[54] METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR
IMPROVED INFORMATION STORAGE AND
RETRIEVAL SYSTEM
[75] Inventors: Scott Wlaschin; Robert Gordon, both of Los Angeles; Louise J. Wannier, La Canada, all of Calif.; Clay Gordon, New York, N.Y
[73] Assignee: Dex Information Systems, Inc.,
Pasadena, Calif.
[ * ] Notice: The term of this patent shall not extend beyond the expiration date of Pat. No. 5,729,730.
[21] Appl. No.: 633,842
[22] Filed: Apr. 10, 1996
Related U.S. Application Data
[63] Continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 383,752, Mar. 28, 1995, Pat. No. 5,729,730.
[51] Int. C I. G06F 17 30
[52] U.S. CI 707/3; 707/1; 707/4; 707/102
[58] Field of Search 707/1, 3, 4, 102
[56] References Cited
U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
5,295,256 3/1994 Bapat 395/500
5,305,389 4/1994 Palmer 382/1
5,359,724 10/1994 Earle 395/425
5,375,237 12/1994 Tanaka et al 395/650
5,421,012 5/1995 Khoyi et al 395/650
5,459,860 10/1995 Burnett et al 707/1
5,499,180 3/1996 Ammirato et al 364/419.1
5,537,591 7/1996 Oka 707/4
5,537,633 7/1996 Suzuki et al 707/3
5,553,218 9/1996 Li et al 395/148
5,557,787 9/1996 Shin et al 707/1
5,560,005 9/1996 Hoover et al 707/3
5,564,046 10/1996 Nemoto et al 707/4
5,729,730 3/1998 Wlaschin et al 707/3
Primary Examiner—-Thomas G. Black
Assistant Examiner—Frantz Coby
Attorney, Agent, or Firm—Irell & Manella LLP
[57] ABSTRACT
The information management and database system of the present invention comprises a flexible, self-referential table that stores data. The table of the present invention may store any type of data, both structured and unstructured, and provides an interface to other application programs. The table of the present invention comprises a plurality of rows and columns. Each row has an object identification number (OID) and each column also has an OID. A row corresponds to a record and a column corresponds to a field such that the intersection of a row and a column comprises a cell that may contain data for a particular record related to a particular field, a cell may also point to another record. To enhance searching and to provide for synchronization between columns, columns are entered as rows in the table and the record corresponding to a column contains various information about the column. The table includes an index structure for extended queries.
81 Claims, 20 Drawing Sheets
Microfiche Appendix Included
(1 Microfiche, 57 Pages)
