CONTEXT-DEPENDENT PREDICTION AND LEARNING WITH A UNIVERSAL RE-ENTRANT PREDICTIVE TEXT INPUT SOFTWARE COMPONENT

1 . A method of sharing a common, predictive, software text-entry component within a consumer device across multiple software applications and input contexts, the method comprising:

invoking a text-entry component by one of the software applications in one of the input contexts;

providing to the text-entry component a description of allowed symbols and a dictionary of expected symbol strings associated with the one of the input contexts;

modifying a default virtual keyboard display and default predictive algorithm data of the text-entry component according to the description of allowed symbols and the dictionary of expected signal strings;

accepting input text by a user of the consumer device via the text-entry component;

terminating the text-entry component, whereby the terminating causes returning entered text to the calling application; and

modifying the dictionary by the application in response to the entered text to enhance predictive capability of the component on future invocations in the input context.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the text-entry component comprises a software function, class, or component provided in a dynamically linked shared library, accessible to one or more applications executing on the consumer device.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the text-entry component comprises a software function, a class, a component provided in a statically linked library, or source code, incorporated into the object code of applications executing on the consumer device.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the dictionary is accessible to one or more applications executing on the consumer device that require text input for the one of the input contexts.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the modification of the virtual keyboard display and predictive algorithm data of the text-entry component reduces the number of key activations required to enter desired text for the input context using an input device associated with the consumer device.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the virtual keyboard display includes a current string display, one or more keys associated with individual symbols from the set of allowed symbols, and one or more control keys associated with behaviors of the text-entry component, wherein exactly one of the keys is highlighted.

7 . The method of claim 6 , wherein the virtual keyboard display further comprises one or more keys associated with symbols from the set of allowed symbols predicted by the prediction algorithm.

8 . The method of claim 6 , wherein the virtual keyboard display further comprises one or more keys associated with strings predicted by the prediction algorithm.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the consumer device comprises a digital television.

10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the consumer device comprises a mobile phone.

11 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the consumer device comprises a personal computer.

12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the consumer device comprises a kiosk.

13 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the input device comprises a five-key directional keypad.

14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the five-key directional keypad is located on a remote control capable of controlling a digital television.

15 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the text entry device is a thumb wheel and selection switch.

16 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the text entry device is a touch-sensitive switch network overlaying the virtual keyboard.

17 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the text entry device is a touch-sensitive mouse pad using touch-and-drag to navigate and a dedicated selection switch to select.

18 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the text entry device is a microphone and speech recognition software responsive to spoken navigation and selection commands.

19 . The method of claim 18 , wherein the spoken navigation and selection commands correspond to up, down, left, right, and enter.

20 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the entry of text comprises: use of the text entry device to navigate to a desired key on the virtual keyboard using provided navigation commands and selecting the desired key using provided selection commands.

21 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the predictive algorithm data utilizes a trie data structure.

22 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the default predictive algorithm data comprises symbol frequency statistics and expected symbol strings in a format consistent with the prediction algorithm employed.

23 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the consumer device is a telephone and the input device comprises a twelve-key telephone keypad.

24 . A system for sharing a common, predictive, software text-entry component within a consumer device across multiple software applications and input contexts, comprising:

a module for invoking a text-entry component by one of the software applications in one of the input contexts;

a module for providing to the text-entry component a description of allowed symbols and a dictionary of expected symbol strings associated with the one of the input contexts;

a module for modifying a default virtual keyboard display and default predictive algorithm data of the text-entry component according to the description of allowed symbols and the dictionary of expected signal strings;

a module for accepting input text by a user of the consumer device via the text-entry component;

a module for terminating the text-entry component, whereby the terminating causes returning entered text to the calling application; and

a module for modifying the dictionary by the application in response to the entered text to enhance predictive capability of the component on future invocations in the input context.