Patent ID: 8065604

Claim:
A text object used by an application that manipulates segments of one or more other objects, the text object and the other objects being stored in memory accessible to a processor, the text object being used when the processor is executing the application to manipulate the segments, and the text object comprising: a sequence of relaters, a relater including a first portion that is a segment locator that locates a segment of the segments; and a second portion that is an application metadata value, the application metadata value being neither an identifier for the relater in the text object nor belonging to a class of metadata values whose values are metadata values in the segment, the application metadata value being related by the application to the segment located by the first portion and the processor manipulating a segment of the segments when executing the application by responding, to the relater's application metadata value by locating the segment using the relater's segment locator and manipulating, the located segment as required by the application.