Abstract: A display has sufficient resolution to present images as they would appear on other types of image output devices, such as types of printers or displays. In response to a user signal indicating a type of image output devices, data defining an image is used to automatically obtain version data defining a version of the image. The version can be presented on the display to show the image as it would appear when presented by an image output device of the indicated type. The user can indicate a type by selecting a menu item or a button or by providing a sequence of keystrokes. In response to a user signal indicating a parameter value, a version can be presented showing the image as it would appear when presented with the value. When a satisfactory image is displayed, the user can then request presentation of the image by a device of the indicated type.

Abstract: An emulator emulates a processor that provides a display in which each character is presented in a foreground color on a background color. The emulator maps the foreground colors and background colors into gray pixel patterns for display, with the foreground colors being mapped differently than the background colors. Each background color is mapped into a respective gray pattern, with some of the gray patterns representing more than one background color if necessary. In general, the foreground colors are mapped to three pixel patterns--white, 50% gray, and black. For a given background color, two of these three gray patterns are chosen as most legible, and one is used for the lighter foreground colors and the other for the darker foreground colors. In the special case where the foreground color is the same as the background color, however, the foreground color is mapped to the same gray pattern as the background color so that the character is invisible.

Abstract: A multiprocessor system comprises concurrent display of video data reflecting the operation of two processors in discrete portions of a single display screen with a user interface adapted for interaction with both processors. One processor controls the entire display while allocating a portion of the display screen for the use of the other processor which processor emulates a target processor system, for example, the IBM PC. A user interface is represented on the display screen in the form of metaphoric objects, called icons, with which the user can interact by changing the input focus to a designated object by visually pointed to it via the input means, which thereafter permits manipulation of the designated object of interaction with data input/output relative to the designated object.

Abstract: A technique for processing natural language text uses a data structure that includes structure data in the text data. The structure data indicates an autonomous punctuational structure of the text, a punctuational structure that is independent of the lexical content of the text and therefore can be manipulated without considering the meaning of the words in the text. The data structure can be a tree in which each node has a textual type such as a paragraph, sentence, clause, phrase, or word. The data structure could alternatively be parallel data sequences, one with codes indicating the text's characters and the other with codes indicating textual types. The data structure is produced and maintained using a grammar of textual types, indicating for each textual type the textual types of units into which it can properly be divided. During editing, a text sequence is generated by applying rendering rules to the data structure, and the text is presented to the user based on the text sequence.

Abstract: In a shared navigable workspace that is presented at more than one workstation, a region is made private in response to a user request. The user can also indicate the region's level of privacy by indicating levels of access of different users. The private region's contents are displayed only to users that have visual access; a non-informative pattern covers the region's area on the displays of other users. The private region and its contents can be modified only by a user with access to modify. When a user requests movement of a pointer into the private region, the pointer can be presented in the private region if the user has sufficient access; otherwise, the pointer would be kept outside the private region's boundary. If a user requests a transition into the private region by selecting a selectable transition unit, called a teleporter, the request would be denied unless the user has sufficient access.

Abstract: An emulating data processor includes a host system and an emulating processor with outputs to and inputs from the host system. The emulating processor executes sequences of instructions executable by a PC being emulated, but a host processor independently executes sequences of its instructions which are different from PC instructions. Circuitry monitors the emulating processor outputs and provides information to the host system so that it can emulate the environment of the PC CPU, emulating both memory and I/O devices. The memory accesses of the emulating processor are mapped into the host system memory, so that the host processor is protected from defective PC software on the emulating processor. The display updates of the emulating processor are detected and provide information for the host processor in updating a part of its display which provides the information a PC display would provide simultaneously with the display characteristic of the host system.

Abstract: Workspaces provided by an object-based user interface appear to share windows and other display objects. Each workspace's data structure includes, for each window in that workspace, a linking data structure called a placement which links to the display system object which provides that window, which may be a display system object in a preexisting window system. The placement also contains display characteristics of the window when displayed in that workspace, such as position and size. Therefore, a display system object can be linked to several workspaces by a placement in each of the workspaces' data structures, and the window it provides to each of those workspaces can have unique display characteristics, yet appear to the user to be the same window or versions of the same window. As a result, the workspaces appear to be sharing a window. Workspaces can also appear to share a window if each workspace's data structure includes data linking to another workspace with a placement to the shared window.

Abstract: A text editing system performs operations that result in text with correct punctuation at textual type boundaries. The system's processor executes a text editor, calling punctuator functions to provide appropriate fix-up data defining a sequence of operations to correct textual type punctuational structure. Fix-up data can be provided after a conventional manipulation operation, such as cut or paste in the cut-copy-paste paradigm, copy or move in the copy-move paradigm, or delete, in which case the defined sequence of operations corrects punctuational errors resulting from the manipulation operation. Fix-up data can also be provided to implement a higher level editing operation, such as changing the textual type of a textual type boundary. The punctuator provides appropriate fix-up data based on the operation currently being performed and on previously obtained data about the current selection.

Abstract: An emulating data processor includes a host sytem and an emulating processor with outputs to and inputs from the host system. An input/output processor handles I/O operation requests of the emulating processor, using the host system I/O devices to emulate some of the PC I/O devices. Floppy operations may be handled either by a floppy disk controller like that of the PC or by a software controller of a file in host rigid disk memory which may be accessed as a PC floppy disk, so that a data structure containing parameters of the operation is loaded and provided to the appropriate controller. Rigid disk operations are handled by another file in host rigid disk memory which may be accessed as a PC rigid disk, and an appropriate I/O operating system routine is provided so that the emulating processor can pass the operation parameters through to the host rigid disk controller in a group of registers.

Abstract: Each housekeeping command calls for a corresponding combination of write back and flag reset operations. In laundering, a write back operation is performed for owner entries in a specified address set without invalidating those entries. In flushing, a launder is followed by a flag reset invalidating the entries in the address set. Also, the command indicates which of the valid flags should be reset. In demapping, only the flags making an entry inaccessible to the cache's processor are reset. The entries in the address set are selected based on two numbers which together provide a base three number. Each base three digit of this number specifies whether the corresponding real address bit of the entry will match if it is one or zero or "don't care". This permits housekeeping on any consecutive range of N addresses by specifying no more than 2 log.sub.2 N address sets which exactly cover that range.

Abstract: Recorded video segments are retrieved and displayed through a user interface that employs gestures. The user provides gestures by moving a mouse, and the resulting signals indicate a diagram. Data identifying the diagram is used to access a data structure to obtain data indicating which of a set of interactive line drawings includes features most closely resembling the diagram. The interactive line drawing with features closest to the diagram can then be displayed. When the user selects a part of the line drawing, a menu is displayed that includes a description of the video segments that relate to that part. To assist the user in providing gestural input, a preliminary diagram is displayed, reducing the amount of information the user must provide. The user can change parts of the diagram to obtain a modified diagram resembling features that appear in a desired line drawing.

Abstract: A multi-user collaborative system in which the contents as well as the current status of other user activity of a shared structured data object representing one or more related structured data objects in the form of data entries can be concurrently accessed by different users respectively at different workstations connected to a common link.

Abstract: A data processing system includes a workspace network data structure, such as a hypertext data structure, in which data units corresponding to displayable workspace sets such as cards are linked by linking data units. The data structure also includes a link creation data unit associated with one of the cards. When that card is displayed, a selectable link creation unit, called an AutoLink button, corresponding to the link creation data unit is also displayed. When the user selects the AutoLink button, the link creation data unit is accessed to obtain data for creating a link to another card. The data structure also includes a card creation data unit that is also accessed to create the destination card for the link. An AutoLink button can be repeatedly selected to create several new cards and links between each new card and the card with the AutoLink button.

Abstract: In a collaborative system in which a body of shared data may be accessed by more than one user, a small-scale representation of the body of shared data displayed to one user includes an indication of the activities of other users. A user that is not viewing the shared data at full scale can thus obtain information about the activities of other users from a small-scale representation. The small-scale representation can indicate the type of activity, the extent or rate of changes in the shared data, the other users viewing the full-scale representation, or can show the shared data in shrunken form, indicating the parts that have been changed. The extent or rate of changes can be indicated with a quantitative indicator such as a gauge.

Abstract: An optical detector senses the teeth on a wheel rotating with an unwinding roll of medium in a printer and provides a signal which is used to count the sensed teeth to measure the rotation of the roll. When a predetermined proportion of a rotation is completed, the measured length of medium movement along a path through the printer during the predetermined proportion of a rotation is used to sense the condition of the medium. The conditions which may be sensed include amount of medium, medium thickness and medium malfunction. The circumference may, for example, be calculated and compared with a low medium circumference for the preselected or calculated thickness of the medium to detect a low medium condition. Periodically, the present medium position may be compared with its position when the last tooth was detected to sense a medium malfunction, either a medium out condition or a medium break.

Abstract: An emulating data processor includes a host system and an emulating processor with outputs to and inputs from the host system. The emulating processor executes sequences of instructions executable by a PC being emulated, but a host processor independently executes sequences of its instructions which are different from PC instructions. Circuitry monitors the emulating processor outputs and provides information to the host system so that it can emulate the environment of the PC CPU, emulating both memory and I/O devices. The memory accesses of the emulating processor are mapped into the host system memory, so that the host processor is protected from defective PC software on the emulating processor. The display updates of the emulating processor are detected and provide information for the host processor in updating a part of its display which provides the information a PC display would provide simultaneously with the display characteristic of the host system.

Abstract: Mouse emulation includes two modes, a host mode in which the pointer behaves as the pointer of the host system and an emulating mode in which the pointer behaves as the pointer of the target system being emulated. The display of the target system appears in an emulation window within the host system display. The user can switch from host mode to emulating mode by clicking a mouse key when the pointer is located in the emulation window which also serves to make the emulation window the input focus for receiving user input signals from the keyboard. The user can switch from emulating mode to host mode by depressing a STOP key, a keystroke which need not be provided to the emulator because it would not be provided to the target system's CPU. Mouse related data is transferred to the emulator through a data structure in a reserved memory space which a mouse application does not access, such as the BIOS area if an IBM PC is being emulated.

Abstract: A garment and a hand covering are disclosed which permit easy insertion of a child's body and of a hand, respectively, while preserving a limb or wrist opening when in the closed position. The garment includes a layer of covering material which has a neck opening and a body insertion opening. Along the sides of the body insertion opening, hook and loop type adhesive strips are mounted but these strips oppose each other along only part of the length of the opening, so that at least two limb openings are also defined along the body insertion opening at non-adhering portions. Arms or feet may extend through these limb openings. The hand covering according to the invention, which may be a mitten, has an extended opening extending from the wrist opening and a flap mounted on one side of the extended opening. A hook and loop type adhesive strip mounted on the inner surface of the flap contacts a similar strip mounted on the outer surface of the material to close the mitten when the hand is inserted.