Computer input-output device

An interactive intelligent computer I/O device for permitting a user to control the execution of a selected target program on a host computer, said host computer having a keyboard port for connecting a keyboard to the host computer, said target program providing to the user groups of tasks, each of said groups of tasks being provided at a different point during the execution of the target program, each of said tasks being identifiable by a task name and each of said tasks being performable by the target program at the point in the execution of the target program that the group of tasks including the task is provided, wherein the user may direct execution of a particular task of the group of tasks provided by transmitting a particular set of keystroke codes to the host computer;

• comprising;
• host computer interface means for connecting the I/O device to the keyboard port of the host computer so that information may be transmitted between the I/O device and the host computer;
• interchangeable memory means for providing a stored control program to condition the I/O device to control the execution of the selected target program, said control program providing to the user groups of procedures, each of said groups of procedures corresponding to one of the groups of tasks provided by the target program, each of said procedures of the group of procedures corresponding to one of the tasks in the corresponding group of tasks provided by the target program, wherein each procedure may be identified by the task name of the task corresponding to the procedure;
• first processing means for executing the control program and for synchronizing execution of the control program with execution of the target program so that each group of procedures is provided by the control program to the user at the point in the execution of the target program that the group of tasks corresponding to the group of procedures is provided to the user by the target program;
• display means, responsive to the control program, for presenting groups of procedures to the user, said display means having a plurality of sections wherein each section presents a procedure of the group of procedures and each section is identified by the task name of the task corresponding to the procedure;
• means for selecting a procedure from the group of procedures presented by the display means, said means for selecting being actuable to provide a signal indicative of the procedure selected;
• second processing means, responsive to the selection signal, for generating sets of keystroke codes to direct the execution of the task corresponding to the procedure selected;
• and
• third processing means for transmitting the set of keystroke codes from the I/O device to the host computer to direct the execution of the task corresponding to the selected procedure.