Data processing: database and file management or data structures – Database design – Data structure types
Patent
1996-07-18
1998-09-08
Black, Thomas G.
Data processing: database and file management or data structures
Database design
Data structure types
G06F 944
Patent
active
058060731
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates generally to computer files and to processes for comparing computer files.
1. Summary of the Invention
This invention is about a process for comparing computer files stored on external storage memories that is specially intended for control, analysis and administration of important volumes.
Generally and for any operating system:
a external storage memory is a storing hardware unit or a group of such units, divided into sectors, as are for example magnetic, optical or magneto-optical disks, magnetic tapes, floppy disks, etc. This external storage memory is itself divided or assembled to other external storage memories into logical units called partitions or volumes;
a file is a character string stored on a volume. There are special and ordinary files. Special files are files that are necessary and sufficient for the machine to work properly (system files and executable files), ordinary files are those which are not special files;
on a physical point of view, a directory, also called a folder or a catalogue, is a file of a certain type. On a logical point of view, a directory contains files and other directories called sub-directories that in turn contain other files and directories. The only directory that does not belong to any other one is the root directory or main directory. Hence we define a file system that has a tree structure. Designating a file is done through the referencing of the directories. This defines a unique path of the directory tree, starting at the root directory, ending at the directory containing the given file and including all the intermediate directories of the directory tree.
In certain operating systems such as MS-DOS, the name of a file consists of two parts, the name itself plus a file type also called extension or suffix.
File managers named "NORTON", "PC TOOLS", "WINFILE", "DOSSHEL" are found under the DOS, WINDOWS, MAC/OS, OS/2, NETWARE and XENIX (UNIX) operating systems. These enable to see the directories and files of the external storage memories accessible to the computer running the manager, they allow to navigate in the directory trees and to manually select the said directories and files in order to move, copy or delete them.
Furthermore, some high end operating systems handle directory and file permissions that enable to control the creation, modification and deletion of directories and files.
These means, let alone, give a system administrator only a very limited control over the state of his system, particularly if the number of files is very important.
Indeed, the system administrator has to check that the system he controls is coherent and more specifically that there are no missing files that may impede applications to run properly, that the content of certain files has not been modified and that files have not been stored in wrong directories. All of which is almost impossible to do with usual means when there are files by the tens of thousands.
A solution to significantly reduce the number of files to examine is to conceive an automatic verification system that analyses the content of each directory. If no files have been modified nor added nor deleted in a directory between time to, when it was in a correct state, and time t.sub.1, the directory is said to be without problems. If it is not the case, it is said to be suspicious and has to be examined.
Nevertheless, the number of files to examine is still much to high and that solution does not settle the very frequent situation described in the following example:
In a word processing directory, correct at time to, there is:
a mandatory executable file: "wordproc.exe" (special file)
a data file: "textNo1.doc" (ordinary file)
no backup file with the extension: bak
If at time t.sub.1 the file "wordproc.exe" has been modified or if a file "exectx.ov1" has been added in the directory, there is an error.
But if "textNo1.doc" has been modified or if a file "textNo1.bak" has been added in the directory, there is no error.
The invention's aim is to solve the above dra
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Database TDB IBM-Tech Discl Bull. v. 34, No. 9 Feb. 9, 1992 pp. 188-191.
IBM. Tech Discl. Bull v 33 No. 3a Aug. 1990 p. 190.
Black Thomas G.
Plottel Roland
Wallace, Jr. Michael J.
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