CA2472731C - Display of data element indicia based on data types - Google Patents
Display of data element indicia based on data types Download PDFInfo
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- CA2472731C CA2472731C CA002472731A CA2472731A CA2472731C CA 2472731 C CA2472731 C CA 2472731C CA 002472731 A CA002472731 A CA 002472731A CA 2472731 A CA2472731 A CA 2472731A CA 2472731 C CA2472731 C CA 2472731C
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- display
- data
- indicia
- data elements
- regions
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- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
- G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
- G06F16/00—Information retrieval; Database structures therefor; File system structures therefor
- G06F16/90—Details of database functions independent of the retrieved data types
- G06F16/903—Querying
- G06F16/9038—Presentation of query results
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- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
- G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
- G06F16/00—Information retrieval; Database structures therefor; File system structures therefor
- G06F16/90—Details of database functions independent of the retrieved data types
- G06F16/904—Browsing; Visualisation therefor
Abstract
When displaying a plurality of data elements, region indicia, defined according to corresponding data types, are displayed. Data element indicia representative of the plurality of data elements are displayed within a plurality of regions defined by the region indicia according to the data types corresponding to each data element indicium. Additionally, relationship indicia representative of a plurality of relationships between at least a portion of the data elements may also be displayed. An initial or selected data element indicium is displayed in a focus region of the plurality of regions. At least a second data element indicium is displayed in one of the other regions. Thereafter, the second data element indicium may be selected for display in the focus region, thereby causing at least a portion of the region indicia to be redisplayed based on the second data element indicium being displayed in the focus region.
Description
DISPLAY OF DATA ELEMENT INDICIA BASED ON DATA TYPES
FIELD OF THE INV T[ON
The present invention relates generally to computer-implemented displays and, in particular to a tcchnique for displaying data element indicia based on data types corresponding to each data element.
Reccnt advances in information teahnology, in particular the Internet and 'VVorld Wide Web, have lead to an unprecedented growth in the amount of data generally avajlable to a broad spectrum of users. Recently the size of the Intemet has been estimated at approximately 3.2 billion pages growing at a monthly rate of 25%.
Additionally, the rate of growth of private Intranets is equally significant, As the sheer voluma of available information expands, the difficultly in keeping track of newty available information, as wal[ as the ability to di8aern relevaat and deaired infotmation becomes increasingly ditlYoult. For example, to do a ahtuougtr search, dntg discovecy saientists will typfcally have to access ovor thirty different on-line datahn.4as in the couise of their normal research. In keeping with cutrettt display methodologie9, each of these different databaJes typically relies on keyword searching and iineady presented lists of sesrah results_ More importantly, the job of traclcing relationships between the data provided by each of these different sources is typically done in a manual fashion. While ahis approach can be effective, it is evident that signiticant improvements in efficiency could be realized iftbe vast quantitios of available iqformation could be presented iri a ittore coherent manner-Various attempts have been made to improve the mantter in which information is presented to astzs. For eutample, U.B. Patent Nos. 6,031,537;
6,037,944;
6,166,739; and 6,256,032 issued to Hugh describe a system in which a phttallty of "thoughts" are orgariized in such a way that relationshlps between various thoughts are also included. Using a graphical representation of the resulting thought network, users are able to select individual thoughts and thereby have related thoughts displayed in a hierarchical fashion. Furthermore, U.S. Patent Nos. 5,590,250; and 5,619,632 issued to Lamping et al. describe a system in which nodes and links between such nodes are displayed through a space having a negative curvature, i.e., a sphere. A
parent node is displayed at a parent position, and other nodes having varying degrees of relationship to the psrent node are displayed at other positions surrounding the parent position, thereby illustrating the network of relationships between the displayed nodes. By selecting and dragging any given node closer to the pazent position, the various other related nodes are removed from or added to the displayed area in such a manner so as to provide the appearance of a sphere rotating.
'I1ia techniques described in the Hugh and I.amping pstents reI-resent an advancement in the art due, in part, to the faet that each technique provides an indication of relationahips between various displayed data elements. However, neither of these techniques incorporates the use of concepts or data types to further organize the information displayed. It is believed that a technique that is capable not only of displaying relationships between data elements, but that is also capable of organizing such data elements according to data type would eepresent a significant advancement in the art 5UMMARY OF TH'E ENTION
The present invention provides a technique for displaying a plurality of data elements based, in part, upon data types associated with the plurality of data elements. In the context of the present invention, a data element comprises any uniquely identifiable digital object capable of manipulation by a computer or links thereto. Data element indicia comprise any visually-perceptible reptr.sentation of a data element, e.g., graphical icons, video, etc. Data types associated with the data elements indicate the content encompassed by each data elemenC. The data types, in turn, are defined according to a knowledge model representative of the availablc knowledge within a given line of inquiry_ Whcn displaying a plurality of data elenicnts, region indicia, defined according to the corresponding data types, are displayed. Thereafter, data element indicia relxesentative of the plusality of data elemestts are displayed within the plurality of regions defined by the region indicia aaoording to the data types corresponding to each data element indicium. Additionally, relationsttip ind'icia reprosentative of a plurality of relationships between at least a portion of the data elements may also be displayed. Such relationship indicia may be representative of confirmed relationships between data elements, or may be representative of potential relationships between data elernents. In a presently preferred embodiment, the regions are presented as a 3x3 grid.
An initial or stlected data element indicium is displayed in a focus region of the plurality of regions. At least a seoond data element indicinm is displayed in one of the other regions relative to the focus region. Therea8er, the second data element indicium may be selected for display ln the focus region, thereby causing at least a portion of the region indicia to be redisplayed based on the second data elcment indicium being displayed in the focu3 rogion. Also, additional data elentebt indicia are thereby displayed based on the second data elemetlt indicium being displayed in the focus region.
BRIEF DBSCR[P N OF IHF RA S
FIG. 1 illustrates a oomputer based system in accordance with the present invendon;
FIG. 2 illustrates a flowchart in aaeordance with orte erobodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 3 illustrates a flowchart in accordance with another embodirnent of the present invention;
FIELD OF THE INV T[ON
The present invention relates generally to computer-implemented displays and, in particular to a tcchnique for displaying data element indicia based on data types corresponding to each data element.
Reccnt advances in information teahnology, in particular the Internet and 'VVorld Wide Web, have lead to an unprecedented growth in the amount of data generally avajlable to a broad spectrum of users. Recently the size of the Intemet has been estimated at approximately 3.2 billion pages growing at a monthly rate of 25%.
Additionally, the rate of growth of private Intranets is equally significant, As the sheer voluma of available information expands, the difficultly in keeping track of newty available information, as wal[ as the ability to di8aern relevaat and deaired infotmation becomes increasingly ditlYoult. For example, to do a ahtuougtr search, dntg discovecy saientists will typfcally have to access ovor thirty different on-line datahn.4as in the couise of their normal research. In keeping with cutrettt display methodologie9, each of these different databaJes typically relies on keyword searching and iineady presented lists of sesrah results_ More importantly, the job of traclcing relationships between the data provided by each of these different sources is typically done in a manual fashion. While ahis approach can be effective, it is evident that signiticant improvements in efficiency could be realized iftbe vast quantitios of available iqformation could be presented iri a ittore coherent manner-Various attempts have been made to improve the mantter in which information is presented to astzs. For eutample, U.B. Patent Nos. 6,031,537;
6,037,944;
6,166,739; and 6,256,032 issued to Hugh describe a system in which a phttallty of "thoughts" are orgariized in such a way that relationshlps between various thoughts are also included. Using a graphical representation of the resulting thought network, users are able to select individual thoughts and thereby have related thoughts displayed in a hierarchical fashion. Furthermore, U.S. Patent Nos. 5,590,250; and 5,619,632 issued to Lamping et al. describe a system in which nodes and links between such nodes are displayed through a space having a negative curvature, i.e., a sphere. A
parent node is displayed at a parent position, and other nodes having varying degrees of relationship to the psrent node are displayed at other positions surrounding the parent position, thereby illustrating the network of relationships between the displayed nodes. By selecting and dragging any given node closer to the pazent position, the various other related nodes are removed from or added to the displayed area in such a manner so as to provide the appearance of a sphere rotating.
'I1ia techniques described in the Hugh and I.amping pstents reI-resent an advancement in the art due, in part, to the faet that each technique provides an indication of relationahips between various displayed data elements. However, neither of these techniques incorporates the use of concepts or data types to further organize the information displayed. It is believed that a technique that is capable not only of displaying relationships between data elements, but that is also capable of organizing such data elements according to data type would eepresent a significant advancement in the art 5UMMARY OF TH'E ENTION
The present invention provides a technique for displaying a plurality of data elements based, in part, upon data types associated with the plurality of data elements. In the context of the present invention, a data element comprises any uniquely identifiable digital object capable of manipulation by a computer or links thereto. Data element indicia comprise any visually-perceptible reptr.sentation of a data element, e.g., graphical icons, video, etc. Data types associated with the data elements indicate the content encompassed by each data elemenC. The data types, in turn, are defined according to a knowledge model representative of the availablc knowledge within a given line of inquiry_ Whcn displaying a plurality of data elenicnts, region indicia, defined according to the corresponding data types, are displayed. Thereafter, data element indicia relxesentative of the plusality of data elemestts are displayed within the plurality of regions defined by the region indicia aaoording to the data types corresponding to each data element indicium. Additionally, relationsttip ind'icia reprosentative of a plurality of relationships between at least a portion of the data elements may also be displayed. Such relationship indicia may be representative of confirmed relationships between data elements, or may be representative of potential relationships between data elernents. In a presently preferred embodiment, the regions are presented as a 3x3 grid.
An initial or stlected data element indicium is displayed in a focus region of the plurality of regions. At least a seoond data element indicinm is displayed in one of the other regions relative to the focus region. Therea8er, the second data element indicium may be selected for display ln the focus region, thereby causing at least a portion of the region indicia to be redisplayed based on the second data elcment indicium being displayed in the focu3 rogion. Also, additional data elentebt indicia are thereby displayed based on the second data elemetlt indicium being displayed in the focus region.
BRIEF DBSCR[P N OF IHF RA S
FIG. 1 illustrates a oomputer based system in accordance with the present invendon;
FIG. 2 illustrates a flowchart in aaeordance with orte erobodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 3 illustrates a flowchart in accordance with another embodirnent of the present invention;
FXCi. -4 is a s&-cinatpt: illttsttat;on of a lwwledgs model in aaoodance with lihe pmsent invontion;
FIG. S Ls an exemplarg illushation of a d'tsplay in accordance with the pgeseut invetttion;
FIG. 6 is an illustration of an addltional display in aecowdAnct with the pimsent inventio$; and FIGS. 7-9 aoc flovutltarts illustrating an intplementation of the presmt im-ention.
DETAII.ED DESC P''C'ION OF A PRPFERRI/D EMBOD111+16NT
OF THE 1NVEN'1'ION
The pcesent invention may be more readily described with referonce to FIGS. 1-9 below_ Referring now to FIG. 1, a systc.trt 1001s iliustrated comprising a oomputer L 10 ooupled to a server 130 that is in turn coupled to a databaeo 140. In a preferred embodimcnt, the computer 110 is coupled to the server 130 via a public network sucli as the Internet or Wodd Wide Web, or a private network such as an Inhajiet, or a combination thercof, The saver 130 and database 140 colleotively defiae a knowledge base ftnmework. Suitable platforms for implemeating the server 130 and database 140 is well known to those having ordinary skitl in the art and need not be described in greater detail here. As shown in FIG. 1, the database ,140 comprises iufatsnation regarding data elements 142, as well as inFornnation tegarding user bookmarks 144 and monitors 146. In the context of the present invention, data elements c:omprise any uniquely identifiable digital objects, or links thereto, capable of manip+ilation and/or srooragc by a compt-ter. For eatample, a data otement tnay comlxise, but is aot Iimlted to, taict, grapteics or vidso files as known in tha art. Furthdrrtot+e, tgther thaQt Ao~ing ac.tual copies of the data eletncuts 142 in ihodatabasa 140, infotYnaNon indicating where saclt copies may be &=ssed (i.e., Iryperlinks) may be stored in the databaae 140.
Tbe boolamarics 144 comprise uset-provided informatioa rcgarding parti.aular dat=a elements thn# a given user may wish to quiCkly acoess in the future. Additionally, the monitor iaformation 146 comprises uaer-provided infotmution regatding partioular data eleudeuts far which a given user deslres to receive notifications of modification_s or updates.
As shown, the computer l10 c.otnprises a prooe_vsor 112 cottpied to memory 114, one or more user input devices 116, a displtiy l I S, and a ttetwodc interiaco 120_ The processor 112, whic,h may comprise a=:PENTIUM& series proceasor along with any additional co-prooessors as commonly used in the art, eontrols the operekinn, cf the computer 1 L0. In particular, the memory'l 14, which may eomprise suitable nomrotatile stotage such as read-only nietnory (ROM) and/or volatito rnetnory, such as randorn access memory (RAM), st+orrs various executable instiltetions and data sttuctures in accordance with the present invention. In particular, the memory 114 eomprises, in addition to an opeta8ng 3ystem and associated data structures, an application 122 that, when executed by the processor 112, provides a means fior a user of the computer 110 to access the knowledge base framework embodicd by the server 130 and database 140_ In a presently preferred embodiment, the application 122, when executed, invokes a browser 124 such as Netscape's Navigator browser or Microsoft's internet Explorer browser, to provide a suitable interfaioe for communicating with the ltnowtedge base frameworic.
Futtherrnore, the anoliaation 122 is nrafiembly written in aatachuue-independant langtUV
surh as "jAVA " or the like.
As known in the art, the user input devices 116 atay comprise a loayboatd, tnonso, tnuch pad, voice necognilion, or any other atectmutism ty,piaally used to provide ttsor input to a computer. Likewise, the display 118 may comprise any type of display technology commonly found in personal aomputets, laptops and the like. I'ha network intuface 120 provides connectivity with the 5erver 130 via the appropriate netwark and may comprise a network interface card, a modem, or any other similar devioes.
As described in greater detail betow, the computer I10, whea executing in acoor+dance with the alrplication 122, provides a suitable platform for implement9ng an intednee in accordance with the present invention.
Referring now to FIG. 2, a flowchart illustrating a method for displaying a plurality of data elements in accordanoe with tlte present invention is provided.
Preferably, the processi.ng illustrated in FI{3. 2 is carried out by the computer I10 as previously described. Beginning at block 202, a plurality of regions, as defcned by reglon indicia, are displaycd bascd on data types, In aoeordanoe with the present invention, a region comprises a portion of a viewable display area provided by a display.
The plurality of regions may be arranged in any suitable matu'-er, and- in a prefen-ed embodiment are anrangcd according to a 3x3 grid. An exemplary display (or graphic panel) 500 in accordance with a presently preferred embodiment is illustrated in FIG. 5_ As shown in FIG. 5, the display 500 comprises a plurality of regions (or sub-panels) 502-t$ arranged in a 3x3 grid, However, those having ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the prescnt invention need not be limited in this manner, For example, rather than ptovtaing att mtn grM, vanous otuer aunansioas may be ttsed.. Th+e vanioua rev'oos sie not nestricted to reotsriguter or 8quKe dolm and may instaad comprise any dape suitable fior tfte particafar application as a matxex of dedp choice.
Additionally, pattetns otfiet than a grid may be trsad, ag., cim.ttlar or polygonal pabberns- As furtixr shown In =FIG.5, oach of the tr.gions 502-518 is defined aeeording to region indieia 534. In the example shown in FIG- 5, the region indic.ia may comprise a title 534a, a tit18 btu 534b and various region bonierlines 534e. Once again, those having ordinary skill in tho art will recognize that other types of region indicia may be t-qed as a matter of design choice, including variations in textut'ts, color and shading.
A particular ftattrt+e of the present invention is the use of data types to further organizE the display of data elements. As used herein, data types are represtntative of the particular content or stibjeCt matter of any given data element. In a ptefarred earbod'rment, the data types are the result of a knowledge model used to organize the data elements. An exemplary knowledge model 400 is illustrated in p'iG. 4.
The knowledge rnodel 400 illustrated in FIG. 4 is partictrlarly adapted for use in drug discovery research. As shown in FIG. 4. the knowledge model 400 comprises a plurality of components or data types represented as blocks. In particular, the knowledge model 400 comprises a drug data component, a therapeutic area component, a disease,/phenotype component, a protein variant component, a compound eomponent, a target class component, a literature component, a protein component, a protein family coniponent, a patent component, a scir.ntist eomponent, a locus cornponet'it, an ontology component, an approval component, an organization component and finally a pathway component.
The relationships between the various components illustrated in FIG. 4 are illustrated by a plu-ality of Ilnes cotutiectiag each of the aomponents. TJte rr=isstioon&ips illuatrabed in FIG. 4 at+o tept+ssantative of the fact that a data element falling within the realm of Nny givett ootnporxxtt may make t+efotutoe to, and theroby be i+r.labed to, at least one other data element encompassed by a d'ifferent eoutponent. For exetnple, the rremc of a giiven scientist falling within the sclentist component may be assaoiated with vatious artides witliirt the literature component, with one or more patents encompassed by the patent oomponent and may be affiliate,d wlth one or mote otBaniaablons falling under the orgartization component. In essence, the knowledge model 400 gonerically rcpresentv tho relationship$ betvNeen various components withitl8 predefined subject area. As a result, lqtowkdge models in ao ordaaoe with the paesettt invention are necessarily dependent upon and defined by a given field of study or inquiry. Rogardless, the components illustrated in the data modcl may be used as the basis for data types when categorizing the phua]ity of data elements. it is understood, however, that the data types may be dtfined and organized based on techniques other than the knowledge models as deSCribed herein and the present invention is not limited in this regard.
Referring onee agaln to FIG. 2, indicia corresponding to a plurality of data elements may be displayed in the regions based aa data types at block 204. The data element indicia are preferably provided by the server 130 based on the data element informafion 142 stored in the database 140. Data element indicia preferably comprise any visually-perceptible representation oFdata elements. for example, the data element indicia having reference numerals 522 and 527 in FIG. 5 consist of descriptive graphica) symbols and text strings. As previously described, each data element in a knowledge base framework is categorized according to a oomsponding data type.
Additionaily, as described above, each of the plurality of regions provided at block 202 is likewise defmed according to a corresponding data type. Thtls, at block 204, data elements having a corresponding data type equivaTent to the data type of a given region are displayed in that region. Referring to FIG. 5, an example of this is illustrated by the protein family region 514 and the corresponding data elements. 520, 521, displayed therein.
A5 its name would imply, the region 514 is associated with the concept or subject matter of protein families, and the data elements displayed therein are likewise associated with protein families. This is similarly repeated -for each of the other regions and corresponding data types illustrated in FIG: 5. Note that the number of data elements displayed in any given region may vary greatly and is at least partly dependent upon the size of the respective regions. For example, in the central or focus region 502, a single data element indicia 522 is displayed: Conversely, in another region 510 associated with the protein variance data type, at least ten data element indicia are displayed. As shown in'the title bar of the other region 510, only the first ten of fifteen possible data element indicium are displayed. In order to view the other data -element indicium, up and down scroll buttons 526, 528 may be provided. As another means of displaying additional information within a given a region, font increase and foint decrease buttons 530, 532 may also be'provided.
The use in implementations of such buttons 526-532 are well known in the art and need not be described herein in fiu-ther detail.
In this manner, the processing of blocks 202 and 204 provide a technique whereby a plurality of data elements may be di"splayed based on data types. It should be noted that although the processing of blocks 202 and 204 is represented in FIG. 2 as occurring in a predefined order, it is understood that fihe processing represented by blocks 10 .
20Z and 204 could bo taWwukm in any order and in fact tautd be utbecmiogfed.
Regatdless, at block 206, relationships betuw= at least the portion of the pltrality of data etement indicia may be displayed. Onoe again, tlvs is illuattated in FIQ. 5 wttete, for cxample, a relationsbip 524 is illustreted betvvicea aa data element indicium in afir9t region 518 and another data cletnent indicium in a seoond regian 516.
Addilionally, the present invention incorporates the use of d[ferent types of relaGionship indioia. In particular, a relationahip may be a confirmed relationship or a potfttial ralatiooship. For example, the relationship indicium having refcrcnee numeral 524 is representstive of a confirmed relationship; the relationship indieitun having reference numerAl 525 is representative of a potential rclatiorship. preferably, the relationship indicia used to represent twnf'irmed relationships is visuaily different from the .elationship indicia used to represent potential relationships. In the exampie of FIG. 5, this is illustrated through the use of solid verSus dashed littes. Confirmed relationships refer to those instances in which it has been verified that the contertts of a given data element make teferenve to another data elemont. For eacarnple, a scientifio paper may make reference is a footnote or bibliography to another paper. These two papers would then have a conf<tmed relationship. Alternatively, potential'rolationships are those instances in which it Is unclear whether a relationship exists between two data clernents. For example, two chemical compounds frequently described togetlier in a large number of articles are potentially related, In the context of the present invention, potential relationships may be confinned by users and updated accordingly. Thus, at block 208, it is determined whether a confirmation of a potential relationship has been received. That is, a user is Il free to view the contents corresponding to any given data element indicium and verify whether there is in fact a reference to an additional data element according to the potenlial rel.ationship illustrated in the display. If a confirmation of a potential relationship is received (through the use, for example, of an appropriate user input device), the relationship is updated at block 210 and the updated relationships are thereafter redisplayed at block 206. Otherwise, processing continues at block 212 where a user may engage in any one of a number of operations. In particular, at block 212, a user may bookmark a particular data element, set a monitor for a particular data element, or initiate a search against the database of data elements. With regard to bookmarks and monitors, in a presently preferred embodiment, a user can select a given displayed data element indic3um (e.g., by right-clicking on the indicium when using a mouse/cursor mechanism to get a pop-up menu) to be provided with a bookmarking and/or rreonitoring option. Selectirnn of the bookmarking option causes information regarding the particular data element selected to be sent to the knowledge base framewrork (i.e., the server 130 and the database 140), including ir-,formatxon identifying the user and the data element being bookmarked, which information is subsequently stored. Thereafter, using a menu option or similar mechanism,, the user can access his or her bookmarks to select a bookmark and have the display updated accordingly. A sinular procedure is used to establish a monitor for a given data element. Thereafter, selection of that monitor (again, through a menu interface or the like) causes updated information regarding the moriitored data element to be retrieved and presented for display.
As illushal3ad in FIG. S. a f+ootts rogion 502 okay be psovided as the Iagioal and visual ~ocal pointa of the display 500. A focus indicium S22 may be prrovided withat the focus region 502 and ptovides the context by which ahe other iegions 504-519 are populated with retated data eleanent lndicia. In orda to Faeilitate the exploration of a variety of data ctatwit9, the present invention allaws a user to select a given data eletnent indicium and thereby switch the focus of tha display. 11tis is furtlter illustrdted with reference to FIGS. 3 and 6.
FIG. 3 illustrates a process for displaying data element indicia in arcotdance with the present invention, which prooesa is preferably carried out by the computer I10. At block 302 a first data eiement indicium is displayed in the focxts region. In practice, if the display is being provided initially, the data element indiciurn provided in the focus rcgion may be reeal.led frotn a previous session or may be retrieved based on a default vmltte_ Regetdless, at blook 304, additional data element indicia arc displayed in other regions based on their corresporiding data type5. Referring once again to FIG. 5, the focus region 502 is preferably provided as the central region from within the plurality of regions 502,518. Howeve:=, those having ordinary skill in the a'c will reoogrtize that any of the regions could be pmvidcd as the focus region as a matter of design choice. F=urthermora, although not illustrated in FIG. 5, a visual graphic or cue may be provided to further signal the focus cegion to a viewer of tl4t;
display. For examplc, a uniyuc coloring scheme or shading scheme may be used to draw a user's eye to the focus region and thereby orient the user accordingly. Regardless, at block 306 relationship indicia may be displayed as previously described relativc to FIG.
2.
'Ihereafar at bioclc 30$, it is detamitted wl>etita an inddicaaion of the seleetion of a second daht cleanent ittdicitun baa beat rooeived. Suoh woald be tha casa, for axampte, where the usex desites to switah focus from the 6tst data eletawt indicium to the mcand data olentent indieitun tftereby causing the display to be changed. In practice, such an indication would be gen.ernted, for example, when a user alicks on the seeond data element indiaia (assuming a mouae/ctttsor ut.eeh&nism) or through a ratrtilar action. When such an itxlication is received, the display is refivhed such that the second d8ts element ittdiciuttl is thereafter displayed in tIUC fom rCgion tYccor'ding to the processing at block 310. TherCafier, at block 312, at least a portion of the additiotaat data element indicia is displayed in the other t+agions based on the cortespoudiag data'types.
Note that the first data element indicium originatly displayed in the focus region rttay also be displayed in one of thc other regions based on its corresponding data typc-Furthermore, when the second data element is displayed in the focus region, the data type associated with the focus region wiil have necessarily changedd to reflcct the data type associated with the scoond data element indieium. To reflect the change in focus, the data types associated with each of the other regions of the display may likewise change based on the fact that the second data elentent indicium is now displayed in the focus regiori_ ln a pttsently prefetred embodiment, the decision as to which data types get displayed in which regions, if at alt, is user controlled. 1'hat is, each user may provide configuration data (e.g.. through the use of option menu selections) to indicate whether they want to see the scientist aSSociated with the literature in the top middle or in the bottom right panel or not at all.
Ot.ioe tiwdisplay ht+s beatt updabed in aococdanoe with blaclcs 310 and 312, proocssing continues at block 314 where tha mlatlortsitips between the data otetnent indicia now displayed are pravtded. An example of the darage easulting fcom the switdt in iocus described abovo is further itlustcttted with te6pect to FIGS. 5 and 6. In pardculaz, raferting now to FIG. S. it is assumed that a user has selected tfta data eiement indicittnt having reference numeral 527 to be the new focus indicium to bo displayed in the facp3 mgion 502. As a resolt of this 9e6ction, an updated display 600 is provided as shown in FIG. 6. As illustrated in FIG. 6, the second data element indicium in FIG. 5 (i.e., the data eloment lttdicium having reference numeral 527) is now displayed as the focus indicium 622. Note that the data type associated with the fuc.us region now refleats tlu data type (scientists) associated with the new focus indieium 622. Putthermore, note that the region having associated thercwith the proteins data type has moved and that two new date types, active ingredients and gene ontology, have been added to the other regions of the display. Additionally, the reJationship indicia, as a rtisuit in this change in facu9, have been updated to iilustrate the new relationships.
In a prefwcd cmbodirnent, the present invention is implemented as a software devdoprnrnt kit (SDCG). In particular, the SDK allows an application devoloper to add a graphical component (also refers-ed to below as a"navigatot"), in acoordance with the present invention, to an application. [n terms of object oriented progeamroing, the SDK provides a generic framework of class that the deveioper can extend and customize (for example changing colors, events, layout, panel descriptions, tool tips, etc.). In practice, the developer adds the graphical component to their application's container and provides a starting object (or data element) for the eomponent.
Generally, the component then calls the method supplied by, the developer to get the related data element indicia (or nodes) for that object.. These objects, are processed and displayed on the screen according to their sub-panel (region) specification. In particular, the SDK
calls the developer-provided, function to get the related data elements to the starting object (call it set A). When set A is about to be painted/drawn on the screen, the SDK
goes through all the data elements and if they don't have a corresponding data element indicia then they are created. The data element indicia are just a'graphic representation of the data element for the SDK's drawing elements. The SDK is comprised of-a plurality of functional areas (application, data and user interface) each comprising one or more classes. The 'application functional area provides classes used to add the graphical component to the application. It also provides classes that enable the application to change the graphical component's properties *and listen to the.graphical component's events. The data functional area provides a generic implementation of a data component and a generic class that represents a set or collection of data elements. . Finally, the user interface functional area provides graphical classes of the graphical component. Tables * 1-3 below set forth the various classes for each functional area. In the case of the data functional area, Table 2 additionally sets forth functions to be provided within one of the classes (DataObject). Note that .
the functionality described below assumes the use of a mouse/cursor or similar user input mechanism. .16 gpdcadon Cleas Davcpft -NavigatorApplication 'Iws class acts as "gtud' to die tost of the elarm and presents a vnified point for an applicatioo to aeoass the ar.riices of the SDK.
Navigatot$viDtttListeraer This clasa provides a gwric impletnee,tskion of aa eveat handLer. In praoticer a developer should sub-ctass it, provide their itnplementation, and send it to the NavigatorAppl ication.
NavigatorProperties This class allows the user to set the genaral colors of the graphical component (i.e. background color/picture, border color. non-text node colors). The SDK asoates a deEsult ingtanoe of the peopa-ties class. The developer can get access to the deWt instance itsing a getProperties0 tnethod in the NavigatorApplication class.
Table 1_ Dats Class/p'unction Descriotion DatsObjectGollection A collection class for data objects (data elemeats).
DataObject Tbis ciass is. the data representation of each node (is., data element indicia) on the screen. The daveloper should sub-class it and proviae implementations of the following functions:
getTitleQ Callcd by the S DK to get thc tide of the data element.
petDescriptionQ Called by the SDK to get the description of the data element.
getl.efftlmage() Called by the SDK to get the left image, if any_ gettz;ightlsnage() Called by the SDK to get the right iniage, if any.
getRelatedNodes() Called by the SDK, when a given data element is activated (e.g., selected), to get the related data elements for this instance of the DataObject.
Table 2.
User YnLorface Cl9Ss ~l~jgg DesoriptiortPansl M dass provides tool-tip Fpnctionality. Wbe- a etxrsor is over some data elemant indioium, the SDK calls tise getDesc-aipti:onQ rnetttod on the DataObject (data dematt) oorresponding to that data eiement indioitun and displwys the results using the DescriptionPanel.
GraphlcsPanel This c.lass provides the oore drawing/painting routitm for the navigatior components. it is respoatsibic for calling getRelatedNodes on a DataObject and displaying the [esults.
ListenorPanel This class provides a generic implemetttation of a cursor-rraovernentdistener class.
NodeColleetion 71is caass provides a simple coliection for the NodaObJects (data element indicia).
NodeObject Thia class is tha graphical tepresentation of a DataObjeot, i.e., a data element indicium. k knows how to draw and animate itself and which other data element indicia it is connected to.
SubPanel This class provides the region functionality of the navigator component. When thn GraphiesPanel calls the getRelatedNodes method on a DataObject (data element), it goes through the collection and adds the DataObjects (data clcments) to the specific panels. Tha panel then creatcs the NodeObject (data element indicia) and gives it position/animation instructions.
Uble 3.
The flowcharts illustrated in FIGS. 7-9 further describe use and operation of the SDK described above. The processing illustrated in FIGS. 7-9 is carried out by the computer 11 0_ FXG. 7 illustrates the overall process of activating a data element (object) and displaying re1$ted data element indicia (nodes). At block 702, an initial object is obtained either frortt the database or.a static entry point for the application. The initial object is obtained either upon initiation of the graphics component or upon selection of a data element indicia corresponding to the object being obtained. At block 704, nodes related to the initial object are obtained. Usirig the SDK described above, the getRelatedNodcs function sends a request to the database 140 which, in turn, responds with a list of related data elements as 'well as information regarding how the data elements are to be displayed. In particular, getRelatedNodes returns a set (DataObjectCollection) of data elements that are related to the -data element on which getRelatedNodes was called. For exainple, if getRelatedNodes is called on a data element that represents a scientist, then the function would return a collection that nught have a list of documents, other scientist who have' co-authored papers with him, his organization, etc. At block 706, the list returned at block 704 is scanned to determine that specific data type corresponding to each of the returned nodes, thereby determining :which sub-panels (regions) each returned node should be associated with.
At block 708, region- (or sub-panel) indicia is drawn to an off screen buffer. The use of off-screen or video buffers and techniques for drawing.
graphic images therein are well-known in the art and.need not be described in greater detail hefe.
Additionally, at block. 710, data element indicia (and the relationships there between) corresponding to each of the regions depicted in -the off-screen buffer are likewise drawn in the off-screen buffer. In this manner, an entire graphics panel (e.g., display 500) is.
composed in the off-screen buffer. Thereafter, at block 712, the contents of the off-.
screen buffer are presented on a suitable display 118 in accordance with well-known graphics processing techniques. At this point, a display such as the one indicated in FIG.
is displayed on the display screen. Thereafter, at blocks 714-718, it is determined whether a paint or mouse event has been received. - In the context of the present invention, a paint event is any event requiring the off-screen buffer to be redrawn to the display, and a mouse event is any event in which a new object has been selected. If a paint event occurs, the off screen buffer 4s redrawn on the display at block 712. If a 19 .
mouse event occuts, processing continues at block 704 based on the newly sclocied object.
FIG. 8 illustrates the processing of block 706 in greater detail, particulasiy the addition of a node to a sub-panel. At block 802, a data elem~e~att (object) is added to an internal co!leCtion, i.e., data elements corresponding to a speeilfiG sub-panel. At block 804, it is determined whether the data element already has a grsphical representation (data element indicium) assoeioted therewith. If not, a data elemvpt indicium is cregxed at block 806 using known tochniques. In a presently preferred embodiment, for the ptuposcs of animation, the starting point for the data element indicium is set as the middle of the screen so that during a drawing cycle the data elemertt indicium will move from the centqr of the screen to its sub-panel position.
Once such a data element indicium has been created, or if one already existed, processing continues at block 808 where the data element indicium.(nede) is assoeiated with a corresponding region (sub-panel) based on data type.
Additionally, at this step, any information regarding animatiort of the data element indicium is M. As noted above, nodes are preferably, but not necessarilx, araiRttated during the drawing prooess, Currently, these animations comprise moving, growing, shrinking and coilapsing. When a noda is activated (i.e., selected), nodes that aaz already on the screen and that need to reniain on the screen move to new locations; new nodes move and grow from thG new active node's current position; the new active node moves to the focus region and the nodes that are no longer required on the screen will shrink and move towards the center and finally disappear. Those having ordinaty skill in the art will reeognized that other animation schemes may be used; the pocese,ttt invention is not limited in this regard. Thereafter, at block 810, the information regarding the text associated with the data element indicium as well as the region with which it is associated .are updated at block 810. In this manner, regions or sub-panels may be updated in accordance with chaizges instigated by a user.
Finally, FIG. 9 illustrates the processing of block 710 in greater detail, particularly the drawing of a data element.indicium (node) in the off-screen buffer. At block 902, it is determined whether 'a given data element indicium has been previously drawn. If not, at block 914, the appropriate function calls are made to retrieve the title of the data element'as well as initialize animation to be associated with the data element. In particular, initialization of the animation includes setting up the font size, the position, etc, for animation. . . .
If the data element indicium has -been previously 'drawn, processing continues at block 904 where it is determined if the size of the data*element indicium has changed, for example, as a result of animations, or if the cursor is moved over a node for.
which the corresponding text has been previously truncated. If.so, or if processing is continuing from block 914, processing continues at block 916 where the amount of text displayed as part of the data element indicium is recalculated. In a preferred embodiment, each data element indicium may comprise a graphical image subcomponent (e.g., the outline of a person in the case of the scientist data type) and a text subcomponent (e.g., the name of 'the person to whom the data element indicium corresponds in the case of the scientist data type). Thus, for example, if the size of the data element indicium has changed such that it is now larger, some portion of the text subcomponent may need to 'be truncated. Conversely, if the data element indicium has .21 changed such that it is now smaller, the amount of truncation needed may be reduced or eliminated altogether. In the case where the cursor moves over a node having previously truncated text, the node is expanded to show the full text for so long as the cursor remains over the node.
If, after determining that the data element indicium has not changed in size, processing continues at 'block 906 where it is determined if there is any pending animation for the data element. In practice; animation is done in frames. So;
for a "move" animation, a object moves a small increment onframe 1, another small increment on the next frame, etc.* Therefore if the object has not reached the final destination it will still have pending animation operations. If so; or if processing is continuing from block 916, processing continues at block 918 where the data element indicium representative of the data element is reduced in size or moved based on the pending animation corresponding thereto. Thereafter, processing nearly equivalent to blocks 904 and 916 is executed. at blocks 920 and 922, i.e., recalculating the amount of text to be displayed if the size of the data element indicium has changed as a result of the animation. If the size has not changed, processing continues at block 924 where it is determined if the data element indicia is still visible. 'Because of the animation that occurred, it is possible that the data element indicium corresponding. to the data elerrient may no longer be visible. If not, the data element indicium is removed -from off-screen buffer and from the class representative of the graphic panel (display).
If the data element indicium is still visible despite the animation, or if there was no pending animation at block 906,. processing continues. at block 908 where the colors for the data element indicium as well as'the region indicia are set according to a predeterminect tormat. Jn aprelbired otabodiatent, a user can chttngo aq o#'tbe votvm in the navigator. Color for the node is the color tlmt is tpad to d'isplaq- the te%t, whereas navipoor colors are the color for the border of a aoda, the IWc eolar, the bedcground color, ete. 'Ihetrafter, at block 910, the border defining the node and it corresponding text are drawn and, at block 912, the relationship indicia are also drawn. To this end, the getLeftimage function, to retrieve the symbol used to represettt the node, and getRightIrnage function, to retrieve the text to be displayed, are called at block 910.
17ie present invention overcomes the limitations of p[ior art mathodologies by not only dida elemeat indicla and oomcspottdding telationships there between, but by doing so basad on data types. To this end, =a plurality of regions are defined'based on a corresponding plurality of data types, and region ittdioia are displayed aeaordingly. Data element indicia are displayed in the plurality of regions based on matching data types of the data etentent indicia and the plurality of regions.
Relationships between the data element indicia, which reiationships are user modifiable, may titcewise be displayed_ A selected data element indicium is preferably displayed in a foeus region of the plurality of regions, and subsequent selections of other data element indicia for display in the focus region causcs the plurality of regions, and the data element indicia displayed therein, to be updated accordingly. ln the marmer, the present invention provides an improved technique for displaying information.
, The foregoing description of a preferred embodiment of the invention has bccn presented for purposes of illusttation and description, it is not intended to be cxhaustive or to limit invention to the precise form disctosed, The description was selected to best explain the principles of the invention and practical application of these pnneq)les to eaable otiws sldtled in the art 1o UeAt uffl= tbe inveuiion and vaitous ambvd'unents, and various modifcakioas as ate suieed bo the pardaulac use coatemglaeed.
(t is intraded that the scope of tfie invantion not be iimited by the spaoification, but be dt6ned by tbe olaims set 6vrNt below_
FIG. S Ls an exemplarg illushation of a d'tsplay in accordance with the pgeseut invetttion;
FIG. 6 is an illustration of an addltional display in aecowdAnct with the pimsent inventio$; and FIGS. 7-9 aoc flovutltarts illustrating an intplementation of the presmt im-ention.
DETAII.ED DESC P''C'ION OF A PRPFERRI/D EMBOD111+16NT
OF THE 1NVEN'1'ION
The pcesent invention may be more readily described with referonce to FIGS. 1-9 below_ Referring now to FIG. 1, a systc.trt 1001s iliustrated comprising a oomputer L 10 ooupled to a server 130 that is in turn coupled to a databaeo 140. In a preferred embodimcnt, the computer 110 is coupled to the server 130 via a public network sucli as the Internet or Wodd Wide Web, or a private network such as an Inhajiet, or a combination thercof, The saver 130 and database 140 colleotively defiae a knowledge base ftnmework. Suitable platforms for implemeating the server 130 and database 140 is well known to those having ordinary skitl in the art and need not be described in greater detail here. As shown in FIG. 1, the database ,140 comprises iufatsnation regarding data elements 142, as well as inFornnation tegarding user bookmarks 144 and monitors 146. In the context of the present invention, data elements c:omprise any uniquely identifiable digital objects, or links thereto, capable of manip+ilation and/or srooragc by a compt-ter. For eatample, a data otement tnay comlxise, but is aot Iimlted to, taict, grapteics or vidso files as known in tha art. Furthdrrtot+e, tgther thaQt Ao~ing ac.tual copies of the data eletncuts 142 in ihodatabasa 140, infotYnaNon indicating where saclt copies may be &=ssed (i.e., Iryperlinks) may be stored in the databaae 140.
Tbe boolamarics 144 comprise uset-provided informatioa rcgarding parti.aular dat=a elements thn# a given user may wish to quiCkly acoess in the future. Additionally, the monitor iaformation 146 comprises uaer-provided infotmution regatding partioular data eleudeuts far which a given user deslres to receive notifications of modification_s or updates.
As shown, the computer l10 c.otnprises a prooe_vsor 112 cottpied to memory 114, one or more user input devices 116, a displtiy l I S, and a ttetwodc interiaco 120_ The processor 112, whic,h may comprise a=:PENTIUM& series proceasor along with any additional co-prooessors as commonly used in the art, eontrols the operekinn, cf the computer 1 L0. In particular, the memory'l 14, which may eomprise suitable nomrotatile stotage such as read-only nietnory (ROM) and/or volatito rnetnory, such as randorn access memory (RAM), st+orrs various executable instiltetions and data sttuctures in accordance with the present invention. In particular, the memory 114 eomprises, in addition to an opeta8ng 3ystem and associated data structures, an application 122 that, when executed by the processor 112, provides a means fior a user of the computer 110 to access the knowledge base framework embodicd by the server 130 and database 140_ In a presently preferred embodiment, the application 122, when executed, invokes a browser 124 such as Netscape's Navigator browser or Microsoft's internet Explorer browser, to provide a suitable interfaioe for communicating with the ltnowtedge base frameworic.
Futtherrnore, the anoliaation 122 is nrafiembly written in aatachuue-independant langtUV
surh as "jAVA " or the like.
As known in the art, the user input devices 116 atay comprise a loayboatd, tnonso, tnuch pad, voice necognilion, or any other atectmutism ty,piaally used to provide ttsor input to a computer. Likewise, the display 118 may comprise any type of display technology commonly found in personal aomputets, laptops and the like. I'ha network intuface 120 provides connectivity with the 5erver 130 via the appropriate netwark and may comprise a network interface card, a modem, or any other similar devioes.
As described in greater detail betow, the computer I10, whea executing in acoor+dance with the alrplication 122, provides a suitable platform for implement9ng an intednee in accordance with the present invention.
Referring now to FIG. 2, a flowchart illustrating a method for displaying a plurality of data elements in accordanoe with tlte present invention is provided.
Preferably, the processi.ng illustrated in FI{3. 2 is carried out by the computer I10 as previously described. Beginning at block 202, a plurality of regions, as defcned by reglon indicia, are displaycd bascd on data types, In aoeordanoe with the present invention, a region comprises a portion of a viewable display area provided by a display.
The plurality of regions may be arranged in any suitable matu'-er, and- in a prefen-ed embodiment are anrangcd according to a 3x3 grid. An exemplary display (or graphic panel) 500 in accordance with a presently preferred embodiment is illustrated in FIG. 5_ As shown in FIG. 5, the display 500 comprises a plurality of regions (or sub-panels) 502-t$ arranged in a 3x3 grid, However, those having ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the prescnt invention need not be limited in this manner, For example, rather than ptovtaing att mtn grM, vanous otuer aunansioas may be ttsed.. Th+e vanioua rev'oos sie not nestricted to reotsriguter or 8quKe dolm and may instaad comprise any dape suitable fior tfte particafar application as a matxex of dedp choice.
Additionally, pattetns otfiet than a grid may be trsad, ag., cim.ttlar or polygonal pabberns- As furtixr shown In =FIG.5, oach of the tr.gions 502-518 is defined aeeording to region indieia 534. In the example shown in FIG- 5, the region indic.ia may comprise a title 534a, a tit18 btu 534b and various region bonierlines 534e. Once again, those having ordinary skill in tho art will recognize that other types of region indicia may be t-qed as a matter of design choice, including variations in textut'ts, color and shading.
A particular ftattrt+e of the present invention is the use of data types to further organizE the display of data elements. As used herein, data types are represtntative of the particular content or stibjeCt matter of any given data element. In a ptefarred earbod'rment, the data types are the result of a knowledge model used to organize the data elements. An exemplary knowledge model 400 is illustrated in p'iG. 4.
The knowledge rnodel 400 illustrated in FIG. 4 is partictrlarly adapted for use in drug discovery research. As shown in FIG. 4. the knowledge model 400 comprises a plurality of components or data types represented as blocks. In particular, the knowledge model 400 comprises a drug data component, a therapeutic area component, a disease,/phenotype component, a protein variant component, a compound eomponent, a target class component, a literature component, a protein component, a protein family coniponent, a patent component, a scir.ntist eomponent, a locus cornponet'it, an ontology component, an approval component, an organization component and finally a pathway component.
The relationships between the various components illustrated in FIG. 4 are illustrated by a plu-ality of Ilnes cotutiectiag each of the aomponents. TJte rr=isstioon&ips illuatrabed in FIG. 4 at+o tept+ssantative of the fact that a data element falling within the realm of Nny givett ootnporxxtt may make t+efotutoe to, and theroby be i+r.labed to, at least one other data element encompassed by a d'ifferent eoutponent. For exetnple, the rremc of a giiven scientist falling within the sclentist component may be assaoiated with vatious artides witliirt the literature component, with one or more patents encompassed by the patent oomponent and may be affiliate,d wlth one or mote otBaniaablons falling under the orgartization component. In essence, the knowledge model 400 gonerically rcpresentv tho relationship$ betvNeen various components withitl8 predefined subject area. As a result, lqtowkdge models in ao ordaaoe with the paesettt invention are necessarily dependent upon and defined by a given field of study or inquiry. Rogardless, the components illustrated in the data modcl may be used as the basis for data types when categorizing the phua]ity of data elements. it is understood, however, that the data types may be dtfined and organized based on techniques other than the knowledge models as deSCribed herein and the present invention is not limited in this regard.
Referring onee agaln to FIG. 2, indicia corresponding to a plurality of data elements may be displayed in the regions based aa data types at block 204. The data element indicia are preferably provided by the server 130 based on the data element informafion 142 stored in the database 140. Data element indicia preferably comprise any visually-perceptible representation oFdata elements. for example, the data element indicia having reference numerals 522 and 527 in FIG. 5 consist of descriptive graphica) symbols and text strings. As previously described, each data element in a knowledge base framework is categorized according to a oomsponding data type.
Additionaily, as described above, each of the plurality of regions provided at block 202 is likewise defmed according to a corresponding data type. Thtls, at block 204, data elements having a corresponding data type equivaTent to the data type of a given region are displayed in that region. Referring to FIG. 5, an example of this is illustrated by the protein family region 514 and the corresponding data elements. 520, 521, displayed therein.
A5 its name would imply, the region 514 is associated with the concept or subject matter of protein families, and the data elements displayed therein are likewise associated with protein families. This is similarly repeated -for each of the other regions and corresponding data types illustrated in FIG: 5. Note that the number of data elements displayed in any given region may vary greatly and is at least partly dependent upon the size of the respective regions. For example, in the central or focus region 502, a single data element indicia 522 is displayed: Conversely, in another region 510 associated with the protein variance data type, at least ten data element indicia are displayed. As shown in'the title bar of the other region 510, only the first ten of fifteen possible data element indicium are displayed. In order to view the other data -element indicium, up and down scroll buttons 526, 528 may be provided. As another means of displaying additional information within a given a region, font increase and foint decrease buttons 530, 532 may also be'provided.
The use in implementations of such buttons 526-532 are well known in the art and need not be described herein in fiu-ther detail.
In this manner, the processing of blocks 202 and 204 provide a technique whereby a plurality of data elements may be di"splayed based on data types. It should be noted that although the processing of blocks 202 and 204 is represented in FIG. 2 as occurring in a predefined order, it is understood that fihe processing represented by blocks 10 .
20Z and 204 could bo taWwukm in any order and in fact tautd be utbecmiogfed.
Regatdless, at block 206, relationships betuw= at least the portion of the pltrality of data etement indicia may be displayed. Onoe again, tlvs is illuattated in FIQ. 5 wttete, for cxample, a relationsbip 524 is illustreted betvvicea aa data element indicium in afir9t region 518 and another data cletnent indicium in a seoond regian 516.
Addilionally, the present invention incorporates the use of d[ferent types of relaGionship indioia. In particular, a relationahip may be a confirmed relationship or a potfttial ralatiooship. For example, the relationship indicium having refcrcnee numeral 524 is representstive of a confirmed relationship; the relationship indieitun having reference numerAl 525 is representative of a potential rclatiorship. preferably, the relationship indicia used to represent twnf'irmed relationships is visuaily different from the .elationship indicia used to represent potential relationships. In the exampie of FIG. 5, this is illustrated through the use of solid verSus dashed littes. Confirmed relationships refer to those instances in which it has been verified that the contertts of a given data element make teferenve to another data elemont. For eacarnple, a scientifio paper may make reference is a footnote or bibliography to another paper. These two papers would then have a conf<tmed relationship. Alternatively, potential'rolationships are those instances in which it Is unclear whether a relationship exists between two data clernents. For example, two chemical compounds frequently described togetlier in a large number of articles are potentially related, In the context of the present invention, potential relationships may be confinned by users and updated accordingly. Thus, at block 208, it is determined whether a confirmation of a potential relationship has been received. That is, a user is Il free to view the contents corresponding to any given data element indicium and verify whether there is in fact a reference to an additional data element according to the potenlial rel.ationship illustrated in the display. If a confirmation of a potential relationship is received (through the use, for example, of an appropriate user input device), the relationship is updated at block 210 and the updated relationships are thereafter redisplayed at block 206. Otherwise, processing continues at block 212 where a user may engage in any one of a number of operations. In particular, at block 212, a user may bookmark a particular data element, set a monitor for a particular data element, or initiate a search against the database of data elements. With regard to bookmarks and monitors, in a presently preferred embodiment, a user can select a given displayed data element indic3um (e.g., by right-clicking on the indicium when using a mouse/cursor mechanism to get a pop-up menu) to be provided with a bookmarking and/or rreonitoring option. Selectirnn of the bookmarking option causes information regarding the particular data element selected to be sent to the knowledge base framewrork (i.e., the server 130 and the database 140), including ir-,formatxon identifying the user and the data element being bookmarked, which information is subsequently stored. Thereafter, using a menu option or similar mechanism,, the user can access his or her bookmarks to select a bookmark and have the display updated accordingly. A sinular procedure is used to establish a monitor for a given data element. Thereafter, selection of that monitor (again, through a menu interface or the like) causes updated information regarding the moriitored data element to be retrieved and presented for display.
As illushal3ad in FIG. S. a f+ootts rogion 502 okay be psovided as the Iagioal and visual ~ocal pointa of the display 500. A focus indicium S22 may be prrovided withat the focus region 502 and ptovides the context by which ahe other iegions 504-519 are populated with retated data eleanent lndicia. In orda to Faeilitate the exploration of a variety of data ctatwit9, the present invention allaws a user to select a given data eletnent indicium and thereby switch the focus of tha display. 11tis is furtlter illustrdted with reference to FIGS. 3 and 6.
FIG. 3 illustrates a process for displaying data element indicia in arcotdance with the present invention, which prooesa is preferably carried out by the computer I10. At block 302 a first data eiement indicium is displayed in the focxts region. In practice, if the display is being provided initially, the data element indiciurn provided in the focus rcgion may be reeal.led frotn a previous session or may be retrieved based on a default vmltte_ Regetdless, at blook 304, additional data element indicia arc displayed in other regions based on their corresporiding data type5. Referring once again to FIG. 5, the focus region 502 is preferably provided as the central region from within the plurality of regions 502,518. Howeve:=, those having ordinary skill in the a'c will reoogrtize that any of the regions could be pmvidcd as the focus region as a matter of design choice. F=urthermora, although not illustrated in FIG. 5, a visual graphic or cue may be provided to further signal the focus cegion to a viewer of tl4t;
display. For examplc, a uniyuc coloring scheme or shading scheme may be used to draw a user's eye to the focus region and thereby orient the user accordingly. Regardless, at block 306 relationship indicia may be displayed as previously described relativc to FIG.
2.
'Ihereafar at bioclc 30$, it is detamitted wl>etita an inddicaaion of the seleetion of a second daht cleanent ittdicitun baa beat rooeived. Suoh woald be tha casa, for axampte, where the usex desites to switah focus from the 6tst data eletawt indicium to the mcand data olentent indieitun tftereby causing the display to be changed. In practice, such an indication would be gen.ernted, for example, when a user alicks on the seeond data element indiaia (assuming a mouae/ctttsor ut.eeh&nism) or through a ratrtilar action. When such an itxlication is received, the display is refivhed such that the second d8ts element ittdiciuttl is thereafter displayed in tIUC fom rCgion tYccor'ding to the processing at block 310. TherCafier, at block 312, at least a portion of the additiotaat data element indicia is displayed in the other t+agions based on the cortespoudiag data'types.
Note that the first data element indicium originatly displayed in the focus region rttay also be displayed in one of thc other regions based on its corresponding data typc-Furthermore, when the second data element is displayed in the focus region, the data type associated with the focus region wiil have necessarily changedd to reflcct the data type associated with the scoond data element indieium. To reflect the change in focus, the data types associated with each of the other regions of the display may likewise change based on the fact that the second data elentent indicium is now displayed in the focus regiori_ ln a pttsently prefetred embodiment, the decision as to which data types get displayed in which regions, if at alt, is user controlled. 1'hat is, each user may provide configuration data (e.g.. through the use of option menu selections) to indicate whether they want to see the scientist aSSociated with the literature in the top middle or in the bottom right panel or not at all.
Ot.ioe tiwdisplay ht+s beatt updabed in aococdanoe with blaclcs 310 and 312, proocssing continues at block 314 where tha mlatlortsitips between the data otetnent indicia now displayed are pravtded. An example of the darage easulting fcom the switdt in iocus described abovo is further itlustcttted with te6pect to FIGS. 5 and 6. In pardculaz, raferting now to FIG. S. it is assumed that a user has selected tfta data eiement indicittnt having reference numeral 527 to be the new focus indicium to bo displayed in the facp3 mgion 502. As a resolt of this 9e6ction, an updated display 600 is provided as shown in FIG. 6. As illustrated in FIG. 6, the second data element indicium in FIG. 5 (i.e., the data eloment lttdicium having reference numeral 527) is now displayed as the focus indicium 622. Note that the data type associated with the fuc.us region now refleats tlu data type (scientists) associated with the new focus indieium 622. Putthermore, note that the region having associated thercwith the proteins data type has moved and that two new date types, active ingredients and gene ontology, have been added to the other regions of the display. Additionally, the reJationship indicia, as a rtisuit in this change in facu9, have been updated to iilustrate the new relationships.
In a prefwcd cmbodirnent, the present invention is implemented as a software devdoprnrnt kit (SDCG). In particular, the SDK allows an application devoloper to add a graphical component (also refers-ed to below as a"navigatot"), in acoordance with the present invention, to an application. [n terms of object oriented progeamroing, the SDK provides a generic framework of class that the deveioper can extend and customize (for example changing colors, events, layout, panel descriptions, tool tips, etc.). In practice, the developer adds the graphical component to their application's container and provides a starting object (or data element) for the eomponent.
Generally, the component then calls the method supplied by, the developer to get the related data element indicia (or nodes) for that object.. These objects, are processed and displayed on the screen according to their sub-panel (region) specification. In particular, the SDK
calls the developer-provided, function to get the related data elements to the starting object (call it set A). When set A is about to be painted/drawn on the screen, the SDK
goes through all the data elements and if they don't have a corresponding data element indicia then they are created. The data element indicia are just a'graphic representation of the data element for the SDK's drawing elements. The SDK is comprised of-a plurality of functional areas (application, data and user interface) each comprising one or more classes. The 'application functional area provides classes used to add the graphical component to the application. It also provides classes that enable the application to change the graphical component's properties *and listen to the.graphical component's events. The data functional area provides a generic implementation of a data component and a generic class that represents a set or collection of data elements. . Finally, the user interface functional area provides graphical classes of the graphical component. Tables * 1-3 below set forth the various classes for each functional area. In the case of the data functional area, Table 2 additionally sets forth functions to be provided within one of the classes (DataObject). Note that .
the functionality described below assumes the use of a mouse/cursor or similar user input mechanism. .16 gpdcadon Cleas Davcpft -NavigatorApplication 'Iws class acts as "gtud' to die tost of the elarm and presents a vnified point for an applicatioo to aeoass the ar.riices of the SDK.
Navigatot$viDtttListeraer This clasa provides a gwric impletnee,tskion of aa eveat handLer. In praoticer a developer should sub-ctass it, provide their itnplementation, and send it to the NavigatorAppl ication.
NavigatorProperties This class allows the user to set the genaral colors of the graphical component (i.e. background color/picture, border color. non-text node colors). The SDK asoates a deEsult ingtanoe of the peopa-ties class. The developer can get access to the deWt instance itsing a getProperties0 tnethod in the NavigatorApplication class.
Table 1_ Dats Class/p'unction Descriotion DatsObjectGollection A collection class for data objects (data elemeats).
DataObject Tbis ciass is. the data representation of each node (is., data element indicia) on the screen. The daveloper should sub-class it and proviae implementations of the following functions:
getTitleQ Callcd by the S DK to get thc tide of the data element.
petDescriptionQ Called by the SDK to get the description of the data element.
getl.efftlmage() Called by the SDK to get the left image, if any_ gettz;ightlsnage() Called by the SDK to get the right iniage, if any.
getRelatedNodes() Called by the SDK, when a given data element is activated (e.g., selected), to get the related data elements for this instance of the DataObject.
Table 2.
User YnLorface Cl9Ss ~l~jgg DesoriptiortPansl M dass provides tool-tip Fpnctionality. Wbe- a etxrsor is over some data elemant indioium, the SDK calls tise getDesc-aipti:onQ rnetttod on the DataObject (data dematt) oorresponding to that data eiement indioitun and displwys the results using the DescriptionPanel.
GraphlcsPanel This c.lass provides the oore drawing/painting routitm for the navigatior components. it is respoatsibic for calling getRelatedNodes on a DataObject and displaying the [esults.
ListenorPanel This class provides a generic implemetttation of a cursor-rraovernentdistener class.
NodeColleetion 71is caass provides a simple coliection for the NodaObJects (data element indicia).
NodeObject Thia class is tha graphical tepresentation of a DataObjeot, i.e., a data element indicium. k knows how to draw and animate itself and which other data element indicia it is connected to.
SubPanel This class provides the region functionality of the navigator component. When thn GraphiesPanel calls the getRelatedNodes method on a DataObject (data element), it goes through the collection and adds the DataObjects (data clcments) to the specific panels. Tha panel then creatcs the NodeObject (data element indicia) and gives it position/animation instructions.
Uble 3.
The flowcharts illustrated in FIGS. 7-9 further describe use and operation of the SDK described above. The processing illustrated in FIGS. 7-9 is carried out by the computer 11 0_ FXG. 7 illustrates the overall process of activating a data element (object) and displaying re1$ted data element indicia (nodes). At block 702, an initial object is obtained either frortt the database or.a static entry point for the application. The initial object is obtained either upon initiation of the graphics component or upon selection of a data element indicia corresponding to the object being obtained. At block 704, nodes related to the initial object are obtained. Usirig the SDK described above, the getRelatedNodcs function sends a request to the database 140 which, in turn, responds with a list of related data elements as 'well as information regarding how the data elements are to be displayed. In particular, getRelatedNodes returns a set (DataObjectCollection) of data elements that are related to the -data element on which getRelatedNodes was called. For exainple, if getRelatedNodes is called on a data element that represents a scientist, then the function would return a collection that nught have a list of documents, other scientist who have' co-authored papers with him, his organization, etc. At block 706, the list returned at block 704 is scanned to determine that specific data type corresponding to each of the returned nodes, thereby determining :which sub-panels (regions) each returned node should be associated with.
At block 708, region- (or sub-panel) indicia is drawn to an off screen buffer. The use of off-screen or video buffers and techniques for drawing.
graphic images therein are well-known in the art and.need not be described in greater detail hefe.
Additionally, at block. 710, data element indicia (and the relationships there between) corresponding to each of the regions depicted in -the off-screen buffer are likewise drawn in the off-screen buffer. In this manner, an entire graphics panel (e.g., display 500) is.
composed in the off-screen buffer. Thereafter, at block 712, the contents of the off-.
screen buffer are presented on a suitable display 118 in accordance with well-known graphics processing techniques. At this point, a display such as the one indicated in FIG.
is displayed on the display screen. Thereafter, at blocks 714-718, it is determined whether a paint or mouse event has been received. - In the context of the present invention, a paint event is any event requiring the off-screen buffer to be redrawn to the display, and a mouse event is any event in which a new object has been selected. If a paint event occurs, the off screen buffer 4s redrawn on the display at block 712. If a 19 .
mouse event occuts, processing continues at block 704 based on the newly sclocied object.
FIG. 8 illustrates the processing of block 706 in greater detail, particulasiy the addition of a node to a sub-panel. At block 802, a data elem~e~att (object) is added to an internal co!leCtion, i.e., data elements corresponding to a speeilfiG sub-panel. At block 804, it is determined whether the data element already has a grsphical representation (data element indicium) assoeioted therewith. If not, a data elemvpt indicium is cregxed at block 806 using known tochniques. In a presently preferred embodiment, for the ptuposcs of animation, the starting point for the data element indicium is set as the middle of the screen so that during a drawing cycle the data elemertt indicium will move from the centqr of the screen to its sub-panel position.
Once such a data element indicium has been created, or if one already existed, processing continues at block 808 where the data element indicium.(nede) is assoeiated with a corresponding region (sub-panel) based on data type.
Additionally, at this step, any information regarding animatiort of the data element indicium is M. As noted above, nodes are preferably, but not necessarilx, araiRttated during the drawing prooess, Currently, these animations comprise moving, growing, shrinking and coilapsing. When a noda is activated (i.e., selected), nodes that aaz already on the screen and that need to reniain on the screen move to new locations; new nodes move and grow from thG new active node's current position; the new active node moves to the focus region and the nodes that are no longer required on the screen will shrink and move towards the center and finally disappear. Those having ordinaty skill in the art will reeognized that other animation schemes may be used; the pocese,ttt invention is not limited in this regard. Thereafter, at block 810, the information regarding the text associated with the data element indicium as well as the region with which it is associated .are updated at block 810. In this manner, regions or sub-panels may be updated in accordance with chaizges instigated by a user.
Finally, FIG. 9 illustrates the processing of block 710 in greater detail, particularly the drawing of a data element.indicium (node) in the off-screen buffer. At block 902, it is determined whether 'a given data element indicium has been previously drawn. If not, at block 914, the appropriate function calls are made to retrieve the title of the data element'as well as initialize animation to be associated with the data element. In particular, initialization of the animation includes setting up the font size, the position, etc, for animation. . . .
If the data element indicium has -been previously 'drawn, processing continues at block 904 where it is determined if the size of the data*element indicium has changed, for example, as a result of animations, or if the cursor is moved over a node for.
which the corresponding text has been previously truncated. If.so, or if processing is continuing from block 914, processing continues at block 916 where the amount of text displayed as part of the data element indicium is recalculated. In a preferred embodiment, each data element indicium may comprise a graphical image subcomponent (e.g., the outline of a person in the case of the scientist data type) and a text subcomponent (e.g., the name of 'the person to whom the data element indicium corresponds in the case of the scientist data type). Thus, for example, if the size of the data element indicium has changed such that it is now larger, some portion of the text subcomponent may need to 'be truncated. Conversely, if the data element indicium has .21 changed such that it is now smaller, the amount of truncation needed may be reduced or eliminated altogether. In the case where the cursor moves over a node having previously truncated text, the node is expanded to show the full text for so long as the cursor remains over the node.
If, after determining that the data element indicium has not changed in size, processing continues at 'block 906 where it is determined if there is any pending animation for the data element. In practice; animation is done in frames. So;
for a "move" animation, a object moves a small increment onframe 1, another small increment on the next frame, etc.* Therefore if the object has not reached the final destination it will still have pending animation operations. If so; or if processing is continuing from block 916, processing continues at block 918 where the data element indicium representative of the data element is reduced in size or moved based on the pending animation corresponding thereto. Thereafter, processing nearly equivalent to blocks 904 and 916 is executed. at blocks 920 and 922, i.e., recalculating the amount of text to be displayed if the size of the data element indicium has changed as a result of the animation. If the size has not changed, processing continues at block 924 where it is determined if the data element indicia is still visible. 'Because of the animation that occurred, it is possible that the data element indicium corresponding. to the data elerrient may no longer be visible. If not, the data element indicium is removed -from off-screen buffer and from the class representative of the graphic panel (display).
If the data element indicium is still visible despite the animation, or if there was no pending animation at block 906,. processing continues. at block 908 where the colors for the data element indicium as well as'the region indicia are set according to a predeterminect tormat. Jn aprelbired otabodiatent, a user can chttngo aq o#'tbe votvm in the navigator. Color for the node is the color tlmt is tpad to d'isplaq- the te%t, whereas navipoor colors are the color for the border of a aoda, the IWc eolar, the bedcground color, ete. 'Ihetrafter, at block 910, the border defining the node and it corresponding text are drawn and, at block 912, the relationship indicia are also drawn. To this end, the getLeftimage function, to retrieve the symbol used to represettt the node, and getRightIrnage function, to retrieve the text to be displayed, are called at block 910.
17ie present invention overcomes the limitations of p[ior art mathodologies by not only dida elemeat indicla and oomcspottdding telationships there between, but by doing so basad on data types. To this end, =a plurality of regions are defined'based on a corresponding plurality of data types, and region ittdioia are displayed aeaordingly. Data element indicia are displayed in the plurality of regions based on matching data types of the data etentent indicia and the plurality of regions.
Relationships between the data element indicia, which reiationships are user modifiable, may titcewise be displayed_ A selected data element indicium is preferably displayed in a foeus region of the plurality of regions, and subsequent selections of other data element indicia for display in the focus region causcs the plurality of regions, and the data element indicia displayed therein, to be updated accordingly. ln the marmer, the present invention provides an improved technique for displaying information.
, The foregoing description of a preferred embodiment of the invention has bccn presented for purposes of illusttation and description, it is not intended to be cxhaustive or to limit invention to the precise form disctosed, The description was selected to best explain the principles of the invention and practical application of these pnneq)les to eaable otiws sldtled in the art 1o UeAt uffl= tbe inveuiion and vaitous ambvd'unents, and various modifcakioas as ate suieed bo the pardaulac use coatemglaeed.
(t is intraded that the scope of tfie invantion not be iimited by the spaoification, but be dt6ned by tbe olaims set 6vrNt below_
Claims (35)
1. In a computer comprising a display, a method for displaying data element indicia representative of a plurality of data elements that are interrelated by a plurality of relationships, the method comprising:
displaying on the display a plurality of visibly separated regions, wherein each of the regions is defined by region indicia and is representative of a different one of a plurality of corresponding data types that are interrelated within a predefined subject area, wherein each of the data types is a descriptive category that is displayed in one of the regions;
categorizing a plurality of unassociated data elements to be included in the regions based on one of the data types being associated with each of the data elements, wherein categorization is based on the descriptive category that describes the content or subject matter of the data elements;
displaying on the display a plurality of data element indicia positioned in the regions, wherein each indicium of the data element indicia is representative of a data element that is categorized to be displayed in the corresponding region; and displaying on the display a relationship only between data element indicia positioned in different regions.
displaying on the display a plurality of visibly separated regions, wherein each of the regions is defined by region indicia and is representative of a different one of a plurality of corresponding data types that are interrelated within a predefined subject area, wherein each of the data types is a descriptive category that is displayed in one of the regions;
categorizing a plurality of unassociated data elements to be included in the regions based on one of the data types being associated with each of the data elements, wherein categorization is based on the descriptive category that describes the content or subject matter of the data elements;
displaying on the display a plurality of data element indicia positioned in the regions, wherein each indicium of the data element indicia is representative of a data element that is categorized to be displayed in the corresponding region; and displaying on the display a relationship only between data element indicia positioned in different regions.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein displaying on the display a plurality of regions comprises displaying on the display an indication of the data type of each of the corresponding regions.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein displaying on the display a relationship between data element indicia comprises indicating on the display a confirmed relationship between a plurality of related data elements
4. The method of claim 1, wherein displaying on the display a relationship between data element indicia comprises indicating on the display a relationship between a plurality of potentially related data elements.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein indicating on the display a relationship between potentially related data elements comprises:
receiving an indication confirming an unverified relationship between indicia representative of wholly unique, otherwise unassociated data elements; and converting the unverified relationship to a relationship representative of a confirmed relationship.
receiving an indication confirming an unverified relationship between indicia representative of wholly unique, otherwise unassociated data elements; and converting the unverified relationship to a relationship representative of a confirmed relationship.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein displaying on the display a relationship between data element indicia comprises, displaying on the display verified relationships only between indicia in different regions with a first relationship indicia and displaying on the display unverified relationships only between indicia in different regions with a second relationship indicia that is visually different from the first relationship indicia.
7. The method of claim 6, further comprising enabling the capability to convert an unverified relationship to a verified relationship.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein displaying on the display comprises identifying common subject matter between a plurality of data elements.
9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
displaying on the display a focus region defined by region indicia that includes only a single first indicium of the data element indicia as a focus indicium, wherein the regions are displayed on the display based on the focus region and the first indicium; and displaying on the display a plurality of relationships to other indicia relative to the first indicium.
displaying on the display a focus region defined by region indicia that includes only a single first indicium of the data element indicia as a focus indicium, wherein the regions are displayed on the display based on the focus region and the first indicium; and displaying on the display a plurality of relationships to other indicia relative to the first indicium.
10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:
receiving a selection indication representative of selection of a second indicium of the data element indicia as the focus indicium, wherein the second indicium is positioned in a first region with other data element indicia;
reconfiguring the regions on the display based on the selection of the second indicium;
replacing the first indicium with the second indicium in the focus region of the display; and displaying the relationships to the other indicia relative to the second indicium.
receiving a selection indication representative of selection of a second indicium of the data element indicia as the focus indicium, wherein the second indicium is positioned in a first region with other data element indicia;
reconfiguring the regions on the display based on the selection of the second indicium;
replacing the first indicium with the second indicium in the focus region of the display; and displaying the relationships to the other indicia relative to the second indicium.
11. The method of claim 9, wherein displaying a first indicium comprises displaying only the first indicium in a central region of the display that is defined by region indicia.
12. The method of claim 1, wherein categorizing a plurality of unassociated data elements comprises selecting the associated data type from a plurality of data types that have been defined, organized and stored in a database.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein the data types have been defined, organized and stored in the database with a knowledge model.
14. The method of claim 1, wherein the data elements comprise at least one of a text file, a graphics file, or a video file or combinations thereof.
15. The method of claim 1, wherein categorizing a plurality of unassociated data elements comprises searching a database for one of the data elements or data element access information that is stored in the database.
16. In a computer comprising a display, a method for displaying data element indicia representative of a plurality of data elements that are interrelated by a plurality of relationships, the method comprising:
identifying a subject area and a corresponding plurality of interrelated data types;
categorizing a plurality of unassociated data elements to be included in at least one of the data types, wherein the data elements comprise at least one of a text file, a graphics file, or a video file or combinations thereof, and categorization is based on the content or subject matter included within each of the files, wherein the data types describe the content or subject matter encompassed in the data elements to be categorized therein;
generating a focus region in a display that is defined by region indicia and includes a representation of only one of the data elements and a data type descriptive of the one of the data elements;
generating a plurality of associated regions in the display, wherein each of the associated regions is defined by region indicia and is indicated in the display to be representative of one of the data types;
displaying in the display a representation of each of the data elements in at least one of the associated regions that correspond to the data type into which each of the data elements were categorized; and indicating in the display a relationship only between individual data elements in different regions and not between data elements in the same regions.
identifying a subject area and a corresponding plurality of interrelated data types;
categorizing a plurality of unassociated data elements to be included in at least one of the data types, wherein the data elements comprise at least one of a text file, a graphics file, or a video file or combinations thereof, and categorization is based on the content or subject matter included within each of the files, wherein the data types describe the content or subject matter encompassed in the data elements to be categorized therein;
generating a focus region in a display that is defined by region indicia and includes a representation of only one of the data elements and a data type descriptive of the one of the data elements;
generating a plurality of associated regions in the display, wherein each of the associated regions is defined by region indicia and is indicated in the display to be representative of one of the data types;
displaying in the display a representation of each of the data elements in at least one of the associated regions that correspond to the data type into which each of the data elements were categorized; and indicating in the display a relationship only between individual data elements in different regions and not between data elements in the same regions.
17. The method of claim 16, wherein identifying a subject area comprises, selecting the one of the data elements that is represented in the focus region from a group of representations of data elements displayed in one of the associated regions.
18. The method of claim 16, wherein categorizing a plurality of data elements comprises scanning each of the data elements to determine a specific data type corresponding thereto.
19. The method of claim 16, wherein displaying in the display a representation of each of the data elements comprises determining which of the associated regions each of the data elements are associated with.
20. The method of claim 16, wherein displaying in the display a representation of each of the data elements comprises representing each of the data elements individually with a visually perceptible representation.
21. The method of claim 16, wherein generating a focus region comprises providing a context by which the associated regions are generated and displayed.
22 The method of claim 16, wherein generating a plurality of associated regions in the display comprises defining a pattern of visually perceptible panels, wherein each of the panels is an associated region.
23. The method of claim 16, wherein displaying in the display a representation of each of the data elements comprises retrieving a displayable graphical representation of each of the data elements from a database.
24. The method of claim 23, wherein displaying on the display a plurality of data elements comprises creating a displayable graphical representation of a data element when a displayable graphical representation of the data element does not exist in the database.
25. The method of claim 16 wherein displaying in the display a representation of each of the data elements comprises retrieving from a database a title to display in the display for each of the data elements.
26. The method of claim 16, wherein generating a plurality of associated regions comprises determining the regions based on the data types that are represented with the data elements.
27. The method of claim 16, wherein categorizing a plurality of unassociated data elements comprises organizing the data elements with a knowledge model by association with a data type.
28. An apparatus for displaying data element indicia representative of a plurality of data clements interrelated by a plurality of relationships, the apparatus comprising:
a display;
a processor coupled to the display; and a memory device, coupled to the processor, the memory device comprising:
instructions executable by the processor to display on the display a plurality of visibly separated regions, wherein each of the regions is defined by region indicia and is representative of one of a plurality of data types that are interrelated by a pre-defined subject area;
instructions executable by the processor to categorize a plurality of unassociated data elements to be included in the regions based on a data type associated with each of the data elements that is indicative of the content encompassed by the respective data elements;
instructions executable by the processor to display on the display a plurality of data element indicia that are positioned in the regions, wherein each indicium of the data element indicia is representative of a data element that is categorized to be displayed in the corresponding region, and wherein the data types are displayable in the respective regions to describe the content or subject matter of the data element categorized to be displayed therein; and instructions executable by the processor to display on the display a relationship between only the data element indicia that are positioned in different regions.
a display;
a processor coupled to the display; and a memory device, coupled to the processor, the memory device comprising:
instructions executable by the processor to display on the display a plurality of visibly separated regions, wherein each of the regions is defined by region indicia and is representative of one of a plurality of data types that are interrelated by a pre-defined subject area;
instructions executable by the processor to categorize a plurality of unassociated data elements to be included in the regions based on a data type associated with each of the data elements that is indicative of the content encompassed by the respective data elements;
instructions executable by the processor to display on the display a plurality of data element indicia that are positioned in the regions, wherein each indicium of the data element indicia is representative of a data element that is categorized to be displayed in the corresponding region, and wherein the data types are displayable in the respective regions to describe the content or subject matter of the data element categorized to be displayed therein; and instructions executable by the processor to display on the display a relationship between only the data element indicia that are positioned in different regions.
29. The apparatus of claim 28, further comprising a user input device coupled to the processor, and wherein the memory device further comprises instructions executable by the processor to receive, via the user input device, confirmation of a selected relationship between individual indicia that is represented as a potential relationship, wherein each of the individual indicia arc representative of wholly unique, otherwise unassociated data elements; and instructions executable by the processor to convert the selected relationship between the individual indicia to a relationship represented as a confirmed relationship.
30. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the regions define a visually perceptible grid pattern.
31. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the memory device further comprises:
instructions executable by the processor to display on the display a first region defined by region indicia that includes a single first indicium of the data element indicia as a focus indicium, wherein the regions are displayed based on the first indicium and wherein the first indicium was previously positioned in one of the regions;
and instructions executable by the processor to display on the display a plurality of relationships between other data element indicia and the first indicium.
instructions executable by the processor to display on the display a first region defined by region indicia that includes a single first indicium of the data element indicia as a focus indicium, wherein the regions are displayed based on the first indicium and wherein the first indicium was previously positioned in one of the regions;
and instructions executable by the processor to display on the display a plurality of relationships between other data element indicia and the first indicium.
32. The apparatus of claim 31, further comprising a user input device coupled to the processor, and wherein the memory device further comprises:
instuctions executable by the processor to receive, via the user input device, a selection of a single second indicium of the data element indicia as the focus indicium;
instructions executable by the processor to reconfigure on the display the regions and the second indicium to be displayed in the first region; and instructions executable by the processor to display on the display the relationship indicia relative to the second indicium.
instuctions executable by the processor to receive, via the user input device, a selection of a single second indicium of the data element indicia as the focus indicium;
instructions executable by the processor to reconfigure on the display the regions and the second indicium to be displayed in the first region; and instructions executable by the processor to display on the display the relationship indicia relative to the second indicium.
33. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the executable instructions form a part of a browser application stored in the memory device.
34. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein each of the data elements are a uniquely identifiable digital object capable of manipulation and storage in the memory device by the processor.
35. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the region indicia comprise a title indicative of the data type and a region borderline.
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| US10/074,384 | 2002-02-12 | ||
| PCT/EP2003/001307 WO2003069506A2 (en) | 2002-02-12 | 2003-02-03 | Display of data element indicia based on data types |
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| US20050116953A1 (en) | 2005-06-02 |
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