Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 10
Claim 1
Independent Claim
115 words
In a programmable digital computer having means for interfacing with a user of said computer, including means for receiving commands from the user and means for communicating information to the user, including a display: application processing means including all processing modules required to perform the data processing functions of an application program; an open user interface system (OUIS) coupled with said application processing means, responsively coupled with said means for receiving, and coupled to control said means for communicating, said OUIS being called by and transferring control to said application processing means when user action requires data processing, and said application processing means returning control to said OUIS after performing the requested data processing functions.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
148 words
The combination of Claim 1 wherein said OUIS further comprises: object containing tree means for controlling at least said display, said object containing tree means having a plurality of objects each dedicated to controlling a specific feature of said display, some features being contained within others, said objects being interconnected in the form of an object tree hierarchically arranged so that features contained within others are below said others in said tree; and kernel means bilaterally communicating with said application processing means for controlling the structure of said object containing tree means, said kernel means communicating with said application processing means by using a limited set of instruction codes including at least codes for initiating use of and terminating use of closing specific object trees, codes for placing values in and extracting values from specific objects, and code for effecting a standby status of said application processing means.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
68 words
The combination in accordance with Claim 2 wherein said object containing tree means contains objects which may assume any one of a plurality of predefined interaction statuses affecting the appearance and interactivity of the object in the display, each object having a predefined readiness state, the interaction status of each object being determined by its state and the status of its parent in the interface tree, if any.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
75 words
The combination of Claim 3 wherein the available readiness states for the objects are active, disabled, and hidden and the available interaction statuses for objects are effective, perceptive, visible, invisible, and unlinked, the interaction status of an element being determined in accordance with the following table: ELEMENT STATUS ELEMENT STATE PARENT STATUS Effective Perceptive Visible Invisible Unlinked ACTIVE Effective Visible Visible Invisible Unlinked DISABLED Perceptive Visible Visible Invisible Unlinked HIDDEN Invisible Invisible Invisible Invisible Unlinked
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
156 words
In a digital computer having input means for receiving communications from the user of the computer and output means for communicating information to the user, said output means including at least a display and having a plurality of output elements, some of which are contained in other output elements, said method comprising the steps of: representing said output elements by an interface tree having a node corresponding to each output element, with output elements being arranged on subtrees so that elements which contain other elements are above said other elements in the tree; assigning to each element a readiness state defining the element's, potential ability to interact with the user and to transmit user events to subelements; determining an interaction status for each element depending upon the status of its parent in said tree and the state of the element; and controlling the appearance of each element in said display in accordance with its interaction status.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
75 words
The method of Claim 5 wherein the available readiness states for the elements are active, disabled, and hidden and the available interaction statuses for elements are effective, perceptive, visible, invisible, and unlinked, the interaction status of an element being determined in accordance with the following table: ELEMENT STATUS ELEMENT STATE PARENT STATUS Effective Peceptive Visible Invisible Unlinked ACTIVE Effective Visible Visible Invisible Unlinked DISABLED Perceptive Visible Visible Invisible Unlinked HIDDEN Invisible Invisible Invisible Invisible Unlinked
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
54 words
The method of Claim 5 further comprising, for updating the status of a subtree, the steps of: beginning with the local root element of said subtree, preupdating each element, with no element being updated until its parent element has been preupdated; postupdating an element only after every subelement in its subtree has been postupdated.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
55 words
The method of Claim 7 further comprising the steps of: postupdating an element when it has no subelements; when a postupdated element has unprocessed siblings at the same level, preupdating the subtrees of unprocessed siblings; and when a postupdated element has no unprocessed siblings, moving up the tree to its parent and postupdating its parent.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
55 words
The method of Claim 6 further comprising, for updating the status of a subtree, the steps of: beginning with the local root element of said subtree, preupdating each element, with no element being updated until its parent element has been preupdated; and postupdating an element only after every subelement in its subtree has been postupdated.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
55 words
The method of Claim 9 further comprising the steps of: postupdating an element when it has no subelements; when a postupdated element has unprocessed siblings at the same level, preupdating the subtrees of unprocessed siblings; and when a postupdated element has no unprocessed siblings, moving up the tree to its parent and postupdating its parent.