Abstract: A method providing a level of indirection that abstracts the details of physical data storage, requiring neither indexing nor contiguity of data elements in physical storage for efficient data access. Tables are organized in a diagonal pattern (with a natural implementation in electronic spreadsheets), where the region occupied by each table is expandable and shrinkable. A novel query processing mechanism applies successive expressions in a query to progressively smaller arrays of references to a table's records. A novel method for implementing join operations avoids data replication, where the table derived from the join contains a matrix of references to values in the original tables. The derived table can subsequently be used to update the original tables via references, where this capability can be utilized in a user interface supporting atomic data entry transactions, where users may edit the derived table, and the corresponding original tables are atomically updated.

Abstract: Systems and methods associated with a self-testing module are described. The module may self control an environmental stress screen (ESS) apparatus and a self-test. One exemplary system includes a substitution test apparatus configured to hold a unit under test (UUT) configured with a self-test logic. The substitution test apparatus facilitates operably connecting the UUT to peripheral computer components so that the UUT and the peripheral components form a computing system when operably connected. The system may include an ESS apparatus for selectively and controllably applying an environmental stress to the UUT, a process control logic for controlling the substitution test apparatus, the UUT, the self-test logic, and/or the ESS apparatus.

Abstract: A manufacturing plant for manufacturing rigid bodies comprised of a plurality of parts to be assembled by at least two operators having hierarchical skill levels selected from alignment types ranging from Or to P selected from an alignment transformation consisting of Or, Oa, Br, Ba, S, L and P, comprising an alignment unit having at least three work stations, each of said work stations being capable of having associated therewith dynamically occurring manufacturing operations selected from one or more of the dynamically occurring alignment-based transformations of manufacturing operations identified as alignment types Or, Oa, Br, Ba, S, L and P.

Abstract: A system for continuous manufacture of apparel using continuous first-in-first-out work-in-process queues. The system is comprised of a dual queue where manufacture article components and article subassemblies can be performed simultaneously at a series of work centers all located around a center staging area.

Abstract: A distributed memory management system which provides a novel usage of computer resources. Unlike memory management in conventional computers, memory management in the present invention is distributed, to avoid having data transfer requests wait in line for a centralized memory controller. Individual processes partition logical memory into layers of variable-sized subregions, then allocate these subregions for private use by individual processes. Within each partition, a process may use memory without concern for the activities of other processes. The regions are partitioned into sub-regions, and always include a central subregion C, and four peripheral subregions denoted west (W), south (S), east (E) and north (N). Only the central subregions are ever written to directly from outside the memory. Peripheral regions must first be partitioned before data can be written into their respective central regions.