WikiPatents - Community Patent Review
Create Free Account  |  License or Sell Your Patent  |  WikiPatents Marketplace  |  WikiPatents Blog
Username:  Password:  
    
Advanced Search
Screen manager multiple viewport for a multi-tasking data processing system    
United States Patent4807142   
Link to this pagehttp://www.wikipatents.com/4807142.html
Inventor(s)Agarwal; Arun K. (Chelmsford, MA)
AbstractA task control structure for transferring tasks from a storage device to a system memory and for controlling execution of tasks, and a document manager for loading document information in the form of document data structures from the storage device to the system memory and managing access to the data structures by the tasks are using task control blocks to manage the execution of tasks and document control blocks to manage access to the document data structures by the tasks. Each document file has a document control block and the document files and the document control blocks are designed to represent and relate to the structure of documents. Each document file has at least one page including at least one area, each containing at least one type of information. Each area including, in an area containing text information, at least one column for containing text information including at least one line, each line including a string of at least one text character, a reference to attribute applying to the characters or the string, and references to external data items associated with the line. A screen manager is used for creating visual display screens, each screen having a virtual screen with one or more viewpoints onto data to be displayed. The screen manager includes a control structure containing information relating each screen to a corresponding task, and, for each screen, information describing certain properties of the screen, and information relating the screen to the data residing in the document structure to be displayed.
   














 Title Information Submit all comments and votes
 
Patent Text Patent PDF Print Page Summary File History
Plain text PDF images Print Summary File History
Drawing from US Patent 4807142
Screen manager multiple viewport for a multi-tasking data processing

     system - US Patent 4807142 Drawing
Screen manager multiple viewport for a multi-tasking data processing system
Inventor     Agarwal; Arun K. (Chelmsford, MA)
Owner/Assignee     Wang Laboratories, Inc. (Lowell, MA)
Patent assignment
All assignments
Publication Date     February 21, 1989
Application Number     06/659,203
PAIR File History     Application Data   Transaction History
Image File Wrapper   Patent Term   Fees
Litigation
Filing Date     October 9, 1984
US Classification     718/100 715/526 715/530 718/107
Int'l Classification     G06F 003/153 G09G 001/06
Examiner     Zache; Raulfe B.
Assistant Examiner     Munteanu; Florin
Attorney/Law Firm     Shanahan; Michael H.
Address
Parent Case    
Priority Data    
USPTO Field of Search     364/200 MS File 364/900 MS File 364/300 MS File 364/521 364/518 340/721 340/723 340/745 340/747 340/750 340/286 M 340/727 340/731 340/734
Patent Tags     screen manager multiple viewport multi-tasking data processing
   
Enter a comma (,) or semicolon (;) between multiple tag words/phrases.
Describe this patent:
 Amusing   
 Clever   
 Complex   
 Efficient   
 Historic   
 Important   
 Innovative   
 Interesting   
 Practical   
 Simple   
[no votes]
Patent WIKI

Share information and news about this patent, including information and news about the technology, inventors, company, ligation and licensing.

 References Submit all comments and votes
 
*references marked with an asterisk below are user-added references
 U.S. References
 
Add a new US reference:  
ReferenceRelevancyCommentsReferenceRelevancyComments
3533086



[0 after 0 votes]
4651146
Lucash
715/806
Mar,1987

[0 after 0 votes]
4642790
Minshull
715/784
Feb,1987

[0 after 0 votes]
4598384
Shaw
358/1.18
Jul,1986

[0 after 0 votes]
4586158
Brandle
715/788
Apr,1986

[0 after 0 votes]
4553202
Trufyn
710/269
Nov,1985

[0 after 0 votes]
4550315
Bass
715/803
Oct,1985

[0 after 0 votes]
4533910
Sukonick
715/806
Aug,1985

[0 after 0 votes]
4484302
Cason
715/802
Nov,1984

[0 after 0 votes]
4475156
Federico
718/102
Oct,1984

[0 after 0 votes]
4412294
Watts
715/539
Oct,1983

[0 after 0 votes]
4189727
Vaughn, Jr.
345/157
Feb,1980

[0 after 0 votes]
 Foreign References
 Other References
 Market Review Submit all comments and votes
   
Market Size
Estimate the gross annual revenues of the relevant market sector:
> $10B
$5B - $10B
$2B - $5B
$500M - $2B
$100M - $500M
$10M - $100M
$1M - $10M
$500K - $1M
$100K - $500K
< $100K
[No votes]
$0
 
$0   $2.5B   $5B   $7.5B   $10B
Market Share
Estimate the percentage of the relevant market sector this invention will capture:
75% - 100%
50% - 74.99%
25% - 49.99%
10 - 24.99%
5 - 9.99%
2 - 4.99%
1 - 1.99%
< 1%
[No votes]
0.0%
 
0%   25%   50%   75%   100%
Reasonable Royalty
What percentage of gross sales should the inventor or assignee be paid?
75% - 100%
50% - 74.99%
25% - 49.99%
10 - 24.99%
5 - 9.99%
2 - 4.99%
1 - 1.99%
< 1%
[No votes]
0.0%
 
0%   25%   50%   75%   100%
Public's "Guesstimation" of Royalty Value
Market SizeN/A[No votes]
xMarket ShareN/A[No votes]
xReasonable RoyaltyN/A[No votes]

N/A

License Availablity
If you are NOT the owner or assignee, answer here:
Yes, license is available for purchase

No, license is not currently available



[No votes]
License Availablity
If you ARE the owner or assignee, answer here:
Yes, license is available for purchase

No, license is not currently available



[No votes]
Competitive Advantage
Does this invention have a significant competitive advantage over similar technologies?
Yes

No



[No votes]
Most helpful competitive advantage comment
[No comments]

Commercial Alternatives
Are there viable commercial alternatives for this invention?
Yes

No



[No votes]
Most helpful commercial alternative comment
[No comments]

 Technical Review Submit all comments and votes
 Claims Submit all comments and votes
 


What is claimed is:

1. In a multi-tasking data processing system including memory means for storing data residing in document structures and active tasks, including a foreground task and one or more background tasks, each of said tasks being operable for directing operations to be performed on data and CPU means responsive to the tasks for operating on the data, screen manager means for creating visual display screens upon a display screen, the visual display screens representing data residing in a corresponding document structure to be displayed in association with corresponding active tasks, comprising:

means responsive to active tasks for creating a screen manager control structure within the memory means,

the screen manager control structure including

information relating each screen to a corresponding task, and

for each screen,

information expressive at least of formatting information relative to the screen, and

information relating the screen to the data residing in the document structure to be displayed therein, and

means responsive to the corresponding tasks and corresponding screen manager control structures to access and display the corresponding data associated with the foreground task.

2. The screen manager means of claim 1, wherein each screen is comprised of at least one viewport, each viewport containing data from a different portion of the document structure.

3. In a data processing system including memory means for storing data residing in document structures and tasks, including a foregound task and one or more background tasks, directing operations to be performed on data and CPU means responsive to the tasks for operating on the data, screen manager means for creating visual display screens upon a display screen, the visual display screens representing data residing in a corresponding document structure to be displayed in association with corresponding active tasks, comprising:

means responsive to active tasks for creating a screen manager control structure within the memory means,

the screen manager control structure including

information relating each screen to a corresponding task, and

for each screen, information expressive at least of formatting information relative to the screen, and

information relating the screen to the data residing in the document structure to be displayed therein, and

means responsive to the corresponding tasks and corresponding screen manager control structures to access and display the corresponding data associated with the foreground task;

wherein each screen is comprised of at least one viewport, each viewport containing data from a different portion of the document structure;

the screen manager control structure further including;

at least one virtual screen descriptor block, each virtual screen descriptor block corresponding to a screen associated with a corresponding task, each virtual screen descriptor block being comprised of data field including

a field identifying the associated screen,

a field identifying the associated task, and

fields describing the associated screen, including

a field containing a pointer to a first viewport associated with the screen,

a field containing an array of numbers identifying all viewports associated with the screen, and

a field for containing a pointer to a next virtual screen descriptor block associated with a screen,

the screen manager control structure further including

at least one viewport descriptor block, each viewport descriptor block corresponding to a viewport associated with the screen, each viewport descriptor block being comprised of data fields including

a field containing a pointer to a page containing the data to be displayed within the viewport,

fields describing the logical locations and dimensions of the viewport relativeto the data to be displayed therein,

fields describing the location of a cursor within the viewport, the position of the cursor being associated with the operation of the associated task upon the data, and

a field for containing a pointer to a next viewport descriptor block of a viewport associated with the screen.

4. In a multi-tasking data processing system including memory means for storing data residing in document structures and active tasks, including a foreground task and one or more background tasks, each of the tasks being operable for directing operations to be performed on data and CPU means responsive to the tasks for operating on the data, a method for creating visual display screens upon a display screen, said visual display screens representing data residing in a corresponding document structure to be displayed in association with corresponding active tasks, comprising the steps of:

responsive to an active task,

creating a screen manager control structure within the memory means,

the screen manager control structure including

information relating each screen to a corresponding task, and

for each screen,

information expressive at least of formatting information relative to the screen, and

information relating the screen to the data residing in the document structure to be displayed therein, and

responsive to the corresponding tasks and corresponding screen manager control structures,

accessing and displaying the corresponding data associated with the foreground task.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein each screen is comprised of at least one viewport, each viewport containing data from a different portion of the document structure.

6. In a data processing system including memory means for storing data residing in document structures and tasks, including a foreground task and one or more background tasks, directing operations to be performed on data and CPU means responsive to the tasks for operating on the data, a method for creating visual display screens upon a display screen, said visual display screens representing data residing in a corresponding document structure to be displayed in association with corresponding active tasks, comprising the steps of:

responsive to an active task,

creating a screen manager control structure within the memory means,

the screen manager control structure including

information relating each screen to a corresponding task, and

for each screen,

information expressive at least of formatting information relative to the screen, and

information relating the screen to the data residing in the document structure to be displayed therein, and

responsive to the corresponding tasks and corresponding screen manager control structures,

accessing and displaying the corresponding data associated with the foreground task

wherein each screen is comprised of at least one viewport portion of the document structure each viewport containing data from a different portion of the document structure; and wherein

the screen manager control structure comprises:

at least one virtual screen descriptor block, each virtual screen descriptor block corresponding to a screen associated with a corresponding task, each virtual screen descriptor block being comprised of data fields including

a field identifying the associated screen,

a field identifying the associated task, and

fields describing the associated screen, including

a field containing a pointer to a first viewport associated with the screen,

a field containing an array of numbers identifying all viewports associated with the screen, and

a field for containing a pointer to a next virtual screen descriptor block associated with a screen,

the screen manager control structure further including

at least one viewport descriptor block, each viewport descriptor block corresponding to a viewport associated with the screen, each viewport descriptor block being comprised of data fields including

a field containing a pointer to a page containing the data to be displayed within the viewport,

fields describing the logical location and dimensions of the viewport relative to the data to be displayed therein,

fields describing the location of a cursor within the viewport, the position of the cursor being associated with the operation of the associated task upon the data, and

a field for containing a pointer to a next viewport descriptor block of a viewport associated with the screen.

7. In a multi-tasking data processing system including memory means for storing document related data and active tasks, including a foreground task and one or more backgrond tasks, each of said tasks being operable for controlling the processing of data related to one or more documents, the system further including a processing means operably coupled to said memory means for processing the data stored therein under control of the active tasks, the system further including a display means operable for visually displaying the document related data and a display manager means operable for managing the visual display, the display manager means comprising:

means for communicating with a task, said means for communicating being operable for receiving a display generation request from a task;

means for generating within said memory means a display control block data structure, said structure comprising data fields expressive of display related parameters associated with said document related data, said means for generating being operatively coupled to said means for communicating for generating said data structure in response to the received request; and

means for displaying on said display means the document related data associated with a data structure generated in response to a request made by said foreground task.

8. The display manager means as defined in claim 7 wherein said means for communicating with a task is further operable for providing to the requesting task information indicative of an identification of a virtual screen generated in response to said request.

9. The display manager means as defined in claim 8 wherein said means for generating is responsive to a request to generate a virtual display or a viewport within an existing virtual display.
 Description Submit all comments and votes
 


CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present patent application is related to the following U.S. patent applications, also assigned to the assignee of the present patent application:

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 655,280 filed Sept. 27, 1984, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,688,167, and U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 658,95, 658,952, 658,953, and 659,192 all filed on Oct. 9, 1984, now U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,658,951, 4,713,754, abandoned and abandoned, respectively.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention related to a data processing system and, in particular, a system particularly designed for the processing of data in document form.

2. Prior Art

Data processing systems of the prior art have generally fallen into one of two classes, the first being general purpose systems designed to perform a wide variety of tasks and the second being specialized systems optimized for a limited range of related tasks.

A recurring problem with the first class of data processing systems is that many such systems, while having a wide range of applications, may not be as efficient for certain tasks as more specialized system. The second class of systems, however, are generally not easily expandable for tasks other than those for which they were originally designed, even when the additional tasks may be related to the original tasks.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a solution to the above described problems of the prior art, and other problems, by providing a data processing system with features which allows the system to efficiently perform relatively specialized, related tasks, such as document processing, while being readily expandable for other tasks.

In the present embodiment, the system incorporates a task control means including a task loader for transferring tasks from a storage means to a system memory means and a task manager responsive to operation of the system for controlling execution of tasks, and a document manager for loading document information in the form of document data structures from the storage means to the system memory and managing access to the document data structures by the tasks. The task manager incorporates task control blocks, which are used to manage the execution of tasks, while the document manager incorporates document control blocks which are used to manage access to the document data structures by the tasks.

There is a task control block for each active task in the system, and each task control block includes an identification field for storing information identifying the corresponding task, a status field for storing information identifying the status of execution of the corresponding task, a priority field for storing information identifying the relative priority of execution of the corresponding task, and a stack pointer field for storing information identifying the location of a stack mechanism usable by the corresponding task. The task control blocks reside in a task manager queue mechanism, with the task control blocks being linked by pointers in the preferred sequence of their execution.

There is a document control block for each document data file in the system and the document files and document control blocks are designed to represent and relate to the structure of the documents. Each document file includes at least one page, and each page including at least one area, wherein each area contains at least one type of information. Each area including, in an area containing text information, at least one column for containing text information. Each column including at least one line, and each line including a string of at least one text character, a reference to attributes applying to the characters of the string, and references to external data items associated with the line.

The document file structure includes, for each document file, at least one page block, each page block comprising fields describing the logical dimensions of the page, fields describing the position of a cursor on the page, the cursor position indication the logical position within the data contained in the page of an operation being performed on the data, a field indicating cursor type, a field describing page layout, and field containing a pointer to an area block. Each file structure includes at least one area block, each area block comprising a field for containing a pointer to a next area, fields containing information defining the type of area, fields defining the logical position of the area with the page, fields defining the margins of the area, fields defining the position of text appearing in the area, fields defining the relationship of the area to other areas of the page, and a field for a pointer to a column block. The structure further includes at least one column block, comprising a field identifying the format of the text appearing in the area, and at least one field for a pointer to a line block. The structure includes at least one line block, each line block comprising at least one field containing a string of at least one text character, a reference to attributes applying to the characters of the string, and references to external data items associated with the line.

The system also includes a screen manager for creating visual display screens representing data, generally residing in the document structures described above. The screen manager includes means responsive to active tasks for creating a screen manager control structure containing information relating each screen to a corresponding task, and, for each screen, information describing certain properties of the screen, and information relating the screen to the data residing in the document structure to be to be displayed therein. The screen manager also includes means responsive to the corresponding tasks and corresponding screen manager control structures to access and display the corresponding data.

Each screen is described, in the screen manager control structure, by a virtual screen descriptor block and includes at least one viewport onto a portion of the data structure being operated upon by an associated task. Each virtual screen descriptor block includes a field identifying the associated screen, a field identifying the associated task, fields describing the associated screen, a field containing a pointer to a first viewport associated with the screen, a field containing an array of numbers identifying all viewports associated with the screen, and a field for containing a pointer to a next virtual screen descriptor block associated with a screen.

Each viewport is described by a viewport descriptor block including a field containing a pointer to a page containing the data to be displayed within the viewport, fields describing the logical location and dimensions of the viewport relative to the data to be displayed therein, fields describing the location of a cursor within the viewport, the position of the viewport being associated with the operation of the associated task upon the data, and field for containing a pointer to a next viewport descriptor block of a viewport associated with the screen.

Other advantages and features of the present invention will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art after referring to the following detailed description of preferred embodiment and drawings, wherein:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system incorporating the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a diagrammic representation of the residence of control functions and data structures in the system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a diagrammic, functional representation of the operation of the control and data structures of the system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a diagrammic representation of the structure and operation of applications tasks in the system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a diagrammic representation of the system loader and task manager of the system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a diagrammic representation of the data structure of the system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a diagrammic representation of the data file structure of the system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a diagrammic representation of the document manager of the system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 is a diagrammic representation of a document control block generated by the document manager of the system of FIG. 1,

FIGS. 10A and 10B are a diagrammic illustration of a display generated by the screen manager of the system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 11 is a diagrammic representation of the screen manager data structure; and,

FIG. 12 is a diagrammic representation of the operation of the screen manager of the system of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The following description presents the structure and operation of a data processing system incorporating the present invention. The structure and operation of the system will be first presented on an overall level, followed by descriptions of certain aspects of the system on a more detailed level. Finally, further detailed information and descriptions of certain of the system functions and structures will be presented in the form of appendices.

Before beginning the descriptions of the system, it should be noted that the reference numbering system used herein is constructed to clarify the following descriptions in the manner in which the references appearing in the text are related to the drawings and the elements shown therein. Each reference number is comprised of either three or four digits, wherein the two rightmost digits refer to a specific element appearing in a drawing and the one or two left digits refer to the figure in which the element first appears. For example, the reference 303 refers to the 3rd element first appearing in FIG. 3, while the reference 1033 would refer to the 33rd element first appearing in FIG. 10. Once a reference number has been assigned to an element, that reference number will be used throughout the following portions of the descriptions, including the following figures.

For example, element 1033 first appears in FIG. 10 and, if it also appears in FIG. 11, will be indicated in FIG. 11 by the reference 1033.

1. Overall System Structure and Operation (FIGS. 1 and 2)

Referring to FIG. 1, a block diagram representation of a system incorporating the present invention is shown. The system, as described further below, is in the present embodiment a single user, multi-tasking system primarily dedicated to the performance of office functions, such as the generation, filing and printing of documents and other related office functions. As indicated therein, the system includes a Central Processing Unit (CPU) 102 for performing operations upon and related to Document Files (DFs) 104 residing in Memory 106. The operations of CPU 102, and other elements of the system, described below, are control by sequences of instructions, or routines, also residing in Memory 106. These routines are grouped into two broad classes, the first being Operating System (OS) routines 108 which direct the overall operations of the system and control certain commonly used or shared functions. The second group of routines are comprised of Applications 110, which are routines for controlling particular user operations upon the document files, for example, word processing and mailing list printings. As indicated in FIG. 1, Applications 110 reside in Memory 106 as one or more Tasks 112, wherein a Task 112 represents a series of operations to be performed by the system under control or direction of a user of the system.

Other elements of the system may include a Keyboard (KYBD) 114, through which a user enters instructions, commands and data to the system, and a Display Memory (DSPM) 116 and Display 118 through which the user is provided with visual representations of the system operations. Yet other elements may include a Disc Storage unit (Disc) 120 for storing, for example, document files and applications routines and an Input/Output device (I/O) 122 through which the system may communicate with other systems or devices. The elements of the system described above are interconnected and communicate through a System Bus 124.

Referring to FIG. 2, a diagrammic representation of the physical residence of the Operating System (OS) 108 routines, Applications 110/Task 112 routines and Document Files 104 in the present system is shown. As described above, the controlling routines and data reside in the system memory space, which is comprised, as indicated in FIGS. 1 and 2, of Disc 120 and Memory 106.

Referring first to the OS 108 class of routines, these routines include both routines for directing the overall operation of the system and certain functions which are commonly used or shared by the various Tasks 112. In contrast to Applications 110/Tasks 112, these routines are, after system initialization, permanently resident in Memory 106. These common or shared functions, described in greater detail in the following descriptions, include, for example:

Text Mode/Formatting Functions 202 containing common text/document manipulation operations,

Document Management Functions 204 which control access to Document Files 104, the communication of Document Files 104 between Disc 120 and Memory 106 and the creating, deleting, indexing, opening, closing, reading, writing, and updating of documents,

Input Functions 206 which in part provide the interface between the user, through KYBD 114, and other functions controlling system operations,

Menu Functions 208 which provides a menu type interface, displayed through Display 118, through which a user may select and control certain system operations and receive messages and prompts from the system,

System/Loader Function 210 which in part controls the loading of Applications 110/Tasks 112 into Memory 106 from Disc 120.

Memory Manager Functions 212 which control the allocation and use the the available space in Memory 106.

Task Manager Function 214 which control the sequence of execution of Tasks 112 in the system, and

Screen Manager Functions 216 which control and direct the generation of displays appearing on Display 118.

It should be noted that, at least in certain embodiments or applications, certain or portions of certain of the above may not reside permanently in Memory 106, but may reside in Disc 120 and may be called from Disc 120 to Memory 106 for use by other functions or tasks as required.

Referring to the Applications 110/Task 112 class of routines, as indicated above Applications 110 are not permanently resident in Memory 106 but commonly reside in Disc 120 as Applications/Load Units 218. Applications/Load Units 218 are loaded into Memory 106 as required to perform user selected operations and, when so loaded, become Tasks 112. As indicated in FIG. 2, the system is a multi-tasking system and more than one Task 112 may be resident in Memory 106 and executing at a given time. Applications/Load Units 218 may include, for example:

Edit and Background Print 220, which are separate Applications 110/Tasks 112, contain the functionality necessary to perform, for example, document generation and word processing functions, including printing of the final result,

Mailing List Print 222 which, as the name implies, performs mailing list operations,

Document Copy Utilities 222 which performs document manipulation operations associated with the copying and moving of documents or portions thereof,

Software Generation Utilities 224 which provides certain programming or software generation facilities to a system user, for example, the generation of fonts in which to print documents, and

Forms Utilities 226, the operation of which is described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 595,079, titled "Electronic Processing With Forms" and filed Mar. 3, 1984.

Referring finally to document residing in the present system, as indicated in FIG. 2 Documents 228 primarily reside in the system in Disc 120 as Document Files 230 in disc file format. Document files 230 to be operated upon by the system, or portions thereof, are loaded into Memory 106 and reside therein in a document structure format, described further below, as Document Files 104. Again, because the system is a multi-tasking system, more than one Document File 104 may reside in Memory 106 to be operated upon at any given time.

2. System Functional Structure and Operation (FIG. 3)

Referring to FIG. 3, a diagrammic representation of the functional structure and operation of the system is presented. Indicated therein is Disc 120 memory space containing one or more Application/Load Units (A/LUs) 218 and one or more Document Files (DFs) 230 in disc file format. Also indicated is that portion of Memory 106 available for storing Tasks 112 and Document Files (DFs) 104 in document structure to be operated upon.

Considering first the functional elements for loading Tasks 112 into Memory 106 and for managing execution of Tasks 112, the system includes, as previously described, a System/Loader element (S/L) 302, a Task Manager element (TM) 304 and a Memory Manager element (MM) 306. S/L 302, which includes System/Loader Routines (S/LR) 210, is the means by which A/LUs 218 are loaded into Memory 106 to become executable Tasks 112 and operates in conjunction with TM 304 and MM 306 in performing these operations. TM 304 and MM 306 include, respectively, the previously described Task Manager Routines (TMR) 214 and Memory Manager Routines (MMR) 212.

S/L 302 is responsive to either user requests, entered through KYBD 114, or requests resulting from the the operation of an already resident Task 112 to load A/LU 218s into Memory 106. In response to such request, and as described further below, S/L 302 responds to such requests by providing corresponding requests to MM 306 (not indicated in FIG. 3) to provide Task Node Spaces (TSNs) 308 to contain the new Tasks 112 and to TM 304 to create the control structures necessary to control execution of the newly loaded Tasks 112.

MM 306 responds to such requests from S/L 302 by providing such TSNs 308 while TM 304 responds by building the appropriate control structures. In this regard, it should be noted that TM 304, being the central management structure for a multi-tasking system, includes both a Task Stack Mechanism (TSM) 310 which contains a Task Stack (TS) 312 for each active Task 112 and a Task Queue (TQ) 314, which is used in determining the sequence of execution of the active Tasks 112. TM 304 also constructs, for each active Task 112, a Task Control Block (TCB) 316, descibed further below, which identifies and provides information pertinent to the execution of the associated Task 112.

The loading of DFs 230 or portions thereof into Memory 106 as DFs 104 to be operated upon, and access to such DFs 104 for such operations, is performed and controlled through Document Manager element (DM) 318, which includes Document Manager Routines (DMR) 204. DM 318 interacts with MM 306 to obtain the necessary space in Memory 106 and constructs and maintains, for each DF 104, a control/data structure referred to as a Document Control Block (DCB) 320, described further below, which contains information pertinent to the associated DF 104. It should be noted that, in addition to controlling the transfer of DFs 104 between Memory 106 and Disc 120, and the associated transformations in file structure, all access to DFs 104 by Tasks 112 or other system routines is generally performed through DM 318 in the manner described further below, the exception, described below, being the access of DFs 104 by Screen Manager element (SM) 322.

Referring now to the system elements effectively comprising the interface between the user and system operations, these elements include, of course, KYBD 114 and DSP 118. User inputs through KYBD 114 are provided to Input element (Input) 324, which includes keystroke handling routines. Input 324 in turn provides outputs to Tasks 112, to effect the execution thereof, to Menu element (Menu) 326, and to SM 322. Considering first Menu 326, as previously described Menu 326 includes the routines necessary to create and provide a menu type interface, displayed through Display 118, through which a user may select and control certain system operations and receive messages and prompts from the system. As required by these functions, Menu 326 also provides outputs to SM 322 to be displayed through DSP 118.

SM 322, described in further detail below and in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 655,280, titled "Screen Manager For A Data Processing System and filed Sept. 27, 1984, generates screen displays representing the operations of the system and presents such displays to the user through DSP 118 through Rasterizer/Bit Mapped Display Memory (R/BMCM) 328, which includes DSPM 116. As required by these functions, SM 322 requires access to the information contained in the document structures created as DFs 104 by DM 318, but does so through a SM 322 control structure, described in detail further below, rather than through DM 318 and DCBs 320. As also described further below, SM 322 is also provided with access to TM 304 maintained information regarding the status of certain currently active Tasks 112.

Having described the overall functional structure and operation of the system, certain elements and aspects of operation of the system will be described in further detail next below, beginning with the construction and execution of Tasks 112 and OS 108 routines.

3. Structure and Execution of Tasks 112 (FIG. 4)

Referring to FIG. 4, therein is represented the construction and execution of an A/LU 218. The initial structure of an A/LU 218, represented at the top of FIG. 4, is comprised of one or more source code Modules 402 created by a programmer and defining the operations to be preformed by the Task 112, for example, word processing. Represented in the lower portion of FIG. 4 are the routines comprising the OS 108 and common, shared routines, referred to as "System Primitives" 404, and certain system utility routines. These System Primitive Routines 404, some of which are described in further detail in following descriptions, may be called by an A/LU 218, as a Task 112, as required to perform the operations of the A/LU 218 and may include, for example:

Document Manager Routines 204,

Memory Management Routines 212,

Semaphore Management Routines (associated with Task Manager Routines 214),

Scheduling Routines (associated with Task Manager Routines 214),

Task Management Routines 214,

Timer Service Routines (associated with Task Manager Routines 214),

Screen Management Routines 216,

File Management Routines,

Direct Interrupt Control Routines,

File Access Routines,

Menu Routines 208, and

Device Control Routines.

In order to be able to create each A/LU 218 separately and to be able to load each A/LU 218 into the system dynamically, it is necessary to decouple all System Primitive Routines 404 and certain system functions, as described above, from the A/LUs 218. It is further preferable if, in doing so, the speed of execution of system primitive calls by the A/LUs 218 were enhanced. This is done, as shown in FIG. 4, by coding all System Primitive Routine 404 entry points as interrupt vectors through a Software Interrupt Vector Table 406 residing in a reserved area of Memory 106. Essentially, and as described below, all System Primitive Routine 404 calls by A/LUs 218, that is, by Tasks 112, are executed as software interrupt calls. As an initial step in such calls, the calling Task 112, operating through the stack handling facility of TM 304, pushes all necessary arguments onto its' associated stack and, for some calls, puts its' function code into a designated register.

In addition to the above A/LU 218/Task 112 calls, certain system functions, such as system start and application program terminate, are called through software interrupts to maintain software version independency. The system also provides, as indicated in FIG. 4, an Entry Address Table 408 for other entry to System Primitive Routines 404.

Considering n