Using a display abstraction to control a display

Abstract

The disclosed embodiments relate to a system for controlling a display. This system includes a generic display-control interface which facilitates controlling the display, and a pluggable display-control module including code that implements a standardized set of display-control commands. The system also includes a plug-in framework that houses the pluggable display-control module and enables the generic display-control interface to communicate with the pluggable display-control module. In some embodiments, the system also includes a generic transport interface which facilitates communicating with the display, and a pluggable transport module including code that implements a standardized transport protocol. In these embodiments, the plug-in framework houses the pluggable transport module and enables the pluggable display-control module to communicate with the pluggable transport module.

1 . A system for controlling a display, comprising:
 a generic display-control interface which facilitates controlling the display;   a pluggable display-control module including code that implements a standardized set of display-control commands; and   a plug-in framework that houses the pluggable display-control module and enables the generic display-control interface to communicate with the pluggable display-control module.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a generic transport interface which facilitates communicating with the display; and   a pluggable transport module including code that implements a standardized transport protocol;   wherein the plug-in framework houses the pluggable transport module and enables the pluggable display-control module to communicate with the pluggable transport module.   
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the standardized transport protocol can include, but is not limited to, one or more of the following:
 the I 2 C protocol;   the GPU SMBus protocol;   the DisplayPort Configuration Data (DPCD) protocol; and   the Server Management Controller (SMC) interface.   
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the generic display-control interface is implemented using a display object, which resides in a system registry. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the pluggable display-control module is configured to:
 determine what display properties are supported by the display; and   publish the supported display properties through the generic display-control interface.   
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 5 , wherein publishing a supported display property involves publishing:
 a minimum value for a setting for the display property;   a maximum value for the setting for the display property; and   a current value for the setting for the display property.   
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 6 , wherein the display properties can include, but are not limited to, one or more of the following:
 a display brightness;   a display contrast;   a display hue;   a display saturation;   an audio volume for an audio-output device associated with the display; and   an audio balance between channels for the audio-output device.   
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the pluggable display-control module implements the monitor control command set (MCCS) standard. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the pluggable display-control module is configured to receive an interrupt from the display when an associated display property changes and the change was not triggered by the pluggable display-control module. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the display is one of:
 an external display which is external to a computer system which contains the system; and   an internal display which is internal to the computer system.   
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the generic display-control interface is configured to be accessed by one or more of:
 system code; and   application code.   
     
     
         12 . A method for controlling a display, comprising:
 receiving a command through a generic display-control interface which facilitates controlling the display;   translating the command into a corresponding translated command for a pluggable display-control module including code that implements a standardized set of display-control commands; and   communicating the translated command through a plug-in framework to the pluggable display-control module, wherein the plug-in framework houses the pluggable display-control module and enables the generic display-control interface to communicate with the pluggable display-control module.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising:
 receiving a command from the pluggable display-control module through a generic transport interface which facilitates communicating with the display;   translating the command into a corresponding translated command for a pluggable transport module including code that implements a standardized transport protocol; and   communicating the translated command through the plug-in framework to the pluggable transport module, wherein the plug-in framework houses the pluggable transport module and enables the pluggable display-control module to communicate with the pluggable transport module.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the pluggable display-control module is configured to:
 determine what display properties are supported by the display; and   publish the supported display properties through the generic display-control interface.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the display properties can include, but are not limited to, one or more of the following:
 a display brightness;   a display contrast;   a display hue;   a display saturation;   an audio volume for an audio-output device associated with the display; and   an audio balance between channels for the audio-output device.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the pluggable display-control module implements the monitor control command set (MCCS) standard. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the pluggable display-control module is configured to receive an interrupt from the display when an associated display property changes and the change was not triggered by the pluggable display-control module. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the command is received from system code or application code. 
     
     
         19 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing code that implements:
 a generic display-control interface which facilitates controlling the display;   a pluggable display-control module including code that implements a standardized set of display-control commands; and   a plug-in framework that houses the pluggable display-control module and enables the generic display-control interface to communicate with the pluggable display-control module.   
     
     
         20 . The computer-readable storage medium of  claim 9 , wherein the code also implements:
 a generic transport interface which facilitates communicating with the display; and   a pluggable transport module including code that implements a standardized transport protocol;   wherein the plug-in framework houses the pluggable transport module and enables the pluggable display-control module to communicate with the pluggable transport module.   
     
     
         21 . The computer-readable storage medium of  claim 19 , wherein the generic display-control interface is implemented using a display object, which resides in a system registry. 
     
     
         22 . A computer system, comprising:
 at least one processor;   a memory;   a display;   a generic display-control interface which facilitates controlling the display;   a pluggable display-control module including code that implements a standardized set of display-control commands; and   a plug-in framework that houses the pluggable display-control module and enables the generic display-control interface to communicate with the pluggable display-control module.   
     
     
         23 . The computer system of  claim 22 , further comprising:
 a generic transport interface which facilitates communicating with the display; and   a pluggable transport module including code that implements a standardized transport protocol;   wherein the plug-in framework houses the pluggable transport module and enables the pluggable display-control module to communicate with the pluggable transport module.   
     
     
         24 . The computer system of  claim 22 , wherein the generic display-control interface is implemented using a display object, which resides in a system registry. 
     
     
         25 . The computer system of  claim 22  wherein the pluggable display-control module is configured to:
 determine what display properties are supported by the display; and 
 publish the supported display properties through the generic display-control interface. 
 
     
     
         26 . The computer system of  claim 22 , wherein the pluggable display-control module is configured to receive an interrupt from the display when an associated display property changes and the change was not triggered by the pluggable display-control module. 
     
     
         27 . The computer system of  claim 22 , wherein the display is one of:
 an external display which is external to the computer system; and   an internal display which is internal to the computer system.