Data management systems and methods including creation of composite views of data
First Claim
1. A method of employing a computer with input means, memory, and a data processing unit to manage data, said method comprising the steps of:
- employing said computer to create an original array of data sets, each said data set having a data type element for differentiating one kind of subject matter from another and a data value element for differentiating data sets with the same data type element and said original array containing a key data set and data sets related to said key data set;
employing said computer to link the related data sets in a hierarchy in which each of the related data sets is in an indentured relationship to the key data set;
so employing the computer to invert the relationship between at least one indentured data set in the original array and the remaining data sets in said array as to create an inverted data set array having;
(a) said indentured data set as its key data set, and (b) all data sets higher in the hierarchy of the original data set linked to that key data set in inverted order;
employing said computer to create a file containing the original data array and the inverted data array or arrays; and
employing said computer to construct and store a list of all the key data sets in said file.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Computer-based systems and methods for managing data. These systems and methods take advantage of a unique model which: increases speed and flexibility; eliminates the need for a complex data manipulation language, data or application dependent software, and separate structuring tools such as pointers, lists, and indexes; and automatically creates among the data relationships which may or may not have been apparent to a user or the designer. Salient, unique features of the systems and methods are their capabilities for: efficiently creating a composite view of the data; importing data from and exporting data to external databases; and otherwise providing significant and advantageous, additional control over the creation, maintenance, and display of the data making up a database constructed in according with the principles described in parent application Ser. No. 07/621,834 filed 4 Dec. 1990.
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Citations
30 Claims
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1. A method of employing a computer with input means, memory, and a data processing unit to manage data, said method comprising the steps of:
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employing said computer to create an original array of data sets, each said data set having a data type element for differentiating one kind of subject matter from another and a data value element for differentiating data sets with the same data type element and said original array containing a key data set and data sets related to said key data set; employing said computer to link the related data sets in a hierarchy in which each of the related data sets is in an indentured relationship to the key data set; so employing the computer to invert the relationship between at least one indentured data set in the original array and the remaining data sets in said array as to create an inverted data set array having;
(a) said indentured data set as its key data set, and (b) all data sets higher in the hierarchy of the original data set linked to that key data set in inverted order;employing said computer to create a file containing the original data array and the inverted data array or arrays; and employing said computer to construct and store a list of all the key data sets in said file. - View Dependent Claims (2)
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3. A method of employing a computer with input means, memory, and a data processing unit to manage data, said method comprising the steps of:
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employing said computer to create a file comprising an array of data sets, each said data set having a data type element for differentiating one kind of subject matter from another and a data value element for differentiating data sets with the same data type element and said array containing a key data set and data sets related to said key data set; employing said computer to link related data sets in said array in a hierarchy in which each of the related data sets is in an indentured relationship to the key data set; and employing said computer to find any and all direct and indirect relationships among stored data types, data elements, and/or data sets that meet user specified criteria. - View Dependent Claims (4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method for managing data which comprises the steps of:
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creating an array of data sets, each said data set having a data type element for differentiating one kind of subject matter from another and a data value element for differentiating data sets with the same data type element, said array containing a key data set and data sets related to said key data set and the related data sets being linked to the key data set in a multiple level hierarchy in which each of the related data sets is in an indentured relationship to the key data set; and providing a process via which data sets in said array and/or the data types and data elements making up said data sets can be exported to an external database. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14)
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15. A method for managing data which comprises the steps of:
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creating a file comprising one or more arrays of data sets, each said data set having a data type element for differentiating one kind of subject matter from another and a data value element for differentiating data sets with the same data type element, said array containing a key data set and data sets related to said key data set and the related data sets being linked to the key data set in a hierarchy in which each of the related data sets is in an indentured relationship to the key data set; said data set array being created by importing data into said file from an external database. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A method for managing data which comprises the steps of:
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constructing a first data set array comprising; a key data set which heads said array and characterizes said array by a data type element which differentiates one kind of subject matter from another and a data value element which differentiates data sets with the same data type element; and a data set linked to said key data set, said linked data set also having a data type element for differentiating one kind of subject matter from another and a data value element for differentiating data sets with the same data type element; providing a data control module with the capability of replacing the data type element in the key data set with a different data type element to create a new key data set with a different characterization of the data value in said key data set; and constructing a new data set array headed by said new key data set. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23)
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24. A method for managing data which comprises the steps of:
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constructing a database comprising an array of data sets, each having a data type element for differentiating one kind of subject matter from another and a data value element for differentiating data sets with the same data type element; and providing a data control module with a record for at least one data type, said record having at least one field in which a user can place instructions for performing an operation on or related to the data in said database in a manner designated by the user. - View Dependent Claims (25)
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26. A method of employing a computer with input means, memory, and a data processing unit to manage data, said method comprising the steps of:
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employing said computer to create an array of data sets, each said data set having a data type element for differentiating one kind of subject matter from another and a data value element for differentiating data sets with the same data type element and said array containing a key data set and data sets related to said key data set; employing said computer to link the related data sets in a hierarchy in which each of the related data sets is in an indentured relationship to the key data set; so employing the computer to invert the relationship between an indentured data set in the array and the remaining data sets in said array as to create an inverted data set array having;
(a) the data set entered in the original array as its key data set, and (b) all data sets higher in the hierarchy of the original data set linked to that key data set in inverted order; andemploying said computer to inhibit inversion of any data sets in said array which have a user-specified data type.
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27. A method of employing a computer with input means, memory, and a data processing unit to manage data, said method comprising the steps of:
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employing said computer to create an array of data sets, each said data set having a data type element for differentiating one kind of subject matter from another and a data value element for differentiating data sets with the same data type element and said array containing a key data set and data sets related to said key data set; employing said computer to link the related data sets in a hierarchy in which each of the related data sets is in an indentured relationship to the key data set; and employing said computer to limit the relationships among the data sets in said array.
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28. A method for managing data which comprises the steps of:
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creating a database comprising plural data set arrays, each said data set array having a data type element for differentiating one kind of subject matter from another and a data value element for differentiating data sets with the same data type element, said array containing a key data set and data sets related to said key data set, and the related data sets being linked to the key data set in a hierarchy in which each related data set is in an indentured relationship to the key data set; and employing said key data sets to access the data in said database hashed key data or by sort order.
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29. A method for managing data which comprises the step of creating a database which comprises a plural array of data sets;
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each said data set having a data type element for differentiating one kind of subject matter from another and a data value element for differentiating data sets with the same data type element; each data set array containing a key data set and data sets related to said key data set; the related data sets being linked to the key data set in a hierarchy in which each related data set is in an indentured relationship to the key data set; and at least one of said data set arrays having a first related data set which is linked directly to said key data set and a second related data set which is linked to the key data set through one or more of the other related data sets in the hierarchy.
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30. A method for managing data which comprises the steps of:
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creating an array of data sets, each said data set having a data type element for differentiating one kind of subject matter from another and a data value element for differentiating data sets with the same data type element, said array containing a key data set and data sets related to said key data set, and the related data sets being linked to the key data set in a hierarchy in which each related data set is in an indentured relationship to the key data set; and processing each of the data sets in said array as an indivisible composite of a data type element and a data value element.
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Specification