Device driver for accessing computer files

• US 6,405,265 B1
• Filed: 04/16/1999
• Issued: 06/11/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 05/08/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Smith Micro Software Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Mijenix Corporation (KLDiscovery, Inc.)
• Inventors: Kronenberg, Pierre-Michel, Zahn, Derek T.
• Primary Examiner(s): COURTENAY III, ST JOHN
• Application Number:
  US09/293,685
• Time in Patent Office: 1,152 Days
• Field of Search: 709/321-327, 713/190, 713/182-194, 707/1-10
• US Class Current: 719/321
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/1744 using compression, e.g. sparse files
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2003/0697 device management, e.g. handlers, drivers, I/O schedulers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0601 Interfaces specially adapted for storage systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0605 by facilitating the interaction with a user or administrator
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0643 Management of files
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0689 Disk arrays, e.g. RAID, JBOD
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4843 by program, e.g. task dispatcher, supervisor, operating system
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00007 Time or data compression or expansion audio compression based on psychoacoustics G10L19/00; data processing for reproducing audio data at different playback speeds G10L21/04; video compression H04N19/00; data compression per se H03M7/30
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing

Abstract

A computer device driver for accessing modified files held in archives in a memory device by reading a modified file from an archive in the memory device, demodifying the file in RAM and retaining the demodified file in RAM in whole or in part so that operations to the memory device can be performed on the demodified file by the operating system without having first to write the demodified file to the memory device. The device driver also accesses the file in said RAM and changes the contents of the file; and returns the file to the archive in said memory device.

Claims

1. A computer device driver for interfacing with an operating system and for accessing modified files held in archives in a storage device, said device driver comprising:

means for reading a modified file from an archive in said memory device, demodifying said file in RAM and retaining the demodified file in RAM in whole or in part so that operations can be performed on the demodified file by the operating system without having first to write the demodified file to the storage device,

means for accessing said file in said RAM and changing the contents of said file; and

means for returning said file to said archive in said storage device.

2. The driver of claim 1 wherein said means for accessing and changing the contents of said file is responsive to a request from an operating system.

3. The driver of claim 2 wherein said request from said operating system is selected from the set of requests for reading, writing, opening, and closing said file.

4. The driver of claim 2 wherein said request from said operating system is selected from the set of requests to renaming, copying, moving, deleting, or obtaining the attributes of said file.

5. The driver of claim 1 wherein said file in said RAM is accessible to an operating system and user programs.

6. The driver of claim 1 wherein said driver is part of an operating system.

7. A computer device driver for interfacing with an operating system and application programs, and for accessing modified files held in archives in a memory device, said device driver comprising:

means for creating virtual folders or directories for archives to represent archives as folders throughout all levels of the operating system and application programs; and

means for representing files and folders contained in archives as files and folders in virtual folders corresponding to said archives.

8. A computer device driver for interfacing with an operating system and accessing modified files held in archives in a memory device said device driver comprising:

means for creating virtual folders or directories, said virtual folders and directories representing archives and directories on said memory device and accessible to all levels of said operating system;

means for representing files and folders contained in said archives as files and folders in the virtual folders and directories corresponding to said archives;

means for updating said folders and said memory device after an operation from said operating system on said files and virtual folders;

means for selectively supplying said operating system with information from said virtual folders; and

means for updating and returning said files and folders to said archive in said memory device.

9. The driver of claim 8 wherein said virtual folder is stored in RAM.

10. The driver of claim 8 further comprising means for receiving a request from said operating system, said request from said operating system selected from the set of requests for reading, writing, opening, and closing said file.

11. The driver of claim 8 further comprising means for receiving a request from said operating system, said request from said operating system selected from the set of requests for renaming, copying, moving, deleting, or obtaining the attributes of said file.

12. A computer device driver for interfacing with an operating system and for accessing modified files held in archives in a memory device, said modified files accessible using a directory structure, said device driver comprising:

means for creating virtual folders or directories in RAM, said virtual folders and directories representing archives on said memory device and accessible by an operating system;

means for representing files and folders contained in said archives as files and folders in the virtual folders corresponding to said archives;

means for reading a modified file from said archive in said memory device, demodifying said file in RAM, and retaining the demodified file in RAM in whole or in part so that operations can be performed on the demodified file by the operating system without having first to write the demodified file to the memory device;

means for accessing said file in said RAM and changing the contents of said file;

means responsive to accessing said files for adjusting said virtual directory structure; and

means for returning said file to said archive in said memory device.

13. A device driver for accessing modified computer files held in archives on a memory device and selectively passing information from said files to an operating system, said device driver comprising:

means for identifying and determining an operation requested to be performed by said operating system on a particular modified file on said memory device;

means for extracting said particular modified file from an archive on said memory device, demodifying said particular file, and placing said file in a RAM for a time sufficient to perform said operation;

means for supplying said operating system with information from said modified file in said memory device as needed by said operating system;

means for changing the contents of said file; and

means for returning said file to said archive in said memory device.

14. A computer system comprising:

an operating system;

permanent memory for permanently storing archives, said archives containing files and folders;

temporary memory for temporarily storing files, folders, or directories;

a device driver means comprising;

means for creating virtual folders or directories in said temporary memory, said virtual folders and directories representing archives and directories in said permanent memory and accessible by said operating system;

means for representing files and folders contained in said archives as files and folders in the virtual folders and directories corresponding to said archives;

means for updating said virtual directories and said permanent memory directories after an operation on said files and folders;

means for selectively supplying said operating system with information from said files; and

means for returning said file to said archive in said permanent memory.

15. The system of claim 14 wherein said permanent memory comprises a plurality of PROMs.

16. The system of claim 14 wherein said temporary memory comprises a plurality of RAM banks.

17. The system of claim 14 further comprising an application program.

18. A method for accessing modified files held in archives in a storage device, said method comprising the steps of:

reading a modified file from an archive in said memory device, demodifying said file in RAM and retaining the demodified file in RAM in whole or in part so that operations can be performed on the demodified file by the operating system without having first to write the demodified file to the storage device,

accessing said file in said RAM and changing the contents of said file; and

returning said file to said archive in said storage device.

19. A method for accessing modified files held in archives in a memory device, said modified files being accessible using a directory structure, said method comprising the steps of:

creating virtual folders or directories in RAM, said virtual folders and directories representing archives on said memory device and accessible to an operating system;

representing files and folders contained in said archives as files and folders in the virtual folders corresponding to said archives;

reading a modified file from said archive in said memory device, demodifying said file in RAM, and retaining the demodified file in RAM in whole or in part so that operations to the memory device can be performed on the demodified file by the operating system without having first to write the demodified file to the memory device;

accessing said file in said RAM and changing the contents of said file;

adjusting said virtual directory structure; and

returning said file to said archive in said memory device.

20. A method for accessing modified computer files held in archives on a memory device and selectively passing information from said files to an operating system, said method comprising the steps of:

identifying and determining an operation requested to be performed by said operating system on a particular modified file on said memory device;

extracting said particular modified file from an archive on said memory device, demodifying said particular file, and placing said file in RAM in whole or in part for a time sufficient to perform said operation;

supplying said operating system with information from said modified file in said memory device as needed by said operating system;

changing the contents of said file; and

returning said file to said archive in said memory device.

21. A computer device driver for interfacing with an operating system and for accessing modified files held in archives in a storage device, said device driver comprising:

means for identifying and determining an operation requested to be performed by said operating system on a particular modified file on said storage device;

means for creating virtual folders or directories in RAM, said virtual folders and directories representing archives on said memory device and accessible to an operating system;

means for representing files and folders contained in said archives as files and folders in the virtual folders corresponding to said archives;

means for reading a modified file from an archive in said memory device, demodifying said file in RAM and retaining the demodified file in RAM in whole or in part so that operations can be performed on the demodified file by the operating system without having first to write the demodified file to the storage device,

means for copying, moving, renaming, deleting, or getting the attributes of said file;

means for reading, writing, opening or closing said file;

means responsive to copying, moving, renaming, or deleting of a file and adjusting the virtual directory structure;

means for supplying said operating system with information from said modified file in said memory device as needed by said operating system; and

means for returning said file to said archive in said memory device.

22. A module of computer code for use with an operating system for accessing compressed files held in archives in a memory device, said module of computer code comprising:

means for creating, in a random access memory (RAM), virtual folders or directories to represent compressed files held in archives as folders or directories accessible to all levels of the operating system, said virtual folders or directories appearing to user programs and the operating system as folders or directories, within an existing folder, containing files and folders but not actually being stored in said memory device.

23. The module of computer code of claim 22 wherein said means for creating virtual folders or directories is responsive to a file system request to enumerate the contents of a compressed file or folder contained in archives in said memory device.

24. The module of computer code of claim 22 further including means for compressing and decompressing files.

25. The module of computer code of claim 22 which includes means for accessing said files represented by said virtual folders or directories in said RAM and changing the contents of said files in response to a request from said operating system.

26. The module of computer code of claim 25 wherein said request from said operating system is a request selected from the group consisting of requests for reading, writing, opening, or closing a file.

27. The module of computer code of claim 25 wherein said request from said operating system is selected from the group consisting of requests for renaming, copying, moving, deleting, or obtaining the attributes of a file.

28. The module of computer code of claim 25 which includes means responsive to accessing said files for adjusting a virtual directory structure.

29. The module of computer code of claim 25 wherein said files in said RAM are accessible to said operating system and user programs.

30. The module of computer code of claim 22 which includes means for reading a compressed file from said memory device, decompressing said file in RAM and retaining the decompressed file so that operations can be performed on the decompressed file by the operating system without having first to write the decompressed file to the memory device.

31. The module of computer code of claim 22 wherein said virtual folders or directories are stored in RAM.

32. The module of computer code of claim 22 further comprising means for receiving a request from said operating system, said request from said operating system being selected from the group consisting of requests for reading, writing, opening, or closing a file.

33. The module of computer code of claim 22 further comprising means for receiving a request from said operating system, said request from said operating system being selected from the group consisting of requests for renaming, copying, moving, deleting, or obtaining the attributes of a file.

34. The module of computer code of claim 22 which includes

means for updating said folders and said memory device after an operation from said operating system on said files and virtual folders,

means for selectively supplying said operating system with information from said virtual folders, and

means for updating and returning said files and folders to said archives in said memory device.

35. The module of computer code of claim 22 which includes means responsive to a file system request to enumerate the contents of a folder for determining whether the request is to enumerate the contents of a virtual folder, and if the answer is affirmative, making available to the operating system the contents of the archive that the virtual folder represents.

36. The module of computer code of claim 22 which includes means responsive to a file system request to enumerate the contents of a folder for determining whether the request is to enumerate the contents of an archive file, and if the answer is affirmative, creating in RAM a virtual folder that represents the archive file and that appears to user programs and the operating system as a folder containing files and folders.

37. The module of computer code of claim 22 which includes means responsive to a request for a file system operation for determining whether the requested operation is for a file contained in a virtual folder and, if the answer is affirmative, performing the requested file system operation.

38. The module of computer code of claim 22 which includes means for making available the contents of said virtual files and folders to all levels of an operating system.

39. The module of computer code of claim 22 which includes means for representing files and folders contained in said archives as files and folders in the virtual files and folders corresponding to said archives.

40. The module of computer code of claim 22 which includes means for reading a compressed file corresponding to a virtual file or folder from said memory device, decompressing said file in RAM so that operations can be performed on the decompressed file by the operating system without having first to write the decompressed file to the memory device.

41. A computer system comprising:

an operating system;

permanent memory for permanently storing archives containing files and folders;

temporary memory for temporarily storing files, folders, or directories; and

a module of computer code comprising;

means for creating, in a random access memory (RAM), virtual folders or directories to represent compressed files held in archives as folders or directories accessible to all levels of the operating system, said virtual folders or directories appearing to user programs and the operating system as folders or directories, within an existing folder, containing files and folders but not actually being stored in said memory device.

42. The system of claim 41 wherein said means for creating virtual folders or directories is responsive to a file system request to enumerate the contents of a compressed file or folder contained in archives in said memory device.

43. The system of claim 41 wherein said permanent memory comprises at least one PROM.

44. The system of claim 41 wherein said temporary memory comprises at least one RAM.

45. The system of claim 41 further including an application program.

46. The system of claim 41 further including means for compressing and decompressing files.

47. The system of claim 41 which includes means for accessing said files represented by said virtual folders or directories in said RAM and changing the contents of said files in response to a request from said operating system.

48. The system of claim 47 wherein said request from said operating system is selected from the group consisting of requests for reading, writing, opening, or closing a file.

49. The system of claim 47 wherein said request from said operating system is selected from the group consisting of requests for renaming, copying, moving, deleting, or obtaining the attributes of a file.

50. The system of claim 47 which includes means responsive to accessing said files for adjusting a virtual directory structure.

51. The system of claim 47 wherein said files in said RAM are accessible to said operating system and user programs.

52. The system of claim 41 which includes means for reading a compressed file from said memory device, decompressing said file in RAM and retaining the decompressed file so that operations can be performed on the decompressed file by the operating system without having first to write the decompressed file to the memory device.

53. The system of claim 41 wherein said virtual folders or directories are stored in RAM.

54. The system of claim 41 further comprising means for receiving a request from said operating system, said request from said operating system being selected from the group consisting of requests for reading, writing, opening, or closing a file.

55. The system of claim 41 further comprising means for receiving a request from said operating system, said request from said operating system being selected from the group consisting of requests for renaming, copying, moving, deleting, or obtaining the attributes of a file.

56. The system of claim 41 which includes

means for updating said folders and said memory device after an operation from said operating system on said files and virtual folders,

means for selectively supplying said operating system with information from said virtual folders, and

means for updating and returning said files and folders to said archives in said memory device.

57. The system of claim 41 which includes means responsive to a file system request to enumerate the contents of a folder for determining whether the request is to enumerate the contents of a virtual folder, and if the answer is affirmative, making available to the operating system the contents of the archive that the virtual folder represents.

58. The system of claim 41 which includes means responsive to a file system request to enumerate the contents of a folder for determining whether the request is to enumerate the contents of an archive file, and if the answer is affirmative, creating in RAM a virtual folder that represents the archive file and that appears to user programs and the operating system as a folder containing files and folders.

59. The system of claim 41 which includes means responsive to a request for a file system operation for determining whether the requested operation is for a file contained in a virtual folder and, if the answer is affirmative, performing the requested file system operation.

60. The system of claim 41 which includes means for making available the contents of said virtual files and folders to all levels of an operating system.

61. The system of claim 41 which includes means for representing files and folders contained in said archives as files and folders in the virtual files and folders corresponding to said archives.

62. The system of claim 41 which includes means for reading a compressed file corresponding to a virtual file or folder from said memory device, decompressing said file in RAM so that operations can be performed on the decompressed file by the operating system without having first to write the decompressed file to the memory device.

63. A method for accessing compressed files held in archives in a memory device of a computer system, said method comprising the steps of:

creating, in a random access memory (RAM), virtual folders or directories to represent compressed files held in archives as folders or directories accessible to all levels of an operating system, said virtual folders or directories appearing to user programs and the operating system as folders or directories, within an existing folder, containing files and folders but not actually being stored in said memory device.

64. The method of claim 63 in which said creation of virtual folders or directories is carried out in response to a file system request to enumerate the contents of a compressed file or folder contained in archives in said memory device.

65. The method of claim 63 which includes determining, in response to a request for a file system operation, whether the requested operation is for a file contained in a virtual folder.

66. The method of claim 65 wherein said request for a file system operation is a request selected from the group consisting of requests to rename, copy, move, delete, or obtain the attributes of a file.

67. The method of claim 63 wherein said virtual folders or directories created in said RAM are accessible to said operating system and user programs.

68. The method of claim 63 which further includes

updating said virtual folders or directories after an operation on a file or folder,

selectively supplying said operating system with information from said file or folder, and

returning said file or folder to said archives.

69. The method of claim 63 which further includes compressing and decompressing files.

70. The method of claim 63 which further includes reading a compressed file from said memory device, decompressing said file in RAM and retaining the decompressed file so that operations can be performed on the decompressed file by the operating system without having first to write the decompressed file to the memory device.

71. The method of claim 63 wherein said virtual folders or directories are stored in RAM.

72. The method of claim 63 which further includes determining whether the request to enumerate the contents of a folder is a request to enumerate the contents of a virtual folder, and if the answer is affirmative, making available to the operating system the contents of the archive that the virtual folder represents.

73. The method of claim 63 which further includes determining whether a request to enumerate the contents of a folder is a request to enumerate the contents of an archive file, and if the answer is affirmative, creating in RAM a virtual folder that represents the archive file and that appears to user programs and the operating system as a folder containing files and folders.

74. The method of claim 63 which further includes determining whether a request for a file system operation is a request for an operation for a file contained in a virtual folder and, if the answer is affirmative, performing the requested file system operation.

75. The method of claim 63 which includes making available the contents of said virtual files and folders to all levels of an operating system.

76. The method of claim 63 which includes representing files and folders contained in said archives as files and folders in the virtual files and folders corresponding to said archives.

77. The method of claim 63 which includes reading a compressed file corresponding to a virtual file or folder from said memory device, decompressing said file in RAM so that operations can be performed on the decompressed file by the operating system without having first to write the decompressed file to the memory device.