US5991753A
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Method and system for computer file management, including file migration, special handling, and associating extended attributes with files
Assignee: CA Inc
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Filing: 1995-06-14
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Granted: 1999-11-23
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Expires: 2015-06-14
Abstract
Abstract A file management system and method for implementing special handling of files, useful for such applications as migration, compression, encryption, and logging access to files. A layer is superimposed between an underlying file system and programs' requests to access files. The layer initiates special handling in response to a file's normal attributes or information in the contents of the file and then passes the request to the underlying file system for normal proceeding. In the preferred embodiment, a file is recognized as a representation of a migrated file if the length attribute has a predetermined value and the file contains a unique pattern of bits.
Inventors
- 👤 Michael J. Wilde
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-05 13:21
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06F; G06F16/00; G06F16/10; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S707/00; Y10S707/99931; Y10S707/99932; Y10S707/99951; Y10S707/99952; Y10S707/99953
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 37
Claim 1
Independent Claim
100 words
A file management system, comprising, a layer that intercepts at least one code path by which a program requests access to a first file from an underlying file system; a file management procedure that performs special handling on a file; a branch in said layer that branches to a first call in said layer to said file management procedure based on a decision made by examining at least one normal attribute of the file referenced in the intercepted access request by examining the file itself; a second call in said layer to said accessing procedure of said underlying file system.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
100 words
A file management system, comprising, a layer that intercepts at least one code path by which a program requests access to a first file from an underlying file system; a file management procedure that performs special handling on a file; a branch in said layer that branches to a first call in said layer to said file management procedure based on a decision made by examining at least one normal attribute of the file referenced in the intercepted access request by examining the file itself; a second call in said layer to said accessing procedure of said underlying file system.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
20 words
The file management system of claim 1, wherein said file management procedure comprises a procedure for reloading a migrated file.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
16 words
The file management system of claim 1, wherein said file management procedure comprises a decompression procedure.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
16 words
The file management system of claim 1, wherein said file management procedure comprises a decryption procedure.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
20 words
The file management system of claim 1, wherein said at least one normal attribute comprises the length of the file.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
20 words
The file management system of claim 1, wherein said at least one normal attribute comprises a timestamp for the file.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
18 words
The file management system of claim 1, wherein said at least one normal attribute comprises an owner identification.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
27 words
The file management system of claim 1, wherein said branch branches to said first call based on a decision made by examining the contents of the file.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
70 words
A file management method comprising the steps of, intercepting at least one code path by which a program requests access to a first file from an underlying file system; examining at least one normal attribute of the file that is referenced by said request by examining the file itself; responding to said examining step by conditionally calling a file management procedure; calling said accessing procedure of said underlying file system.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
70 words
A file management method comprising the steps of, intercepting at least one code path by which a program requests access to a first file from an underlying file system; examining at least one normal attribute of the file that is referenced by said request by examining the file itself; responding to said examining step by conditionally calling a file management procedure; calling said accessing procedure of said underlying file system.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method of claim 9, wherein said examining step comprises determining the length of a data block of the file.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method of claim 9, wherein said responding step calls said file management procedure only if said normal attribute has a preselected value.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method of claim 9, wherein said at least one normal attribute comprises a timestamp for the file.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method of claim 9, wherein said at least one normal attribute comprises the length of the file.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method of claim 13, wherein said preselected value of said attribute is the length of a data block of said file.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 13, wherein said examining step further comprises determining whether the file contains a unique pattern of bits.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method of claim 12, wherein said file management procedure comprises a procedure for reloading a migrated file.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
35 words
The method of claim 16, wherein said reloading procedure copies a migrated file from a first repository to a second repository and wherein said first and second repositories are both local to the same computer.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
44 words
The method of claim 16, wherein said reloading procedure copies a migrated file from a first repository to a second repository and wherein said second repository is local to a computer and said first repository is accessible to said computer via a remote connection.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
70 words
A file migration method comprising the steps of, examining at least one normal attribute of a first file by examining the file itself; and responding to said examining step by calling a file reloading procedure only if each of said at least one normal attributes has a predetermined value; wherein said file reloading procedure uses information stored in the first file to reload a migrated file corresponding to the file.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
70 words
A file migration method comprising the steps of, examining at least one normal attribute of a first file by examining the file itself; and responding to said examining step by calling a file reloading procedure only if each of said at least one normal attributes has a predetermined value; wherein said file reloading procedure uses information stored in the first file to reload a migrated file corresponding to the file.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
15 words
The file method of claim 19 wherein said at least one normal attribute comprises length.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
76 words
A file management system comprising: means for intercepting at least one code path by which a program requests access to a first file from an underlying file system; means for examining at least one normal attribute of the file that is referenced by said request by examining the file itself; means for responding to said examining step and for conditionally calling a file management procedure; means for calling said accessing procedure of said underlying file system.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
76 words
A file management system comprising: means for intercepting at least one code path by which a program requests access to a first file from an underlying file system; means for examining at least one normal attribute of the file that is referenced by said request by examining the file itself; means for responding to said examining step and for conditionally calling a file management procedure; means for calling said accessing procedure of said underlying file system.
Claim 26
Independent Claim
111 words
A system for storing and retrieving information, comprising: a computer having a first data storage repository and access to a second data storage repository; a file system accessible to said computer that includes a procedure for accessing files stored on said first repository; said computer further having a layer that intercepts calls to said file system's procedure for accessing files; a first file stored on said second repository; and a second file stored on said first repository that has some of the attributes of said first file and at least one normal attribute of the file itself signifying that said second file contains information identifying the location of said first file.
Claim 27
Independent Claim
111 words
A system for storing and retrieving information, comprising: a computer having a first data storage repository and access to a second data storage repository; a file system accessible to said computer that includes a procedure for accessing files stored on said first repository; said computer further having a layer that intercepts calls to said file system's procedure for accessing files; a first file stored on said second repository; and a second file stored on said first repository that has some of the attributes of said first file and at least one normal attribute of the file itself signifying that said second file contains information identifying the location of said first file.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
34 words
The system of claim 22 wherein said layer comprises a procedure for determining whether an intercepted file access request requires access to data contained in said first file and not in said second file.
Claim 29
Independent Claim
55 words
A method of migrating files, comprising the steps of: copying the contents of an original file from a first repository to a second repository and transforming said original file to an alternate representation comprising a file having a last data block of a predetermined size and including therein information identifying the location of said copy.
Claim 30
Independent Claim
55 words
A method of migrating files, comprising the steps of: copying the contents of an original file from a first repository to a second repository and transforming said original file to an alternate representation comprising a file having a last data block of a predetermined size and including therein information identifying the location of said copy.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
14 words
The method of claim 24, wherein said transformed file further comprises a residency map.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method of claim 24, wherein said transformed file further comprises information identifying at least one extended attribute of said original file.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
42 words
The method of claim 24, wherein said transforming step further comprises the steps of: storing in said transformed file a value indicative of the size of said original file before transformation; and preserving the rest of the attributes of said original file.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 24, wherein said transforming step further comprises storing in said transforming file a unique pattern of bits.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method of claim 24, further comprising, reloading onto said first repository at least a portion of said copy of said file.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
47 words
The method of claim 29, further comprising, entering in a database a key identifying said reloaded file and a value identifying the location of said file on said second repository, deleting said transformed file, and transferring attributes of said transformed file to attributes of said reloaded file.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
31 words
The method of claim 29, wherein said reloading step occurs in response to a request to read a portion of said original file, said portion not contained in said truncated file.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2002-11-22 | 2003-05-24 | 2003-11-23 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2006-11-22 | 2007-05-24 | 2007-11-23 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2010-11-22 | 2011-05-24 | 2011-11-23 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |