Method and apparatus for building efficient and flexible geometry

Abstract

The present invention identifies and separates the spatial grouping element from the management element in a geometry management scheme. The management element provides a constraint-resolution engine. A spatial grouping element can describe spatial groupings for graphic user interface (GUI) elements. A spatial group captures and encapsulates the set of constraints that describe the layout of a small portion of a user interface. A higher level spatial group can capture the constraints among the other spatial groups. The present invention provides independent, lightweight spatial-grouping elements that are incorporated into the constraint language of a geometry manager. Further, the present invention allows a GUI component to be grouped with multiple spatial-grouping elements. The present invention restricts the effect of a grouping element to a subset of the available set of dimensions. The present invention minimizes the number of geometry management elements. The present invention provides the ability to introduce geometry management to an existing application with minimal disruption. Further, the present invention postpones the addition of geometry support until after a static layout is perfected. The present invention allows a GUI application to perform dynamic layout alterations to adapt an application's layout to the configuration of a specific graphical environment. Further, the present invention allows an application to easily respond to window resizing. The present invention determines a new layout of a resized window based on previously-specified constraints. Further, the present invention can accommodate length variances resulting from internationalization of a text string.