Systems and methods for integrating application windows in a virtual machine environment

The present invention includes systems for and methods of visually integrating application windows in a virtual machine environment. Embodiments of the present invention are directed to a system for and method of visually integrating application windows of host and guest operating system in a virtual machine environment in order to reduce difficulties that the users of computers experience in navigating between applications in a virtual machine environment. The present invention accomplishes this by using a composite window list in the virtual machine monitor (VMM) to manage the configuration, the focus, the geometry, the Z-order of the windows across guest and host operating systems, and the arrangement of doppelgangers (virtual application windows, in this case) in a way that allows host and guest application windows to appear integrated in a single display window.

This application is related by subject matter to the inventions disclosed in the following commonly assigned application: U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/883.491, filed on Jun. 30, 2004, entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR PROVIDING SEAMLESS SOFTWARE COMPATIBILITY USING VIRTUAL MACHINES,” the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to the field virtual machines (also known as “processor virtualization”) and software that executes in a virtual machine environment. More specifically, the present invention is directly to integration of application windows from host and guest operating systems in a single display.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Computers include general purpose central processing units (CPUs) that are designed to execute a specific set of system instructions. A group of processors that have similar architecture or design specifications may be considered to be members of the same processor family. Examples of current processor families include the Motorola 680X0 processor family, manufactured by Motorola, Inc. of Phoenix, Ariz.; the Intel 80X86 processor family, manufactured by Intel Corporation of Sunnyvale, Calif.; and the PowerPC processor family, which is manufactured by Motorola, Inc. and used in computers manufactured by Apple Computer, Inc. of Cupertino, Calif. Although a group of processors may be in the same family because of their similar architecture and design considerations, processors may vary widely within a family according to their clock speed and other performance parameters.

Each family of microprocessors executes instructions that are unique to the processor family. The collective set of instructions that a processor or family of processors can execute is known as the processor's instruction set. As an example, the instruction set used by the Intel 80X86 processor family is incompatible with the instruction set used by the PowerPC processor family. The Intel 80X86 instruction set is based on the Complex Instruction Set Computer (CISC) format. The Motorola PowerPC instruction set is based on the Reduced Instruction Set Computer (RISC) format. CISC processors use a large number of instructions, some of which can perform rather complicated functions, but which require generally many clock cycles to execute. RISC processors use a smaller number of available instructions to perform a simpler set of functions that are executed at a much higher rate.

The uniqueness of the processor family among computer systems also typically results in incompatibility among the other elements of hardware architecture of the computer systems. A computer system manufactured with a processor from the Intel 80X86 processor family will have a hardware architecture that is different from the hardware architecture of a computer system manufactured with a processor from the PowerPC processor family. Because of the uniqueness of the processor instruction set and a computer system's hardware architecture, application software programs are typically written to run on a particular computer system running a particular operating system.

Computer manufacturers want to maximize their market share by having more rather than fewer applications run on the microprocessor family associated with the computer manufacturers' product line. To expand the number of operating systems and application programs that can run on a computer system, a field of technology has developed in which a given computer having one type of CPU, called a host, will include an emulator program that allows the host computer to emulate the instructions of an unrelated type of CPU, called a guest. Thus, the host computer will execute an application that will cause one or more host instructions to be called in response to a given guest instruction. Thus the host computer can both run software design for its own hardware architecture and software written for computers having an unrelated hardware architecture. As a more specific example, a computer system manufactured by Apple Computer, for example, may run operating systems and program written for PC-based computer systems. It may also be possible to use an emulator program to operate concurrently on a single CPU multiple incompatible operating systems. In this arrangement, although each operating system is incompatible with the other, an emulator program can host one of the two operating systems, allowing the otherwise incompatible operating systems to run concurrently on the same computer system.

When a guest computer system is emulated on a host computer system, the guest computer system is said to be a “virtual machine” as the guest computer system only exists in the host computer system as a pure software representation of the operation of one specific hardware architecture. The terms emulator, virtual machine, and processor emulation are sometimes used interchangeably to denote the ability to mimic or emulate the hardware architecture of an entire computer system. As an example, the Virtual PC software created by Connectix Corporation of San Mateo, Calif. emulates an entire computer that includes an Intel 80X86 Pentium processor and various motherboard components and cards. The operation of these components is emulated in the virtual machine that is being run on the host machine. An emulator program executing on the operating system software and hardware architecture of the host computer, such as a computer system having a PowerPC processor, mimics the operation of the entire guest computer system.

The emulator program acts as the interchange between the hardware architecture of the host machine and the instructions transmitted by the software running within the emulated environment. This emulator program may be a host operating system (HOS), which is an operating system running directly on the physical computer hardware. Alternately, the emulated environment might also be a virtual machine monitor (VMM) which is a software layer that runs directly above the hardware and which virtualizes all the resources of the machine by exposing interfaces that are the same as the hardware the VMM is virtualizing (which enables the VMM to go unnoticed by operating system layers running above it). A host operating system and a VMM may run side-by-side on the same physical hardware.

Typically, within the host computer system which is emulating one or more virtual machines (VMs), there is no direct mechanism in the host environment, such as an icon on the desktop, to launch or in some way interact with applications that are running on any given VM. Rather, a VM is presented to the user on the host computer system in a separate window that displays the desktop of the guest OS in its native environment, whether it is a legacy or modem OS. Consequently, the user sees a completely separate desktop (e.g., with a separate task bar, “My Computer,” Start Menu) from that of the host computer system. Using this separate VM window, the user may navigate within the guest OS to launch any VM application which, when launched, is likewise displayed in the same VM window. If the host computer system is hosting multiple VMs, the desktop of each VM will appear in a separate window. As a result, in order for the user to interact with each VM, the user must navigate from one VM window to the next. It is cumbersome for the user to navigate from the host desktop to one or more separate VM desktops to invoke host or VM applications simultaneously, as the user must continuously swap between one window and another and must keep track of which application is running in which window. What is needed is a mechanism for invoking one or more host or guest OS applications and displaying them alongside each other in a single display, rather than in a separate VM window, and thereby provide the user with an improved, more seamless method of interacting with one or more VMs resident on a host computer system.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention includes systems for and methods of integrating application windows in a virtual machine environment.

Embodiments of the present invention are directed to a system for and method of integrating application windows of a host and guest operating system in a virtual machine environment in order to reduce difficulties that users of computers experience when navigating between applications in a virtual machine environment. The present invention accomplishes this by using a composite window list managed by the VMM to manage the configuration, the focus, the geometry, the Z-order of the windows across guest and host OSes, and the arrangement of doppelgangers (virtual application windows, in this case) in a way that allows host and guest application windows to appear in a single display window. This creates a much improved user interface for the users of virtual machines, because there is no longer any need for the user of a virtual machine to know whether a particular application that the user wants to run is operating in the host or guest operating system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

Computer Environment

As shown inFIG. 1, an exemplary general purpose computing system includes a conventional personal computer20or the like, including a processing unit21, a system memory22, and a system bus23that couples various system components including the system memory to the processing unit21. The system bus23may be any of several types of bus structures including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, and a local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures. The system memory includes read only memory (ROM)24and random access memory (RAM)25. A basic input/output system26(BIOS), containing the basic routines that help to transfer information between elements within the personal computer20, such as during start up, is stored in ROM24. The personal computer20may further include a hard disk drive27for reading from and writing to a hard disk, not shown, a magnetic disk drive28for reading from or writing to a removable magnetic disk29, and an optical disk drive30for reading from or writing to a removable optical disk31such as a CD ROM or other optical media. The hard disk drive27, magnetic disk drive28, and optical disk drive30are connected to the system bus23by a hard disk drive interface32, a magnetic disk drive interface33, and an optical drive interface34, respectively. The drives and their associated computer readable media provide non volatile storage of computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules and other data for the personal computer20. Although the exemplary environment described herein employs a hard disk, a removable magnetic disk29and a removable optical disk31, it should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that other types of computer readable media which can store data that is accessible by a computer, such as magnetic cassettes, flash memory cards, digital video disks, Bernoulli cartridges, random access memories (RAMs), read only memories (ROMs) and the like may also be used in the exemplary operating environment.

When used in a LAN networking environment, the personal computer20is connected to the LAN51through a network interface or adapter53. When used in a WAN networking environment, the personal computer20typically includes a modem54or other means for establishing communications over the wide area network52, such as the Internet. The modem54, which may be internal or external, is connected to the system bus23via the serial port interface46. In a networked environment, program modules depicted relative to the personal computer20, or portions thereof, may be stored in the remote memory storage device. It will be appreciated that the network connections shown are exemplary and other means of establishing a communications link between the computers may be used. Moreover, while it is envisioned that numerous embodiments of the present invention are particularly well-suited for computerized systems, nothing in this document is intended to limit the invention to such embodiments.

Virtual Machines

From a conceptual perspective, computer systems generally comprise one or more layers of software running on a foundational layer of hardware. This layering is done for reasons of abstraction. By defining the interface for a given layer of software, that layer can be implemented differently by other layers above it. In a well-designed computer system, each layer only knows about (and only relies upon) the immediate layer beneath it. This allows a layer or a “stack” (multiple adjoining layers) to be replaced without negatively impacting the layers above said layer or stack. For example, software applications (upper layers) typically rely on lower levels of the operating system (lower layers) to write files to some form of permanent storage, and these applications do not need to understand the difference between writing data to a floppy disk, a hard drive, or a network folder. If this lower layer is replaced with new operating system components for writing files, the operation of the upper layer software applications remains unaffected.

The flexibility of layered software allows a virtual machine (VM) to present a virtual hardware layer that is in fact another software layer. In this way, a VM can create the illusion for the software layers above it that said software layers are running on their own private computer system, and thus VMs can allow multiple “guest systems” to run concurrently on a single “host system.”

FIG. 2is a diagram representing the logical layering of the hardware and software architecture for an emulated operating environment in a computer system. An emulation program94runs on a host operating system and/or hardware architecture92. Emulation program94emulates a guest hardware architecture96and a guest operating system98. Software application100in turn runs on guest operating system98. In the emulated operating environment ofFIG. 2, because of the operation of emulation program94, software application100can run on the computer system90even though software application100is designed to run on an operating system that is generally incompatible with the host operating system and hardware architecture92.

FIG. 3Aillustrates a virtualized computing system comprising a host operating system software layer104running directly above physical computer hardware102, and the host operating system (host OS)104virtualizes all the resources of the machine by exposing interfaces that are the same as the hardware the host OS is virtualizing (which enables the host OS to go unnoticed by operating system layers running above it).

Alternately, a virtual machine monitor, or VMM, software layer104′ may be running in place of or alongside a host operating system104″, the latter option being illustrated inFIG. 3B. For simplicity, all discussion hereinafter (specifically regarding the host operating system104) shall be directed to the embodiment illustrated inFIG. 3A; however, every aspect of such discussion shall equally apply to the embodiment ofFIG. 3Bwherein the VMM104′ ofFIG. 3Bessentially replaces, on a functional level, the role of the host operating system104ofFIG. 3Adescribed herein below.

Referring again toFIG. 3A, above the host OS104(or VMM104′) are two virtual machine (VM) implementations, VM A108, which may be, for example, a virtualized Intel 386 processor, and VM B110, which may be, for example, a virtualized version of one of the Motorola 680X0 family of processors. Above each VM108and110are guest operating systems (guest OSes) A112and B114respectively. Above guest OS A112are running two applications, application A1116and application A2118, and above guest OS B114is application B1120. Above host OS104is application H1121.

Visual Integration

FIG. 4Ais a simpler version of the system illustrated inFIG. 3Bwith only a single VM running a total of two applications.FIG. 4Billustrates a block diagram representing the system ofFIG. 4Ain regard to individual logical displays for both the VM, the host OS, as well as a composite display for visually integrating application windows of the host operating system and guest operating system for several embodiments of the present invention.

In regard toFIGS. 4A and 4B, guest OS A112further includes a virtual video display122, which further includes a window G.1 and a window G.2 (corresponding to the display windows for applications A1and A2respectively), a desktop icon124, and a menu bar126; and a guest window list128. Thus virtual video display122is the video display of application windows within guest OS A112such that, if guest OS A112was operating in a traditional computing environment (not VM), virtual video display122would be what the user of the computing device would see on monitor47(shown inFIG. 1) when operating computer20(shown inFIG. 1), and window G.1 and window G.2 are application windows that operate within guest OS A112. In one example referring toFIG. 4A, window G.1 represents application A1116, which is running MS Internet Explorer™ and window G.2 represents application A2118, which is running MS Access™. Desktop icon124represents the totality of all desktop icons available within guest OS A112. In one example, desktop icon124includes a “recycle bin” icon, which is used to delete files, a “My Documents” icon, which provides a link to a directory where documents can be found more easily, and a plurality of icons that launch frequently used applications, such as, for example, MS Internet Explorer, MS Word™, MS Excel™, MS Outlook™, Corel's WordPerfect™, or IBM's Lotus Notes™. Menu bar126is a menu bar that provides for navigational functionality within guest OS A112. In one example, menu bar126includes a “Start” button (not shown), a plurality of application buttons (not shown), and some icons that relay the status information of guest OS A112(such as the current time and the status of various applications). The start button on menu bar126provides a way for the user to launch new applications or utilities within guest OS A112. The application buttons on menu bar126provide a way for the user of the system to bring application windows, such as G.1 and G.2, to the forefront of virtual video display122with a single mouse-click. In one example, menu bar126is the “task bar” in MS Windows XP™.

Guest window list128is a file that contains information related to the arrangement of application windows (such as windows G.1 and G.2) within guest OS A112. Examples of the types of information in guest window list128are the geometrical properties associated with the application windows, such as the size of the window; the X-Y position of the window within virtual video display122; the Z position of the window, which includes information regarding the “focused” application within guest OS A112; and the adornments of the window (such as command buttons for minimize, maximize, and exit, as well as the design of the window's border or frame). The focused application is the software application that has the “focus” of the “cursor” (for end-user input devices). In one example, window G.1 is application A1116running MS Word and the focus of the cursor is on window G.1. In this example, any keystrokes made by an end-user are recorded in MS Word, and these key strokes are not recorded nor have any impact upon other windows, such as window G.2.

Referring again toFIGS. 4A and 4B, Host OS104″ further includes a host video display130, which further includes a windows H.0 and H.1, a desktop icon132, and a menu bar134; and a host window list136. Window H.0 is the logical display for Guest OS A112running on VM A108(the contents of which would comprise the output of virtual video display112which, again, is the “desktop” display for the VM). Window H.1 represents application H1121, which, for example, may be running MS Office Project 2003™. Host window list136contains information related to the arrangement of application windows (such as windows H.0 and H.1) within host OS104″. However, while host video display130of the host OS104″ is certainly functional, it would be advantageous to an end-user if the application windows G.1 and G.2 could be “promoted” out of the limited space of the window H.0 in the host video display130.

To this end, and as illustrated inFIG. 4B, various embodiments of the present invention comprise a composite window list144and a composite video display130′, which further includes a window G.1′, a window H.1′, a window G.2′, and a window H.0′, as well as a desktop icon132′, and a menu bar134′. These various embodiments of the present invention combine information from guest window list128with the host window list136and creates composite window list144for display on composite video display130′. According to the present invention, VMM104′ utilizes composite window list144to manage windows G.1′, H.1′, G.2′, and H.0′ across host OS104″ and guest OS A112. In one example, as shown inFIG. 4B, the Z-order of windows in VMM104′ is window G.1′, window H.1′, window G.2′, and window H.0′. Continuing with this example, if the user of computer20clicks on window G.2′ within composite video display130′ by using mouse42(shown inFIG. 1) and thereby brings window G.2′ into focus, the Z-order of windows in composite window list144is altered to reflect this, and these changes are sent from composite window list144to guest window list128. Details of the method of operating are described in reference toFIG. 5below.

Desktop icon132′ and menu bar134′ represent the icons and menu bar available to the user of computer20according to the host OS104″. In one example, host OS104″ utilizes desktop icon132and menu bar134from host OS104″, although the menu bar134′ would also reflect the additional windows that were promoted up form the virtual video display122.

For certain embodiments of the present invention, and in regard to composite window list144, the window adornments of host OS104″ are used to adorn all windows (including those operating on different OSes, such as window G.1′ or G.2′) for display on composite video display130′ (which may be different from the adornments shown for the sub-window in Window H.0). By utilizing the host's adornments, the look and feel of all windows operating within the host OS environment are consistent with a user's experience, that is, using a computer in a traditional (non-virtual machine) environment. For certain of these embodiments, the methodology is employed directly by the virtual machine monitor (VMM) by interacting with the host operating system to open a new window in the host operating system and filling that window with the contents of the corresponding window in the guest operating system. The VMM then manages both the content of the promoted window as well as the VM display in the Window H.0′, while the host operating system manages its windows (including the promoted windows which, to the host OS, are indistinguishable from other windows) in its normal manner. For other embodiments, the methodology may be employed by the host operating system that provides an application programming interface to the VMM, VM, and/or guest OS specifically for this purpose. For other additional embodiments, and specifically for those where a VM is provided directly by a host OS (such as illustrated inFIG. 3A), the host OS performs all functions.

For certain alternative embodiments of the present invention, the promoted windows may utilize the window adornments of the guest operating system that is running the application. More specifically, when these applications are running in VMM104′, windows G.1′ and G.2′ have the adornments created by guest OS A112, while windows H.0′ and H.1′ has the adornments created by host OS104″. For certain of these embodiments, the methodology is employed directly by the virtual machine monitor (VMM) by interacting with the host operating system to open a new, unadorned window (a mere shell) in the host operating system and filling that window with both contents and in-window adornments representative of the adornments found in a corresponding window in the guest operating system. The VMM then manages both the content of the promoted window as well as adornments in same, as well as manages the VM display in the Window H.0′, while the host operating system manages its windows (including the promoted windows which, to the host OS, are indistinguishable from other windows, even though these windows will be a mere shell without the typical host OS adornments) in its normal manner. For other embodiments, the methodology may be employed by the host operating system that provides an application programming interface to the VMM, VM, and/or guest OS specifically for this purpose. For other additional embodiments, and specifically for those where a VM is provided directly by a host OS (such as illustrated inFIG. 3A), the host OS performs all functions.

FIG. 5is a flowchart that illustrates a method146of operating a virtualized computing system with visually integrated application windows. At step148, host OS104″, VMM104′, and computer20are started and initialized. At step150, host OS104″ is in ready-wait state, in which it is ready to accept commands from input devices and applications. At step152, VMM104′ determines whether the user of computer20has requested that a new application start running. In one example, the user makes this request with mouse42by clicking the cursor onto an icon on menu bar142. If a new application has been requested, method146proceeds to step156; if not, method146proceeds to step154. At step154, VMM104′ determines whether the user of computer20has requested a change to the current focused window. In one example, the user makes this request with mouse42by clicking the cursor onto a window (such as window G.2) that is not currently the focused window. If a change in focus has been requested, method146proceeds to step164; if not, method146returns to step150. At step156, VMM104′ determines whether the application requested by the user is an application that runs on host OS104″ or on a guest operating system. If the application is a run on a guest OS (such as application A1116, which runs on guest OS A112), method146proceeds to step160; if the application is run on the host OS (such as application H1121running on host OS104″), method146proceeds to step158. At step158, VMM104′ sends a request to host OS104″ to start the requested application. At step160, VMM104′ determines whether the guest OS (such as guest OS A112) that runs the application selected by the user in step152has been started. If the guest OS has already been started, method146proceeds to step164; if not, method146proceeds to step162. At step162, VMM104′ starts the guest OS (such as guest OS A112) needed to run the application selected by the user in step152. At step164, VMM104′ adjusts composite window list144to reflect changes to the arrangement of windows. At step166, VMM104′ sends an update to either host window list136within host OS104″ or guest window list128within guest OS A112to reflect relevant changes in, for example, open application windows, window focus, Z-order of the windows, or arrangement of doppelgangers. At step168, VMM104′ determines whether a shut down request has been received from the user of computer20. In one example, the user makes this request with mouse42by clicking the cursor onto an icon (such as the start button) on menu bar142and then requesting “Shut down.” If a shut down request has been received, computer20, host OS104″, and VMM104′ shut down, and method146ends; if not method146returns to step150.

Conclusion

The methods and apparatus of the present invention may also be embodied in the form of program code that is transmitted over some transmission medium, such as over electrical wiring or cabling, through fiber optics, or via any other form of transmission, wherein, when the program code is received and loaded into and executed by a machine, such as an EPROM, a gate array, a programmable logic device (PLD), a client computer, a video recorder or the like, the machine becomes an apparatus for practicing the invention. When implemented on a general-purpose processor, the program code combines with the processor to provide a unique apparatus that operates to perform the indexing functionality of the present invention.

While the present invention has been described in connection with the preferred embodiments of the various figures, it is to be understood that other similar embodiments may be used or modifications and additions may be made to the described embodiment for performing the same function of the present invention without deviating there from. For example, while exemplary embodiments of the invention are described in the context of digital devices emulating the functionality of personal computers, one skilled in the art will recognize that the present invention is not limited to such digital devices, as described in the present application may apply to any number of existing or emerging computing devices or environments, such as a gaming console, handheld computer, portable computer, etc. whether wired or wireless, and may be applied to any number of such computing devices connected via a communications network, and interacting across the network. Furthermore, it should be emphasized that a variety of computer platforms, including handheld device operating systems and other application specific hardware/software interface systems, are herein contemplated, especially as the number of wireless networked devices continues to proliferate. Therefore, the present invention should not be limited to any single embodiment, but rather construed in breadth and scope in accordance with the appended claims.

Finally, the disclosed embodiments described herein may be adapted for use in other processor architectures, computer-based systems, or system virtualizations, and such embodiments are expressly anticipated by the disclosures made herein and, thus, the present invention should not be limited to specific embodiments described herein but instead construed most broadly. Likewise, the use of synthetic instructions for purposes other than processor virtualization are also anticipated by the disclosures made herein, and any such utilization of synthetic instructions in contexts other than processor virtualization should be most broadly read into the disclosures made herein.