Patent Abstract:
The present invention provides a method and system for user-localizable hierarchical lists. Users can create different representations for values displayed within the hierarchical list. For example, users may localize the list into multiple languages themselves without having to request the change to the vendor supplying the software. In this way, German users can see their skills listed in German, while Spanish users can see their skills listed in Spanish, and so on.

Full Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   Hierarchical lists allow data to be classified and displayed to a user in a hierarchical fashion. Generally, hierarchical lists classify data into types and subtypes in a tree-like fashion. Each type of data may have one or more subtypes listed below it. Similarly, each subtype may include one or more subtypes, recursively. Hierarchical lists are ideal for representing data that is naturally hierarchical. One such type of data is location data. For example, location data may be structured by continent followed by country and followed by city. Other location levels may also be introduced. For instance, neighborhoods may be listed under a City heading. Once the list is created, however, it is difficult to use these hierarchical lists in a multi-language environment. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention is directed at providing a user with a method and system for localizing hierarchical lists. 
   According to one aspect of the invention, a hierarchical list can be localized to change the values of each hierarchical level without changing the underlying structure of the list. This allows users to create many different representations for values displayed within the underlying list. For example, users may localize the list into multiple languages. In this way, German users can see their skills listed in German, while Spanish users can see their skills listed in Spanish, and so on. 
   According to another aspect of the invention, the list may be modified by end-users. The user may make modifications to the list themselves without having to request the vendor supplying the software to make the change. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  illustrates an exemplary computing device that may be used in exemplary embodiments of the present invention; 
       FIG. 2  illustrates localized displays of a hierarchical list; 
       FIG. 3  shows a structure table and localized values table; 
       FIG. 4  is a functional block diagram generally illustrating a user-localizable list system; and 
       FIG. 5  illustrates a process flow for interacting with a user-localizable hierarchical list, in accordance with aspects of the invention. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
   Generally, the present invention is directed at providing a user with a method and system for localizing hierarchical lists. 
   Illustrative Operating Environment 
   With reference to  FIG. 1 , one exemplary system for implementing the invention includes a computing device, such as computing device  100 . In a very basic configuration, computing device  100  typically includes at least one processing unit  102  and system memory  104 . Depending on the exact configuration and type of computing device, system memory  104  may be volatile (such as RAM), non-volatile (such as ROM, flash memory, etc.) or some combination of the two. System memory  104  typically includes an operating system  105 , one or more applications  106 , and may include program data  107 . In one embodiment, application  106  may include a user-localizable hierarchical list editing program  120 . This basic configuration is illustrated in  FIG. 1  by those components within dashed line  108 . 
   Computing device  100  may have additional features or functionality. For example, computing device  100  may also include additional data storage devices (removable and/or non-removable) such as, for example, magnetic disks, optical disks, or tape. Such additional storage is illustrated in  FIG. 1  by removable storage  109  and non-removable storage  110 . Computer storage media may include volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information, such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data. System memory  104 , removable storage  109  and non-removable storage  110  are all examples of computer storage media. Computer storage media includes, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be used to store the desired information and which can be accessed by computing device  100 . Any such computer storage media may be part of device  100 . Computing device  100  may also have input device(s)  112  such as keyboard, mouse, pen, voice input device, touch input device, etc. Output device(s)  114  such as a display, speakers, printer, etc. may also be included. 
   Computing device  100  may also contain communication connections  116  that allow the device to communicate with other computing devices  118 , such as over a network. Communication connection  116  is one example of communication media. Communication media may typically be embodied by computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data in a modulated data signal, such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism, and includes any information delivery media. The term “modulated data signal” means a signal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode information in the signal. By way of example, and not limitation, communication media includes wired media such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, RF, infrared and other wireless media. The term computer readable media as used herein includes both storage media and communication media. 
   User-Localizable Hierarchical Lists 
     FIG. 2  illustrates localized displays of a hierarchical list  200 , in accordance with aspects of the present invention. 
   Display box  210  shows a hierarchical list that has been localized to English. Display box  220  shows the same hierarchical list that has been localized to French. 
   The underlying structure for the hierarchical list is the same for each localized display. The structure of the hierarchical list illustrated includes three countries at the top level of the list and three cities with parents. England, Germany, and France are at the top level of the list. London and Birmingham are children of England and Berlin is a child of Germany. While only two localizations of the list are shown, many other localizations may be created by a user. For example, the user could localize the list to more languages, such as Italian and Spanish. 
     FIG. 3  shows a structure table and localized values table  300 , in accordance with aspects of the present invention. 
   Structure table  310  defines the relationship between the members of the list. In this example, structure table  310  represents the underlying hierarchical structure corresponding to the hierarchical list displayed in  FIG. 2 . The structure table includes a UID (unique identifier) column and a parent UID column. 
   Each member of the hierarchical list is assigned a UID. Referring to  FIG. 2  there are six unique members, including: England, London, Birmingham, Germany, Berlin, and France. England is assigned UID=1 and has a NULL parent UID. A NULL parent UID corresponds to the top level of the hierarchy. London (UID=2) and Birmingham (UID=3) have a parent UID of 1 corresponding to each having England and a parent. Germany (UID=4) has a NULL parent UID. Berlin (UID=5) has a parent UID of 4 corresponding to having Germany as a parent. France (UID=6) has a NULL parent UID. 
   While the UIDs are shown as integers within structure table  310 , any type of unique identifier may be used to represent the members as long as each member within the list is uniquely identified. According to one embodiment, the UID are Globally Unique IDentifiers (GUIDs) which have a form, such as: {D8E764C1-41EB-8838-A0238CEB35B0}. 
   Other methods of storing hierarchical data may be used. For example, instead of using the parent-child mechanism as described above, the order-level mechanism could be used. For example, the following table could be used to represent the hierarchical structure as shown in  FIG. 2 : 
                                   UID   LEVEL   ORDER                   1   1   1       2   2   2       3   2   3       4   1   4       5   2   5       6   1   6                    
Additionally, the structure could be represented using XML or other string-based formats. For example:
 
   
     
       
             
             
           
         
             
                 
                 
             
           
           
             
                 
               &lt;1&gt; 
             
             
                 
                 &lt;2/&gt; 
             
             
                 
                 &lt;3/&gt; 
             
             
                 
               &lt;/1&gt; 
             
             
                 
               &lt;4&gt; 
             
             
                 
                 &lt;5/&gt; 
             
             
                 
               &lt;/4&gt; 
             
             
                 
               &lt;6/&gt; 
             
             
                 
                 
             
           
        
       
     
   
   The values associated with each of the members within the underlying hierarchical list are stored within user localized value table  320 . Values table  320  includes a UID column, a value column, and a language ID (LCID) column. LCID column identifies the language for the value. The LCID may be any form so long as it identifies the language. According to one embodiment, the LCID is represented by a string. According to another embodiment, the LCID may be an integer. Some exemplary LCID strings are: “en” for English, “fr” for French, “en-us” for United States English, “en-uk” for British English, and “en-marketing” for English spoken by marketing people 
   In this example, the user has localized the list to English and French and includes English values for each of the members and French values for each of the members. The rows having language values equal to “en” are the English values and the rows having language values equal to “fr” are the French values. A user could add more localizations to table  320 . 
   When a list is being displayed, the local language may be determined from the computer system, some other source, or calculated based on some information about the user and then the display program may access the appropriate values within the localization table to display. For example, when the list is being displayed in an English speaking region, list  210  in  FIG. 2  may be displayed by accessing the language values within table  320  that equal “en”. Similarly, when the list is being displayed in a French speaking region, list  220  in  FIG. 2  may be displayed by accessing the values that equal the language value of “fr”. 
   The following table includes a limited number of exemplary LCIDs in string format. 
   
     
       
             
             
             
           
         
             
                 
                 
             
             
                 
               Language 
               LCID 
             
             
                 
                 
             
           
           
             
                 
               Chinese (Simplified) 
               zh-cn 
             
             
                 
               Chinese (Traditional) 
               zh-tw 
             
             
                 
               Czech 
               cs 
             
             
                 
               Danish 
               da 
             
             
                 
               Dutch (Nederlands) 
               nl 
             
             
                 
               English (UK) 
               en-gb 
             
             
                 
               English (US) 
               en-us 
             
             
                 
               Finnish 
               fi 
             
             
                 
               French 
               fr 
             
             
                 
               German 
               de 
             
             
                 
               Greek 
               el 
             
             
                 
               Hungarian 
               hu 
             
             
                 
               Italian 
               it 
             
             
                 
               Japanese 
               ja 
             
             
                 
               Korean 
               ko 
             
             
                 
               Norwegian 
               no 
             
             
                 
               Polish 
               pl 
             
             
                 
               Portuguese 
               pt 
             
             
                 
               Russian 
               ru 
             
             
                 
               Spanish 
               es 
             
             
                 
               Swedish 
               sv 
             
             
                 
                 
             
           
        
       
     
   
   The following table includes a limited number of exemplary LCIDs in integer format. This list may include many more LCIDs. 
   
     
       
             
             
             
           
         
             
                 
                 
             
             
                 
               Language 
               LCID 
             
             
                 
                 
             
           
           
             
                 
               Arabic 
                1025 (&amp;H401) 
             
             
                 
               Chinese Hong Kong SAR 
                3076 (&amp;HC04) 
             
             
                 
               Chinese Traditional 
                1028 (&amp;H404) 
             
             
                 
               Croatian 
                1050 (&amp;H41A) 
             
             
                 
               Czech 
                1029 (&amp;H405) 
             
             
                 
               Danish 
                1030 (&amp;H406) 
             
             
                 
               Dutch 
                1043 (&amp;H413) 
             
             
                 
               English U.K. 
                2057 (&amp;H809) 
             
             
                 
               English U.S. 
                1033 (&amp;H409) 
             
             
                 
               Farsi 
                1065 (&amp;H429) 
             
             
                 
               Finnish 
                1035 (&amp;H40B) 
             
             
                 
               French 
                1036 (&amp;H40C) 
             
             
                 
               French Senegal 
               10252 (&amp;H280C) 
             
             
                 
               German 
                1031 (&amp;H407) 
             
             
                 
               Greek 
                1032 (&amp;H408) 
             
             
                 
               Italian 
                1040 (&amp;H410) 
             
             
                 
               Japanese 
                1041 (&amp;H411) 
             
             
                 
               Korean 
                1042 (&amp;H412) 
             
             
                 
               Lao 
                1108 (&amp;H454) 
             
             
                 
               Portuguese 
                2070 (&amp;H816) 
             
             
                 
               Romanian 
                1048 (&amp;H418) 
             
             
                 
               Russian 
                1049 (&amp;H419) 
             
             
                 
               Spanish (Traditional) 
                1034 (&amp;H40A) 
             
             
                 
               Spanish Chile 
               13322 (&amp;H340A) 
             
             
                 
               Swedish 
                1053 (&amp;H41D) 
             
             
                 
               Vietnamese 
                1066 (&amp;H42A) 
             
             
                 
                 
             
           
        
       
     
   
   By adjusting the language ID on the user&#39;s system, the list will be displayed for that region as long as the list has been localized to their region. When a list has not been localized for a particular region, a default list may be selected. Partial localization of lists is also supported. For example, if only a proper subset of the entries in the list have localized values provided in the user&#39;s language, then for those without values in the user&#39;s language, values from the default language are substituted. 
   The language ID may also be used to display the list according to the specified language. For example, U.S. users may use the following format: Americas-&gt;USA.Seattle; whereas French users may display the same information as Amerique;EtasUnis,Seattle. For each language and each level, the separator can be different, as specified by the user. 
     FIG. 4  is a functional block diagram generally illustrating a user-localizable list system, in accordance with aspects of the invention. As illustrated, system  400  includes data store  410 , structure table  420 , value table  430 , and user hierarchical list program  440 . 
   Structure table  420  is configured to store the structure of the hierarchical list (See  FIGS. 2 and 3  and related discussion). The structure of the hierarchical list stored within the structure table does not change based on each of the localizations. 
   Value table  430  includes N number of localizations. The user may create as many, or as few, localizations for the hierarchical list as they desire. For example, the table  430  may include 1, 2, 5, 10, or 80 different localizations. 
   According to one embodiment of the invention, the structure table and value table are stored within a SQL database in data store  410 . The information contained within the tables, however, may be stored in many different ways. For example, the information may be stored in lists or other databases or in memory. 
   According to one embodiment, user hierarchical list program  440  allows the user to localize the values for hierarchical lists and perform other operations on the list such as: searching, sorting, and displaying operations on the list. 
   According to one embodiment, the UID for each member of the list is stored along with the value. Therefore, the user may search the list using the UID. This may help a user manage a large list. For example, suppose a hierarchical list represents different skills and the user is only interested in skill #12, then the user may search for skill #12 and only the portion of the list matching skill #12 will be returned to the user. When dealing with large tables this may save the user considerable time. Additionally, since the list is localized, when the list is returned to the user it will be displayed according to the user&#39;s localization value. 
     FIG. 5  illustrates a process flow  500  for interacting with a user-localizable hierarchical list, in accordance with aspects of the invention After a start block the process flows to block  510  where the user accesses a hierarchical list. 
   Moving to block  520  the list is localized by the user. The user may localize the values within the list to meet their needs. For example, a user may localize the list to conform to German values for its German users, Italian for its Italian users and English for its English users. 
   Flowing to block  530 , the localized list to use for a particular user is identified. According to one embodiment, the localized list is identified by a localization value, such as a language ID variable. The list may be identified in other ways. For example, the localized list may be selected based on a regional setting on the computer. 
   Transitioning to block  540 , the list is presented to the user based on the user&#39;s localization value. The process then moves to an end block and returns to processing other actions. 
   The above specification, examples and data provide a complete description of the manufacture and use of the composition of the invention. Since many embodiments of the invention can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, the invention resides in the claims hereinafter appended.

Technology Classification (CPC): 8