Abstract: A document management system enables multiple users to collaboratively contribute to the contents of a document via any suitable medium for transporting and storing documents, including email, shared drives, replicated work spaces and centralized storage systems. A tracking strategy is employed, in lieu of a central repository, that is based upon medium-independent versioning. Each version of a document that is created and saved by a user is given a unique identifier. The versions are submitted to a global service for ratification as the next authoritative version of a document. A submitted version that forms the next step in a linear sequence is ratified as the authoritative version of the document, whereas the version which does not meet this criterion becomes identified as a new document. Support is provided for users who create versions off-line, as well as users who are not subscribers to the system.

Abstract: A document management system enables multiple users to collaboratively contribute to the contents of a document via any suitable medium for transporting and storing documents, including email, shared drives, replicated work spaces and centralized storage systems. A tracking strategy is employed, in lieu of a central repository, that is based upon medium-independent versioning. Each version of a document that is created and saved by a user is given a unique identifier. The versions are submitted to a global service for ratification as the next authoritative version of a document. A submitted version that forms the next step in a linear sequence is ratified as the authoritative version of the document, whereas the version which does not meet this criterion becomes identified as a new document. Support is provided for users who create versions off-line, as well as users who are not subscribers to the system.

Abstract: In a data-replication system, multi-way synchronization of copies of the data at different devices is achieved by employing a non-destructive data model. In this model, each replicated data object is represented by a revision graph, and every operation that is performed on a data object, e.g. a revision of data content or deletion of the object, is represented by adding a node to a revision graph at the device where the change is made. Synchronization between multiple devices is achieved by applying a graph union operator. Since the union operator is commutative and associative, it avoids the limitations normally associated with the order in which updates occur. A synchronization enforcement mechanism restricts the situations in which the nodes of a graph can be deleted, to thereby ensure integrity of the data throughout its useful life cycle.

Abstract: In a metasearch conducted across multiple document collections, a multi-phase approach is employed in which local and global statistics are dynamically exchanged between the search engines and the metasearch engine in response to a user's query. In the first phase, the query is transmitted to the search engines from the metasearch engine, and each search engine computes or retrieves previously-computed local statistics for those terms in its associated document collection. In the second phase, each search engine returns its local statistics. A third phase consists of computing metacollection level statistics at the metasearch engine, based upon the information contained in the local statistics. The metacollection level statistics are disseminated to the search engines. In the final phase, the search engines rank the documents in their respective collections pursuant to the metacollection level statistics, and transmit the rankings to the metasearch engine.

Abstract: A widely-used data definition language such as the Extensible Markup Language is used to implement a tuple space-based coordination mechanism. Entries and template entries can represent any type of networked or network-proxied resource, object or service. Using this framework, diverse entry spaces can be aggregated and operated upon as though they were a single large entry space. The flexibility and power of XML constructs can be leveraged to make such aggregation straightforward and efficient.

Abstract: A mechanism for providing application-layer information persistence and exchange is provided. For an exemplary embodiment, an information space is constructed to span a group of one or more server systems. The information space is based on the tuple-space paradigm first introduced for the Linda coordination model. A coordination entity manages storage of tuples within the information space. Applications access tuples by consulting a local cache of known tuple locations. If the location of a tuple is known, access is directed to the known location. If the location is unknown, the coordination is queried to determine the correct tuple location. If a tuple has moved, the previously storing server generates a re-route exception. This causes the accessing application to query the coordination entity, retry the access, and update the local cache.

Abstract: A distributed network communication system implements a series of token exchange transactions similar to those used when passing browser cookies between an Internet server and a browser client. Rather than instigating a cookie exchange transaction from the Internet server to store information relevant to the server, according to this aspect of the present invention the proxy cookie is stored on the client side at the behest of the web proxy. To the browser client, the proxy cookie appears to be identical to any regular browser cookie; however, whenever the browser client presents a request for information to the proxy which is to be passed on to the Internet server, the proxy strips the proxy cookie from the request and uses it to identify the originator of the request. Based on this, the proxy can customize and personalize the client's information request as appropriate and pass it on to the Internet server.