Ronald L Nicholas

US Patent:

59565101, Sep 21, 1999

Filed:

Sep 10, 1996

Appl. No.:

8/711920

Inventors:

Ronald M. Nicholas - Lakeville MN

Assignee:

Unisys Corporation - Blue Bell PA

International Classification:

G06F 945

US Classification:

395701

Abstract:

Apparatus and methods for revising a field in computer program code. One method includes analyzing program code lines for the presence of the field and, if present, selectively revising the field from the first value range to a second value range. The field has a storage attribute of n bits, where n is at least eight bits; with the first value range being inclusively between zero and 99, and the second value range being inclusively between zero and 2. sup. n -1. The method can further include inserting an extended field representative of a base value into the program code, with the field being encoded as an offset value relative to the extended field. The method also can include creating a program code executable on a computer from the revised computer program code. The present invention also provides a system for revising a computer program file having multiple host language statements, including an analyzer, for identifying a preselected data type the host language statements, and a translator for selectively modifying the preselected data type from the first attribute value range to a second attribute value range. The translator, alone or in combination with the analyzer, can be a code interpreter, a debugger, a code emulator, or a compiler.