CA1271564A - Method for implementing an on-line presentation in an information processing system - Google Patents
Method for implementing an on-line presentation in an information processing systemInfo
- Publication number
- CA1271564A CA1271564A CA000529773A CA529773A CA1271564A CA 1271564 A CA1271564 A CA 1271564A CA 000529773 A CA000529773 A CA 000529773A CA 529773 A CA529773 A CA 529773A CA 1271564 A CA1271564 A CA 1271564A
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- control commands
- image data
- presentation
- line presentation
- display units
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired
Links
Classifications
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
- G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
- G06F9/00—Arrangements for program control, e.g. control units
- G06F9/06—Arrangements for program control, e.g. control units using stored programs, i.e. using an internal store of processing equipment to receive or retain programs
- G06F9/44—Arrangements for executing specific programs
- G06F9/455—Emulation; Interpretation; Software simulation, e.g. virtualisation or emulation of application or operating system execution engines
- G06F9/45504—Abstract machines for programme code execution, e.g. Java virtual machine [JVM], interpreters, emulators
- G06F9/45508—Runtime interpretation or emulation, e g. emulator loops, bytecode interpretation
- G06F9/45512—Command shells
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
- G06T—IMAGE DATA PROCESSING OR GENERATION, IN GENERAL
- G06T11/00—2D [Two Dimensional] image generation
- G06T11/60—Editing figures and text; Combining figures or text
Abstract
METHOD FOR IMPLEMENTING AN ON-LINE
PRESENTATION IN AN INFORMATION PROCESSING SYSTEM
Abstract A method is provided for creating on-line presen-tations on a computer display using a compiler, a compressor, and a processor. The compiler converts control commands in source code format into object code format in order to specify how the information in an on-line presentation is to be presented on the display. The compiler also creates a file identifying the image data to be used in the presentation. This file contains the names of the display units de-scribing the image data used to indicate which of the uncompressed image data is to he operated upon by the compressor. The compressor formats and compresses the displayable picture elements of text and graphic shapes which have been used to create the on-line presentation. The processor then loads and executes the object code of the control commands with its corresponding picture elements of image data to create the on-line presentation. The control commands are generated totally separately from the image data.
PRESENTATION IN AN INFORMATION PROCESSING SYSTEM
Abstract A method is provided for creating on-line presen-tations on a computer display using a compiler, a compressor, and a processor. The compiler converts control commands in source code format into object code format in order to specify how the information in an on-line presentation is to be presented on the display. The compiler also creates a file identifying the image data to be used in the presentation. This file contains the names of the display units de-scribing the image data used to indicate which of the uncompressed image data is to he operated upon by the compressor. The compressor formats and compresses the displayable picture elements of text and graphic shapes which have been used to create the on-line presentation. The processor then loads and executes the object code of the control commands with its corresponding picture elements of image data to create the on-line presentation. The control commands are generated totally separately from the image data.
Description
~27~LS~;~
Description ~ETHOD FOR IMPLEMENTTNG AN ON-LINE
-PRESENTATION IN AN INFORMATION PROCESSING SYSTEM
Technical Field This invention relates to information processing, and more particularly to the creation of on-line presentations in an information processing system.
Background Art By way of background, on-line presentations in an information processing environment include such items as product demonstrations~ tutorials, and other programs in which a computer display is used to present information. The development of an on-line presentation includes two separate tasks. The first task involves defining the content of the presenta-tion, i.e., the text, illustrations, structure, sounds, and operator interaction. The second task involves writing the computer code required to imple-ment the presentation as previously defined. Hereto-fore, a separate unit of code must be written for each section of an on-line presentation. Accordingly, whenever one was creating an on-line presentation, one was limited to the text, illustrations, and structure for which computer code had been specifically written.
If one wished to deviate from the text or illustra-tions or structure provided by the information pro-cessing system, then one was required to write aseparate piece of dedicated code to accomplish the change. A consequence of this fact is that a skilled programmer was required each time any non-standard presentation was required in order to write the code demanded by the ~ormat of the presentation. One who ,, " ,: ,~ ... . . ... .. .
~:156~ `
was not a skilled programmer was not ordinarily able ; to perform this task.
It would be most desirable to provide a method for creating on-line presentations whereby the need for separate specialized implementations in the form of computer code for each on-line presentation would be substantially eliminated. Attendant with this would be the elimination of the requirement to have a skilled programmer in order to create any non-standard on-line presentation. In addition to reducing the complexity of creating an on-line presentation, it would also be very desirable to quickly display an on-line presentation while it is being created.
U. S. Patent 4,454,576 discloses a report prepa-ration system for use in a digital signal processorfor assembling multiple report definition instr~ctions in order to create a shell document. The shell document is used to generate a file report. The svstem of this invention enables an operator of the system to depress a key to call up an instruction menu and select for display the report definition instruction menu. The operator then chooses in anv desired order the required report instructions, and then the system inserts chosen instructions in proper order to build the shell document. The resulting shell document is stored in machine dependent language in order to enable the document to be redisplaved in operator dependent language as determined by the program which is loaded into the processor of the system.
U. S. Patent 4,435,777 discloses a method for assisting an operator of an interactive text process-ing system in entering instructional data. Such instructional data defines to the text processing system changes to stored spatially related data.
According to the method, the operator identifies to gL2~:;LS6~
the system the task to be accomplished and also the name and location of the source file in the system.
The system displays to the operator on the screen of the display, the header portion of the file which defines the fields or column names. Further, the system converts seauences of operator keystrokes which represent conventional text editing operations on selected fields of the displayed header to instruc-tions for use by the system in processing records of the file.
U. S. Patent 4,503,515 discloses a word process-ing system with footnote assembly management. The system includes the ability to manage assembly and formatting of footnotes and body text. After the preparation and separate storage of both the body and footnote text, assembly of the footnote text with the body text is accomplished for a review of the appear-ance of the te~t document in the format in which it is to be printed. The system and method thereof provide two techniques to an operator for providing optimum performance. The selection of the two techniques is determined by the amount of footnote text being assemhled and/or the bodv and footnote text edited.
IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin, Vol. 24, No.
10, March, 1982, pages 5191-5192, "Hybrid Man-~achine Interface" bv H. Kasuga, discloses an interface which allows anv user to operate a workstation, such as a word processor, by providing a system driven interface on top of a user driven interface. The interface disclosed is usable by a skilled or an unskilled user.
The system driven interface is used by the unskilled user in order to determine which kevs must be de-pressed in order to perform a desired function. The user driven interface is used by a skilled user in ~2~S~
.
order to perform a desired function through a sequence of keystrokes.
In addition to lessening the requirements for dedicated programming support during the creation of an on-line presentation, it would be also desirable to separate the data forming the presentation from the control information used to assemble and present the on-line presentation. ~ result of this separation - would be to make easier the task of translating a presentation from one language to another, such as from English to French. This task would be made easier because there would be no need to recompile the source code control command data during the transla-tion process.
, 15 Disclosure of the Invention It is an object of this invention to provide an j improved information processing method.
It is another ob~ect of this invention to provide a method for enabling the creation of on-line presen-tations on a computer displav which separates the programming from the information to be displayed.
In accordance with these and other objects of the invention, a method is provided for creating on-line presentations such as product demonstrations, tutori-als, and other programs in which a computer display is used to present information. The on-line presenta-tions are implemented using a compiler, a compressor, and a processor. The compiler converts control commands in source code format into object code format. These control commands specify how the information in an on-line presentation is to be presented on the computer display. The compiler also creates a file identifying which displa~ units, containing the image data to be displaved, will be used. The compressor formats and compresses the displayable picture elements of text and graphic shapes which have been used to create the on-line presentation. The file containing the list of display units is used to indicate which of the uncompressed image data is to be operated upon bv the compressor.
Finally, the processor loads and executes the object code of the control commands with its correspondin~
picture elements of image data to create the on-line presentation.
The display units which are contained in the ile created by the compressor may contain two types of data. The first type is ASCII type data while the second type is all points addressable (APA) type data.
The ASCII type data is limited to the 25d ASCII
character set. The APA data can be used to present curved lines and more intricate picture graphics as well as the 25~ ASCII characters.
The on-line presentation which can be created b~
the apparatus and method of the invention is analogous to a literarv work such as a book. The presentation is broken down into a plurality of sections, equi~a-lent to the chapters in a book, and the sections are each broken down into a plurality o panels, each of which are equivalent to a paqe in a book, When the processor runs the presentation, encoded instructions and data images are loaded for one section. The encoded instructions are used to display the image data and perform other operations, be~inning with the first panel in the sectionO
Brief Description of Drawinq Fig. 1 is a functional block diagram of the system according to the present invention.
1~
Fig. 2 is a flow chart of the overall operation of the svstem according to the present invention.
Fig. 3 is a flow chart depicting the operation involved during the creation of image data in the system of the present invention.
Fig. 4 is a flow chart depicting the creation of section control commands in the svstem according to the present invention.
Fig. 5 is a flow chart depicting the creation of panel control commands in the svstem according to the present invention.
' Fig. 6a is an example of image data entered in an all points addressable format.
~, Fig. 6b is an example of image data entered in an ;, 15 ASCII format.
Fig. 7 is an example of a panel in a section shown on a display~
sest Mode for Carrvina Out the Invention The svstem used to enable the operation of the present invention is shown in Fig. 1. Both the control commands and ima~e data used to create the on-line presentation is input to CPU 13 using keyboard 12. This information is then stored in main memory 15 during the creation of the on-line presentation.
Since main memory 15 is a random access memorv ~RAM), the on-line presentation, including both image data and control data is stored on a diskette in diskette drive 14. During the creation of the on-line presen-tation, displa~,r 11 maY be used to look at the presen-j tation. ~n on-line presentation mav be created in one iteration or in several iterations with each iteration stored on diskette. When it is desired to continue or edit the presentation, the information stored on diskette is then loaded into main memorv 15 by CPU 13.
~4 The on-line presen~ation created using the system of Fig. I normally contains a plurality of sections, each analogous to the chapters in a ~ook. Addition-ally, each section comprises a plurality of panels, with each panel analogous to one page in a book.
While creating or editing the on-line presentation with the system of Fig. 1, CPU 13 loads control commands in source code format from diskette into main memory 15. These control commands in source code format may include 1 to 50 sections. Attendant with the loading of sections is the loading of each and every panel contained within the particular sections.
As a result, any one of the plurality of panels contained within the loaded sections may be operated upon. In the best mode described herein, a section can contain up to 128 panels.
In operation, uncompressed image data is input using keyboard 12 as shown in step 24 (see Fig, 2).
Also using keyboard 12, the control commands which define how the image data created in step 24 is to be displayed is input as shown in step 21. An important , feature of the present invention is that the control information, in the form of control commands, is input totally separately from the image data. Using key-board 12 r the image data is input usin~ the system of Fig. 1 and the control commands are also input to the system of Fig. 1 using kevboard 12. In step 21, a list is also generated which specifies the display units which are required to create the appearance of the on-line presentation. A display unit is the basic unit of data input in step 24 and may be either ASCII
or all points addressable (APA~.
In step 22, the control commands selected in step 21 which were in source code format are then compiled.
This compiling operation converts the control commands ~27~L~6~L
, from the source code format into an object code format. The compiler is loaded from a diskette into main memory 15 during the creation of an on-line presentation. The compiling is then carried out by CPU 13 using the compiler program. Compilers ~or converting source code into obi,ect code are well known in the art and consequently, the compiler used herein will not be discussed further. In addition to con-verting the control commands into object code format, the compiler also creates a temporary file as shown in step 23. This temporary file is used in step 25 to control the compression of the image data created in step 24. The temporary file created in step 23 informs the compressor which of the uncompressed image data files are to be compressed and packaged toqether in order to create the visual appearance of the on-line presentation. The temporary file created in ; step 23 provides a listing of all display units needed in the on-line presentation. This listing of all display units enables the compression of the required image data in step 25. Note that a display unit is a unit of image data stored in a file. More than one unit may be stored in a file. Conseauentlv, the operation performed in step ~5 formats and compresses the displayable picture elements of text and graphic shapes which have been created in step 2 d .
Finally, in step 28 the object code control commands which have been compiled in step 22 are loaded, one section at a time, and executed wi~h the corresponding picture elements compressed in step 25.
Once the control commands in the form of object code have been executed with the corresponding picture elements, a complete section of an on-line presenta-tion may then be seen on display 11.
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The operation of step 2~, wherein image data is created, will now be shown in more detail ~rith respect to Fig. 3. In decision block 31, a determination is made as to whether the next display unit is to be an APA image. If the answer is yes, then a branch to step 32 is made wherein the APA image is created and saved on a diskette in diskette drive 14. Subsequent-ly, decision block 33 is reached wherein a decision is made as to whether or not another APA image is to be created. If the answer is affirmative, ~hen step 32 is repeated. ~owever, if the answer to either deci-sion block 31 or decision block 33 is no, thereby indicatinq that an APA image is not to ~e created, then decision block 34 is reached. In decision block 34, a determinatlon is made as to whether or not the next display unit is an ASCII image. If the answer is negative, then as shown in step 40, the compressor ~step 25 of Fig~ 2~ is run.
However, if the answer to decision block 34 is yes, then as sho~m in step 35, an ASCII file is opened. It should be noted that an unlimited number of display units may be stored in any ASCII file, limited only by the amount of space in a file. This is in contrast to an APA image wherein only one APA
image mav be stored per file. After the ASCII file is opened, then as sho~m in step 36, the display unit containing the ASC~I image is identified as to its name and size. Then, the information that is going to be displaved is created, i.e., entered ~ia keyboard 12. Next, decision block 37 is reached ~7herein a determination is made as to whether or not another ASCII display unit is to be created. If the answer is ves, then a hranch is made back to step 36 to identify the display unit and to create the information.
~owever, if the answer is no, then as shown in step 38 ~27~
the ASC~I file is closed. Finally, in decision block 39 r a determination is made as to whether or not another APA image will be created. If the answer is ; no, then as indicatea in step 40, the compressor operation is initiated. However, if the answer is ves, then a branch is made back to step 32 wherein the APA image is created and saved on diskette.
Whereas Fig.3 described the operation of the present invention with respect to the creation of image data, Figs. 4 and 5, which will now be explained in more detail, describe the input and operation of control commands according to the present invention.
Fig. 4 describes the operation of control commands with respect to sections in an on-line presentation, 1~ while Fig. 5 describes the operation of control commands with respect to panels within a section in an on-line presentationO
When a section is created, the control commands are input as shown in step 21 (see Fig. 2). At this time, as shown in step 41 (see Fig. 4), an ID is assigned to the particular section. Subsequent to the assignation o~ a section I~, a determination is made as to whether or not sounds will be used in the section of the presentation as shown in decision block ~5 42. If the answer is affirmative, then as shown in step 43, all sounds used in this section are defined.
After this is done or if no sounds are to be used in this section, then a aetermination is made in decision block 44 as to whether or not any paqing keys will be used in the section. By this is meant whether or not any keys with functions such as to qo to the next panel or return to a previous panel will be active in all panels of this particular section. If the answer is affirmative, then all keys are defined as shown in step 45. After this has been done or if no paging 5i64L
keys are used in this section, ~hen a determination is made in decision block 46 as to whether or not a particular display unit is to be used in the section, that is, the particular displa~ units required in the on-line presentation are identified. This is done as shown in step 47 wherein all display units forming the image data are identified. This identified displav unit data is used to create the temporary file as shown in step 23 of Fig. 2. After the identification of all display units or after the determination that a particular display unit is not used, then as shown in - -step 48, a panel development process is enabled in order to create up to 128 panels for this particular section. The operation of step ~8 will be shown in more detail with respect to Fig. 5 wherein panel control commands are input. Su~sequent to the crea-tion of all panel control commands, i.e., the last panel in a section is completedl a determination is made in decision block 49 as to whether or not another section is to be created. If the answer is affirma-tive, then a ~ranch is made back to step ~1 for identifying this next section. However, if the answer is no, then as shown in step 50, the section control commands which have already been created are then compiled as previousl~ explained with respect to step 22 of Fig. 2.
After a section has been identified and a deter-mination made as to the sounds, paginq keys and display units to be used in the section, then the control commands used in each panel of the loaded section can be input to the system of Fig. 1 using keyboard 12. As shown in Fig. 5, the first step as shown in block 51 i5 to assiqn a panel ID. Next~ a determination is made if a video mode other than a default mode is wanted for this particular panel. If .
;64 the answer is yes, then as shown in step 53 a panel video mode is specified. After the specification of the panel video mode or after determination that the default mode will be sufficient, then a determination is made in decision block 54 as ~to whether or not any paging keys in this panel are to be disabled. If the answer is yes, then the disabled pa~ing keys are specified as shown in step 55. Following this proce-dure, determinations are made in blocks 56 and 58 as to first, whether or not any data and/or sounds are used in the panels and second, whether or not the keyboard input will be monitored. If data is to be displayed and/or sounds are to be used in the panel, then as shown in step 57, these data and sounds as well as their timing for the panel are specified.
Finally, if certain single characters or strings of characters input bv keyboard 12 are to be monitored, then this is specified and the actions taken upon the keyboard input are specified as shown in step 59. For example, if a certain key were depressed, therebv requiring a jump to another panel or section, then this would be specified in step 59.
After decision blocks 52, 54, 56 and S8 have been executed, then in decision block 61 a determination is made as to whether or not another panel in this section is to be created. If the answer is yes, then a branch back to step 51 to assign an ID to this next panel is performed. ~owever, if the answer to deci-sion block 61 is no, then in decision 62 a determina-tion is made as to whether or not another section isto be created. If another section is to be created r then as shown in step 63, the section development is processed in accordance with the flow chart of Fig. 4.
~owever, if no additional section is to be created, then step 64 is carried out wherein the control ~L2~56~
.
commands created to this point are compiled as previ-ously explained with respect to step 22 (see Fig. 21.
By continued iterations of the flow charts in Figs. 4 and 5, the entire on-lin~e presentation may be created a section at a time. Recall that Figs. 4 and 5 demonstrate the creation of control commands while Fig. 3 describes the input of image data to the system of Fia. 1.
An example of how image data is entered into the svstem and forms a panel of a section using the appropriate control commands will now be explained -with reerence to Figs. 6a, 6b, and 7. Fig. 6a is an example of image data in an APA graphics format depictina the outline of a man. This image data could be entered into the system using such devices as a screen generator or a mouse. The entering of such APA
graphics data into a system is t^7ell known in the art and will not be discussed further hereinafter. Fig.
6b provides an example o~ image data entered into the system in an ASCII format. The ASCII data provides the following message: ~The keyboard lets vou control your computer. It's easy to use yet flexible enough to work for all types of applications.~ Additionallv, !~ it tells someone using the presentation that he can turn to either the next panel in the presentation or to the previous panel in the presentation as well as to go to a main menu using an escape (ESC~ key of keyboara 12; These functions were spec~fied in step 44 of Fig. 4.
In addition to entering the above image data, the control commands used to control the presentation of the image data as previously described with respect to step 21 (see Fig. 2~ must also be entered. First, a section ID is assigned as disclosed previously with respect to step 41. No sounds are used with this ~27~L~6~
particular panel. However, paging keys will be used so they must be defined as shown in step 45. Specifi-cally, these paging keys enable a user of the presen-tation to go to either the next panel or the previous panel depending on whether or not the N or the P keys are depressed. The escape (ESC) key is then defined to provide a menu when depressed. Aaditionally, as required by step 47, all displav units used in this section must be defined. Consequentlv, the man graphic must be defined as well as the box in which the keyboard text is described and the box for the legend of the paging keys. This latter information is used to create the temporary file (step 23 of Fiq. 2) which is used to compress the image data as shown in step 25 of Fig. 2 and as previouslv explained herein.
Finallv, the data to be displaved for this particular panel must be specified. First, a panel ID is as-signed as described previously with respect to step 51 of Fig. 5 and then the data displayed in this particu-lar panel is specified, as previouslv described withrespect to step 57. This specification of data includes the man as well as the keyboard text box and the legend for the paging keys as well as their relative locations on the displa~. The result is shown in Fig. 7.
While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to a preferred embodiment it will be understood by ~hose skilled in ~he art that various other changes in form and detail may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
Description ~ETHOD FOR IMPLEMENTTNG AN ON-LINE
-PRESENTATION IN AN INFORMATION PROCESSING SYSTEM
Technical Field This invention relates to information processing, and more particularly to the creation of on-line presentations in an information processing system.
Background Art By way of background, on-line presentations in an information processing environment include such items as product demonstrations~ tutorials, and other programs in which a computer display is used to present information. The development of an on-line presentation includes two separate tasks. The first task involves defining the content of the presenta-tion, i.e., the text, illustrations, structure, sounds, and operator interaction. The second task involves writing the computer code required to imple-ment the presentation as previously defined. Hereto-fore, a separate unit of code must be written for each section of an on-line presentation. Accordingly, whenever one was creating an on-line presentation, one was limited to the text, illustrations, and structure for which computer code had been specifically written.
If one wished to deviate from the text or illustra-tions or structure provided by the information pro-cessing system, then one was required to write aseparate piece of dedicated code to accomplish the change. A consequence of this fact is that a skilled programmer was required each time any non-standard presentation was required in order to write the code demanded by the ~ormat of the presentation. One who ,, " ,: ,~ ... . . ... .. .
~:156~ `
was not a skilled programmer was not ordinarily able ; to perform this task.
It would be most desirable to provide a method for creating on-line presentations whereby the need for separate specialized implementations in the form of computer code for each on-line presentation would be substantially eliminated. Attendant with this would be the elimination of the requirement to have a skilled programmer in order to create any non-standard on-line presentation. In addition to reducing the complexity of creating an on-line presentation, it would also be very desirable to quickly display an on-line presentation while it is being created.
U. S. Patent 4,454,576 discloses a report prepa-ration system for use in a digital signal processorfor assembling multiple report definition instr~ctions in order to create a shell document. The shell document is used to generate a file report. The svstem of this invention enables an operator of the system to depress a key to call up an instruction menu and select for display the report definition instruction menu. The operator then chooses in anv desired order the required report instructions, and then the system inserts chosen instructions in proper order to build the shell document. The resulting shell document is stored in machine dependent language in order to enable the document to be redisplaved in operator dependent language as determined by the program which is loaded into the processor of the system.
U. S. Patent 4,435,777 discloses a method for assisting an operator of an interactive text process-ing system in entering instructional data. Such instructional data defines to the text processing system changes to stored spatially related data.
According to the method, the operator identifies to gL2~:;LS6~
the system the task to be accomplished and also the name and location of the source file in the system.
The system displays to the operator on the screen of the display, the header portion of the file which defines the fields or column names. Further, the system converts seauences of operator keystrokes which represent conventional text editing operations on selected fields of the displayed header to instruc-tions for use by the system in processing records of the file.
U. S. Patent 4,503,515 discloses a word process-ing system with footnote assembly management. The system includes the ability to manage assembly and formatting of footnotes and body text. After the preparation and separate storage of both the body and footnote text, assembly of the footnote text with the body text is accomplished for a review of the appear-ance of the te~t document in the format in which it is to be printed. The system and method thereof provide two techniques to an operator for providing optimum performance. The selection of the two techniques is determined by the amount of footnote text being assemhled and/or the bodv and footnote text edited.
IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin, Vol. 24, No.
10, March, 1982, pages 5191-5192, "Hybrid Man-~achine Interface" bv H. Kasuga, discloses an interface which allows anv user to operate a workstation, such as a word processor, by providing a system driven interface on top of a user driven interface. The interface disclosed is usable by a skilled or an unskilled user.
The system driven interface is used by the unskilled user in order to determine which kevs must be de-pressed in order to perform a desired function. The user driven interface is used by a skilled user in ~2~S~
.
order to perform a desired function through a sequence of keystrokes.
In addition to lessening the requirements for dedicated programming support during the creation of an on-line presentation, it would be also desirable to separate the data forming the presentation from the control information used to assemble and present the on-line presentation. ~ result of this separation - would be to make easier the task of translating a presentation from one language to another, such as from English to French. This task would be made easier because there would be no need to recompile the source code control command data during the transla-tion process.
, 15 Disclosure of the Invention It is an object of this invention to provide an j improved information processing method.
It is another ob~ect of this invention to provide a method for enabling the creation of on-line presen-tations on a computer displav which separates the programming from the information to be displayed.
In accordance with these and other objects of the invention, a method is provided for creating on-line presentations such as product demonstrations, tutori-als, and other programs in which a computer display is used to present information. The on-line presenta-tions are implemented using a compiler, a compressor, and a processor. The compiler converts control commands in source code format into object code format. These control commands specify how the information in an on-line presentation is to be presented on the computer display. The compiler also creates a file identifying which displa~ units, containing the image data to be displaved, will be used. The compressor formats and compresses the displayable picture elements of text and graphic shapes which have been used to create the on-line presentation. The file containing the list of display units is used to indicate which of the uncompressed image data is to be operated upon bv the compressor.
Finally, the processor loads and executes the object code of the control commands with its correspondin~
picture elements of image data to create the on-line presentation.
The display units which are contained in the ile created by the compressor may contain two types of data. The first type is ASCII type data while the second type is all points addressable (APA) type data.
The ASCII type data is limited to the 25d ASCII
character set. The APA data can be used to present curved lines and more intricate picture graphics as well as the 25~ ASCII characters.
The on-line presentation which can be created b~
the apparatus and method of the invention is analogous to a literarv work such as a book. The presentation is broken down into a plurality of sections, equi~a-lent to the chapters in a book, and the sections are each broken down into a plurality o panels, each of which are equivalent to a paqe in a book, When the processor runs the presentation, encoded instructions and data images are loaded for one section. The encoded instructions are used to display the image data and perform other operations, be~inning with the first panel in the sectionO
Brief Description of Drawinq Fig. 1 is a functional block diagram of the system according to the present invention.
1~
Fig. 2 is a flow chart of the overall operation of the svstem according to the present invention.
Fig. 3 is a flow chart depicting the operation involved during the creation of image data in the system of the present invention.
Fig. 4 is a flow chart depicting the creation of section control commands in the svstem according to the present invention.
Fig. 5 is a flow chart depicting the creation of panel control commands in the svstem according to the present invention.
' Fig. 6a is an example of image data entered in an all points addressable format.
~, Fig. 6b is an example of image data entered in an ;, 15 ASCII format.
Fig. 7 is an example of a panel in a section shown on a display~
sest Mode for Carrvina Out the Invention The svstem used to enable the operation of the present invention is shown in Fig. 1. Both the control commands and ima~e data used to create the on-line presentation is input to CPU 13 using keyboard 12. This information is then stored in main memory 15 during the creation of the on-line presentation.
Since main memory 15 is a random access memorv ~RAM), the on-line presentation, including both image data and control data is stored on a diskette in diskette drive 14. During the creation of the on-line presen-tation, displa~,r 11 maY be used to look at the presen-j tation. ~n on-line presentation mav be created in one iteration or in several iterations with each iteration stored on diskette. When it is desired to continue or edit the presentation, the information stored on diskette is then loaded into main memorv 15 by CPU 13.
~4 The on-line presen~ation created using the system of Fig. I normally contains a plurality of sections, each analogous to the chapters in a ~ook. Addition-ally, each section comprises a plurality of panels, with each panel analogous to one page in a book.
While creating or editing the on-line presentation with the system of Fig. 1, CPU 13 loads control commands in source code format from diskette into main memory 15. These control commands in source code format may include 1 to 50 sections. Attendant with the loading of sections is the loading of each and every panel contained within the particular sections.
As a result, any one of the plurality of panels contained within the loaded sections may be operated upon. In the best mode described herein, a section can contain up to 128 panels.
In operation, uncompressed image data is input using keyboard 12 as shown in step 24 (see Fig, 2).
Also using keyboard 12, the control commands which define how the image data created in step 24 is to be displayed is input as shown in step 21. An important , feature of the present invention is that the control information, in the form of control commands, is input totally separately from the image data. Using key-board 12 r the image data is input usin~ the system of Fig. 1 and the control commands are also input to the system of Fig. 1 using kevboard 12. In step 21, a list is also generated which specifies the display units which are required to create the appearance of the on-line presentation. A display unit is the basic unit of data input in step 24 and may be either ASCII
or all points addressable (APA~.
In step 22, the control commands selected in step 21 which were in source code format are then compiled.
This compiling operation converts the control commands ~27~L~6~L
, from the source code format into an object code format. The compiler is loaded from a diskette into main memory 15 during the creation of an on-line presentation. The compiling is then carried out by CPU 13 using the compiler program. Compilers ~or converting source code into obi,ect code are well known in the art and consequently, the compiler used herein will not be discussed further. In addition to con-verting the control commands into object code format, the compiler also creates a temporary file as shown in step 23. This temporary file is used in step 25 to control the compression of the image data created in step 24. The temporary file created in step 23 informs the compressor which of the uncompressed image data files are to be compressed and packaged toqether in order to create the visual appearance of the on-line presentation. The temporary file created in ; step 23 provides a listing of all display units needed in the on-line presentation. This listing of all display units enables the compression of the required image data in step 25. Note that a display unit is a unit of image data stored in a file. More than one unit may be stored in a file. Conseauentlv, the operation performed in step ~5 formats and compresses the displayable picture elements of text and graphic shapes which have been created in step 2 d .
Finally, in step 28 the object code control commands which have been compiled in step 22 are loaded, one section at a time, and executed wi~h the corresponding picture elements compressed in step 25.
Once the control commands in the form of object code have been executed with the corresponding picture elements, a complete section of an on-line presenta-tion may then be seen on display 11.
~5~
The operation of step 2~, wherein image data is created, will now be shown in more detail ~rith respect to Fig. 3. In decision block 31, a determination is made as to whether the next display unit is to be an APA image. If the answer is yes, then a branch to step 32 is made wherein the APA image is created and saved on a diskette in diskette drive 14. Subsequent-ly, decision block 33 is reached wherein a decision is made as to whether or not another APA image is to be created. If the answer is affirmative, ~hen step 32 is repeated. ~owever, if the answer to either deci-sion block 31 or decision block 33 is no, thereby indicatinq that an APA image is not to ~e created, then decision block 34 is reached. In decision block 34, a determinatlon is made as to whether or not the next display unit is an ASCII image. If the answer is negative, then as shown in step 40, the compressor ~step 25 of Fig~ 2~ is run.
However, if the answer to decision block 34 is yes, then as sho~m in step 35, an ASCII file is opened. It should be noted that an unlimited number of display units may be stored in any ASCII file, limited only by the amount of space in a file. This is in contrast to an APA image wherein only one APA
image mav be stored per file. After the ASCII file is opened, then as sho~m in step 36, the display unit containing the ASC~I image is identified as to its name and size. Then, the information that is going to be displaved is created, i.e., entered ~ia keyboard 12. Next, decision block 37 is reached ~7herein a determination is made as to whether or not another ASCII display unit is to be created. If the answer is ves, then a hranch is made back to step 36 to identify the display unit and to create the information.
~owever, if the answer is no, then as shown in step 38 ~27~
the ASC~I file is closed. Finally, in decision block 39 r a determination is made as to whether or not another APA image will be created. If the answer is ; no, then as indicatea in step 40, the compressor operation is initiated. However, if the answer is ves, then a branch is made back to step 32 wherein the APA image is created and saved on diskette.
Whereas Fig.3 described the operation of the present invention with respect to the creation of image data, Figs. 4 and 5, which will now be explained in more detail, describe the input and operation of control commands according to the present invention.
Fig. 4 describes the operation of control commands with respect to sections in an on-line presentation, 1~ while Fig. 5 describes the operation of control commands with respect to panels within a section in an on-line presentationO
When a section is created, the control commands are input as shown in step 21 (see Fig. 2). At this time, as shown in step 41 (see Fig. 4), an ID is assigned to the particular section. Subsequent to the assignation o~ a section I~, a determination is made as to whether or not sounds will be used in the section of the presentation as shown in decision block ~5 42. If the answer is affirmative, then as shown in step 43, all sounds used in this section are defined.
After this is done or if no sounds are to be used in this section, then a aetermination is made in decision block 44 as to whether or not any paqing keys will be used in the section. By this is meant whether or not any keys with functions such as to qo to the next panel or return to a previous panel will be active in all panels of this particular section. If the answer is affirmative, then all keys are defined as shown in step 45. After this has been done or if no paging 5i64L
keys are used in this section, ~hen a determination is made in decision block 46 as to whether or not a particular display unit is to be used in the section, that is, the particular displa~ units required in the on-line presentation are identified. This is done as shown in step 47 wherein all display units forming the image data are identified. This identified displav unit data is used to create the temporary file as shown in step 23 of Fig. 2. After the identification of all display units or after the determination that a particular display unit is not used, then as shown in - -step 48, a panel development process is enabled in order to create up to 128 panels for this particular section. The operation of step ~8 will be shown in more detail with respect to Fig. 5 wherein panel control commands are input. Su~sequent to the crea-tion of all panel control commands, i.e., the last panel in a section is completedl a determination is made in decision block 49 as to whether or not another section is to be created. If the answer is affirma-tive, then a ~ranch is made back to step ~1 for identifying this next section. However, if the answer is no, then as shown in step 50, the section control commands which have already been created are then compiled as previousl~ explained with respect to step 22 of Fig. 2.
After a section has been identified and a deter-mination made as to the sounds, paginq keys and display units to be used in the section, then the control commands used in each panel of the loaded section can be input to the system of Fig. 1 using keyboard 12. As shown in Fig. 5, the first step as shown in block 51 i5 to assiqn a panel ID. Next~ a determination is made if a video mode other than a default mode is wanted for this particular panel. If .
;64 the answer is yes, then as shown in step 53 a panel video mode is specified. After the specification of the panel video mode or after determination that the default mode will be sufficient, then a determination is made in decision block 54 as ~to whether or not any paging keys in this panel are to be disabled. If the answer is yes, then the disabled pa~ing keys are specified as shown in step 55. Following this proce-dure, determinations are made in blocks 56 and 58 as to first, whether or not any data and/or sounds are used in the panels and second, whether or not the keyboard input will be monitored. If data is to be displayed and/or sounds are to be used in the panel, then as shown in step 57, these data and sounds as well as their timing for the panel are specified.
Finally, if certain single characters or strings of characters input bv keyboard 12 are to be monitored, then this is specified and the actions taken upon the keyboard input are specified as shown in step 59. For example, if a certain key were depressed, therebv requiring a jump to another panel or section, then this would be specified in step 59.
After decision blocks 52, 54, 56 and S8 have been executed, then in decision block 61 a determination is made as to whether or not another panel in this section is to be created. If the answer is yes, then a branch back to step 51 to assign an ID to this next panel is performed. ~owever, if the answer to deci-sion block 61 is no, then in decision 62 a determina-tion is made as to whether or not another section isto be created. If another section is to be created r then as shown in step 63, the section development is processed in accordance with the flow chart of Fig. 4.
~owever, if no additional section is to be created, then step 64 is carried out wherein the control ~L2~56~
.
commands created to this point are compiled as previ-ously explained with respect to step 22 (see Fig. 21.
By continued iterations of the flow charts in Figs. 4 and 5, the entire on-lin~e presentation may be created a section at a time. Recall that Figs. 4 and 5 demonstrate the creation of control commands while Fig. 3 describes the input of image data to the system of Fia. 1.
An example of how image data is entered into the svstem and forms a panel of a section using the appropriate control commands will now be explained -with reerence to Figs. 6a, 6b, and 7. Fig. 6a is an example of image data in an APA graphics format depictina the outline of a man. This image data could be entered into the system using such devices as a screen generator or a mouse. The entering of such APA
graphics data into a system is t^7ell known in the art and will not be discussed further hereinafter. Fig.
6b provides an example o~ image data entered into the system in an ASCII format. The ASCII data provides the following message: ~The keyboard lets vou control your computer. It's easy to use yet flexible enough to work for all types of applications.~ Additionallv, !~ it tells someone using the presentation that he can turn to either the next panel in the presentation or to the previous panel in the presentation as well as to go to a main menu using an escape (ESC~ key of keyboara 12; These functions were spec~fied in step 44 of Fig. 4.
In addition to entering the above image data, the control commands used to control the presentation of the image data as previously described with respect to step 21 (see Fig. 2~ must also be entered. First, a section ID is assigned as disclosed previously with respect to step 41. No sounds are used with this ~27~L~6~
particular panel. However, paging keys will be used so they must be defined as shown in step 45. Specifi-cally, these paging keys enable a user of the presen-tation to go to either the next panel or the previous panel depending on whether or not the N or the P keys are depressed. The escape (ESC) key is then defined to provide a menu when depressed. Aaditionally, as required by step 47, all displav units used in this section must be defined. Consequentlv, the man graphic must be defined as well as the box in which the keyboard text is described and the box for the legend of the paging keys. This latter information is used to create the temporary file (step 23 of Fiq. 2) which is used to compress the image data as shown in step 25 of Fig. 2 and as previouslv explained herein.
Finallv, the data to be displaved for this particular panel must be specified. First, a panel ID is as-signed as described previously with respect to step 51 of Fig. 5 and then the data displayed in this particu-lar panel is specified, as previouslv described withrespect to step 57. This specification of data includes the man as well as the keyboard text box and the legend for the paging keys as well as their relative locations on the displa~. The result is shown in Fig. 7.
While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to a preferred embodiment it will be understood by ~hose skilled in ~he art that various other changes in form and detail may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
Claims (7)
1. In an information processing system, a method for displaying an on-line presentation of a plurality of display units in a desired order, comprises the steps of:
creating a plurality of display units which are combinable into a plurality of panels for said on-line presentation;
selecting a plurality of control commands for manipulating the display of said display units, said plurality of control commands being separate from said display units;
compiling the selected control commands;
creating object code files from said compiled control commands; and displaying a plurality of said panels each of which includes a pictorial representation of said display units in response to said step of selecting said plurality of control commands in said desired order during said on-line presentation.
creating a plurality of display units which are combinable into a plurality of panels for said on-line presentation;
selecting a plurality of control commands for manipulating the display of said display units, said plurality of control commands being separate from said display units;
compiling the selected control commands;
creating object code files from said compiled control commands; and displaying a plurality of said panels each of which includes a pictorial representation of said display units in response to said step of selecting said plurality of control commands in said desired order during said on-line presentation.
2. A method according to Claim 1 wherein the step of compiling said control commands further comprises the step of creating a temporary file identifying the display units required in said on-line presentation.
3. A method according to Claim 2 further comprising the step of compressing the display units identified by said temporary file of compiled control commands, thereby creating a compressed image data file.
4. A method according to Claim 1 wherein the step of creating display units further comprises the step of identifying each APA image created and saving each said APA
image in a separate image data file.
image in a separate image data file.
5. A method according to Claim 4 further comprising the step of identifying each ASCII image created and saving each said ASCII image in an ASCII data file.
6. A method according to Claim 1 wherein the step of selecting the plurality of control commands further comprises the steps of identifying and defining each sound, paging key, and display unit used in each section of said on-line presentation.
7. A method according to Claim 6 further comprising the step of specifying the control commands associated with and used in each panel of a section in said on-line presentation.
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| US06/837,996 US4864516A (en) | 1986-03-10 | 1986-03-10 | Method for implementing an on-line presentation in an information processing system |
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| CA1271564A true CA1271564A (en) | 1990-07-10 |
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| CA000529773A Expired CA1271564A (en) | 1986-03-10 | 1987-02-16 | Method for implementing an on-line presentation in an information processing system |
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-
1986
- 1986-03-10 US US06/837,996 patent/US4864516A/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
-
1987
- 1987-02-06 JP JP62024896A patent/JPS62214430A/en active Granted
- 1987-02-16 CA CA000529773A patent/CA1271564A/en not_active Expired
- 1987-03-10 EP EP87103377A patent/EP0237014B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1987-03-10 DE DE3750188T patent/DE3750188T2/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| DE3750188T2 (en) | 1995-03-09 |
| JPS62214430A (en) | 1987-09-21 |
| JPH0458052B2 (en) | 1992-09-16 |
| EP0237014A2 (en) | 1987-09-16 |
| US4864516A (en) | 1989-09-05 |
| DE3750188D1 (en) | 1994-08-18 |
| EP0237014B1 (en) | 1994-07-13 |
| EP0237014A3 (en) | 1990-06-27 |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
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| MKLA | Lapsed | ||
| MKEC | Expiry (correction) |
Effective date: 20121205 |