A FORM DEFINITION LANGUAGE FOR AN INTELLIGENT FORM

The formal specification of a form definition language is described. A new form based model for office automation is defined informally. The model is called the Intelligent Form System (IFS) and is composed of a knowledge base, a Synchronous Form Manager (SFM), and an Intelligent Form (IF). The IFS is designed to be a distributed system capable of being implemented using existing technology.;The syntax for the form definition language (FDL) used to specify the contents and processing for an Intelligent Form is developed. The automatic processing and routing of the form based upon form content and system configuration is formally defined. A control graph describing the necessary routing to complete the form is constructed and a control process directs processing of the form using the control graph and a state table containing a history of form processing. Examples are used to illustrate the syntax of the FDL and the algorithms for construction of the control graph and control process.;The end result is the informal definition of a new model and the formal definition of the form definition language and control process.