Abstract: Methods and apparatus for software threads to access both shared and unshared data in a single software unit. Prior to a thread executing a set of computer language instructions in a collection of software units, it creates a copy of the respective location data segment of the collection of software units. Thereafter, prior to the thread accessing a software unit in the collection of software units that has an associated set of shared data, the thread sets a pointer in its location data segment copy to the equivalent value in the location data segment of the collection of software units. The thread will thereafter access the set of data associated with the software unit when it executes the respective software unit. Also, prior to the thread accessing a software unit in the collection of software units that has an associated set of unshared data, the thread creates a copy of the set of unshared data.

Abstract: Techniques are described which allow function-defined hierarchies to be registered with a database server. The information provided to the server during the registration process is used by the server to determine how to roll up data that has been aggregated at one level of a function-defined hierarchy to another level of the function-defined hierarchy. Techniques are also provided to perform rollup from one level of a function-defined hierarchy to another level of the function-defined hierarchy on data stored in a materialized view. Further, techniques are provided for rewriting queries that require aggregation at one level of a function-defined hierarchy to cause them to access data from a materialized view that stores data at a different level of the function-defined hierarchy.

Abstract: Methods, devices and systems for processing a customer interaction of any media type for assignment to at least one selected call center agent and/or to at least one selected queue coupled to at least one call center agent in a call center. The method includes steps of receiving the customer interaction and extracting customer data from the received customer interaction. The customer data is linked with the customer interaction from which the customer data was extracted. The extracted customer data is stored in a data structure that is generic across all media types of the customer interactions. The customer data in the generic data structure is then applied to a rule-based engine, the rule-based engine operating upon the extracted customer data to select the agent(s) and/or the queue(s) to which to assign the generic data structure. A repository of call center agent characteristics may be accessed to select the agent(s) and/or queue(s), as may be a customer information database.

Abstract: A method and mechanism to improve the response time of a query that is executed against a partitioned database object. Only a subset or portion of the partitions are accessed during each pass through the partitions, in which only the retrieved portions of the partitions are processed, and in which results can be immediately returned for the query. Processing only a subset of a partition in a given pass permits each partition to be processed multiple times, rather than requiring a first partition to be entirely processed before processing a second partition. In one approach, the query includes a statement to order the result set for a query against a partitioned database object that contains a local index.

Abstract: A method and system for recovering after failure of a first server to which a client was connected for accessing a resource is provided. When it is detected that a connection between the first server and the client has failed, the client is automatically connected with a second server that has access to the resource. After automatically connecting the client, the client accesses the resource through the second server. The client stores information about the state of the session with the first server so that processing can continue where it left off after the client connects with the second server. The client may be pre-connected to the second server prior to the failure of the first server to reduce the latency caused by switching in response to a failure. The second server may be configured to pre-parse the commands that the client issues to the first server to further reduce the latency associated with switching to the second server.

Abstract: The present invention provides an apparatus and method for encoding, storing, transmitting and decoding multimedia information in the form of scalable, streamed digital data. A base stream containing basic informational content and subsequent streams containing additive informational content are initially created from standard digital multimedia data by a transcoder. Client computers, each of which may have different configurations and capabilities are capable of accessing a stream server that contains the scalable streamed digital data. Each different client computer, therefore, may access different stream combinations according to a profile associated with each different client computer. Thus, the streams accessed from the server are tailored to match the profile of each client computer so that the best combination of streams can be provided to maximize the resolution of the 3D, audio and video components.

Abstract: A method for maintaining virtual memory consistency in a multi-processor environment comprises allocating a subset of virtual memory to a process, and mapping the subset of virtual memory to a first subset of physical memory. A translator lookaside buffer (TLB) is maintained in each processor, each TLB comprising a plurality of TLB entries. Each TLB entry represents a mapping between a virtual address in the subset of virtual memory and a physical address in the first subset of physical memory. When the subset of virtual memory is to be unmapped, a reference to the first subset of physical memory is placed into a free list, and marked as dirty. When the number of dirty references exceeds a predetermined threshold, the corresponding entries in each processor's TLB are invalidated. Alternatively, all TLB entries can be invalidated. The free list comprises a plurality of free list entries, where each entry comprises a reference to virtual memory which is either unmapped or whose mapping is dirty.

Abstract: An aggregate index is used for accessing an aggregate value associated with one or more rows of a database table. The aggregate values are stored in the index entries of the index, thus allowing determination of aggregate values without accessing the underlying database table. The aggregate index is created by determining an aggregate value associated with an index entry, and storing the aggregate value with the index entry. The aggregate value is determined by accessing information corresponding to the index entry and processing the information. In the case of an index entry in the form of a branch node, the information might be aggregate values from other nodes, or values of items in the database pointed to by the index entries that are leaf nodes. The aggregate values may be stored in index entries of any type of index.

Abstract: A knowledge catalog includes a plurality of independent and parallel static ontologies to accurately represent a broad coverage of concepts that define knowledge. The actual configuration, structure and orientation of a particular static ontology is dependent upon the subject matter or field of the ontology in that each ontology contains a different point of view. The static ontologies store all senses for each word and concept. A knowledge classification system, that includes the knowledge catalog, is also disclosed. A knowledge catalog processor accesses the knowledge catalog to classify input terminology based on the knowledge concepts in the knowledge catalog. Furthermore, the knowledge catalog processor processes the input terminology prior to attachment in the knowledge catalog. The knowledge catalog further includes a dynamic level that includes dynamic hierarchies.

Abstract: A method and mechanism are provided for accessing data. Values are stored for a set of context attributes associated with a session between a database user and a database server. The database system includes an attribute setting mechanism that selectively restricts access to the set of context attributes based on a policy. During the session, the database server executes a query that contains a reference to one or more of the context attributes. For example, the query may contain a predicate that requires a comparison between a context attribute value and a constant. The database server processes the query based on current values of the one or more of the context attributes referenced in the query. A mechanism is also provided for dynamically attaching predicates to queries, where the predicates are attached based on a policy. For example, the database system detects that a query is issued against a database object.

Abstract: A database system that incorporates numerous features that reduce the total cost of maintaining the database system is provided. That database system includes a database appliance that executes a database server on a platform that includes a special purpose operating system specifically tailored to the services required by the database server. The database appliance configures itself by detecting the environment in which it resides and setting operational parameters based on the detected environment. The configuration metadata of all components of the system are stored in a centralized repository which itself may reside external to the system. Both the database server configuration and the operating system configuration are managed by a remotely located integrated management console, which interacts with and configures the system at the database system level, the operating system level and, optionally, at the hardware subsystem level. Backup management may also be performed remotely.

Abstract: A middle-tier Web server with a queryable cache that contains items from one or more data sources. Items are included in the cache on the basis of the probability of future hits on the items. When the data source determines that an item that has been included in the cache has changed, it sends an update message to the server, which updates the item if it is still included in the cache. In a preferred embodiment, the data source is a database system and triggers in the database system are used to generate update messages. In a preferred embodiment, the data access layer determines whether a data item required by an application program is in the cache. If it is, the data access layer obtains the item from the cache; otherwise, it obtains the item from the data source. The queryable cache includes a miss table that accelerates the determination of whether a data item is in the cache. The miss table is made up of miss table entries that relate the status of a data item to the query used to access the data item.

Abstract: Techniques are provided which address the problems associated with the conventional approaches for storing multidimensional data in a relational database system. According to technique, the many foreign key values of each row in the fact table are mapped to and replaced by a “replacement” value. A mapping function is provided that derives a replacement value from any given combination of foreign key values, and an inverse mapping function is provided to reproduce the combination of foreign key values given the replacement value. A mapping function is selected such that the foreign key value combinations of multidimensional values that are conceptually related to each other map to values that are close to each other. The rows in the fact table are then stored within the fact table in the sorted order, thus causing values that are conceptually related to each other to be stored physically near each other within the fact table.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are provided for supplying data to users through “query objects”, where the data corresponds to attributes of domain objects and is stored in a relational database. The query objects create a bridge between the information the user wants to see (as expressed in the user interface presented to the user), the object model in which domain logic is implemented, and the relational model in which the data is stored. Thus, data used to populate the user interface is queried directly from the data model and returned in the shape required by the user interface. As the query results are read into memory, objects that model the data using object-oriented techniques are instantiated. Subsequent manipulation of the data is redirected to those objects, thereby preserving data encapsulation and allowing reuse of existing logic.

Abstract: A method and system for optimizing the passing of a parameter to a routine is provided. It is determined if any parameters are aliased in a call to a called routine. In the absence of aliases, calling routines passing parameters to called routines using “call by reference”. Recovery mechanisms are provided, when appropriate, when unhandled exception occur during execution of the called routines. According to the method, a recovery mechanism includes encapsulating the called routine and call statement block with a “catch-all” exception handler. The response to an otherwise unhandled exception includes restoring the actual parameter using a stored copy of the actual parameter. The restoration is performed by making a handle point to the copy of the actual parameter that was made before execution of the called routine.

Abstract: A method and system are provided for processing queries. According to one aspect of the invention, a query that does not reference a particular materialized view is rewritten to reference the materialized view. In particular, upon receiving the query, it is determined whether the particular materialized view satisfies each condition in a set of conditions, where the set of conditions at least includes a condition that the materialized view reflects all rows that exist in a common section. The common section is a section of the query that is common to both the materialized view and the query. If the materialized view satisfies each condition in the set of conditions, then the query is rewritten to produce a rewritten query that references the materialized view. The materialized view may be a summary table that includes a summary column. The summary column contains values generated by aggregating values contained in rows produced by a one-to-many lossless join.

Abstract: Methods are provided for buffering nodes of a hierarchical index (e.g., R-tree, bang file, hB-tree) during operations on multi-dimensional data represented by the index. The methods are particularly suited for query operations, and a different method may be more suitable for one pattern of queries than another. Where queries are distributed in a relatively uniform manner across the domain or dataspace of an index, a node-area buffering method is provided. In this method nodes are cached or buffered in order of their respective areas (e.g., their minimum bounding areas), and a node having a smaller area will be replaced in cache before a node having a larger area. When, however, queries are not uniformly distributed, then a least frequently accessed buffering technique may be applied. According to this method statistics are maintained concerning the frequency with which individual index nodes are accessed. Those accessed less frequently are replaced in cache before those accessed more frequently.

Abstract: Described herein are approaches for partitioning a buffer cache for dynamically selecting buffers in the buffer cache to store data items, such as data blocks in a DBMS. The selection is based on data access and/or usage patterns. A buffer cache includes multiple buffer pools. A buffer pool is selected from among the multiple buffer pools to store a data item. The selection of a buffer pool is based on various factors, including the likelihood that storing the data item will produce future cache hits, and properties of buffer pools that vary between the buffer pools. Properties of a buffer pool include not only how the buffer pools are organized, both logically and physically, but also how the buffer pool is managed. Examples of a buffer pool property include buffer pool size, size of a buffer in the buffer pool, and the replacement strategy used for a buffer pool (e.g. LRU).

Abstract: A method and apparatus are provided for handling within a database system data items that are associated with data types whose native structure is not known to the database system. The data items are stored within the database system in their native structure, even though it is not understood by the database system. To store the data items, the database system calls a pickling routine that is provided by the user, or by the runtime subsystem of the programming environment that is native to the data item. To retrieve the routine from storage, the database system calls an unpickling routine, also provided by the user or the appropriate runtime subsystem. Because the database maintains the data items in their native format, no conversions are required as the data items are passed between the database system and external routines that manipulate the data items. Techniques are also provided for declaring attributes of the data item that can be accessed within the database system.

Abstract: A knowledge base search and retrieval system, which includes factual knowledge base queries and concept knowledge base queries, is disclosed. A knowledge base stores associations among terminology/categories that have a lexical, semantical or usage association. Document theme vectors identify the content of documents through themes as well as through classification of the documents in categories that reflects what the documents are primarily about. The factual knowledge base queries identify, in response to an input query, documents relevant to the input query through expansion of the query terms as well as through expansion of themes. The concept knowledge base query does not identify specific documents in response to a query, but specifies terminology that identifies the potential existence of documents in a particular area.