The Link is a lightweight data structure that acts as an overlay. It connects a specific Object to a specific Tile.
For every tile on the screen, the system maintains a linked list of "Links." $$Tile \rightarrow Link_1 \rightarrow Link_2 \rightarrow \dots \rightarrow NIL$$ oberon object tiler link
Each Link entry contains:
Let’s trace a concrete example: compiling and running a simple Oberon module that opens a tiled viewer. The Link is a lightweight data structure that
This is the critical innovation. Instead of saving the object's geometry 100 times (saving memory), the Link saves the path to the object 100 times. The link contains: This is the critical innovation
Before dissecting the "Object Tiler Link," we must understand its host. Oberon is both a programming language (a cleaner, safer descendant of Pascal and Modula-2) and an operating system. Its most startling feature was the "text user interface"—everything, including directories and tool buttons, was clickable text.
Graphics in classic Oberon were not bitmap-centric. Instead, Oberon relied on a display model built from abstract graphic objects (lines, rectangles, text frames, and raster images). These objects were lightweight and managed by a subsystem known as the Object Tiler.
