Patents by Inventor Stephen J. Garland

Stephen J. Garland 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).

  • Patent number: 8510650
    Abstract: A computerized method and system for creating, analyzing, and editing complex formulas so as to facilitate their use in software applications such as spreadsheets and database applications. The method and system employ multiple synchronized views for formulas, one view presenting the linear text required by the software application and the other views presenting clear indications of the meaning of that text. Examples of such views include mathematically typeset formulas and hierarchical diagrams that reveal the formula's structure. The method and system parse formulas to determine their structure, display that structure in multiple views, and provide a variety of controls and aids to assist in analyzing, debugging, and editing the formula so that it has the intended meaning and result. Additionally, it synchronizes the multiple views so that changes to the formula or to the presentation of the formula in one view are automatically reflected in the other views.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 2011
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2013
    Inventors: Stephen J. Garland, Robert N. Block, George E. Conant
  • Publication number: 20120042242
    Abstract: A computerized method and system for creating, analyzing, and editing complex formulas so as to facilitate their use in software applications such as spreadsheets and database applications. The method and system employ multiple synchronized views for formulas, one view presenting the linear text required by the software application and the other views presenting clear indications of the meaning of that text. Examples of such views include mathematically typeset formulas and hierarchical diagrams that reveal the formula's structure. The method and system parse formulas to determine their structure, display that structure in multiple views, and provide a variety of controls and aids to assist in analyzing, debugging, and editing the formula so that it has the intended meaning and result. Additionally, it synchronizes the multiple views so that changes to the formula or to the presentation of the formula in one view are automatically reflected in the other views.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 10, 2011
    Publication date: February 16, 2012
    Inventors: Stephen J. Garland, Robert N. Block, George E. Conant
  • Patent number: 6289502
    Abstract: A new computer language, which is based on a formal, mathematical state-machine model, and which is used both to validate and to generate code for a distributed system, in general, enables developing a system using multiple related system specifications, for instance, using system specifications at multiple levels of abstraction or using multiple system decompositions into parallel combinations of interacting systems, and allows use of validation tools to verify properties of these systems and their relationships. The language includes constructs for specifying non-deterministic actions, and for specifying constraints on those non-deterministic choices. Several well-defined sub-languages of the full computer language are also defined. These sub-languages are used to specify the input of some tools, in particular, of some code generators.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 1998
    Date of Patent: September 11, 2001
    Assignee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    Inventors: Stephen J. Garland, Nancy A. Lynch