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Abstract

A method and apparatus for providing inter-program communication, and in particular, the sharing of algorithms among programs. A 'services server' scans programs stored in the mass storage of a computer system and generates a data structure containing attribute information of each service provided by the programs stored in mass storage. This data structure includes an attribute name, the 'sendType' of the attribute and the 'returnTypes' of the attribute. A sendType is the required format of data provided to the service provider as an input to the service algorithm. The returnType is the format of data that is the result of applying the service algorithm to the input data. SendTypes and returnTypes are ASCII, RTF, TIFF, PICT, etc. When a service requestor is activated, the service requestor scans the services server data structure and generates its own local database of available services with which it can provide the appropriate data format. For example, if a service requestor cannot communicate in graphical formats, such as PICT or TIFF, those service providers on the server database are not retrieved. The service requestor then generates a display list, such as a menu, of available services for a user. When a user wishes to access a service, the user makes a selection which is data, such as text, graphics, etc. Depending on the formats in which the selection can be represented, only certain of the initially available services may currently be valid.

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First Claim