System for parsing multidimensional and multidirectional text into encoded units and storing each encoded unit as a separate data structure

摘要

A method and apparatus editing and creating multidirectional or multidimensional text includes an editor responsive to keystrokes representing text characters and editing commands for generating a string of codes defining a text and a parser responsive to operation of the editor for reading the codes of the string and parsing the codes into encoded units. Each encoded unit is made up of a group of codes defining a group of characters that are positioned in an expression as a unit and the system further generates a unit structure for each encoded unit. Each unit structure contains information defining a visual representation of the corresponding encoded unit. The parser is responsive to operation of the editor for reading the unit structures and corresponding codes of the string and generating a visually displayable representation of the text. The codes in the string of codes representing a text include character codes representing the characters or symbols of the text, and operator codes defining properties of the text. Each unit structure includes structural identification fields containing information relating the unit structure to the group of codes in the text string comprising the corresponding encoded unit, structural pointers information fields containing information identifying other unit structures associated with the unit structure, and property identification fields containing information defining attributes which apply to the characters or symbols of the corresponding encoded unit. Each unit structure includes a location field containing information identifying the location of the corresponding encoded unit upon a page.