A method and apparatus for automatically changing the display in overlapping rectangular viewport areas of a display screen of a digital display apparatus and in which each viewport area is assigned a different priority level. The method includes the steps of (a) storing in a random access store indications of the position and size of each viewport area, together with an indication of the priority level of the viewport area and (b) constructing a first matrix of (2n+1).sup.2 elements, where n is equal to the number of viewport areas, by assigning a vertical component to each vertical coordinate of each viewport area and a horizontal component to each horizontal coordinate of each viewport area, and for each element so formed storing an indication of the highest priority level of the viewports falling within the boundary formed by the coordinates defining the element.
An Icon window display area taking precedence over all other display areas is disposed in the display screen. A window which becomes invisible at generation of a new window, a window size change of an existing window, or a position change of an existing window is reduced to a predetermined size so as to be displayed in a new Icon window display area.
A data processing machine which is controlled to produce graphical output from stored sets of data. The data sets may be stored in the non-uniform manner. The machine is controlled to determine column boundaries in each row of a data set and then to determine column boundaries in each row of a data set and then to determine which rows of the set have missing items. Data sets can then be reformatted as graphs or similar representations. The machine takes away the constraint on users to accurately enter data items into specific slots in a table or data set.
A computer system which has a display memory for storing information to be presented on an output display, and a full screen bitmapped window identification memory for storing information regarding window position on an output display, and uses circuitry for comparing incoming information with information stored in the window identification memory to determine whether the incoming information should appear in a particular window of the output display, and also includes a second full screen bitmapped memory normally utilized for storing information indicative of other than window position on an output display and utilizes circuitry for selectively storing information in the second memory regarding window position on the output display when additional windows are required.
Graphic display controller having central processing unit for preparing display lists so that a graphic display controller displays graphics on a monitor by using the display lists. The controller incvludes a memory for storing original image data as a part of the data base. The memory is accessed by the central processing unit through a memory management unit. The memory management unit maps locical process address to physical address on the memory unit. The memory has a capacity for storing display lists. The graphic display controller directly accesses the display lists stored in the memory through a graphic address transformer. The graphic address transformer maps graphic addresses to physical addresses.
The execution of a plurality of information processing functions are dependent on the previous execution of one or more required functions. A display for displaying input information includes a selective display unit for displaying a diagram of the sequential priority relationships between the plurality of functions. Each of the previously executed required functions is indicated on the diagram in the priority order upon which a desired processing function is dependent which reduces the time required for the sequential selection of a required function for execution of the desired processing function.
