Patent US5802380A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US5802380A
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Method and system for uniform access of textual data
Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC
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Filing: 1996-05-24
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Granted: 1998-09-01
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Expires: 2016-05-24
Abstract
Abstract A method and system through which an application program can access textual data through a common text accessing interface. The system provides a hierarchy of interfaces through which various text manipulation functions can be accessed. These functions control the editing and displaying of text. The hierarchy of interfaces include an interface for manipulating a document and for manipulating a range of characters within the document. By using these interfaces, a server can expose its text to various clients.
Inventors
- 👤 David L. Bangs
- 👤 Alexander G. Gounares
- 👤 James J. O'Neill
- 👤 Murray Sargent, III
- 👤 Igor Y. Zaika
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-04 13:27
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06F; G06F40/00; G06F40/10; G06F40/166
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 27
Claim 1
Independent Claim
227 words
A method in a computer system for processing of data, the data having a plurality of characters, the computer system having a client and a server, comprising: under control of the client, sending to the server requests to define a plurality of ranges of the data, each range having a property; under control of the server, receiving the request to define the plurality of ranges of data; and in response to receiving the request to define, associating a range object with each of the plurality of ranges, each range object having a member function for accessing the characters within the associated range; under control of the client, sending to the server a request to modify a selected one of the defined ranges in such a way that the property of the selected range is affected; and under control of the server, receiving the request to modify the selected range; and in response to receiving the request to modify, invoking the member function of the range object associated with the selected range, wherein the selected range is modified in accordance with the received request, and wherein, for each of the plurality of defined ranges that is affected by the modification of the selected range, the property of the defined range is adjusted to reflect the affect that the modification of the selected range has on the defined range.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
227 words
A method in a computer system for processing of data, the data having a plurality of characters, the computer system having a client and a server, comprising: under control of the client, sending to the server requests to define a plurality of ranges of the data, each range having a property; under control of the server, receiving the request to define the plurality of ranges of data; and in response to receiving the request to define, associating a range object with each of the plurality of ranges, each range object having a member function for accessing the characters within the associated range; under control of the client, sending to the server a request to modify a selected one of the defined ranges in such a way that the property of the selected range is affected; and under control of the server, receiving the request to modify the selected range; and in response to receiving the request to modify, invoking the member function of the range object associated with the selected range, wherein the selected range is modified in accordance with the received request, and wherein, for each of the plurality of defined ranges that is affected by the modification of the selected range, the property of the defined range is adjusted to reflect the affect that the modification of the selected range has on the defined range.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
105 words
The method of claim 1 wherein each of the plurality of characters has a character position and the characters are ordered from a first to a last character position, and wherein the property of each of the defined ranges is a start character position and limit character position that identify the characters within the range, wherein the modification to the selected range changes the number of characters within the range, and wherein adjusting of the defined ranges includes changing the start character position and limit character position of the defined ranges to adjust for a change in the number of characters in the selected range.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
47 words
The method of claim 1 where each of the plurality of characters in the selected range has a format, wherein the request to modify is a request to modify the format of a character, and wherein the format of the character in the selected range is modified.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
30 words
The method of claim 3 wherein a defined range includes the character whose format is modified, the step of adjusting ensures that the modification is reflected in the defined range.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
14 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the client and server execute in separate processes.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the client and server execute as separate threads of a single process.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
15 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the client and server execute within a single thread.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the client includes a plurality of clients where each of the clients sent a request to define.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
34 words
The method of claim 7 wherein the server, upon receiving a request from a client to modify, adjusts the property of each range object in accordance with the received request before processing another request.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
39 words
The method of claim 1 wherein each range object includes its own copy of the plurality of characters and wherein a modification to a character in the selected range is reflected in each copy of the plurality of characters.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method of claim 1 where the range objects share a single copy of the plurality of characters.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
16 words
A computer-readable memory device for controlling a computer system to perform the steps of claim 1.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
119 words
A computer system for providing clients with uniform access to text of servers, the text having a plurality of characters, comprising: within each server, document object means for receiving an indication of a range of characters of the text and for creating a range object that identifies the indicated range and that provides a member function for accessing the characters in the identified range; and within each client, means for sending the indication of the range of characters of the text to a server; means for receiving an indication of the created range object; and means for using the received indication of the created range object to invoke the member function to access the characters in the identified range.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
119 words
A computer system for providing clients with uniform access to text of servers, the text having a plurality of characters, comprising: within each server, document object means for receiving an indication of a range of characters of the text and for creating a range object that identifies the indicated range and that provides a member function for accessing the characters in the identified range; and within each client, means for sending the indication of the range of characters of the text to a server; means for receiving an indication of the created range object; and means for using the received indication of the created range object to invoke the member function to access the characters in the identified range.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
24 words
The computer system of claim 13 wherein the created range object has a function member for re-indicating the range by searching through the text.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
22 words
The computer system of claim 13 wherein the created range object has a function member for retrieving the characters of the range.
Claim 18
Independent Claim
169 words
A method in a computer system for a server to provide uniform access to text of the computer program, the text comprising a plurality of characters, the method comprising: for each of a plurality of clients, receiving a request to access the text; and in response to receiving the request to access the text, assigning a document object having member functions for providing access to the text; for each of the plurality of clients, receiving a request to define a selected range of characters within the text; and in response to receiving the request to define a selected range, invoking a member function of the document object assigned to the client wherein a range object having member functions for manipulating the characters of the selected range is assigned to the client; and for each of the plurality of clients, receiving a request to access the selected range of the client; and in response to receiving the request, invoking a member function of the range object assigned to the client.
Claim 19
Independent Claim
169 words
A method in a computer system for a server to provide uniform access to text of the computer program, the text comprising a plurality of characters, the method comprising: for each of a plurality of clients, receiving a request to access the text; and in response to receiving the request to access the text, assigning a document object having member functions for providing access to the text; for each of the plurality of clients, receiving a request to define a selected range of characters within the text; and in response to receiving the request to define a selected range, invoking a member function of the document object assigned to the client wherein a range object having member functions for manipulating the characters of the selected range is assigned to the client; and for each of the plurality of clients, receiving a request to access the selected range of the client; and in response to receiving the request, invoking a member function of the range object assigned to the client.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
26 words
The method of claim 16 wherein the member functions of the document object provide functionality to define a range of characters by instantiating a range object.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 16 wherein the member functions of the range object provide functionality to manipulate the format of each character within the range.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
26 words
The method of claim 16 wherein the member functions of the range object provide functionality to manipulate the format of paragraphs of characters within the range.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
41 words
The method of claim 16 wherein the member functions of the document object provides functionality to receive a display device coordinate position and return a reference to a range object for a range that is near the display device coordinate position.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
24 words
The method of claim 16 wherein the member functions of the range object provide functionality to re-define the range by searching through the text.
Claim 25
Independent Claim
182 words
A method in a computer system for a first computer program to determine text displayed on a display device by a second computer program, comprising: under control of a first computer program, displaying the text on a display device; under control of the second computer program, sending a request to the first computer program to access text displayed at a certain position of the display device; under control of the first computer program, receiving the request; and in response to receiving the request, determining a range of characters corresponding to the certain position of the display device; and instantiating an range object for processing the range, the range object having a predefined interface with a member function for accessing the determined range of characters; under control of the second computer program, sending a request to the first computer program to retrieve the characters of the defined range; and under control of the first computer program, receiving the request; in response to receiving the request, invoking the member function to retrieve the characters; and sending the retrieved characters to the second computer program.
Claim 26
Independent Claim
182 words
A method in a computer system for a first computer program to determine text displayed on a display device by a second computer program, comprising: under control of a first computer program, displaying the text on a display device; under control of the second computer program, sending a request to the first computer program to access text displayed at a certain position of the display device; under control of the first computer program, receiving the request; and in response to receiving the request, determining a range of characters corresponding to the certain position of the display device; and instantiating an range object for processing the range, the range object having a predefined interface with a member function for accessing the determined range of characters; under control of the second computer program, sending a request to the first computer program to retrieve the characters of the defined range; and under control of the first computer program, receiving the request; in response to receiving the request, invoking the member function to retrieve the characters; and sending the retrieved characters to the second computer program.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method of claim 22 wherein the second computer program upon receiving the retrieved characters announces the characters.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2001-08-31 | 2002-03-02 | 2002-09-01 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2005-08-31 | 2006-03-02 | 2006-09-01 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2009-08-31 | 2010-03-02 | 2010-09-01 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |