System and method for storing and computing data and functions

• US 6,643,638 B1
• Filed: 03/25/2000
• Issued: 11/04/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 03/25/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kevin Houzhi Xu
• Original Assignee: Kevin Houzhi Xu
• Inventors: Xu, Kevin Houzhi
• Primary Examiner(s): Alam, Hosain T.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Veillard, Jacques
• Application Number:
  US09/536,343
• Time in Patent Office: 1,319 Days
• Field of Search: 707/1-5, 707/10, 707/104.1, 707/203, 707/201, 709/223, 709/224, 370/235, 370/236
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/212 with details for data modelling support
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99932 Access augmentation or optimizing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99939 Privileged access

Abstract

A computer system and method is to store and manage data and to construct application programs. This system accepts uniform input expressions db-terms, by which the stored data can be referenced and user queries can be expressed. A database is a collection of nodes that are connected by a set of directed links. There are three types of links. By ignoring one type of the links, the database can be viewed as a set of trees. All the nodes in databases are viewed as functions; all the db-terms can be computed to their values if they existed against databases and according to computing rules. The tree structures embedded in databases illustrate the dependent relationships among the data, and provide build-in functions in manipulating the database and a theoretical guideline of data distribution. The function-argument-value relationships among the nodes in databases provide a theoretical guideline for a set of useful built-in functions.

Claims

1. An apparatus having input/output means;

memory means; and

CPU means, comprises a database with a plurality of nodes;

a plurality of up-down links;

a plurality of dash arrows;

a plurality of solid arrows, each of said up-down links being a means supported by said memory that has an up end connecting to a node selected from said nodes and a down end connecting another node selected from said nodes, each of said dash arrows being a means supported by said memory that has a tail connecting to a node selected from said nodes and a head connecting another node selected from said nodes, each of said solid arrows being a means supported by said memory that has a tail connecting to a node selected from said nodes and a head connecting another node selected from said nodes, each of said nodes being connected by the up ends of zero or more links selected from said up-down links;

being connected by the down end of zero or one link selected from said up-down links;

being connected by the heads of zero or more arrows selected from said dash arrows;

being connected by the heads of zero or more arrows selected from said solid arrows, each of the nodes (or the root nodes) which are not connected by the down ends of a plurality of links selected from said up-down links having a label, and each of the nodes (or the non-root nodes) which are connected by the down end of exactly one link selected from said up-down links being connected by the tail of exactly one arrow selected from said dash arrows; and

a receptionist which accepts requests from other apparatus or users, and converts said requests to db-terms.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein each of the nodes (or the leaf nodes) which are not connected by the up ends of a plurality of links selected from said up-down links is connected by the tail of exactly one solid arrow selected from said solid arrows;

or has one tag, said tag being a means supported by said memory that references a db-term;

a third party software;

or nothing.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprises a computing processor which converts a db-term to another db-term, said computing processor having a plurality of rules selected from a group comprising:

a. if the db-term is the name of a non-leaf node selected from said nodes, said computing processor does not convert;

b. if the db-term is the name of a leaf node connected by the tail of a solid arrow, said computing processor converts the db-term to the name of a node collected by the head of said solid arrow;

if the db-term is the name of a leaf node having a tag referencing a db-term, said computing processor converts the db-term to the value of said referenced db-term; and

if the db-term is the name of a leaf node having a tag referencing nothing, said computing processor converts the db-term to the db-term itself;

c. if the db-term is a label not appeared in said database, said computing processor converts the db-term to Undefined;

d. if the db-term is a combination of a second db-term and a third db-term, if the second db-term is the name of a node in said database, and if said node has a subordinate whose parent has the name of a fourth db-term such that the third db-term and the fourth db-term can be converted to the same fifth db-term, then said computing processor converts the db-term to the combination of the second db-term and the fourth db-term;

e. if the db-term is a combination of a second db-term and a third db-term, if the second db-term is the name of a node in said database, and if said node has a fourth variable db-term as a subordinate such that the third db-term is in the range of the fourth variable db-term, then said computing processor converts the db-term to a fifth db-term resulted from the tag of said subordinate by substituting said variable with the third db-term;

f. if the db-term is a combination of a second db-term and a third db-term, if the second db-term is the name of a node in said database, if said node doesn'"'"'t have a subordinate such that either the name of the parent of said subordinate and the third db-term is convertible;

or said subordinate has a fourth variable as its label and the third db-term is in the range of said variable, then said computing processor converts the db-term to Undefined;

g. if the db-term is a combination of a second db-term and a third db-term, if the second db-term is an abstraction, then said computing processor converts the db-term to the fourth db-term resulted from the body of the third abstraction by substituting the variable of said abstraction with the third db-term.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said database further comprises a plurality of root nodes having functions as tags selected from a group comprising:

a. arithmetic operators ‘

addition’

, ‘

subtraction’

, ‘

multiplication’

, and ‘

divide’

which take two numeral numbers as parameters;

b. boolean operators ‘

greater than’

, ‘

equal or greater than’

, and ‘

equal’

which take two numeral numbers as parameters;

c. boolean operators ‘

and’

, ‘

or’

, and ‘

not’

which take boolean operation expressions as parameters;

d. boolean operator ‘

subordinate-of-superior’

which takes two db-terms as parameters; and

return the value of True if the two db-terms are the names of a first node and a second node respectively in said database and there is a link of the first link type with the tail connected to the first node and the head connected to the second node;

e. boolean operator ‘

child-of-parent’

which takes two db-terms as parameters; and

returns the value of True if the two db-terms are the names of a first node and a second node respectively in said database and there is a link of the second link type with the tail connected to the first node and the head connected to the second node;

f. boolean operator ‘

subordinate-of-subordinate’

which takes two db-terms as parameters; and

returns the value of True if the two db-terms are the names of a first node and a second node in said database and there is a sequence of links of the first link type along which one can walk from the first node connected by the tail of the very end link of the sequence to the second node connected by the head of the other very end link of the sequence;

g. boolean operator ‘

child-of-child which takes two db-terms as parameters; and

returns the value of True if the two db-terms are the names of a first node and a second node in said database and there is a sequence of links of the second link type along which one can walk from the first node connected by the tail of the very end link of the sequence to the second node connected by the head of the other very end link of the sequence;

h. boolean operator ‘

value-of-function’

which takes two db-terms as parameters; and

returns the value of True if the two db-terms are the names of a first node and a second node in said database and there is a path between the first node to the second node consisting of one link of the first link type and zero or multiple links of the third link type along which one can walks from the first to the second node; and

along which one walks through said link of the first link type from the tail to the head;

i. boolean operator ‘

image-of-argument’

which takes two db-terms as parameters; and

returns the value of True if the two db-terms are the names of a first node and a second node in said database and there is a path between the first node to the second node consisting of one link of the second link type and zero or multiple links of the third link type along which one can walks from the first to the second node; and

along which one walks through said link of the second link type from the tail to the head;

j. boolean operator ‘

value-of-value’

which takes two db-terms as parameters; and

returns the value of True if the two db-terms are the names of a first node and a second node in said database and there is a path between the first node to the second node consisting of zero or multiple links of the first link type and zero or multiple links of the third link type along which one can walks from the first to the second node; and

along which one walks through each of said links of the first link type from the tail to the head;

k. boolean operator ‘

image-of-image’

which takes two db-terms as parameters; and

returns the value of True if the two db-terms are the names of a first node and a second node in said database and there is a path between the first node to the second node consisting of zero of multiple links of the second link type and zero or multiple links of the third link type along which one can walks from the first to the second node; and

along which one walks through each of said links of the second link type from the tail to the head;

l. operator ‘

select’

which takes a sequence of variables and a boolean expression as parameters; and

returns a set of db-terms each of which satisfies said boolean expression;

m. operator ‘

update’

which takes a sequence of assignments and a boolean expression as parameters; and

returns the value of True when all the nodes which satisfy said boolean expression are correspondingly updated with the values of said assignments

n. operator ‘

delete’

which takes a db-term and a boolean expression as parameters; and

returns the value of True when all the nodes which satisfy said boolean expression are correspondingly deleted from said database;

o. operator ‘

create’

which takes a sequence of assignments and a boolean expression as parameters; and

returns the value of True when all the nodes satisfying said boolean expression are created and assigned the value of said assignment correspondingly in said database.