Execution of user interface (ui) tasks having foreground (fg) and background (bg) priorities

Abstract

A method includes, in a user device configured to execute User Interface (UI) tasks that process one or more UI displays presented to a user, assigning to each UI task among the UI tasks (i) a priority selected from at least a Foreground (FG) priority and a Background (BG) priority, and (ii) an association with a UI display being processed by the UI task. The UI tasks are scheduled for execution in accordance with a schedule that (i) gives precedence to the UI tasks having the FG priority over the UI tasks having the BG priority, and (ii) for any UI display, retains in-order execution of the UI tasks associated with the UI display. The UI tasks are executed in accordance with the schedule.

1 . A method, comprising:
 in a user device, which is configured to execute User Interface (UI) tasks that process one or more UI displays presented to a user, assigning to each UI task among the UI tasks (i) a priority selected from at least a Foreground (FG) priority and a Background (BG) priority, and (ii) an association with a UI display being processed by the UI task;   scheduling the UI tasks for execution in accordance with a schedule that (i) gives precedence to the UI tasks having the FG priority over the UI tasks having the BG priority, and (ii) for any UI display, retains in-order execution of the UI tasks associated with the UI display; and   executing the UI tasks in accordance with the schedule.   
     
     
         2 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein one or more of the UI tasks having the BG priority comprise pre-rendering tasks. 
     
     
         3 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein, at a given time, the UI tasks comprise both (i) one or more UI tasks having the BG priority, and (ii) one or more UI tasks having the FG priority that relate to user actions. 
     
     
         4 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein executing the UI tasks is performed by a single UI thread per user application. 
     
     
         5 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein assigning the priority comprises, in response to addition of a new UI task having the FG priority, identifying one or more UI tasks that (i) are associated with a same UI display as the new UI task and (ii) have the BG priority, and promoting the identified UI tasks to the FG priority. 
     
     
         6 . The method according to  claim 5 , wherein scheduling the UI tasks comprises scheduling the promoted UI tasks to be executed before the new UI task. 
     
     
         7 . The method according to  claim 5 , wherein scheduling the UI tasks comprises retaining an original order of execution among the promoted UI tasks. 
     
     
         8 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein scheduling the UI tasks comprises permitting out-of-order execution of UI tasks associated with different UI displays. 
     
     
         9 . A user device, comprising:
 an interface for communicating over a network; and   a processor, configured to:
 assign, to each User Interface (UI) task from among multiple UI tasks that process one or more UI displays presented to a user, (i) a priority selected from at least a Foreground (FG) priority and a Background (BG) priority, and (ii) an association with a UI display being processed by the UI task; 
 schedule the UI tasks for execution in accordance with a schedule that (i) gives precedence to the UI tasks having the FG priority over the UI tasks having the BG priority, and (ii) for any UI display, retains in-order execution of the UI tasks associated with the UI display; and 
 execute the UI tasks in accordance with the schedule. 
   
     
     
         10 . The user device according to  claim 9 , wherein one or more of the UI tasks having the BG priority comprise pre-rendering tasks. 
     
     
         11 . The user device according to  claim 9 , wherein, at a given time, the UI tasks comprise both (i) one or more UI tasks having the BG priority, and (ii) one or more UI tasks having the FG priority that relate to user actions. 
     
     
         12 . The user device according to  claim 9 , wherein the processor is configured to execute the UI tasks by a single UI thread per user application. 
     
     
         13 . The user device according to  claim 9 , wherein, in response to addition of a new UI task having the FG priority, the processor is configured to identify one or more UI tasks that (i) are associated with a same UI display as the new UI task and (ii) have the BG priority, and to promote the identified UI tasks to the FG priority. 
     
     
         14 . The user device according to  claim 13 , wherein the processor is configured to schedule the promoted UI tasks to be executed before the new UI task. 
     
     
         15 . The user device according to  claim 13 , wherein the processor is configured to retain an original order of execution among the promoted UI tasks. 
     
     
         16 . The user device according to  claim 9 , wherein the processor is configured to permit out-of-order execution of UI tasks associated with different UI displays.