Burroughs, Inc.

Peter R Annal

Kenneth Lindsay York

John E Legory

In a named data processing system, user ownership and verfication of data records is secured by assigning an unique record name to each data record, providing error checking covering both the data record and its associated record name, storing the data record, its associated record name and check code, and requiring the data record name to be provided in order to initiate a fetch operation. Further, the check code enables upon fetching, a verification that an incorrect data record was not inadvertantly fetched due to hardware or other failures. The association of a unique data name with each data record provides for self-descriptive data records thereby permitting the reconstruction of directories which describe the contents of various actual physical locations within an Input/Output system when such directions are lost or otherwise corrupted by hardware or other malfunctions.

Method and apparatus for enhancing I/O transfers in a named data

An error control system for named data functions in a hierarchical memory system environment requiring only a single error-control encoding for each data word used therein. Each level of memory in the hierarchy thereof includes a data word storage device preceded by an error checking circuit to validate and correct when possible data to be stored therein. A translator operates upon the data name of the data word to be stored to indicate the area or portion of the storage device in which the data word is to be stored. A directory table associates data names with data word locations in the storage device, and a search mechanism fed by the translator searches the directory table in the area or portion so indicated for a data word location in the storage device to store the data word. If a data word is not located in one level of memory, the next lower level of memory is searched for same. Data words may be stored and translated or shifted through the various levels of memory without further error control encoding thereof. Fetching occurs in essentially the reverse manner of storing with the caveat that the single encloder used for storing is replaced by a decoder or error checking circuit.

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West Chester, PA, United States of America

Peter R Annal