Abstract: Described herein is a system for “lazy” manifestation of XML documents. In lazy manifestation, only portions of an XML document that contain data of interest (e.g., a particular element or attribute requested by an application) are manifested. The term “manifesting a portion of an XML document” refers to creating an in-memory representation of the portion and incorporating it into existing in-memory representation of an XML document, if any. These portions are referred to herein as a loadable unit. A loadable unit is a set of one or more nodes in an XML document, where when there is need to manifest a node in the set, other nodes in the loadable unit are manifested too. Loadable units may, but not necessarily, correlate to content structures that store the nodes. A loadable unit may be the nodes whose content is contained in a row.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for identifying bulk electronic mail is provided. The contents of a plurality of electronic mail messages are tracked and used to determine whether a particular electronic mail message is bulk electronic mail or not bulk electronic mail. The manner in which an electronic mail message is processed depends on the type of the electronic mail message. In particular, a message signature is generated from the contents of the electronic mail message and transmitted to a central server. The central server generates a count of how many other previously received signatures match the just generated message signature. The count is transmitted to the electronic mail server that transmitted the particular message signature. If the count meets a predetermined threshold, the electronic mail server marks the electronic mail message as bulk electronic mail. Alternatively, the central server transmits the message signature of an identified bulk electronic mail message to an electronic mail server.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are provided for managing work granules being executed in parallel. A task is evenly divided between a number of work granules. The number of work granules falls between a threshold minimum and a threshold maximum. The threshold minimum and maximum may be configured to balance a variety of efficiency factors affected by the number of work granules, including workload skew and overhead incurred in managing larger number of work granules. Work granules are distributed to processes on nodes according to which of the nodes, if any, may execute the work granule efficiently. A variety of factors may used to determine where a work granule may be performed efficiently, including whether data accessed during the execution of a work granule may be locally accessed by a node.

Abstract: A fine-grained access control mechanism uses policy functions that are associated with a database object (e.g. table and view). The policy functions are invoked, when, for example, a database server detects that a query is issued against the database object. The policy functions return optimizer hints, which are added to the query.

Abstract: A pluggable tablespace is enabled by logically partitioning a database into a set of tablespaces and storing all of the tablespaces disk pointers in tablespace-relative format. A pluggable set of tablespaces is unplugged by generating the associated metadata, and making a binary copy of the tablespaces. The pluggable set of tablespaces is plugged into a target database by making the pluggable set accessible to the target database and incorporating the associated metadata, without patching any of the disk pointers.

Abstract: A system rewrites queries so that they may be executed more efficiently. Queries that reference the result set of an aggregate query are rewritten to reference another aggregate query in the form of an inner query that omits groupings that can not possibly satisfy the criteria imposed by the predicates of the outer query. Thus, when the inner query is computed, only rows for groupings that satisfy the criteria are generated, conserving resources that would otherwise be wasted generating rows that could not possibly satisfy the criteria.

Abstract: A data base system coordinates the execution of a distributed transaction in which a set of participant database systems participates, each of the participants executing a subtransaction of the distributed transaction. The participants include at least one database system (“incompatible database system”) that does not follow a two-phase commit followed by the other participant database systems. The distributed transaction is executed as long as operations performed by the incompatible database system for the distributed transaction are read-only operations. To commit the distributed transaction, the incompatible database system aborts the subtransaction it is executing as part of the distributed transaction, while other participant database systems complete the distributed transaction using a two-phase commit to commit their respective subtransactions.

Abstract: Described herein is a system that enables service provider's to integrate speech functionality into their applications. A service provider maintains a set of application servers. To provide a particular speech service to a client of the application server, the application server causes the client to request the speech service from another set of servers. This set of servers is responsible for providing this speech service as well as others. Such speech services include recording digital speech data at the client, and storing the recordings. Later, the application servers may retrieve the recordings, and even more, retrieve data derived from the recordings, such as data generated through speech recognition processes.

Abstract: Handheld computers, e.g. a Palm® Connected Organizer, typically use volatile memory such as random access memory (RAM) to store user data. If the volatile memory of the handheld computer were lost before the data in it is synchronized with the user's computer, then the user's changes would be lost. In order to preserve the changes, records of changes made on the handheld computer can be stored in a non-volatile memory on the handheld computer and/or transmitted over a wireless communication channel to a computer. This computer may house multiple users' data. After a failure of the handheld computer's memory, the contents of the handheld computer memory can be reconstructed using the most recent copy of the data on the user's computer and the records of changes in the non-volatile memory of the handheld computer and/or the computer that is receiving change records over the wireless communication channel.

Abstract: A tightly integrated palmtop computer system and personal computer system is disclosed. The palmtop computer system and personal computer system synchronize with each other to share information. The synchronization software recognizes different synchronization environments including: synchronizing multiple palmtop computer systems with a single personal computer system; synchronizing a single palmtop computer system with multiple personal computer systems; synchronizing a palmtop computer system with a remote personal computer system across a network using a local personal computer system; and remotely synchronizing with a personal computer system across a telephone line. The synchronization software handles each different synchronization environment appropriately with minimal user interaction.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are provided for selectively authenticating and authorizing a client seeking access to one or more protected computer systems over a network. A request of a client to access one of the computer systems is received. A proxy security server is requested to authenticate the client using information identifying the client. An authorization of the client from the proxy security server is received, based on authentication results received from a remote security server that is coupled to the proxy security server. In response, access rights of the client are established, based on one or more access information records received from remote security server through the proxy security server. As a result, one or more legacy security servers may be easily integrated into an application access system without complicated modifications to the application access system.

Abstract: A system for managing locks that give permission to access resources in a computer system is disclosed. The lock management system is distributed and provides deadlock protection. The lock management system is distributed in that information about which locks have been granted for a resource is stored at both a master node and at the nodes on which are located processes that desire to access to the resource. A master resource object located on the master node grants locks to shadow resource objects located on the nodes on which are located the processes that desire to access the resource. Each shadow resource object grants locks on the resource to the processes that are located on the same node as the shadow resource object. According to an aspect of the invention, the master resource object stores data indicating what is knows about a shadow resource object. The master node increments a sequence number when the master resource object changes what is knows about the shadow resource object.

Abstract: A system for managing locks that give permission to access resources in a computer system is disclosed. The lock management system is distributed and provides deadlock protection. The lock management system is distributed in that information about which locks have been granted for a resource is stored at both a master node and at the nodes on which are located processes that desire to access to the resource. A master resource object located on the master node grants locks to shadow resource objects located on the nodes on which are located the processes that desire to access the resource. Each shadow resource object grants locks on the resource to the processes that are located on the same node as the shadow resource object. The master resource object includes a convert queue used to maintain a list of convert requests made by various processes. The lock request for shadow resource objects are granted when the lock request is at the head of the convert queue.

Abstract: A framework for the incrementally refreshing a materialized view is provided. The materialized view is based on a query that references a projected table and another set of base tables. The query projects the columns of the projected table. To refresh the materialized view, a set of tuples is computed that identify rows to delete, insert, or otherwise modify in the materialized view in order to refresh it. The set of tuples is computed by computing a set of intersections, (1) one for the intersection between the query and the change log of the projected table, and (2) at least one other between the equijoin of the change log for one of the other base tables and the projected table. The query may define an equijoin between the projected table and at least one base table based on equijoin conditions that define a many-to-many relationship or a one-to-many relationship.

Abstract: A system for managing locks that give permission to access resources in a computer system is disclosed. The lock management system is distributed and provides deadlock protection. The lock management system is distributed in that information about which locks have been granted for a resource is stored at both a master node and at the nodes on which are located processes that desire to access to the resource. A master resource object located on the master node grants locks to shadow resource objects located on the nodes on which are located the processes that desire to access the resource. Each shadow resource object grants locks on the resource to the processes that are located on the same node as the shadow resource object. The shadow resource object includes a convert queue used to maintain a list of convert requests made by various processes. The lock request for the process is granted when the lock request is at the head of the convert queue.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are provided relationally modeling a trimmed NURBS surface. The relational model may be formed of a NURBS surface object, a trimming curve object that depends on the NURBS surface object, and a third object which depends on both the NURBS surface object and trimming curve object. Modeling a NURBS surface and a trimmed NURBS surface as separate objects eliminates the issue of circular definitions discussed earlier with respect to relational modeling of trimmed NURBS surfaces.

Abstract: A technique and mechanism for transforming a query is described. A given query is transformed into a transformed query that references a global temporary table. Specifically, the given query contains a join between a given table and one or more other tables referenced by constraints (e.g. predicates). References to one or more of the constrained tables are replaced by a reference to a global temporary table. Before executing the transformed query, data that satisfies the constraints placed on the constrained table is inserted into the global temporary table.

Abstract: A mechanism for performing a two-phase commit is provided. The mechanisms perform a two-phase commit in a manner that reduces the number of messages transmitted between a coordinating database system and the participating database systems, and the number of log flushes performed to complete a two-phase commit. To determine whether a particular participating database system is prepared to commit, the coordinating database system first examines external log tracking data that resides on the coordinating database system. External log tracking data, which indicates various states of logs on other database systems, is used to determine whether or not a particular participating database system is prepared to commit.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are provided for managing changes to a directory of electronic documents. A custom directory is created and stored based on the contents of a master directory. The master directory comprises a taxonomy of categories. A plurality of electronic documents are classified in one or more of the categories. One or more mappings defines how the documents of categories of the master directory map to categories of the custom directory. Mappings may express merges or splits of categories. One or more judgements may be created and stored in the custom directory in association with documents in the categories of the custom directory. Each judgement expresses whether a document is in or not in a category, or locked out of all categories. Modifications to the master directory are automatically propagated to the custom directory, according to the mapping, but without overriding the judgements in the custom directory.

Abstract: The lock management system disclosed is distributed i.e. information about which locks have been granted for a resource is stored at both a master node and at the nodes on which are located processes that desire access to the resource. A master resource object grants locks to shadow resource objects located on the nodes. Each shadow resource object grants locks on the resource to processes that are located on the same node as the shadow resource object. Data stored in the same node of a shadow resource object indicates what information the shadow resource object has sent to the master object. The information includes what lock mode is held by a shadow resource object and what lock mode is currently desired by the shadow resource lock. The shadow resource object transmits both information and requests to the master resource object based on the data stored in the same node of a shadow resource object.