Patents by Inventor Peter Francis Sweeney

Peter Francis Sweeney has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Removal of unreachable methods in object-oriented applications based on program interface analysis
    Patent number: 6654951
    Abstract: The present invention analyzes an application A and computes a set reachable methods in A by determining the methods in A that may be called from another reachable method in A, or from within a class library L used by A without analyzing the classes in L. The invention may be used as an optimization to reduce application size by eliminating unreachable methods.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 1998
    Date of Patent: November 25, 2003
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: David Francis Bacon, Johannes C. Laffra, Peter Francis Sweeney, Frank Tip
  • Method for accurately extracting library-based object-oriented applications
    Patent number: 6546551
    Abstract: The present invention is capable of accurately extracting multiple applications with respect to a class library. The invention relies on a configuration file for an application program and/or library, which describes how program components in the program/library should be preserved under specified conditions. The invention may be used in application extraction tools, and in tools that aim at enhancing performance using whole-program optimizations. The invention may be used as an optimization to reduce application size by eliminating unreachable methods. In the alternative, the invention may be used as a basis for optimizations that reduce execution time (e.g., by means of call devirtualization), and as a basis for tools for program understanding and debugging.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 1999
    Date of Patent: April 8, 2003
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Peter Francis Sweeney, Frank Tip
  • Method for determining reachable methods in object-oriented applications that use class libraries
    Patent number: 6463581
    Abstract: The present invention analyzes an application A and computes a set reachable methods in A by determining the methods in A that may be called from another reachable method in A, or from within a class library L used by A without analyzing the classes in L. The invention may be used as an optimization to reduce application size by eliminating unreachable methods. In the alternative, the invention may be used as a basis for optimizations that reduce execution time (e.g., by means of call devirtualization), and as a basis for tools for program understanding and debugging.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 1998
    Date of Patent: October 8, 2002
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: David Francis Bacon, Johannes C. Laffra, Peter Francis Sweeney, Frank Tip