International Business Machines Corporation

Anne G Leonard

Richard Lee Verburg

Conrad William Schneiker

Robert Anthony Fabbio

This invention provides a tool for presenting items for selection by a user of a data processing system and for executing the selected items. Each item of the menus and dialogues is an individual and independent object in an object database, referred to as an interface object. These objects can be added or deleted independent of each other, allowing greater extendability and customization of the interface. The data within each of the interface objects and the selections from a user determine which of the interface objects will make up any one of several logical frame presentations at any one time to be presented to a user. The interface tool of this invention is adaptable for use with any one of a plurality of graphic libraries for presenting the actual screen image of the logical frame presentation to the user. In addition, the interface tool utilizes the message facilities of the system to present the elements of the interface in multiple languages. More specifically, the interface tool of this invention is used for managing the system resources of a data processing system by a user.

Object database-driven interactive shell for a data processing system

The system and method of this invention processes a data stream based on the structure of a font file which can be varied by a user or application of the processing system. The font file not only contains the pel patterns for a range of graphical symbols, but it also contains the rules for, interpreting a data stream having a particular syntax. The rules for interpreting a data stream are referred to as the processing model for the data stream.

Selective processing of a data stream based on font format

The system and method of this invention processes a data stream based on the structure of a font file which can be varied by a user or application of the processing system. The font file not only contains the pel patterns for a range of graphical symbols, but it also contains the rules for interpreting a data stream having a particular syntax. The rules for interpreting a data stream are referred to as the processing model for the data stream. The structure of the font file contains an index array to the range of graphical symbols. Each byte in the data stream is used to generate an index into the index array. In each element of the index array there is a value and control bits. The control bits indicate whether the value is an offset to a graphical symbol or whether the value is a modifier. If the value is a modifier, it is used to increment the next sequential data byte in the data stream through the range of graphical symbols. The modifiers can be used recursively to access an unlimited number of graphical symbols.

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Austin, TX, United States of America

Anne G Leonard