Abstract: An object-oriented framework contains program code for booting a processor with a volatile storage from an attached non-volatile storage. The framework provides a hardware independent boot image base class which can be subclassed to provide boot image program code for each specific hardware configuration. The boot image program code performs low level tasks such as determining the hardware configuration and loading kernel code into the volatile memory. Once the kernel has been loaded into memory it is initialized using the configuration information to provide a hardware-independent platform. Further non-subclassable code is used to establish support for accessing object-oriented shared libraries in the non-volatile storage. Finally an object-oriented environment is established by instantiating a file object from the shared libraries.

Abstract: A view system is provided for each application program in a computer system in order to display application-generated information on a display. To increase graphic speed, the view system transfers graphic information directly into the screen buffer into a screen buffer area defined by a visible area definition. In order to handle concurrently-operating view systems, each of which modifies the displayed contents of one of the multiple views, a concurrency control controls access to the visible area definitions. The concurrency control is also used to control access to update requests which are generated when a change to one view affects other views. This mechanism supports animation, tracking feedback and updating invalid areas of the display by multiple threads of execution. This mechanism also provides a framework to support unrelated threads drawing in separate views within a single window.

Abstract: A method and system for providing services in an object oriented system. The method and system are in the form of an interface reference framework of objects which create services in response to requests. Clients request services which are created in response to the requests. In response to the request the framework first develops a description of the service. The description is in the form of a stack of descriptions of services. From the stack descriptions the actual services are created by maker objects.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for a command system is disclosed. Commands include variables that reflect the command's current appearance. This includes status information determinative of the command's state (enabled/disabled), its name, its associated graphic, and whether its appearance is currently valid. Each of these were initialized when the command was created. The invention creates a command including an object's data structure containing a command sequence. The command is added to a list of commands, and initialized as an invalid appearance. Later when the command is selected, the appearance state is recomputed based on the system state.

Abstract: A view system is provided for each application program in a computer system in order to display application-generated information on a display. To increase graphic speed, the view system transfers graphic information directly into the screen buffer into a screen buffer area defined by a visible area definition. The view system provides support for minimal recomputation required for a correct display of data in several views when one view is changed. First, the view system generates an update request each time a change is made to one view, but the update request is only forwarded to those views which are affected by the change. Second, update requests are collected over a period of time and used to determine an invalid area caused by all of the requests and this latter invalid area is used to update each affected view.

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.