Data processing system including a data storage unit and its method of operation

Claim 3

The method set forth in claim 1 wherein the data storage areas are devided into two parts addressable by first and second addresses respectively, further including the steps of: repeatedly receiving records of diverse data for storage in the data storage unit, storing said received data in said data storage areas beginning at said first part of the storage areas and proceeding sequentially at successively addressed ones of the data storage areas toward said second part of the storage areas: each time any of said received records of data are stored in the data storage areas, creating a record directory entry having an identification of the received and just stored records of data and an address pointer identifying the data storage area in which said received and just stored records of data are stored; and storing said created record directory entries respectively in data storage areas of said data storage unit beginning at said second address and storing successively created ones of said entries respectively at successive addressed ones of said data storage areas beginning at said second address and proceeding sequentially toward said first address.

Claim 4

The method set forth in claim 2, further including the steps of: identifying groups of the records of data as data sets; creating a one of said record directory entries for each of the data sets with each of the created directory entries including address data for all of the records in the identified groups, respectively; changing a one of the records in a one of the identified groups; and creating a non-delete record directory entry for the respective data set including address data of said one record directory entry for said one identified group of all records not changed and address data for said changed one of the records and deleting the address data of said one record directory entry for said one identified group of the record that was changed and not deleting the the last mentioned record from the data storage unit nor said one record directory entry for said one identified group.

Claim 5

The method set forth in claim 3, further including the steps of: receiving a first plurality of changes to a corresponding first plurality of records stored in the data storage unit and storing said received changed records without deleting any recorded records of data in the data storage unit; and creating a second plurality of said non-delete record entries for changes to records in a corresponding second plurality of said identified groups corresponding to the plurality of changes.

Claim 6

The method set forth in claim 4, further including the step of: in each of said non-delete record directory entries storing an address pointer indicating the storage address of a record directory entry for the corresponding data set having address data for the records being changed.

Claim 8

The method set forth in claim 6 further including the step of: when indicating said data receiving surface means is filled, storing in the data receiving surface means an index to said created non-delete record directory entries having the identifications of said groups associated with the address of the last created-ones of the record directory entries, respectively.

Claim 9

The method set forth in claim 6 further including the step of selecting said data receiving surface means to have write once data storage characteristics.

Claim 10

The method set forth in claim 1 further including the steps of: repeatedly receiving records of diverse data for storage in the data storage unit, each of said received records of data having an identifying name therewith, a plurality of received records sharing a common identifying name, some of said received records are being received to update predetermined ones of records currently stored in the data storage unit, respectively, while others of said currently stored records are not being updated; creating a record directory entry for all of said received records having a common identifying name and which were concurrently received, including in each said created record directory entry said common name and the addresses of the data storage area of all records stored in the data storage unit having said common name, which are not being updated by the concurrently received records, irrespective of time of receipt and storage of such included records and including said concurrently received records; and storing each said created record directory entry in a data storage area of the data storage unit and retaining in the data storage unit all current copies of the directory entries and of currently stored data.

Claim 11

The method set forth in claim 9, further including the step of: in each of said created record directory entries storing an address pointer indicating the data unit storage address of a record directory entry for the corresponding common name having address data for the records being updated.

Claim 12

A data processing system including; a data storage unit (11) having a plurality of data storage areas (24) addressable by addresses in an address space bounded by first and second addresses with the addresses in the address space being sequentially increasing from the first address to the second address; data receiving means connected to said data storage unit for supplying records of data thereto for recording in predetermined ones (26) of said data storage areas, data set means (50) in said data receiving means for identifying said supplied data by record and data set names and for supplying data processing commands which indicate data processing operations, such as recording supplied data, to be performed; characterized by record directory control means (31, 32) connected to said data receiving means including said data set means for responding to said data set means supplied data set name to identify a stored copy of data in said addressable data storage areas identifiable by said supplied data set name, record directory creating means in said record directory control means for creating record directory entries and connected to said addressable data storage areas for storing said created record directory entries ( 25), fetching means in said record directory control means connected to said addressable data storage areas for fetching a record directory entry identified by said data set means supplied data set name, merge means in said record directory control means connected to said fetching means and to said receiving means and to said record directory creating means for transferring address pointers from said fetched record directory entry of all records represented by said receiving means supplied data set name that do not correspond to any of said supplied records of data to said record directory creating means such that said record directory creating means creates a record directory entry containing addresses of all records stored in said data storage unit related to said supplied data set name whether supplied by the receiving means or currently stored in the data storage unit and not corresponding to supplied records which update records currently stored in the data storage unit and said record directory creating means storing the just created record directory entry in a unused one of said addressable data storage areas and maintaining a copy of said fetched record directory entry in its data storage area; and storage control means connected to said data receiving means and to said data storage areas for storing supplied records only in unused data storage areas while maintaining storage of all previous copies of such supplied records whereby the data storage unit stores supplied records and creates record directory entries without deleting any previously stored record directory entries or records of data.

Claim 13

A data processing system including; a data storage unit (11) having a plurality of data storage areas (24) addressable by addresses in an address space bounded by first and second addresses with the addresses in the address space being sequentially increasing from the first address to the second address; data receiving means connected to said data storage unit for supplying records of data thereto for recording in predetermined ones (26) of said data storage areas, data set means (50) in said data receiving means for identifying said supplied data by record and data set names and for supplying data processing commands which indicate data processing operations, such as recording supplied data, to be performed; characterized by record directory control means (31, 32) connected to said data receiving means including said data set means for responding to said data set means supplied data set name to identify a stored copy of data in said addressable data storage areas identifiable by said supplied data set name, record directory creating means in said record directory control means for creating record directory entries and connected to said addressable data storage areas for storing said created record directory entries ( 25), fetching means in said record directory control means connected to said addressable data storage areas for fetching a record directory entry identified by said data set means supplied data set name, merge means in said record directory control means connected to said fetching means and to said receiving means and to said record directory creating means for transferring address pointers from said fetched record directory entry of all records represented by said receiving means supplied data set name that do not correspond to any of said supplied records of data to said record directory creating means such that said record directory creating means creates a record directory entry containing addresses of all records stored in said data storage unit related to said supplied data set name whether supplied by the receiving means or currently stored in the data storage unit and not corresponding to supplied records which update records currently stored in the data storage unit and said record directory creating means storing the just created record directory entry in a unused one of said addressable data storage areas and maintaining a copy of said fetched record directory entry in its data storage area; and storage control means connected to said data receiving means and to said data storage areas for storing supplied records only in unused data storage areas while maintaining storage of all previous copies of such supplied records whereby the data storage unit stores supplied records and creates record directory entries without deleting any previously stored record directory entries or records of data.

Claim 14

The data processing system set forth in claim 11 further including : a microprocessor (31) connected to said data receiving means connected to said data set means for receiving said data processing commands (150) and connected to said data storage unit for supplying device commands thereto for causing said data storage unit to receive and supply data and to perform other device operations; a control store (32) connected to said microprocessor for storing programming indicia (33) to enable said microprocessor to perform control operations to cause the data processing apparatus to function as a data storage subsystem; first program indicia in said programming indicia for enabling said microprocessor to be said record directory control means when executing said first program indicia; and second program indicia in said programming indicia for enabling said microprocessor to be said storage control means when executing said second program indicia.

Claim 15

The data processing system set forth in claim 12 wherein said storage control means as embodied by said microprocessor and said second indicia further includes reverse pointer indicia (79, 85) for enabling said microprocessor to store all of said supplied records of data in said data storage unit addressable data storage areas beginning at the addressable data storage area denominated by said first address and then ensuing supplied records of data at successively addressed ones of said addressable data storage areas numerically proceeding from said first toward said second address and to store all of the created record directory entries in said data storage unit beginning at the addressable data storage area denominated by said second address and ensuing ones of said created record directory entries in successive ones of said addressable data storage areas respectively denominated by a sequence of said addresses proceeding from said second address toward said first address, and,address compare indicia in said second indicia for enabling said microprocessor to compare the addresses last used to store a record of data and a created record directory entry for indicating that the data storage unit is filled whenever the comparison indicates a predetermined closeness of said two last addresses such that the microprocessor then stops storing any ensuing supplied records of data in said data storage unit.

Claim 16

The data processing system set forth in any previous claim wherein said data storage unit is a disk recorder having a rotatable record storage disk (14) with a data receiving surface having an inner radius (19) at which an inner given one of said data storage areas is located and is addressable by a one-of said bounded addresses and having a outer radius (18) at which an outer given one of said data storage areas is located and is addressable by another one of said bounded addresses.

Claim 17

The data processing system set forth in claim 14 wherein said rotatable record storage disk is removably mounted in said data storage unit, said data receiving surface exhibits write-once data recording characteristics, and said data storage unit has optical data recording and sensing apparatus.

Claim 18

The data processing system set forth in claim 15 wherein said data receiving means includes a random access data buffer (35) with a plurality of cache storage areas (37) for respectively temporarily storing records of data to be supplied to said data storage unit and having a cache directory (36) identifying data stored in the data buffer using said supplied record and data set names; and a working store (52, 53) connected to said microprocessor for temporarily storing said fetched record directory entries and said created record directory entries.