Method and apparatus for display of windowing application programs on a terminal

• US 7,720,672 B1
• Filed: 09/21/1999
• Issued: 05/18/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/29/1995
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Dell Marketing Corporation (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Wyse Technology Incorporated (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Inventors: Stone, David, Buswell, Randy, Lam, Sui M., Gay, Bill
• Primary Examiner(s): CHAVIS, JOHN Q
• Application Number:
  US09/400,733
• Time in Patent Office: 3,892 Days
• Field of Search: 717/1, 717/138, 717/134, 717/135, 703/24, 703/27, 715/744, 715/781, 707/27
• US Class Current: 703/27
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/541 Client-server
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/544 Remote
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/545 Gui
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1454 involving copying of the display data of a local workstation or window to a remote workstation or window so that an actual copy of the data is displayed simultaneously on two or more displays, e.g. teledisplay
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/542 Event management; Broadcasting; Multicasting; Notifications
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/14 Display of multiple viewports
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/08 specially adapted for terminal emulation, e.g. Telnet

Abstract

A video display terminal capable of operating with a graphical user interface such as Windows provides windowing functionality to permit use of popular applications programs resident on a server, without requiring more than application data to be transmitted from the server, and keyboard and mouse information to be transmitted from the terminal to the server. The terminal includes processing means, not fully compatible with personal computer BIOS or disk operating systems and incapable of executing windowing applications locally, adapted to receive windowing information supplied by programs executing on a remotely located application server. The terminal also includes a display for the windowing information supplied by programs executing on the remotely located application server. The invention provides FTP and SNMP capabilities along with a number of user interface enhancements, DHCP and SNMP enhancements. File information is transferred to and from the terminal using a communications protocol. One or more image upgrades are transferred to the terminal from the remotely located application server. Configuration data for the terminal can also be transferred to the terminal from the remotely located application server. The present invention further provides for simultaneously maintaining more than one connection between the terminal and server and establishing more than one virtual machine on the terminal with each virtual machine running an open session. Each virtual machine stops sending and receiving data to and from the server when an application resides in the background session. Each virtual machine commands the server to refresh the data for the application when the application is switched to the foreground.

Claims

1. A terminal for displaying application program information in a windowing environment comprising:

a processor adapted to receive windowing information supplied by application programs executing on a remotely located application server, the application programs resident on the application server;

a display configured to display the windowing information supplied by the application programs executing on the server; and

means for simultaneously maintaining more than one connection for the application programs between the terminal and server,

wherein the terminal does not execute locally the windowing information.

2. The terminal of claim 1 wherein the multiple connections means includes:

means for establishing more than one virtual machine on the terminal, each virtual machine running an open session.

3. The terminal of claim 1 wherein the terminal includes a foreground and a background, and the multiple connections means includes:

means for stopping and redisplaying writing of a screen when a session is moved to the background without saving the screen in memory.

4. The terminal of claim 3 wherein the multiple connections means further includes virtual machines:

wherein at least one of the virtual machines has a text buffer so when the at least one of the virtual machines is in the background it has a virtual buffer that it can write to and it continues to run in the background;

wherein at least one of the virtual machines sends a signal to a graphics application, and the application sends a signal out to the server to command it to stop sending display when the application is switched to the background so that traffic relating to the graphics application between the terminal and server is stopped; and

the server is commanded to redisplay the screen when the application is switched back to the foreground.

5. The terminal of claim 1 wherein the multiple connections means includes a virtual machine,

wherein the virtual machine stops sending and receiving data to and from the server when an application resides in a background session, the virtual machine commanding the server to refresh the data for the application when the application is switched to a foreground.

6. The terminal of claim 1 wherein the terminal is configured to provide windowing functionality to permit use of the application programs resident on the server, without requiring more than application data to be transmitted from the server.

7. The terminal of claim 1 wherein the terminal is configured to access the application programs resident on the server without executing locally the application programs resident on the server.

8. The terminal of claim 1 wherein the terminal is a thin-client.

9. A method for displaying application program information in a windowing environment comprising the steps for:

receiving at a terminal windowing information supplied by application programs executing on a remotely located application server, the application programs resident on the application server;

displaying at the terminal the windowing information supplied by the application programs executing on the server; and

simultaneously maintaining more than one connection for the application programs between the terminal and server,

wherein the terminal is adapted to receive the windowing information,

wherein the terminal is configured to display the windowing information, and

wherein the terminal does not execute locally the windowing information.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the simultaneously maintaining step includes:

establishing more than one virtual machine on the terminal, each virtual machine running an open session.

11. The method of claim 9 wherein the terminal includes a foreground and a background, and the simultaneously maintaining step includes:

stopping and redisplaying writing of a screen when a session is moved to the background without saving the screen in memory.

12. The method of claim 9 wherein the simultaneously maintaining step includes:

providing virtual machines;

writing to a virtual buffer when at least one of the virtual machines is in a background;

sending a signal to a graphics application;

sending a signal from the application out to the server to command it to stop sending display when the application is switched to the background so that traffic relating to the graphics application between the terminal and server is stopped;

commanding the server to redisplay a screen when the application is switched back to a foreground.

13. The method of claim 9 wherein the simultaneously maintaining step includes:

stopping of sending and receiving data to and from the server when an application resides in a background session;

commanding the server to refresh the data for the application when the application is switched to a foreground.

14. The method of claim 9 wherein the terminal is permitted to use the application programs resident on the server, without requiring more than application data to be transmitted from the server.

15. A terminal for displaying application program information in a windowing environment comprising:

a processor adapted to receive windowing information supplied by application programs executing on a remotely located application server, the application programs resident on the server;

a display configured to display the windowing information supplied by the application programs executing on the server; and

means for facilitating simultaneously maintaining more than one connection for the application programs between the terminal and server,

wherein the means for facilitating simultaneously maintaining includes virtual machines,

wherein at least one of the virtual machines has a text buffer so when the at least one of the virtual machines is in a background it has a virtual buffer that it can write to and it can continue to run in the background, and

wherein at least one of the virtual machines is configured to send a signal to a graphics application, and the application can send a signal to the server to command it to stop sending display when the application is switched to the background so that traffic relating to the application between the terminal and server is stopped, and the server is configured to be commanded to redisplay a screen when the application is switched back to a foreground.

16. A method for displaying application program information in a windowing environment comprising the steps for:

receiving at a terminal windowing information supplied by application programs executing on a remotely located application server, the application programs resident on the server;

displaying the windowing information supplied by the application programs executing on the server; and

facilitating simultaneously maintaining more than one connection for the application programs between the terminal and server,

wherein the step for facilitating simultaneously maintaining includes;

providing virtual machines;

writing to a virtual buffer when at least one of the virtual machines is in a background;

sending a signal to a graphics application;

sending a signal to the server to command it to stop sending display when the application is switched to the background so that traffic relating to the application between the terminal and server is stopped; and

commanding the server to redisplay a screen when the application is switched back to a foreground.

17. A computer storage medium encoded with instructions for displaying application program information in a windowing environment, the instructions comprising code for:

receiving at a terminal windowing information supplied by application programs executing on a remotely located application system, the application programs resident on the system;

displaying at the terminal the windowing information supplied by the application programs executing on the system; and

facilitating simultaneously maintaining more than one connection for the application programs between the terminal and system,

wherein the terminal is adapted to receive the windowing information,

wherein the terminal is configured to display the windowing information, and

wherein the terminal does not execute locally the windowing information.

18. The computer storage medium of claim 17 wherein the code for facilitating simultaneously maintaining includes code for:

establishing more than one virtual machine on the terminal, each virtual machine running an open session.

19. The computer storage medium of claim 17 wherein the terminal includes a foreground and a background and the code for facilitating simultaneously maintaining includes code for:

stopping and redisplaying writing of a screen when a session is moved to the background without saving the screen in memory.

20. The computer storage medium of claim 17 wherein the code for facilitating simultaneously maintaining includes code for:

providing virtual machines;

writing to a virtual buffer when at least one of the virtual machines is in a background;

sending a signal to a graphics application;

sending a signal from the application out to the server to command it to stop sending display when the application is switched to the background so that traffic relating to the graphics application between the terminal and server is stopped; and

commanding the server to redisplay a screen when the application is switched back to a foreground.

21. The computer storage medium of claim 17 wherein the code for facilitating simultaneously maintaining includes code for:

stopping of sending and receiving data to and from the server when an application resides in a background session; and

commanding the server to refresh the data for the application when the application is switched to a foreground.

22. The computer storage medium of claim 17 wherein the terminal is permitted to use the application programs resident on the server, without requiring more than application data to be transmitted from the server.

23. A computer storage medium encoded with instructions for displaying application program information in a windowing environment, the instructions comprising code for:

receiving at a terminal windowing information supplied by application programs executing on a remotely located application system, the application programs resident on the system;

displaying the windowing information supplied by the application programs executing on the system; and

facilitating simultaneously maintaining more than one connection for the application programs between the terminal and system,

wherein the code for facilitating simultaneously maintaining includes code for;

providing virtual machines;

writing to a virtual buffer when at least one of the virtual machines is in a background;

sending a signal to a graphics application;

sending a signal to the system to command it to stop sending display when the application is switched to the background so that traffic relating to the application between the terminal and system is stopped; and

commanding the system to redisplay a screen when the application is switched back to a foreground.