Abstract: A method and apparatus identifies the existence of differences between two files on a personal computer, such as two versions of a Windows registry file. Some or all of each of the files are hashed into a four byte value per file, and each hash is combined with a four byte size of the portion of the file from which the hash was generated to produce a fingerprint of each file. If the two files are different versions of a Windows registry file, the portion of the file hashed are the values of the Windows registry file. If the two files are different, there is a high probability that the fingerprints of the two files will be different. The fingerprints may be compared to provide a strong indicator whether the two files are different.

Abstract: A method and apparatus negotiates a maximum frame size to be used over a frame relay network. A local maximum frame size is identified by a first endpoint device of a frame relay network so that other frames sent and received using that size will not cause other frames sent by the network device to be sent a period of time exceeding an acceptable delay after the other frames are received. The acceptable delay is the lowest acceptable delay among originators and recipients of frames that use the endpoint device. The frame size identified is transmitted to other endpoint devices that can communicate with the first endpoint device. These other endpoint devices identify acceptable delays that correspond to the originators and recipients of such endpoint devices. The other endpoint devices transmit their acceptable delays to the first endpoint device.

Abstract: A system and method allows a host computer to operate as a server in a client-server arrangement in response to requests from client computer systems. The system and computer program product performs reads, reads for update, update and deletes on some or all records in a file, depending on the type of file. Record or file locking is provided when applicable. Security is provided at the file level. Abnormal ends of communication with the client computer system are detected to allow resources and record or file locks to be freed in such event. A counter is incremented at the time a client computer system logs into the host computer system to enforce limits on the number of concurrent users, and ordinary log off as well as abnormal ends of communication decrement the counter to maintain its accuracy.

Abstract: A method and apparatus allows clients to share ports on a server. The server can maintain more sessions than server ports. When a client sends a command directed to the server, a resource manager inserted between the clients and the server intercepts the command and directs the server to select the session associated with a client prior to or at the same time that the resource manager forwards the intercepted command to the server. Responses from the server are forwarded by the resource manager to the client that sent the command to which the response relates. The resource manager may be coupled to multiple clients, and one or more ports of one or more servers.

Abstract: A system and method assists a user in selecting a product from multiple products, grouped into categories. Information about the product is received and stored. Attributes about the products of each category, and questions related to the attributes are received and stored. Possible responses to the questions and weights associated with each possible response are also received and stored. Evaluation ratings for each of the attributes of each of the products are received and stored. The user selects a category and is provided with questions corresponding to the attributes of the products in the category selected. For each product in the category, a product score is calculated by summing the product of the weights of the responses by the evaluation ratings for that product. The results are displayed, organized into rows and columns in the order of the product scores and weights.

Abstract: A system and method selects rows from a fact table in a dimensional database containing a fact table, a time dimension table and other dimension tables. The other dimension tables each contain rows containing a time invariant attribute to identify an item described by the row, an effective time attribute for the row, and other attributes. If an attribute for an item changes, a new row is added to the dimension table containing the time-invariant attribute for the item and current attributes for the item, without deleting or overwriting any existing rows for that item. Such dimension tables can be selected or used to create other tables using one or more time attributes of the dimension tables. The tables created can be selected or used to create still other tables using one or more time attributes of those tables.

Abstract: A method and apparatus accepts a query to update or delete rows in a temporal table of a database. The query may describe which rows are to be updated, a calculation for the value to be used to update each row of the table, and a period of validity, during which the changes are to take place. The method and apparatus creates a sequence of queries and SQL program elements that together can make up an SQL program that will execute the query received. The SQL program can split any row of the table to be updated into multiple rows so that each of the multiple rows of the table to be changed have an effective period during which no changes occur in the table to be changed or any other tables referenced in the query received and no effective periods span the beginning or the end of the period of validity. The specified change may then be made to the resulting rows, and rows that are adjacent in time with identical values may be collapsed into a single row.

Abstract: A method and apparatus copies only the data that was in a computer file when the copying process began, allowing other processes to alter the file while it is being copied without introducing inconsistent data into the copy. The file is arranged into sections, with each section containing one or more blocks of data, with each block stored in the file with a serial number higher than the block stored before. The number of blocks in each section is read and stored, and the highest serial number is read and stored. As blocks are copied from a section of the source file into a destination file, the number of blocks in the section are counted, and the count is compared with the number of blocks that were in the section before the blocks were copied. Blocks that would cause the number of blocks in the section to exceed the number of blocks in the section before any blocks were copied are not copied to the destination file, avoiding new blocks added to the end of a section after the copying began.

Abstract: A method and apparatus provides a resource capable of affecting the manufacture of a product to a bay and a chase. Clean resource is supplied to the bay where it is used to affect the manufacture of a product in one or more steps highly sensitive to contaminants in the resource. The resource contaminated by the manufacture of the product is then sent to a chase where it is further used to affect the manufacture of the same or a different product in steps that are less sensitive to the contamination of the resource. Because the bay is most sensitive to contaminants in the resource, the impurified resource received at the chase may not adversely affect the manufacture of products in the chase and thus, supplying a clean resource to the chase is unnecessary.

Abstract: A method and apparatus parses a command using a tree of acceptable command tokens. Each token is matched to a node in the tree, and upon discovering a match, descendant nodes of the matched node are used to parse the remaining tokens in the command received. When the command is fully parsed, or as the command is being parsed, pointers to nodes of the tree corresponding to a command parsed are stored along with a token from each such node matching the command token for use by the next command to be parsed. When the next command is received, the stored tokens are compared with each command token in the command until the tokens do not match the command token. The remainder of the command token is then parsed using the tree starting with the node corresponding to the last stored token that matched a command token.

Abstract: Method, apparati and computer program products duplicate sets of information such as application software as requested by a user. A number of sets of information are stored locally for duplication or transmission, and additional sets of information are available for remote retrieval for duplication or transmission.

Abstract: A method and apparatus allows clients to share ports on a server. The server can maintain more sessions than server ports. When a client sends a command directed to the server, a resource manager inserted between the clients and the server intercepts the command and directs the server to select the session associated with a client prior to or at the same time that the resource manager forwards the intercepted command to the server. Responses from the server are forwarded by the resource manager to the client that sent the command to which the response relates. The resource manager may be coupled to multiple clients, and one or more ports of one or more servers.

Abstract: A method and apparatus accepts a proposed order for products and/or services directed toward a vendor and identifies one or more additional orders that can be combined with the proposed order to obtain a higher volume discount than would be obtained submitting the proposed order by itself. One or more additional orders may contain a quantity of one product available from the vendor that, when combined with the proposed order, will qualify for the next discount higher than would be obtained by the proposed order alone and costs lower than cost of achieving the same discount using another product available from the vendor. One or more additional order may contain a quantity of one product in the proposed order that, when combined with the proposed order, will qualify for the next discount higher than would be obtained by the proposed order alone and costs lower than the cost of achieving the same discount using another product in the proposed order.

Abstract: A method and apparatus identifies backup files that will restore a file in a transactional system. A reset stamp and filename is used to identify all backup files of the file having the filename since the file was last restored. A smaller number of files necessary to restore the file are selected from these backup files by sorting the list of files and selecting certain files in sort order. If necessary, earlier reset stamps are identified and more files are identified and selected, until a file is selected that contains a full backup or datafile copy of the file. For the backup files selected, information such as the location of the file is stored in the order in which the backup files are selected. The information, such as the location of each file selected, is provided in an order that is the reverse of the order in which the files were selected so that the oldest file is listed first. The files may be restored in the order provided.

Abstract: A method and system periodically copies information from a computer file to a database to preserve non-current information from the file. As information from the file is overwritten by new information, the old information is preserved in the database, allowing non-current information to be used without reprogramming the computer programs or portions of the computer program that read or write the file. If the file is arranged into one or more sections, and new information stored in a section of the file is assigned an identifier higher than the other information in the section, the amount of time required to locate new information in the file can be reduced. Comparing the highest identifier in the section with the highest identifier in the database for that section can identify sections of the file that have received no new information since the last update made to the database.

Abstract: A method and apparatus modifies one or more weights or other numbers used to rank or score objects in order of predicted similarity to a target object. If the object most similar or identical to the target object is not ranked first, the weight or other number used to rank or score the objects is adjusted based on the objects ranked or scored higher than the most similar object, the object ranked or scored most similar to the target object, and the number of changes in direction, either positive or negative, of the current and prior adjustments to the weight or other number.

Abstract: A system and method backs up computer files to backup drives connected to multiple computer systems. Each file in a backup set is allocated to one or more backup subsets for each of the multiple computer systems. The files can be allocated in an even number across each subset, allocated to evenly spread the number of bytes to each subset, or, using the capacity of each of the multiple computer systems, allocated so that each computer system can complete backing up the files allocated to it in approximately the same amount of time. The system can restrict the number of bytes continuously required from a single disk by one of the backup machines from exceeding a threshold limit. Each of the multiple computer systems is then directed to, and the computer systems do, back up files in one or more subsets, which may be allocated to that computer system.

Abstract: A system and method selects rows from a fact table in a dimensional database containing a fact table, a time dimension table and other dimension tables. The other dimension tables each contain rows containing a time invariant attribute to identify an item described by the row, an effective time attribute for the row, and other attributes. If an attribute for an item changes, a new row is added to the dimension table containing the time-invariant attribute for the item and current attributes for the item, without deleting or overwriting any existing rows for that item. Such dimension tables can be selected or used to create other tables using one or more time attributes of the dimension tables. The tables created can be selected or used to create still other tables using one or more time attributes of those tables.

Abstract: A make-up air handler controls temperature, humidity and/or cleanliness of air. The make-up air handler includes a direct expansion chiller system. The direct expansion chiller may be integral to the make-up air handler or remote. A clean room facility uses the make-up air handler to supply air to a clean room. The make-up air handler includes a primary cooling coil and a direct expansion chiller system, and may include a humidifier and a filter. The direct expansion chiller system includes an air stream cooling coil and an air stream heating coil. The heating and cooling coils use a refrigeration fluid which is compressed and circulated by a compressor. Humidity is controlled by removing moisture which is condensed from the air stream by a primary cooling coil and the air stream cooling coil of the direct expansion chiller system. The energy removed by the air stream cooling coil is reintroduced to the air stream by the air stream heating coil. The process of removing moisture directly removes contamination.

Abstract: A method and system allows a part of a database to be restored using a subset of the backup files stored for a database. A working copy of the data dictionary of the database, which stores data definitions, is restored using the latest backup file stored not later than the point in time specified and the names of tablespaces related to the table names specified are identified using the data dictionary. The files storing the database tablespaces specified and those identified as related are identified for restoration along with the point in time specified, so that the backup files may be used to restore the files to the latest time prior to the point in time specified. The database data files are [restored, they] are rolled forward from the point in time of the backup files to the point in time specified, using transaction logs restored with the database data files and the restored working data dictionary is updated as described by the transaction logs.