Method and apparatus for system for selectively extracting display data within a specified proximity of a displayed character string using a range table

• US 5,133,067 A
• Filed: 10/06/1986
• Issued: 07/21/1992
• Est. Priority Date: 10/09/1985
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Fujisaki, Kazuhiro, Hara, Toshitaka
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Thomas C.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Coleman, Eric
• Application Number:
  US06/915,407
• Time in Patent Office: 2,115 Days
• Field of Search: 364/200 MS File, 364/900 MS File, 364/724, 364/723
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/248 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99934 Query formulation, input preparation, or translation

Abstract

When a user of a data base desires to fetch necessary information from the data base, display the fetched information on a display unit and save a part of the data displayed on the screen of the display unit, partial data on the display screen is extracted on the basis of two kinds of tables, a character string table and a range table. The character string table is for defining a character string used as a key to search for the data on the display screen. When a character string is found on the display screen, the range table is applied to determine a data region to be extracted inclusive of this character string. The character string used as a key to search and the extracting data region which are defined in advance on the respective tables simplify the operation by the user.

Claims

1. A method for extracting a part of data, which has been fetched from a data base and displayed on a display screen, on the basis of a character string table defining a specified character string of the data being displayed on said display screen and a range table defining a data region inclusive of said character string on said display screen,

said method comprising the steps of:

(a) displaying said data, including said character string which is unformattedly imbedded in said data, on said display screen,

(b) inputting a command specifying said character string in said character string table by an operator;

(c) searching said data being displayed on said display screen for said character string in response to said command using said character string as a key; and

(d) extracting data in a data region defined in said range table including said character string as designated in said character string table and storing said extracted data in a memory device.

2. An extracting method according to claim 1 wherein said range table has a field indicative of a number of display lines succeeding a display containing said character string.

3. An extracting method according to claim 1 wherein said range table has a field indicative of a number of display lines preceding a display line containing said character string and a field indicative of a number of display lines succeeding said display line containing said character string.

4. An extracting method according to claim 1 wherein said range table defines a number of characters within said data region contained in the same display line as said character string and following said character string.

5. An extracting method according to claim 1 wherein said step of searching said data using said character string as a key is performed on the basis of a table for limiting a range of search for said character string to a region which is smaller than said display screen.

6. An apparatus for extracting a part of data being displayed on a display screen, comprising:

display means for displaying said data, including a character string which is unformattedly imbedded in said data, on said display screen;

first memory means having a character string table defining a specified character string in said data being displayed on said display screen and a range table defining a data region inclusive of said character string on said display screen;

second memory means for storing data in a data region when it is extracted;

input means through which an operator inputs a command specifying said character string in said character string table; and

processor means connected to said display means, said first memory means, said second memory means and said input means for reading said specified character string and a data region identification from said character string table and said range table, respectively, when said command is inputted through said input means, for searching for said character string which is imbedded in said data in a buffer corresponding to said display screen sign said character string as a key and for extracting and for storing data in said data region into said second memory means.

7. An extracting apparatus according to claim 6 wherein said range table has a field indicative of a number of display lines succeeding a display line containing said character string.

8. An extracting apparatus according to claim 6 wherein said range table has a field indicative of a number of display lines preceding a display line containing said character string and a field indicative of a number of display lines succeeding said line containing said character string.

9. An extracting apparatus according to claim 6 wherein said range table defines a number of characters following said character string in the same display line as said character string.

10. An extracting apparatus according to claim 6 wherein said first memory further includes a table for limiting a range of search for said character string to a region which is smaller than said display screen.

11. An extracting apparatus according to claim 6 wherein said input means is a keyboard.

12. A method of extracting a part of data, which has been fetched from a data base and displayed on a display screen, on the basis of a character string table defining a specified character string of the data being displayed on said display screen and a range table defining a data region inclusive of said character string on said display screen, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) storing in said character string table at least one character string;

(b) storing in said range table information which specified at least one of a display line of data preceding and a display line of data following a display line of data including a specified character string;

(c) displaying data including a specified character string which is unformattedly imbedded in said data, on said display screen;

(d) inputting a command specifying a character string in said character string table by an operator;

(e) searching said data being displayed on said display screen for the specified character string in response to said command using said specified character string as a key;

(f) extracting data in a data region including a display line in which said specified character string is included and at least one of a display line preceding and a display line following the display line in which said specified character string is included, as defined in said range table; and

(g) storing the extracted data in a memory device.

13. An apparatus for extracting a part of data being displayed on a display screen, comprising:

displaying means for displaying said data, including a character string which is unformattedly imbedded in said data, on said display screen;

first memory means having a character string table defining a specified character string in said data being displayed on said display screen and a range table defining a data region of at least one of a display line preceding and a display line succeeding a character string on said display screen;

second memory means for storing data in a data region when it is extracted;

input means through which an operator inputs a command specifying said character string in said character string table; and

processor means connected to said display means, said first memory means, said second memory means and said input means for reading said specified character string and said data defined in said range table as at least one of a display line preceding and a display line succeeding said specified character string from said character string table and said range table, respectively, when said command is inputted through said input means, for searching for said character string which is imbedded in said data in a buffer corresponding to said display screen using said character string as a key and for extracting and storing data in said data region into said second memory means.