Computer network having an asynchronous document data management system

• US 5,640,544 A
• Filed: 11/24/1992
• Issued: 06/17/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 12/28/1991
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Yamasuga, Seiji, Onodera, Takahiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Treat, William M.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Maung, Zarni
• Application Number:
  US07/980,705
• Time in Patent Office: 1,666 Days
• Field of Search: 395/200, 395/375, 395/425, 395/200.13, 395/509, 395/511
• US Class Current: 715/205
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/93 Document management systems

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to provide a document data management system which can effect rapid screen display of document data. The document data management system comprises a communication processing apparatus for retrieving document data managed by another computer by way of a telecommunication line, a document data display apparatus for displaying on the screen document data requested by the user, a document data request processing apparatus for processing a document data retrieval request from the document data display apparatus, and a document data managing apparatus including document data writing controller which is utilized by the communication processing apparatus and document data reading controller which is utilized by the document data request processing apparatus. The document data display apparatus has an asynchronous read function by which a document read request to the document data request processing apparatus is carried out asynchronously of the operation of the communication processing apparatus.

Claims

1. A computer in a computer network system, comprising:

an asynchronous document data display means for (a) producing, in response to a document data request issued by said computer, a document data retrieval request which identifies a document data number of said requested document data and a name of a local document data file into which said requested document data is to be stored, and a document data read request which identifies a buffer into which a portion of said requested document data is to be retrieved and a size of said buffer, and for (b) retrieving said portion of said requested document data into said buffer and displaying said portion of said requested document data on a screen of said computer, before all of said requested document data have been stored into said local document data file, wherein said portion of said requested document data is smaller in size than said requested document data;

communication processing means for transmitting and receiving document data to and from another computer of said computer network system through a telecommunication line;

document data managing means including document data writing means and document data reading means for controlling a write operation into and a read operation from said local document data file, respectively; and

document data request processing means for sending said document data retrieval request to said communication processing means to process retrieval of said requested document data from said another computer and to write said requested document data into said local document data file using said document data writing means when said document data retrieval request is received from said document data display means, and for sending said document data read request to said document data managing means to read out said portion of said requested document data from said local document data file using said document data reading means and to deliver said portion of said requested document data to said document data display means when said document data read request is received from said document data display means.

2. A computer as claimed in claim 1, wherein said computer is coupled to other computers of said computer network system by way of said telecommunication line.

3. A computer as claimed in claim 2, wherein communication between said computers is achieved using a point-to-point system.

4. A computer as claimed in claim 2, wherein communication between the computers is achieved using a broadcasting system.

5. A computer network, comprising:

a plurality of computers; and

a telecommunication line connecting said computers to define said computer network,

wherein each of said plurality of computers includes,

an asynchronous document data display means for (a) producing, in response to a request for document data located in another computer, a document data retrieval request which identifies a document data number of said requested document data and a name of a local document data file into which said requested document data is to be stored, and a document data read request which identifies a buffer into which a portion of said requested document data is to be retrieved and a size of said buffer, and for (b) retrieving said portion of said requested document data into said buffer and displaying said portion of said requested document data on a screen of said computer, before all of said requested document data have been stored into said local document data file;

communication processing means for transmitting and receiving document data to and from said telecommunication line;

document data managing means including document data writing means and document data reading means for controlling a write operation into and a read operation from said local document data file, respectively; and

document data request processing means for sending said document data retrieval request to said communication processing means to process retrieval of said requested document data from said another computer and to write said requested document data into said local document data file using said document data writing means when said document data retrieval request is received from said document data display means, and for sending said document data read request to said document data managing means to read out said portion of said requested document data from said local document data file using said document data reading means and to deliver said portion of said requested document data to said document data display means when said document data read request is received from said document data display means.