Information system
OwnerPeter James Bobroff, David Ronald Thompsoninventors
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A computer implemented information system which arranges information according to types, members and associations wherein types group members with common attributes and wherein associations define relationships between types. The invention provides all the functionality of modern databases, spreadsheets and word processors all in the one program.
Claims80
A computer implemented information system which arranges information according to types, members and associations wherein types group members with common attributes and wherein associations define relationships between types.
An information system according to any one of the preceding claims wherein a types has a super-type which has less narrowly defined attributes than the type.
An information system according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the system is adapted to be operated by users who are permitted to create, delete or modify members, types and associations.
An information system according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the information includes:
- (a) data which represents particular samples of information stored by particular members;
- and
- (b) logic which refers to types and associations in order to specify many aspects of the system's behaviour.
An information system according to any one of the preceding claims wherein each type, member and association is allocated an internal identifier when it is created.
An information system according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the majority of the information is physically stored in a pair of ordered stores.
An information system according to any one of the preceding claims including a user interface which, when requested, assembles information into a presentation format.
An information system according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the system provides the capabilities of a word processor, a database and a spreadsheet program, all in the one program.
An information system including:
- (a) a Concept Net which is referenced by;
- (b) a Universal Logic which provides data organised into Phrases for;
- (c) a Logical External Interface which collects, formats and presents the data to Display Means.
An information system according to claim 29 wherein the Display Means can be acted upon by;
- (d) a User Action System which provides an extensible set of user Operations which enable the user to enter and modify data in the Concept Net.
A computer implemented information system including a Concept Net which is organised so that it can hold sufficient information to:
- (a) define itself;
- (b) define user applications;
- and
- (c) control the operation of the entire information system.
A method for organising a Concept Net so that it can hold all information necessary to:
- (a) define itself—using Types, Subtypes, Contained Types, Nested Types, Associations and Roles;
- (b) define user applications—using Logic, all the remaining system Definition Types, Styles, Operations;
- and
- (c) control the operation of the entire information system including user applications.
A computer implemented method for implementing a user interface covering all information contained in a Concept Net, which relies only on information within the same Concept Net and in which no programming or arbitrary human decisions are required
A computer implemented method for intersecting on a Connection, based upon ordered storage.
A method for clearly specifying a situation which must not be allowed to occur in the Concept Net (ie a Constraint) which leads by Transformation to an efficient enforcement mechanism on insertion and deletion in Associations and naturally results in a clear summary of all constraints that effect a particular Association.
An information system which employs a method which BOTH allows a Logical Association to maintain a parallel Enumerated Implementation to save continual re-interpretation AND which allows changes in one Enumerated Association to have consequential effects in another Enumerated Association by allowing an Association to be both Enumerated and Logical.
A method for constructing an information system including:
- (a) a Concept Net which is organised by Types, Associations, Subtyping, Nested Types and Contained Types such that it can be directly referenced by:
- (b) a Universal Logic consisting of Alternatives, References and Connections sufficiently powerful to control all display, manipulation, calculation, access and decision making necessary for all business purposes and wherein the Logic provides data organised into Connection Phrases, Reference Phrases and Instance Phrases for:
- (c) a Logical External Interface which (in accordance with Styles) collects, formats and presents the data to interactive windows, reports and external files;
- and wherein every phrase of the interactive windows can be acted upon by:
- (d) a User Action System providing an extensible set of user Operations which are available on every Phrase of the appropriate Type, which are sufficient to productively enter and modify any data in the Concept Net and to extend the organisation of the Concept Net without limit.
A computer implemented information system which arranges information according to instances wherein instances include numbers, ephemerals and things.
An information system whose logic can handle freely intermixed references to database concepts (using the implementation:
- enumerated), to numerical concepts (using the implementation:
- primitive) and to externals such as computer file system (using the implementation:
- primitive).
A method of ensuring the integrity of an information system being used by multiple simultaneous users which allows updates to cause cascading consequential effects while complying with any number of constraints.
An information system substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.
A method of generating an information system substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.