U.S. patent application number 11/269770 was filed with the patent office on 2006-03-23 for method and apparatus for binary-oriented set sequencing.
This patent application is currently assigned to UFIL Unified Data Technolgies, Ltd.. Invention is credited to Babak Ahmadi.
Application Number | 20060064433 11/269770 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 23403345 |
Filed Date | 2006-03-23 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060064433 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Ahmadi; Babak |
March 23, 2006 |
Method and apparatus for binary-oriented set sequencing
Abstract
A computer-implemented method and apparatus for information
organization, wherein atomic information can be both static and
dynamic, but the compound information (e.g., associations,
groupings, sets, etc.) of such atoms always remain dynamic. Unless
otherwise directed, a compound information entity is always
dynamically determined and generated. This determination is based
on the processing of a defined condition, wherein all atoms
qualifying the condition are included in the compound. This dynamic
determination eliminates the need to "update" the compound, when
atoms and/or compounds common to two or more compounds are changed.
Further, each information compound can be dynamically generated
based on an existing definition for that compound.
Inventors: |
Ahmadi; Babak; (West
Vancouver, CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
MERCHANT & GOULD PC
P.O. BOX 2903
MINNEAPOLIS
MN
55402-0903
US
|
Assignee: |
UFIL Unified Data Technolgies,
Ltd.
St. Michael
BB
|
Family ID: |
23403345 |
Appl. No.: |
11/269770 |
Filed: |
November 7, 2005 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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10746028 |
Dec 22, 2003 |
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11269770 |
Nov 7, 2005 |
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09952076 |
Sep 10, 2001 |
6694327 |
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10746028 |
Dec 22, 2003 |
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09477078 |
Jan 3, 2000 |
6470351 |
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09952076 |
Sep 10, 2001 |
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09215381 |
Dec 18, 1998 |
6092077 |
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09477078 |
Jan 3, 2000 |
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08924706 |
Sep 5, 1997 |
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09215381 |
Dec 18, 1998 |
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08356878 |
Dec 15, 1994 |
5684985 |
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08924706 |
Sep 5, 1997 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 ;
707/999.103; 707/E17.116 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F 16/958 20190101;
Y10S 707/99942 20130101; Y10S 707/99931 20130101; Y10S 707/99944
20130101; Y10S 707/99943 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
707/103.00X |
International
Class: |
G06F 17/00 20060101
G06F017/00 |
Claims
1. A computer program product readable by a computing system and
encoding instructions for performing a method for maintaining data
within a network environment, the method comprising: providing a
data element having a subject, an attribute and a bond, wherein the
bond defines a relationship between the subject and the attribute;
and providing at least one computer process within the network
environment with access to the data element for purposes of
categorizing the data element within one or more sets of data
elements maintained in the network environment.
2. A computer program product as defined in claim 1, wherein the
method further comprises: receiving access to the data element by
the computer process during which the computer process applies a
condition to the data element and, if the data element satisfies
the condition, categorizes the data element within a first set of
data elements.
3. A computer program product as defined in claim 2, wherein the
first set of data elements is dynamically generated by the computer
process to include all data elements within the network environment
that satisfy the condition.
4. A computer program product as defined in claim 2, wherein the
condition is applied against the subject of the data element during
the received access by the computer process.
5. A computer program product as defined in claim 2, wherein the
condition is applied against the attribute of the data element
during the received access by the computer process.
6. A computer program product as defined in claim 1, wherein the
method further comprises: accessing the data element; applying a
condition to the data element to determine whether the data element
satisfies the condition; and if the data element satisfies the
condition, categorizing the data element within a first set of data
elements, wherein each data element in the first set of data
elements satisfies the condition and has a subject, an attribute
and a bond defining a relationship between the attribute and the
subject.
7. A computer program product as defined in claim 6, wherein the
applying act comprises: determining whether the subject of the data
element satisfies the condition, wherein each data element in the
first set of data elements comprises a subject that satisfies the
condition.
8. A computer program product as defined in claim 6, wherein the
applying act comprises: determining whether the attribute of the
data element satisfies the condition, wherein each data element in
the first set of data elements comprises an attribute that
satisfies the condition.
9. A computer program product as defined in claim 6, wherein the
categorizing act comprises: dynamically generating the first set of
data elements to represent each of the plurality of data elements
maintained in the network environment that satisfy the
condition.
10. A computer program product as defined in claim 1, wherein the
computer process is adapted for use in processing data elements
formatted to include a subject, an attribute and a bond defining a
relationship between the subject and the attribute.
11. A computer program product readable by a computing system and
encoding instructions for performing a method for maintaining data
within a network environment, the method comprising: providing a
plurality of data elements, wherein each data element has a
subject, an attribute and a bond that defines a relationship
between the subject and the attribute; and providing one or more
computer processes within the network environment with access to
the plurality of data elements for purposes of categorizing each of
the plurality of data elements within one or more information
sets.
12. A computer program product as defined in claim 11, wherein the
method further comprises: receiving access to the plurality of data
element by a first computer process during which the first computer
process applies a condition to the data elements and categorizes
the data elements that satisfy the condition within a first
information set.
13. A computer program product as defined in claim 12, wherein at
least two of the plurality of data elements are categorized by the
first computer process to be within the first information set.
14. A computer program product as defined in claim 12, wherein the
condition is applied against the subject of each of the plurality
of data elements during the received access by the first computer
process.
15. A computer program product as defined in claim 12, wherein the
condition is applied against the attribute of each of the plurality
of data elements during the received access by the first computer
process.
16. A computer program product as defined in claim 11, wherein the
bond is associated with a body of executable code.
17. A computer program product as defined in claim 11, wherein the
method further comprises: accessing the plurality of data elements;
applying a condition to the plurality of data elements to identify
the data elements within the plurality of data elements that
satisfy the condition; and dynamically generating a first
information set to represent each of the plurality of data elements
that satisfy the condition.
18. A computer program product as defined in claim 17, wherein the
applying act comprises: evaluating the subject of each of the
plurality of data elements against the condition.
19. A computer program product as defined in claim 17, wherein the
applying act comprises: evaluating the attribute of each of the
plurality of data elements against the condition.
20. A computer program product readable by a computing system and
encoding instructions for performing a method related to the
organization of data within a network environment, the method
comprising: creating a data element according to a predetermined
format adapted for processing by at least one computer process in
the network environment, wherein the predetermined format specifies
the data element to include a first data item, a second data item
and a third data item that defines a relationship between the first
data item and the second data item; and maintaining the data
element in the predetermined format such that the computer process
is capable of accessing the data element for purposes of
categorizing the data element within one or more sets of data
elements maintained in the network environment.
21. A computer program product as defined in claim 20, wherein the
method further comprises: receiving access to the data element by
the computer process, wherein maintenance of the data element in
the predetermined format enables the computer process to apply a
condition to the data element and, if the data element satisfies
the condition, categorize the data element within a first set of
data elements.
22. A computer program product as defined in claim 21, wherein the
first set of data elements is dynamically generated by the computer
process to include all data elements within the network environment
that satisfy the condition.
23. A computer program product as defined in claim 20, wherein the
first data item comprises a subject, the second data item comprises
an attribute and the third data item comprises a bond defining the
relationship between the subject and the attribute.
24. A computer program product readable by a computing system and
encoding instructions for performing a method related to the
organization of data within a network environment, the method
comprising: creating a data element according to a predetermined
format adapted for processing by at least one computer process in
the network environment for purposes of categorizing the data
element within an information set that represents all data elements
in the network environment formatted in the predetermined format
that satisfy a specified condition, wherein the predetermined
format specifies the data element to include a first data item, a
second data item and a third data item defining a relationship
between the first data item and the second data item; and
maintaining the data element in the predetermined format such that
the computer process is capable of accessing the data element and
applying the specified condition thereto.
25. A computer program product as defined in claim 24, wherein the
information set is dynamically generated by the computer process to
include data elements within the network environment that satisfy
the condition.
26. A computer program product as defined in claim 25, wherein the
method further comprises: receiving access to the data element by
the computer process, wherein maintenance of the data element in
the predetermined format enables the computer process to apply the
specified condition to the data element and, if the data element
satisfies the specified condition, categorize the data element
within the dynamically generated information set.
27. A computer program product as defined in claim 24, wherein the
first data item comprises a subject, the second data item comprises
an attribute and the third data item comprises a bond defining the
relationship between the subject and the attribute.
Description
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of application Ser. No.
10/746,028, filed Dec. 22, 2003, which is a continuation of
application Ser. No. 09/952,076, filed Sep. 10, 2001, now U.S. Pat.
No. 6,694,327, which is a continuation of application Ser. No.
09/477,078, filed Jan. 3, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,470,351, which
is a continuation of application Ser. No. 09/215,381, filed Dec.
18, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,092,077, which is a continuation of
application Ser. No. 08/924,706, filed Sep. 5, 1997, abandoned,
which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/356,878, filed
Dec. 15, 1994, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,684,985, which applications are
incorporated herein by reference by their entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention discloses a method and apparatus for
data organization, storage, retrieval and processing, that
eliminates locational, structural or associative limitations.
[0004] 2. Description of Related Art
[0005] Currently, information organization is implemented using
many methodologies, which often serve different and distinct
purposes for different general kinds of information. If the
information is composed of specific facts, figures, names, and
relationships, then the current approach forces each specific
application to provide its own way of defining and using records.
The only process who can possibly know what the information is, is
the one application which creates/maintains that kind of
information. At the lower OS level, data can be any type as far as
a database or any other application is concerned. So files and
directories are used to organize information, where physical and
logical organizations of information are one and the same.
[0006] To find qualified and desired information, a process must
first deal with files and directories. The process must incorporate
and reflect the physical directory and file hierarchy into its
logical information organization. Many current containment shells
such as WINDOWS and DESQVIEW, attempt to provide a seamless gap
between the OS and applications, so that a process does not have to
deal with OS details. Aside from being unstable, such shells are
still constricted by containment. That is, the logical and physical
organizations of information become the same at some level. That is
the level at which logical expansions, reorganizations, and further
associations become impossible for containment.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] To overcome the limitations in the prior art described
above, and to overcome other limitations that will become apparent
upon reading and understanding the present specification, the
present invention discloses a computer-implemented method and
apparatus for information organization, wherein atomic information
can be both static and dynamic, but the compound information (e.g.,
associations, groupings, sets, etc.) of such atoms always remain
dynamic. Unless otherwise directed, a compound information entity
is always dynamically determined and generated. This determination
is based on the processing of a defined condition, wherein all
atoms qualifying the condition are included in the compound. This
dynamic determination eliminates the need to "update" the compound,
when atoms and/or compounds common to two or more compounds are
changed. Further, each information compound can be dynamically
generated based on an existing definition for that compound.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] Referring now to the drawings in which like reference
numbers represent corresponding parts throughout:
[0009] FIG. 1 is a block diagram that illustrates one possible
hardware environment for the present invention;
[0010] FIG. 2 is a block diagram that illustrates the structure of
an InfoFrame according to the present invention;
[0011] FIG. 3 is a block diagram that illustrates the associations
present in a containment organization;
[0012] FIG. 4 is a block diagram that illustrates the binary
associations according to the present invention;
[0013] FIG. 5 is a block diagram that illustrates grouping in a
containment organization to achieve a combined topic;
[0014] FIG. 6 is a block diagram that illustrates grouping
according to the present invention to achieve a combined topic;
[0015] FIGS. 7A-7E are a block diagram that illustrates a current
method of organization implemented according to the present
invention;
[0016] FIGS. 8A-8B are a block diagram that illustrates a compound
logical structure according to the present invention;
[0017] FIG. 9 is a block diagram that illustrates associative
processing according to the present invention;
[0018] FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating the structure of the
Universal Entity Identifier (UEI) according to the present
invention;
[0019] FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating the structure of the
Endo-Dynamic Information Node (EDIN) according to the present
invention;
[0020] FIG. 12 is a block diagram that illustrates the valid
combinations of the EDIN fields in terms of value according to the
present invention;
[0021] FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating the structure of the
Bond Information Record (BIR) according to the present
invention;
[0022] FIG. 14 is a block diagram that illustrates the structure of
an InfoFrame according to the present invention;
[0023] FIG. 15 is a block diagram illustrating the structure of the
Bond Flags portion of the BIR according to the present
invention;
[0024] FIG. 16 is a block diagram illustrating the structure of the
Bond Organization Record (BOR) according to the present
invention;
[0025] FIG. 17 is a block diagram that illustrates logical bond
organizations according to the present invention;
[0026] FIG. 18 is a block diagram that illustrates the structure of
a command line according to the present invention;
[0027] FIG. 19 is a block diagram that illustrates the structure of
an Endo-Dynamic Information Statement according to the present
invention;
[0028] FIG. 20 is a block diagram that illustrates the structure of
an Expandable Table Set according to the present invention;
[0029] FIG. 21 is a block diagram illustrating the structure of the
Expandable Table Record (ETR) according to the present
invention;
[0030] FIG. 22 is a block diagram illustrating the structure of the
Expandable Table Array Header (ETAH) according to the present
invention;
[0031] FIG. 23 is a block diagram illustrating the structure of the
InfoFrame Control Record (IFCR) according to the present
invention;
[0032] FIG. 24 is a block diagram that illustrates the structure of
an Activation List Example according to the present invention;
[0033] FIG. 25 is a block diagram illustrating the structure of the
Infobase Definition Record (IBDR) according to the present
invention;
[0034] FIG. 26 is a block diagram illustrating the structure of the
Set Definition Record (SDR) according to the present invention;
[0035] FIG. 27 is a block diagram illustrating the structure of the
Module Definition Record (MDR) according to the present
invention;
[0036] FIG. 28 is a block diagram that illustrates the structure of
a Set Definition Equation according to the present invention;
[0037] FIG. 29 is a block diagram that illustrates the structure of
an Endo-Dynamic Set comprised of Set Definition Equations according
to the present invention;
[0038] FIG. 30 is a block diagram illustrating the structure of the
Operator Information Record (OIR) according to the present
invention;
[0039] FIG. 31 is a block diagram illustrating the structure of the
Parameter Definition Record (PDR) according to the present
invention;
[0040] FIG. 32 is a block diagram that illustrates flat storage
organization according to the present invention;
[0041] FIG. 33 is a block diagram that illustrates the structure of
an Endo-Dynamic Set hierarchical data tree according to the present
invention;
[0042] FIG. 34 is a block diagram that illustrates the structure of
an Endo-Dynamic Set structure definition according to the present
invention;
[0043] FIG. 35 is a block diagram that illustrates the structure of
a program example according to the present invention;
[0044] FIG. 36 is a block diagram that illustrates the structure of
an Endo-Dynamic Set comprising an interpreted program according to
the present invention;
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0045] In the following description of the preferred embodiment,
reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part
hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration a specific
embodiment in which the invention may be practiced. It is to be
understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural
changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present
invention.
Overview
[0046] Information can be generally described as either being
atomic or compound, where atomic information is an elementary unit
and compound information encompasses any combination of atoms and
other compounds to serve a given purpose. The present invention,
termed Binary Oriented Set Sequencing (BOSS), is based on the
concept that the minimal common information structure for any body
of data is binary. This binary view of data organization achieves
an information management environment in which any information of
any complexity and type can be represented, viewed, stored, and
processed.
[0047] The present invention further adopts a view of information
organization where atomic information can be both static and
dynamic, but the compound information (e.g., associations,
groupings, sets, etc.) of such atoms always remain dynamic. Unless
otherwise directed, a compound information entity is always
dynamically determined and generated. This determination is based
on the processing of a defined condition, wherein all atoms
qualifying the condition are included in the compound. This dynamic
determination eliminates the need to "update" the compound, when
atoms and/or compounds common to two or more compounds are changed.
Further, each information compound can be dynamically generated
based on an existing definition for that compound.
[0048] The present invention differs in several ways from
conventional information storage and processing environments. These
are listed below, and described in ensuing subsections: [0049] The
InfoFrame [0050] Binary Association [0051] Universal Entity
Identification [0052] Dimensia [0053] Associative Processing
[0054] As a result of these elements, an environment becomes
feasible, where the elements of logical organizations of all data
are stored as nodes. Further, processes are able to view the same
nodes in different ways. To be more precise, BOSS can achieve any
logical structure given the same basic set of information atoms.
This means data is maintained the same way, regardless of the
process manipulating it, and regardless of the process's view of
the involved data. Instead of having to implement and store static
single-purpose control structures and records, a process need only
store a set definition equation which results in a particular view
of the data. This promotes an environment in which a general pool
of nodes for all kinds of different data can be used as the basis
for dynamically generating different views for all the different
processes which use pieces of the collective data pool in different
ways.
Hardware Environment
[0055] FIG. 1 depicts the hardware architecture of the preferred
embodiment in accordance with the principles of the present
invention. Generally, the present invention operates in a network
environment 100 having a decentralized hardware architecture,
including one or more servers 102, and a plurality of user
workstations 104, all coupled together through the network 106. In
the preferred embodiment, the network 106 is depicted as having a
ring topology. Those skilled in the art will be able to bring to
mind other known network topologies such as, but not limited to, a
star or a bus configuration. Typically, the server 102 will include
a database 108, although the workstations 104 themselves could
store all or a part of a database 108.
The Infoframe
[0056] The present invention provides for the existence of a global
(universal) Information Frame (InfoFrame), where all types of
systems (InfoBases) which include various programs and databases
(modules), and various data structures and data values (views and
nodes) can co-exist in the InfoFrame, and data can be created,
modified, organized, shared and exchanged on a dynamic basis. Data
exchange across the InfoFrame is trivial, no matter what the system
type. This makes all the processing of data import/export and usage
across the InfoFrame invisible to all client processes.
[0057] FIG. 2 is a block diagram that illustrates the structure of
an InfoFrame 200 according to the present invention. The present
invention orders all information in the following manner: [0058]
Information Frame (InfoFrame) 200, which is the overall grouping of
all information. [0059] Information Base (InfoBase) 202, which is a
set of information modules and other control information that
provides a self-contained set of consistent modules which provide
for needs of a BOSS client. [0060] Endo-Dynamic Information Node
(EDIN) 204, which is a binary association of two information atoms,
Subject and Attribute, as well as a Bond that binds them. [0061]
Endo-Dynamic Set (EDS) 206, which is a dynamically generated,
possibly ordered, list of EDINs 204 that describes, depicts, or
embodies a subject, attribute, or bond. [0062] Information Module
(IM) 208, which is a set of EDS's 206 and other control information
that provides a self-contained set of consistent EDS 206 which
provide for needs of a BOSS client.
[0063] An EDS 206 may contain any number of EDINs 204 or be empty.
The contents of an EDS 206 are dictated by a condition for that EDS
206, wherein the condition is provided by a Set Definition Equation
(SDE). The more complex the SDE, the more particular data and/or
data relationships are required to satisfy membership in the
resultant EDS 206. However, SDE complexity does not directly effect
the size of a resultant EDS 206. The size of a resultant EDS 206
simply depends on the number of EDINs 204 which satisfy the
associated SDE. This size depends on the kinds of data being
organized, and how frequently instances of that kind of data
occur.
[0064] All EDS's 206 are dynamically generated using one or more
modules as the source of generation. A module 208 is primarily a
set of EDINs 204 with no particular order. Modules 208 can then be
included in one or more InfoBases. Each InfoBase 202 provides
evolved information access, searching, and processing, by including
as many modules as required to account for all data and processes.
The InfoFrame 200 is the totality of all InfoBases 202 and is the
largest possible data space. Every individual computer or network
has its own InfoFrame 200. When two or more computers or networks
are connected such that data exchange is possible, the InfoFrame
200 has simply become larger. In this sense, there is only one
InfoFrame 200 on a global basis, and it is just a matter of what
portion of the InfoFrame 200 a user is connected to or has access
to.
[0065] An EDS 206 differs from a set, as that term is understood in
the art, in several important ways. First, an EDS 206 can have a
heterogeneous meaning. That is, an EDS 206 can contain any number
of different meanings, data or representations.
[0066] Second, an EDS 206 does not have to conform to the concept
of containment. Containment is where an element "X" physically
exists or is "contained" within set "Y". In a non-containment
environment, there is no predefined meaning between "X" and "Y",
just because one contains the other. In set methodology, the only
meaning that can be derived is that "X" is contained by "Y". In the
present invention, "X" and "Y" can have any number of relationships
defined directly in EDINs 204 or streams of related EDINs 204.
[0067] Third, it is possible to execute expressions to modify an
EDS 206 or create a new EDS 206 in terms of a meaningful formula.
This formula is based on operators which can affect EDINs 204 or
EDS's 206 in a number of different ways. In contrast, set-based
mechanisms are based on adding or extracting the meaning of the set
by adding or extracting elements from zero or more sets.
[0068] Since, by default, all modules are accessible across the
InfoFrame 200, each added module increases the possibilities for
different and new InfoBases 202 by a substantially large number.
Clearly, this increase is non-linearly proportional to the number
of modules 208. Formula A below gives the number of unique
possibilities, where "n" is the number of modules 208. Formula B
gives the absolute increase in unique possible combinations of
modules 208, when one module 208 is added. Formula C gives the real
number of increased possibilities, by assuming that 3/4 of all such
unique possibilities have no meaning and serve no purpose in
reality. Table I shows the calculated numbers based on different
module 208 numbers. A=n! B=(n+1)!-n! C=((n+1)!-n!)/4 wherein the
"!" operator indicates a factorial operation. As can be seen, this
is slightly less than "n.times.n".
[0069] The ease of integration and data sharing, combined with the
rapid increase in potential new InfoBases, provides an environment
where, as more data is added and as more processing takes place,
the environment as whole becomes more stable and capable. Further,
using automation and chaining for all levels of the InfoFrame 200
(including the InfoFrame 200), clients can tie together InfoBases
202 in particular ways, such that automatic activities take place,
these activities including the monitoring, retrieval, storage; and
determination of: [0070] Entity value; [0071] Entity organization;
[0072] InfoBase 202 chaining and the determination of chains;
[0073] Module 208 chaining and the determination of chains; and
[0074] InfoFrame 200 native processes and settings.
[0075] Given a defined InfoFrame 200, client processes can use BOSS
operators as to manipulate part or all of the InfoFrame 200 in
variety of ways to display, modify, process, search, etc., the
information. A BOSS client always calls the Endo-Dynamic Processor
(EDP), passing it a list of operators (and their parameters). The
EDP is a software Command Processor (CP), which accepts an
operations list as input and executes each line in the order
specified by the operations list. Note that the operations list is
an EDS itself, providing for variable number of parameters for the
operators. In a pure BOSS environment, a top-level operation list
(program) would be executed at power-on. This program is an
infinite loop where exit is possible by satisfying monitor
processes, and where each required InfoBase is located, verified,
and initiated. In a multi-tasking environment (e.g., Windows),
linear module chaining and InfoBase chaining is possible. In a
multi-processing environment (e.g., Windows-NT), real-time (and
therefore non-linear) InfoBase chaining and module chaining is
possible.
[0076] In a multi-site (computer) environment, each site executes
operations lists via its own EDP and accepts remote operations
lists as well. Since a Universal Entity Identifier (UEI) identifies
the site from which data originates (i.e., is located on), remotely
located data is potentially slower, but is handled via EDP-to-EDP
communication and data transfer that is invisible to the client.
Therefore, it is possible for one site to initiate a process that
will execute via the EDP of another site, thereby leaving the
original site free to perform further immediate processing.
Binary Association
[0077] In a logical information organization, an atom of
information can be a logical representation for a topic, event,
process, or entity which can exist, be identified, and requires
processing. A logical organization exists when the information
atoms are associated in different ways to produce a structure. In
current information organization methodologies, the only kind of
association between two atoms of information is containment. This
is true no matter how evolved the containment method may be. For
example, in object-oriented programming methods, objects can have
associated predefined processes, where this is accomplished by the
object containing the processes or references to those
processes.
[0078] Current methods maintain child-lists for each parent to
record logical organization. A child is only recognized as having
an association if it is a parent itself.
[0079] FIG. 3 is a block diagram that illustrates the associations
present in a containment organization. In FIG. 3, the atoms shown
on the right, identified as B 304, C 306, D 308, and E 310, are the
children of A 302. The containment approach is to store the atoms
(or identifiers to atoms) B 304, C 306, D 308, and E 310 in the
logical control record for A 302. For example, a directory in DOS
or UNIX is simply a file containing a list of that directory's
contents.
[0080] Unlike a conventional set-element, the EDIN provides two
atoms (or identifiers of atoms): a Subject and an Attribute. Each
of the atoms given by an EDIN is an information atom in the sense
described above. The Attribute provides additional association,
enhancement or qualification to a given Subject atom. As a result,
an EDIN contains a binary-association within itself. The EDIN is an
independent entity, capable of existing in any EDS whose condition
(SDE) can be met. The Subject and Attribute atoms can be used in
various ways to express any number of different associations. As a
result, an EDS (a set of EDINs) can contain any number of singular
relationships to describe a more general association.
[0081] FIG. 4 is a block diagram that illustrates the binary
associations according to the present invention. FIG. 4 shows four
EDINs with a Subject of A 402 and Attributes B 404, C 406, D 408,
and E 410. The condition for this EDS is simply that the Subject of
each EDIN must be A 402. Each EDIN provides a relation, but all
EDINs together describe the same tree as shown in FIG. 3. In this
way, a collection of EDINs provide binary-associations between
Subject atom A 402 and the various Attributes 404-410.
[0082] Note that it is equally possible to dynamically generate
another EDS where the condition (SDE) is that the Attribute must be
B 404. This EDS would describe all-atoms which have the Subject in
a relation with B 404. Yet another SDE could produce an EDS where
all Subjects are A 402 and all Attributes are B 404. This EDS would
describe all the possible associations of A 402 and B 404.
[0083] Containment methods also experience problems when two
existing information organizations need to be combined. FIG. 5 is a
block diagram that illustrates grouping in a containment
organization to achieve a combined topic. The two existing
organizations under A 502 and B 504 are combined to produce a
combined organization 506. No new associations are produced, the
associations of A 502 and B 504 remain unchanged. Containment
methods have no way of actually integrating the two organizations
because identification of atoms is based on location. Consider the
atom D 506 under topic A 502. This atom also occurs under topic B
504. In the resultant combined organization, atom D 506 is
duplicated, since the location of the two were different prior to
combining the organizations. This is actually not good as the
duplicate atom in the new organization will confuse existing
processes which access atom D 506. As a result, combing two logical
containment organizations is often manual and always time
consuming. Using BOSS, the same two organizations can be combined
without the problems common among containment approaches.
[0084] FIG. 6 is a block diagram that illustrates grouping
according to the present invention to achieve a combined topic.
FIG. 6 shows an EDS format of the same topics A 602 and B 604 as in
FIG. 5. Again, atom D occurs both under topics A 602 and B 604
prior to the merge. The combined topic 606 simply contains all
EDINs of both topics, where the condition for the EDS is that the
EDIN Subject must be either A 602 or B 604. The atom D occurs as
the Attribute of two EDINs, but is not duplicated. That is, both
EDIN Attributes identify the same exact information atom.
[0085] In this way, BOSS is independent of the location of
information atoms in an organization. In other words, BOSS achieves
a complete separation of physical and logical locations of data.
Note that this is only possible because of the endo-binary nature
of the EDIN, the derived binary association in an EDS, and
universally unique data identification and location.
Universal Entity Identification
[0086] The next cornerstone of BOSS is the universally unique
identification and location of items. In BOSS, each set and each
element is uniquely identifiable via a Universal Entity Identifier
(UEI). This means that any topic/object can be uniquely identified,
under all conditions. If this were not true and a containment-based
approach were used, BOSS could be inadvertently rendered impotent
because the Subject and Attributes of an EDIN could be ambiguous.
The ambiguity is introduced because if an item (Subject or
Attribute of an EDIN) cannot be uniquely identified, it cannot be
uniquely or correctly associated with other items.
Dimensia
[0087] The next element of BOSS is called "Dimensia". Dimensia
loosely refers to contexts or levels of abstraction that a method
for information organization is able to achieve at both atomic and
non-atomic levels. Most current systems use flat or static
multi-level methods for information organization. A flat method or
structure employs one level of abstraction. A static multi-level
method provides a maximum of N predefined levels of
abstraction.
[0088] In all current methods, an information atom qualifies and/or
describes itself. For example, an object in an object-oriented
programming system may contain the atomic element's 32 bit number,
string, and date. While describing itself, the singular atom does
not immediately provide a relationship to any other entities. For
example, an atomic date object element simply tells you that fact;
it does not provide you with any relationships it may have to any
other entities. It is the object containing the elements which is
known to have relationships with each atom. By further including
object deriving procedures in an object, one or more atoms may be
related to other entities, but only the object driver knows this
fact, and the identity of the associated entities. So even in
evolved containment methods, only a limited set of the data
relationships are given by the data itself; the rest is process
dependant.
[0089] FIGS. 7A, 7B, 7C, 7D, and 7E are block diagrams that
illustrate a current method of organization, e.g., a binary tree
702. To have this logical structure, the organization can be of two
general types. It can be an array 704 where tree-traversal is
performed via mathematically calculated indexes, based on current
index. Or it can be a set of records 706 with left and right
pointers. In either case, an inflexible control structure is used
to achieve logical organization. These structures are inflexible
because they are static in nature. For example, should the order of
the elements in the array 704 change, a different tree (if one is
decipherable at all) is now represented. The record example 706 is
free of this problem, but the control record is particular and can
only be used for binary trees and linked lists.
[0090] In BOSS, each EDIN contains a Bond between a Subject and an
Attribute. As described above and shown by FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, an
EDS 708 can represent a tree by collecting all EDINs with the same
Subject. However, to implement all levels in a tree, Attribute
atoms in EDINs occur as Subject atoms in other EDINs. In FIGS.
7A-7E, to record the example binary tree 702, an EDS 708 records
enough EDINs to relate all required associations. Note that to
discern left and right children, the Bond specified in the EDIN can
be used. Note that since an EDS is dynamically generated,
insertions and deletions to/from a weighted tree 710 are trivial as
shown in FIG. 7E, and do not involve complex left or right sub tree
rotation.
[0091] In general, by duplicating the EDIN (i.e., twice the control
data) with same Subject and different Attributes, two or more
relationships of the same Subject atom and various Attribute
entities can be established. In each case, the particular
relationship is identified. In this way, all the different
relationships an atom has to one other entity, as well as
expressing all the different entities with which that atom has a
relationship, can be expressed. Therefore, using BOSS methodology,
the maximum number of possible individually defined relationships
of one entity with others is infinite and is only constrained by
the amount of available storage space. This is a major aspect of
Dimensia.
[0092] When complex and/or compound logical organizations of data
are used, current methodologies are also forced to employ (and
implement) complex and/or compound processes to traverse the
organization. Consider the case shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, which are
block diagrams that illustrate a compound logical structure
according to the present invention. In FIGS. 8A-8B, each atom of
the example binary tree 702 of FIGS. 7A-7E is also an element in a
distinct and separate two-dimensional array 802. Using current
methodologies, new structures must be introduced, i.e., eight
two-dimensional arrays of DATA IDENTIFIER. The DATA IDENTIFIER
values of atoms "A" to "H" would then be stored in appropriate
locations in one of arrays, A1 to A8. Now the program dealing with
the data must not only include processes for the old binary-tree
record 706, but also include processes to manipulate the
arrays.
[0093] To implement the example compound organization 802 using
BOSS, new EDINs are introduced, not new structures or processes.
FIGS. 8A and 8B illustrate a simple (and inefficient)
two-dimensional array implementation, where the EDINs are sequenced
based on a value calculated from two-dimensional values. The EDS
804 actually encompasses all the arrays, where sequenced subsets of
EDINs represent two-dimensional arrays. In each EDIN subset, the
atom which coexists in the binary tree 802 is shown; this atom
would occur in the sequence resulted from its array coordinates.
Each such EDIN set is not a two dimensional array in the actual
sense, and is very sparse. Again, the dynamic nature of an EDS,
means that the EDS is sequenced upon generation.
[0094] Note that the additional EDINs 804 to represent the arrays
could be stored together with the EDINs for the binary tree 708 of
FIGS. 7A-7E in a module. Upon loading the module, and depending on
the Set Definition Equation (SDE) used, one or the other of the
EDS's can be produced. In this way, Dimensia is made possible for
information, where no new processes or control structures are
required, and only new SDEs and EDINs are introduced and processed
(as per before) to produce different and currently incompatible
views of the same atoms of data.
Associative Processing
[0095] The next cornerstone of BOSS is associative processing. As
mentioned above, a Bond in a given EDIN identifies a native BOSS
process associated with the Attribute of that EDIN, and possibly
involving the Subject of that EDIN. In a BOSS environment, it is
possible to automatically establish and execute new associated
processes, based on a given information set. As a simple example,
consider the two EDINs given as 902 in FIG. 9, which is a block
diagram that illustrates associative processing according to the
present invention. Based on these EDINs, the BOSS process is able
to automatically derive and store the third EDIN 904. From then on,
the item "X" has direct relationships with both "Y" and "Z". Note
that the derived EDIN 904 can only be assumed to be correct when
the relation is transitive in nature (i.e., X BOND Y.dbd.Y BOND X).
For example, the "brother of" relationship is transitive, while
"father of" is not. Aside from simple association, BOSS can derive
associations whose correctness is not absolute. Consider the EDINs
given as 906 in FIG. 9. Possible automatic derivations are shown as
the EDINs 908. Such proposed EDINs can then be automatically
checked for correctness by gathering all data about "A" and "C" and
then performing an exhaustive cross check to establish one of the
following general results: [0096] Not enough data [0097] The
correct and incorrect EDIN(s)
[0098] Since EDINs with any contents and purpose can coexist in a
given module, it is possible to automatically derive new
relationships and associated processing and store such new
information in the same module, thereby expanding the InfoFrame of
BOSS on an automatic and dynamic basis.
Hardware Evolution
[0099] The principles of BOSS outlined thus far are hardware
compatible concepts. It is possible to reduce the vast majority of
BOSS operators directly into hardware. Indeed, most of the BOSS
operators and the Endo-Dynamic Processor have been designed such
that they can be converted (or evolved into) hardware.
[0100] This simple fact renders BOSS one of the most powerful data
organization approaches in existence. Besides being able to operate
two to three orders of magnitude faster than conventional data
organization approaches when implemented in hardware, BOSS is
infinitely more flexible.
[0101] Based on the evolution of hardware devices, the demand for
order of magnitude solutions is greater than ever. Further, the
existing approaches to solving the increasingly complex data
organization, migration and integration issues are being limited by
the engines used.
[0102] The BOSS methodology also promises interesting advances in
CPU design. Consider that a UEI can also be a machine code
mnemonic. A natural result of this fact is that the data of an EDIN
can also be a program, under the correct circumstances. Further, it
is possible to also create processing actions based on the binary
relation found in an EDIN.
Components
[0103] Unless specified otherwise, when any component or list is
stored to file, a number of operations occur. First, a checksum of
the component is calculated. Next, the checksum, followed by a size
(or number of records) is stored at top of file. Finally, the
component is saved. Loading performs the reverse actions.
Universal Entity Identifier (UEI)
[0104] FIG. 10 is a block diagram that illustrates the structure of
a Universal Entity Identifier (UEI), which is the heart of
information location and identification in BOSS methodology. A UEI
contains two fields to provide a universally unique location for a
physical body of data. These are the Site Owner Identifier (SOI)
and the Site Entity Identifier (SEI). The SOI is the serial number
of the EDP operating at a given site or some other unique
identifier for an EDP. The SEI is a unique incremental number per
site, where the SEI is assigned and incremented each time a new
data entity is created. An SOI and SEI together are called a
Combined Data Identifier (CDI). A CDI combines the duties of
identification and physical location into a single entity. This is
contrary to many current methods, where location is derived or is
cross-referenced based on a given identifier.
Endo-Dynamic Information Node (EDIN)
[0105] FIG. 11 is a block diagram that illustrates the structure of
an Endo-Dynamic Information Node (EDIN), which comprises the
elements in an EDS. The EDIN is the most atomic form of stored BOSS
information. An EDIN is composed of four fields, i.e., a Subject
UEI, an Attribute UEI, a Bond UEI, and a Sequence field. The
Subject, Attribute, and Bond UEIs can occur in other EDINs and in
other fields. For example, an Attribute UEI can be a Subject or
Bond UEI in another EDIN. The Sequence field is used to enforce a
predefined order for the EDINs in an EDS.
EDIN Combinational Behavior
[0106] FIG. 12 is a block diagram that illustrates the valid
combinations 1202 of the EDIN fields in terms of value, i.e.,
non-null, null, and "any" (i.e., could be either null or a valid
value) according to the present invention. Since any field in an
EDIN can contain a null value, it is prudent to specify the exact
set of possible combinations and their meanings.
[0107] The first and most common combination is for all valid EDINs
which are simply elements in a set.
[0108] The second combination is used when an item of information
is "nullified" (see below). This has the effect of making the
Attribute item inaccessible in all non-edit BOSS processes.
[0109] The last two combinations are shown for completeness. These
combinations, and all others not shown by FIG, 12, are illegal and
invalid occurrences of EDINs.
Nullified EDINS
[0110] As shown in FIG. 12, if the Attribute of an EDIN has a null
value, it is called a Nullified Subject Node (NSN), where the
Subject of a NSN is the item being nullified. When a NSN is
created, all EDINs with the same Subject and all the EDINs with the
same Attribute UEI, as the NSN subject, are now prohibited from
being including on all subsequent EDS generations. This has the
effect of hiding information, or hiding a particular section in an
organization. To remove a nullification (un-nullify), the NSN is
simply removed from a module. Now, all previously invisible items
or hierarchy branches are made visible again.
[0111] The NSN is strictly optional and it's presence or absence
does not invalidate or limit the working of BOSS methodology. If
used, NSNs can augment BOSS with an information hiding
capability.
Bond
[0112] The third EDIN field is a Bond UEI value. This ensures that
Bonds are universally unique. A Bond value identifies a process
where processing occurs based on an interpretation of the EDIN
Attribute field; these include a noun, verb, adjective, adverb,
action, action-sequence, etc. In all cases, the Bond is known to be
between the Subject and the Attribute.
[0113] FIG. 13 is a block diagram that illustrates the structure of
a Bond Information Record (BIR), which records Bond information. A
BIR has three fields. The first is a Bond to provide a key in the
Bond Information Table (BIT). The BIT is a list of BIRs sorted by
the Bond field. As shown in FIG. 14, the BIT is stored at the
InfoFrame level. The second field of the BIR is a flag to describe
the basic properties of the Bond. The last field of the BIR is UEI
which identifies the associated process to be executed (by the
EDP). This is most often an EDO, but can also be a major subsystem
of the EDP which handles this and other similar bonds or a BOSS
program. The images and any default values for bonds are stored in
the IMAGE-ETS and DATA-ETS at the InfoFrame level.
[0114] As shown in FIG. 15, the Bond Flags field in the BIR gives
the properties of the Bond, as follows: [0115]
Active/Passive--Active Bonds institute immediate processing and
interrupt the active process flow until they are terminated.
Passive Bonds are relations which make a statement of fact or
existence; they do not instigate immediate processing, but are used
in the various BOSS processes to generate and process EDSS. [0116]
Operator--This flag indicates that the Bond is an EDO. Although
redundant, EDOs are also Bonds recorded twice. The UEI for the EDO
Bond is identical to the EDO UEI given for that EDO in the Operator
IT (forces active as flag enable). [0117] Call--This flag indicates
that the Bond is a BOSS process including a SDE, BOSS program, EDP
command list (forces active as flag enable). When this flag is off,
the associated process is assumed to be an OS binary program.
[0118] Spawn--This flag indicates that a non-BOSS process is to
spawn concurrently or multitask (forces active as flag enable and
call flag disable). [0119] User/Native--This flag indicates whether
the Bond is a native Bond as supplied by the EDP, or a Bond created
by other person or process. Whenever a Bond is created, this flag
is set to User, since any native Bonds would be supplied by the EDP
or shipped as upgrades.
[0120] In order for Bonds to make sense to a user, not only do they
have to have names, but also some form of organization. The
names/images for all Bonds are stored in the IMAGE-ETS, using the
Bonds as the search key.
[0121] In order to provide organization, the Bond Organizational
Record (BOR) is used. A minimal form of the BOR is shown in FIG.
16. This BOR contains only two fields, a SELF and a RELATED Bond.
Using this simple record, almost any logical organization of Bonds
can be achieved.
[0122] As shown in FIG. 17, anything from a multi-level tree 1702
to a simple list 1704 is possible. Depending on the running
process, different logical structures can be adopted.
[0123] A Bond value should always occur in the Bond EDIN field.
Consider a bond UEI which is recorded as a subject or attribute of
an EDIN, with some other Bond value in the EDIN bond field. When
this EDIN is processed, the bond recorded as subject or attribute
will behave as a subject or an attribute, and not as bond. This can
cause errors in EDP processes and clients which require and
recognize the subjected/attributed bond for their critical
processing.
Endo-Dynamic Set (EDS)
[0124] Any dynamically generated or simply loaded list of EDINs is
an Endo-Dynamic Set (EDS). An EDS always has a particular purpose
and meaning, as known only to the process using the data. For
example, an EDS generated from a program module could be a program
data structure, a program data occurrence, or a procedure
occurrence. The EDINs in the EDS also may be or may not be ordered,
depending on the requirements of the data being represented by the
EDS as a whole.
[0125] EDS's are identified by UEIs, but for the most part, this is
done indirectly and not in the same manner as other entities. The
UEI associated with most EDS's is actually the identifier for a Set
Definition Equation (SDE). Given any module, the SDE can be used to
(re)produce an EDS with the same exact membership conditions and
potentially different elements. Instead of storing the distinct
EDS's present in a module, only the equations (SDEs) need be
stored. This is required to ensure EDS's generated via SDEs remain
dynamic at all times, and is somewhat smaller since set elements
need not be duplicated. Since an SDE is itself implemented as an
EDS, it is necessary to store the SDE-EDS in the same module.
Basic EDIN Sequences
[0126] Information can be generally categorized as being active or
passive. In this view, EDIN sequencing in an EDS takes one of two
basic forms: active sequence and passive sequence. An active
sequence is always an executable process of some form; a passive
sequence always expresses the structure, existence, qualities,
properties, values, etc., of some information. Put differently, an
active sequence performs some activity, while a passive sequence
provides data about some information. Further, BOSS methodology
allows for any combination and number of occurrences of both kinds
of EDIN sequencing in the same EDS. However, this would involve
overhead processing, and the availability of a client program to
process the passive sequences. Some passive sequences have
associated native processes which handle or drive those particular
kinds of passive information required for BOSS operations. In both
cases, the EDIN sequence field is used to establish the EDIN order.
For active sequences, the EDIN sequence value starts from zero and
goes up to the number of required EDINs, where an EDIN sequence
value is never duplicated in an active sequence. For passive
processes, the EDIN sequence may or may not be required, depending
on the information being represented by the passive sequence. For
example, if the passive information comprises files maintained
hierarchically in directories, which exist in volumes, the sequence
field is not required. However, if the passive information is a
data structure definition, with elements in some depth, the
sequence fields are used to order the elements of the structure.
The only EDIN sequence value which can be duplicated in a passive
sequence is a "null" value.
[0127] To express an active sequence, one or more Endo-Dynamic
Command Lines (EDCL) are used, where the order of the EDCLs, as
established by the EDIN sequence fields, embodies the required
active sequence. To express a passive sequence, one or more
Endo-Dynamic Information Statements (EDIS) are used, where the
EDINs may or may not be ordered by the EDIN sequence field.
Endo-Dynamic Command Line (EDCL)
[0128] The BOSS central process, the EDP, takes command lines as
input. An Endo-Dynamic Command Line (EDCL) is dynamic in nature,
and variable length. The basic EDCL 1802 is shown in FIG. 18.
First, any number of EDINs bond any number of parameters to a
subject identification, the subject being an EDCL 1802. Then, an
EDIN bonds the EDCL 1802 (same subject) to an executable entity,
shown as "XXX". The EDINs are ordered by the sequence field to
place parameters before the execution occurrence. The executable
entity XXX could be an endo-dynamic operator, a BOSS process
(including SDE, BOSS program, activation list, etc.), or an OS
executable program.
[0129] EDOs form the "instruction" set available from the EDCL
1802. EDO EDCLs 1802 are the fastest to execute, and require the
least amount of overhead processing. A BOSS process is any ordered
list of EDCLs. This could be an SDE, a BOSS interpreted program, an
activation list for an InfoBase or InfoFrame, etc. An OS executable
program is externally executed and requires the most amount of
overhead processing.
[0130] The EDCL 1802 differs from conventional command lines in
several ways. Clearly, the EDCL 1802 is variable length in that any
number of parameters are possible. The EDCL 1802 is also dynamic,
in that parameter and execute EDINs (all EDINs for an EDCL 1802)
can be changed dynamically, and the EDCL re-executed. Note that the
EDCL 1802 trigger for the EDP is the Bond field of the EDINs, not
the subject or attribute fields. This is an important aspect of
BOSS methodology. Using the Bond as a trigger means that, in EDCL
1802 processing, information subjects and attributes can occur
freely and without affecting the process flow.
[0131] The EDCL 1802 forms the basis of BOSS processing. Using
combinations of EDCLs 1802, any process what so ever, using any
kind and number of parameters, can be accurately recorded and
executed. Using the generic EDCL 1802 enables all BOSS clients to
dynamically create and modify any kind of EDCL group, and then have
it executed and re-executed by the EDP. As should be obvious, the
EDCL 1802 provides a simple and powerful way of implementing,
maintaining and executing genetic algorithms. Many of the EDP
initialization, and default information processes, are expressed
and stored as an ordered list of EDCLs 1802. Any ordered list of
EDCLs 1802 is referred to as an Endo-Dynamic Command Set (EDCS)
1804.
Endo-Dynamic Information Statement (EDIS)
[0132] An Endo-Dynamic Information Statement (EDIS) is two or more
EDINs which make a statement of fact about some subject. The basic
EDIS 1902 is shown in FIG. 19. In this figure, several attributes
are bonded (possibly via different bonds) to the same subject "A".
When order and hierarchy are required for the information, an EDIN
attribute UEI (shown as "B") occurs as the subject of other EDINs,
whose attributes further describe the UEI (i.e., "B") originally
occurring as an attribute of a subject.
[0133] This is an important aspect of BOSS methodology. The
interchangability of the subject and attribute UEIs means that any
depth and breadth of information hierarchy can be achieved.
Further, upward or backward links can be introduced into the
information hierarchy, such that a workable information
network/graph is achieved.
[0134] The EDIS 1902 is dynamic in nature, so that the expressed
passive sequence is a dynamically established one. Since EDINs can
be freely inserted into an EDS, and the EDS reordered, any
information represented as a passive sequence remains dynamic. In
the example shown in FIG. 19, the EDIN sequence fields are not
used. However, many passive sequences require this field to
establish order among the EDINS. Any passive sequence of EDINs is
called an Endo-Dynamic Statement Set (EDSS) 1904.
Data and Images
[0135] So far, all information has been referred to in terms of
UEIs. While the UEI does provide all required information about an
entity to a process, it means little to an end-user. For example,
while a program can process and maintain an EDS identified by the
UEI value "112:10", it would be pointless for that program to
display those numbers to an end-user. Clearly, names and/or images
must be associated with each unique entity, so that a program can
use them in its display interface. Hereafter, "image" refers to
both a binary image and a name-string.
[0136] Aside from an image, an entity (as represented by an EDIN),
may also have associated physical data. For example, a BOSS-applied
database program would use EDINs to record logical relationships
and groupings, but it could not directly use EDINs to store the
different data values being maintained by the database.
[0137] Both images and physical data are examples of Variable
Length Data (VLD). To maintain and store VLD in general, a format
called "Expandable Table Set" is used.
[0138] As shown in FIG. 20, an Expandable Table Set (ETS) 2002 is a
file or memory pair, consisting of an Expandable Table Array (ETA)
2004 and an Expandable Table Composite (ETC) 2006. The ETA 2004 and
ETC 2006 must exist together or not at all. The ETA 2004 is a
sorted list, where each element is an Expandable Table Record (ETR)
2008. Each ETR 2008 identifies information about (and the location
of) an Expandable Table Block (ETB) 2010 within an ETC 2006. As
shown in FIG. 21, the ETR 2008 is a record containing a UEI key, a
flags field, an ETB size, an ETB checksum and an ETB file address.
The ETRs 2008 in the ETA 2004 are sorted based on the UEI key. The
ETC 2006 is simply a binary dataset composed of a number of
variable-length ETBs 2010, in any order.
[0139] To find an associated piece of VLD, a binary search is
performed of the ETA 2004 for the input UEI. The UEI comparison is
binary, so if any field of a subsequent input UEI is different, a
different associated VLD occurrence exists. Since the ETA 2004 is
ordered by UEI value, one ETS 2002 can be used to store all VLDs of
all data. Where two or more VLDs are required for a single UEI,
separate ETS's 2002 must be used.
[0140] As shown in FIG. 20, each ETA 2004 contains an Expandable
Table Array Header (ETAH) 2012 at the top, followed by the actual
ETA 2004 (list of ETRs 2008). As shown in FIG. 22, an ETAH 2012
contains: a flags field, a self-ETS UEI, an ETA size (number of
ETR's) an ETA CHECKSUM field to enable verification of the ETA file
upon loading an ETC size, an ETC CHECKSUM field to enable
verification of the ETC file upon loading, an ETA memory address,
an ETC memory address, an ETC buffer size, a current starting ETR
identifier, and a current last ETR identifier.
[0141] Through usage, VLDs will come and go in a system. That is,
when entities are deleted, their associated VLDs are also deleted.
This would leave holes of unused space between the used ETBs 2010
of an ETC 2006. Fortunately, the process to optimize an ETS 2002 is
trivial. First, a temporary ETC 2006 buffer is allocated. Then,
starting from the first ETR 2008, and by keeping a current pointer,
all valid ETBs 2018 are copied, back-to-back, into the temporary
ETC 2006. To finish, the ETC 2010 is overwritten with the temporary
ETC 2006 buffer and the temporary ETC 2010 buffer is
de-allocated.
[0142] If memory is scarce, the optimization can be performed using
a buffer as large as the largest ETB 2010. In such cases, ETBs 2010
would be swapped (using unused holes) until they are in a
back-to-back order. Unlike the first scheme, using a single ETB
2010 buffer, the ETBs 2010 in the resultant ETC 2006 may not be
ordered in the same order as the ETRs 2008.
[0143] Since a BOSS element can have an image and have associated
physical data, two ETS's 2002 are used for each element. FIG. 20
also shows the minimum set 2014 of ETS's 2002 required at any level
to enable BOSS VLD maintenance.
Infoframe
[0144] FIG. 14 illustrates the components 1402 of the Information
Frame (InfoFrame), which represents the highest level of logical
and physical data organization in BOSS. The InfoFrame is a
definition of the collection and usage of all InfoBases found at a
site, and other sites that may be connected to the home site.
[0145] FIG. 23 illustrates the components of an InfoFrame Control
Record (IFCR), which is contained in the InfoFrame to describe the
default InfoBase processing, if any, for a site. The IFCR contains
a Local Name UEI field to provide a local name for the InfoFrame
known to the current site that is used as key into the IMAGE-ETS
for the InfoFrame (at this site) A Flags field is used to record
InfoFrame processing configurations. An SOI field recorded from the
serial number of the installed EDP is used to create all UEIs
generated at the current site; A Next SEI field is used to provide
the next available SEI value across the current site, and this
value is incremented, once read, by the EDP processes which create
UEIs. A Modifiers field is used to provide operational thresholds
and guidelines for the InfoFrame, wherein these modifiers are:
OLDEST VALID EDS, START TIME, EDS MODIFY OCCURRENCES, STOP TIME,
and EDS MODIFY FREQUENCY.
[0146] To absolutely determine when EDS's require regeneration, it
would be required to examine each EDIN in each EDS, to determine
all possible EDS's which that EDS is dependant upon (in some way).
Clearly, this is a time consuming and an infeasible methodology to
adopt. Instead, the OLDEST VALID EDS is used. This is a time
scalar, indicating how old a valid EDS can be. If this is a low
number, EDS's are quickly deemed invalid and in need of
regeneration. If a high number, generated EDS's are deemed valid
for long periods of time.
[0147] While the EDP can record occurrences when distinct changes
are made to individual EDS's or SDES, this fact is not enough to
estimate when an EDS requires regeneration. For this reason, the
OLDEST VALID EDS value is used.
[0148] While this number can be assigned, an End-Dynamic Operator,
"DETERMINE-OLDEST-VALID", can be used at any time to automatically
determine a value for this number. The START TIME, and the three
modifiers EDS MODIFY OCCURRENCES, STOP TIME, and EDS MODIFY
FREQUENCY, are used by the DETERMINE-OLDEST-VALID operator. When
first initiated, this EDO records the START TIME, sets the EDS
MODIFY OCCURRENCES to zero, and enables the RECORD MODIFY flag in
the IFCR flags. This flag indicates that each subsequent EDS
modification requires an increment of the EDS MODIFY OCCURRENCES
modifier. Finally, this EDO prompts for a time duration, and
records a STOP TIME. At the appointed stop time, the EDS MODIFY
FREQUENCY is calculated based on the other assigned/accumulated
modifiers. This frequency is then used to determine an estimated
OLDEST VALID EDS value.
[0149] The InfoFrame also contains a Default InfoBase List (DIL),
whose elements are EDINs and which comprises an EDCS. FIG. 24 shows
an example DIL 2402 with three EDCLs. First, for each parameter
required for an InfoBase activation, an EDIN occurs. No parameter
EDINs are present if the InfoBase requires no parameters. After the
parameter EDINs,.the last EDIN associated with the InfoBase occurs,
where the "activate InfoBase" EDO performs all tasks associated
with locating and activating a particular InfoBase.
[0150] A Default Module List (DML) is used in the InfoFrame, whose
elements are EDINs. The DML is an EDCS, exactly as the DIL 2402,
except that the EDIN subjects are all a UEI generated for the
InfoFrame DML. The InfoFrame-DML is used and loaded before the DIL
2402, and InfoBase DMLs. This enables the EDP to load native
modules which may have a hand in loading and activating
InfoBases.
[0151] The InfoFrame also contains an InfoBase definition List
(IBDL), where each element is an IBDR. The IBDL is frequently
updated to ensure any newly added InfoBases are included. The
InfoFrame contains Data and Image ETS's to record such data
associated directly with the InfoFrame. The InfoFrame contains an
Operator Information Table (OIT), to identify and describe all
Endo-Dynamic Operators. The InfoFrame contains one or more EDO
program files, each containing the executable code for one or more
operators. The InfoFrame contains a Parameter ETS, to describe all
parameters for all EDOs. The InfoFrame contains a Bond Information
Table to describe all bonds. The InfoFrame contains a Default
Command List (DCL), to provide a "default dynamic program" which
EDP always (and possibly continuously) executes.
Infobase
[0152] FIG. 14 illustrates the structure of an Information Base
(InfoBase), which is a conglomeration of one or more information
modules. An InfoBase Definition Record (IBDR) is used to provide
image and processing options for the InfoBase. An IBDR file exists
for each InfoBase for import/export purposes. All regularly used
IBDRs are stored on an InfoFrame basis.
[0153] As shown in FIG. 25, the IBDR is composed of: a FLAGS field
to provide processing switches, a self-UEI field to uniquely
identify the InfoBase, and an image-UEI field to provide a key into
the InfoBase assigning an image for the InfoBase. The Flags field
is identical to the one in the IFCR.
[0154] A Module Definition List (MDL) is used to provide a list of
included modules in the InfoBase. Each element of the MDL is an MDR
as described under module section.
[0155] A Default Module List (DML) is used for the InfoBase
structured exactly as the DML stored at the InfoFrame level.
[0156] The following modules identified by the InfoBase DML are
loaded and activated upon InfoBase activation. The Data and Image
ETS's are used to record such data associated directly with the
InfoBase.
[0157] Modules can be included in an InfoBases in two ways: shared,
and exclusive. A shared module physically occurs once across all
InfoBases in the current InfoFrame, but may be included in all
InfoBases. In a BOSS-applied environment where concurrent
processing is possible, the usual precautions and preprocessing
must be applied before access is granted. An exclusive module is
what all modules are by default, one that is exclusive to a
particular InfoBase. An exclusive module only appears in the
InfoBase it is exclusive to. While other InfoBases can access an
exclusive module, any such access is regulated by the owner
InfoBase.
[0158] An InfoBase can store a large amount of data and processing.
In general, an InfoBase will have one or more modules containing
data in one or more data organizations, and one or more modules
containing programs which process that data. The modules containing
programs which process that data are optional, in that the programs
that process the BOSS data need not be written as BOSS programs;
they could be any binary program.
Modules
[0159] FIG. 14 illustrates the structure of an Information Module
(IM), which is a collection of EDINs and ETS's to record the
associated images and physical data. The minimum set of required
ETS's is used as described in the previous section. These ETS's
store all images and data for the module as well as for all EDINs
in the CNL. When saved EDS's are present, images associated with
saved EDS's are also stored in these ETS's.
[0160] A Collective Node List (CNL) stores all EDINs, in arbitrary
order, which together make up all the EDS's which can be generated
from that module. The CNL is always loaded upon module activation.
Most EDS generation operators require the specification of one or
more modules to use as a source of generation; in such cases, all
associated CNLs must be loaded (in turn) and used as a source for
generation.
[0161] A Set Definition List (SDL) maintains a list of "saved
EDS's". Each element in the SDL is a Set Definition Record (SDR).
As shown in FIG. 26, each SDR contains a self-identifier UEI field
identifying the EDS, a GENERATION-PROCESS UEI field, a Flags field,
a LAST-GENERATION field, an EDS size field, and a memory address.
The LAST-GENERATION and memory address fields are only used at
runtime, after the EDP has loaded a particular module, and provide
the current location and size of an EDS in memory. The
GENERATION-PROCESS UEI identifies a process which will generate the
EDS; this can be either an SDE, or another process. The
LAST-GENERATION field is also only used at runtime; it is a date
and time stamp of the last generation. This field provides a
measure of how valid or up to date the EDINs pointed to by EDS
address fields are. This field is compared to (current time--oldest
valid eds), and if older, the associated EDS is deemed to be
invalid and in need of regeneration. The SDR flags field is used to
record which EDS's are temporary and which are not. Further, it
identifies whether the EDS generation process is an SDE, or other
process. All newly generated EDS's are by default temporary. Using
EDOs, a newly generated EDS can be made permanent, or a generation
process can be made to result in a permanent EDS.
[0162] When an EDS is saved to a module, only unique EDINs are
added, or old EDINs updated in the CNL; EDINs are never duplicated
in the CNL. Next, the EDINs which make up the equation (SDE), used
to generate the EDS, are also added to/updated in the CNL. Finally,
the UEI for the SDE is added to/updated in the SDL. Now, upon
subsequent module loading, a client can first re-generate the SDE,
then execute the SDE to regenerate a (new version of a) previously
saved EDS.
[0163] When a new EDS is dynamically generated, a new unique UEI is
assigned to it, and a new SDR created in the SDL. The
self-identifier field of the new SDR is assigned from the newly
created UEI value. All SDR flags are cleared, the last generation
date is set, and the EDS size and address fields assigned from the
newly generated EDS buffer. The SDE is set from the LAST-SDE global
variable; this variable is cleared in each EDP cycle, and is set by
the last line of any SDE. As a result, it can be used by the EDP
processes to determine the associated SDE (or NULL for none).
[0164] As shown in FIG. 27, the Module Definition Record (MDR)
provides a UEI for the module image (stored in the module ETS's),
as well as default processing flags for a module. These are the
same flags as for the IFCR and IBDR. The MDR for a module is always
stored in a separate file; this file is only used when importing or
exporting modules. The MDR in this file (along with all other
modules used by an InfoBase) are duplicated in the Module
Definition List as defined for an InfoBase. So, in reality, the MDL
contains the latest version of all MDRs, and when import/export is
required, the MDR file is generated and used. This is done to avoid
potentially long update periods every time a module is modified in
some way, and poses no problems because the MDR file is not used in
regular processing; only for import/export.
[0165] A Default EDS List (DEL) is used, where each element is a
UEI identifying an EDS to generate (i.e., identifying an
SDE/process to execute). All default EDS's are generated upon
module loading.
[0166] The IM is a self-contained package of information, providing
values, images, data organization(s), data association(s), and data
processing. The IM is always constructed to serve the needs of a
client BOSS process. Since an EDS can always be dynamically
generated from a CNL, it is possible to place incongruent or
inconsistent information in the same module; although this is not
recommended, it poses no problems to the BOSS environment, and
values, organizations, and associations remain unaffected. Some
module examples follow: [0167] A BOSS program, where procedures,
data-structure definitions, and data occurrences are recorded, and
later generated as, EDS's, which are processed by either the EDP or
a client BOSS program interpreter to run a program. [0168] A BOSS
menu system, where menus are recorded, and later generated as,
EDS's, which are processed by the BOSS menuing client.
[0169] In general it is best to group information common to the
same compound information entity in the same module. While out of
context EDINs in a module do not create problems by themselves, out
of context SDEs and EDINs would create potentially fatal processing
problems. For example, consider an out-of-context SDE which
generates an EDS for a data structure definition by default, for a
module whose purpose is menuing. This would more than likely hang
the menuing client. For these reasons, a BOSS client can construct
SDEs which "filter" all input EDINs for consistency. Such SDEs can
check for particular types and allows and disallow the input. So if
the module is a menuing system, data types like "procedure" could
be optionally disallowed.
Set Definition Equation (SDE)
[0170] As mentioned above, EDS's are based on Set Definition
Equations (SDEs). An SDE is an expression composed of Endo-Dynamic
Operators (EDOs) and operands. An Endo-Dynamic Operator (EDO) can
be almost any kind of operator. FIG. 28 shows an example SDE 2802
with a C-like format. A new EDS called MY-EDS will be the result of
resolving the right hand side of the equation. The atomic binary
SDE units are shown and numbered 1, 2, and 3 from the deepest to
the outermost SDE unit. The SUB, SEQ, and ATT mnemonics are EDOs
that perform filtering based on different fields of the EDIN. The
INTERSECT mnemonic is a logical EDO and signifies that the
resultant sets of both operand expressions must be intersected. The
expression shown in FIG. 28 dictates that all EDIN's in the
"MY-EDS" EDS will have a Subject equal to "W:X:" and an Attribute
equal to "A:B:". The "MODULE-N" module is the module used here for
all operators, except INTERSECT.
[0171] The SDEs are always binary in nature. No matter how complex
the equation, it can always be broken down into binary (and unary)
SDE-units. As a result, an SDE is easily implemented as an EDS.
[0172] FIG. 29 shows an EDS 2902 for the SDE depicted in FIG. 28.
This shows the Subject and Attribute fields of the EDIN as UEIs.
This EDS 2902 also shows the Bond and sequence field values. As can
be seen in FIG. 29, the SDE is simply an EDCS. In this case, these
EDCLs are shown, i.e., one for each EDO showing in FIG. 28.
[0173] In this way, an EDS 2902 can be used to store equations
(SDEs) which define how other EDS's are dynamically generated. The
subject fields of all EDINs will always contain a unique SDE-UEI
associated solely with MY EDS. The SDE by itself does not result in
anything. But when the SDE is applied to an existing EDS or module,
a new EDS can be generated. As a result, a single module, with
multiple SDEs, can provide different dynamically generated
EDS's.
Endo-Dynamic Operator (EDO)
[0174] As mentioned above, Endo-Dynamic Operators (EDOS) are to the
Endo-Dynamic Processor (EDP) as instructions are to a processor. An
EDO is any executable body of code requiring any number and type of
parameters. While the code for most EDOs is in the form of a binary
executable OS program (or procedure), EDOs expressed as EDCS's can
also be created and used. As should be obvious, an EDO occurrence
with all its required parameters forms a complete EDCL. So it is
possible to construct an EDO and EDCL, such that the EDCL activates
the EDO (via the EDP), wherein the EDO is itself an EDCS processed
by the EDP. This forces the EDP to be re-entrant, where the EDP
must be capable of correctly processing any number of EDCS's in as
many streams of processing as initiated by various processes.
[0175] Unlike conventional "instructions", the EDO is not limited
in size or complexity. The EDO can be anything from a one line
procedure to a whole system (program). Further, EDOs can freely
call each other without interfering with EDP process leveling or
the EDP stack.
[0176] Incorrect process streams which are potentially fatal are
terminated, mostly before and sometimes after a fatal process error
has occurred. All stack data regarding the process(es) which were
involved in a process stream resulting in the fatal error(s), can
be safely and accurately removed from the EDP stack, such that
pursuant EDP processing, and other existing processes can
continue.
[0177] For each EDO available for use, there exists an Operator
Information Record (OIR). As shown in FIG. 30, each OIR contains:
an OPERATOR UEI field to provide a key in the OIT, a NUMBER OF
PARAMETERS field to give the total number of input and output
parameters required by the operator (the number of PDRs in the
associated list), an Endo-Dynamic-Library UEI to identify the
library that contains the executable code of the EDO, and a CALLING
ADDRESS field to provide a memory address for the operator that is
only valid at runtime after the operator's executable code has been
loaded into memory. The OIRs are used at run time to verify calls
to, and execute operators. As shown in FIG. 14, all OIRs are
permanently maintained in the Operator Information Table (OIT),
maintained at the InfoFrame level. The OIT is a sorted list,
wherein a binary search locates a given OIR. The OIT is updated
when EDOs are imported or modified.
[0178] To record parameter data requirements for EDOS, the
PARAMETER-ETS is used. As shown in FIG. 14, this ETS is stored at
the InfoFrame level. The ETRs in this ETS have EDO UEIs as the
keys. The ETBs store ordered lists of records, where each record is
a Parameter Definition Record (PDR). As shown in FIG. 31, a PDR
contains: a Flags field to identify general I/O type of the
parameter, a Data Type field to identify the required data type to
internal BOSS processes, a Data Size field to give the size of the
identified data type, a Type Image UEI field that identifies an
image for the data type stored in the InfoFrame IMAGE-ETS and a
Default Value UEI field that points to a default value occurrence
for the parameter in the InfoFrame DATA-ETS (if no default value is
supplied, this field contains a null UEI). Both the OIT and the
Parameter ETS are used at run by the EDP to perform verified
dynamic entry and execution of EDCLs.
EDO-Infobase
[0179] An Endo-Dynamic Library (EDL) is an Information Module which
provides a means for transporting and storing all information
regarding a given set of EDOs. All EDOs in an EDL should be related
in some general way; this is often (part of) the name for the
library. Note that hereafter and throughout the document and
figures, "Library" is used interchangeably with "EDL".
[0180] A strictly logical entity called Endo-Dynamic Group (EDG) is
used to organize all EDLs in various ways. Note that hereafter and
throughout the document and figures, "Group" is used
interchangeably with "EDG".
[0181] All EDLs are collected by the Endo-Dynamic Operator InfoBase
(EDO-InfoBase). The EDO-InfoBase is an InfoBase like any other, but
also encompassing any additional program files required by the
EDLs. The EDO-InfoBase provides a way of accessing all available
libraries and library information. Further, using the InfoBase DML,
a certain base set of libraries are always activated (i.e., loaded
and ready to be processed via EDP). The EDO-InfoBase is supplied
with each EDP program/package, and is necessary for the operation
of the EDP.
[0182] While the OIT and the parameter ETS provide for quick EDP
processing at the top level, the bulk of the required data for the
EDO processing is provided by the EDO-InfoBase. The module
components as shown in FIG. 14 are used as follows for a library. A
library module is no different than any other module, except that
in some cases additional program files are also associated with the
module.
[0183] The Module Definition Records (MDR) comprises normal module
information, wherein the System flag is enabled.
[0184] The Collective Node List (CNL) stores EDINs in no particular
order. As well as normal SDE recording and processing, these EDINs
are used in two ways.
[0185] First, these EDINs are used to organize and specify EDOs in
the library, the fields need to be set a certain way. The Subject
field should contain a UEI for an EDL,or a UEI for an EDLG. The
Attribute field should contain a UEI for an EDO. The Bond field
should contain an "EDO Occurrence," which indicates that there is
an occurrence of the EDO given by the attribute in the library
given by the subject. Finally, the Sequence field is not used.
[0186] In addition, these EDINs are used to record EDOs programmed
as EDCLs, all fields are set as per an EDCL. All EDINs in this CNL
can be sorted by the two keys, i.e., subject and attribute, to
provide an overall hierarchy of the operator groups and libraries.
In addition, the CNL can be filtered for a particular subject
(library or group) to generate EDS's which can be used as menus,
which are then traversed, generated a new menu EDS at each
traversal step. When an EDIN in library menu EDS is selected, any
number of further information is available for the EDO identified
by the EDIN's attribute (e.g., PDRs, image, code, etc.). The client
process can then perform further processing using the EDO
information.
[0187] The Image-ETS stores all images associated with all EDOs
(and their parameters) in the library, as well as the image(s) for
the library itself.
[0188] The Data-ETS uses a UEI key. Associated with the library
(i.e., using the module UEI), is an ETB containing a list of OIRs.
This provides a list of all EDOs in the library. Associated with
each EDO (i.e., using the EDO UEI), is an ETB containing a list of
PDRs, describing the parameters of the EDO.
[0189] The SDL identifies SDEs (stored in the CNL) to generate an
EDS. For SDE-1, EDINs are sorted by the two keys: by subject and
attribute to provide an overall hierarchy of operator groups and
libraries.
[0190] For SDE-2, EDINs are filtered for a particular subject
(library or group) to generate EDS's which can be used as menus,
which are then traversed, generating a new menu EDS at each
traversal step. When an EDIN in library menu EDS is selected, any
number of further information is available for the EDO identified
by the EDIN's attribute (e.g. PDRs, image, code, etc). The client
process can then perform further processing using the EDO
information.
[0191] For SDE-3, EDINs are filtered for a particular EDO subject,
and sorted by the sequence. This SDE generates an EDCS executable
by the EDP.
[0192] For DEL, this has one default EDS: EDS for the top-level
group. This is the same as SDE-2 above, where the source subject is
predefined.
[0193] If the code associated with an EDO is an EDCS, all EDINs
required to make up the EDO's code body are also stored in the CNL.
If the code associated with an EDO is not an EDCS (i.e., if the EDO
code is some form of OS executable code body), in addition to all
normal module files, an OS program file is also stored. This
program file has a filename derived from the associated EDO UEI
values, plus the normal OS executable extension. All such
executable EDO program files are stored at the InfoFrame level.
[0194] When any library information is loaded, imported, or
modified, appropriate updates are made at the InfoFrame level.
After any such events, the OIT, parameter ETS, and any EDO program
files are updated as required, using the just saved library data.
While updating the system EDO information is a simple procedure of
replacing records and files, the effects of such updates on user
data containing references to the updated operators could
potentially be a difficult to determine and diagnose.
Libraries and Operators
[0195] The EDP requires a minimum basic set of libraries to
operate. These are: [0196] Set Filtration Library [0197] Control
Flow Library [0198] Physical Manipulation Library
[0199] The general membership requirement(s) and a minimum set of
EDOs are described for each library by the following sections. In
addition to any listed EDOs, any other qualifying EDO can be added
to a library. However, all such dynamically created EDOs are always
tagged as "user" in the associated OIR.
[0200] When EDOs are also made into bonds (a matter of creating
bond control records, since the process already exists as the EDO),
a viable but limited language is realized for defining and
executing BOSS programs embodied by information modules, complete
with data definitions as realized by EDS's (each is an EDS in the
module) and executable code as realized by EDCS's (each is an EDS
in the module). The more evolved and/or complex EDOs that are
introduced, the more robust such a language will become, but it
will do so non-linearly. This is because any introduced EDO can
call others in any (meaningful) combination that it sees fit. Each
added EDO increases the number of new possibilities
combinatorially.
[0201] Further, given sufficient numbers of added EDOs, any number
of such dynamic programming languages are simultaneously possible,
where languages can interface invisibly to any of the involved
specific language processes. Any and all such languages are simply
an implementation of several BOSS concepts and the specific usage
of several BOSS entities disclosed in this patent.
Set Filtration Library
[0202] An EDO in this library must process EDIN list(s), based on
any kind of input, to produce subsets of that EDIN list, or new
EDIN list(s) The minimum required set of filter EDOs are described
below. The EDOs listed below constitute the minimum required set of
EDOs in the filtration library:
Union
[0203] This EDO combines two or more input EDS's into a third
output EDS.
Intersection
[0204] This EDO examines two or more input EDS's for common EDINs
and outputs a third EDS containing only the common EDINS.
Subject-Match
[0205] This EDO searches the input EDS for EDINs having a match in
their subject field with an input subject and returns those EDINs
in a new EDS.
Attribute-Match
[0206] This EDO searches the input EDS for EDINs having a match in
their attribute field with an input attribute and returns those
EDINs in a new EDS.
Bond-Match
[0207] This EDO searches the input EDS for EDINs having a match in
their bond field with an input bond and returns those EDINs in a
new EDS.
Sequence-Match
[0208] This EDO searches the input EDS for EDINs having a match in
their sequence field with an input sequence and returns those EDINs
in a new EDS.
Generate-Subject-Sequence
[0209] This EDO sorts the EDINs in the input EDS by their subject
field and then assigns sequence numbers to those EDINs based on
their sorted order.
Remove-Nodes
[0210] This EDO searches for and then deletes the input EDIN from
the input EDS.
Descendants
[0211] This EDO searches for any EDINs in the input EDS that are
the descendant of the input EDIN.
Ancestors
[0212] This EDO searches for any EDINs in the input EDS that are
the ancestor of the input EDIN.
Siblings
[0213] This EDO searches for any EDINs in the input EDS that are
the siblings of the input EDIN.
[0214] All of the above EDOs provide the basis for constructing
SDEs to formulate and process anything from a simple database
query, to data structure collection and processing, to evolved,
multi-level queries where specific information is qualified to any
degree and extent. Each specific application requiring filtration
would introduce SDEs which use the above listed system-EDOs in
various combinations with other EDOs to accomplish further specific
filtrations. Any one such client procedure or program (in a client
program module) can be made into a user-EDO, and incorporated into
the currently known InfoFrame. Clients would create all EDOs
associated with a general purpose in the same EDO-library, and add
the library to the EDO-InfoBase. This makes the client supplied EDO
accessible by all BOSS clients in the InfoFrame.
[0215] In this way, flexible, dynamic, and custom-made information
search engines can be built and supplied as EDOs. Such EDOs would
be then used by even bigger BOSS clients such as an expert system,
to unify, simplify_and speed up minor information gathering and
simple correlation tasks.
Control Flow Library
[0216] An EDO in this library must be associated with process flow
of the EDP, or that of a BOSS client. The following lists and
describes the minimum required EDOs for this library. Although more
complex control flow EDOs are possible, such EDOs would simply be
"implementations" of the technology disclosed by this patent.
Push
[0217] This EDO pushes the parameters onto the EDP stack.
Pop
[0218] This EDO pops a value from the stack into the
parameters.
Peek
[0219] This EDO uses a stack index number to determine a stack
entry from the top, and return the value stored therein into the
given parameters.
Poke
[0220] This EDO uses a stack index number to determine a stack
entry from the top. Then the parameters are stored into the stack
entry.
Stack-Not-Empty
[0221] This EDO returns a true or false value dependent on the
condition of the stack.
Stack-Full
[0222] This EDO compares total stack space against currently used
space and returns true or false value dependent on the condition of
the stack.
Execute (Prog-UEI)
[0223] This EDO locates, loads, and executes the binary OS program
identified by the input UEI. This EDO waits for the program to
terminate before returning.
Spawn (Prog-UEI)
[0224] This EDO locates, loads, and spawns the binary OS program
identified by the input UEI, as a concurrent process. This EDO does
not wait for the program to terminate before returning.
Call (Prog-UEI)
[0225] This EDO locates, loads, and executes/spawns the BOSS
program identified by the input UEI. This EDO may or may not wait
for the program to terminate before returning, depending on
availability of concurrent processing in the environment.
Jump (CES, NP)
[0226] This EDO sets the global variables associated with input to
the input values, thereby performing an unconditional jump to
another EDCL.
Jcond (Cond-UEI, CES, NP)
[0227] This EDO performs a jump as per the jump EDO, but based on a
condition. The condition is a BOSS process (sets of ordered EDCLs),
which returns true or false. In most cases, the condition can be
automatically generated as a SDE.
Physical Manipulation Library
[0228] An EDO in this library must manipulate EDS's and EDINs at a
physical level, where a possible input parameter for a physical EDO
is a physical memory address. Some of these physical EDOs are:
Sort
[0229] This EDO sorts the EDINs in the input EDS.
Remove-Duplicates
[0230] This EDO removes duplicate EDINs in the input EDS.
Length
[0231] This EDO determines the length of the input EDS.
Generate-eds
[0232] This EDO generates an EDS for the input EDINs.
Activate-Module
[0233] This EDO activates the module created by the EDINs in the
input EDS.
Activate-InfoBase
[0234] This EDO activates the InfoBase created by the EDINs in the
input EDS.
[0235] The other physical EDOs are listed and described below.
Mostly these EDOs are combinations of calls to other EDOs already
described.
Load (WHAT)
[0236] This EDO loads the input file into an allocated memory
buffer, performing checksums, and returning the address of the
allocated buffer.
Purge-Data (WHERE, DAYS)
[0237] This EDO will irretrievably purge previously deleted BOSS
data by deleting entries in trash files. The input parameter WHERE
is a UEI. If the value is null, the purge will occur for all
deleted data in the InfoFrame. If a non-null value, the UEI either
identifies an InfoBase (find an IBDR matching the UEI) or a module
(find an MDR matching the UEI). In these cases, all deleted data in
the located InfoBase or module will be purged. The DAYS parameter
is optional and specifies the number of days to keep deleted
information.
Restore-Data (WHERE, DATA-UEI, DATE, DATE-DIRECTION, AUTO)
[0238] This EDO will retrieve previously deleted, but not purged,
information. The input parameter WHERE is a UEI. If the value is
null, the restore will consider all deleted data in the InfoFrame.
If a non-null value, the UEI either identifies an InfoBase (find an
IBDR matching the UEI) or a module (find an MDR matching the UEI).
The DATA-UEI identifies the deleted data to be restored. If this
value is null, all deleted data in the identified location is
considered for restoration. If the DATE parameter is non-null, it
is used together with the DIRECTION parameter to restore
occurrences of qualifying information deleted on, before, or after
a specific date. If the AUTO parameter is non-null, this EDO will
make a best guess for all information restorations when duplicate
deleted data is encountered. Otherwise, this EDO will prompt an
operator with a choice of duplicate deleted information with
different dates. The best guess is arrived at by grouping deleted
data by date stamp, then restoring the set of data with the most
recent date.
Get-Image (UEI)
[0239] This EDO retrieves and returns the image (or name)
associated with input UEI, from an IMAGE-ETS. The search starts
from current module IMAGE-ETS and expands to parent InfoBase and
InfoFrame if not found at the module level.
Set-Image (UEI, IMAGE)
[0240] This EDO retrieves and returns the image (or name)
associated with input UEI, from an IMAGE-ETS. The IMAGE-ETS is
located in the same manner as get-image EDO. When located, the
associated ETB image contents are replaced with the input
IMAGE.
Create-Node (MOD-UEI, SUBJ, ATTR, BOND, SEQ)
[0241] This EDO creates a new node in the input module's CNL, using
the given input parameters to set the node's fields. The sequence
field can be supplied as "null" when not required. This is how
information is added to BOSS at it's most primitive level. This
process can be triggered from any environment, so long as the UEIs
provided are valid, or will have meaning.
Delete-Node (MOD-UEI, NODE)
[0242] This EDO moves all EDINs in the CNL associated with input
module, which are binary-equal to the input EDIN, NODE, to an
associated trash CNL.
Create-eds (MOD-UEI, POINTER, COUNT)
[0243] This EDO receives a memory address, POINTER, to start of a
list of EDINs in (some) memory. This is NOT an active EDS at this
time. Also receives a COUNT to indicate the number of EDINs in the
list. This operator creates a new active EDS (not stored)
containing the list of EDINS, and returns a newly assigned UEI
value. This operator is useful for processes that either
automatically or via user input, create EDINs from scratch. The new
EDS is always added to the CNL associated with an existing module
identified by input MOD-UEI.
Add-eds (MOD-UEI, POINTER, COUNT)
[0244] This EDO receives a MOD-UEI to identify a CNL to add nodes
to, as well as a memory address, POINTER, to start of a list of
EDINS, and a COUNT of those EDINS. The given EDINS are then added
to the identified CNL. This operator will not add binary equal
EDINs which already exist in the CNL.
Copy-eds (MOD-UEI, EDS-UEI)
[0245] This EDO makes a new EDS with the same contents as the EDS
given by input EDS-UEI and returns a unique UEI to the new EDS. The
new EDS is created in the module identified by the input MOD-UEI
(this must exist) The EDS image remains the same.
Delete-eds (MOD-UEI, EDS-UEI)
[0246] This EDO first generates the input EDS-UEI via generate-eds
EDO, if required. Next, it calls the intersect EDO and the assigns
the CNL of the input module to be the resultant "xor-eds" (i.e.,
the EDS containing EDINs in the CNL but not in the generated EDS).
The generated EDS is then added to the associated trash CNL.
Finally, the associated SDL and DEL entries matching EDS-UEI are
moved to the associated trash files, if they exist.
Save-eds (MOD-UEI, EDS-UEI)
[0247] This EDO is probably the most time and space consumptive
EDO. It assumes that an EDS (EDS-UEI) was previously generated
using the generate-eds EDO and then the EDINs in the memory image
were modified by some client process. At this point, the memory
image of the EDS needs to be updated in the module CNL to reflect
any changes made by the client process. For example, consider a
module containing several procedures of a program. Each EDS can
then be generated from the program module on a dynamic basis. Once
generated, the procedure can be dynamically modified by a
programmer. Finally, the procedure is saved again in the
program.
[0248] Unlike specifically deleted EDINs and data, replaced EDINs
and their associated data cannot be recovered, unless steps are
taken by an Endo-Dynamic Editor.
[0249] In concurrent environments, where multiple processes can
access the same the module, it is best to let the currently used
Endo-Dynamic Editor handle all such issues. Being dynamic, the EDE
can be called by a BOSS client process to safely load, edit, and/or
save EDS's in modules.
Create-Module (InfoBase-UEI, NAME, FLAGS)
[0250] This EDO creates a new module called NAME in the InfoBase
given by InfoBase-UEI. This EDO first generates a new unique UEI
for the new module. Then it creates an associated MDR in the
InfoBase's MDL, with the newly generated module UEI. Next, all
required module files (as shown in FIG. 14) are created (empty
except for control). Now the input module name is inserted in the
new module image ETS, by creating another new UEI for the image.
The image UEI is also stored in the new MDR. Finally, the inputs
FLAGS are assigned to the new MDR. The module can now be used as a
source of any physical manipulation to add data, and later as a
source of filtration to generate new EDS's.
Copy-Module (MOD-UEI, InfoBase-UEI, NAME)
[0251] This EDO first generates a new unique UEI for the new
module. Next, all module files for module MOD-UEI are copied to
files with the same extensions and the new UEI for filename. Then,
a the MDR for MOD-UEI is copied into the MDL for the input InfoBase
(InfoBase-UEI), and its self identifier set to the newly generated
module UEI. The new module name remains unchanged if the NAME
parameter is null. If NAME is a valid image, it will be copied to
the newly copied IMAG-ETC, replacing the existing value. The image
UEI value need not change.
Delete-Module (InfoBase-UEI, MOD-UEI)
[0252] This EDO first appends the contents of all module files to
their appropriate trash files, and then deletes all module files,
as well as associated control records.
Create-InfoBase (NAME FLAGS)
[0253] This EDO creates a new InfoBase called NAME in the currently
known InfoFrame. This EDO first generates a new unique UEI for the
new InfoBase. Then it creates a new IBDR in the IBDL, with the
newly generated InfoBase UEI. Next, all required InfoBase files (as
shown in FIG. 11) are created (empty except for control). Now the
input InfoBase name is inserted in the new InfoBase image ETS, by
creating another new UEI for the image. The image UEI is also
stored in the new IBDR. Finally, the inputs FLAGS are assigned to
the new IBDR. The InfoBase can now be used as a source of any
physical manipulation to add data, and later as a source of
filtration to generate new EDS's.
Copy-InfoBase (InfoBase-UEI, NAME)
[0254] This EDO first generates a new unique UEI for the new
InfoBase. Next, all InfoBase files for InfoBase InfoBase-UEI are
copied to files with the same extensions and the new UEI for
filename; this DOES NOT include module files for all modules
encompassed by the InfoBase. Then, a the IBDR for InfoBase-UEI is
copied in the IBDL, where the self identifier is changed to the
newly generated InfoBase UEI. Finally the new InfoBase UEI is
returned. If NAME is a valid image, it will be copied to the newly
copied InfoBase IMAGE-ETC, replacing the existing value. The
modules are shared by InfoBases. An InfoBase encompasses modules by
including MDRs for modules in its MDL.
Delete-InfoBase (InfoBase-UEI, CONTENTS)
[0255] This EDO first appends the contents of all InfoBase files to
their appropriate trash files, and then deletes all InfoBase files.
finally all associated control records at the InfoFrame level are
trashed. If the CONTENTS parameter is non-null, all modules
encompassed by the InfoBase are trashed via calls to the
delete-module EDO, prior to all above steps.
Physical Storage of Boss Entities
[0256] Each of the BOSS entities described above, as well as all
those shown in FIG. 14, is identified and located by a unique UEI.
The identification methods have been described in the sections
above. The location method is irrelevant to the BOSS technology,
and any method will do, which given a UEI, can locate the physical
data associated with that UEI. The following describes one such
method of physical data storage and location.
[0257] Using a conventional containment storage system (e.g. UNIX,
DOS, Windows), create an InfoFrame directory in a storage media
attached to the computer. The location of this directory, in the
existing directory hierarchy, is recorded in the EDP program, such
that when EDP is run from anywhere, it will be able to locate the
directory. Further, all files shown in FIG. 14 (at all levels) are
stored directly in the InfoFrame directory. This flat and simple
model is depicted in FIG. 32. Two distinct file-sets are
distinguishable at InfoFrame level: system and information files.
System files contain those BOSS data entities which are critical to
the correct operation of BOSS processes. Information files are
generated as a result of information stored in BOSS format. At the
InfoFrame level, there is exactly one of each file 3202 shown in
FIG. 32. At the InfoBase and module levels, there are many files.
In FIG. 32, the number N represents the total number of InfoBases
known to the InfoFrame, the number M represents the total number of
modules in all InfoBases, and the number E represents the total
number of available EDO program files. Each InfoBase, module, or
EDO filename is a string derived from the UEI value identifying
that InfoBase, module, or EDO; this derived string is shown as
"<InfoBase>", "<module>", or "<EDO>" in FIG. 32.
Since UEIs are guaranteed to be unique, there is no possibility of
conflicting filenames in the InfoFrame directory. Now given a UEI
for an entity, all filenames for all files associated with that
entity can be constructed and immediately located in the InfoFrame
directory.
[0258] Looking at FIG. 32, it should be clear that the connecting
link between an IBDR and the InfoBase files, and the connecting
link between an MDR and the module files, is a UEI. For example,
the InfoBase UEI identifier in an IBDR is used to generate the
filename string associated with all files for that InfoBase.
Boss Information Deletion
[0259] When information is deleted in a BOSS environment, it is
always via a physical EDO involved in data deletion/restoration.
These EDOs define the methods of information deletion in BOSS. The
delete-node, and delete-eds EDOs do remove information such that
subsequent generations will not find the "deleted" information.
However, until "deleted" data is automatically or manually purged,
it can be restored. Data is purged via the purge-data EDO, or as
part of automatic BOSS processing (again via purge-data), where a
concurrent process is initially started upon EDP startup. This
process would regularly schedule purges, based on initial user
input or default values for to-purge durations. To enable this, all
associated BOSS files (shown in FIG. 14) will have an associated
"trash" file, where a trash file is structured as its real
counterpart, where in addition to a record, a date/time stamp of
deletion is also stored. For example, while the entries in a real
CNL are just EDINs, a trash CNL contains records of the following
structure: [0260] EDIN [0261] TIME STAMP
[0262] Entries are duplicated in a trash file until purged. To
restore information, the restore-data EDO is used. The nature of
this EDO enables manual as well as automatic data restoration,
where all information links and data are also restored as
before.
Default Command List
[0263] As shown in FIG. 14, the Default Command List (DCL) is an
EDCS. The DCL is executed by the EDP after InfoFrame initialization
is complete. If no DCL is defined, the EDP goes into an idle state,
where it waits for input EDCLs. The best usage of the DCL is to
implement a procedure containing an infinite loop, where the loop
body activates/reactivates any systems, InfoBases, modules, and/or
EDS's required to realize a continues and changing overall process.
The DCL is dynamic, in that any process activated as a result of an
EDCL, in the DCL can alter the contents of the DCL and return. This
has the effect of altering the continuous EDP process in arbitrary
ways. The DCL enables the EDP to institute dynamic perpetual
processing.
[0264] The InfoBase and module activation processes will insert
EDCLs in the DCL, as and when required. As a result, the DCL is
automatically created/modified after InfoFrame initialization is
complete.
Endo-Dynamic Editor (EDE)
[0265] The BOSS environment requires at Endo-Dynamic Editor of some
type. An EDE can use combinations of EDOs to perform the real BOSS
data edit. An EDE can also use any kind of graphical user interface
(GUI) or other input/output interface. An EDE includes means to
dynamically interact with the EDP. An EDE includes means for
dealing with editing EDS's, modules, and InfoBases in a an
environment where concurrent or multi-processing is possible. An
EDE includes means to maintain previous versions of modified data,
so that data recovery is possible via the EDE. An EDE includes
means to interact with the restore-data and purge-data EDOS, such
that a seamless "UNDO" can be implemented as a combination of these
EDOs and the data recovery means of the EDE itself. An EDE includes
means for displaying in "bare mode", where all EDINs are shown and
regular EDS processing is not performed, optionally including means
to show regularly generated EDS's in separate windows as required.
An EDE includes means for human as well as process interface, so
that both a human and a process can operate the EDE.
Basic Boss Clients
[0266] These are some basic general usages of BOSS that cover
several important corner stones of computing. Each model embodies a
different process-view of an EDS. In each case, the storage formats
and some required Bond values are assumed and given. Also in each
case, an SDE is supplied if applicable.
[0267] Each general model presented may be used by any number of
different real application programs. The basic boss client-models
are: [0268] Data-Traversal comprises data entry, storage,
retrieval, with logical hierarchy/organization; [0269]
Structure-Definition comprises data structure definition and usage;
[0270] Program-Execution comprises program, procedure, parameter,
variable, code, lines, etc., storage and usage (i.e., execution);
[0271] Analyze-Data comprises the function of deriving meaning and
output any required actions given assumption data, and new
input.
[0272] Note that a DB interface is different from a program
execution interface only in how it processes the data. It's just a
matter of perspective, on the same BOSS data (namely EDINs in
various lists and orders). Even the analyze-data client can express
all of its required rules and data as EDINs (and ETS data). There
is a difference between the first three above listed clients, and
the last. The first three are almost entirely composed of calls to
EDOs to accomplish their real processing. The only processing in
such clients requiring additional code (to EDO-calls), is the code
required for a particular interface required by the client. All
real processing can be accomplished using EDOs. This means given an
operating EDP and its required initial data, these client models
can be constructed almost immediately, especially in a GUI
environment wherein interface construction is vastly simplified.
The last client listed above requires further code (preferably BOSS
executable procedures) to perform deductive, and possibly heuristic
processing. Each are of these clients are described in ensuing
subsections.
Data Entry, Storage and Retrieval
[0273] Many kinds of applications fall under this client-model. In
fact, this encompasses any process which requires data storage,
retrieval, and maintenance, where data exists in some
hierarchy/organization, and where such data is then presented to a
user in some depiction of the data organization. Examples of a
Data-Traversal client are: [0274] a system which maintains
hierarchical data in a directory-like organization, [0275] a system
which defines and processes data structure definitions, and [0276]
a dynamic menu (or window) definition, traversal, processing and
maintenance system-.
[0277] Further, many BOSS clients will need to incorporate a
Data-Traversal client (as well as other code) to automate the tasks
of data storage, location, retrieval, and maintenance. Examples of
this are: a system which dynamically processes (interprets) program
code, and any kind of database
[0278] The tree 3302 of FIG. 33A is some hierarchy of data, where,
A, B, C, and E are logical entities, providing hierarchy for data
entities identified by F, G, H, I, and K. This tree 3302 could be a
directory tree, or a menu-tree, or any other kind of tree (a tree
is-hierarchical by nature). Although not shown, the data
organization is not limited to trees, and any kind of graph, or
other more compound data organization scheme can be used. In FIG.
33B, the leaf nodes G, H, I, K of the tree 3302 do not appear as
Subjects in the EDS 3304. If a process were to filter for EDINs
with Subject fields matching these IDs, the process would get an
empty EDS for all of them. In fact, just such a process can be used
to determine all leaf nodes in a tree-hierarchy.
[0279] Bond can be used to establish EDIN-typing, and
subject-attribute relations. For example in a database, the
statement: "Car55 is Crimson"d can be expressed as a single EDIN,
as follows: TABLE-US-00001 Source Target Bond Sequence Car55
Crimson is-the-colour-of N/A
[0280] By using SDEs, which call EDOs, simple and complex data
queries can be constructed that apply to all kinds of data for any
kind of BOSS client. For example, a system which maintains a
directory-like data organization, would construct SDEs which will
locate files and directories, while a database constructs SDEs to
locate data with defined criterions and constraints.
Data Structure Definition and Usage
[0281] When adopting a method for defining data structures, usually
there are two basic types: primitive (e.g. string, signed 32-bit
number, etc), and compound, where a structure's elements are
composed of primitives and other compounds. As described above, a
BOSS defined record structure can have any kinds of elements
whatsoever. This is mainly because a UEI uniquely identifies an
entity anywhere. The other major factor is the already discussed
interchangeability of the source and target fields in the EDIN.
[0282] FIG. 34 shows an example minimal rendition of BOSS oriented
data structure definition. At the top of FIG. 34, two compound
records, "A" 3402 and "Z" 3404, are shown. Record "A" 3402 contains
an element with data type "Z". Both compounds contain elements with
primitive data types. At the bottom half of FIG. 34, the
corresponding EDS's 3406 and 3408 for each record is shown. The
Bond field is used to define a binary relation as in any BOSS
application. The key is what those Bonds are. In this case, Bonds
describe elements of data definitions, primitive/compound data
types, and size.
[0283] The EDS shown for record "A" 3406 (and record "Z" 3408)
would only contain all shown EDINs, if complete structure traversal
is performed. That is, all Attributes of a Subject match are
themselves Subject-matched, until empty sets are reached. At each
step, EDINs are accumulated. Such a traversal process could be set
to terminate at any level in the data hierarchy. If set to
"maximum" or , "all levels", the EDS 3408 shown for record "Z"
would be part of the resultant EDS 3406 for record "A".
[0284] In the EDS 3406 shown for record "A", the Attributes of four
EDINs with a Subject of "A" represent the four elements of record
"A" 3402. The element-sequence field in these EDINs establishes the
order of elements in the data structure. The rest of the EDINs
describe the characteristics of each of the elements of record "A"
3402.
[0285] Now consider element "B" in record "A" 3402. This element
generates a total of three EDINs: one with a Subject of "A" and
Attribute of "B", and two with a Subject of "B". The first
signifies "B" as an element of "A"; the next two give the data type
and size of element "B". The Attribute value shown as "STRING"
would be a UEI value in reality. Aside from the shown Bonds, any
number of other Bond values could be implemented to provide more
detailed descriptions of an element (e.g. associated process,
input-coordinates, display-attributes, etc).
[0286] Aside from employing a data-traversal BOSS client, the
Structure-Def BOSS client uses SDEs to dynamically construct and
generate data structure definitions. When an element in a structure
is created where the type is the bond "call" or "execute", it is a
simple matter to construct an EDCL from all element EDINs of equal
subject. The EDCL can then be executed in the normal manner. Since
the EDP is capable of executing EDCLs from anywhere and at any
level (limited by stack size), this enables BOSS defined data
structures to contain processes which are executed when the data
definition is accessed, regardless of the calling process, or any
other active process.
Program Storage and Execution
[0287] Using EDINS, the EDP, and EDOs, it is possible to store,
maintain, and execute any kind of program. As described above,
under the EDO section, a given set of EDOs can form the instruction
set for a programming language, when all such EDOs are also made
available as bonds. A BOSS interpreted program can use the
following EDIN implementations: [0288] store an EDCS for each
procedure, [0289] use a Structure-Def client model to store and
process program data structures, or [0290] use a Data-traversal
client model to save, locate and retrieve program code and
data.
[0291] Since a client can also create construct and supply its own
bonds and EDOs (tagged as "user"), any missing bonds/EDOs can be
implemented by the client and seamlessly integrated into the BOSS
environment. The new EDOs will be processed as per all EDOs, by the
EDP. Further, the associated bonds can now be used to insert new
code lines (EDCLs) into the interpreted program.
[0292] BOSS is ideally suited to interpreted programs, although it
does support compiled programs as well. At a minimum, a BOSS
oriented program must contain definitions of: data-types,
variables, parameters, procedures, and lines of code. If imperative
programs are required, the associated module must be tagged as
"static". This indicates to the EDP that no EDS generation should
take place and that the CNL should be loaded and taken for the
EDS(s) in question, in some order. While interpretive programs can
be directly executed by the EDP, imperative programs require a
"program execution" system, program or shell which facilitates the
execution of the imperative BOSS program. Such a shell would
construct/establish EDCL groups for the EDP, where the last EDCL in
each group returns control back to the shell, until all program
processing is complete. Even using a static module, the normal
control flow EDOs may not operate correctly in an imperative
program. This depends on whether the operator performs a change of
context or not. For example, the "edp-pop" EDO changes the next
EDCL to be executed by the EDP, thereby changing the context of
current processing. Such EDOs almost always cause a regeneration
upon successful termination, to ensure updated data. By introducing
a lot of controls in such EDOs (and complicating them), it is
possible to detect an imperative process, and return the parameters
of would-be context change, and it's associated action(s) to the
calling process. This enables the calling process to always be in
control of process flow (except for fatal errors and the like).
[0293] The program called CCOPY, shown in FIG. 35 as 3502, performs
a Conditional Copy. It has two parameters, and two variables. It
also has one procedure which is not shown; only called. The
parameters of CCOPY are two UEIs to two distinct files: Source File
(SFILE) and Target File (TFILE). First, the program 3502 gets the
current date of each input file and stores the dates in SDATE and
TDATE. This is accomplished by calls to the GET-DATE program
procedure. This procedure is not shown, but it should be easy
enough to picture it as an OS call. Finally, the program 3502
compares the two dates and if the source file date is greater than
that of the target file, it copies the source file, overwriting the
target file. Both the "if" and "copy" are accomplished by OS or
shell calls (i.e., native to BOSS interface).
[0294] The EDS 3602 shown on FIG. 36 depicts the required EDINs
3604 to define and be able to execute, the CCOPY program. The
sequence field establishes an order, where a set of EDCLs are
realized. To further define a parameter or variable, the same
methodology as for a Structure-Def client is used. For example, to
define the SFILE parameter, the following two EDINs 3604 could be
added to the program module CNL: TABLE-US-00002 Subject Attribute
Bond Sequence SFILE STRING DATA TYPE NULL SFILE "256" SIZE NULL
[0295] The SDEs can be used to dynamically generate components of
the program, from the CNL. As a result, all program components
remain dynamic. So if a data structure changes, the processes using
that structure, or data in that structure, will immediately
experience the effects of the change. As with any dynamic
interpreted program, sufficient safeguards must be taken to enure
only changes without destructive effects take place.
Conclusion
[0296] This concludes the description of the preferred embodiment
of the invention. In summary,
[0297] The foregoing description of the preferred embodiment of the
invention has been presented for the purposes of illustration and
description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the
invention to the precise form disclosed. Many modifications and
variations are possible in light of the above teaching. It is
intended that the scope of the invention be limited not by this
detailed description, but rather by the claims appended hereto.
* * * * *