Abstract: A universal bracket holds an object in place on the inside surface of a mold frame while settable material in a fluid state is poured into the frame and allowed to harden so that thereafter the frame and bracket can be removed to produce a fixed structure in the shape of the frame with the object embedded on the face of the fixed structure. The universal bracket has a plurality of wall members interconnected to form a shape corresponding to the outline of the object to be held by the bracket. Each wall member has an inside lateral continuous surface for engaging an outside lateral surface of the object. Each wall member also has an outside lateral continuous surface with an alternate pattern of lands and slots. The alternate pattern begins with a land at one end of the wall member and ends with a slot at the other end of the wall member. The land end of each wall member is adjacent to the slot end of the adjacent wall member of the bracket.

Abstract: Fees due from transactions in electronic commerce are processed by building a transaction information database with transaction event objects based on events in each transaction. After retrieving fee rules from a fee rule database, a determining step detects if the fee rule applies to information in a transaction event object. Then, if the fee rule applies, a calculating step calculates the fee based on the fee rule and the information in the transaction event object. A fee object for a recipient entity is created based on the fee calculated by said calculating step and is stored in a payment database. An accumulating step sums the payments for a recipient entity from the fee objects in the payment database. The fee rules are general fee rules and specific fee rules. The general fee rules are applied to information in a transaction event object, and a calculating step calculates a general fee based on the general fee rule and the information in the transaction event object.

Abstract: In a SCSI subsystem having mixed wide and narrow SCSI devices installed, a method and apparatus is provided for detecting a narrow SCSI device illegally installed at a slot assigned to a wide SCSI device. To detect the narrow SCSI device installed at an illegal location, high ID and low ID SCSI bus address pairs are set as test pairs for the SCSI subsystem. The low ID is the alias of the high ID if a narrow SCSI device is installed at the high ID slot. To detect a conflict with a controller ID, a non-responsive ID bus address corresponding to a slot known to be unused is called. A response to this call indicates a narrow SCSI device is installed at the high ID of the test pair and the narrow SCSI device at the high ID has configured to an alias bus address matching the controller ID. To detect a present conflict between SCSI devices, the low ID bus address in the test pair is called.

Abstract: An interrupt mechanism handles an interrupt transaction between a source processor and a target processor on separate nodes in a multi-processor system. The nodes are connected to a network through node interface controls between the node and the network. The transaction begins by initiating the interrupt transaction at the source processor. The interrupt mechanism detects if the target processor is at a remote node on a system bus across the network, and if it is the mechanism sends an ignore signal to the source processor. Then the mechanism suspends the interrupt transaction at the source processor if it detects the target processor is at a remote node. The mechanism performs an ACK/NACK (acknowledge/non-acknowledge) operation at the target processor and returning an ACK signal or a NACK signal to the source processor across the network. This ACK/NACK signal wakes-up the source processor.

Abstract: In a client/server computing environment where the server controls the creation and allocation of file numbers for newly created files, transparent creation by the client of new file numbers while the server is unavailable. A file number table is created and maintained in the client for storing and mapping file numbers. Responsive to requests for the creation of a new file while the server is unavailable, the client creates a new file number for the new file, stores it in the table, and maps it to the file number later assigned by the server. Conflicts between file numbers created by the server and client are also flagged, detected, and resolved.

Abstract: Apparatus and programmed method is disclosed, providing for the creation of a circular file of use in conjunction with the UNIX.TM. operating system or other layered and modular operating system architectures. The circular file uses an inode field to identify the file as circular and writes fill data to the file to allocate physical blocks to the file at the time of its creation. Thereafter, blocks already allocated to the file are re-allocated when more file space is needed and the file size does not increase.

Abstract: Apparatus and a method for a client/server computing system having an optimized log file system for replaying client disconnect write operations to a server when the server becomes available to the client. Data in the unauthorized disconnect write operations to a target file at the client are prevented from being copied to the server when the server becomes available. When there is a write request for a target file at the client, and the client detects the target file has already been written, the credentials with the write request are compared to the store credentials from a previous write to the same target file. If the request credentials are the same as the stored credentials, data from the write request is written to the target file effectively adding more data to the target file. If the request credentials are not the same as the stored credentials the write request is suspended at the client.

Abstract: A computer-controlled printing system includes a host computer, an intelligent printer and an intelligent post printer processor. The print job is controlled by defining print data, printer control data and printer post processor control data in a print data stream from the host computer. The print data and printer control data are read at the intelligent printer. The intelligent printer executes the print control data to print the print data on a print medium. The printer also determines if there is post processor control data in the print data stream and, if so, sends the post processor control data from the printer to the intelligent post processor. The post processor reads the post processor control data, and executes the post processor control data to perform selected modification of the print medium.

Abstract: In a computing system, debug flags for software development, testing, and debugging of a module of the operating system are retrieved and set. The module under development is provided with a debugging message handler and a lookup table of debugging flags. The table maps the debugging flags to memory locations containing the present state of the flags. A debugging message is generated at the application-level by a user desiring to monitor or alter the state of the debugging flags. The debugging message handler decodes the debugging message using the table, and the module reports or alters the debugging flag accordingly. In this manner, real-time program evaluation and control can be achieved without the conventional debugging software packages.

Abstract: A method and an apparatus for optimizing movement of a disk drive's head actuator arm away from a magnetic latch that holds the arm in a parked position at the Inner Diameter (ID) of a disk. Current energizing of the arm's actuator motor moves the arm away from the magnetic latch and is controlled to compensate for any change in magnetic holding force. When the disk drive is powered up, a current pulse of one polarity is applied to the actuator motor. This initial current pulse normally moves the arm away from the magnetic latch and is followed by a current pulse of the opposite polarity to decelerate movement of the arm. If this initial sequence fails to move the arm away from the magnetic latch, the magnitude of the two current pulses is increased, and the opposite polarity pulse is followed by a small magnitude current of the one polarity. The read signal from the head is monitored to indicate that the arm has moved into the disk's central databand area, and then into the disk's Outer Diameter (OD) area.

Abstract: A directory system directs cache line access requests from processors in a multi-processor system with a shared memory system through a cache line states directory. The cache line states directory stores a state value that identifies a cache line shared states word. The cache line shared states word identifies the processor that owns the cache line and the state of access of each processor that shares access to the cache line. A state value encoder encodes a cache line shared state word into a state value and loads the state value into the cache line states directory. A state value decoder decodes the state value into a cache line shared state word for use by the cache line directory system in retrieving the cache line. A plurality of cache line tables are used with each cache line assigned to one of the tables. The cache line table stores a state value for each cache line shared states word stored in the table.

Abstract: The control data locking protocol allows a concurrency control manager and data store to permit concurrent dynamic access between those creating or modifying control data and those using the data in their execution sessions. The invention applies to the use of production rules in inferencing sessions or to the use of ordered processing of flow rules by a workflow manager. The invention grants inference locks, read locks and write locks. Pre-lock notification with negotiation is implemented. Post-lock notification is also implemented. Those who are using the rules and those who are modifying them can specify whether changes should be incorporated immediately. In case two requested locks conflict, users resolve the conflict before both are granted. Controlled invocation of conversion processing converts session data as necessary to allow changes in control data to be made while the control data is being used in existing execution sessions.

Abstract: In an Open System Interconnection (OSI) environment, an agent Common Management Information Protocol (CMIP) platform maintains an up to date tree of all of the Managed Object Instances (MOIs), in order to perform scoping functions. The agent platform receives a message from an OSI manager which includes a base MOI and levels below the base MOI to receive the message. The agent platform recurses through the tree below the base MOI to determine which MOIs should receive the message. If the message is delete, the children of MOIs to be deleted are also deleted. The children of undeletable MOIs are not deleted. A current, accurate tree is maintained by the agent platform, which can register a new MOI in the tree when a valid request is received from the MOI or the manager. The agent platform can also deregister an MOI upon valid request from the agent associated with the platform.

Abstract: Handle-based finding operations for search operations in an operating system in a computing system are converted into non-handle-based finding operations. The invention is responsive to a program module performing search operations specifying a file search path and has a find first module, a find next module and a find close module. The find first module, in response to a find first call from the program module, locates a search block for use in storing file identification information for a first file in the file search path. The find first module marks the search block as "in use," generates a handle identifying the search block and passes the handle back to the program module. The find next module is responsive to a find next call containing the handle. The find next module converts the handle into a search block address and locates the search block from the search block address. The search block is used to store the file identification information for a next file in the file search path.

Abstract: In a pulse width modulated read signal channel for an optical disk drive, a data-transition threshold is maintained for data detection by a threshold tracking circuit that estimates the amplitude centerline data-transition threshold from the most recent maximum and minimum values of the read signal waveform. To improve the accuracy of the response of the centerline estimator, the threshold is increased or decreased based on the phase error at each read signal transition through the data-transition threshold. In addition, defects in the optical recording media are detected, and a defect present signal is used to inhibit the transition phase error input to the centerline estimator. This prevents the estimator from moving the threshold to an incorrect stable level. In addition, the defect present signal boosts the error feedback in the centerline estimator. The estimator then more quickly follows the read signal waveform.

Abstract: Dynamic address assignment and reconfiguration of serially connected addressable device components of a network system using interchangeable cables terminated by plugs. Successive pairs of the devices are coupled with identical cables having the same offset cross-connected wiring between the terminating plugs, but which establish a unique address for the device to which connected depending on the position of the device in a chain of connected devices without requiring changes to the devices per se, e.g., jumpers or switches. The bus structure requires only a single port per device and removal, failure, or replacement of a device does not affect nor impair the proper operation of the other devices.

Abstract: Data capacity mismatches between a communication node, including end node work stations, and a communication link usually require large buffer storage to prevent the loss of transmitted data frames due to transmission of an incomplete frame. Transmitted data frame continuity is maintained in the present invention by using small FIFO buffers in the node to store small portions of a data frame as data is sent and received. In addition, the data frame is maintained by stretching the transmitted frame on the link when necessary to prevent loss of the frame and compress the stretched frame when it is received from the link. The stretching and compressing is accomplished by inserting and removing non-data symbols, or command code words, in the transmitted and received string of data words. Small FIFO buffers (much less than a data frame in data capacity) operate on the fly to transmit and receive data without requiring contiguous transmission of a complete frame.

Abstract: A computer resident tool for specifying and studying the functioning of complex systems by defining their functions in terms of components and connections. The components comprise transactions between the tool and the user, functional rules which are triggered by transactions and can create transactions, and information entities which are defined, modified and interrogated by functional rules and have dependency relationships with other information entities. The tool validates data both as it is entered by the user and globally after data entry is complete. The tool also produces lists of inconsistent system data and graphical representations of components and connections.

Abstract: In a compiler for the GDMO language, a verified and ordered output list of GDMO templates is provided by a method that lists each template in the output list such that all listed templates are preceded in the list by templates that are referenced by a listed template.

Abstract: Stackable communication network repeater hub capable of performing segmentation while retaining full stack management. Each hub in a stack can control the stack so that if a hub or group of hubs is segmented, one of the hubs is automatically allocated as the master hub. The master hub supplies a synchronizing signal, interprets network commands, and provides control signals for executing the commands.