CA1185703A - Method and apparatus for indexed addressing of text units - Google Patents
Method and apparatus for indexed addressing of text unitsInfo
- Publication number
- CA1185703A CA1185703A CA000397304A CA397304A CA1185703A CA 1185703 A CA1185703 A CA 1185703A CA 000397304 A CA000397304 A CA 000397304A CA 397304 A CA397304 A CA 397304A CA 1185703 A CA1185703 A CA 1185703A
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- text
- hierarchy
- units
- index
- tables
- 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
- G06F16/00—Information retrieval; Database structures therefor; File system structures therefor
- G06F16/90—Details of database functions independent of the retrieved data types
- G06F16/901—Indexing; Data structures therefor; Storage structures
- G06F16/9017—Indexing; Data structures therefor; Storage structures using directory or table look-up
- G06F16/902—Indexing; Data structures therefor; Storage structures using directory or table look-up using more than one table in sequence, i.e. systems with three or more layers
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
- G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
- G06F40/00—Handling natural language data
- G06F40/10—Text processing
Landscapes
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Theoretical Computer Science (AREA)
- Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Databases & Information Systems (AREA)
- Audiology, Speech & Language Pathology (AREA)
- Computational Linguistics (AREA)
- General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
- Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
- Artificial Intelligence (AREA)
- Software Systems (AREA)
- Data Mining & Analysis (AREA)
- Information Retrieval, Db Structures And Fs Structures Therefor (AREA)
- Document Processing Apparatus (AREA)
Abstract
ABSTRACT
Disclosed is a method which makes it possible to address specific text units very quickly. This is achieved by providing a table allocated to the highest hierarchy stage, for storing the index of the first text unit of the second highest hierarchy stage. Further tables are provided, associated with the lower hierarchy stages, each for storing the indices of the text units of the next lower hierarchy stages. The tables are refer-red to successively, in decreasing order of hierarchy, until the index of the text unit which is being sought is reached. Very fast access can be had to specific text units. The physical address of each text unit is stored under the corresponding index in the table which is allocated to the lowest hierarchy stage. Text units can be inserted and deleted very quickly in a simple manner, since only the indices need to be changed in the tables.
When text units are removed, the entire concatenation of text units is not formed anew, but rather the indices of the previous and following text units are changed. When text units are inserted, the indices applying to the text units before and after point of insertion are changed.
Disclosed is a method which makes it possible to address specific text units very quickly. This is achieved by providing a table allocated to the highest hierarchy stage, for storing the index of the first text unit of the second highest hierarchy stage. Further tables are provided, associated with the lower hierarchy stages, each for storing the indices of the text units of the next lower hierarchy stages. The tables are refer-red to successively, in decreasing order of hierarchy, until the index of the text unit which is being sought is reached. Very fast access can be had to specific text units. The physical address of each text unit is stored under the corresponding index in the table which is allocated to the lowest hierarchy stage. Text units can be inserted and deleted very quickly in a simple manner, since only the indices need to be changed in the tables.
When text units are removed, the entire concatenation of text units is not formed anew, but rather the indices of the previous and following text units are changed. When text units are inserted, the indices applying to the text units before and after point of insertion are changed.
Description
S P :E C I F I C A T I O N
"~IET~OD AND APPARATUS FOR INDEXED ADDRESSING OF TEXT UNITS"
BACKGROUND
FIELD OF THE INVEMTION
The present invention relates to a method for indexed addressing of text units and more particularly to s~ch a method in which the text units are hierarchically arranged with the text units of the lowest order hierarchy stage being stored in a memory at prescribed physical address.
THE PRIOR ART
-In text processing devices, a multi~ude of administrative tasks must be resolved in connection with the text processing, text editing, or text communication. For example, it is necessary to provide for the assembly or combination of a plurality of text units, and the insertion and removal of text units from an existing assembly must be possible. To this end, it is necessary to keep track of the physical addresses where text units are located in a memory.
One possible arrangment is the employment of a sequential table of contents for the text units. In this case, each text unit contains the index or physical address of the following text unit~ Such a table is freyuently used when the text units do not exhibit a hierarchic structure. For example, when the text units are stored by blocks in a track of a magnetic tape or a disk memory, it i5 possible to store the address of the next successive block at the beginning or end of any given block. A
sequential table of contents~ however, has the disadvantage that all of the preceding blocks must be read in order to obtain the address of the block which is sought. ~--~' BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
It is a principal object of the present invention toprovide a method which makes it possible to address specific text units very quickly. In the present invention, this object is achieved by providing a table allocated to the highest hierarchy staye, for storing the index of the first text unit of the second highest hierarchy stage. Further tables are provided, associated with the lower hierarchy stages/ each for storing the indices of the text units of the next lower hierarchy stages. The tables are referred to successively, in decreasing order of hierarchy, until the index of the text unit which is being sought is reached.
By use of the present invention, very fast access can be had to specific text units. The physical address of each ~ext unit is stored under the corresponding index in the table which is allocated to the lowest hierarchy stage. Employing the present invention, text units can be inserted and deletea very quickly in a simple manner, since only the indices need to be changed in the tables. When text units are removed, the entire concatenation of text units is not formed anew, but rather the indices of the previous and following text units are changed.
When text units are inserted, the indices applying to the text units before and after point of insertion are changed.
It is advantageous in the present invention to establish tables relating to the text units of the respectively next lower hierarchy stage, and it is also desirable that the tables contain the indices of ~he respectively preceding text units of the same hierarchy stage, as well as subsequent text units.
It is also expedient in the present invention that the tables contain format data and/or addresses of key words which are assigned to the corresponding text units.
In another aspect of the present invention, a list is allocated to each table, for identifying the next free location of each table.
An advantageous embodiment of the present invention is achieved when a hierarchical structure is used in which process-ing units are the text units of the lowest hierarchy stage, and are addressable by physical addresses in a plurality o~ areas of memory, each of such areas having the same size. This is part~
icularly favorable when the areas are designated as tracks on a disk forming the storage.
The hierarchical structure of the text units is achiev~
ed in a simple manner in that one or more processing units make up a page, and one or more pages form a document, and one or more documents can form a message transmission. The order o~ hier-archy thus proceeds from the processing unit to page to document to message.
In one embodiment o the present invention, a plurality oE tables are provided which are allocated to the text units of each hierarchy stage, each of said tables containing the indices o~ text units of the next lower hierarchy stage and/or the index of the next following text unit of the same hierarchy stage. A
control unit is provided which reads the required indices from the tables in chronological succession until the desired text unit is determined.
When the tables are stored in the same memory with the same processing units, no new memory is required. For example, a track of a disk may be reserved for the table~ When disks are interchanged, it is thereby assured that corresponding tables are respectively allocated to the text units on the individual disks.
Thus, in accordance with one broad aspect of the inven-tion, there is provided a method for indexed addressing of text units in which the text units are hierarchically arranged, and in which the text units of the lowest hiera.rchical stage are stor-ed in a memory at locations having physical addresses, comprising the steps of: providing a ~irst -table of indices allocated to the text units of the highest hierarchical stage, said irst ta-ble identifying for each text unit of the highest hierarchy an index by which a second hierarchical stage may be addressed;
reading said first table for obtaining the index of the initial text uni~ of the second h.ierarchical stage; providing a separate table for each lower hierarchical stage, each said separate table identifying for each text unit of its hierarchy an index by which the next lower hierarchical stage may be addressed; and reading from a plurality of tables of successively lower hierarchy the indices by which a text unit in the next lower hierarchy may be ~ddressed, until the index of a predetermined text unit is read.
In accordance with another broad aspect of theinvention there is provided apparatus for indexed addressing of text units ln which the text units are hiexarchically arranged and in which -the text units of the lowest hierarchy stage are stored in a mem-~0 ory under prescribed physical addresses, comprislng: a pluralityof tables, one for each hierarchy stage, said tables each contain-ing indices of text uni-ts of the next lower hierarchy stage; and a control unit connected to said tabl.es for reading the required indices from the tables in ordered successions until the index for the desired text unit is determined.
The above andother objects and advantages of the inven-tion will become manifest upon review of the following descrip-tion and the accompanying drawings.
3a -Reference will now be made to the accompanying drawinys in which:
Fig. 1 is a functional block diagram of a text station;
Fig. 2 is a schematic illustration of a plurality of text units;
FigO 3 is a schematic illustration of the contents of tables and associated lists applying to the text units of Fig. 2;
Fig. 4 is a schematic illustration of the contents of the tables and lists~ illustrating their Yariation when a text unit is inserted; and Fig. 5 is a schematic illustration of the contents of the tables and lists and their modification when a text unit is removed.
DESCRIPTION C)F THE PREF13RRED EMBODIMENT
The t~xt station illustrated in Fig. 1 is designe~ as a terminal device for the well known telecommunication service "Teletex". The chronological sequences of the functions in the text station are controlled by a control unit ST which usually contains at least one microprocessor. A working memory AS, a secondary memory FD, a keyboard TA, a printer DR, a display unit AE and a communication part KT are connected to the control unit via a data bus DB. The working memory AS is designed as a semiconductor memory and it serves as a program memory and as a scrat~h pad ~emory~ The secondary memory FD can be designed as a disk storage (such as a floppy disk storage) and/or as a magnetic bubble storage. The keyboard TA contains keys for inputting alphanumerical characters and function keys for releasing various functions~ The printer DR is designed in a known manner and contains a type-printiny unlt or a mosaic print-ing unit. The communication part KT is connected to a long-dist-ance transmission line F and contains transmission units ~or the -transmission of characters input by means of the keyboard or stor-ed characters, and for the reception of characters. The display unit AE contains a video or other display screen at which texts which have ~een input, are to be processed, or have been recei~ed can be displayed.
The texts are subdivided into text units and are stored in the secondary memory FD. ~efore transmission or before pro-cessing the texts, the smallest text units, the processing units,are read from the secondary memory FD and are transferred to the working memory AS. From the working memory ~S, they can be trans-mitted to the display unit AE and can be output there, They can also be output at the printer DR or can be transmitted via the communication part KT to a remote subscribed.
When a disk storage is provided as the secondary memory FD, the processing units are stored on the tracks of the disk.For simple physical addressing of the processing units, a processing unit corresponds to the content of a track on the disk. The pro-cessing unit can be addressed in the secondary memory FD under aphysical address, such as the track number, and can then be trans-mitted to the working memory AS.
In case a text consists of a plurality of processing units, these can be attached to one another by means of a concat-enation. However, it proves expedient to introduce a hierarchic-al structure oE text units.
The hierarchical structure of a plurality of text units is illustrated in Figure 2. The largest text unit is referenced as a transmission or message M. The contents of -transmission No. 10 is shown in Figure 2. The transmission No. 10 is formed from one or more documents Sl through S3. These in turn donsist of one or '7~:33 more pages Pl through P4. Each page can in turn consist of one or more processing units Bl through ~5. A processing unit, for example, is a para~raph of text on a page.
In the illustrated example, the transmission M consists of three doc~ments Sl through S3. The document Sl contains one page Pl on which the processing unit Bl is contained. In a corr-esponding manner the document S~ contains one page P2 on which the processing unit B2 is contained. The document S3 contains two pages P3 and P4. The page P3 contains two processing units B3and B4, whereas the page P4 contains processing unit B5.
The administration of the text units, such as calling-up a specific page P or processing unit B, and the insertion and removal of text units is described below in connection with Fig-ures 3 throu~h 5.
In the illustration in Figure 3, it is assumed that, ~i~en a trarlsmission as is illustrated in Figure 2, the memory address for the page P4 of the third document S3 of the transmis-sion No. 10 is to be determined.
One of the tables Tl through T4 is provided as a table of contents for the text units of each hierarchy stage. These -tables Tl through T4 are stored, for example, on an unused trackr such as the track 0 of the disk containing the corresponding text units. A list L1 through L4 from which the free and occupied locations can be derived is assigned to each table Tl through T4 The respectively next free location of the corresponding table T
is illustrated in the indicators Z1 through Z4, each of whichpoint to a specific storage location in its respecti~e list Ll through L4.
For the purpose of determining the address of the page P4, the tables T1 through T4 and the lists Ll through L4 are first transferred from the secondary memory FD into the working memory AS. Subsequently, the index of the page P4 is determined strictly 71;~
hierarchically. Since the page P4 belongs to the transmission No. 10, the con~en~ is called in under the indexed address 10 in the table Tl which is assigned to the highest hierarchy stage.
The first column of table Tl indicates that the trans-mission consists of three text units on the next-lowest hierarchy stage, i.e~, the three documents S. The index of the first docu-ment Sl is specified with 5 in the second column. Subsequently, the content under the index 5 is read out in the table T2. It is specified thQre in the first column that this document Sl contains one page Pl. The index of the preceding document is indicated in the second column. Since this instance is the first document of the transmission, the value O is entered at the correspondingIoc-ation. The third column indicates the index 3 of the next-succe-ssive document S2. The last column indicates the index of the page Pl in the table T3, said page Pl being the first page belong-ing to this document Sl. Additionally, the address of a key word identifying the document can also be stoxed in the table T2.
Since the second page P4 of the third document S3 is sought, the index 3 of the second document S2 in the table T2 is pointed to by the content 3 of the next-to-the-last column. It is specified there that the next-successive document S3 is stored under the index 7 in the table T2. It is stored at index 7 in the table T2 that the document S3 contains two pages, that the preceding document S2 is stored under the index 3, that there is no following document, and that the data of the first page P3 of the document S3 are stored under the index 12 of the table T3.
The table T3 is constructed similar to the table T2.
It is specified in the first column that the page P3 contains two processing units B, that there is no preceding page, that the data of the next-successive page P4 are stored under the index 10 )3 in the table T3, and that the data of the first pro~essing unit B3 of this page are stored under the index 11 in the table T4.
The table T3 can also contain ~he addresses of format data allocated to ~he pages P, said data specifying that format for the respective page such as, for example, DIN A4.
Under the index 10 of the table T3, the control unit ST
subsequently calls in the data of the second page P4 of the document S3. It is specified ~here that this page P5 contains one processing unit B5, that the data of the prece~ing page were stored under the index 12, tha~ there is no following page, and that the aata of the first processing unit B5 of the page P4 are stored under the index 8 in the table T4. The index 8 can simultaneously specify the physical address of the processing unit B5. For example, the processing wnit B5 is stored on track ~ of the disk~ It is specified in the first column of the table T4 that this is the first processing unit of the Page 4, and thus, there is no preceding processing unit~ In a corresponding manner, it is specified in the second column of the table T4 that there is no following processing unit~
For a processing of the page P4, the content of track 8 is read out and is transferred into t.he working memory AS. From there, it can be output at the printer D~ or at the display unit AE or can be transmitted via the long-distance line F.
It was assumed in the illustration above that only the content of the ~ransmission 10 was previously stored in the secondary memory FD. The indicators Zl through Z4 allocated to the lists Ll through L4 inclicate the respect.ively next free locations in the tables T, Xn case, for example 7 a new trans-mission M is to be inscribed, its data are stored under the indices 1 in the tables Tl and T2 and under ~he indices 7 or, respectively, 2v in the tables T3 and T4, as .indicated by the lists Ll through L4 in Fig. 3.
In the illustra~ion in Fig. 4, it is assumed that, given the transmission M illus~rate~ in Fig. 2, a further page is to be inserted in the third document S3 between the first page P3 and the second page P4, said further page containing one processing unit stored on track 2 of the disko First, in the same manner as in the example illustrated in Fig. 3, the index 7 of the document S3 is determined. Since the document S3 contains three pages after the insertion~ the value 3 is inserted into the first column of the table T2.
Subsequently, the index 12 of the table T3 is addressed. With the assistance of the indicator Z3 in ~ig. 3, it is determined that the next free location in the table T3 is the fifth location in which the index 7 resides. The data of the page to be inserted are thus inscribed under the index 7 in the table T3.
At the index 12 in the table T3, therefore, the value 10 is changed into 7 as the index of the ~ollowing page~ It is in~icated at in~ex 7 in table T3 that the page consists of one processing unit, that the preceding page is stored at index 12, that the following page is stored at index 10, and that the processing unit is stored on track 2 of the disk. In accord with the list L4 in Fig. 3, the track 2 was the next free track on the disk. Therefore~ the indicator Z4 was increased to 7 in the list L4. This indicates that the next free track is track 4 of the disk. In a corresponding manner, the indicatr Z3 was increased to the value 6 due to the insertion of the additional page, this indicating that a further page can be inscribed at T3.
In the ~xample illustrated in Fig. 5, it is assumed that the second processing unit B4 of the first page P3 of the third document S3 is to be removed.
Up to the determination of the index 12 of the table T3, the operation proceeds in a similar manner as in the example illustrated in FigD 40 Since the page P3 still contains a processing unit, ~he processing uni~ B3, after the removal, the value 2 in the first column of the table T3 is changed into the value 1. Moreoverl the value 1 in the table T4 in the second column is replaced by the value 0, since a further processing unit no longer follows the processing unit B3. The removed processing unit B4 is no longer required, so that the content of the table T4 allocated in the index 1 is again free. Therefore, the value of the indicator Z4 is reduced by the value 1 to the value 6 and the value 1 is entered at the location 6 in the list L4~ so that it is thereby indicated that the next free location in the table T4 is the location allocated to the index 1.
The determination of the respective indices, the updating of the lists Ll through L4 and of the indicators Zl through Z4 ensues upon employment of the control unit ST which usually contains at least one microprocessor. Due to the hierarchic~l structure of the text units, the microprocessor is in a position of very quickly determining the indices of the text units and, if need be, the physical addresses of the processing units. In contrast to a sequential arrangement of the text units, it is not necessary given this method to determine the addresses of the respectively next-successive test units in all preceding text units when a secific text unit is called in~
It will be appreciated that the tables and lists illustrated in Figs. 3 through 5 may be implemented either in a software or hardware form. W~en a software form is chosen, an area of memory accessible to the control unit ST is designated for the tables and lists, and the information in the tables is read by addressing ~he appropriate storage locations by conventional addressing means. The data is updated by being overwritten in the conventional fashion. Alternatively, if desired, each of the tables and lists or groups of them, can be manifested by separate memory devices, which are read and written 7~3 in the same manner as described above. The programs for reading, writing and updating the stored data is a ma~ter of design choice and may be readily assembled by those skilled in the art, and therefore need not be described in detail herein.
From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that a simple and economical means is provided for text processing, which makes it relatively simple to add and delete individual units of any hierarchy. Neither the addition or the removal of any units requires the reading or writing of previously stored message texts, It will be apparent to others skilled in the art that various modifications and additions may be made in the method of the present invention without departing from the essential features of novelty thereof, which are intended to be defined and secured by the appending claims.
"~IET~OD AND APPARATUS FOR INDEXED ADDRESSING OF TEXT UNITS"
BACKGROUND
FIELD OF THE INVEMTION
The present invention relates to a method for indexed addressing of text units and more particularly to s~ch a method in which the text units are hierarchically arranged with the text units of the lowest order hierarchy stage being stored in a memory at prescribed physical address.
THE PRIOR ART
-In text processing devices, a multi~ude of administrative tasks must be resolved in connection with the text processing, text editing, or text communication. For example, it is necessary to provide for the assembly or combination of a plurality of text units, and the insertion and removal of text units from an existing assembly must be possible. To this end, it is necessary to keep track of the physical addresses where text units are located in a memory.
One possible arrangment is the employment of a sequential table of contents for the text units. In this case, each text unit contains the index or physical address of the following text unit~ Such a table is freyuently used when the text units do not exhibit a hierarchic structure. For example, when the text units are stored by blocks in a track of a magnetic tape or a disk memory, it i5 possible to store the address of the next successive block at the beginning or end of any given block. A
sequential table of contents~ however, has the disadvantage that all of the preceding blocks must be read in order to obtain the address of the block which is sought. ~--~' BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
It is a principal object of the present invention toprovide a method which makes it possible to address specific text units very quickly. In the present invention, this object is achieved by providing a table allocated to the highest hierarchy staye, for storing the index of the first text unit of the second highest hierarchy stage. Further tables are provided, associated with the lower hierarchy stages/ each for storing the indices of the text units of the next lower hierarchy stages. The tables are referred to successively, in decreasing order of hierarchy, until the index of the text unit which is being sought is reached.
By use of the present invention, very fast access can be had to specific text units. The physical address of each ~ext unit is stored under the corresponding index in the table which is allocated to the lowest hierarchy stage. Employing the present invention, text units can be inserted and deletea very quickly in a simple manner, since only the indices need to be changed in the tables. When text units are removed, the entire concatenation of text units is not formed anew, but rather the indices of the previous and following text units are changed.
When text units are inserted, the indices applying to the text units before and after point of insertion are changed.
It is advantageous in the present invention to establish tables relating to the text units of the respectively next lower hierarchy stage, and it is also desirable that the tables contain the indices of ~he respectively preceding text units of the same hierarchy stage, as well as subsequent text units.
It is also expedient in the present invention that the tables contain format data and/or addresses of key words which are assigned to the corresponding text units.
In another aspect of the present invention, a list is allocated to each table, for identifying the next free location of each table.
An advantageous embodiment of the present invention is achieved when a hierarchical structure is used in which process-ing units are the text units of the lowest hierarchy stage, and are addressable by physical addresses in a plurality o~ areas of memory, each of such areas having the same size. This is part~
icularly favorable when the areas are designated as tracks on a disk forming the storage.
The hierarchical structure of the text units is achiev~
ed in a simple manner in that one or more processing units make up a page, and one or more pages form a document, and one or more documents can form a message transmission. The order o~ hier-archy thus proceeds from the processing unit to page to document to message.
In one embodiment o the present invention, a plurality oE tables are provided which are allocated to the text units of each hierarchy stage, each of said tables containing the indices o~ text units of the next lower hierarchy stage and/or the index of the next following text unit of the same hierarchy stage. A
control unit is provided which reads the required indices from the tables in chronological succession until the desired text unit is determined.
When the tables are stored in the same memory with the same processing units, no new memory is required. For example, a track of a disk may be reserved for the table~ When disks are interchanged, it is thereby assured that corresponding tables are respectively allocated to the text units on the individual disks.
Thus, in accordance with one broad aspect of the inven-tion, there is provided a method for indexed addressing of text units in which the text units are hierarchically arranged, and in which the text units of the lowest hiera.rchical stage are stor-ed in a memory at locations having physical addresses, comprising the steps of: providing a ~irst -table of indices allocated to the text units of the highest hierarchical stage, said irst ta-ble identifying for each text unit of the highest hierarchy an index by which a second hierarchical stage may be addressed;
reading said first table for obtaining the index of the initial text uni~ of the second h.ierarchical stage; providing a separate table for each lower hierarchical stage, each said separate table identifying for each text unit of its hierarchy an index by which the next lower hierarchical stage may be addressed; and reading from a plurality of tables of successively lower hierarchy the indices by which a text unit in the next lower hierarchy may be ~ddressed, until the index of a predetermined text unit is read.
In accordance with another broad aspect of theinvention there is provided apparatus for indexed addressing of text units ln which the text units are hiexarchically arranged and in which -the text units of the lowest hierarchy stage are stored in a mem-~0 ory under prescribed physical addresses, comprislng: a pluralityof tables, one for each hierarchy stage, said tables each contain-ing indices of text uni-ts of the next lower hierarchy stage; and a control unit connected to said tabl.es for reading the required indices from the tables in ordered successions until the index for the desired text unit is determined.
The above andother objects and advantages of the inven-tion will become manifest upon review of the following descrip-tion and the accompanying drawings.
3a -Reference will now be made to the accompanying drawinys in which:
Fig. 1 is a functional block diagram of a text station;
Fig. 2 is a schematic illustration of a plurality of text units;
FigO 3 is a schematic illustration of the contents of tables and associated lists applying to the text units of Fig. 2;
Fig. 4 is a schematic illustration of the contents of the tables and lists~ illustrating their Yariation when a text unit is inserted; and Fig. 5 is a schematic illustration of the contents of the tables and lists and their modification when a text unit is removed.
DESCRIPTION C)F THE PREF13RRED EMBODIMENT
The t~xt station illustrated in Fig. 1 is designe~ as a terminal device for the well known telecommunication service "Teletex". The chronological sequences of the functions in the text station are controlled by a control unit ST which usually contains at least one microprocessor. A working memory AS, a secondary memory FD, a keyboard TA, a printer DR, a display unit AE and a communication part KT are connected to the control unit via a data bus DB. The working memory AS is designed as a semiconductor memory and it serves as a program memory and as a scrat~h pad ~emory~ The secondary memory FD can be designed as a disk storage (such as a floppy disk storage) and/or as a magnetic bubble storage. The keyboard TA contains keys for inputting alphanumerical characters and function keys for releasing various functions~ The printer DR is designed in a known manner and contains a type-printiny unlt or a mosaic print-ing unit. The communication part KT is connected to a long-dist-ance transmission line F and contains transmission units ~or the -transmission of characters input by means of the keyboard or stor-ed characters, and for the reception of characters. The display unit AE contains a video or other display screen at which texts which have ~een input, are to be processed, or have been recei~ed can be displayed.
The texts are subdivided into text units and are stored in the secondary memory FD. ~efore transmission or before pro-cessing the texts, the smallest text units, the processing units,are read from the secondary memory FD and are transferred to the working memory AS. From the working memory ~S, they can be trans-mitted to the display unit AE and can be output there, They can also be output at the printer DR or can be transmitted via the communication part KT to a remote subscribed.
When a disk storage is provided as the secondary memory FD, the processing units are stored on the tracks of the disk.For simple physical addressing of the processing units, a processing unit corresponds to the content of a track on the disk. The pro-cessing unit can be addressed in the secondary memory FD under aphysical address, such as the track number, and can then be trans-mitted to the working memory AS.
In case a text consists of a plurality of processing units, these can be attached to one another by means of a concat-enation. However, it proves expedient to introduce a hierarchic-al structure oE text units.
The hierarchical structure of a plurality of text units is illustrated in Figure 2. The largest text unit is referenced as a transmission or message M. The contents of -transmission No. 10 is shown in Figure 2. The transmission No. 10 is formed from one or more documents Sl through S3. These in turn donsist of one or '7~:33 more pages Pl through P4. Each page can in turn consist of one or more processing units Bl through ~5. A processing unit, for example, is a para~raph of text on a page.
In the illustrated example, the transmission M consists of three doc~ments Sl through S3. The document Sl contains one page Pl on which the processing unit Bl is contained. In a corr-esponding manner the document S~ contains one page P2 on which the processing unit B2 is contained. The document S3 contains two pages P3 and P4. The page P3 contains two processing units B3and B4, whereas the page P4 contains processing unit B5.
The administration of the text units, such as calling-up a specific page P or processing unit B, and the insertion and removal of text units is described below in connection with Fig-ures 3 throu~h 5.
In the illustration in Figure 3, it is assumed that, ~i~en a trarlsmission as is illustrated in Figure 2, the memory address for the page P4 of the third document S3 of the transmis-sion No. 10 is to be determined.
One of the tables Tl through T4 is provided as a table of contents for the text units of each hierarchy stage. These -tables Tl through T4 are stored, for example, on an unused trackr such as the track 0 of the disk containing the corresponding text units. A list L1 through L4 from which the free and occupied locations can be derived is assigned to each table Tl through T4 The respectively next free location of the corresponding table T
is illustrated in the indicators Z1 through Z4, each of whichpoint to a specific storage location in its respecti~e list Ll through L4.
For the purpose of determining the address of the page P4, the tables T1 through T4 and the lists Ll through L4 are first transferred from the secondary memory FD into the working memory AS. Subsequently, the index of the page P4 is determined strictly 71;~
hierarchically. Since the page P4 belongs to the transmission No. 10, the con~en~ is called in under the indexed address 10 in the table Tl which is assigned to the highest hierarchy stage.
The first column of table Tl indicates that the trans-mission consists of three text units on the next-lowest hierarchy stage, i.e~, the three documents S. The index of the first docu-ment Sl is specified with 5 in the second column. Subsequently, the content under the index 5 is read out in the table T2. It is specified thQre in the first column that this document Sl contains one page Pl. The index of the preceding document is indicated in the second column. Since this instance is the first document of the transmission, the value O is entered at the correspondingIoc-ation. The third column indicates the index 3 of the next-succe-ssive document S2. The last column indicates the index of the page Pl in the table T3, said page Pl being the first page belong-ing to this document Sl. Additionally, the address of a key word identifying the document can also be stoxed in the table T2.
Since the second page P4 of the third document S3 is sought, the index 3 of the second document S2 in the table T2 is pointed to by the content 3 of the next-to-the-last column. It is specified there that the next-successive document S3 is stored under the index 7 in the table T2. It is stored at index 7 in the table T2 that the document S3 contains two pages, that the preceding document S2 is stored under the index 3, that there is no following document, and that the data of the first page P3 of the document S3 are stored under the index 12 of the table T3.
The table T3 is constructed similar to the table T2.
It is specified in the first column that the page P3 contains two processing units B, that there is no preceding page, that the data of the next-successive page P4 are stored under the index 10 )3 in the table T3, and that the data of the first pro~essing unit B3 of this page are stored under the index 11 in the table T4.
The table T3 can also contain ~he addresses of format data allocated to ~he pages P, said data specifying that format for the respective page such as, for example, DIN A4.
Under the index 10 of the table T3, the control unit ST
subsequently calls in the data of the second page P4 of the document S3. It is specified ~here that this page P5 contains one processing unit B5, that the data of the prece~ing page were stored under the index 12, tha~ there is no following page, and that the aata of the first processing unit B5 of the page P4 are stored under the index 8 in the table T4. The index 8 can simultaneously specify the physical address of the processing unit B5. For example, the processing wnit B5 is stored on track ~ of the disk~ It is specified in the first column of the table T4 that this is the first processing unit of the Page 4, and thus, there is no preceding processing unit~ In a corresponding manner, it is specified in the second column of the table T4 that there is no following processing unit~
For a processing of the page P4, the content of track 8 is read out and is transferred into t.he working memory AS. From there, it can be output at the printer D~ or at the display unit AE or can be transmitted via the long-distance line F.
It was assumed in the illustration above that only the content of the ~ransmission 10 was previously stored in the secondary memory FD. The indicators Zl through Z4 allocated to the lists Ll through L4 inclicate the respect.ively next free locations in the tables T, Xn case, for example 7 a new trans-mission M is to be inscribed, its data are stored under the indices 1 in the tables Tl and T2 and under ~he indices 7 or, respectively, 2v in the tables T3 and T4, as .indicated by the lists Ll through L4 in Fig. 3.
In the illustra~ion in Fig. 4, it is assumed that, given the transmission M illus~rate~ in Fig. 2, a further page is to be inserted in the third document S3 between the first page P3 and the second page P4, said further page containing one processing unit stored on track 2 of the disko First, in the same manner as in the example illustrated in Fig. 3, the index 7 of the document S3 is determined. Since the document S3 contains three pages after the insertion~ the value 3 is inserted into the first column of the table T2.
Subsequently, the index 12 of the table T3 is addressed. With the assistance of the indicator Z3 in ~ig. 3, it is determined that the next free location in the table T3 is the fifth location in which the index 7 resides. The data of the page to be inserted are thus inscribed under the index 7 in the table T3.
At the index 12 in the table T3, therefore, the value 10 is changed into 7 as the index of the ~ollowing page~ It is in~icated at in~ex 7 in table T3 that the page consists of one processing unit, that the preceding page is stored at index 12, that the following page is stored at index 10, and that the processing unit is stored on track 2 of the disk. In accord with the list L4 in Fig. 3, the track 2 was the next free track on the disk. Therefore~ the indicator Z4 was increased to 7 in the list L4. This indicates that the next free track is track 4 of the disk. In a corresponding manner, the indicatr Z3 was increased to the value 6 due to the insertion of the additional page, this indicating that a further page can be inscribed at T3.
In the ~xample illustrated in Fig. 5, it is assumed that the second processing unit B4 of the first page P3 of the third document S3 is to be removed.
Up to the determination of the index 12 of the table T3, the operation proceeds in a similar manner as in the example illustrated in FigD 40 Since the page P3 still contains a processing unit, ~he processing uni~ B3, after the removal, the value 2 in the first column of the table T3 is changed into the value 1. Moreoverl the value 1 in the table T4 in the second column is replaced by the value 0, since a further processing unit no longer follows the processing unit B3. The removed processing unit B4 is no longer required, so that the content of the table T4 allocated in the index 1 is again free. Therefore, the value of the indicator Z4 is reduced by the value 1 to the value 6 and the value 1 is entered at the location 6 in the list L4~ so that it is thereby indicated that the next free location in the table T4 is the location allocated to the index 1.
The determination of the respective indices, the updating of the lists Ll through L4 and of the indicators Zl through Z4 ensues upon employment of the control unit ST which usually contains at least one microprocessor. Due to the hierarchic~l structure of the text units, the microprocessor is in a position of very quickly determining the indices of the text units and, if need be, the physical addresses of the processing units. In contrast to a sequential arrangement of the text units, it is not necessary given this method to determine the addresses of the respectively next-successive test units in all preceding text units when a secific text unit is called in~
It will be appreciated that the tables and lists illustrated in Figs. 3 through 5 may be implemented either in a software or hardware form. W~en a software form is chosen, an area of memory accessible to the control unit ST is designated for the tables and lists, and the information in the tables is read by addressing ~he appropriate storage locations by conventional addressing means. The data is updated by being overwritten in the conventional fashion. Alternatively, if desired, each of the tables and lists or groups of them, can be manifested by separate memory devices, which are read and written 7~3 in the same manner as described above. The programs for reading, writing and updating the stored data is a ma~ter of design choice and may be readily assembled by those skilled in the art, and therefore need not be described in detail herein.
From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that a simple and economical means is provided for text processing, which makes it relatively simple to add and delete individual units of any hierarchy. Neither the addition or the removal of any units requires the reading or writing of previously stored message texts, It will be apparent to others skilled in the art that various modifications and additions may be made in the method of the present invention without departing from the essential features of novelty thereof, which are intended to be defined and secured by the appending claims.
Claims (9)
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1. A method for indexed addressing of text units in which the text units are hierarchically arranged, and in which the text units of the lowest hierarchical stage are stored in a memory at locations having physical addresses, comprising the steps of:
providing a first table of indices allocated to the text units of the highest hierarchical stage, said first table ident-ifying for each text unit of the highest hierarchy an index by which a second hierarchical stage may be addressed;
reading said first table for obtaining the index of the initial text unit of the second hierarchical stage;
providing a separate table for each lower hierarchical stage, each said separate table identifying for each text unit of its hierarchy an index by which the next lower hierarchical stage may be addressed; and reading from a plurality of tables of successively lower hierarchy the indices by which a text unit in the next lower hierarchy may be addressed, until the index of a predetermined text is read.
providing a first table of indices allocated to the text units of the highest hierarchical stage, said first table ident-ifying for each text unit of the highest hierarchy an index by which a second hierarchical stage may be addressed;
reading said first table for obtaining the index of the initial text unit of the second hierarchical stage;
providing a separate table for each lower hierarchical stage, each said separate table identifying for each text unit of its hierarchy an index by which the next lower hierarchical stage may be addressed; and reading from a plurality of tables of successively lower hierarchy the indices by which a text unit in the next lower hierarchy may be addressed, until the index of a predetermined text is read.
2. The method according to claim 1 including the steps of successively reading tables provided for each hierarchy until the table for the lowest hierarchy is reached, and reading the table for the lowest hierarchy to determine the physical address of a text unit of the lowest hierarchy.
3. The method according to claim 1 wherein one of said tables contains, for a plurality of ordered text units of that hierarchy, an index of a text unit of the same hierarchy preceed-ing in order one of said plurality of text units, including the step of reading said one table to determine the index of said preceeding text unit.
4. The method according to claim 1 including the step of reading one of said tables to determine for a given text unit, an index by which an identification of such text unit may be addressed.
5. The method according to claim 1 including the step of providing memory areas of equal size for each of the text units of the lowest hierarchy stage.
6. The method according to claim 1 including the steps of organizing said hierarchies such that the highest hierarchy is a transmission comprising a group of one or more documents, said documents comprising the second highest hierarchy, each of said documents being formed of one or more pages, said pages constituting the third highest hierarchy, and each of said pages being formed of one or more processing units, said processing units forming the lowest hierarchy.
7. Apparatus for indexed addressing of text units in which the text units are hierarchically arranged and in which the text units of the lowest hierarchy stage are stored in a memory under prescribed physical addresses, comprising:
a plurality of tables, one for each hierarchy stage, said tables each containing indices of text units of the next lower hierarchy stage;
and a control unit connected to said tables for reading the required indices from the tables in ordered successions until the index for the desired text unit is determined.
a plurality of tables, one for each hierarchy stage, said tables each containing indices of text units of the next lower hierarchy stage;
and a control unit connected to said tables for reading the required indices from the tables in ordered successions until the index for the desired text unit is determined.
8. Apparatus according to claim 7 including means for stor-ing, in at least one of said tables, the index of the next succ-essive text unit of the same hierarchy stage.
9. Apparatus according to claim 7 including memory means said same memory means storing both the tables and the processing units making up the lowest hierarchy.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| DE19813107523 DE3107523A1 (en) | 1981-02-27 | 1981-02-27 | METHOD AND ARRANGEMENT FOR INDICATED ADDRESSING TEXT UNITS |
| DEP3107523.1 | 1981-02-27 |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1185703A true CA1185703A (en) | 1985-04-16 |
Family
ID=6125970
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000397304A Expired CA1185703A (en) | 1981-02-27 | 1982-03-01 | Method and apparatus for indexed addressing of text units |
Country Status (3)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| EP (1) | EP0059254A3 (en) |
| CA (1) | CA1185703A (en) |
| DE (1) | DE3107523A1 (en) |
Families Citing this family (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JPS59165161A (en) * | 1983-03-11 | 1984-09-18 | インタ−ナシヨナル ビジネス マシ−ンズ コ−ポレ−シヨン | Volume restoration system of data set for word processing system |
Family Cites Families (2)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US3670310A (en) * | 1970-09-16 | 1972-06-13 | Infodata Systems Inc | Method for information storage and retrieval |
| DE2748859C3 (en) * | 1977-10-31 | 1980-09-04 | Siemens Ag, 1000 Berlin Und 8000 Muenchen | Circuit arrangement for storing a text |
-
1981
- 1981-02-27 DE DE19813107523 patent/DE3107523A1/en not_active Withdrawn
- 1981-10-28 EP EP81109148A patent/EP0059254A3/en not_active Ceased
-
1982
- 1982-03-01 CA CA000397304A patent/CA1185703A/en not_active Expired
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| EP0059254A2 (en) | 1982-09-08 |
| DE3107523A1 (en) | 1982-09-16 |
| EP0059254A3 (en) | 1984-03-28 |
Similar Documents
| Publication | Publication Date | Title |
|---|---|---|
| US4513391A (en) | Text processing apparatus with two-stage formatting of text | |
| DE60037777T2 (en) | Semiconductor memory card, apparatus for recording data on a semiconductor memory card, and apparatus for reproducing data from the semiconductor memory card | |
| US4996665A (en) | Method and device for editing a document having a plurality of headings | |
| EP0193996B1 (en) | Electronic information display systems | |
| DE4334524C2 (en) | Document processing device | |
| CN100530172C (en) | Electronic document display device and method | |
| DE2159848A1 (en) | System for the segmental subdivision of voice and digital signals and for the production of printed texts | |
| AT389952B (en) | WORD PROCESSOR | |
| US4085446A (en) | Data storage and retrieval system | |
| CA1123361A (en) | Text processing apparatus | |
| DE3233630C2 (en) | ||
| EP0798720A2 (en) | Script editor | |
| DE3209530A1 (en) | TEXT PROCESSING SYSTEM | |
| CA1185703A (en) | Method and apparatus for indexed addressing of text units | |
| DE3447824C2 (en) | Device with a first memory for information | |
| US5157784A (en) | Memory control system responsive to determination, allocating adjacent test space for editing space, relocating adjacent text and editing selected text | |
| DE3018027A1 (en) | WRITING SYSTEM | |
| GB2151382A (en) | File deletion system | |
| US5089990A (en) | Word processor with column layout function | |
| DE1954475A1 (en) | Access point of a data processing system | |
| US4531163A (en) | Disc storage addressing circuit | |
| EP0406744A2 (en) | Device for editing spoken text stored on a magnetic tape and/or in a semiconductor memory | |
| EP0158766B1 (en) | Electronic processing with forms | |
| US6694319B1 (en) | Method of characterizing video data, and video data memory comprising means for generating a video data code | |
| DE2853165A1 (en) | ARRANGEMENT FOR SELECTING A STORAGE ELEMENT GROUP FROM A VARIETY OF STORAGE ELEMENT GROUPS IN A CACHE STORAGE UNIT |
Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| MKEX | Expiry |