Method for emulation of terminal-resident GUI application by transmitting macros having information and command instructing the terminal how to process the information

• US 5,987,505 A
• Filed: 05/17/1995
• Issued: 11/16/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 04/28/1995
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: SOTF Technologies Incorporated
• Original Assignee: SOTF Technologies Incorporated
• Inventors: Christopher, Christopher D., Mahan, Gregory L., Fry, Shawn C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Dinh, Dung C.
• Application Number:
  US08/443,060
• Time in Patent Office: 1,644 Days
• Field of Search: 395/200.01, 395/200.02, 395/200.05, 395/200.09, 395/200.12, 395/200.14, 395/148, 395/155, 395/160, 395/161, 395/162, 395/500, 395/600, 395/650 , 395/700, 395/800, 709/208, 709/230, 709/302, 709/300, 345/326, 345/335
• US Class Current: 709/208
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/549 Remote execution
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/08 specially adapted for terminal emulation, e.g. Telnet
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/75 Indicating network or usage conditions on the user display
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

A computer system and method for transmitting information in variable length information packets, each of which can be independently processed by the receiving computer irrespective of other packets, is disclosed. The invention enables the transmission of packets concerning one process to be interspersed with packets concerning other processes so that information can be exchanged between computers in the system without having to wait for the completion of an ongoing process.

Claims

1. A method, implemented in a computer system, for using a host computer to emulate a GUI application on one or more terminal computers in a manner which is substantially transparent of the user of said terminal computer, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) executing an application program on said host computer;

(b) establishing communication between a host computer and a terminal computer, said terminal computer having a GUI, said GUI utilizing one or more API'"'"'s;

(c) transmitting from said host computer to said terminal computer one or more graphical language macros, each one of said one or more graphical language macros being comprised of at least two components, a first one of said at least two components containing command data and a second one of said at least two components containing information which may be raw data, file transfers, commands, or executable code, said command data contained in said first component of said graphical language macros instructing said terminal computer how to process said information contained in said second component of said graphical language macros and said information contained in said second component of said graphical language macros directly manipulating said terminal GUI by activating said API'"'"'S.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said method is implemented by programming said terminal computer and said host computer using an interpreted language.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein said method further comprises the step of reprogramming said terminal computer via said transmitted graphical language macros.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein said method further comprises the steps of:

performing error checking on said graphical language macros;

re-transmitting said graphical language macros if said error checking indicates that said graphical language macros contain one or more errors; and

confirming receipt of said graphical language macros.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein a program is executing on said terminal computer and said information contained in said second component of a first one of said one or more graphical language macros contains executable code, said executable code being interpreted by said terminal program and integrated into said terminal program to form a customized application.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein said executable code is written in an interpreted programming language.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein said executable code is retained in the random access memory of said terminal computer without having first been downloaded to a persistent storage device.

8. The method of claim 5 wherein said executable code does not have a predefined interface with said terminal program.

9. The method of claim 5 wherein said customized application interacts with said host computer and wherein said host computer performs a portion of the processing accomplished by said customized application.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein a plurality of processes are carried on concurrently by transmitting graphical language macros between said terminal computer and said host computer.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein first and second graphical language macros are transmitted to said terminal computer and wherein a portion of said information is transmitted to said terminal computer in each of said first and second graphical language macros.

12. The method of claim 5, further comprising the step of performing error checking on each said graphical language macro.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein said graphical language macros further comprise a start code which is located at an initiating end of said packets and an end code which is located at a terminating end of said packets and wherein said graphical language macros have variable lengths with respect to each other.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising the step of confirming the validity of each said graphical language macro.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of transmitting said graphical language macros from said terminal computer to said host computer in response to user manipulation of said terminal GUI.

16. The method of claim 3, further comprising the steps of breaking communication between said host computer and said terminal computer and discarding said reprogramming of said terminal computer.

17. A method, implemented in a computer system having a host computer and a terminal computer, for building a customized application which exists in the virtual space of the computer system, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) executing a first program on said terminal computer;

(b) establishing communication between said terminal computer and said host computer;

(c) transmitting from said host computer to said terminal computer one or more graphical language macros, said graphical language macros each one of said one or more graphical language macros being comprised of at least two components, a first one of said at least two components containing command data and a second one of said at least two components containing information which may be raw data, file transfers, commands, or executable code, said command data contained in said first component of said graphical language macros instructing said terminal computer how to process said information contained in said second component of said graphical language macros and said information in said second component of one or more of said graphical language macros containing executable interpreted language code, said executable interpreted language code contained in one or more of said graphical language macros being interpreted by said terminal program and integrated into said first program to form a customized application.

18. The method of claim 17 further comprising the step of executing a second program on said host computer, said second program executing cooperatively with said first program and said executable interpreted language code contained in said one or more graphical language macros to form said customized application.