Patent ID: 6233621
Filing Date: 2001-05-15
Classification: G06F,Y10S

Abstract:
An object-oriented computer system, comprising:a memory for storing a plurality of objects and a plurality of procedures, each stored object having a methods pointer to a subset of the procedures;a key generating procedure for generating a key for a specific object that does not have a key associated therewith, the key identifying the specified object with respect to all other objects, the key generating procedure storing the key in a memory location external to the specified object and accessible through the specified object's methods pointer;a key cleanup procedure for relocating stored objects to alternate memory locations, said key cleanup procedure including instructions for resizing a stored object having an associated key stored in a memory location external to the stored object, wherein the associated key is accessible through the stored object's methods pointer, the object being resized so as include additional room for storage of the associated key within the object, and instructions for storing the associated key at a predefined location within the stored object;a key retrieval procedure for retrieving a key of a stored object; andwherein said system uses said key generating procedure to generate a key when the stored object's key has not been previously referenced, and uses the key retrieval procedure to obtain the key when the stored object's key has been previously referenced.