METHOD OF REDUCING DATA STORAGE REQUIREMENTS ASSOCIATED WITHCOMPUTER WINDOWING ENVIRONMENTS

摘要

A method used in a computer system for managing attribute data for subobjects of a class of data objects. When a data object is created, a set of default attributes are stored in internal memory in association with the data object for all instances of subobjects of the data object. A set of attributes for overridi ng the default attributes are stored in internal memory for each instance of a subobject. When a query or system response is required which requires knowledge of t he attributes for an instance of a subobject, these final attributes are formed by fetching the default attributes associated with the data object and by overwriting th e default attributes with the overriding attributes, if any, associated with the instance of the subobject. In a preferred embodiment, the invention is used in a computer windowing system in which windows are associated with data objects called widgets or gadgets and subobjects of the data objects are associated with items whic h are displayed within an associated window.