DYNAMIC SCREEN SHARING FOR OPTIMAL PERFORMANCE

• US 20130159880A1
• Filed: 12/14/2011
• Published: 06/20/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/14/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Bhogal, Kulvir S., Boss, Gregory J., Hamilton, Rick A. II, Sand, Anne R.
• Granted Patent: US 9,124,657 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/753
• 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: G09G 2340/0407 Resolution change, inclusive of the use of different resolutions for different screen areas
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/0428 Gradation resolution change
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2350/00 Solving problems of bandwidth in display systems
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2370/022 Centralised management of display operation, e.g. in a server instead of locally
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/04 using circuits for interfacing with colour displays
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/403 Arrangements for multi-party communication, e.g. for conferences data switching systems for conference H04L12/18; arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities H04M3/56; television conferencing systems H04N7/15

Abstract

Illustrative embodiments disclose sharing an area of a computer system screen. A first computer system configures a sharing session for sharing a region of the screen with a second computer system. The first computer system assesses information on performance of the sharing session, determining from the information a minimum size of the region based on the assessment, and then selects the region to share based on the assessment and a designation by a user.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method to share an area of a screen, comprising:

configuring, by a processor unit in a first computer system, a sharing session for sharing a region of the screen with a second computer system;

assessing, by the processor unit in the first computer system, information on performance of the sharing session;

determining, by the processor unit in the first computer system, from the information on performance a minimum size of the region based on the assessment; and

selecting, by the processor unit in the first computer system, the region to share based on the assessment and a designation by a user.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the information on performance of the sharing session includes latencies of the sharing session and characteristics of the second computer system.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

monitoring, by the processor unit in the first computer system, a characteristic of content in the sharing session, a constraint of the second computer system, and a feedback of performance from the second computer system; and

modifying, by the processor unit in the first computer system, the region, a characteristic of the content being shared, or a characteristic of a data stream in the sharing session as required to maintain performance.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

monitoring, by the processor unit in the first computer system, the second computer system, wherein the monitoring comprises periodic polling of the second computer system for information on performance or receiving a request to modify the sharing session.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining, by the processor unit in the first computer system, characteristics of a data stream to use in the sharing session based on the information on performance of the sharing session and the region.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the assessing information on performance comprises assessing a bandwidth requirement based on a resolution characteristic, a refresh rate characteristic, and a color depth characteristic of the region.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

sharing, by the processor unit in the first computer system, the region with a plurality of other computer systems; and

determining, by the processor unit in the first computer system, a size of the region or a resolution characteristic to use based on a policy;

wherein the policy comprises a mean policy, a mode policy, or a median policy.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

selecting, by the processor unit in the first computer system, one of absolute mapping and relative mapping for the region.

9. A computer program product for sharing an area of a computer system screen, comprising:

a computer readable storage medium;

program code, stored on the computer readable storage medium, for selecting an application to generate a region on the screen of a first computer system to share with a second computer system in a sharing session, wherein the application configures the first computer system to share the region with the second computer system;

program code, stored on the computer readable storage medium, for assessing information on performance of the sharing session;

program code, stored on the computer readable storage medium, for determining from the information on performance a minimum size of the region based on the assessment; and

program code, stored on the computer readable storage medium, for selecting the region to share based on the assessment and a designation by a user.

10. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein the information on performance of the sharing session includes latencies of the sharing session and characteristics of the second computer system.

11. The computer program product of claim 9, further comprising:

program code, stored on the computer readable storage medium, for monitoring a characteristic of content in the sharing session, a constraint of the second computer system, and a feedback of performance from the second computer system; and

program code, stored on the computer readable storage medium, for modifying the region, a characteristic of the content being shared, or a characteristic of a data stream in the sharing session as required to maintain performance.

12. The computer program product of claim 11, further comprising program code, stored on the computer readable storage medium, for monitoring the second computer system, wherein the monitoring comprises periodic polling of the second computer system for information on performance or receiving a request to modify the sharing session.

13. The computer program product of claim 9, further comprising:

program code, stored on the computer readable storage medium, for determining characteristics of a data stream to use in the sharing session based on the information on performance of the sharing session and the region.

14. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein the assessing information on performance comprises assessing a bandwidth requirement based on a resolution characteristic, a refresh rate characteristic, and a color depth characteristic of the region.

15. A data processing system for sharing an area of a computer system screen in a sharing session, the system comprising:

a bus system;

a storage device connected to the bus system, wherein the storage device includes program code;

a processor unit configured to execute the program code to select an application to generate a region on the screen of a first computer system to share with a second computer system in a sharing session, wherein the application configures the first computer system to share the region with the second computer system;

to assess information on performance of the sharing session;

to determine from the information on performance a minimum size of the region based on the assessment; and

to select the region to share based on the assessment and a designation by a user.

16. The data processing system of claim 15, wherein the information on performance of the sharing session includes latencies of the sharing session and characteristics of the second computer system.

17. The data processing system of claim 15, further comprising the processor unit configured to monitor a characteristic of content in the sharing session, a constraint of the second computer system, and a feedback of performance from the second computer system, and to modify the region, a characteristic of the content being shared, or a characteristic of a data stream in the sharing session as required to maintain performance.

18. The data processing system of claim 15, further comprising the processor unit configured to monitor the second computer system, wherein the monitoring comprises periodic polling of the second computer system for information on performance or receiving a request to modify the sharing session.

19. The data processing system of claim 15, further comprising the processor unit configured to determine characteristics of a data stream to use in the sharing session based on the information on performance of the sharing session and the region.

20. The data processing system of claim 15, wherein the assessed information on performance comprises an assessed bandwidth requirement based on a resolution characteristic, a refresh rate characteristic, and a color depth characteristic of the region.