International Business Machines Corporation

Hira Advani

William C Cason, Jr

William Lee Terrell

Gerald E Hayes

Larry K Loucks

John A Hooten

Nancy L Springen

A process for the modification of device configuration in a computer system is designed to be easy-to-use by the user of the computer system yet allow the user flexibility in the specification of device configuration. The computer system stores parameter values of various default devices and devices already installed in the computer system. When the user invokes an 'ADDDEV' command, the system prompts the user to enter one of a plurality of commands such as add, change or delete. Assuming the user enters the add command, the system prompts the user to enter the name of a default device or a similar device already installed in the system. When that information is entered by the user, the system determines from the stored parameters for the default or similar device which parameters must be re-specified by the user for the device to be added to the system. The system then prompts the user to enter only those parameters requiring respecification. Once those parameters have been respecified, the system stores the respecified parameters together with those parameters common to both the default or similar device and the added device thereby installing the added device in the computer system. The procedure not only simplifies the installation process by the user, but also minimizes the possibility that errors will be made in the installation of the added device. Further, the system allows for the possibility of optionally changing parameters that do not require re-specification or the parameters of devices already installed in the system.

Modification of device configuration wherein the system specifies and

A screen-oriented process is used for configuring devices in an open computer system. The computer system includes an operating system having device drivers, and the operating system can be run as a virtual machine on a virtual resource manager wherein a procedure is used to bind the device drivers of the operating system and the virtual resource manager and an attached device on a particular port of an adapter using device dependent information. The configuring process initially requires the creation of device dependent information files for a plurality of devices and device types, and these files are installed in the computer system. Each file includes adpater specific information and device specific information consolidated in a single file. The user may invoke a configuration command, and the system responds by displaying a plurality of commands such as add, change, delete and show and prompts the user to choose a command. If the add command is chosen, the system displays a list of predefined devices and adapters of the device type specified by the user and prompts the user to choose from among the predefined devices and adapters in the list. When the user makes a choice, the system then asks the user whether the device dependent information for the chosen device and adapter should be displayed so that the user has the option of changing either or both the adapter specific information and the device specific information in one step. Similarly, if the change command is chosen, the information for the previously installed device specified by the user is displayed so that the user has the option of changing either or both the adapter specific information and the device specific information in one step.

Configuration capability for devices in an open system having the

An operating system in a digital computer environment is run as a virtual machine on a virtual resource manager. In order to provide a more dynamic environment for the operating system, linkages are made between the operating system device drivers and the corresponding real and virtual devices of the virtual resource manager. This is accomplished by assigning a 'token' to the virtual resource manager. A device dependent information file corresponding to the device is created. This file contains adapter dependent information including a hardward port address for the physical device. The 'token' is placed in the operating system device driver at the time it is initiated. When the operating system device driver is 'opened' to drive the device, it uses the 'token' to communicate with the virtual resource manager device driver thereby accomplishing driver to driver binding. This causes the virtual resource manager device driver to use the adapter dependent information in the special file corresponding to the 'token' and placed in the process stack.

Device driver and adapter binding technique

A method is disclosed for assisting the operator of an interactive text processing system in the interactive selection of text processing tasks from a combined program/work diskette. The method involves displaying to the operator a 'special' menu which is dynamically developed from information obtained during the creation of the combined program/work diskette, which menu reflects text processing task programs that have been combined on a combined program/work diskette. The combined program/work diskette is created by transferring to a diskette sets of programming modules where each set represents a different text processing task and originates from a different program diskette that is selected interactively by the operator during the creation of the combined program diskette. The special menu informs the operator what specific text processing tasks out of a large group of text processing tasks have been combined on the diskette and are now available to the operator for execution.

Method for displaying selected text processing task options

A method to assist the operator of an interactive text processing system to update program modules associated with one of a plurality of text processing programs that have been combined on a two-sided, double-density (2S2D) combined program/work diskette. The method involves creating a new 2S2D combined program/work diskette by transferring the programming modules and other data from the old 2S2D combined program/work diskette so that the transferred programming modules assigned to each data set are recorded in module number order after each data set directory and the data set directories are also recorded in sequential order, and replacing a program module on the new 2S2D combined program/work diskette with a corresponding module from the 1S1D diskette containing the updated programs whenever the 'build number' of the corresponding module on the 2S2D diskette is lower than the module on the 1S1D diskette.

Method for updating a program on a combined program diskette in an

A method is disclosed for improving the efficiency of an operator of an interactive text processing system in which a plurality of different text processing task programs are each stored on a different single-sided, single-density (1S1D) diskette so that in the creation and use of a text document involving several different tasks, the operator's efficiency is decreased due to the time involved in inserting and removing each required diskette. The method involves creating a combined program diskette on a two-sided, double-density (2S2D) diskette by sequentially transferring program modules for interactively selected text processing task programs from corresponding 1S1D diskettes under the control of a 'Combine' program. The method provides one 2S2D combined text processing program diskette containing all the programs necessary to create and use a specific text document by means of the selected tasks.

Method for combining program diskettes in an interactive text processing

The specification discloses a method for submitting a number of documents to be printed in a limited memory word processing system in which printing is a separate, nonconcurrent foreground task with typing functions. A set of print task programs is loaded into the system. A background print process is initialized for printing one or more documents. A document is submitted for printing by entering document identification information in a print queue. The document identification information includes the document name, the diskette name where the document is stored and the first and last pages of the document to be printed. The background print process sequentially prints each of the documents corresponding to the document information entered in the print queue on a first-in, first-out basis. The operator may cancel a document previously submitted for printing by deleting the document identification information corresponding to the document to be cancelled from the print queue. The operator may also change the print order of a designated document by moving document information corresponding to the designated document to a position in the queue immediately after the document which is currently being printed. The foreground print task and thus the background print process is thus terminated only when no print activity remains to be performed.

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Austin, TX, United States of America

Hira Advani