming
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/19 Grammatical context, e.g. disambiguation of the recognition hypotheses based on word sequence rules

Abstract

A visualization development system is provided. The system includes a visualization tool to develop one or more visualizations and a grammar engine that operates with the visualization tool to automatically detect visualization problems during the development of the visualizations.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented system, comprising:

at least one processing unit;

a memory having instructions therein and readable by the at least one processing unit, the instructions and the at least one processing unit comprise a visualization developer, when the at least one processing unit executes the instructions, the visualization developer comprising;

a visualization tool that outputs one or more visualization forms based at least in part on user commands for the visualization tool, the user commands having at least one of a structure and a form; and

a visualization grammar engine that operates with the visualization tool to automatically check at least one of the structure and the form of the user commands to detect visualization problems in at least one outputted visualization form.

2. The system of claim 1, the development of the visualization forms includes design, layout, creation, simulation, animation, views, and production of the visualization forms.

3. The system of claim 1, further comprising a feedback component to generate grammar suggestions to a user or integrate feedback with the visualization forms.

4. The system of claim 1, the visualization tool includes a mathematical component, a data mining component, a modeling component, a graphical component, a concept component, or an information component.

5. The system of claim 1, the grammar engine analyzes visual settings of information displayable in the visualization forms, data options, layout options, color options, line settings, shape configurations, text options, coordinates, trees, maps, charts, or tables.

6. The system of claim 1, the grammar engine employs rules or heuristics to analyze user commands, actions, or gestures when designing or manipulating the visualization forms.

7. The system of claim 6, the grammar engine is fed from a data mining component or a learning component to enhance the rules or heuristics.

8. The system of claim 1, the grammar engine generates errors or warnings when detecting problems with a visualization form or visualization input to the visualization tool, the visualization input being separate from the user commands.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein a first visualization form of the one or more visualization forms includes first data, and further comprising a component to generate automated suggestions on how to locate second data related first data for at least one visualization form of the one or more visualization forms.

10. The system of claim 1, further comprising a simulation component that can receive feedback from the grammar engine.

11. The system of claim 1, further comprising a component to store one or more visualization patterns.

12. The system of claim 11, the one or more visualization patterns are associated with valid user actions.

13. The system of claim 11, the one or more visualization patterns are associated with changing the values of data.

14. The system of claim 11, the visualization patterns are associated with a work-flow process.

15. The system of claim 1, the grammar engine includes a control language for a generating a visualization.

16. A visualization development method, comprising:

monitoring on a computing device a plurality of user commands that control a visualization tool that outputs one or more visualization forms;

applying rules or heuristics to the user commands;

determining with a computing device if the user commands conform to the rules or heuristics;

outputting one or more visualization forms from the visualization tool based at least on the user commands;

generating feedback to a user if the user commands do not conform to the rules or heuristics based at least on the output visualization forms; and

generating one or more visualization options after applying the rules or heuristics.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising generating one or more options for locating data related to the content of the visualization forms.

18. The method of claim 16, further comprising simulating the visualization forms in accordance with the feedback.

19. The method of claim 16, further comprising integrating the feedback with the visualization forms.

20. A visualization system, comprising:

means for generating a visualization form, the visualization form being at least one of a graph, a chart, a tree, a multi-dimensional depiction, or a hybrid presentation segmented into multiple display areas having different data analysis in each area;

means for checking input commands associated with generating the visualization; and

means for receiving feedback relating to errors or warnings associated with the visualization.