Amdahl Corporation

Helge Knudsen

John Yaffe

Daniel T Chong

Michael Robertson

Zbigniew Plazak

James E Taugher

A system for program development and execution consisting of a high level programming language based on a four part rule organization, consisting of a rule definition, a list of conditions, a list of actions which are taken upon satisfaction of a corresponding condition, and a list of exception handlers. The high level language is translated into an internal representation which controls a virtual stack machine. The virtual stack machine performs dynamic binding of rules and data to the current rule. Data access events are supplied through a table access method which provides an interface to the variety of sources of data coupled to the system. These sources of data include screens, import/export mechanisms, a foreign database system, such as IMS, and a local database system known as the table data store. The table data store organizes data in an object oriented, relational system, where each table is ordered on a primary key. Also, the table access method performs selection and ordering operations on the tables accessible through the table access method, implements and triggers invalidation routines upon data access events, in a recursive relationship with the virtual stack machine, and provides a common view of data stored across the heterogeneous data stores coupled through servers to the table access method. The ordered tables are subdividable by additional parameters associated with table names.

Operating system and data base using table access method with dynamic

A programmable computer which operates by executing rules, each including a rule name, and optionally: input parameters, a set of conditions, a set of actions associated with each condition, and a set of exception handlers. A condition is a logical expression which evaluates to a true or false boolean value, while an action is an executable statement. An exception handler contains executable statements. The computer includes text entry and display means for programming of rules. A rule is displayed with each condition and each action having a row of text. The computer generates a yes/no quadrant into which a programmer may enter sequence numbers, to associate ordered sets of actions with individual conditions. Sequence numbers may be entered not associated with any condition, to define a set of default actions. Upon entering a rule, the computer sequentially evaluates the rule's conditions. Upon a condition evaluating to true, the computer executes the set of actions associated with that condition, then exits the rule. If the rule contains no conditions or none evaluates to true, the set of default actions will be executed, and the rule exited. If, during execution of the rule, the computer detects an exception event, such as a missing datum or other execution error, the computer passes to the rule the name of the detected exception event. If the rule contains an exception handler bearing the same name, the computer will execute the statements within that exception handler.

System for creating, editing, displaying, and executing rules-based

An object access system for retrieving objects in response to requests identifying requested objects, the system comprising an access structure consisting of a plurality of tables where each table is identified by a unique table identifier and has a plurality of rows where each row has a plurality of fields and is identified by a unique primary key in one of the fields and where a field may also contain objects; a row index for each table, each row index having entries ordered on the primary key of the rows in the table where each entry points to a row of fields in the table; a table index ordered on the table identifier for the tables, the table index having an entry for each table which point to the row index for that table and access means, responsive to requests for an object having an associated table identifier and primary key, for searching the table index for the requested table identifier and for retrieving from the table index entry for the requested table identifier the pointer to the row index for the requested table identifier, searching the pointed to row index for the requested primary key and retrieving from the row index entry for the requested primary key the pointer to the row of fields and searching the pointed to row of field for the requested object and retrieving the requested object.

Operating system and data base having an access structure formed by a

A computer which executes rules which are defined according to a language having a valid grammar. The computer comprises input means for receiving and temporarily storing a first source code representation of a rule; object code translation means for translating the first source code representation into a first object code representation executable by the computer; storage means for storing the object code representations of rules; discard means for automatically discarding from the input means the first source code representation upon the storing of the first object code representation in the storage means; source code translation means for translating the first object code representation into a second source code representation where the second source code representation has lines of text; edit means for editing the second source code representation by deleting, adding, or changing one or more of the lines of text of the second source code representation; second object code translation means for translating the second source code representation, as edited, into a new object code representation of the edited rule for storage in the storage means; and the discard means discarding the first object code and second source code representations automatically upon the storing of the new object code representation of the edited rule in the storage means. The computer thereby minimizes the storage required in the storage means for storing rules and maintains version control over the object code representations of rules stored in the storage means.

Programmable computer with automatic translation between source and

A method for manipulating a database of data and rules stored in a computer system where the computer operates in accordance with object-coded rules defined by a specified object code grammar. The computer including storage means for storing data and object-coded rules in tables in conformance with a storage architecture, control means for storing, retrieving and deleting data and object-coded rules from the tables, translator means for translating source-coded rules into object-coded rules, detranslator means for translating object-coded rules into source-coded rules and scanner means for determining lexical validity of an object-coded rule according to the grammar. The method first comprising the ordered steps of entering into the computer a first source-coded rule; storing the first source-coded rule into tables in the storage means; translating the first source-coded rule into a first object-coded rule; storing the first object-coded rule into the tables in the storage means; and discarding the first source-coded rule from the tables in the storage means. Secondly, the method comprises the steps of retrieving an object-coded rule from the tables in the storage means; translating the object-coded rule into a second source-coded rule; editing the second source-coded rule; storing the second source-coded rule, as edited, into the tables in the storage means; translating the second source-coded rule into a second object-coded rule; storing the second object-coded rule into the tables in the storage means and discarding the original object-coded rule and the second source-coded rule from the tables in the storage means. The method further requires that each translating step determines lexical validity or invalidity of the object-coded rule translated from the source-coded rule; that each storing step conditions the storage of an object-coded rule in the tables in the storage means upon the determination of validity of the object-coded rule to be stored and each discarding step conditions the discarding of the first source-coded rule upon the storing of said first object-coded rule into the tables in the storage means and of the original object-coded rule and the second source-coded rule upon the storing of the second object-coded rule in the tables in the storage means.

A computer method for executing a GET instruction for retrieving the first record stored in a data base that meets the stated criteria and for issuing an exception when no such record is found.

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Oakville, Canada

Helge Knudsen