Type Inference For Object-Oriented Languages

[eric_lippert]

Woo hoo! I just got my third patent!

I can now add "Type Inference for Object-Oriented Languages" to "Schema-Based Machine Generated Programming Models" and "Document Customization For Transparent Execution On A Client And A  Server", my patents from 2004.

So that means that if you want to infer types, translate XML into classes, or run the same code

Comments

[derekbbell]

What documentation process is applied to assert the date of invention?

[eric_lippert]

It goes like this:

1) Patent attorneys ask my team if we have anything that might be patentable.
2) We provide a list of new stuff and the specifications for it.
3) They ask us if and when we disclosed said new stuff.
4) They hammer on our specifications until it resembles a patent and do all the other necessary paperwork.
5) Eventually I get a small marble cube with the patent description on it, and (I hope) a small cash bonus.

That's all I know. I have no knowledge whatsoever of how the details of the patent process work, nor do I particularly wish to find out.

[derekbbell]

Yep, it's right up there with making sausage and laws!