33. A system for the symbolic-based recognition of a handwriting input to an input surface having an output provided as a stream of coordinate data points, comprising: a data base memory storing a compilation of text-pattern pairs, said pattern of each pair having been derived as sample features of said handwriting and including an associated sample index derived as aspects of said handwriting sample features, said text of each said pair representing at least one predetermined character glyph; a processor, responsive to said output to extract pattern test features and a corresponding test index therefrom, responsive to access said memory stored compilation and identify a said sample index corresponding with said test index, responsive to carry out a comparison of said pattern test features with said pattern sample features associated with said identified sample index, responsive in the presence of a correspondence between said pattern test and sample features to derive output signals corresponding with said text associated with said pattern sample features; said pattern sample and test features including segment based features derived from each segment of each stroke defining sequence of said data points and comprising: a first segment feature provided as a value corresponding with the accumulated distances between sequential pairs of said data points defining a stroke from the beginning of a stroke to the end of a segment of a stroke relative to the total distance from the beginning of the stroke to the end of the stroke, a second segment feature provided as a value corresponding with the x-coordinate overlap between two adjacent segments of a stroke, and a third segment feature provided as a value corresponding with the relative x-coordinate based distance between adjacent inflection points of a stroke, wherein such inflection points comprise a significant bend in a stroke, a top location, a bottom location, and a baseline crossing point in the stroke; and display means responsive to said derived output signals for effecting the publication of a said predetermined character glyph sequence of said text associated with said pattern sample features.
33. A system for the symbolic-based recognition of a handwriting input to an input surface having an output provided as a stream of coordinate data points, comprising: a data base memory storing a compilation of text-pattern pairs, said pattern of each pair having been derived as sample features of said handwriting and including an associated sample index derived as aspects of said handwriting sample features, said text of each said pair representing at least one predetermined character glyph; a processor, responsive to said output to extract pattern test features and a corresponding test index therefrom, responsive to access said memory stored compilation and identify a said sample index corresponding with said test index, responsive to carry out a comparison of said pattern test features with said pattern sample features associated with said identified sample index, responsive in the presence of a correspondence between said pattern test and sample features to derive output signals corresponding with said text associated with said pattern sample features; said pattern sample and test features including segment based features derived from each segment of each stroke defining sequence of said data points and comprising: a first segment feature provided as a value corresponding with the accumulated distances between sequential pairs of said data points defining a stroke from the beginning of a stroke to the end of a segment of a stroke relative to the total distance from the beginning of the stroke to the end of the stroke, a second segment feature provided as a value corresponding with the x-coordinate overlap between two adjacent segments of a stroke, and a third segment feature provided as a value corresponding with the relative x-coordinate based distance between adjacent inflection points of a stroke, wherein such inflection points comprise a significant bend in a stroke, a top location, a bottom location, and a baseline crossing point in the stroke; and display means responsive to said derived output signals for effecting the publication of a said predetermined character glyph sequence of said text associated with said pattern sample features. 37. The system of claim 33 in which said pattern sample and test features include segment based signature verification features derived from each segment of each stroke defining sequence of said data points and comprising: a fourth signature verification feature provided as a value corresponding with the relation between the interval of time taken to write a segment and the interval of time taken to write a stroke.