TenFold Patents

TenFold received U.S. Patent 6,016,394 on January 18, 2000. TenFold's patent contains a detailed explanation of an applications development technology illustrated by this master patent drawing.

This illustration shows these applications development technology elements:

Drawing element	Description
Application Editor	An application built using the applications development technology for the purpose of entering and maintaining an applications description. TenFold terminology for this element is TenFoldTools.
Application	A transaction- and database-intensive application like most ERP, MRP, and other legacy systems.
Dictionary	A relational database that contains an applications description. TenFold's current terminology for this element is TenFold Dictionary.
Universal Application	A pre-written technology that can read an applications description from a Dictionary and present (render) the application. TenFold terminology for this element is EnterpriseTenFold SOA.
Client Portion	A portion of the Universal Application that handles end-user presentation, frame-design, validation, query, et cetera. TenFold terminology for this element is TenFoldClient.
Server Portion	A portion of the Universal Application that supports the Client Portion with scheduling, dispatching, inter-applications communication, et cetera. TenFold terminology for this element is TenFoldServer, TenFoldKernel, and LogicXpress.
Application Database	A relational database that contains applications data such as insurance policy information in an insurance application.

The details of the patent protect these concepts:

Patented concept	Description
An applications development tool that is itself an application	TenFold patented the concept of an applications development toolkit that is itself an RDBMS-oriented application: Applications developers need intrinsic database application features and functions like concurrency protection, database query, et cetera. It is possible to provide an applications-development application by describing and rendering it.
A relational database that saves an applications description	TenFold patented the concept that applications requirements are data: Applications requirements data, like more traditional applications data, is best managed in a relational database. Normalizing applications requirements minimizes data entry and storage (just as for traditional applications database data). It is possible to design an applications database that completely, succinctly, and unambiguously defines applications requirements. Saving applications requirements in a relational database makes entering them and changing them faster than other methods. Saving applications requirements in a relational database supports validation of requirements during entry. Saving applications requirements in a relational database ensures requirements cross-validation and avoids contradictions. CASE software, by the way, used a repository that contained mostly pseudo-code, not normalized, applications-description data.)
A rendering engine that renders an application after reading its RDBMS applications description	TenFold patented the concept of a Universal Application that could render any application: "Rendering" implies reading a description and presenting an application without compiling or interpreting. Rendered applications can perform better than custom-coded ones. Rendered applications can scale better than custom-coded ones. A rendering engine can contain considerable built-in, desirable functionality not available in most applications.

Title: Method and System for Database Application Software Creation Requiring Minimal Programming
Country: United States of America 6,061,643 09-May-2000

Title: Method for Defining Durable Data for Regression Testing
Country: United States of America 6,301,701 09-Oct-2001

Title: Method for Computer-Assisted Testing of Software Application Components

We rely primarily on a combination of patent, copyright, trade secret and trademark laws, and nondisclosure and other contractual restrictions on copying and distribution to protect our proprietary technology. We have received three separate patents in the United States. The first patent (US Patent # 6016394) relates to EnterpriseTenFold. The second (US Patent # 6061643) relates to TenFold AutoTest, our automated testing technology. The third patent (US Patent # 6301701) relates to our computer-assisted testing of software application components. We have these patents issued and pending in other countries. Our trademark portfolio contains a variety of U.S. and international trademark registrations and pending trademark applications.

EnterpriseTenFold SOA Overview white paper How EnterpriseTenFold SOA Works by Jeffery L. Walker