Method for controlling the execution of a program configurable into a disabled state and enabled state

Abstract

The invention deals a method for controlling the execution of a program by a terminal ( 1 ) comprising a screen ( 12 ), wherein the method comprises the steps of: configuring the program into an enabled state, wherein at least one process of the program is allowed to be executed by the terminal ( 1 ), and a disabled state, wherein execution of any process of the program by the terminal ( 1 ) is forbidden, wherein the method further comprises the steps of: displaying ( 100 ) on the screen ( 12 ) an icon (G) for starting the program according to a first rendering if the program is configured in the enabled state, and displaying ( 114 ) said icon (G) according to a second rendering different from the first rendering if the program is configured in the disabled state.

1 . Method for controlling the execution of a program by a terminal ( 1 ) comprising a screen ( 12 ), wherein the method comprises the steps of:
 configuring the program into:
 an enabled state, wherein at least one process of the program is allowed to be executed by the terminal ( 1 ), and 
 a disabled state, wherein execution of any process of the program by the terminal ( 1 ) is forbidden, 
   
       wherein the method further comprises the steps of:
 displaying ( 100 ) on the screen ( 12 ) an icon (G) for starting the program according to a first rendering if the program is configured in the enabled state, 
 displaying ( 114 ) said icon (G) according to a second rendering different from the first rendering if the program is configured in the disabled state. 
 
     
     
         2 . Method as claimed in  claim 1 , comprising the steps of:
 rendering the icon (G) using a first set of colors if the current state is the enabled state,   rendering the icon (G) is rendered using a second set of colors if the current state is the disabled state, wherein the second set of colors is a subset of the first set.   
     
     
         3 . Method as claimed in  claim 1 , comprising:
 altering a default shape of the icon into a first altered shape if the current state is one of the disabled and enabled states,   altering a default shape of the icon into a second altered shape or leaving said default shape unchanged, if the current state is the other state.   
     
     
         4 . Method as claimed in  claim 1 , comprising:
 compositing the icon with a first indicator overlapping the icon, if the current state is one of the disabled and enabled states,   compositing the icon with a second indicator overlapping the icon, wherein the second indicator is different from the first indicator, or leaving the icon free of indicator, if the current state is the other of the two states.   
     
     
         5 . Method as claimed in  claim 1 , comprising the steps of configuring the program into the enabled state whenever detecting that the program has been started using the icon (G). 
     
     
         6 . Method as claimed in  claim 1 , comprising the steps of displaying a context menu whenever detecting that the icon (G) was pressed on or tapped on, said menu showing a first item for directly starting the application and another item for changing the state of the program. 
     
     
         7 . Method as claims in  claim 1 , further comprising the steps of detecting a user event indicating that the icon (G) has been moved on the screen ( 12 ) according to a predetermined motion pattern, and changing the current state of the program in response to detecting the user event. 
     
     
         8 . Method as claimed in  claim 7 , wherein the predetermined motion pattern is a motion of the icon (G) into a predetermined area (A) of the screen ( 12 ). 
     
     
         9 . Method as claimed in  claim 8 , wherein the user event indicates that the icon (G) has been dragged and dropped in the predetermined area (A). 
     
     
         10 . Method as claimed in  claim 8 , further comprising displaying a target (T) indicating the location of the predetermined area (A) on the screen ( 12 ). 
     
     
         11 . Method as claimed in  claim 10 , further comprising:
 displaying ( 202 ) the target (T) whenever detecting that the icon (G) has been pressed on during a predetermined duration,   erasing ( 206 ) the target from the screen ( 12 ) in response to detecting the user event.   
     
     
         12 . Method as claimed in  claim 7 , further comprising:
 detecting a second user event ordering to stop the program after it has been started,   configuring the application into the disabled state in response to detecting the second user event.   
     
     
         13 . Method as claimed in  claim 1 , further comprising terminating, ending and/or killing ( 106 ) any process of the program being executed whenever the program is configured into the disabled state. 
     
     
         14 . Method as claimed in  claim 1 , further comprising saving ( 110 ,  124 ) the state the program has been configured into a non-volatile memory of the terminal ( 1 ). 
     
     
         15 . Method as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein metadata of the program that is stored in a memory ( 20 ) of the terminal is still accessible when said program is in the disabled state. 
     
     
         16 . Computer program product comprising code instructions for execution of a method for controlling execution of a program by a terminal ( 1 ) comprising a screen ( 12 ), when this program product is executed by at least one processor ( 10 ), wherein the method comprises the steps of:
 configuring the program into:
 an enabled state, wherein at least one process of the program is allowed to be executed by the terminal ( 1 ), and 
   a disabled state, wherein execution of any process of the program by the terminal ( 1 ) is forbidden,   
       wherein the method further comprises the steps of:
 displaying ( 100 ) on the screen ( 12 ) an icon (G) for starting the program according to a first rendering if the program is configured in the enabled state, 
 displaying ( 114 ) said icon (G) according to a second rendering different from the first rendering if the program is configured in the disabled state. 
 
     
     
         17 . Terminal ( 1 ) comprising:
 a screen ( 12 ),   a memory ( 16 ) storing a computer program,   at least one processor ( 10 ) for executing the program, said processor ( 10 ) being configured to configure alternately the program into:
 an enabled state, wherein at least one process of the program is allowed to be executed by the processor ( 10 ), 
 a disabled state, wherein execution of any process of the program by the processor ( 10 ) is forbidden, 
   
       wherein the terminal ( 1 ) is characterized in that the processor is further configured to:
 display on the screen ( 12 ) an icon (G) for starting the program according to a first rendering if the program is configured in the enabled state, 
 display said icon (G) according to a second rendering different from the first rendering if the program is configured in the disabled state. 
 
     
     
         18 . Method as claimed in  claim 9 , further comprising displaying a target (T) indicating the location of the predetermined area (A) on the screen ( 12 ).