String command parser for message based systems

An apparatus for sending a command from a first program running on a computer to a second program controlling a logical device that is connected to said computer, with said command being executed by said logical device, said apparatus comprising:

• a) means for providing a command string containing said command;
• b) means for building a command structure for use with said command, said command structure indicating an information structure that can be utilized by said logical device, said information structure including a data structure and a flag portion;
• and
• c) means for parsing said command structure with reference to said command string, said means for parsing further comprising means for inserting data from said command string into said data structure and means for inserting at least one flag into said flag portion of said information structure.

A method of sending a command from a first programming interface running on a computer to a second programming interface controlling a logical device that is connected to said computer, with said command being executed by said logical device, said method being implemented on said computer and comprising:

• a) providing a textual string specifying both a command and a logical device that is to execute said command;
• b) accessing a command structure in response to said command and said logical device, said command structure specifying an information structure that can be utilized by said logical device and a plurality of tokens that can validly be associated with said command in said textual string;
• and
• c) parsing said command structure with reference to said textual string, said step of parsing including the steps of inserting information from said textual string into said information structure, inserting at least one flag into said information structure, and passing said information structure from said computer to said logical device.

An apparatus for sending a command from a first program running on a computer to a second program controlling a logical device that is connected to said computer, with said command being executed by said logical device, said apparatus being implemented on said computer and comprising:

• a) means for providing a textual string specifying both a command and a logical device that is to execute said command;
• b) means for accessing a command structure in response to said command and said logical device, said command structure specifying an information structure that can be utilized by said logical device and a plurality of tokens that can validly be associated with said command in said textual string;
• and
• c) means for parsing said command structure with reference to said textual string, said means for parsing including means for inserting information from said textual string and at least one flag into said information structure and means for passing said information structure from said computer to said logical device.