Abstract: A method and system for automatically selecting a set of characters and applying a font so that a user sees the characters and fonts expected to appear in a document. The preferred embodiment of the invention is used when a client applies a font style change to a range of characters. The logic intelligently applies the font style to the selection. For example, applying the Chicago font to the characters ".SIGMA. n/2" would produce ".SIGMA. n/2".

Abstract: Novel object-oriented client-server facility (CSF) and networking service facility (NSF) interfaces implement communication between application programs residing in client and server nodes of a distributed services network. The CSF interface includes remote procedure call (RPC) objects for invoking and responding to service requests at the nodes, and application programming interface (API) objects for transporting those requests between the nodes. However, the API objects only provide communication transports within a node. Accordingly, the API and RPC objects interact with dynamically-configurable protocol stacks within the NSF interfaces to complete the transport mechanism needed by an application program on the client node when accessing services on a remote server node. A preferred embodiment provides an efficient way to perform object operations in a broadcast fashion over a communication network and ensures the receipt and execution of the operation by each target of the broadcast.

Abstract: An object-oriented printing interface includes document grouping or folio objects which, once created, provide complete and flexible printing capability that is transparent to an application program. The printing interface objects include objects that are capable of automatically paginating printable information in several different formats, providing page composition including the addition of margins, footnotes, page numbers and registration marks, n-up printing and page imposition and combining text material with graphic material.

Abstract: A method and system for automatically selecting a font so that a user sees the characters and fonts expected to appear in a document. The preferred embodiment of the invention employs a first process when a character, or string of characters, is entered into a text stream. If the character is missing from the font specified in the current typing style, the process selects a font that can display the character. For example, if the code for a ".SIGMA." is inserted before "n/2" the process would automatically style the code with a font that could display the ".SIGMA.". Styling a character means that the character will always have a font style associated with the character.

Abstract: A method, system and program for defining classes of objects using traditional subclassing inheritance and abstract inheritance using a neutral set of information from which object support for any language, including support between languages, is disclosed. The information is parsed and compiled to generate a bindings file which is input along with method information to the target language compiler to create an object file. The object file is thereafter link edited to create executable programs. Target languages include C, Fortran, C++, COBOL or any other compiled language whether or not the particular language has object programming support. Messages are displayed on a display to aid a user.

Abstract: A client-server facility (CSF) interface and networking service facility (NSF) interface implement communication between application programs residing in client and server nodes of a distributed services network. The CSF interface includes remote procedure call (RPC) objects for invoking and responding to service requests at the nodes, and application programming interface (API) objects for transporting those requests between the nodes. However, the API objects only provide communication transports within a node. Accordingly, the API and RPC objects interact with dynamically-configurable protocol stacks within the NSF interfaces to complete the transport mechanism needed by an application program on the client node when accessing services on a remote server node.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for testing software programs systematically explores valid call sequences using a collection of data with a software program comprising a collection of subroutine components. Instead of writing unit tests, the subject invention provides tools to develop precondition rules which systematically remove from the data collection, data which is syntactically incorrect for proper operation with the software program and then data which is semantically incorrect for the software program. The resulting reduced data collection is applied to the collection of components to generate output values which are then checked against postcondition rules to verify that the software program operated correctly. The test method and apparatus are implemented in object-oriented technology to allow test engineers to quickly and easily develop invariants, precondition rules and postcondition rules which are used to test the software program.

Abstract: A data processing system which defines a plurality of logical workspaces for performing tasks in response to operations performed by a system user and provides communication between two or more of the workspaces. When a user in a first workspace selects a screen object (`door`) corresponding to a second workspace, visual, audio and data communication are initiated between the first user and the second workspace according to predefined access privileges associated with the first user.Access privileges are typically predefined by the owner of the workspace.

Abstract: A compositing architecture provides for correct rendering of overlapping opaque and translucent regions of respective graphic images with rapid pixel restoration when an image floating above another image is moved or manipulated to reveal pixels of a graphic image at a greater depth by provision for buffering data corresponding to a portion of a graphic image which is beneath another graphic image. Data representing graphic images is selectively routed to a painter in response to a determination of opacity and depth order of the graphic images. A plurality of painters are preferably provided with image rendering pipeline of differing lengths. A painter is chosen in accordance with the number of images to be composited. Data buffering is minimized by dynamic creation and removal of buffers in accordance with the intersecting regions of the graphic images.

Abstract: A method and system for providing a language-sensitive text search that performs text comparison of any Unicode strings. For any language an ordering is defined based on features of the language. Then, an interactive compare function is performed to determine the relationship of a pair of strings. The string is examined and a compare is performed one or more characters at a time based on a predefined character precedence.

Abstract: A technique for navigating between a first and second object in an object-oriented computer system, including a processor with an attached storage and a display uses reference objects to insert references from one object into another. A first document is loaded into the storage and presented on the display. Then, a selection object is created and associated with a selected part of the first document on the display. A reference object is then created and associated with the first selection object in the storage. Then, a second document is loaded into the storage and presented on the display and the reference object is inserted into in the second document. Finally, navigation is enabled via the reference in the second document to the first selection in the first document. Commands can also be performed via a reference on a remote object as if the object resided locally.

Abstract: An object-oriented user interface utilizes object-oriented controls that operate together as a single, atomic group to change data values and are affected as a group by conventional editing "undo" and "redo" actions. In accordance with one embodiment, each control in the group generates a command which modifies a stored control value when the control is manipulated by a user. In response to user activation, a group acceptance control generates a command which causes the data values to be changed to the stored control values. In accordance with another embodiment, each control in the group generates a command which modifies the group acceptance control command. When the group acceptance control command is finally activated, the modified command causes the data values to be changed. The entire control group can also be undone and redone in a single atomic operation which is implemented by placing a mark on an undo stack when an interface session involving a control group is started.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for defining customizable pick, hit or find detection criteria for geometric types and using the results of the search as a basis for determining whether to perform an action. According to the inventive method, a search protocol is defined for geometric types. The search criteria is compared with graphic objects to determine whether the object matches the criteria. Based on the results of the comparison, an output is produced. In addition to allowing customized hit criteria for primitive geometric types, the hit object framework allows hit criteria to be specified for geometric types created by the application developer.

Abstract: An apparatus for enabling an object-oriented application to access in an object-oriented manner a procedural operating system having a native procedural interface is disclosed. The apparatus includes a computer and a memory component in the computer. A code library is stored in the memory component. The code library includes computer program logic implementing an object-oriented class library. The object-oriented class library comprises related object-oriented classes for enabling the application to access in an object-oriented manner services provided by the operating system. The object-oriented classes include methods for accessing the operating system services using procedural function calls compatible with the native procedural interface of the operating system. The computer processes object-oriented statements contained in the application and defined by the class library by executing methods from the class library corresponding to the object-oriented statements.

Abstract: A video framework for use in a data processing system provides parallel hierarchies of video device drivers and video device handles, which are created by video device driver objects, and a hierarchy of data encapsulators contained by a subclass of the hierarchy of video device handles to encapsulate configuration information describing the functionality of a display device connected to a data processing system. Applications access video device drivers through ones of the video device handles at respective levels of the video device handle hierarchy. When a change of configuration is made or requested in for the data processing system or any display connected thereto, corresponding video display handles issue a signal to lock down drawing tasks before video handles are created or altered to carry out the configuration change.

Abstract: An object-oriented graphic system performs a scan conversion process on a geometric figure with edges. The figure is represented by a graphic object which contains data describing the edges and a method for traversing the edges to outline the figure. The scan conversion is performed by loading the graphic object into a memory and using the graphic object data and methods to generate a plurality of edge objects, each of which represents one of the edges. The edge objects are then manipulated by means of an edge engine object to generate a plurality of scan lines of varying numbers of pixels which scan lines together fill or frame the geometric figure and complete the scan conversion. The geometric figure can be displayed by displaying the pixels in the scan lines.

Abstract: A system for electronically developing an image captured on a film with two or more image capture layers. A developing solution is applied to the film and the film is illuminated by two lights on opposing surfaces. A scanner captures the light reflected from the film by each light source. The two digital images are combined on a pixel-by-pixel basis to form a final image. An alternate embodiment includes a third scanner to capture light transmitted through the film in order to form a third digital scan image which is then combined on a pixel-by-pixel basis with the other two images to form the final image. The invention provides a method for creating an image digitally without first creating an image in the film itself.

Abstract: A view system is disclosed which provides support a mechanism to provide a multitask-safe wrapper or objects which are not multitask safe. This mechanism makes it possible to use objects that are not task-safe in a multitasking environment without modifying or understanding the internal workings of the said objects. This mechanism is not view system-specific, but is provided and used by the view system to support such behavior.

Abstract: A view system is disclosed which provides support polymorphic initialization and finalization of objects. This mechanism is used by the view system to support virtual method invocation at construction/destruction time for objects that require the needed behavior. The C++ language does not support the invocation of virtual methods from within the constructor/destructor of a given object. The view system provides a mechanism whereby an initialization method is invoked after the object construction is completed, but before any methods are invoked on the constructed object. A similar mechanism is used to invoke a virtual finalization method before the object destruction is started. This mechanism is not view system-specific, but is provided and used by the view system to support such behavior.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for an innovative object oriented framework system is disclosed. The system uses an innovative load architecture for a framework application by multiple users. The load architecture implements functions, static data and classes in a more flexible manner than prior operating systems.