Lloyd S Warren

US Patent:

56320221, May 20, 1997

Filed:

Nov 13, 1991

Appl. No.:

7/792501

Inventors:

Lloyd V. Warren - Pasadena CA
Brian C. Beckman - Sunland CA

Assignee:

The United States of America as represented by the Administrator of the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration - Washington DC

International Classification:

G06F 1500
G06F 300
G06F 945

US Classification:

395350

Abstract:

Intelligent browsing through a collection of reusable software components is facilitated with a computer having a video monitor and a user input interface such as a keyboard or a mouse for transmitting user selections, by presenting a picture of encyclopedia volumes with respective visible labels referring to types of software, in accordance with a metaphor in which each volume includes a page having a list of general topics under the software type of the volume and pages having lists of software components for each one of the generic topics, altering the picture to open one of the volumes in response to an initial user selection specifying the one volume to display on the monitor a picture of the page thereof having the list of general topics and altering the picture to display the page thereof having a list of software components under one of the general topics in response to a next user selection specifying the one general topic, and then presenting a picture of a set of different informative plates depicting different types of information about one of the software components in response to a further user selection specifying the one component.