Patents by Inventor John R Skelton, III

John R Skelton, III 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).

  • Method and apparatus for identifying the existence of differences between two files
    Patent number: 6393438
    Abstract: A method and apparatus identifies the existence of differences between two files on a personal computer, such as two versions of a Windows registry file. Portions of each of the files are hashed into a four byte value per portion to produce a set of hash results, and the set of hash results is combined with a four byte size of the portion of the file from which the hash was generated to produce a signature of each file. If the two files are different versions of a Windows registry file, the portion of the file hashed are the values of the Windows registry file. If the two files are different, there is a high probability that the signatures of the two files will be different. The signatures may be compared to provide a strong indicator whether the two files are different. Each four-byte hash from one file can be compared against its counterpart from the other file to determine the portion or portions of the files that differ.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 15, 2001
    Date of Patent: May 21, 2002
    Assignee: Serena Software International, Inc.
    Inventors: Bodie Kathrow, John R Skelton, III
  • Method and apparatus for identifying the existence of differences between two files
    Patent number: 6263348
    Abstract: A method and apparatus identifies the existence of differences between two files on a personal computer, such as two versions of a Windows registry file. Some or all of each of the files are hashed into a four byte value per file, and each hash is combined with a four byte size of the portion of the file from which the hash was generated to produce a fingerprint of each file. If the two files are different versions of a Windows registry file, the portion of the file hashed are the values of the Windows registry file. If the two files are different, there is a high probability that the fingerprints of the two files will be different. The fingerprints may be compared to provide a strong indicator whether the two files are different.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 1, 1998
    Date of Patent: July 17, 2001
    Assignee: Serena Software International, Inc.
    Inventors: Bodie Kathrow, John R Skelton, III