Abstract: A computer-implemented method is provided for identifying items in loosely-structured data. The method generally includes constructing a composite data definition for items which are to be identified and parsing input data using the data definition. The composite data definition is constructed by defining a layout for a composite data definition, where the layout indicates at least one of positional relationship of data items to each other and positional information for data items in the loosely-structured data; arranging data items in the layout, where each data item in the layout has a common meaning for applications that use the data item; creating an identification order list for the composite data definition, where the identification order list includes the data items in the layout and specifies an order in which the data items comprising the composite data definition are to be identified within the loosely-structured data.

Abstract: Automated techniques are provided for determining root causes of web site performance or availability problems. Performance metrics falling within a data analysis window are evaluated by a performance monitoring tool, where the performance metrics pertain to the loading of a web page. From the data analysis, particular problems may be surfaced for further consideration. Root causes are also determined for the surfaced problems and published by the performance monitoring tool.

Abstract: A computer-implemented method is provided for constructing a minimum superset of data that complies with referential completeness as well as other specified data relationships. Given extraction criteria for the data, an iterative process analyzes the database for records to be included in the minimal superset. The iterative process includes: selecting a given table from a listing of tables implicated by the extraction criteria; identifying tables in the relational database having either a parent or a child relationship with the given table; evaluating concurrently and asynchronously each of the identified tables; and repeating these steps for each of the tables in the listing of tables.

Abstract: A performance monitoring and management system is provided for monitoring both server side and network side performance parameters of individual distributed transactions. The system uses correlation data which is transferred over a computer network to identify corresponding sender/receiver parts of a distributed transaction. Both server side tracing data and correlation data is transferred to an external correlation and monitoring server that creates per transaction end-to-end tracing data. Network probes are installed in the network infrastructures which monitor network conditions, like e.g. data transferred. Those network probes are configured in a way to identify and extract the correlation data used by the monitoring system and to tag created network measurements with this correlation data. Those tagged network measurements are then used to augment the per transaction end-to-end tracing data with corresponding network measurements.

Abstract: A computer-implemented method is provided for creating an execution path for interfacing with legacy programs in a mainframe computing environment. The method includes: creating a run-time environment for programs on a mainframe computer by an initiator program; initiating execution of a configuration program in the run-time environment by the initiator program, where the configuration program is written in the high level programming language; specifying user-defined parameters for a Java Virtual Machine to the configuration program; and creating a Java Virtual Machine in another run-time environment of the mainframe computer, where the JVM is created by the configuration program using the user-defined parameters.

Abstract: A performance monitoring system is presented for monitoring and tracing individual transactions, where transaction processing includes sending and receiving messages using messaging systems that do not allow the augmentation of existing messages with monitoring system specific correlation information. Agents are deployed to sender and receiver applications that monitor and report transactions. Both sender and receiver applications are instrumented with sensors that detect and report sending or receiving of such immutable messages. Those sensors also extract correlation data from sent and received data allowing the identification of matching corresponding send/receive pairs. A mapping agent is used to retrieve mapping information from a messaging system which may alter the additional message identification data while messages travel through the system. This mapping information is additionally used for the correlation process.

Abstract: A performance management system is provided that measures end user performance in a distributed computing environment. The system detects DOM updates caused by browser side activities, and identifies resource load requests introduced by a DOM update that request resource from third party sources. For such resource load requests, resource sensors are installed which detect the point in time when loading the resource was finished. This allows to measure load time for individual resource load requests requesting third party resources, and to assign the tracing and performance monitoring data describing those resource load requests to the tracing and performance monitoring data describing the browser side transaction execution that caused the third party resource loads.

Abstract: A computer-implemented method is presented for simulating an orientation change on a computing device in a test environment. The method includes: retrieving an orientation action from a test script, the test script defined in accordance with a scripting language and the orientation action specifying an angle of rotation to simulate; setting a value of a window orientation variable in a web browser, the value of the window orientation variable correlating to the angle of rotation specified by the orientation action; issuing a resize command to a window resize function supported by the web browser; and issuing a change orientation event to a rendering engine associated with the web browser.

Abstract: A computer-implemented method is provided for constructing a minimum superset of data that complies with referential completeness as well as other specified data relationships. Given extraction criteria for the data, an iterative process analyzes the database for records to be included in the minimal superset. The iterative process includes: selecting a given table from a listing of tables implicated by the extraction criteria; identifying tables in the relational database having either a parent or a child relationship with the given table; evaluating concurrently and asynchronously each of the identified tables; and repeating these steps for each of the tables in the listing of tables.

Abstract: A computer-implemented system is provided that enables automated testing of a plurality of mobile devices residing at a monitor site. The system is comprised generally of a test controller in data communication with the plurality of mobile devices. The test controller transmits a test request over a wireless network to each of the plurality of mobile devices, where the test controller communicates via a persistent data channel using a short range communication protocol such as a Bluetooth. Each of the mobile devices is configured with a test agent that is configured to receive the test request from the test controller and execute a test in response to the test request.

Abstract: Systems and methods provide for quantifying the similarity between images that appear similar. Given a set of images, one image is selected as the base image, to which the remaining images are compared. One or more portions of the base image are selected for comparison and the color composition of these areas is calculated. Then, the color compositions are examined to quantify the similarity or difference between the images, which is assigned a score reflective of the quantitative similarity or difference. The results are displayed. These systems and methods allow, e.g, a website owner to check whether web pages have come through imperfectly across different browsers; the analysis identifies not just blatant errors, but even single-pixel shifts.

Abstract: A system is provided for tracing end-to-end transactions. The system uses bytecode instrumentation and a dynamically injected agent to gather web server side tracing data, and a browser agent which is injected into browser content to instrument browser content and to capture tracing data about browser side activities. Requests sent during monitored browser activities are tagged with correlation data. On the web server side, this correlation information is transferred to tracing data that describes handling of the request. This tracing data is sent to an analysis server which creates tracing information which describes the server side execution of the transaction and which is tagged with the correlation data allowing the identification of the causing browser side activity.

Abstract: The presented enhancement of a rule based instrumentation system taking object oriented inheritance relationships into account is directed to the detection and extraction to inheritance relationships relevant for the instrumentation process. Relevant inheritance relationships which have an impact on the instrumentation process and typically only represent a small fraction of the complete inheritance relationships of a monitored application. The small size of the relevant inheritance relationships allows, for example to prepare it in advance and ship it as part of a monitoring application or to transmit inheritance information between different local instrumentation engines being part of a distributed instrumentation system.

Abstract: A computer-implemented method is provided for creating an execution path for interfacing with legacy programs in a mainframe computing environment. The method includes: creating a run-time environment for programs on a mainframe computer by an initiator program; initiating execution of a configuration program in the run-time environment by the initiator program, where the configuration program is written in the high level programming language; specifying user-defined parameters for a Java Virtual Machine to the configuration program; and creating a Java Virtual Machine in another run-time environment of the mainframe computer, where the JVM is created by the configuration program using the user-defined parameters.

Abstract: A website test environment invokes multiple instances of a commercial browser, and captures invocations of browser operations for gathering performance data without interference from other instances or multiple occurrences of the operating system (OS). Commercial browsers often employ constraints that assume only a single instantiation is executing on a particular machine. Configurations allow each instance to present as a separate user, thus avoiding conflicts that may arise from temporary files and network connections, for example. Each browser instance operates as a performance agent and dynamically links with a set of entry points for accessing performance related browser operations. As each agent invokes native (OS specific) machine functions for network access via particular entry points, configurations disclosed herein redirect the entry points to a collection layer of instructions (code) for capturing performance data in addition to invoking the native OS function called for by the browser operation.

Abstract: A computer-implemented system is provided for monitoring performance of a media player launched by a web browser. The media player is referenced by a document that defines a web page and is implemented as a plug-in to the web browser. Upon accessing the web page, the web browser launches the media player. The media player in turn launches a performance monitor that is implemented as a plug-in to the media player. The performance monitor subscribes to event listener objects exposed by the media player and receives event data that is reported by the event listener objects. Performance metrics pertaining to the media player are derived from the event data.

Abstract: A performance management tool is provided that monitors performance in a computing infrastructure in a computing environment. The performance management tool includes a service model that represents the computing infrastructure. The service model is a hierarchical tree structure comprised of a plurality of linked nodes, where each node in the tree structure represents a component of the computing infrastructure and has one or more properties of the component assigned thereto. Each node further includes an inheritance rule which defines how properties assigned to other nodes are inherited by the component. A dimension indexer module is configured to receive a request for properties associated with a particular node and operates to retrieve properties for the particular node from the tree structure, including at least one property not assigned to the particular node but inherited from another node in the tree structure in accordance with the inheritance rule assigned the particular node.

Abstract: An improved method is provided for evaluating service quality of a software application residing in a computing environment. The method includes: monitoring first and second metrics indicative of performance of the software application; evaluating the first metric in relation to a first evaluation criterion; evaluating the second metric in relation to a second evaluation criterion different than the first evaluation criterion; and determining the state of service for the software application based in part on the evaluation of the second metric. Over time, the second evaluation criterion is adapted based on the outcome of the evaluation of the first metric.

Abstract: An improved method is provided for identifying a cause of a performance problem experienced by an application in a computing environment. To help a user find and isolate the problem quicker, the method proposes a unified performance analysis report that presents the most likely indicators of the source of the performance problem. The report presents performance metrics for the software services used by the application and charts the metric values over time since it is often the change in a metric that indicates a problem. Each metric chart should also include an indicator for the state of service for the application. This will help the user correlate metrics from multiple sources to the time period in which the application experienced a problem.

Abstract: A method of scheduling availability for a computing infrastructure in a shared computing environment is disclosed. The method comprises assigning a new schedule of service to a software application in the computing environment, propagating the new schedule of service assigned to the software application to a plurality of computing components that support the software application, where the computing infrastructure is comprised of the plurality of computing components having a hierarchical relationship with each other, and determining a schedule of service for a given computing component in the computing infrastructure by aggregating schedules of service propagated to the given computing component.