At 6:06 PM -0800 1/15/2008, Richard Gaskin wrote:
J. Downs wrote:
What made it possible to use HC that way was its "hint bits", a
system for indexing field contents which is not only proprietary
but patented as well. Hint bits made it ultra-fast for obtaining
data across the otherwise-complex structures that make up cards
and fields.
Certainly any such patent has expired by now. Patents are
enforceable a maximum of 20 years past the filing date.
Cool. Let us know what Apples says when you write to ask them for
the code. ;)
If they'd patented it, we wouldn't have to ask for the code, since
revealing the algorithm is required to obtain the patent. (Patents
don't function as some sort of extension of trade secret, although
some companies would like you to think so. ;-) The purpose of a
patent is to get a new technique into the public domain; the tradeoff
for the company is 1) you reveal how to do this to the public, in
exchange for 2) a limited-time legally enforceable monopoly on the
technique, which you get even if someone else discovers it
independently. For Apple, this means they could go to court during
the life of the patent against anyone who used the same method, but
the price is that everyone knows the method - so once the patent
expires, anyone can use it. In a real sense, a patented technique is
the opposite of proprietary.
However, this may be moot as I don't think they actually patented the
use of hint bits for searching. At least I can't find it at the
Patent Office site, although there are a lot of patents that mention
HyperCard and I haven't looked at most of 'em.
--
Jeanne A. E. DeVoto, Transcript Language Curmudgeon
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.jaedworks.com
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