GB1402571A - Method for identifying the components of a file - Google Patents

Abstract

1402571 Data processing G H MITCHES A E JEFFERY and P T MITCHES 5 Jan 1972 [6 Jan 1971] 501/72 Heading G4A Data processing apparatus is arranged to examine portions of text, e.g. lines, to determine when the first non-space character represents an identifier for that portion, and to store the identifiers thus found. As described, statutes, regulations and the like which are conventionally divided into numbered or otherwise identified sections, subsections, clauses and so on, are examined line by line, each line being notionally divided into blocks in which the various identifiers normally occur following an indentation or series of spaces. Numeric, alphabetic and roman numeral identifiers may be recognized, each recognized identifier being stored in a storage cell of appropriate identifier rank, higher rank identifiers remaining unchanged and lower rank identifiers being reset. When no identifier is detected in a line, a line count may be incremented and appended to the identifiers to complete the line identification. The stored identification, including line count if necessary, may then be recorded together with the associated line of text. The arrangement enables display retrieval of particular portions of text by reference to the identifiers, as is usual with text divided into sections &c., rather than by reference to line number. Comments inserted in the text may be identified by a similar process, and selected portions of text and/or comments may be retrieved. Specification 1,402,572 is referred to.