Search/retrieval system

Abstract

A computer program provides for the display of selected portions of two or more records on a display screen where the portions selected are from different records, and may be from different files. Provision is made for scrolling of the full text of the displayed records, which may be grouped by common subject matter. Alternatively one of the two or more records may be displayed on the full screen with the capability for selectively switching between the single record and two or more records or a display showing portions of more than one record from more than one file.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. In an interactive data entry computer system .[.wherein.]. .Iadd.including .Iaddend.a .[.user is presented with a.]. data .[.entry.]. display screen.[., a data string.]. .Iadd.for displaying data in horizontal lines, an .Iaddend.input device, a processor, .Iadd.and .Iaddend.a storage device for storing .[.S n  .]. .Iadd.n .Iaddend.independent strings of data elements .[.each string S k  of variable length less than t.]. .Iadd.comprised of alphanumeric characters where n is a positive integer greater than one.Iaddend., each .[.string S k  having at least one data field f i  and an output device, said independent strings S 1  through S n  classifiable into groups, each group having strings with at least one similar filed, a data retrieval and display system comprising: processing means for locating each stored independent string of data;   control means for preselecting and simultaneously displaying on the data entry display screen or output device portions of a first independent string S 1  of data and portions of a second independent string of data S 2  said first string preselected portions having a displayed.]. .Iadd.said string S k  of .Iaddend.length .[.l 1  .]. .Iadd.less than t characters where t is a positive integer, k is a positive integer less than or equal to n, each said string S k  having data fields f i  where I is a positive integer less than or equal to F and F, the number of fields, is a positive integer greater than or equal to two, said independent strings S 1  through S n  classified into groups, each said group having strings with at least one similar data field, a display screen comprising:   .[.less than t; said second string preselected portions having a displayed length l 2  less than or equal to l 1 , and said first and second strings being in the same group, whereby the user is simultaneously presented with two or more portions of different.]. .Iadd.fetching means in communication with said storage device for locating each stored independent string S k  .Iaddend.;   display means operative in a first mode for displaying said strings in a certain display area on said data .[.strings.]. .Iadd.display screen, said certain display area including a first display area of length l 1  characters less than t, said first display area providing for the display of a plurality of lines, and a second display area of length l 2  characters less than or equal to l 1 , said display means in response to an input from the input device for actuating said fetching means and said display screen for simultaneously displaying on the data display screen within said first display area portions of a plurality of fields of a first independent string S 1  each in a specified position on said lines within said first display area so that portions of a plurality of said fields of said string S 1  can be displayed on one line of said first display area, further wherein only one instance of each portion of a field is displayed within said certain display area in said first mode, and portions of fields of a second independent string S 2  within said second display area wherein said display means removes at least one character from one of said fields of said string S 1 , said display means including full field display means operative in a second mode of said display means responsive to an input received from said input device for displaying all the characters of the field from which said at least one character was removed within said certain display area while maintaining the display of at least some of said portions of said string S 1  displayed in said first mode and at least some of said portions of said string S 2  displayed in said first mode with said displayed portions of strings S 1  and S 2  displayed in the same positions as displayed in said first mode whereby a user is simultaneously presented with portions of two or more different data strings.Iaddend..   
     
     
       2. The system of claim 1 further including .Iadd.a third display area within the certain display area of length l 3  less than or equal to l 1  wherein said string S 1  is in a first group and further wherein said display means includes .Iaddend.means for displaying .[.a preselected portion of an additional independent data.]. .Iadd.portions of preselected fields of a third .Iaddend.string S 3  from a .[.different.]. .Iadd.second .Iaddend.group .Iadd.within said third display area .Iaddend.simultaneously with the .[.preselected portions.]. .Iadd.portions of the preselected fields .Iaddend.of data strings S 1  and S 2  .[., said additional string S 3  having a displayed length l 3  equal to or less than l 1  .].. 
     
     
       3. The system of claim 1.Iadd., 2, 6, 7, 9, 12, 15, 18, 20, 23, 26, 33, 43, 54, 76, 80, 81, 82, 84, 85, 86, 87, 90 or 91 .Iaddend.wherein the .Iadd.display means includes sorting .Iaddend.means for .[.simultaneously.]. displaying .[.on the output device a preselected portion of string S 1  and a preselected portion of string S 2  is respectively.]. .Iadd.said portions of said preselected fields of string S 1  and string S 2  in an order .Iaddend.responsive to .[.at least one field f i  contained in string S 1  and at least one field f j  .]. .Iadd.a content of some field f s  contained in string S 1  and a content of a similar field f s  .Iaddend.contained in string S 2 . .[. 
     
     
       4.  The system of claim 3 wherein the preselected fields f i  and f j  are respectively the first fields of string S 1  and S 2  .].. 
     
     
       5. The system of claim .[.1.]. .Iadd.24 .Iaddend.wherein the .Iadd.display means includes .Iaddend.means for simultaneously displaying on the .[.output device.]. .Iadd.display screen said portions of said .Iaddend.preselected .[.portions.]. .Iadd.fields .Iaddend.of strings S 1  and S 2  .[.is.]. .Iadd.at locations on the display screen .Iaddend.responsive to .Iadd.a content of .Iaddend.at least one field .[.f k  .]. .Iadd.f s  .Iaddend.contained in a .Iadd.third .Iaddend.string .[.S s  .]. .Iadd.S 3  .Iaddend.classified in the same group as .Iadd.strings .Iaddend.S 1  and S 2 . 
     
     
       6. The system of claim .[.3 wherein the.]. .Iadd.1 further including .Iaddend.means .[.for simultaneously displaying on the output device preselected.]. .Iadd.responsive to the input device for accepting display size dimensions and using said display size dimensions to determine new values of l 1  or l 2  so that shorter or longer .Iaddend.portions of .[.strings S 1  and S 2  includes means for accepting display size dimensions from the data string input device, said display size dimensions useable for determining.]. the .[.display area.]. .Iadd.fields .Iaddend.of strings S 1  and S 2  .Iadd.than those displayed within the first and second display areas are displayed within resized first and second display areas.Iaddend.. 
     
     
       7. The system of claim 1 further including means for editing .[.strings S 1  and S 2  while.]. .Iadd.field f i  of strings S 1  and S 2  when said .Iaddend.portions of .Iadd.said preselected fields of strings .Iaddend.S 1  and S 2  are displayed. .[. 
     
     
       8.  The system of claim 1 further including means for highlighting the display of the preselected portions of data string S 1  .].. 
     
     
       9. The system of claim .[.2.]. .Iadd.1 wherein said display means is operative in a card mode in response to the input device for actuating said fetching means and preselecting and displaying expanded portions of said data string S 1  in an area of length l i  greater than l 1  and .Iaddend.further including means .[.for preselecting portions of data string S 1  such that the length l 1  of the preselected portions data string S 1  is greater than either l 2  or l 3 , the displayed lengths of the preselected portions of data strings S 2  and S 3  respectively.]. .Iadd.in response to the input device for restoring the original display length l 1  .Iaddend.. .[.10. The computerized data system of claim 2 wherein the output device is a video device having a display area capable of displaying in the display area at least r lines of pixels, each line having s pixels; the data retrieval and display system further including means for displaying in the display area on the output device the preselected portions data string S 1  on lines I through h and for displaying the preselected portions of data string S 2  on lines i through r where r is greater than 2..]..[.11. The system of claim 10 further including means for displaying on the output device the preselected portions of data strings S 1  and S 2  in the leftmost j pixels of the output device where j is less than s and the preselected portions of data string S 3  on lines l through h in the 
     
     
        remaining rightmost s-j pixels of the output device..].12. The system of claim .[.11 further including means for simultaneously displaying the preselected portions of data.]. .Iadd.1 including wherein said display means is operative in a card mode in response to a single command from said input device for actuating said fetching means and displaying expanded preselected portions of said string S 1  on said display screen, said system including means for restoring the display of the prior portions of .Iaddend.strings S 1  .[.,.]. .Iadd.and .Iaddend.S 2  .[.or, in response to a single command displaying only preselected 
     
     
        portions of data string S 1  .].. 13. The system of claim .[.12.]. .Iadd.24 .Iaddend.wherein the .[.preselected portions of data string S 1 , S 2  and S 3  are displayed in a truncated format.]. .Iadd.display means includes means for expanding an area of display for a portion of a field f i  of string S 1  so that the expanded area suppresses the display of another portion of the string S 1  .Iaddend.. .[.14. The system of claim 13 wherein the preselected portions of data string S 1  consists of fields f 1  through f j , where each field f i  through f j  has a name associated with it, the system including means for displaying at least one field f h  of the truncated displayed fields in its full form preceded by the field name, the full field display occurring sequentially with the name followed by each character of the field moving across the display area from right to left 
     
     
        in the area allocated to the truncated field..].15. The .[.data retrieval.]. system of claim 1 wherein .[.said.]. .Iadd.a portion of some .Iaddend.preselected .[.portions include one or more fields.]. .Iadd.field .Iaddend.f i  .[.and each field f i  is abbreviated.]. .Iadd.of string S 1  displayed on the display screen constitutes a sequence of at least two characters which are noncontiguous in the field f i   
     
     
        .Iaddend.. 16. The .[.data retrieval.]. system of claim 1.Iadd., 2, 6, 7, 9, 12, 15, 18, 20, 23, 26, 33, 43, 55, 76, 80, 81, 84, 85, 86, 87, 89, 90 or 91 .Iaddend.wherein .[.each field f i  through f m  .]. .Iadd.field f i  of said string S 1  .Iaddend.has a name associated with it, .Iadd.said name stored in said storage device, .Iaddend.the system further including.Iadd.: name display .Iaddend.means .Iadd.operative in a first mode for displaying field f i  without its said name within said certain display area;   and operative in a second mode .Iaddend.for retrieving .[.and displaying at least one of said names.]. .Iadd.from said storage device, said name and displaying said field f i  with its said name within said certain display areas; and,   means responsive to said input device for switching between said first and   
     
     
        second mode.Iaddend.. .[.17.  The data retrieval system of claim 16 wherein said preselected portions include one or more fields f i  and 
     
     
        each displayed field f i  is abbreviated..].18. The .[.data retrieval.]. system of claim 1 wherein said displayed .[.preselected portions occupies.]. .Iadd.portions of said preselected fields of strings S 1  and S 2  occupy .Iaddend.a portion of the .[.output device the system.]. .Iadd.data display screen; and the display means .Iaddend.further .[.including.]. .Iadd.includes .Iaddend.means for alternatively displaying .[.the said preselected portions or a single data string.]. .Iadd.said portions of data string S 1  .Iaddend.on the .[.output device.]. .Iadd.data display screen while suppressing the display of string S 2  .Iaddend.upon a signal from the input device. .[.19. The data retrieval system of claim 1 including means to classify 
     
     
        data strings having identical data fields..].20. In an interactive data entry computer system .[.where.]. .Iadd.including a data display screen, an input device, a processor, and a storage device for storing n independent strings of data elements comprised of alphanumeric characters, where n is a positive integer greater than one, each said string S k  of length less than t characters where t is a positive integer, k is a positive integer less than or equal to n, each said string S k  having data fields f i , where I is a positive integer less than or equal to F and F, .Iaddend.the .[.user is presented with a data entry display screen, a data string input device, a processor, a storage device for storing S n  independent strings of data elements each string S k  of variable length less than t, each string S k  having at least one data field f i , and an output device, said independent strings S 1  through S n  classifiable into groups, each group having strings with at least one similar field, a data retrieval and display system comprising; processing means for locating each stored independent string of data;   first control means for preselecting and simultaneously displaying.]. .Iadd.maximum number of fields, is a positive integer greater than or equal to two, said independent strings S 1  through S n  classified into groups, a display system comprising:   fetching means in communication with said processor and said storage device for locating each said stored independent string S k  ;   display means operative in a rack mode for displaying said strings .Iaddend.on .[.the output device portions of a first independent string S 1  of data and portions of a second independent string of data S 2 , said first string preselected portions having a displayed length l 1  less than t; said second string preselected portions having a displayed length l 2  less than or equal to l 1 , said first and second string from the same group; and   second control means for alternatively only displaying preselected portions of data string S 1 , whereby the user is simultaneously presented with two or more portions of different data strings.]. .Iadd.said data display screen, said display means operative in said rack mode in response to an input from the input device for actuating said fetching means and for simultaneously displaying a portion of at least one preselected field of a first string S 1  within a first display area within a certain display area of said display screen said certain display area having a plurality of lines, and a portion of at least one preselected field of a second string S 2  within a second display area within said certain display area;   said display means including means operative in said rack mode for arranging said displayed portions of said preselected fields of strings S 1  and S 2  in accordance with a display format;   said display means operative in a first card mode in response to an input from the input device for actuating said fetching means and for only displaying expanded portions of said string S 1  within said certain display area said expanded portions comprising a plurality of fields each of said fields in a specified position on said lines of said certain display area so that portions of at least two of said plurality of fields can be displayed on one line of said certain display area and further wherein only one instance of each said portion of a field is displayed within said certain display area in said first card mode, wherein said display means includes means operative in the first card mode of display for removing at least one character from at least one of said fields of said string S 1  said display means further including full field display means operative in a second card mode of said display means, responsive to an input received from said input device, for displaying within said certain display area all the characters of said one of said fields from which a character was removed within said certain display area while maintaining the display of portions of other fields of said string S 1  displayed in said first card mode with said displayed portions of string S 1  displayed in the same positions as displayed in said first card mode of display, whereby additional characters of said string S 1  not displayed in said rack mode are displayed in said first card mode, and additional characters of said string S 1  not displayed in said first card mode are displayed in said second card mode; and   means for switching between the card mode and rack mode of said display means without changing said display format for the rack mode   
     
     
        display.Iaddend.. .[.21.  The system of claim 20 wherein the strings S 1  and S 2  include one or more data fields f i  and further wherein the data fields f i  are truncated when displayed with the first control means and not truncated when displayed with the second control means..]..[.22. The system of claim 20 wherein the preselected portions of data string S 1  consists of fields f 1  through f j , were each field f i  through f j  has a name associated with it, the system including third control means for displaying at least one field f h  of the truncated displayed fields in its full preceded by the field name, the full field display occurring sequentially with the name followed by each character of the field moving across the display area from right to left in the area allocated to the truncated 
     
     
        field..].    The system of claim .[.22 wherein the preselected portions of data string S 1  consists of fields f i  through f j , where each field f i  through f j  has a name associated with it, and further wherein the third control means further includes means to display the field f h  in its full text mode along with its associated name when the preselected portions of string S 1  are displayed by the second control means.]. .Iadd.20 further including expanded field display means for actuating said fetching means and said display screen to display an expanded form of some field f z  in string S 1  .Iaddend.. .Iadd.24. In an interactive data entry computer system including a data display screen for displaying data in horizontal lines, an input device, a processor, and a storage device for storing n independent strings of data elements, said data elements comprised of alphanumeric characters where n is a positive integer greater than one, each said string S k  of length less than t characters where t is a positive integer, k is a positive integer less than or equal to n, each said string S k  having data fields f i  where I is a positive integer less than or equal to F, and F, the number of fields, is a positive integer greater than or equal to two, said strings S 1  through S n  classified into groups, each said group having strings with at least one similar field strings S 1  and S 2  having different schemas associated with them, said schemas stored in said storage device and used to specify formatting information for specifying the position of portions of said strings S 1  and S 2  individually for each said field, a display system comprising: fetching means in communication with said processor and said storage device for locating each stored string S k  ; and,   display means operative in a first mode for displaying said string S 1  in a first display area of length l 1  and said string S 2  in a second display area of length l 2  in a certain display area on said data display screen, said first and second display areas each comprising a plurality of lines, said display means responsive to an input from the input device for actuating said fetching means and displaying in said first display area of said certain display area portions of a plurality of preselected fields of said first string S 1  in accordance with said schema associated therewith, said portions comprising portions of a plurality of fields each in a specified position on said lines of the first display area so that a plurality of fields can be displayed on one line of the first display area further wherein only one instance of each portion of a field is displayed within said certain display area and displaying within said second display area of said certain display area portions of preselected fields of said second string S 2  in accordance with said schema associated therewith, wherein said display means includes means for removing at least one character from one of said fields of said string S 1  said display means including full field display means operative in a second mode of said display means responsive to an input received from said input device for displaying all the characters of said field from which said at least one character was removed on one of said lines within said certain display area while maintaining the display of portions of other fields of said string S 1  displayed in said first mode, with said displayed portions of said string S 1  displayed in the same positions as displayed in said first mode. .Iaddend..Iadd.25. In an interactive data entry computer system including a data display screen having a certain length for displaying data in horizontal lines, an input device, a processor, and a storage device for storing n independent strings of data elements comprised of alphanumeric characters where n is a positive integer greater than two, each said string S k  of length less than t characters where t is a positive integer, k is a positive integer less than or equal to n, each said string S k  having data fields f i  where I is a positive integer less than or equal to F, and F, the maximum number of fields, is a positive integer greater than or equal to two, said independent stings S 1  through S n  classified into groups, each said group having stings with at least one similar field, a display system comprising:   fetching means in communication with said processor and said storage device for locating each said stored independent string S k  ;   display means for displaying said strings in a certain display area on said data display screen, said certain display area including a first display area of width w 1  characters and height h 1  characters within said data display screen and a second display area of width w 2  characters and height h 2  characters within said data display screen, said display means responsive to an input from the input device for actuating said fetching means and said display screen for simultaneously displaying on the data display screen portions of preselected fields of a first independent sting S 1  within said first display area and portions of preselected fields of a second independent string S 2  within said second display area wherein said display means removes at least one character from said string S 1  to generate said portions of said preselected fields of said string S 1 , each of said portions of preselected fields of said string S 1  having a displayed length D i , whereby a user is simultaneously presented with portions of two or more different data strings; and,   means for changing the width w 1  and while holding the height h 1  constant in response thereto for automatically adjusting only the display length of the fields of said string S 1  by adjusting the displayed length D i  of at least two of said preselected fields of said string S 1  so that at least one alphanumeric character in each of said at least two preselected fields is displayed and so that some portion of all of said preselected fields of said string S 1  continue to be displayed whereby a user is presented with portions of a plurality of different data strings the displayed length of whose fields increase or decrease conjointly. .Iaddend..Iadd.26. In a process executed in a computer with a data display screen and strings of alphanumeric characters stored in one or more files, a method for displaying the strings in an area of the data display screen allocated to the process for display, said allocated area containing a first display area comprised of a plurality of lines, each said string having a plurality of fields of alphanumeric characters, comprising the steps of:   (a) fetching first and second strings from said one or more files;   (b) simultaneously displaying on the data display screen portions of a plurality of preselected fields of the first string at a specified position on said lines so that portions of a plurality of fields are displayed on one line of the first display area, further wherein only one instance of each portion of a field is displayed within said first display area of the allocated area and portions of preselected fields of the second string within a second display area within the allocated area wherein at least one character is removed from one of said fields of the first string to generate one of said portions of the first string and,   (c) in response to input from an input device displaying within said allocated display area all of the characters of said field from which a character was removed while maintaining the display of at least some portions of said first and second string displayed in the same positions   
     
     
        as displayed in step (b). .Iaddend..Iadd.27.  In a process executed in a computer with a data display screen capable of displaying data in horizontal lines and strings of alphanumeric characters stored in one or more files, a method for displaying the strings in an area of the data display screen allocated to the process for display, said allocated area having a plurality of lines, each said string having fields of alphanumeric characters, comprising the steps of: (a) fetching first and second strings from said one or more files;   (b) simultaneously displaying in a first rack display mode a portion of at least one field of the first string within a first display area of the allocated area and a portion of at least one field of the second string within a second display area of the allocated area, the first and second display areas arranged according to a display format and within a rack display area of said allocated area;   (c) in response to a user input to the computer displaying expanded portions of the first string in a second card mode of display within the allocated area so that additional characters of the first string not displayed in the first display mode of step (b) are displayed said first string displayed within a card display area of the allocated area and comprising a portion of a plurality of said fields of said first string each in a specified position on said lines so that portions of a plurality of fields can be displayed on one line of the allocated area wherein only one instance of each portion of a field is displayed within said allocated area said portions obtained by removing at least one character from one of said fields of said portions displayed on one of said lines;   (d) in response to input from an input device displaying within said allocated area all the characters of said one of said fields from which a character was removed while maintaining the display of other portions of said first string displayed in the same positions as displayed in step (c);   (e) in response to a user input to the computer switching between the first and second modes of display. .Iaddend..Iadd.28. In a process executed in a computer with a data display screen capable of displaying data in horizontal lines and strings of alphanumeric characters stored in one or more files, a method for displaying the strings in an area of the data display screen allocated to the process for display said allocated area comprising a plurality of lines, each said string having a plurality of fields of alphanumeric characters, comprising the steps of:   (a) providing a separate schema for each of first and second strings in said one or more files, said schemas individually specifying formatting information including the position to display portions of each said field of the first and second strings;   (b) fetching said first and second strings from said one or more files;   (c) displaying in said allocated area on said data display screen portions of a plurality of preselected fields of the first string in accordance with said schema associated therewith, said portions comprising portions of a plurality of said fields of said first string, each in a specified position on said lines of a first display area of the allocated area so that a plurality of portions of said fields can be displayed on one line of the first display area further wherein only one instance of each said portion of a field is displayed within said allocated area and removing at leas one character from a field of the first string   (d) in response to input from an input device, displaying all the characters of the field from which a character was removed for display while maintaining the display of other portions of said string, with said displayed portions of said first string displayed in the same positions as displayed in step (c); and,   (e) displaying portions of preselected fields of the second string in a second display area of the allocated area in accordance with the schema associated with the second string. .Iaddend..Iadd.29. In a process executed in a computer with a data display screen and strings of alphanumeric characters stored in one or more files, a method for displaying the strings in an area of the data display screen allocated to the process for display each said string having one or more fields of alphanumeric characters, the data display screen having a certain length, comprising the steps of:   (a) fetching first and second strings from said one or more files;   (b) simultaneously displaying on the data display screen portions of preselected fields of the first string within a first display area of width w 1  characters by height h 1  characters and portions of preselected fields of the second string within a second display area of width w 2  characters by height h 2  characters, and removing at least one character from the first string to generate said portions of said preselected fields of said first string, each of said portions of preselected fields of said first string having a displayed length of D i  characters, the first and second display areas positioned within the area allocated to the process for display, whereby a user is simultaneously presented with portions of two or more different data strings; and   (c) changing the width w, while holding the height h 1  constant and in response thereto automatically only adjusting the display length of the fields of the first string by adjusting the displayed length D i  of at least two of said preselected fields of the first string so that at least one character in each of said at least two preselected fields is displayed and so that some portion of all of said preselected fields of the first string continue to be displayed whereby a user is presented with portions of a plurality of different data strings the displayed length of whose fields increase or decrease conjointly. .Iaddend..Iadd.30. In an interactive data entry computer system including a data display screen, an input device, a processor, and a storage device for storing n independent strings of data elements comprised of alphanumeric characters where n is a positive integer greater than one, each said string S k , of length less than t characters where t is a positive integer, k is a positive integer less than or equal to n, each said string S k  having data fields f i  where I is a positive integer less than or equal to F, and F, the maximum number of fields, is a positive integer greater than or equal to three, said independent strings S 1  though S n  classified into groups, a display system comprising:   fetching means in communication with said processor and said storage device for locating each said stored independent string S k  ;   display means operative in a rack mode for displaying said strings on said data display screen, said display means operative in said rack mode in response to an input from the input device for actuating said fetching means and for simultaneously displaying a portion of at least one preselected field of a first string S 1  within a first display area within a certain display area of said display screen and a portion of at least one preselected field of a second string S 2  within a second display area within said certain display area;   said display means including means operative in said rack mode for arranging said displayed portions of said preselected fields of strings S 1  and S 2  in accordance with a display format;   said display means operative in a card mode in response to an input from the input device for actuating said fetching means and for displaying expanded portions of said string S 1  within said certain display area so that additional characters of string S 1  not displayed in said rack mode are displayed; and wherein said rack mode display comprises portions from at least 3 preselected fields f a , f b  and f c  and further wherein said display means includes means for displaying some character of field f c  on the same line as some character of field f b  and vertically aligned with some character of field f a  displayed on a different line from said some character of field f c  ;   means for individually controlling the size of said fields f a , f b  and f c  when displayed in said certain display area in said rack mode, wherein said size controlling means changes the size of said each preselected field in response to user input; and   means for switching between the card mode and rack mode of said display means without changing said display format for the rack mode display. .Iaddend..Iadd.31. In an interactive data entry computer system including a data display screen for displaying data in horizontal lines, an input device, a processor, and a storage device for storing n independent strings of data elements comprised of alphanumeric characters where n is a positive integer greater than one, each said string S k  of length less than t characters where t is a positive integer, k is a positive integer less than or equal to n, each said string S k  having data fields f i  where i is a positive integer less than or equal to F, and F, the number of fields, is a positive integer greater than or equal to 3, said independent strings S 1  through S n  classified into groups, each group having strings with at least one similar data field, a display system comprising:   fetching means in communication with said storage device for locating each said stored independent string S k  ;   display means for displaying said strings in a certain display area on said data display screen, said certain display area including a first display area of length l 1  characters less than t, and a second display area of length l 2  characters less than or equal to l 1 , said display means in response to input form the input device for actuating said fetching means and said display screen for simultaneously displaying on the data display screen portions of at least three preselected fields f a , f b  and f c  of a first independent string S 1  of a first group within said first display area so that some character of field f c  is displayed on the same line as some character of field f b  and vertically aligned with some character of field f a  displayed on a different line from said some character of field f c  and portions of preselected fields of a second independent string S 2  within said second display area wherein said display means displays an incomplete portion of string S 1  further including means for controlling the visual display of said fields within each said independent string as a single group, each said single group controlled individually, said controlling means in response to user input to effect the display of said display fields of said first string, effecting the display of all the fields within said first string differently. .Iaddend..Iadd.32. The system of claim 1, 2, 6, 7, 9, 12, 15, 18, 20, 23, 33, 35, 36, 24, 37, 41, 43, 44, 45, 47, 48, 25, 49, 51, 52, or 53 wherein said first and second strings are in the same group. .Iaddend..Iadd.33. The system of claim 2 wherein said string S 2  is in said first group and further including means for moving said string S 2  from said first group to said second group whereby said string S 2  is reclassified into said second group. .Iaddend..Iadd.34. The system of claim 1, 2, 6, 7, 12, 15, 18, 20, 23, 33, 35, 36, 24, 37, 41, 43, 44, 45, 48, 25, 49, 51, 52, or 53 further including:   displaying state means for specifying display variables including a current string and a current group to be displayed;   program means actuated by commands from said input device for updating said display state means, said program means including means responsive to said commands for navigating to a different string in the current group if said strings S 1  and S 2  are in the same group and navigating to a different group if said strings S 1  and S 2  are in different groups wherein said program means updates said display state means; and   redisplay means for displaying on said display screen said portions of preselected fields of strings S 1  and S 2  as controlled by said display state means, said redisplay means actuated when no said commands are pending from said input device whereby said display screen is updated after a series of commands to reflect a cumulative result of said commands. .Iaddend..Iadd.35. The system of claim 1 further including means for moving a content of one field f h  to any other field f i  within data string S 1  whereby the stored data elements of the storage device are modified to reflect the new contents in field f j . .Iaddend..Iadd.36. The system of claim 20 further wherein the field f h  is displayed on a line of the data display screen and further including means for changing the line on said display screen on which field f h  is displayed to a different line from the line on which   
     
     
        field f h  was displayed. .Iaddend..Iadd.37.  The system of claim 24 wherein strings S 1  and S 2  belong to different groups, string S 1  to a first group and string S 2  to a second group and further including: means for designating said first string S 1  in said first group as a current string of said first group, and   means responsive to said input device for selecting said second group whereby said portions of said preselected fields of said string S 2  are displayed;   means responsive to said input device for preselecting said first group and;   means for automatically preselecting and redisplaying said portions of said preselected fields of the current string S 1  of said first group when first group is preselected. .Iaddend..Iadd.38. The system of claim 1, 2, 6, 7, 9, 12, 15, 18, 20, 23, 33, 35, 36, 24, 37, 43, 44, 45, 47, 48, 25, 49, 52 or 53 further including expanded field display means for actuating said fetching means and said display means for displaying an expanded form of some field f z  and further wherein said expanded field display means is responsive to said input device and further including means in response to the input device for restoring the original display of field   
     
     
        f z . .Iaddend..Iadd.39.  The system of claim 38 wherein said expanded field display means further includes means for scrolling a content of said field f z . .Iaddend..Iadd.40. The system of claim 1, 6, 7, 9, 12, 15, 18, 20, 23, 35, 36, 24, 37, 41, 43, 44, 45, 47, 48, 25, 49, 51, 52 or 53 wherein said strings S 1  and S 2  are in different groups. .Iaddend..Iadd.41. The system of claim 24 wherein the display means includes means for expanding the area of display for a portion of a field f i  of string S 1  so that the expanded area suppresses the display of another displayed portion of the string S 1 . .Iaddend..Iadd.42. The system of claim 24 wherein said strings S 1  and S 2  are in the same group. .Iaddend..Iadd.43. The system of claim 24 further including means responsive to the input device for accepting display size dimensions and using said display size dimensions for causing shorter or longer portions of the fields of strings S 1  and S 2  to be displayed 
     
     
        within said certain display area. .Iaddend..Iadd.44.  The system of claim 24 wherein a portion of some preselected field f i  of string S 1  constitutes a sequence of at least two characters which are noncontiguous in the field f i . .Iaddend..Iadd.45. The system of claim 24 wherein field f i  of string S 1  has a name associated with it, said name stored in said storage device, the system further including: name display means operative in a first mode for displaying field f i  without its said name within said certain display area;   and in a second mode for retrieving from said storage device said name and displaying said field f i  with its said name within said certain display area; and   means responsive to said input device for switching between said first and second modes of said name display means. .Iaddend..Iadd.46. The system of claim 40 wherein said string S 2  is in a first group and further including means for moving said string S 2  from said first group to a second group whereby said string S 2  is reclassified into said second group. .Iaddend..Iadd.47. The system of claim 24 further wherein:   the display means includes display state means for specifying display variables including a current string and a current group to be displayed;   program means actuated by commands from said input device for updating said display state means, said program means including means responsive to said commands for navigating to a different string in the current group if said strings S 1  and S 2  are in the same group and navigating to a different group if said strings S 1  and S 2  are in different groups wherein said program means updates said display state means, and   the display state means further including redisplay means for displaying on said display screen said portions of preselected fields of strings S 1  and S 2  as controlled by said display state means, said redisplay means actuated when no commands are pending from said input device whereby said display screen is updated after a series of commands to reflect a   
     
     
        cumulative result of said commands. .Iaddend..Iadd.48.  The system of claim 24 further including means for moving a content of one field f h  to any other field f j  within string S 1  whereby the stored data elements in the storage device are modified to reflect the new contents in 
     
     
        field f j . .Iaddend..Iadd.49.  The system of claim 24 further including means for editing a field f i  of string S 1  when said portions of said preselected fields of string S 1  are displayed wherein said means for editing includes means for visually displaying an edited field within said certain display area as it is being edited. .Iaddend..Iadd.50. The system of claim 20 wherein the strings in each group have at least one similar field. .Iaddend..Iadd.51. The system of claim 20 wherein said expanded portions comprise portions from a plurality of fields in addition to said at least one preselected field of string S 1 . .Iaddend..Iadd.52. The system of claim 24 including means for causing said portions of said at least two preselected fields of said string S 1  to be displayed at a first instance in time and said portions of preselected fields of a said string S 2  displayed at a second instance in time and in the same area that said portions of said at least two preselected fields of said string S 1  were displayed. .Iaddend..Iadd.53. The system of claim 25 further wherein said means for changing the length l 1  includes means for automatically changing the length l 1  in response to a change in length l 2 . 
     
     
        .Iaddend..Iadd.  .  The method of claim 26 wherein the first string is from a first file of said one or more files and including the step of fetching a third string from a second file and displaying portions of preselected fields of the third string within a third display area within the allocated display area simultaneously with the portions of the preselected fields of the first and second strings, the third display area having a length less than or equal to a length of the first display area. .Iaddend..Iadd.55. The method of claim 26 wherein said first and second strings are in the same file. .Iaddend..Iadd.56. The method of claim 26 further including the step of enabling editing of the first or second strings while portions of the first and second strings are displayed. .Iaddend..Iadd.57. The method of claim 26 further including the step of preselecting and displaying portions of the first string in an area of length greater than a length of the first display area. 
     
     
        .Iaddend..Iadd.     The method of claim 26 further including the steps of responding to a single command entered into the computer by a user and displaying additional portions of the first string on said display screen, and thereafter restoring the display of the prior portions of the first and second strings. .Iaddend..Iadd.59. The method of claim 26 wherein the displayed portions of said preselected fields of the first and second strings occupy a portion of the data display screen and further including the step of alternatively displaying said portions of the first string on the data display screen while suppressing the display of the second string 
     
     
        upon a command entered into the computer by a user. .Iaddend..Iadd.60. The method of claim 27 further including the step of expanding an area of display for a portion of a field of the first string so that the expanded area suppresses the display of another portion of the first string. 
     
     
        .Iaddend..Iadd.61.  The method of claim 29 further including the step of automatically changing the length l 1  in response to a change in length l 2 . .Iaddend..Iadd.62. The method of claim 27 further including the steps of enabling editing of either of the first and second strings while in the first mode of display and redisplaying an edited string in the first mode of display. .Iaddend..Iadd.63. The method of claim 27 further including the steps of enabling editing of the first string while in the second mode of display, and redisplaying the edited first string in the second mode of display. .Iaddend..Iadd.64. The method according to claim 27 further wherein the expanded portions of the first string displayed in the second display mode are portions of at least three preselected fields f a , f b  and f c  of the first string so that some character of field f c  is displayed on the same horizontal line as some character of field f b  and vertically aligned with some character of field f a  displayed on a different line from said some character of field f c , and including the step of removing at least one character from the first string to generate said expanded portions of said preselected fields of string S 1 . .Iaddend..Iadd.65. The method according to claim 27 further wherein the expanded portions of the first string displayed in the second display mode are at least three fields f a , f b  and f c  of the first string so that some character of field f c  is displayed on the same horizontal line as some character of field f b  and vertically aligned with some character of field f a  displayed on a different line from said some character of field f c . .Iaddend..Iadd.66. The method according to claim 27 further wherein said first and second display areas are positioned on different horizontal lines of the data display screen and further including the step of displaying portions of each of a plurality of additional strings on other horizontal lines of the data display screen to fill the rack display area so that each line in the rack display area displays a portion of a different string. .Iaddend..Iadd.67. The method according to claim 66 further including the steps of enabling editing of either of the first and second strings while in the first mode, and redisplaying an edited string 
     
     
        in the first mode of display. .Iaddend..Iadd.68.  The method according to claim 67 further wherein the expanded portions of the first string displayed in the second display mode are portions of at least three preselected fields f a , f b  and f c  of the first string so that some character of field f c  is displayed on the same horizontal line as some character of field f b  and vertically aligned with some character of field f a  displayed on a different line from said some character of field f c , and including the step of removing at least one character from the first string to generate said expanded portions of said preselected fields of said first string S 1 . .Iaddend..Iadd.69. The method according to claim 68 further including the steps of enabling editing, within the card display area, of the first string while in the second mode, and redisplaying an edited string in the second mode. .Iaddend..Iadd.70. The method according to claim 69 wherein said rack display area and said card display area occupy the same area of the data display screen at different instances in time. .Iaddend..Iadd.71. The method of claim 66 further including the step of displaying at least portions of each of a plurality of fields of each said first second and 
     
     
        additional strings displayed in the rack display area. .Iaddend..Iadd.72. The method according to claim 71 further wherein the expanded portions of the first string displayed in the second display mode are portions of at least three preselected fields f a , f b  and f c  of the first string so that some character of field f c  is displayed on the same horizontal line as some character of field f b  and vertically aligned with some character of field f a  displayed on a different line from said some character of field f c , and including the step of removing at least one character from the first string to generate said expanded portions of said preselected fields of said first string. .Iaddend..Iadd.73. The method according to claim 72 further including the steps of enabling editing of either of the first and second strings while in the first mode, and redisplaying an edited string in the first mode of display. .Iaddend..Iadd.74. The method according to claim 73 further including the steps of enabling editing, within the card display area, of the first string while in the second mode, and redisplaying an edited string in the second mode. .Iaddend..Iadd.75. The method of claims 26, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 27, 60, 28, 29, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73 or 74 further wherein said process is directed by execution 
     
     
        of a single computer program in the computer. .Iaddend..Iadd.76.  The method of claim 75 further wherein said strings are of variable length. .Iaddend..Iadd.77. The method of claims 26, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 27, 60, 28, 29, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73 or 74 further wherein said strings are of variable length. .Iaddend..Iadd.78. The method of claim 75 further wherein said computer program is a data base management program. .Iaddend..Iadd.79. The system of claim 1, 2, 6, 7, 9, 12, 15, 18, 20, 23, 33, 35, 36, 24, 37, 41, 43, 44, 45, 47, 48, 25, 49, 52, or 53 further wherein the characters from some field f i  of said string S 1  are simultaneously displayed on two or more lines within said first display area of the data display screen. .Iaddend..Iadd.80. The system of claim 1,12, 20 or 24 further wherein said string S 1  includes information specifying a picture or ideograph and said picture or ideograph is displayed within said first display area on 
     
     
        the data display screen. .Iaddend..Iadd.81.  The system of claim 1, 20, 41 or 31 further wherein said computer system can fit inside an attache case and has a display screen with limited display space smaller than the standard personal computer display size of 24 by 80 characters. .Iaddend..Iadd.82. The system of claim 1, 20, 24 or 52 wherein said means for displaying displays a plurality of strings in one group in said certain display area and further includes means for scrolling to additional underplayed strings within said one group. .Iaddend..Iadd.83. The system of claim 1,12, 20 or 37 wherein the displayed strings that are members of the group of which string S 1  is a member are displayed on different lines within said first display area. .Iaddend..Iadd.84. The systems of claims 1, 20, 41 or 31 further including means for highlighting the display of the preselected portions of data string S 1 . .Iaddend..Iadd.85. The system of claim 1, 20, 24 or 52 wherein the preselected portion of field f i  of string S 1  is a truncated 
     
     
        portion of field f i . .Iaddend..Iadd.86.  The systems of claims 1,12, 20 or 37 wherein some portions of field f i  are only displayed by one said display means and not displayed by another said display means. .Iaddend..Iadd.87. The system of claim 1, 20, 41 or 31 further including means to change the width of said certain display area. .Iaddend..Iadd.88. The system of claim 1, 20, 24 or 52 further including means for individually controlling the size of said each preselected field f i  in said first display area. .Iaddend..Iadd.89. The systems of claims 24, 37, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 47, 48, 49, or 52 wherein said preselected portions of strings S 1  and S 2  are not displayed simultaneously. .Iaddend..Iadd.90. The systems of claims 1,12, 20 or 37 further including program means operative by a command from said input device wherein said command executes the same function but effects a different display within said certain display area according to which of said display modes is 
     
     
        operative. .Iaddend..Iadd.91.  The systems of claims 1, 20, 24 or 25 including a schema wherein said schema controls the size of a plurality of fields of said strings S k  in a said group when displayed in a said 
     
     
        display mode. .Iaddend..Iadd.92.  The system of claims 1, 20, 41 or 31 further wherein said display means includes means for receiving input specifying said specified positions of said portions of said a plurality of fields. .Iaddend..Iadd.93. The system of claim 1, 6, 7, 9, 12, 13, 15, 18, 20, 23, 33, 36, 24, 37, 41, 43, 44, 45, 47, 48, 25, 49, 51, 52 or 53 wherein said input device is a data string input device, the length of each string S k  is variable, said display system is a data retrieval system, and said data display screen is a data entry display screen. .Iaddend..Iadd.94. The system of claim 1, 20, 24 or 52 further wherein the display width of at least one field of said string S 1  is calculated so that a portion of all fields assigned for display on some line within said first display area can be displayed on said some line within said first display area. .Iaddend..Iadd.95. The system of claim 1,12, 20 or 37 further wherein each field f i  of said string S 1  has a display length D i  associated with it and further including means for displaying some said field f i  within said first display area at a 
     
     
        length other than D i  without changing D i . .Iaddend..Iadd.96. The systems of claim 40 further wherein said first display area where string S 1  is displayed does not overlap said second display area where string S 2  is displayed. .Iaddend..Iadd.97. The systems of claims 1,12, 20 or 37 further wherein the user can search for a string containing specified text. .Iaddend..Iadd.98. The system of claim 1, 20, 41 or 31 wherein each said displayed string is presented to users as a piece of paper and each said group as a assembly of pieces of paper and further includes means to visually distinguish said displayed strings from each other on said data display screen in a separate visually distinct display area. .Iaddend..Iadd.99. The system of claim 1, 20, 24 or 52 wherein said system is a data base management system. .Iaddend..Iadd.100. The system of claim 1,12, 20 or 37 further including means to change the display width of some said field f i  of said string S 1  without changing the length l 1  of said first display area in which said 
     
     
        fields of said string S 1  are displayed. .Iaddend..Iadd.101.  The system of claim 1, 20, 41 or 31 further including additional strings from one of said groups and wherein said strings from said one of said groups are displayed on said data display screen according to a regular spatial format. .Iaddend..Iadd.102. The systems of claims 1, 20, 41 or 31 wherein said one of said fields from which a character was removed is displayed on said line on which said plurality of fields are displayed. .Iaddend..Iadd.103. The method of claims 26, 27, 62 or 64 further wherein said one of said fields from which a character was removed is displayed on said line on which said plurality of fields are displayed. .Iaddend..Iadd.104. The system of claims 1, 20, 24 or 52 further wherein each said fields f i  of said string S 1  can contain enough characters so that said display means must remove at least one character from said field to display portions of said field f i  in said first display areas. .Iaddend..Iadd.105. The system of claim 98 wherein said strings presented in said visually distinct display areas are presented as pieces of paper. .Iaddend.