Apparatus and method for pickling data
US6128621A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 31, 1997 |
| Grant date | Oct 3, 2000 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 31, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10S707/99945
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A pickler apparatus and a process for pickling and unpickling data objects are disclosed. Data objects are described in metadata that store attributes of a source data object organized according to an abstract data type, and a data format of the computer system that is hosting the pickler. Using the metadata, the data object is transformed into a linear representation or image. The format, layout, alignment, and inheritance representation of the host system are applied to the image during transformation. The image has a length value, a prefix segment, and a string of bytes copied from the data object. The prefix segment may be the metadata, so that the metadata is transported with the image whereby a receiving process can reconstruct the data object from the image based upon the metadata. The image is canonical and is easily and rapidly transported across a network. When a pointer is encountered in the data object, it is transformed in the string of bytes into a value of the offset in bytes indicated by the pointer, a length of the data that is referenced by the pointer, and a segment of bytes copied from the data that is referenced by the pointer. Nested tables, arrays, and comple…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.