High performance client/server editor

Abstract

A high performance client/server editor and method for editing documents with improved performance. A server listening for editing requests from a client to edit a file located with the server spawns a thread for each editing request to handle that particular request. A client receiving input commands from a user for editing requests spawns a thread for each editing request received, enabling more than one editing request to be processed simultaneously. When an edit feature is invoked, the client sends a request to the server to download the file. While the file is downloading from the server to the client location, the client displays the first page of the file to the user to enable the user to start editing the file before the entire file is downloaded. The client handles the user's edit commands for portions of the file downloaded. If the user attempts to edit portions of the file not yet downloaded, the client sends a request to the server to handle the edit at the server location and send a response back to the client for display to the user by the client. Edit changes are sent to the server when user enters a save command. Alternatively, edit changes are sent to the server when bandwidth is available. When the user exits without saving these changes, the server discards the changes. In subsequent edit invokes of the same file, the client and server cooperate to download only those portions of the file which were changed since the last download.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.