Patent ID: 6179491
Filing Date: 2001-01-30
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
In a system wherein a computer program has a class hierarchy comprising a plurality of components including classes of objects, a method for generating a run-time representation of said computer program, the method comprising the steps of:i) identifying a first class of objects and a second class of objects, wherein said first class inherits from said second class, said second class being known as a base class and said first class being known as a derived class, and wherein components of said class hierarchy include an inheritance relation that identifies said second class as a base class with respect to said first class and that identifies said first class as a derived class with respect to said second class, wherein each object within said first class of objects includes an object of said second class as a subobject, and wherein for any object O of said first class of objects, said subobject of O belonging to the said second class of objects is not accessed during any execution of said computer program;ii) generating said run-time representation of said computer program that includes said first class of objects yet omits said inheritance relation between said first class and said second class; andwherein said step i) includes the step of examining components of said class hierarchy.