1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to browser technology.
2. Background Art
Browsers are used to access web content or locally stored content. The location of such content is often identified by a location address such as a uniform resource locator (URL). A browser may use a URL to access content associated with the URL. A user can interact with a browser through a user interface to direct a browser to different content areas.
Content areas may contain text, audio, video and other forms of content delivery. Content requested by a user through a browser needs to be rendered for display so that the user can view the content using a display device such as a monitor.
Content delivered across networks such as the Internet has become increasingly rich in information and interactivity. To interact with such content, users are usually provided with various types of interfaces ranging from touch-screen interfaces to voice driven interfaces in addition to standard windowed interfaces.
User interfaces which allow interaction with content are usually most effective when they are more responsive. For example, consider a touch screen interface which allows a user to interact with a map through a browser. If in this case, the map is not rendered for display as fast as the touch screen perceives a user's touch driven gesture, it results in a poor user experience. Similarly, there are other forms of user interfaces, which are effective only if data is rendered for display at a rate that matches or is close to the rate of the user's interaction. Furthermore, older forms of user interface techniques or standard user windowed interfaces will be considerably more effective if rendering of data represented by them is improved.
In some cases, a user interface of a browser may become unresponsive due to improper rendering of content for display. A browser's user interface may also become unresponsive if it is waiting for content to be rendered for display. Furthermore, in the case of a tab view browser, content may not be rendered as soon as a user switches between tabs or when a user resizes content within a tab or a window. Delays in rendering of content may lead to undesirable effects such as flicker. Flicker, a flashing effect displeasing to the eye, often results from change in the state of displayed content, which is in most cases a rapid transition. Part or all of a flickering content area is frequently and completely blank or in some other intermediate state, leading to a poor user experience.