David B Berger

US Patent:

42098459, Jun 24, 1980

Filed:

Jan 25, 1977

Appl. No.:

5/762374

Inventors:

David A. Berger - Austin TX
John W. Welch - Austin TX

Assignee:

International Business Machines Corporation - Armonk NY

International Classification:

G06F 702

US Classification:

364900

Abstract:

A system for sorting records of a file to find the record in the file having the highest or lowest data in a first field of the records, provided that the record qualifies to be sorted in accordance with the data in a second field of the records. A plurality of such records are stored on a plurality of blocks of a segmented serial storage device. Random access memory used by the system to accomplish the qualifying and sorting is a small fraction of the size of the file. In the preferred embodiment, a multiplicity of qualifying fields and sort fields may be specified. The system may typically be used, for example, to provide names, addresses and other variable text to be merged with form letter text in a printing system to sequentially print automatic form letters in the alphabetical or zip code order of their intended recipients. This information can also be used to list a qualified sublist of a master file in the order specified by the sort information.

US Patent:

43085822, Dec 29, 1981

Filed:

Jan 25, 1977

Appl. No.:

5/762378

Inventors:

David A. Berger - Austin TX

Assignee:

International Business Machines Corp. - Armonk NY

International Classification:

G06F 906

US Classification:

364300

Abstract:

A control system presents to a user, in the user's native language, the list of acceptable functions that a word processing system can perform. After the user selects the name of the desired function, the control system automatically builds a list of control parameters for executing the selected function and presents these control parameters to the user. Each of the control parameters has a range of values associated with it. The user may select the predetermined set of "standard" values which are the first presented for each parameter, or may cause each parameter in turn to present its range of values, any one of which may be selected. The selected parameters are then converted to machine usable language and inserted into the selected function program.