Augmented doubly-linked list search and management method for a system having data stored in a list of data elements in memory

Claim 2

In a system having data stored in a list of ordered data elements in memory, a method of searching and maintaining the data in memory comprising the steps of: a. creating an array; b. creating a doubly-linked list of ordered data elements; c. determining the number of ordered data elements in the doubly-linked list; d. dynamically grouping the doubly-linked list of ordered data elements into list segments by: determining the square root of the total number of data elements in the doubly-linked list; using the integer value of the square root of the total number of data elements to identify the number of list segments; e. filling the array with an address component of the first data element of each list segment; f. searching the doubly-linked list for a data element having a specified data value, including the steps of: searching the array for an address component; scanning the doubly-linked list sequentially from an entry point of a list segment; and g. retrieving the thus searched-for data element from the identified doubly-linked list member.

Claim 3

In a system having data stored in a list of ordered data elements in memory, a method of searching and maintaining the data in memory comprising the steps of: a. creating an array; b. creating a doubly-linked list of ordered data elements; c. determining the number of ordered data elements in the doubly-linked list; d. determining the square root of the total number of ordered data elements in the doubly-linked list; e. establishing a number of list segments of data elements in the doubly-linked list by using the integer value of the square root; f. identifying the address component of the first data element of each list segment; g. filling the array with the identified address components to provide an ordered array; h. in response to a change in the number of ordered data elements, dynamically realigning the number of data elements within a list segment to approximate the same number of data elements in each list segment such that the number of address components is approximately equal to the total number of data elements squared; i. re-identifying the address component of the first data element of each reorganized list segment; j. refilling the array with the re-identified address components of the reorganized list segments; k. providing an ordered array; l. in response to a request for identification of a data element having a specified address component, searching the reordered array to find its associated list segment; and m. traversing the found list segment to find the data element.

Claim 4

In a system having data stored in a list of ordered data elements in memory, a method of searching and maintaining the data in memory comprising the steps of: a. creating an array; b. creating a doubly-linked list of ordered data elements; c. determining the number of ordered data elements in the doubly-linked list; d. determining the square root of the total number of ordered data elements in the doubly-linked list; e. establishing a number of list segments of data elements in the doubly-linked list by using the integer value of the square root; f. identifying the address component of the first data element of each list segment; g. filling the array with the identified address components to provide an ordered array; h. in response to a change in the number of ordered data elements, dynamically realigning the number of data elements within a list segment to approximate the same number of data elements in each list segment such that the number of address components is approximately equal to the total number of data elements squared; i. re-identifying the address component of the first data element of each reorganized list segment; j. refilling the array with the re-identified address components of the reorganized list segments; k. providing an ordered array; l. in response to a request for identification of a data element having a specified address component, searching the reordered array to find its associated list segment; and m. traversing the found list segment to find the data element.

Claim 5

The method of claim 2 wherein the step of dynamically realigning the number of ordered data elements within a list segment includes the steps of: a. adding a data element to the doubly-linked list; b. determining the number of ordered data elements in the expanded doubly-linked list; c. using the integer value of the square root of the total number of ordered data elements to identify a number of groupings of list segments of the expanded doubly-linked list; d. identifying the address component of the first member of each newly regrouped segment; and e. readjusting the array with the address components of each of the first members of each list segment to reflect any dynamic change in the number of groupings of the data elements in the doubly-linked list as a result of an increase in the integer value of the square root of the total number of data elements.

Claim 6

The method of claim 2 wherein the step of dynamically realigning the number of data elements within a list segment includes the steps of: a. deleting a data element to the doubly-linked list; b. determining the number of ordered data elements in the reduced doubly-linked list; c. using the integer value of the square root of the total number of ordered data elements to identify a number of groupings of list segments of the reduced doubly-linked list; d. identifying the address component of the first member of each newly regrouped segment; and e. readjusting the array with the address components of each of the first members of each list segment to reflect any dynamic change in the number of groupings of the ordered data elements in the doubly-linked list as a result of a decrease in the integer value of the square root of the total number of data elements.