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EPA-Patent auf Kompressionsanforderungen (MIME)



EP0592062 
Computer workstation with communications sub-system capable of data compression
IBM (US)

Unter den Hauptanspruch dieses Patents faellt m.E. schon der
MIME-Standard, der es ja Applikationen ermoeglicht, ein bestimmtes
Kompressionsverfahren anzuwaehlen, das dann vom Mail-Dienst verwendet
wird.  Fast so albern wie das Rozmanith-Patent, mit dem Greg Aharonian
gerade fuer seine unbequemen Meinungsaeusserungen bestraft wird.


   Claims
   
   1. A computer workstation for connection into a network, said
   workstation including application means and a communications
   subsystem, whereby messages generated by the application means are
   passed to the communications subsystem for transmission onto the
   network,
   characterised in that:
   the application means includes means for adding information to the
   message concerning how the message should be compressed;
   and the communications subsystem includes means responsive to said
   information for processing the message accordingly.
   2. The computer workstation of claim 1, in which the information added
   to the message is a callback function included in the application
   means to compress the message, and the means responsive to the
   information includes means for invoking the callback function.
   3. The computer workstation of claim 2, in which the means for
   invoking the callback function includes means for passing information
   to the callback function to provide some indication of the
   desirability of compressing the message, and the callback function
   includes means for responding to this indication to decide whether or
   not to compress the message.
   4. The computer workstation of claim 3, wherein the indication
   provided to the callback function is a time value within which the
   compression should be performed, and the callback function includes
   means for determining whether the message can be compressed within the
   time value, and if not, returning the message to the communications
   subsystem uncompressed.
   5. The computer workstation of claim 1, wherein the communications
   subsystem includes means for compressing the data according to one or
   more different compression techniques, and the information added to
   the message indicates which compression technique is most appropriate
   for that message.
   6. The computer workstation of any preceding claim, wherein the
   communications subsystem places messages for transmission in a queue,
   and the communications subsystem further includes means responsive to
   the information added to messages for determining whether they are
   amenable to data spoiling.
   7. The computer workstation as claimed in claim 6, further comprising
   means for determining whether a spoiler data packet associated with a
   data stream has been enqueued for transmission over the network and
   means responsive to said determination to create and initialise a
   counter associated with said data stream.
   8. The computer workstation as claimed in either of claims 6 or 7,
   further comprising means for dequeuing and transmitting over the
   network data packets according to the spoilability of said packets.
   9. The computer workstation as claimed in any of claims 6 to 8,
   further comprising means for invoking a time-out timer upon detection
   of a data stream devoid of spoiler data packets.
   10. The computer workstation as claimed in claim 9, further comprising
   means, responsive to the expiration of said timer, for freeing
   resources utilised by a counter associated with a data stream.
   11. A method of operating a computer workstation connected into a
   network, said workstation including application means and a
   communications subsystem, whereby messages generated by the
   application means are passed to the communications subsystem for
   transmission onto the network,
   characterised by:
   the application means adding information to the message concerning how
   the message should be compressed;
   and the communications subsystem responding to said information and
   processing the message accordingly.
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   Data supplied from the esp@cenet database - l2