Abstract: A method for processing distributed application programs in SNA type networks employing LU 6.2 protocols, including an information processing system having a host processor, a virtual machine type Operating System, and a plurality of Intelligent Work Stations (IWSs). The Operating System is provided with a Virtual Machine Pool Manager (VMPM). The function of the VMPM is to create and dynamically manage the assignment of a plurality of virtual machines in the pool to process requested individual LU 6.2 conversations, to permit the transfer of information between Parts A and B of a distributed Application, which parts are stored respectively at one IWS and the host processor. In response to a conversation request, an idle Virtual Machine (VM) in the pool is assigned by the VMPM to process one LU 6.2 conversation.

Abstract: A method for automatically completing the entry of the retention and deletion criteria employed by an interactive information handling system to manage the automatic retention and deletion of a relatively large number of electronic documents that are stored in the system by a plurality of end users. The method provides a screen image on a display device in response to the end user advising the system that he wants to assign retention and deletion information to an electronic document. The screen image prompts the end user for a set of required criteria and allows the interactive entry of one or more criteria by the end user directly. The remaining criteria that are not entered directly by the end user are entered automatically based on a logical analysis by said system involving the identity of the criteria that was entered directly and pre-established information stored in said system. The criteria include a document label, an ownership label, a document expiration date and an ownership expiration data.

Abstract: A method to preserve system resources during the execution of distributed application programs in an SNA type data processing network that supports program to program communication between an Intelligent Work Station (IWS) and a host processor in accordance with SNA Logical Unit 6.2 protocols when a Virtual Machine Pool Manager exists at the host processor and functions to,(1) create a pool of virtual machines at the host processor that are brought to a run ready state prior to any program to program communciation,(2) dynamically assign an idle run ready virtual machine to process each request from the IWS involving one application program so that sequential requests from the one program are assigned to different ones of the idle virtual machines and run concurrently, and3) provide a Pool Manager Data Structure for use by the Pool Manager during the step of dynamically assigning the idle run ready virtual machines in the pool.

Abstract: A method for processing distributed application programs in SNA type networks including a host system having a virtual machine type Operating System and an Intelligent Work Station (IWS) provided with an Operating System that is capable of running two distributed application programs concurrently, in which two idle virtual machines, from a pool of run ready virtual machines that are created and managed by a Virtual Machine Pool Manager (VMPM), are each assigned to process a different one of the two application programs concurrently to prevent the distributed application programs from being serialized on one virtual machine at the host even though both application programs are being invoked by requests at the IWS terminal involving the same USER ID.

Abstract: A method for use in an interactive information handling system which manages a relatively large plurality of electronic documents for a plurality of end users in which an end user who is not the owner of a document, may request a delayed copy of the document to be furnished only at the time that the owner's copy of the document is to be deleted from the system. A Delayed Copy Request (DCR) is entered into the system interactively by the non-owner end user when a screen is displayed on the end user's terminal. This screen prompts the end user for the information required by the system to subsequently present to the end user document owner. At the time the document is to be deleted, the information is redisplayed to the document owner which allows the owner to decide if the request should be honored.

Abstract: A method of simultaneously displaying day calendar information in first and second view ports, each of which displays it's calendar data in a different format. The information in the two simultaneously displayed view ports is functionally interrelated to provide an improved interactive user interface.The first viewport has a time structured format which displays a sequence of predesignated time slots, each of which represents a fixed period of time, such as 30 minutes. Each time slot is allocated to one display line in the viewport. If the number of time slots allocated between the beginning and end of a calendar day is greater than the number of display lines in the viewport, then the information is scrollable so that the entire day may be viewed by the operator. The first viewport also includes at least one column that is used to display a vertical busy bar adjacent to a time slot which indicates that the slot is already scheduled.

Abstract: A method to maintain all of the information that is originally displayed in a window on the display screen in an interactive information handling system, as the size of the window is decreased. A plurality of character sets which have different appropriate width and height attributes are stored in the system. When the size of the window is decreased, a stored character set is selected based on the amount that the window is decreased. Characters from the selected set are then substituted for the corresponding text characters originally displayed. Since the selected character set contains proportionally smaller characters no information is lost. The method allows the operator to dynamically vary the window size, after the initial window has been displayed, by operator action, such as by movement of a mouse. Movement of the mouse in a generally horizontal direction with the button in the held position causes the horizontal window size to decrease.

Abstract: A method is described which permits a user of an Intelligent Work Station (IWS) in an SNA type network in which communication with the host processor employs LU 6.2 advanced program to program protocols and in which the host processor does not assign a dedicated virtual machine to the user during the period the user is active on the system, to notify the system of the user's current terminal address so that distributed applications programs having component parts distributed at the host and the IWS may be executed. When resident counterpart programs of distributed applications are executed by assigning each LU 6.2 conversation to an idle virtual machines from a preestablished pool of virtual machines created by the host processor, rather than to a dedicated virtual machine, the prior art methods that are based on associating the current address of the user with the address of the dedicated virtual are no longer operable.

Abstract: An electronic calendaring method for use in a data processing system which includes a plurality of interactive terminals which are interconnected to permit an end user at each terminal to interchange information with each other and to maintain an electronic calendar. The method facilitates the reply process to an electronic invitation to attend a meeting that is issued by one of the end users by arranging for the system to advise the invitee that a meeting notice is available to review in the "In Box" of the terminal. The method causes a composite screen to be built which simultaneously displays the meeting details and the relevant section, i.e. a day of entries, of the owner's calendar in a side by side format so that calendar entries are correlated to the meeting data and time. The composite display permits an interactive selection by the calendar owner end user of at least one option which can be either to accept the invitation and calendar the meeting or to reject the invitation.

Abstract: A method for scheduling time initiated tasks from an Intelligent Work Station (IWS) of an SNA network in which a host processor has created a plurality of run ready virtual machines which are assigned under control of a Virtual Machine Pool Manager in response to an LU 6.2 allocate verb to establish an LU 6.2 conversation between distributed parts of an application program, one part of which is resident at the IWS and the other part of which is resident at the host. A distributed application program named BATCH is provided, Part A of which is resident on the user's IWS and Part B of which is resident on the host processor. Part B is functionally a component of Virtual Machine Pool Manager (VMPM). The BATCH program allows the user to tranfer information regarding the task that is to be initiated at a designated time, to the host processor.

Abstract: A method for processing a distributed application program in a SNA type network having a host processor executing a virtual machine type operating system and a relatively large plurality of terminals, in which a plurality of run ready virtual machines are established at the host and primed by pre-initializing each machine with the host resident portion of the application program under the control of a Virtual Machine Pool Manager that was previously created. Primed virtual machines are assigned to process requests from the terminals for LU 6.2 type conversation with the application program since the virtual machine is pre-initialized the request is immediately accepted for processing. At the end of the conversation the primed machine is returned to the pool of primed machines to await the processing another request. The Pool Manager is provided with a control strategy which determines the number of primed virtual machines that are in the pool during any period of time.

Abstract: Method of scheduling execution of transmit-side and receive-side procedures by a single processor in a full-duplex modem. Buffers of minimal size are employed in conjunction with the processor to guarantee no errors in the signal processing procedures. In one embodiment, transmit-side procedures are given priority so that if a transmit-enable signal is received, a receive-side procedure being executed by the processor is interrupted to allow execution of the transmit-side procedure. This priority is most useful because transmit-side procedures execute more rapidly than do receive-side procedures.

Abstract: A method and system for addressing memory of an information handling system in which the memory comprises a plurality of memory banks, each of which can support a plurality of different predetermined size memory modules. The sizes of the different modules are multiples of the module having the smallest size. In the embodiment described, two different sizes are employed, a 256K capacity module and a 1 Meg. capacity module, either of which can be installed in 1 of 4 memory banks. The maximum addressable address range is therefore 4 Meg. while the minimum memory is 256K. The address range can be increased in increments of 256K corresponding to 1 segment to a total of 16 contiguous segments or 4 Meg. A memory address bus comprising 22 lines is employed in the system. The 20 low order lines address each bank simultaneously. A converter converts the 4 high order address bits 22-19 to 16 sequentially ordered segment lines.

Abstract: A method of managing the retention and deletion of electronic documents in which the respective document retention needs of the document owners and the document retention criteria of the enterprise that functions as the central administration of the system are achieved without compromise by establishing a dual label for each document that is to be stored in the system and allowing a different expiration date to be entered into the system for each label. The first label is referred to as the Document Label (DL) and functions to identify the business use classification of the document. The second label is referred to as the Ownership Label (OL) and functions to identify a document classification assigned by the owner, which in most situations is the author. The separate expiration dates associated with each of the labels are referred to as the Ownership expiration date and the Document expiration date.

Abstract: A storage device capable of being configured either as a single-access memory or as two separate memories is described. The storage device is especially suited for use in a digital signal processor performing numeric algorithms such as fast fourier transforms, autocorrelation and digital filtering because certain of such algorithms require fast dual access to two correlated, but separate, parameters while other such algorithms require fast single access to identical parameters. The storage device is shown in an exemplary embodiment empolying a multiplexer to affect writing of data from either of two data busses to one of the memories. In a second embodiment the write port of the memory is connected to one bus and the read port is connected to both busses. In this embodiment a dual-port address register file and a pair of address generation units provide indirect addressing capability for the storage device. Method of operating separate memories in a single-access or a dual-access mode is also described.

Abstract: A method of sampling marks on a transmission line and adjusting their peak amplitude to compensate for attenuation of signal strength on the line and of "voltage addition" caused by multiple terminals transmitting on the line. For networks meeting the CCITT I-Series Recommendation, two B-channels and a D-channel are transmitted in frames over the line; the B-channel forming the best basis for threshold adaptation, the D-channel the next best basis and the F-bit preceeding each frame used in the absence of either B- or D-channel signals. Accordingly, a B-bit mark sample is taken if possible, otherwise a D-bit mark sample; or if neither is present an F-bit mark sample; the adaptive threshold preferably being set at 55% of the peak value of the sample. The method is readily implemented as a "state machine" and consequently can be constructed from a programmable logic array.

Abstract: Fast methods of tone detection and tone generation disclosed are particularly suitable for implementation in a digital signal processor. Chebyshev polynomials are employed to generate periodic waveforms and to detect such waveforms. In an alternative aspect of the invention, trigonometric formulae are employed to generate periodic waveforms which are representable as the sum of sine and cosine functions. Unlike analog techniques, the digital techniques do not entail long delays in the generation or detection of tones because a fast iterative recalculation is employed at each step. Accumulated error is avoided by restarting the procedure once a predetermined value is exceeded. Independent choice of a quality factor and a confidence level is provided by the digital tone detection technique.

Abstract: Method and apparatus is disclosed which disables which disables a repeater connected to a packet-based network so that improper symbols are not propagated. A communications management unit employing the invention would, upon reception of an improper symbol, cause transmission to halt. The invention implements a three-state machine. Reception of any improper symbol, or symbol with a parity error, causes entry into a forced-halt state. Reception of an IDLE symbol causes transition to a forced-idle state. Return to the start state occurs upon reception of a start-of-packet symbol pair.

Abstract: A method and system for controlling the display of data in a data processing system that includes a main processor, a memory subsystem, and an Input/Output subsystem which includes an I/O Channel Controller for managing traffic on an I/O bus having an attached co-processor and a plurality of I/O devices including display devices with different reserved I/O address space. The main processor can establish different display modes for displays having different reserved I/O address space, which generally indicates different display types. In one mode, a display is assigned exclusively to the main processor and attempted data transfers by the co-processor to that display are suppressed. In a second mode, a display is time-shared between processors by establishing a virtual video buffer in main memory which is written into by one processor when the other processor has control of the display device. The contents of the virtual and real buffer are swapped whenever the display is reassigned to the other processor.

Abstract: An electronic calendaring method for use in a data processing system that has a plurality of interactive type work stations connected directly or indirectly to a host processing unit. The method assists a calendar owner to request the system to develop and display a composite calender comprising entries from a plurality of calendars within a specified time span which have been selected by criteria entered interactively into the system by the calender owner. The criteria entered are not limited to "free periods" nor system established terminology but can include terms established by the calendar owner community.