Dynamic object management method in object oriented language

• US 5,560,014 A
• Filed: 03/27/1995
• Issued: 09/24/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 06/02/1994
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Square Enix
• Original Assignee: Agency of Industrial Science & Technology, Ministry of International Trade & Industry (Government of Malaysia)
• Inventors: Imamura, Satoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Kulik, Paul V.
• Application Number:
  US08/410,750
• Time in Patent Office: 547 Days
• Field of Search: 395/600, 395/650, 395/700
• US Class Current: 717/108
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4488 Object-oriented

Abstract

In an object oriented language, a class object is modified by using meta operators to create a floating class object by copying from a class object, modifying the floating class object into a new class object and link the new class object with its original class object by a linking describing both the history of the modification and the relationship between the new class object and the original class object, and an instance object is modified by using meta operators to create a floating instance object by modifying the existing instance object and linking the modified instance object with its original class object by a link describing the modification and the relationship between modified instance object and the original class object.

Claims

1. A dynamic object management method in an object oriented language having a hierarchy of class objects describing slots for storing data and object methods consisting of groups of algorithms for conducting operations on the data and having instance objects associated with the individual class objects, the dynamic object management method comprising the steps of:

providing the object oriented language with a group of meta operators for modifying the class objects and the instance objects, and

modifying an original class object according to the steps of

obtaining a floating class object that is a copy of a class object by using the group of meta operators,

creating a new class object by modifying the floating class object, and

linking the new class object with the original class object by a link describing both a history of the modification and a relationship between the new class object and the original class object.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the modification and the relationship are expressed by using the group of meta operators.

3. A dynamic object management method in an object oriented language having a hierarchy of class objects describing slots for storing data and object methods consisting of groups of algorithms for conducting operations on the data and having instance objects associated with individual class objects, the dynamic object management method comprising the steps of:

providing the object oriented language with a group of meta operators for modifying the class objects and the instance objects,

modifying an instance object related to a class object by using the group of meta operators to obtain a modified instance object, and

linking the modified instance object with the related class object by a link describing both a history of the modification and a relationship between the modified instance object and the related class object.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the modification and the relationship are expressed by using the group of meta operators.

5. A dynamic object management method in an object oriented language having a hierarchy of class objects describing slots for storing data and object methods consisting of groups of algorithms for conducting operations on the data and having instance objects associated with the individual class objects, the dynamic object management method comprising the steps of:

providing the object oriented language with a group of meta operators for modifying the class objects and the instance objects,

modifying an original class object using a first modification according to the steps of

obtaining a floating class object that is a copy of a class object by using the group of meta operators,

creating a new class object by modifying the floating class object, and

linking the new class object with the original class object by a link describing both a history of the first modification and a first relationship between the new class object and the original class object,

modifying an instance object related to the class object using a second modification by using the group of meta operators to obtain a modified instance object, and

linking the modified instance object with the related class object by a link describing both a history of the second modification and a second relationship between the modified instance object and the related class object.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the first and second modifications and the first and second relationships are expressed by using the group of meta operators.