JPH01108673A - Mathematical formula input and edit system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce omission in the correction of a mathematical formula and to improve operability in the input and edit of the mathematical formula by enabling the correction for erroneous input and insertion to be performed in generating the mathematical formula in a mathematical formula input and edit device. CONSTITUTION:A means to interrupt input transiently in performing the input of the mathematical formula and a chemical formula can be realized by allocating a specific key or a soft key on a keyboard. A means to store interruptive position information in the syntax of the mathematical formula and the chemical formula can be realized by providing a mathematical formula managing part in the mathematical formula and setting an interruption flag representing the incompleted state of the mathematical formula and the chemical formula at a defined position. In such a way, it is possible to correct the part of an error or input omission by the editing function of the mathematical formula by setting the interruption flag in the mathematical formula when an interruption key is inputted.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to document creation devices such as Japanese word processors and personal computers, and particularly to a mathematical formula input method suitable for inputting, editing, and proofreading mathematical formulas.

[Conventional technology]

I was able to input a character string that constitutes a mathematical formula, such as -f(0), but when I was inputting Σ g(r)=, :o
−− f (k+1) should be entered Σ g, (t) =
Even if you realize that you entered r:O f (k+1) by mistake, you can stop inputting the formula at that point and correct 1) to (r).
Next, no consideration was given to continuing the input of -f ('O) and the mathematical expression from the temporary interruption point.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

The above-mentioned conventional technology does not take into consideration the fact that even if an error or omission is noticed while inputting a character string such as a mathematical formula, the error or omission is corrected at that point, and the operator may make an error while inputting. Or, if you do not complete the input of a series of mathematical formulas/chemical formulas even if you discover an error or omission, you may be required to change the error or omission, etc.
addition.

There was a problem in that corrections such as corrections could not be made.

An object of the present invention is to temporarily stop the input when an error or omission is detected while inputting the formula, and to make changes or additions to the error or omission.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a mathematical expression input/editing method that allows corrections such as corrections, and then inputs characters or character strings again from the interrupted point, thereby reducing omissions in corrections of mathematical expressions being created.

[Means for solving problems]

The above object is to provide a means for interrupting the input of a mathematical formula/chemical formula by - time and a means for storing interrupt position information in the mathematical formula/chemical formula syntax, and to temporarily interrupt the inputting of the mathematical formula/chemical formula,・After making corrections such as changing, adding, or correcting errors or omissions using the mathematical formula editing proofreading function such as correction, insertion, and deletion of the character strings that make up the chemical formula, restart the mathematical formula/chemical formula from the above-mentioned interrupted position. This is achieved by adding means.

[Effect]

A means for temporarily interrupting the input of a mathematical formula or chemical formula can be realized by assigning a specific key or soft key on the keyboard. The means for storing interruption position information in the syntax of a mathematical formula/chemical formula can be realized by providing a mathematical formula management section for the mathematical formula and setting an interruption flag indicating that the mathematical formula/chemical formula is in an unfinished state at a predetermined position. If the interrupt key is input, an interrupt flag is set for the formula. Next, use the formula editing function to correct any errors or omissions.

For example, the formula ml g(=f (k+1) r
:0 To explain using a formula, move the cursor to the t position, press the Correction> key to enter correction mode, enter r,
Next, by pressing the <Execute> key, t is corrected to r.

Next, the means for resuming from the interrupted position can be realized by assigning a specific key or soft key on the keyboard. When the key is input, the desired mathematical expression is completed by checking the mathematical expression for which the interruption flag is set and continuing inputting characters or functions from the last position of the mathematical expression.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a word processor will be described with reference to the drawings.

The mathematical formula targeted by the present invention is shown in FIG. 3(a).

The characters that make up a mathematical formula are divided into regular characters and mathematical symbols. A mathematical symbol is a symbol that has a special meaning when used with numbers, and in Figure 3(a), it is Σ.

- (fractional bar), V, etc. Formula symbols include a, as in the denominator and numerator 2a in □ in Figure 3(a),
It has a meaning as a mathematical expression when a string is attached. The character string attached to this function symbol is called an argument, and the mathematical symbol and its argument together are called a function. A number of these functions come together to form a mathematical expression.

Also, although the aforementioned arguments may be just strings, the numbers may contain other functions, forming a hierarchical structure.

The data of these mathematical formulas is stored in the storage device 402, and the format is as shown in FIG. 3(b). and a delimiter 313 that identifies the hierarchical relationship. However, formulas have a hierarchical structure. Figure 3(c) shows the hierarchical structure of the formulas in Figure 3(a).
It is necessary to expand the mathematical data in the diagram according to the hierarchical structure and calculate the size and coordinates of each character string.

Next, the hardware configuration of the present invention will be explained. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the equipment configuration of the present invention. The hardware to which the present invention is applied is an input device 401 such as a keyboard for inputting character strings, mathematical symbols, etc. A storage device 402 that stores character codes of input characters, a display device 403 such as a CRT display that displays character strings, etc. It is constituted by a control device 404 that controls each of the above-mentioned parts.

Of these, the control device 404 will be explained in detail.

The control device 404 includes a mathematical expression input section 405. Formula display section 40
62 character string specification section 4o7. It is composed of four mechanisms of the formula editing section 408.

(1) Mathematical formula input section 405 As described above, a mathematical formula is composed of a collection of character strings and functions. A function is formed by a mathematical symbol and an argument, but the number and display position of the attached arguments differ depending on the mathematical symbol. Therefore, the mathematical expression input unit 405 has a table (hereinafter simply referred to as an argument table) that summarizes the number of attached functions for all mathematical symbols.

When the user inputs a mathematical symbol from the input device 401, the mathematical formula input unit 405 calculates the number of arguments attached to the input mathematical symbol from the argument table, displays the mathematical symbol on the display device 403, and displays the first mathematical symbol. Takes argument input,
The operator inputs a character string constituting an argument, and inputs a delimiter at the end of the argument to indicate that one argument has ended. The formula input unit 405 takes in input arguments for the number of arguments determined from the argument table, and the input formula symbols and argument 9 separators are arranged in a line in the order of input, as shown in FIG. 3(b). The information is stored in the storage device 402.

(2) Mathematical formula display section 406 In order to display mathematical formulas, instead of characters or lines with fixed sizes, two-dimensional areas of different sizes are basically considered, and these are displayed according to the type of mathematical symbol. They must be placed vertically or horizontally.

That is, it is necessary to set the size of an area (hereinafter referred to as an argument area) for each mathematical symbol and argument, and to arrange each argument at a fixed position depending on the type of mathematical symbol. In this case, the arrangement method for each mathematical symbol is stored in the program.

This will be specifically explained using the following formula as an example.

Define the size of the above argument area as follows.

Σ-1engl x, length2 y (first argument) i = 1 = 4eng2 x, length2 y
(Second argument) E = 4eng3 x, length3
y (third argument)X i ・-1eng4 x,
]-eng4 y (4th argument) Also, create a unique horizontal character string reference line (hereinafter referred to as the baseline) in each argument area, and use this as base 1 as above.
, base'2.

Base3 and base4.

First, Σ, i=1. The size of the argument area for E and Xi is determined from the total width and maximum height of the characters included in each argument. If the argument is not input, the size is fixed (hereinafter referred to as the uninput area).

The baseline varies depending on the type of mathematical symbol, but String...String height Σ...(Length to the bottom of Σ/2) + (Normal character height/2) Fraction...Numerator tens Normal character height/2 Uninput argument: height of half-width characters shall be.

In the case of the above formula, each baseline is base 1
= (length 1 y / 2) + (normal character height / 2) base 2 = length 2 y base 3 = 1 eng 3 ybase4 =
length4y.

Next, change the above formula to Σ　　　　　・・・a 1:I Xi　　　　　　...b Divide into 2 and calculate the size of each using the following formula.

lang x = max(len x , fan
g2 x, 1eng3 x)], eng a y”
length ly, +length2 y +length 3
ylength b x = length 4 x], en
g b y = length 4 ybase a =
length 3 y +base 1base b
= fang 2 yBased on the obtained data of a and b, the position of each argument is set by arranging a and b so that each baseline coincides with the X direction (FIG. 5).

In the above processing, if there is a function among the arguments and the size of the argument cannot be determined, the size of the inner function is determined using the same procedure, and then the size of the argument is calculated.

If the hierarchical structure of the function is deeper, the process is repeated while performing recursive calls until the size of the argument to be determined is determined, and the size and coordinates of the argument are determined.

(3) Character string specification section 407 When a part of the mathematical expression displayed by the mathematical expression display section 406 is specified using the input device 401, the specified character or mathematical symbol is located in the data stored in the storage device 404. Search for.

(4) Numerical formula editing section 408 Edits the characters or arguments obtained by the character string specifying section 407, such as insertion and correction.

The input method is the same as the character string input section, and the storage device 4
02, the re-input character string data is inserted into the specified character string position.

Next, in the apparatus consisting of the above mechanism, the specific contents of this embodiment will be explained in the processing flowchart of FIG.
d) Explanation will be given using the example of formula input shown in the figure.

The formula is created by inputting data from the input device 401 (step 101), and in the formula input process 103, the layout is automatically created as shown in FIG. 2(a).

Here, if n, which is the second argument of Σ, is inputted incorrectly in r, the control is changed in step 102 by giving an interrupt instruction, and the process moves to step 105. (b) Set the interruption flag in FIG. 311).

Next, in step 106, formula editing and configuration processing is performed; in this example, the cursor is moved to the position of the incorrect input r, and r is corrected to n using the correction function (see Figure 2(b)).
c) Figure). If there are multiple corrections, this step is repeated until the corrections are completed. Although not described in this example, insertion, deletion, etc. are also possible.

When the correction is completed, an instruction to cancel the interruption is received in step 107.
By changing the flow of control through the process, searching for the suspended formula in step 108, resetting the suspension flag, and returning to step 101, the formula creation process is started again, and the process in steps 101 and 103 A desired mathematical expression can be created (Figure 2(d)).

Although this embodiment is an example of correction to a mathematical formula being created, it is clear that editing such as correction and insertion can be applied to other mathematical formulas as well.

〔Effect of the invention〕

According to the present invention, it is possible to correct and insert incorrect inputs during formula creation, which was not considered in formula input editing devices, thereby reducing omissions in formula correction and improving operability of formula input editing. can do.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a flowchart of the present invention, and FIGS. 2(a) to 2(d) are diagrams showing the movement of the present invention on a screen. FIG. 3(a) shows an example of a mathematical formula handled by the present invention, FIG. 3(b) shows its data, and FIG. 3(c) shows its hierarchical structure. FIG. 4 shows a hardware configuration to which the present invention is applied. FIG. 5 shows how to obtain the display coordinates of a mathematical formula in the present invention. 101... Character/function input step, 102... Interruption instruction determination step, 103... Mathematical formula input processing step, 104... Mathematical formula end determination step, 105...
Interruption flag setting step, 106... Formula editing proofreading step, 107... Interruption release determination step, 108
... Interruption flag reset step. Agent Patent Attorney Katsuma Ogawa-1, Figure 1 Figure 2 (a) Figure 2 (b) Cursor Figure 2 (c) Cursor 2 (d) Figure 3 (a) Figure 1 No. 3 (c) )figure

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In a document creation device that displays document information on a display device and creates or edits and proofreads a document based on instructions from an input device, each character or character string unit such as a mathematical formula or chemical formula In a document creation method having a means for inputting character strings in a hierarchical relationship, a means for storing the hierarchical relationship, and a means for editing the mathematical formula/chemical formula input by the input means, A means for temporarily interrupting the input of the mathematical formula/chemical formula is provided, and the interrupting means interrupts the input of the mathematical formula/chemical formula, and makes changes, additions, corrections, etc. to some or all of the mathematical formula/chemical formula being input. A mathematical expression input/editing method characterized by the ability to perform editing. 2. In claim 1, after editing a part or all of the mathematical formula/chemical formula being input by changing, adding, correcting, etc., it is possible to input the mathematical formula/chemical formula again immediately after the interruption. A mathematical formula input/edit method characterized by providing a means.