Appeal No. 1999-1598
Application 08/668,656
The Examiner notes the argument that "database tables" in
Rothfield are not "data files," as claimed (EA5), but fails to
address the merits of the argument.
Appellants respond that the examiner's answer maintains
the reading of a "query" or "table" in the prior art for "data
file" in the rejected claims and argues that the Examiner has
introduced no evidence to support this conclusion (RBr1).
We see nothing inconsistent in calling the database file
in Rothfield a "data file." The definition of data file in
the Dictionary of Computing indicates it is a generic term for
many different file structures, including a database file. In
fact, Appellants' own specification refers to database files
arranged as tables as data files (specification, p. 1,
lines 21-28): "The data can often be arranged in tables, each
table comprising rows and columns of cells that contain
information. . . . Data base management systems have been
developed to assist users in the manipulation and management
of data stored in data files of data processing systems." See
also specification, p. 2, lines 1-28. Thus, Appellants'
argument is not credible. We find that the database tables in
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