Asynchronous tree navigator graphical user interface and associated methods

• US 6,559,871 B1
• Filed: 09/29/1999
• Issued: 05/06/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Hanson, Susan M., DeJong, Colleen L., Walnock, Matthew D., Cordes, Richard E., Brozowski, Mathew James
• Primary Examiner(s): Kincaid, Kristine
• Assistant Examiner(s): Tran, Mylinh T
• Application Number:
  US09/408,814
• Time in Patent Office: 1,315 Days
• Field of Search: 345/739, 345/854, 345/764, 345/853, 345/748, 345/835, 345/440, 345/34.7, 345/119, 345/353, 345/145, 345/808, 345/841
• US Class Current: 715/853
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9038 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance

Abstract

Tree navigator graphical user interfaces are provided which execute on user queries for data asynchronously, and which may display information obtained as a result of a query as soon as it is available, even though additional responsive information is not yet available. These tree navigator graphical user interfaces may also be designed to anticipate future queries for data based on past or current queries, and pre-load data into the graphical user interface which is responsive to the anticipated future queries. The tree navigator graphical user interfaces may additionally use “placeholder objects” and “loading icons” to notify the user regarding the loading status of the data associated with a particular branch of the tree.

Claims

1. A method of loading data that is part of a set of hierarchical data into a tree navigator graphical user interface which includes a tree view display, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving a request to load data;

asynchronously executing on the request to load data so as to obtain all available data responsive to the request;

receiving a user-generated command subsequent to initiating execution on the request to load data;

initiating execution on the user-generated command prior to completing said step of asynchronously executing on the request to load data; and

loading the obtained data into the tree navigator graphical user interface.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of displaying at least a portion of the obtained data in the tree view display.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said tree view display displays a plurality of objects in a tree representation, and wherein said request to load data comprises a request to load data associated with a first of said objects;

and

further comprising the step of loading additional data into the tree navigator graphical user interface that is associated with at least one object other than said first object in anticipation of a future request to load data.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein said step of loading additional data comprises the step of loading data that is associated with the child objects of said first object.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of displaying a portion of the obtained data before completing said step of asynchronously executing on the request to load data.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein said portion of the obtained data comprises data that was already loaded into the tree navigator graphical user interface at the time the request to load data is received.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein said tree view display displays a plurality of objects in a tree representation, and wherein said request to load data comprises a request to load data associated with a first of said objects;

and

further comprising the step of displaying said first object as a placeholder object during said step of asynchronously executing on the request to load data.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising the step of replacing said placeholder object with a normal object once the data associated with said first object has been fully loaded into the tree navigator graphical user interface.

9. The method of claim 7, further comprising the step of replacing said placeholder object with a failure object if the step of asynchronously executing on the request to load data fails to obtain all available data responsive to the request.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of displaying a loading icon in the tree view display during the step of asynchronously executing on the request to load data that indicates that the tree navigator graphical user interface is in the process of executing on the request to load data.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein said tree view display displays a plurality of objects in a tree representation, and wherein each of said objects are associated with a subset of the data in said set of hierarchical data, and wherein said tree navigator graphical user interface further includes a data display area for displaying at least a portion of the data associated with one of said plurality of objects, and

wherein said method further comprises the step of displaying a loading icon in the data display area during the step of asynchronously executing on the request to load data that indicates that the computer is in the process of executing on the request to load data.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of displaying an indicia of availability on the tree navigator graphical user interface during the step of asynchronously executing on the request to load data that indicates that the computer is available to receive additional commands.

13. The method of claim 8, wherein said normal object comprises an icon and wherein said placeholder object comprises a ghost representation of said icon.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein said normal object comprises an icon, and wherein said failure object comprises an “

X”

superimposed on said icon.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the request to load data comprises a request to refresh data currently loaded in the tree navigator graphical user interface, and wherein said step of receiving a user-generated command comprises the step of receiving a user-generated command to manipulate the currently loaded data that is subject to the request to refresh.

16. The method of claim 3, further comprising the step of displaying in the tree view display, before completing said step of asynchronously executing on the request to load data, data responsive to the request to load data that was already loaded into the tree navigator graphical user interface at the time the request to load data is received.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein said tree view display displays a plurality of objects in tree representation, and wherein said request to load data comprises a request to refresh the data associated with a first of said objects that previously had no child objects, and further comprising the steps of:

displaying a loading icon on the tree view display during the step of asynchronously executing on the request to load data that indicates that the computer is still in the process of executing on the request to load data; and

then displaying the child objects of the first of said object if the first of said objects now has child objects.

18. The method of claim 5, wherein said request to load data comprises a request to load all the child objects of a parent object, and wherein said step of displaying a portion of the obtained data comprises displaying in the tree view display a child object of the parent object before completing said step of asynchronously executing on the request to load data.

19. A system for loading data that is part of a set of hierarchical data into a tree navigator graphical user interface which includes a tree view display, the system comprising:

means for receiving a request to load data;

means for asynchronously executing on the request to load data so as to obtain all available data responsive to the request;

means for receiving a user-generated command subsequent to initiating execution on the request to load data;

means for initiating execution on the user-generated command prior to completing said step of asynchronously executing on the request to load data; and

means for loading the obtained data into the tree navigator graphical user interface.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein said tree view display displays a plurality of objects in a tree representation, and wherein said request to load data comprises a request to load data associated with a first of said objects;

and

further comprising means for loading additional data into the tree navigator graphical user interface that is associated with at least one object other than said first object in anticipation of a future request to load data.

21. A computer program product for loading data that is part of a set of hierarchical data into a tree navigator graphical user interface which includes a tree view display, the computer program product comprising:

a computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program code means embodied in said medium, said computer-readable program code means comprising;

computer-readable program code means for receiving a request to load data;

computer-readable program code means for asynchronously executing on the request to load data so as to obtain all available data responsive to the request;

computer-readable program code means for receiving a user-generated command subsequent to initiating execution on the request to load data;

computer-readable program code means for initiating execution on the user-generated command prior to completing said step of asynchronously executing on the request to load data; and

computer-readable program code means for loading the obtained data into the tree navigator graphical user interface.

22. The computer program product of claim 21, wherein said tree view display displays a plurality of objects in a tree representation, and wherein said request to load data comprises a request to load data associated with a first of said objects;

and

further comprising computer-readable program code means for loading additional data into the tree navigator graphical user-interface that is associated with at least one object other than said first object in anticipation of a future request to load data.