Periodic broadcast and location of evolving media content with application to seminar and stroke media

• US 7,899,082 B2
• Filed: 10/19/2007
• Issued: 03/01/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/14/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Shae, Zon-Yin, Tseng, Belle L.
• Primary Examiner(s): TRAN, PHUC H
• Application Number:
  US11/875,587
• Publication Number:
  US 20080040747A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,229 Days
• Field of Search: 370368-379, 370480-490, 719/313
• US Class Current: 370/487
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/30 using hierarchical techniques, e.g. scalability H04N19/63 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

Techniques are provided for broadcasting history or coarse representations or both of stroke media and other media. Levels are created for media, and the levels are periodically broadcast. The levels segment the media and allow the media to be examined with details that range from coarse to fine or examined with varying importance or both. The periodic broadcast of the levels provides history of the media. In particular, for stroke data, levels of detail are determined through a certain method. Each level of detail is periodically broadcast. The levels of detail may be shown by themselves or combined at a receiver to create segmented views of the stroke data. A user can select a coarse view of the stroke data to quickly see the stroke history. Additionally, techniques are provided for quickly and repeatedly accessing data elements in already existing data structures. Generally, a description is created that describes data elements in a preexisting data structure. One or more links are created, from the description, which allow a user to directly access particular data elements for the preexisting data structure.

Claims

1. A method comprising the steps of:

storing a plurality of data elements in a data structure;

defining at least one general mask and a data structure description that describes the data elements in the data structure, wherein the data structure comprises one or more of a serial stream, an ordered set comprised of subsets, and a hierarchical data structure comprised of subgraphs, wherein each data element has one or more of a node position, a bit position and a subset position;

defining, by using the data structure description, one or more links, each of the links locating one or more data elements in the data structure and, by using the general mask, a particular mask comprising one or more links, each of the links providing access to a data element; and

retrieving, by using one of the links, a corresponding one of the data elements.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the data structure comprises the hierarchical data structure comprised of subgraphs, wherein each data element has the node position;

the step of defining a data structure description further comprises the step of defining a general graph mask; and

the step of defining one or more links further comprises the step of defining, using the general graph mask, a particular graph mask comprising one or more subgraph links, each of the subgraph links providing access to a data element at its node position.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the data structure comprises the serial stream, wherein each data element has a data bit position within the serial stream;

the step of defining a data structure description further comprises the step of defining a general space mask; and

the step of defining one or more links further comprises the step of defining, using the general space mask, a particular space mask comprising one or more subinterval links, each of the subinterval links providing access to a data element at its bit position.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the data structure comprises the ordered set comprised of subsets, wherein each data element belongs to a subset;

the step of defining a data structure description further comprises the step of defining a general data set mask; and

the step of defining one or more links further comprises the step of defining a particular data set mask comprising one or more subset links, each of the subset links providing access to a data element in its subset.

5. A system comprising:

a memory that stores computer-readable code; and

a processor operatively coupled to the memory, the processor configured to implement the computer-readable code, the computer-readable code configured to;

store a plurality of data elements in a data structure;

define at least one general mask and a data structure description that describes the data elements in the data structure, wherein the data structure comprises one or more of a serial stream, an ordered set comprised of subsets, and a hierarchical data structure comprised of subgraphs, wherein each data element has one or more of a node position, a bit position and a subset position;

define, by using the data structure description, one or more links, each of the links locating one or more data elements in the data structure and, by using the general mask, a particular mask comprising one or more links, each of the links providing access to a data element; and

retrieve, by using one of the links, a corresponding one of the data elements.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein:

the data structure comprises the hierarchical data structure comprised of subgraphs, wherein each data element has the node position;

the computer-readable code is further configured, when defining a data structure description, to define a general graph mask; and

the computer-readable code is further configured, when defining one or more links, to define, using the general graph mask, a particular graph mask comprising one or more subgraph links, each of the subgraph links providing access to a data element at its node position.

7. The system of claim 5, wherein:

the data structure comprises the serial stream, wherein each data element has a data bit position within the serial stream;

the computer-readable code is further configured, when defining a data structure description, to define a general space mask; and

the computer-readable code is further configured, when defining one or more links, to define, using the general space mask, a particular space mask comprising one or more subinterval links, each of the subinterval links providing access to a data element at its bit position.

8. The system of claim 5, wherein:

the data structure comprises the ordered set comprised of subsets, wherein each data element belongs to a subset;

the computer-readable code is further configured, when defining a data structure description, to define a general data set mask; and

the computer-readable code is further configured, when defining one or more links, to define a particular data set mask comprising one or more subset links, each of the subset links providing access to a data element in its subset.

9. An article of manufacture comprising:

a tangible computer-readable recordable medium having computer-readable code means embodied thereon, the computer-readable program code means comprising;

a step to store a plurality of data elements in a data structure;

a step to define at least one general mask and a data structure description that describes the data elements in the data structure, wherein the data structure comprises one or more of a serial stream, an ordered set comprised of subsets, and a hierarchical data structure comprised of subgraphs, wherein each data element has one or more of a node position, a bit position and a subset position;

a step to define, by using the data structure description, one or more links, each of the links locating one or more data elements in the data structure and, by using the general mask, a particular mask comprising one or more links, each of the links providing access to a data element; and

a step to retrieve, by using one of the links, a corresponding one of the data elements.

10. The article of manufacture of claim 9, wherein:

the data structure comprises the hierarchical data structure comprised of subgraphs, wherein each data element has the node position;

the computer-readable program code means further comprises, when defining a data structure description, a step to define a general graph mask; and

the computer-readable program code means further comprises, when defining one or more links, a step to define, using the general graph mask, a particular graph mask comprising one or more subgraph links, each of the subgraph links providing access to a data element at its node position.

11. The article of manufacture of claim 9, wherein:

the data structure comprises the serial stream, wherein each data element has a data bit position within the serial stream;

the computer-readable program code means further comprises, when defining a data structure description, a step to define a general space mask; and

the computer-readable program code means further comprises, when defining one or more links, a step to define, using the general space mask, a particular space mask comprising one or more subinterval links, each of the subinterval links providing access to a data element at its bit position.

12. The article of manufacture of claim 9, wherein:

the data structure comprises the ordered set comprised of subsets, wherein each data element belongs to a subset;

the computer-readable program code means further comprises, when defining a data structure description, a step to define a general data set mask; and

the computer-readable program code means further comprises, when defining one or more links, a step to define a particular data set mask comprising one or more subset links, each of the subset links providing access to a data element in its subset.