Methods and apparatus for managing operations of a web browser by predicting time period of subsequent script execution activity

• US 9,104,475 B2
• Filed: 04/07/2011
• Issued: 08/11/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 04/07/2011
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm Innovation Center Incorporated (Qualcomm, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm Innovation Center Incorporated (Qualcomm, Inc.)
• Inventors: Sule, Dineel D., De, Subrato K., Bapst, Mark
• Primary Examiner(s): An, Meng
• Assistant Examiner(s): GHAFFARI, ABU Z
• Application Number:
  US13/081,765
• Publication Number:
  US 20120260181A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,587 Days
• Field of Search: 718/100, 709/217, 709/218, 709/224, 709/203, 707/E17.116, 714/E11.192, 714/E11.193, 715/736
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3409 for performance assessment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/957 Browsing optimisation, e.g. caching or content distillation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/5019 Workload prediction
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4843 by program, e.g. task dispatcher, supervisor, operating system

Abstract

A computing device and methods of operating the same are disclosed. The computing device may include a network interface that receives web content and a display that displays a displayable format of the web content. In addition, a plurality of browser processing components are included that carry out browser processing activity to generate a displayable format of the web content, and the computing device includes a browser management component that monitors at least one browser processing activity of a corresponding browser processing component and coordinates at least one browser management activity to either reduce the likelihood that the at least one browser management activity adversely affects performance of the plurality of browser processing components, or allow the at least one browser management activity to perform activities that leads to overall improvement of the browsing experience.

Claims

1. A computing device comprising:

a network interface that receives web content;

a multi-core application processor;

a display that displays a viewable format of the web content;

a plurality of browser processing components that collectively generate, at the computing device, a displayable format of the web content, each of the plurality of browser processing components carrying out a corresponding browser processing activity at the computing device, wherein the browser processing components include a scripting-language-based engine that carries out a corresponding script execution processing activity; and

a browser management component that monitors and stores, at the computing device, data indicative of the script execution processing activity of the scripting-language-based engine to create an activity history for the scripting-language-based engine, and the browser management component monitors real time activity of the scripting-language-based engine and uses the real time activity and the activity history to predict a timing of subsequent script execution activity, and the browser management component coordinates garbage collection activity at the computing device so the garbage collection activity occupies a different time period than the subsequent script execution processing activity or the garbage collection activity is carried out by a core of the multi-core application processor that is not being used at the same time to carry out the subsequent script execution processing activity to reduce a likelihood that the garbage collection activity adversely affects performance of the scripting-language-based engine.

2. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the browser management component generates:

a browser component dependency graph that conveys a dependency of the browser processing activities that are associated with the web content; and

at least one browser management dependency graph that conveys a dependency of the garbage collection activity to enable the browser management component to schedule the garbage collection activity to reduce the likelihood that the garbage collection activity adversely affects performance of the scripting-language-based engine.

3. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the browser management component effectuates the garbage collection activity as two separate portions so that a first portion of the garbage collection activity is carried out during a first time period to enable the script execution processing activity to be carried out, and a subsequent portion of the garbage collection activity is carried out at a later time period to enable the script execution processing activity to be completed faster than if the garbage collection activity were effectuated during a single, continuous time period.

4. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the browser management component coordinates the garbage collection activity by initiating execution of the garbage collection activity during an event selected from a group of events consisting of a network blocking period, an I/O blocking period, and a memory blocking period.

5. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the browser management component coordinates the garbage collection activity by managing processing resources so that the garbage collection activity and the script execution processing activity are processed by separate processing resources.

6. A method of improving operation of a browser operating on a computing device, the method comprising:

monitoring, at the computing device, activity of at least one browser processing component of the browser, wherein the at least one browser processing component of the browser is associated with processing webpage data of a webpage, wherein the at least one browser processing component is selected from the group consisting of a scripting-language-based engine, a calculation and layout component, a painting component, a rendering component, a video decoding component, and an image decoding component wherein the monitoring includes;

storing data indicative of the activity of the at least one browser processing component of the browser to create an activity history for the at least one browser processing component of the browser; and

monitoring real time activity of the at least one browser processing component of the browser;

predicting, at the computing device, based upon the monitoring, subsequent processing activity of the browser, wherein the subsequent processing activity is associated with processing the webpage data and the subsequent processing activity is selected from the group consisting of script execution, calculation and layout activity, painting, rendering, video decoding, and image decoding;

wherein the predicting subsequent processing activity of the browser includes using the real time activity and the activity history for the at least one browser processing component to predict a timing of the subsequent processing activity; and

executing at least one browser management activity at the computing device based upon the subsequent processing activity so the at least one browser management activity occupies a different time period or different processor space than the subsequent processing activity to reduce a likelihood that the at least one browser management activity will adversely affect performance of the browser when the subsequent processing activity is executed, wherein the browser management activity is selected from the group consisting of garbage collection, DNS prefetching, resource prefetching.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the monitoring includes detecting when the browser requests the webpage and the executing includes preemptively executing a garbage collection management activity at the same time as page resources of the webpage are arriving so as to prevent the garbage collection management activity from adversely affecting execution of a script.

8. The method of claim 6, including:

creating a browser component dependency graph that includes data that is indicative of particular resources that are required to display the webpage; and

creating a browser management dependency graph that includes data that is indicative of particular browser management activities.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein executing includes partially executing the at least one browser management activity so as to enable the activity of the at least one browser processing component to complete, and executing a remainder of the at least one browser management activity after the activity of the at least one browser processing component is complete.

10. The method of claim 6, wherein executing includes executing the at least one browser management activity using a separate thread than a thread that is utilized to execute the activity of the at least one browser processing component.

11. A computing device comprising:

a network interface comprising hardware that receives webpage data;

a display comprising hardware that displays a viewable portion of the webpage data;

means for monitoring, at the computing device, activity of at least one browser processing component of the browser, wherein the at least one browser processing component of the browser is associated with processing webpage data of a webpage, wherein the at least one browser processing component is selected from the group consisting of a scripting-language-based engine, a calculation and layout component, a painting component, a rendering component, a video decoding component, and an image decoding component;

wherein the means for monitoring activity includes;

means for storing data indicative of the activity of the at least one browser processing component of the browser to create an activity history for the at least one browser processing component of the browser; and

means for monitoring real time activity of the at least one browser processing component of the browser;

means for predicting, at the computing device, based upon the monitoring, subsequent processing activity of the browser, wherein the subsequent processing activity is associated with processing the webpage data and the subsequent processing activity is selected from the group consisting of script execution, calculation and layout activity, painting, rendering, video decoding, and image decoding;

wherein the means for predicting subsequent processing activity of the browser includes means for using the real time activity and the activity history for the at least one browser processing component to predict a timing of the subsequent processing activity; and

means for executing at least one browser management activity at the computing device based upon the subsequent processing activity so the at least one browser management activity occupies a different time period or different processor space than the subsequent processing activity to reduce a likelihood that the at least one browser management activity will adversely affect performance of the browser when the subsequent processing activity is executed, wherein the browser management activity is selected from the group consisting of garbage collection, DNS prefetching, resource prefetching.

12. The computing device of claim 11, wherein the means for monitoring activity includes means for detecting when the browser requests the webpage and the means for executing includes means for preemptively executing a garbage collection management activity while page resources of the webpage are arriving so as to prevent the garbage collection management activity from adversely affecting execution of a scripting-language-based object.

13. The computing device of claim 11, including:

means for creating a browser component dependency graph that includes data that is indicative of particular resources that are required to display the webpage; and

means for creating a browser management dependency graph that includes data that is indicative of particular browser management activities.

14. The computing device of claim 11, wherein the means for executing includes:

means for partially executing the at least one browser management activity so as to enable the activity of the at least one browser processing component to complete, and means for executing a remainder of the at least one browser management activity after the activity of the at least one browser processing component is complete.

15. The computing device of claim 11, wherein the means for executing includes means for executing the at least one browser management activity using a separate thread than a thread that is utilized to execute the activity of the at least one browser processing component.

16. A non-transitory, tangible computer readable storage medium, encoded with processor readable instructions to perform a method for improving operation of a browser on a mobile device, the method comprising:

monitoring, at the computing device, activity of at least one browser processing component of the browser, wherein the at least one browser processing component of the browser is associated with processing webpage data of a webpage, wherein the at least one browser processing component is selected from the group consisting of a scripting-language-based engine, a calculation and layout component, a painting component, a rendering component, a video decoding component, and an image decoding component;

wherein the monitoring includes;

storing data indicative of the activity of the at least one browser processing component of the browser to create an activity history for the at least one browser processing component of the browser; and

monitoring real time activity of the at least one browser processing component of the browser;

predicting, at the computing device, based upon the monitoring, subsequent processing activity of the browser, wherein the subsequent processing activity is associated with processing the webpage data and the subsequent processing activity is selected from the group consisting of script execution, calculation and layout activity, painting, rendering, video decoding, and image decoding wherein predicting subsequent processing activity of the browser includes using the real time activity and the activity history for the at least one browser processing component to predict a timing of the subsequent processing activity; and

executing at least one browser management activity at the computing device based upon the subsequent processing activity so the at least one browser management activity occupies a different time period or different processor space than the subsequent processing activity to reduce a likelihood that the at least one browser management activity will adversely affect performance of the browser when the subsequent processing activity is executed, wherein the browser management activity is selected from the group consisting of garbage collection, DNS prefetching, resource prefetching.

17. The non-transitory, tangible computer readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein the monitoring includes detecting when the browser requests the webpage and the executing includes preemptively executing a garbage collection management activity while page resources of the webpage are arriving so as to prevent the garbage collection management activity from adversely affecting execution of a scripting-language-based object.

18. The non-transitory, tangible computer readable storage medium of claim 16, the method including:

creating a browser component dependency graph that includes data that is indicative of particular resources that are required to display the webpage;

creating a browser management dependency graph that includes data that is indicative of particular browser management activities.

19. The non-transitory, tangible computer readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein executing includes partially executing the at least one browser management activity so as to enable the activity of the at least one browser processing component to complete, and executing a remainder of the at least one browser management activity after the activity of the at least one browser processing component is complete.

20. The non-transitory, tangible computer readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein executing includes executing the at least one browser management activity using a separate thread than a thread that is utilized to execute the activity of the at least one browser processing component.