Methods and devices for mapping data files

1. A method of displaying information, in a display area, the method comprising:

generating a display to a user of logical relations between portions of one or more data files within a hierarchy by:

a step of, for a first one of said portions of the one or more data files, displaying in said display area a first region and one or more second regions, said second regions respectively representing one or more second portions of the one or more data files which are logically related to the first portion of the one or more data files within the hierarchy, said second regions having a size defined according to a first scale; and

(n−1) further steps, i =2, . . ., n, of, for each i-th portion of the one or more data files, displaying in said display area one or more (i+1)-th regions, said (i+1)th regions respectively representing one or more (i+1)-th portions of the one or more data files which are logically related to the i-th portion of the one or more data files, and said (i+1)-th regions having a size defined according to an i-th scale smaller than the (i−1)-th scale;

wherein each of said displayed second regions are displayed within said first region and arranged along an inner periphery of said first region;

wherein for at least one i-th portion of the one or more data files, each of said displayed (i+1)-th regions representing the (i+1)-th portions of the one or more data files which are logically related to the i-th portion of the one or more data files within the hierarchy are displayed within said i-th region and arranged along an inner periphery of the said i-th region representing the i-th portion of the one or more data files to which they are logically related;

further comprising the steps of:

receiving a command by the user that selects the first portion of the one or more data files or one of said second portions of the one or more data files; and

displaying to the user additional information about said selected portion of the one or more data files.

2. The method according to claim 1 , in which the displayed second regions are arranged along the entire inner periphery of said first region, and each of the displayed (i+1)-th regions representing the (i+1)-th portions of the one or more data files which are logically related to an i-th portion of the one or more data files are arranged along the entire inner periphery of the said i-th region representing the i-th portion of the one or more data files to which they are logically related.

3. The method according to claim 1 , in which the respective sizes of the (i+1)-th regions of a given i-th portion of the one or more data files are the i-th scale multiplied by a value which is a function of a variable characterizing the respective (i+1)-th portion of the one or more data files.

4. The method according to claim 1 , in which the said scales are chosen to decrease with i according to a predetermined relation such that irrespective of the value of n, the total area of the display never exceeds a predetermined value.

5. The method according to claim 1 , in which the graphical appearance of at least one said region is in accordance with characteristics of the respective portion of the one or more data files represented by that region.

6. The method according to claim 5 , in which the graphical appearance of a region includes shape, coloring, size, arrangement, hatching, flashing or an associated icon.

7. The method according to claim 1 , in which the area of the display representing one or each i-th portion of the one or more data files is not fully covered by its descendants.

8. The method according to claim 1 , in which said step of displaying additional information includes displaying the title of or symbol associated with the selected portion of the one or more data files.

9. The method according to claim 1 , in which said step of displaying additional information includes displaying the title of or symbol associated with one or more (i+1)-th portions of the one or more data files logically related to the i-th portion of the one or more data files.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein said step of displaying additional information includes, for a selected j-th portion of the one or more data files (where 1≤j ≤n) represented by one of said regions, generating an additional region for each portion of the one or more data files that has a predetermined logical connection to the (j)-th portion of the one or more data files, each additional region including data indicating a significance of said respective connected portion of the one or more data files, and wherein the predetermined logical connection is that the portions of the one or more data files for which additional regions are displayed are the j-th data portions of the one or more data files logically related to the same (j−1)-th portion of the one or more data files as the selected j-th data portion of the one or more data files.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein said step of displaying additional information includes, for a selected j-th portion of the one or more data files (where 1≤j ≤n) represented by one of said regions, generating an additional region for each portion of the one or more data files that has a predetermined logical connection to the (j)-th portion of the one or more data files, each additional region including data indicating a significance of said respective connected portion of the one or more data files, and

wherein the predetermined logical connection is that the portions of the one or more data files for which said additional regions are displayed are the (j+1)-th portions of the one or more data files logically related to the selected j-th data portion of the one or more data files.

12. The method according to claim 1 , in which the regions that are sensitive to selection by the user are larger than the corresponding regions displayed.

13. The method according to claim 1 , in which the logical relations are defined by a user directly or by a rule.

14. The method according to claim 1 , in which n depends upon one or more of: (i) the resolution of the user's screen, (ii) the computer resources available for creating the display, (iii) the number of portions of the one or more data files a certain number of iterations from the first portion of the one or more data files, (iv) an earlier selection by the user, (v) a predetermined value, or (vi) whether the n-th regions for the n-th portion of the one or more data files logically related to one or more (n−1)-th portions of the one or more data files are too small to be selected.

15. A device including a display, and a processor with access to information concerning one or more data files, the processor being arranged to control the display to generate a display to a user of logical relations between portions of the one or more data files by performing:

a step of, for a first one of said portions of the one or more data files, displaying in a display area a first region and one or more second regions, which respectively represent one or more second portions of the one or more data files logically related to the first portion of the one or more data files, the one or more second regions being defined by a first scale; and

(n−1) further steps i =2, . . . , n, of, for each i-th portion of the one or more data files, displaying in the display area one or more (i+1)-th regions, which respectively represent one or more (i+1)-th portions of the one or more data files which are logically related to the i-th portion of the one or more data files, said (i+1)-th regions having a size defined according to an i-th scale smaller than the (i−1)-th scale;

wherein:

each of the displayed second regions are displayed within said first region and arranged along an inner periphery of the first region; and

for at least one i-th portion of the one or more data files, each of the displayed (i+1)-th regions representing the (i+1)-th portions of the one or more data files which are logically related to the i-th portion of the one or more data files are displayed within said i-th region and arranged along an inner periphery of the i-th region representing the i-th portion of the one or more data files to which they are logically related;

the apparatus further includes means to receive a command by the user that selects the first portion of the one or more data files or one of the one or more second portions of the one or more data files; and

the processor is arranged, upon such a selection, to control the display to display to the user additional information about said selected portion of the one or more data files.

16. The device according to claim 15 , further comprising a mechanical data input device, the arrangement of the regions corresponding to the layout of the mechanical data input device.

17. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable media storing program instructions which can be read by a data processing device, and which causes the data processing device to generate a display to a user of logical relations between portions of one or more data files by:

for a first one of said portions of the one or more data files, displaying in said display area a first region and one or more second regions, which respectively represent one or more second portions of the one or more data files logically related to the first portion of the one or more data files, said second regions having a size defined according to a first scale; and

(n−1) further steps, i =2, . . ., n, of, for each i-th portion of the one or more data files, displaying in said display area one or more (i+1)-th regions, which respectively represent one or more (i+1)-th portions of the one or more data files which are logically related to the i-th portion of the one or more data files, said (i+1)-th regions having a size defined according to an i-th scale smaller than the (i−1)-th scale;

wherein:

each of said displayed second regions are displayed within said first region and arranged along an inner periphery of said first region; and

for at least one i-th portion of the one or more data files, each of said displayed (i+1)-th regions representing the (i+1)-th portion of the one or more data files which are logically related to the i-th portion of the one or more data files are displayed within said i-th region and arranged along an inner periphery of the said i-th region representing the i-th portion of the one or more data files to which they are logically related;

the program instructions further causing the data processing device to receive a command by the user that selects the first portion of the one or more data files or one of the one or more second portions of the one or more data files; and

upon such a selection, to display to the user additional information about said selected portion of the one or more data files.

18. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the portions of the one or more data files within the hierarchy comprise portions of a single data file.

19. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the second regions have differing sizes within the first scale.

20. The method according to claim 1 , wherein n is at least three and the (i+1)-th regions are circular regions arranged around the inner periphery of circular i-th regions, touching an outside of the i-th regions and with each (i+1)-th region touching or proximate to two neighboring (i+1)-th regions.