Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system – Computer graphics processing – Graph generating
Reexamination Certificate
1999-03-22
2001-04-24
Hong, Stephen S. (Department: 2176)
Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system
Computer graphics processing
Graph generating
C345S215000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06222558
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to graphics and drawing applications for computers, and more particularly to a method for the interactional presentation of graphics through a coupled network of intelligent computer work stations.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Many presentation graphics and drawing applications exist for computers. Some notable examples are MACDRAW™ for APPLE™ MACINTOSH™ computers and SUNDRAW™ for Sun Microsystems work stations. These programs allow the user to prepare graphical drawings depicting virtually any subject matter. However, they are limited in that they allow only one person to work on the drawing at a time; they do not allow interactive networking of the graphical drawings.
Methods and computer programs do exist which allow users to share information over a network simultaneously, but these are not graphically oriented. The most notable example of this is a program called TALK, which is available as part of 4.3 BSD UNIX. This program allows one user using a work station to initiate a conversation with another user on a different work station. The program allows only the transfer of textual information. Once a conversation is started, the program splits the screen horizontally. The characters inputted by user A appear on the top half of A's screen, and simultaneously appear on the lower half of the screen on the user B's work station. In like manner, when user B types on B's work station, the input appears on the top half of B's screen and the bottom half of user A's screen. In addition to the fact that the TALK program only allows sharing of textual information, it is limited in that the conversation can be between only two users.
There is also a freely available public domain program for the X-Windows system called WScrawl which allows users to share graphical information. However, it works by taking advantage of special features of X-Windows. A simple program is run which opens a single window on each of multiple machines. Then graphics drawn in one window is replicated in the other windows by making identical X-Windows protocol requests. This differs from the current invention in several ways. First, there is only one program being run. Second, the graphics being drawn is not reduced to its essence and then transmitted. Rather, the graphics are merely drawn in multiple windows which are located on different machines. This approach has many disadvantages. First of all, there is no way to distinguish between what multiple users have drawn; everything is merged together. Second, since the essence of the graphic is not transmitted, there is no way for another user to “grab” the image and modify it. Third, and possibly most importantly, this scheme will work only under the X-Windows system. There is no way to make it interoperate with other windowing systems such as Apple's MacOS™ or Microsoft's MICROSOFT WINDOWS™. The current invention has none of these restrictions.
Finally, the POSTSCRIPT™ page description language has been used to transmit graphical information over a network, most notably in Sun Microsystems NEWS™ (Network Extensible Windowing System). However, POSTSCRIPT™ has not facilities for describing the interactions which a use might engage in when using a drawing program. For example, POSTSCRIPT™ has no means of indicating that a specific object has moved from one location to another, or that an object has been cut. In fact, the notion of a graphical object is alien to PostScript, which is suited mainly to describing static images so they can be printed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to allow the simultaneous, real-time sharing of graphical information over a network between two or more intelligent work stations on a network.
It is another object of the present invention to minimize the data necessary to describe the graphical information, for the rapid transmittal of the data between work stations.
It is a further object of the present invention to avoid using pixel-by-pixel description and transmission of data describing a graphical image, such that the speed of transmission is increased.
It is yet another object of the present invention to develop and utilize a protocol including a series of commands each having a fixed data bit length portion and a description portion having a variable data bit length.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a series of commands which describe the type of graphical manipulation that is being conducted, the type of graphical figure upon which it is being conducted and the location of the screen bits at which it is being conducted, such that each of the terminals in the network are provided with sufficient information to replicate the graphical production of the generating work station.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a simplified set of commands which is concise for rapid transmission and reception.
The user of a work station (user A) has a means of inputting graphical information to a work station, such as a graphical drawing program. As graphical information is input by user A, it is reduced to a minimal description and an identifier is assigned to it. This description and identifier is termed an object description, and the object description plus other information is formulated into a command that is then transmitted via the network to all other work stations engaged in the conversation. When the other work stations in the conversation receive the command over the network from work station A, they depict that information from the command on the local display in an area (window or canvas) designated for that purpose.
Each command involves a division of instructions into a command type portion having a fixed length and a graphical object description portion having a variable length, in order to transmit data structures that describe graphical objects and operations on those objects.
It is an advantage of the present invention that it allows the simultaneous, real-time sharing of graphical information over a network between two or more intelligent work stations on a network.
It is another advantage of the present invention that it minimizes the data necessary to describe the graphical information, for the rapid transmittal of the data between work stations.
It is a further advantage of the present invention that it avoids using pixel-by-pixel description and transmission of data describing a graphical image, such that the speed of transmission is increased.
It is yet another advantage of the present invention that it develops and utilizes a protocol including a series of commands each having a fixed data bit length portion and a description portion having a variable data bit length.
It is a further advantage of the present invention that it provides a series of commands which describe the type of graphical manipulation that is being conducted, the type of graphical figure upon which it is being conducted and the location of the screen bits at which it is being conducted, such that each of the terminals in the network are provided with sufficient information to replicate the graphical production of the generating work station.
It is still another advantage of the present invention that it provides a simplified set of commands which is concise for rapid transmission and reception.
The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments which make reference to the several figures of the drawing.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4853875 (1989-08-01), Brown
patent: 4858112 (1989-08-01), Puerzer et al.
patent: 5442771 (1995-08-01), Filepp et al.
patent: 5544317 (1996-08-01), Berg
patent: 5799320 (1998-08-01), Klug
patent: 5886707 (1999-03-01), Berg
Flehr Hohbach Test Albrittion & Herbert LLP
Hong Stephen S.
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