Abstract: A gateway provides for the processing of transactions in a heterogeneous database environment using LU6.2 two-phase commit involving a database, supporting a first communication protocol, and an LU6.2 transaction manager associated with a database supporting a second communication protocol. The gateway includes a first protocol manager for providing communication between the gateway and the database according to the first communication protocol. The gateway also includes an LU6.2 protocol manager for providing LU6.2 communication between the gateway and the LU6.2 two-phase commit transaction manager.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for managing access to resources is provided. When a process requires access to a resource, the process requests a lock on the resource from a lock manager unit that resides on the same node as the process. If a resource object for the resource does not exist, one is created in the lock manager unit, but not on lock manager units on other nodes. Because each lock manager unit does not have to store all resource objects, and resource objects are only created for resources that are actually used, the overhead of the lock management system is significantly reduced. Resources are grouped in recovery domains. When a lock manager unit that supported a recovery domain fails, the recovery domain is marked invalid. All resources in the recovery domain are considered invalid unless it would have been impossible for a failed instance to have held an exclusive lock on the resource. A snapshot of lock information is made before cleanup is performed on invalid resources.

Abstract: A system for generating and displaying point of view and generic gists for use in a document browsing system. Each point of view gist provides a synopsis or abstract that reflects the content of a document from a predetermined point of view or slant. A content processing system analyzes documents to generate a thematic profile for use by the point of view gist processing. The point of view gist processing generates point of view gists based on the different themes or topics contained in a document by identifying paragraphs from the document that include content relating to a theme for which the point of view gist is based. In one embodiment, the user of a document browsing system inputs topics to select a particular point of view gist for a document. A document browsing system may also display point of view gists based on a navigation history of categories selected by a user though use of a document browsing system.

Abstract: An advanced windows management system permits a user to customize views from a plurality of frame windows into a single target window. A view includes display information that corresponds to an underlying program. The user selects views from the frame windows, and the user specifies a target window for placement of the views, including the arrangement of the views, in the target window via a drag and drop operation. In response, the advanced windows management system docks and displays the selected views in the target window. The views may comprise textual, graphical and control information for a plurality of editors or tools used in software development. Through use of the advanced windows management system, a user generates editor windows that include views from tools and editors. Thus, the user is permitted to customize the editor window to include views for editors used on a project.

Abstract: A method for protecting seed data according to an access hierarchy is disclosed. A seed data entity is resolved into a plurality of seed data units each having an associated protection level and customization level. When a request to modify a seed data unit is received, an access level is determined for the request. The seed data is modified in accordance with the request if the access level determined for the request is superior or equal to the protection level of the seed data unit and inferior or equal to the customization level of the seed data unit. If the seed data is modified or replaced, the access level determined for the request is assigned to the customization level of the seed data unit.

Abstract: A visual coding tool that allows a user to visually implement the full inheritance capabilities of object oriented programming languages is disclosed. This includes the ability to visually create a first object class which is a subclass of a second object class, where the first object class has, as one of its attributes, a third object class which is a subclass of a fourth object class. The third object class is not an attribute of the second object class, while the fourth object class is also not an attribute of the second object class. The visual coding tool includes a user interface which allows a user to visually create object classes and establish an object class hierarchy by "dragging and dropping" visual icons associated with object classes.

Abstract: A method for providing persistent, dynamic external control of rule-based decision making through inherited user defined rules (UDRs) within a computer controlled relational database management system (RDBMs). Within the novel system, objects are grouped together in a parent-child hierarchy where a child has one parent and each parent can have multiple children. Each object can have one or more pre-defined ("hardcoded") rules associated with it; these hardcoded rules are executed in a sequence to arrive at parameter values which, when applied, tune the database environment. The novel system provides a mechanism for creating UDRs which are associated with a particular object and used by particular hardcoded rules which process the particular object. For a given hardcoded rule, if a processed object does not have a UDR defined within, then a search is made up the object's ancestry (e.g.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for compressing data is provided. The invention compresses an input bit stream into a compressed output bit stream. The input bit streams are byte aligned and classified. Bytes with all bits set to value zero are classified as gap bytes. Bytes with only one bit set to value one are classified as offset bytes. All other bytes are classified as map bytes. Groups of adjacent bytes are organized into two types of groups. The first type is a gap bit group. A gap map group contains gap bytes and one offset byte. The second type is the gap map group. It contains gap bytes and map bytes. The number of gap bytes in a group is called a gap size. The groups are compressed into four types of atoms. Each type of atom has one control byte, zero or more gap size bytes, and zero or map bytes. A control byte describes the atom. The map bytes in an atom are copies of the map bytes in the control group.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for processing a query combines the use of different index types to minimize the rows of data that need to be retrieved from a table. A first index is accessed based on a query to produce a first result having a first format, for example a bitmap index outputting a bitmap. A second index, for example a B-tree index, is also accessed based on the query to produce a second result having a second format, for example a sequence of rowids. The first result is converted to a converted result having the second format, and the converted result and the second result are combined to obtain an end result. The end result can then be used to locate data that satisfies the query while minimizing the rows of data that need to be retrieved from a table during the query processing.

Abstract: A method and system for selectively disabling the logging of database operations during the execution of database processes or the creation of database objects is disclosed. According to the method, changes made to the database through data manipulation statements or queries can include a statement that the change to be executed is not to be logged. If the operation is to be logged, a log buffer stores the information about the changes and a log writer background process writes the operation entries to disk. Similarly, the creation or manipulation of database objects through object manipulation statements can be logged or not logged. As with logged data manipulation statements, if the manipulation of a database object is to be logged, a log buffer stores the information about the changes and a log writer background process writes the operation entries to disk.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are disclosed for enabling a constraint without prohibiting updates to the constrained data during the validation portion of the enablement process. A constraint is first enforced. While the constraint is being enforced, the pre-existing data are inspected to determine whether the constraint is valid. Because the constraint is in force for all changes to the data during the validation process, the constraint will be enabled if the pre-existing data conforms with the constraint. A serialization value is stored in the constraint definition. Whenever the constraint definition is changed, the serialization value is changed. The serialization value of a constraint definition is recorded before validating the constraint. After validating the constraint, the serialization value in the constraint definition is compared to the recorded serialization value to determine whether the constraint definition was changed during the validation process.

Abstract: A method and apparatus provide bitmapped indexing with high granularity locking. Whenever a change is made to a data table upon which a bitmapped index is based, two differential entries are generated and stored as index entries in the bitmapped index. Each differential entry identifies a bit to be flipped in the corresponding bitmap index entry. When applied to corresponding bitmap index entry, the changes are reflected in the appropriate bitmaps. Whenever a bitmap is read from the bitmapped index, any corresponding differential entries are applied so that the resulting bitmap reflects the change made to the data table.

Abstract: Methods for collecting query workload based statistics within a relational database management system (RDBMS) and for identifying columns for which statistics collection is to be performed. The novel system collects workload statistics that are dependent on multiple columns, rather than merely single columns. Multi-column statistic generation provides more accurate results for columns having correlated data, and therefore leads to better estimated cost analysis by an RDBMS optimizer. In one embodiment, a column duplicity factor is based on an analysis of distinct data rows, e.g., combinations of values within multiple columns, rather than rows of single columns. The novel system also collects separate statistics regarding the presence of null data within the rows of a column group. Separate null data statistics improve the determined result carnality used by the RDBMS optimizer because the cardinality of a relational operation's result is generally determined by the number of input rows with non-null data.

Abstract: A method for processing user-input that may include a command to abort a previously requested operation and typed-ahead data entered in anticipation of completion of the previously requested operation is disclosed. The user-input is represented by a value queued in a first queue by an operating system. According to the present invention, the value is removed from the first queue and examined to determine if it represents a command to abort the previously requested operation. If the value represents a command to abort the previously requested operation, the previously requested operation is aborted. If the value does not represent a command to abort the previously requested operation, the value is queued in a second queue, and, after completion of the previously requested operation, the value is removed from the second queue and associated with a display window to which user-input is focused at that time.

Abstract: An addressing method and computer system for sharing a large memory address space using address space within an operating system's virtual address space. The system provides sharing the SSB over many processes without the disadvantages associated with process based global sections. For instance, the novel system does not require that each process maintain its own dedicated page table entries (PTEs) in order to access the SSB thereby requiring less operating system virtual memory to maintain the PTE data structures. The system uses a process to switch to kernel mode, then identifies those sections of the operating system virtual memory space that are not being used; in some cases the unused address space can be 1.5-1.8 gigabytes in size. The unused address space is linked together to form the SSB. The system alters the privileges of the PTEs corresponding to the SSB so that user mode processes can access this usually protected operating system virtual memory space.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for distributing work granules of a parent task among processes running on various nodes in a multi-processing computer system is provided. The parent task is divided into work granules of varying sizes based on the location of the data that must be accessed to perform the work granules. At least one process on each of the nodes that will be assisting in the execution of the parent task is initially assigned a work granule based on efficiency considerations. Such efficiency considerations may include, for example, the location of the data to be accessed relative to the process, the current I/O load of the devices on which data to be accessed is stored, and the relative sizes of the various work granules. When a process completes the work granule assigned to it, the process is assigned one of the remaining unassigned work granules. Again the work granule assignment is made based on efficiency considerations. This process continues until all of the work granules have been completed.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for processing a query in a database system using index types that are not built into the database system are disclosed. Routines for managing an index structure that is not supported by a database system are generated. Data that identifies the routines are submitted to the database system, thereby "registering" the index types with the database system. In response to statements issued to the database system by a client, the database system calls the routines, causing the routines to create an index structure using data from a data container in the database, and to generate data that indicates which data in the data container satisfies a query issued by the client. The routines of the registered index type extend the indexing capabilities of the database systems and one or more such index types can be registered with the database system. The index structure managed by the routines may be maintained within segments of the database, and the segments may be accessed as index-only tables.

Abstract: A system is provided for resetting a process from a first activity to a second activity, in which the second activity was previously performed. The system identifies activities that were previously performed after the second activity. Each identified activity (including the second activity) is then executed in a cancel mode of operation. The execution of the activities is performed sequentially from the first activity to the second activity. The system then executes the second activity in a run mode of operation. The cancel mode of operation cancels the changes that were implemented by a particular activity during a previous execution of the activity. The activities can maintain information regarding the last change implemented by the activity, which is used by the activity in the cancel mode of operation to cancel the last change implemented by the activity. The system may include a loop reset counter associated with the first activity and the second activity.

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 exporting 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 importing the associated metadata, without patching any of the disk pointers.

Abstract: A content processing system determines content of input discourse. The content processing system includes a theme vector processor that determines themes in the input discourse. The theme vector processor identifies themes, including identifying the relative importance of the themes in the input discourse by generating a theme strength. The theme strength indicates relative thematic importance for the theme in the input discourse. A knowledge catalog, which includes static ontologies arranged in a hierarchical structure, is also disclosed. The static ontologies are independent and parallel of each other, and contain knowledge concepts to represent a world view of knowledge. The theme vector processor utilizes the static ontologies to generate a theme concept for each theme by extracting a knowledge concept from a higher level node in the hierarchical structure of a static ontology.