Patent ID: 6608639
Filing Date: 2003-08-19
Classification: G06F,Y10S

Abstract:
A method of inputting one of a plurality of predetermined names comprising the acts of:providing a name list in which the plurality of names are stored; providing a skip table including parent, child and grandchild records, the skip table formed by storing sequences of n leading characters and data related to each sequence of n leading characters that indicates through characters and bit positions in a one-to-one relationship which names in the name list have the corresponding sequence of n leading characters, wherein a flag at each of the bit positions corresponds to whether an inputted character will yield a name in the name list, the parent records designate whether a character inputted as a first character corresponds to a name in the name list, the child records designate whether a character inputted as a second character subsequent to a character selected as a first character corresponds to a name in the name list, and the grandchild records designate whether a character inputted as a third character subsequent to a combination of first and second characters corresponds to a name in the name list; receiving input data corresponding to a sequence of n leading characters; evaluating whether a name in the name list has the same sequence of characters as the inputted sequence of n characters by referring to the skip table; searching the name list for some of the names whose leading characters correspond to the input sequence of n leading characters; and identifying characters each probable to be inputted as (n+1)th character; and displaying the probable characters.