SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DYNAMIC PRINTER TIMEOUT

摘要

A resource oriented host computer-printer system is disclosed in which the host computer and printer share information and data processing duties. A system and method for analyzing the execution times for draw primitives allows the host computer to determine whether the printer will be able to render draw primitives in real-time. If the printer cannot render the draw primitives in real-time, the host computer may send the draw primitives to be pre-rendered by the printer. The rendering is accomplished in less than thirty seconds. The host computer can determine the execution times for the draw primitives and dynamically alter the timeout period accordingly. If the printer exceeds the determined execution time, the host computer generate a timeout error message. No false timeout error messages are generated by the host computer because the timeout period is related to the actual processing time required by the printer. If the printer is coupled to a network, the timeout period may be set to the maximum thirty second period because the host computer may not have continuous communication with the printer. The host computer will still not generate false timeout errors because the maximum timeout period is still related to the actual processing time required by the printer. The inventive system and method are applicable to any peripheral in which a timeout period is used.