Patents Examined by Mark P. Francis
  • Patent number: 7536680
    Abstract: A method for modifying a class file to monitor data flow is provided. The method includes selecting (401) one or more methods in the class file and adding (206, 209) one or more lines of code to report incoming arguments and return values, if any, in the selected method. The incoming arguments and return values are reported (405, 410) to an instrumentation interface which may be an instrumentation class defining methods for each type of argument in the method. The one or more lines of code pass the incoming arguments and return values to the appropriate instrumentation class method. The method may produce a profile of data flow including a record of incoming arguments and return values, if any, for one or more methods in a class file. The record can include data describing the types and values of arguments and return values and their distribution.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 31, 2002
    Date of Patent: May 19, 2009
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Robert Francis Berry, Alan Petter Stevens
  • Patent number: 7503032
    Abstract: A computer implemented system analysis and design method for use in a complex business environment characterized by a set of tightly linked business processes captures in a framework a world view of a business decision and/or a business application software system. A world view is defined by business objectives, constraints, assumptions, data, and underlying model used in business decision and/or the application software system. The framework is used to specify and document each business decision and/or business application software system in the complex environment. A BDML (Business Decision Markup Language) is used to implement the framework for specifying the world view of a business decision and/or a business application software system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 15, 2001
    Date of Patent: March 10, 2009
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Kumar Bhaskaran, Guillermo Gallego, Ying Huang, Ying T. Leung, Nitin R. Nayak, Sanjay E. Ramaswamy
  • Patent number: 7464368
    Abstract: Code and content of a program can be logically separated for display and editing within an integrated development environment. The code and content are separated by the application of a separation algorithm that extracts the code and content into discrete buffers. A user can then designate what portions of the program they wish to view, including a code only view, a content only view, a design view, or a consolidated content and code view. While in any of the foregoing views, the program can be edited with tools and components provided by the integrated development environment. Thereafter, the logically separated portions of the program can be merged back together into a single program file.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 8, 2003
    Date of Patent: December 9, 2008
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Nikhil Kothari, Andrew C. Lin, Scott D. Guthrie, Susan M. Warren
  • Patent number: 7415698
    Abstract: An application builder system and methodology enables a user to create an application using a builder (“builder application”); interactively edit the builder application by adding and removing application objects; interactively edit the properties of the application objects, including a new property called “debug level”; interactively set values of parameters for a code generator, including the value of a new parameter called “debug level”; invoking the code generator to automatically generate application code; and running the resulting generated application.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 9, 2002
    Date of Patent: August 19, 2008
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Danny Soroker, Netta M. Shani
  • Patent number: 7415699
    Abstract: A monitoring interface, includes logic responsive to a pre-fork event, the pre-fork event responsive to a vfork system call. The pre-fork event includes indicia that identifies a child process to be created in accordance with the vfork system call. A method for controlling the execution of a child process created from a parent process, where the parent process is monitored by a software tool includes, receiving indicia that a vfork system call will be executed by the parent process, suspending execution of the parent process, extracting a process identifier from the indicia of the vfork system call, the process identifier corresponding to a child process to be generated by the parent process when the parent process executes the vfork system call, setting a process monitor thread to observe the child process, and resuming execution of the parent process to enable the parent process to execute past the vfork system call.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 2003
    Date of Patent: August 19, 2008
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Eric Gouriou, Robert Hundt, Sujoy Saraswati, Sushanth Rai, Edward Sharpe
  • Patent number: 7415705
    Abstract: A method, apparatus and computer instructions for hardware assist for autonomically patching code. The present invention provides hardware microcode to a new type of metadata to selectively identify instructions to be patched for specific performance optimization functions. The present invention also provides a new flag in the machine status register (MSR) to enable or disable a performance monitoring application or process to perform code-patching functions. If the code patching function is enabled, the application or process may patch code at run time by associating the metadata with the selected instructions. The metadata includes pointers pointing to the patch code block code. The program code may be patched autonomically without modifying original code.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 14, 2004
    Date of Patent: August 19, 2008
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Jimmie Earl DeWitt, Jr., Frank Eliot Levine, Christopher Michael Richardson, Robert John Urquhart
  • Patent number: 7398515
    Abstract: The present invention provides a method and system for providing a legal sequential combination of commands for verification testing of a computer system. Executable test commands are used to form sequentially ordered “buckets” of commands, wherein each bucket command sequence is legal under at least one rule. The buckets may be arranged in any sequential order, wherein a composite command sequence of the combined commands remains legal under the at least one rule. A further advantage of the invention is that wait/noop commands may be inserted within and between the buckets, extending the testing capabilities of the present invention into corner cases.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 16, 2003
    Date of Patent: July 8, 2008
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: David M. Atoji, Ruchi Chandra, Robert B. Likovich, Jr.
  • Patent number: 7395529
    Abstract: A method is described for executing program builds comprising: scheduling jobs for a program build based on dependencies between files used in the jobs; executing the jobs according to the schedule; collecting file usage information from each of the jobs, the file usage information indicating operations performed on the files in each of the jobs; and analyzing the file usage information to determine whether any one of the jobs resulted in a conflict.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 2003
    Date of Patent: July 1, 2008
    Assignee: Electric Cloud, Inc.
    Inventors: Scott Stanton, Sven Delmas, John Graham-Cumming, John Eric Melski, Usman Muzaffar, John Ousterhout
  • Patent number: 7395525
    Abstract: According to one embodiment a method and apparatus for displaying the path of a computer program error as a sequence of hypertext documents in a computer system having a display is disclosed. The method includes displaying a first function in the control-flow path of the error as text in a first region on the display. Subsequently, a first hypertext link marker located within the first function, and associated with a second function called by the first and also lying on the error's control-flow path is selected. Thereafter, the second function's text associated with the first link marker is displayed in a second region. The second region is positioned in the first region such that the text of the first document is not obscured. The second region includes a first tab area that surrounds the first link maker after it is selected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 24, 2004
    Date of Patent: July 1, 2008
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventor: William R. Softky
  • Patent number: 7373636
    Abstract: A system and method for testing an application includes modules capable of reading data from one or more data tables and providing the data as input to the application. The input data is correlated by test case, so that each module may provide different input data for each test case. The system also includes a controller that executes the modules. The controller is capable of determining an execution order for the modules by reading a flow table. The flow table correlates each test case with one or more modules, and further correlates each module within the test case with an execution order. The system may read results that the application generates in response to the input data, and correlate the results with the test case and module in a results table. The results table may also contain expected results, and the system may compare the actual results with the expected results to determine whether the application is functioning properly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 8, 2003
    Date of Patent: May 13, 2008
    Assignee: Accenture Global Services GmbH
    Inventors: Margaret Moya Barry, John Charles McEvoy, Matthew Phillip Stewart, Christine Ann Bowman
  • Patent number: 7367020
    Abstract: An executable radio software system including a core framework layer responsive to one or more applications and a middleware layer. The core framework layer includes isolated platform dependent code in one or more files for a number of different platforms each selectively compilable by a directive to reduce the dependency of the core framework layer on a specific platform. Also, the core framework layer includes an embedded distributed parser responsive to the Domain profiles of the applications for more efficiently installing and running an application.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 2002
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2008
    Assignee: Raytheon Company
    Inventors: Gerald L. Bickle, Jimmie T. Marks, Philip A. Eyermann
  • Patent number: 7367021
    Abstract: A computer-implemented method analyzes a source code segment which is to be compiled for execution by any one of several different processor types. The method determines whether a performance advantage would be achieved by generating a customized version of object code that can be executed by one of the processor types compared with generating a non-customized version. If a performance advantage would be achieved, the method generates at least one customized object code version and a non-customized version for the source code segment, and it generates a control section that causes one of the object code versions to be called during execution of the object code in accordance with an executing processor's processor type. If no performance advantage would be achieved, the method generates a non-customized version of the object code that can be executed by any of the different processor types.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 9, 2002
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2008
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventors: Zia Ansari, Kevin B. Smith, Seth Abraham
  • Patent number: 7360210
    Abstract: A method and system for dynamically varying intermediation functions in a communication path between a content server and a client station. An intermediation system within the communication path receives an HTTP message and detects an intermediation-variance instruction within the message. In response, the intermediation system varies a default set of intermediation logic, such as by removing, changing or adding one or more intermediation triggers and/or intermediation actions. In turn, the intermediation system applies the variant intermediation logic in response to the HTTP message and/or in response to subsequent HTTP messages.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 3, 2002
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2008
    Assignee: Sprint Spectrum L.P.
    Inventors: Daniel S. Vacanti, Martin Geddes, Todd M. Conley, David J. Anderson, Neil E. Lowrey
  • Patent number: 7353494
    Abstract: The present invention discloses a system and method supporting high-level configuration of Business Object Types during development of an application. More specifically an application developer is supported with predefined pieces of functionality and meta-data, so called Aspect Types, during the configuration of Business Object Types. An Aspect Type may operate across one or more Business Object Types depending on the functionality of the Aspect Type, e.g. an Aspect Type “Relation” Aspect Type comprises functionality that provides for connection between two or more Business Objects. The functionality comprised in an Aspect Type may be configured with an Event Type so runtime an Event Instance of the Event Type may be triggered either by the functionality of the configured Aspect Type or by e.g. a user of the application.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 26, 2001
    Date of Patent: April 1, 2008
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Morten Nielsen, Pavel Hruby, Lars Hammer, Christian Vibe Scheller
  • Patent number: 7353503
    Abstract: Disclosed is a method for eliminating dead code from a computer program using an operands graph generated from a flow graph of a computer program. In one embodiment of the present invention, the operands graph is traversed for any unused operands. Upon detection of any,unused operands, the instructions defining the unused operands are removed from execution.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 27, 2002
    Date of Patent: April 1, 2008
    Assignee: Sun Microsystems, Inc.
    Inventors: Sreekumar R. Nair, Sheldon M. Lobo
  • Patent number: 7350203
    Abstract: A software facility for evaluating and reporting security vulnerabilities on a computer network that comprises an interactive interface for a network scanner that incorporates recovery points, a health metrics facility, a status pager for mobile user notification and a reporting module for producing reports on the network's security status.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 23, 2002
    Date of Patent: March 25, 2008
    Inventor: Alfred Jahn
  • Patent number: 7350207
    Abstract: The apparatus, system, and method facilitates the replacement of software components. New versions of software components and files may be transmitted to a computer system for purposes of updating the existing software components and files on that computer system. Automatic updating systems, as are currently known in the art, may however, create problems in the receiving computer system if the transmitted software components or files are corrupt or are incompatible with the software already installed on the receiving computer. The apparatus includes a data construct that, when appended to a software component or file for transmission through a communications network, facilitates the detection of transmission errors and of system incompatibilities. This construct (trailer) includes compatibility tags for use with a rule engine or other apparatus to guarantee a software component's ability to coexist with other components within the receiving computer system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 2002
    Date of Patent: March 25, 2008
    Assignee: Tellabs Operations, Inc.
    Inventor: Matthew D. Fisher
  • Patent number: 7346895
    Abstract: Methods and arrangements for collecting tracing data from a plurality of threads of a program. A storage buffer is provided, a first number of units of tracing data for a first thread of the program is determined, and a second number of units of tracing data for a second thread of the program is determined. In the storage buffer, a first block of storage space is reserved for storing the first number of units of tracing data and a second block of storage space is reserved for storing the second number of units of tracing data. Tracing data are thence written concurrently into the first and blocks.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 2002
    Date of Patent: March 18, 2008
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventor: Jeaha Yang
  • Patent number: 7343598
    Abstract: Techniques and tools for coallocating objects and/or object fields for the sake of cache performance are described. For example, a tool improves cache performance by coallocating contemporaneously accessed heap objects. The tool analyzes object accesses to identify hot data streams in a profile run of a program. The tool directs allocations for objects in a given hot data steam to the same sequentially allocated arena, separating intervening allocations coming from other allocation sites. The tool enforces the solution by redirecting heap allocations to a run-time coallocation library. The tool and analysis extend to coallocation at object field granularity. The resulting field coallocation solution generalizes common data restructuring techniques and provides insight into object restructuring by breaking down the coallocation benefit on a per-technique basis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 2003
    Date of Patent: March 11, 2008
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Trishul Chilimbi, Ran Shaham
  • Patent number: 7340714
    Abstract: An application view control can be added to a Web service to allow the Web service to make requests into a resource such as en enterprise system through an integration system. The integration system can include a resource adapter that can invoke functionality in the enterprise system, as well as an application view component that acts as an interface through which the functionality can be exposed to the application view control. The application view component can allow the Web service to accomplish tasks such as subscribing to application view events. A callback object can be used to notify a client of the Web service that an event has occurred in the underlying resource.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 15, 2002
    Date of Patent: March 4, 2008
    Assignee: Bea Systems, Inc.
    Inventor: Mitch Upton