Abstract: To implement full gathering of data transfers from a processor to a system bus without adding many levels of logic to the write enable logic for transaction queue entries or reducing the processor operating frequency, gatherable combinations are divided and gathering is performed in multiple stages operating in parallel. During the first stage, a subset of the full gathering is performed between incoming transactions and the last transaction received, coalescing the two transfers into a single transaction entry if one of the possible combinations within the subset is satisfied. During the second stage, existing queue entries are tested for the remainder of the full gather combination set and merged if a combination within the remaining subset is satisfied.

Abstract: A financial institution customer is permitted to create an uncleared transaction record within the financial institution's account ledger for the customer in anticipation of actually making the transaction. Although maintained within the financial institutions electronic records for the account and appearing on monthly statements or printed transaction histories, uncleared transaction records are treated as account comments but the financial institution and are not employed in any manner to modify the account balance for the corresponding account. The uncleared transaction record may include a detailed description of the transaction as well as a unique transaction identifier, created by the customer or preprinted on a banking form such as a deposit slip. When the transaction is actually made, the real transaction record is annotated with the transaction identifier.

Abstract: Configuration changes are dynamically applied to a cluster multiprocessing system by enqueuing a configuration change event. When the configuration change event is processed, the prior configuration is backed up and each software component applies a relevant portion of a configuration change transaction in an ordered, synchronized manner. Each software component applies its portion of the transaction either by reinitialization or a logged transition operation. If the configuration change transaction fails, the software components roll back the portions, of the configuration change already applied in an ordered, synchronized manner to restore the prior configuration. Multiple events for different configuration changes may be enqueued.

Abstract: A single scrolling control mechanism is provided for any active display window in a graphical user interface. As a different display window becomes active, a determination is made of whether the display data fits within the display window. A graphical device representing the scrolling mechanism is displayed with scrolling indicators denoting directions in which additional data may be revealed by scrolling. The scrolling indicators provide a user control for the scrolling mechanism, such that actuation of a scrolling indicator causes the display window to scroll in the indicated direction. The scrolling mechanism may be an object utilizing existing object classes and API calls for an existing operating system. The display of the scrolling indicators may be persistent (i.e. always shown) or may be contingent on whether the currently active window is scrollable. The display of scrolling indicators may be varied to visually indicate the states, including active, inactive, and in use.

Abstract: A dictionary based technique for accessing elements of a data structure used by an object oriented program involves creating a dictionary for the elements which compose the data structure including location information for each element. Responsive to a request for a particular data structure element, the dictionary is interrogated to return a pointer to a desired instance of a particular data structure element to the requesting process. The dictionary finds particular application in dynamic and complicated Internet programs written in JavaScript, where a typical data structure is a response/request based database structure which parallels a request and a response in an Internet protocol. Object constructors which utilized to initialize properties on an object are also generated from the dictionary. Once a request is recieved to generate object constructor code for an object in the object oriented program, rule data for naming properties of the object are retrieved from a rule database.

Abstract: Existing modems and phone lines are employed to allow two or more data processing systems to communicate. The data processing systems communicate utilizing weak signals on top of existing phone line voltage levels. The signals are sufficiently small so as not to be interpreted as a receiver being lifted off hook. The weak signals may automatically adapt to changes in the phone line voltage due to a receiver be lifted off hook or an incoming call being signaled. At a sufficiently high frequency, the data processing systems may communicate while the phone lines are being simultaneously employed for conversation.

Abstract: A method and apparatus in a communications system for facilitating a financial transaction between two parties within the communications system. The method of the present invention is implemented in a data processing system. A request for a financial transaction is received from the first party. A call is initiated by the data processing system to the second party associated with the request. The call is established between the first party and the second party wherein the financial transaction is established between the two parties through the call. Data is acquired from the two parties in response to the establishment of the financial transaction through the call. First party information and second party information is verified, wherein the financial transaction is securely completed.

Abstract: Preformatted text within HTML documents is examined to determine if reflowing the text during formatting for display within a narrow viewing area is appropriate. This determination is based on various special formatting indicia which indicate that the text is a table or other informational device in which lines of text should not be reflowed. If no special formatting indicia are detected, the preformatted text tags are removed, allowing the preformatted text to be reflowed when formatted for display. Otherwise, the preformatted text is left alone or revised according to a user preference. Preformatted text, when appropriately reflowed, is thus rendered more readable and the necessity for scrolling right and left is eliminated.

Abstract: In a data processing system including a bus connected to a plurality of devices capable of driving said bus, error reporting and isolation is achieved by signaling a self-check to each device connected to the bus to determine if it was driving the bus at the time an error occurred. The bus check request is generated by one of the devices connected to the bus in response to detecting either a parity error or an internal error. If a parity error is detected, a bus check request is signaled to a combining unit connected to the bus. The combining unit signals the self-check to each of the devices attached to the bus in response to receiving the bus check request. Each device determines whether it was driving the bus at the time the error occurred and, if so, sets a source of error indicator on the device. Similarly, if an internal error is detected, the detecting device sets source of error and internal error indicators on the detecting device and signals a bus check request to the combining unit.

Abstract: A dialog for entry of uniform resource locators is provided with options, selected by actuation of a radio button, for entering blocks containing a resource identifier, a domain identifier, and a filename extension. The block text is visually distinguished from text entered by single characters from a physical or virtual keyboard. Once entered, the blocks are treated in a unitary manner for the purposes of deletion or substitution, with backspaces or deletes removing the entire block add selection of alternative options replacing the entire block. Character strings entered manually may be compared to the text blocks associated with the options provided and, when a match is identified, replaced with the block form to facilitate form checking of the composed uniform resource locator before returning it to the underlying application.

Abstract: Cache and architectural specific functions within a cache controller are layered to permit complex operations to be split into equivalent simple operations. Architectural variants of basic operations may thus be devolved into distinct cache and architectural operations and handled separately. The logic supporting the complex operations may thus be simplified and run faster.

Abstract: A user definable set of event rollup relationships are maintained as a configuration element. Transitive closure of event rollup relationships is checked at the time of specification to detect cycles and prevent runtime errors. When an event to be processed is detected, the event is compared to defined rollup relationships and queued events to determined if the detected event may be rolled up into at least one queued event or vice versa. If the detected event may be rolled up into a queued event, the detected event is not queued. When any of the queued event may be rolled up into the detected event, the queued events are deleted if processing has not already begun.

Abstract: A floating point result in a processor is efficiently normalized by predicting the mantissa shift required to normalize the result to an error of one bit position in one direction, resulting in minimum and maximum predicted shifts. Concurrently with an addition of operands to generate a result mantissa, an inversion of the minimum predicted shift is added to the operand exponent to generate an intermediate exponent corresponding to a maximum predicted shift. When the operand addition is complete, the result mantissa is partially shifted in response to the minimum predicted shift. The location of the leading one is then ascertained and compared to the remaining minimum predicted shift. If the minimum predicted shift is the actual shift required to normalize the result, the result mantissa is further shifted by the remaining minimum predicted shift and an exponent carry-in is asserted.

Abstract: An architecture is provided for user applications in a computer system including a core application executable by the system and having a data entry space. A field overlay executable by the system, although not necessarily independently executable, stacks functions on top of the core application and imposes a structure on the data entry space to become an extension of the core application, thus creating additional user applications driven by task needs. If implemented in an object-oriented manner, the field overlay inherits attributes of the core application. Links and macros within the field overlays may improve the effectiveness of the core application in accomplishing the desired task.

Abstract: Conventional scroll bars in a graphical user interface are replaced by a scroll indicating cursor. A customary cursor is augmented with indicators that appear to the sides of the cursor in the directions in which scrolling will allow additional information to be displayed. Scrolling is actuated by moving a cursor to an edge of the display in the direction of a visible indicator until the indicator is at least partially beyond the edge of the display. Less display area is required than with scroll bars and the nature of the scrolling indicator is more intuitive.

Abstract: An apparatus for routing a plurality of cells. The apparatus includes a plurality of inputs, wherein the plurality of cells are received at the inputs. Each of the cells contains routing information. The apparatus also includes a plurality of outputs, wherein the outputs are associated with a plurality of destinations such that each output corresponds to a destination within the plurality of destinations. The apparatus employs a routing means for routing the cells received by the inputs through the apparatus to the outputs using the routing information contained in the cells. The routing means includes a number of single path switching matrixes in which each single path switching matrix has a plurality of stages. A portion of the these stages are dilated such that two or more cells may be routed to the same destination.

Abstract: A request for determining a unique object identifier for an object located somewhere within a plurality of data processing systems in a network may be received from an application by a single data processing in the network. A local object index containing object attribute records is searched for matches with specified input criteria and any matches are identified. A local search list is then consulted and, if other object indexes require searching, the request is forwarded to the next object index on the list together with an indication of the object index or indexes already searched. The inclusion of an indication of indexes already searched prevents a loop-back condition from occurring. As each object index is searched, the search list is consulted and, if additional object indexes remain to be searched, the request is propagated to the next object index and the results of searching a local object index are returned to an originating data processing system.

Abstract: Specified combinations of attribute input criteria may be utilized to determine the unique object identifier of an object in a database. The value of each attribute specified as input criteria is compared to the value of a corresponding attribute within an object attribute record. If the values are equivalent, a match weight associated with the attribute is added to a weight accumulator. If not, an executable rule associated with the attribute may be executed on the input criteria value and the result compared to the object attribute record value. If a match is determined after a rule is executed, a post-rule weight is added to the weight accumulator. If no match is determined, either before or after a rule is executed, a non-match weight is subtracted from the weight accumulator.

Abstract: A method and apparatus in a communications system for tracking mobile stations. The length and identify of the path of the mobile station is tracked at the mobile station. The path is monitored for a presence of a loop. In response in identifying the presence of a loop, the loop is removed from the path, wherein the length of the path is reduced. Additionally, the length of the path is compared to a threshold and a location update is performed in response to the length of the path being greater than the threshold. The threshold may also be updated at a MSC and then sent to the mobile station.

Abstract: Effective-to-real address translation performance in a processor is monitored by counting selected events significant to evaluation of effective-to-real address translation in the processor to identify effective-to-real address translation bottlenecks. At least one performance monitor counter, the operation of which is controlled by a monitor mode control register, is embedded in the processor to noninvasively perform such counting. Examples of the events counted may include translation lookaside buffer misses, page table walks, or page table walk duration, taken alone or in any combination. Events lasting longer than a predetermined threshold, such as stalls lasting longer than two processor cycles, may also be selectively counted.