System for cable communication wherein interpretively coded data transmitted from headend selectively initiate loop free instruction sets stored in receiver-decoder to affect the behavior thereof

A method of communicating data between a cable system headend and a receiver-decoder via a transmission link, said method comprising the steps of:

• establishing a program for the receiver-decoder having a plurality of instruction sets each of which is free of loop instructions or branch backward instructions, and includes an initial instruction, a plurality of following instructions, and an end instruction;
• receiving at the receiver-decoder interpretively coded transmitted data for instructing the behavior of the receiver-decoder as received data;
• interpreting said received data within the receiver-decoder and producing a direction to a corresponding one of said initial instructions;
• implementing said initial instruction, said plurality of following instructions and said end instruction to affect the behavior of the receiver-decoder.

Data communication means for communicating data between a cable system headend and a receiver-decoder in order to determine the behavior of the receiver-decoder, comprising:

• means in said receiver-decoder for maintaining a download memory having a program stored therein which includes a plurality of instruction sets each of which are free of loop portions or branch backward instructions and each beginning with an initial instruction for controlling the behavior of the receiver-decoder;
• means for forming data in an interpretive code at said headend;
• means for transmitting said data to said receiver-decoder;
• means for receiving said transmitted data and presenting it to said means for interpreting data;
• means for interpreting said received data and means for receiving an instruction from said interpreter corresponding to said transmitted data in the form of a direction to implement a specific initial instruction within said program;
• and
• means for implementing said initial instruction and its corresponding instruction set to affect the behavior of the receiver-decoder.

Data communication means for communicating data between a cable system headend and a receiver-decoder via an out of band transmission link, said data communication means comprising:

• a memory having a program stored therein having a plurality of instruction sets, for affecting the behavior of the receiver-decoder, each of which is free of loop instructions or branch backward instructions, and includes an initial instruction, a plurality of following instructions and an end instruction;
• means for receiving from said headend interpretively coded transmitted data as received data;
• means for interpreting said received data and producing therefrom a direction to a corresponding one of said initial instructions;
• and
• means for implementing said initial instruction, said plurality of following instructions and said end instruction to thereby affect the behavior of the receiver-decoder.

A television cable system decoder for receiving data from a headend via an out of band transmission link in which the transmitted data is interpretively coded, said decoder comprising:

• an out of band data receiver;
• a dialogue processor having a dialogue program memory within which a plurality of dialogue instruction sets are stored, wherein each set of said plurality of dialogue instruction sets is free of loop or branch backward instructions;
• and
• an interpreter having means therein for producing a dialogue instruction directive for said first processor in response to presented data which directs said dialogue processor to commence execution of a selected one of said dialogue instruction sets.