Data visualization platform performance optimization

• US 8,638,343 B2
• Filed: 04/30/2009
• Issued: 01/28/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Allyn, Barry Christopher, Ruble, Brian Scott
• Primary Examiner(s): Johnson, M Good
• Application Number:
  US12/433,288
• Publication Number:
  US 20100277507A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,734 Days
• Field of Search: 345/619
• US Class Current: 345/619
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/206 Drawing of charts or graphs
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 15/005 General purpose rendering architectures

Abstract

Data visualization platform optimization may be provided. Applications may provide data values and request creation of a visualization from a data visualization platform (DVP). The DVP may composite a plurality of geometry records associated with a subset of the visualization'"'"'s data values. The application may render the visualization by iterating through the geometry vectors and translating a subset of the vectors into drawing instructions for output to a display device.

Claims

1. A method for providing visualization platform optimization, the method comprising:

defining a visualization;

creating a plurality of geometry vectors;

receiving a request to display the visualization;

iterating through the plurality of geometry vectors;

skipping at least one first vector of the plurality of geometry records according to a geometry skipping algorithm comprising at least one of the following criteria;

a zero-length line detection, a total number of the plurality of geometry vectors, a total number of data points, a display size, a data type, and a visualization type;

translating at least one second vector of the plurality of geometry records into at least one drawing instruction; and

displaying the visualization on a display device.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining whether the at least one second vector of the plurality of geometry vectors comprises a pixel location associated with at least one third vector of the plurality of geometry vectors; and

in response to determining that the at least one second vector of the plurality of geometry vectors comprises the pixel location associated with the at least one second vector of the plurality of geometry vectors, skipping the at least one second vector of the plurality of geometry vectors.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

sending a plurality of the translated geometry vectors to an application; and

rendering the plurality of the translated geometry vectors for display by the application.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

receiving a request from the application for a batch of translated geometry vectors;

sending a subset of the plurality of the translated geometry vectors to the application, wherein the subset of the plurality of the translated geometry vectors comprises a number of translated geometry records associated with the received batch request; and

waiting to send a remaining subset of the plurality of translated geometry vectors.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein translating the at least one of the plurality of geometry vectors into the at least one drawing instruction comprises linearizing at least one of the plurality of geometry vectors.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving at least one supported drawing instruction, wherein translating the at least one of the plurality of geometry vectors into the at least one drawing instruction comprises translating the at least one of the plurality of geometry vectors into the at least one supported drawing instruction.

7. A system for providing visualization platform optimization, the system comprising:

a memory storage; and

a processing unit coupled to the memory storage, wherein the processing unit is operative to;

create a visualization object associated with a plurality of data values,

composite at least one first value of the plurality of data values into a geometry vector associated with the visualization object,

skip compositing at least one second value of the plurality of data values according to a predefined criterion, and

translate at least a subset of the plurality of geometry vectors into a plurality of drawing instructions, wherein the subset of the plurality of geometry vectors is selected according to a geometry skipping algorithm comprising at least one of the following criteria;

a zero-length line detection, a total number of the plurality of geometry vectors, a total number of data points, a display size, a data type, and a visualization type.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the predefined criterion is user configurable.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the geometry skipping algorithm is further operative to:

translate at least one first vector of the plurality of geometry vectors into at least one drawing instruction,

iterate to at least one second vector of the plurality of geometry vectors;

determine whether the at least one second vector of the plurality of geometry vectors comprises a point on the visualization object proximate to the point on the visualization object associated with the at least one first vector; and

in response to determining that the at least one second vector of the plurality of geometry vectors comprises the point on the visualization object proximate to the point on the visualization object associated with the at least one first vector, skip translating the at least one second vector into the at least one drawing instruction.

10. The system of claim 7, further operative to:

receive at least one change to the visualization object; and

in response to receiving the at least one change to the visualization object, re-rendering the visualization object.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the at least one change to the visualization object comprises at least one of the following:

a re-size of the visualization object, a zoom in on the visualization object, a zoom out on the visualization object, a movement of the visualization object, a partial covering of the visualization object, and a movement of an application.

12. The system of claim 7, further comprising a user application operative to render the visualization object to a display device.

13. A computer-readable medium which stores a set of instructions which when executed performs a method for optimizing a visualization platform, the method executed by the set of instructions comprising:

receiving a request from a user application to create a visualization object, wherein the request comprises a plurality of data values and a visualization type and wherein the visualization object comprises a two-dimensional representation of a series of data points each comprising an associated value;

compositing a plurality of geometry vectors associated with the visualization object, wherein compositing the plurality of geometry vectors comprises;

compositing at least one geometry vector associated with at least one of the plurality of data values, and

skipping at least one of the plurality of data values according to a criterion comprising at least one of the following;

a display size, a data type, a total number of data points to be displayed, a total number of the plurality of geometry vectors, and a size of an amount of overlap between display objects;

receiving a render request from the user application;

translating each of a subset of the plurality of geometry vectors into at least one drawing instruction, wherein the subset of the plurality of geometry vectors is selected according to a geometry skipping algorithm comprising the criterion of at least one of the following;

a zero-length line detection, the total number of the plurality of geometry vectors, the total number of data points, the display size, the data type, and the visualization type;

sending the at least one drawing instruction associated with each of the subset of the plurality of geometry vectors to the user application;

rendering the visualization object, wherein rendering the visualization object comprises rendering the at least one drawing instruction associated with each of the subset of the plurality of geometry vectors to a display device;

receiving a second render request from the user application in response to a detected change affecting the rendered visualization object;

translating each of a second subset of the plurality of geometry vectors into the at least one drawing instruction;

sending the at least one drawing instruction associated with each of the second subset of the plurality of geometry vectors to the user application; and

re-rendering the visualization object.