Methods and systems for updating an inheritance tree with minimal increase in memory usage
US6542884B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jul 12, 2000 |
| Grant date | Apr 1, 2003 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 20, 2021 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10S707/99931
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
Methods and systems are described for minimizing increases in memory usage when updating an inheritance tree that follows “first one wins” inheritance semantics for property or “metadata” information. The inheritance tree is updated by writing new files to the inheritance tree, each new file potentially having property information or “metadata” associated therewith. The method examines the ancestral line of each new file that is written to the inheritance tree (and any property value in a global location if necessary) to determine whether existing property values that would be applied to the new file match the property value of the new file. If the existing property value does not match the property value of the new file, the property information is set in the ancestral line of the new file at the level of the new file itself. If the existing property value does match the property value of the new file, then the new file is written to the inheritance tree without writing the property information. Thus, as new files are written to the inheritance tree, the method reduces the amount of property information that needs to be written to the inheritanc…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.