A multitask multiuser system provides for efficient transfer of data from a remote data base to individual subscribers and has particular utility in the distribution of stock market data. A primary provider distributes the incoming data directly to user tasks or to an inquiry provider or a monitor provider. The inquiry provider responds to specific inquiries by users for information in the data base. The monitor provider maintains lists of information which are being monitored by the host computer for individual users. The inquiry provider and the monitor provider do not repeat requests to the remote data base where a similar request is already pending from another user. Data transfer paths between tasks are estabilished by a code module which may be linked to any of the tasks. The transfer paths are established using information from a configuration list and they are monitored by the operating system through a wait list established for each user task. Providers in the system may establish subscriber lists through the code module.
A method and apparatus for limiting manipulation of individual documents within a multi-document relationship in accordance with a plurality of user specified preferences. A user preference object is created and utilized to store a plurality of user specified preferences for selected documents or for all documents which contain a selected attribute. Thereafter, any attempted manipulation, such as transmission, copying or deleting, of a document within the multi-document relationship will be limited in accordance with the stored preferences within the user preference object. In this manner, a distribution service may relay and distribute a selected document which might not normally be distributed due to incompatible characteristics of other documents which exist in a relationship with the selected document.
A program-related-information transmission control method adopted on a data distributing side for transmitting program related information for programs to be broadcasted to a data receiving side by way of a data-transmission means, includes the steps of: gathering information on television-watching records obtained in accordance with relevant television-watching operations from said data receiving side; and controlling conditions for transmitting said program related information of said programs on the basis of said information on television-watching records.
A multi-function peripheral device serves as a peripheral device for an information processing unit and is capable of simultaneously executing a plurality of tasks of a plurality of functions by multi-task processing. The multi-function peripheral device includes: an execution command generating unit that determines the task to be executed and that generates an execution command for the task; a task execution unit for executing a task to be executed based on the execution command generated by the execute command generating unit; a presently executed task determination unit that determines any tasks presently being executed; and a task execution prevention unit that compares the any tasks presently being executed as determined by the presently executed task determination unit with the task to be executed as indicated by the execution command generated by the execute command generating unit and that, when the task to be executed matches one of the any tasks presently being executed, prevents the task execution unit from executing the task to be executed.
A method and object-oriented architecture for interfacing a user to a relational database system The contour of the interface is defined by a profile object and a task object. The profile object, in response to user selection, defines one of multiple role objects with associated user proficiency and system behavioral characteristics. The task object responds to parameters derived from the profile object to generating a query for the relational database system. In one form, the task object includes one or more functional objects suitable to query the database. Representative functional objects are the domain object (used to formulate problem oriented queries), the analysis object (used to analyze the data extracted from the database), the report object (used to generate a user response format), and the link object (used to relate the components within the task object). The interface according to the invention matches the abilities of the user to the resources of the database system, manipulates problem oriented high-level queries, and provides an object oriented architecture readily amenable to object refinement.
In a computer system of the multi-task type, when a plurality of tasks execute related data processings, ID data specifically provided for the data processings is generated, and recorded. With the recorded ID, an exclusive control and a shared control in the access to a predetermined resource are performed. When, after a main task records ID data and makes an access to a resource, another task requests the access to the resource on the basis of another ID data, the access to the resource is prohibited or the resource rejects the access to it. When a sub task executing the data processing related to that executed by the main task makes an access to the resource by using the request and the ID data both supplied from the main task, the sub task can access to the resource.
