History sensitive help control method and system

• US 5,485,544 A
• Filed: 02/15/1990
• Issued: 01/16/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 02/17/1989
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Kuwamoto, Hideki, Koreeda, Hiroyuki, Kuwabara, Tadashi, Nakane, Keiichi, Nonaka, Naomichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Downs, Robert W.
• Application Number:
  US07/480,672
• Time in Patent Office: 2,161 Days
• Field of Search: 364/513, 364/200, 364/900, 395/68, 395/12, 395/50
• US Class Current: 706/11
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/453 Help systems

Abstract

A system which comprises a message data base for storing help messages, a history buffer for storing the past statuses of an interactive processing system, an inference engine for determining a help message to be outputted, and a rule data base for storing the rules for determining a help message by said inference engine, determines an output help message on the basis of at least the past status history using said inference engine, furthermore outputs a help message by a user'"'"'s command, selects a message data base to be used by the system at that time from a plurality of message data bases, or selects a rule data base to be used by the system at that time from a plurality of said rule data bases

Claims

1. In an interactive processing system having a function of outputting a help message, a help control method, comprising the steps of:

storing help messages in a message database;

storing inference rules in a rule database;

obtaining through use of a user program at least a history of past statuses resulting from execution of commands by said user program;

applying inference rules, stored in said rule database, to said history of past statuses for selecting held messages, each of said inference rules being related to a relationship between a status of said user program and a help message to be outputted; and

obtaining, from help messages stored in said message database, a help message selected on the basis of a result of said applying step.

2. A help control method according to claim 1, wherein said help message is determined in response to a help request processed by said user program.

3. A help control method according to claim 1, wherein said inference rules are applied to a current status and said history of past statuses of said user program in said applying step.

4. A help control method according to claim 1, wherein said inference rules are described by a production system.

5. A help control method according to claim 1, wherein said history of past statuses comprises statuses of said user program which are stored in time sequence.

6. A help control method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of:

changing at least one stored help message in said message database at least by processing by said user program.

7. A help control method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of:

changing at least one stored inference rule in response to said user program.

8. In an interactive processing system having a function for outputting a help message, a help control system comprising:

a message database for storing help messages;

a rule database for storing inference rules;

means for obtaining through use of a user program at least a history of past statuses resulting from execution of commands by said user program;

means for applying inference rules, stored in said rule database, to said history of past statuses for selecting help messages, each of said inference rules being related to a relationship between a status of said user program and a help message to be outputted; and

means for outputting, from help messages stored in said message database, a help message selected on the basis of a result of operation of said applying means.

9. A help control system according to claim 8, wherein said help message is determined for a help request processed by said user program.

10. A help control system according to claim 8, wherein said inference rules are applied to a current status and said history of past statuses of said user program in said applying means.

11. A help control system according to claim 8, wherein said inference rules are described by a production system.

12. In a data processor which performs interactive processing, a help control system comprising:

first means responsive to execution of commands in a user program for storing a history of changes in status of said user program;

second means for storing rules for determining help messages to be displayed on the basis of said stored history of changes in status;

third means for storing help messages to be displayed on the basis of said history of changes in status of said user program;

fourth means for determining a help message according to the history of changes in status stored by said first means and said rules stored by said second means; and

fifth means for displaying a help message determined by said fourth means.

13. A help control system according to claim 12, wherein said first means stores status changes in time sequence.

14. A help control system according to claim 12, wherein said help messages of said third means can be changed at least by said user program.

15. A help control system according to claim 12, wherein said rules of said second means can be changed by the said user program.

16. A help control system according to claim 12, wherein a plurality of said second means are provided each in correspondence with respective ones of a plurality of user programs.

17. A help control system according to claim 12, wherein a plurality of said third means are provided each in correspondence with respective ones of a plurality of user programs.