Abstract: A method and apparatus that displays metadata about a web page currently being displayed by a browser. While the web browser is communicating with a web server to obtain the requested web page, client software communicates with a database metadata server to obtain metadata about the requested page. After the browser receives its requested information from the web server, it displays the requested web page in a conventional manner. The client concurrently displays its received metadata on the same computer as the web page, and concurrently with the web page. A preferred embodiment of the present invention opens a button bar in conjunction with the web page display. This button bar allows the user to view various portions of the metadata for the displayed web page.

Abstract: A method for constructing approximate data structures is disclosed in which the operations that define the data structure are relaxed. The operations are specified such that error of approximation in the results of the operations may be traded for speed in executing the operations.

Abstract: A method of selecting and representing time-varying data from a time-relational database management system by providing a unified view on a computer display screen. The data from a master record for a particular entity is displayed with a default video or character attribute, and is considered to be the current record. Accessing a history record for that entity causes the data for fields that differ from the corresponding fields of the current record to be overlaid on such current record fields but with a video or character attribute distinct from the default video or character attribute. The overlaid current record becomes a new current record for further overlays. Similarly, accessing a pending record causes the data for fields that differ from the corresponding fields of the current record to be overlaid on such current record fields but with a video or character attribute distinct from the default video or character attribute.

Abstract: Matching (e.g., via correlation or similarity process) entities having attributes, some of which have associated values. The values of the attributes may be adjusted based on number of entities that have values for a particular attribute so that the values decrease as the number increases. The attributes of the entities may be harmonized and provided with default values so that entities being matched have common attributes defined by the union of the attributes of the entities being matched. The attributes of the entities may be expanded and provided with default values so that the entities being matched have attributes that neither had originally. Match values may be normalized to provide a weight value which may be used to predict an attribute value of a new entity based on known attribute values of known entities. The weight values may be tuned such that relatively high weights are amplified and relatively low weights are suppressed.

Abstract: The paradigmatic view of data in typical decision support applications divides the attributes (or fields) in the data records into two groups: dimensional attributes and value attributes. The dimensional attributes classify the record, while the value attributes indicate a measured quantity. The dimensional attributes can be partitioned into a set of dimensions, which are orthogonal descriptions of the record. The attributes within a dimension form hierarchies of descriptions of the record, ranging from a coarse to a description. For example, the database might consist of records of retail sales collected from individual stores and brought together into a central data warehouse. This database might have three dimensions: store location, product, and time of sale. The value attribute might be the dollar value of the sale. A dimension might contain several attributes. For example, the store location dimension might consist of country, region, state, county, and zip code.

Abstract: A map data base management system comprises a map data base storage unit for storing a map index file so that with respect to regions partitioning each of maps drawn on a plurality of scales involved with the same geographical area, an individual region index is designated to a region, in the manner that a region index for designating each region constituting a relatively large-scale map determines region indices for designating a plurality of regions constituting a map of a scale just below the relatively large-scale; and a map data file so that among regions designated by region indices, individual map data is designated by a scale and a region index, in the manner that each region having land in a corresponding scale map has corresponding map data and each region having no land in a corresponding scale map has no map data.

Abstract: The present invention discloses a method, apparatus, and article of manufacture for displaying a visual hierarchy of nodes. A top level node in the hierarchy is displayed as a window and lower level nodes are displayed within an area of the top level node. Lower level nodes are either expanded or unexpanded. Unexpanded lower level nodes are displayed in one area and expanded lower level nodes are displayed in another area. The unexpanded nodes conceal their contents and the expanded nodes disclose their contents, so that a visual hierarchy of nodes can be displayed a single display screen. The expanded nodes can contain several layers of lower level nodes that are visually formatted like the window.

Abstract: A method for maintaining login service parameters includes a step of allocating space for and storing a login service parameter portion of a logged in port. A login service parameter of a logged in port is then compared with stored login service parameter structures. If the login service parameter of the logged in port, except for a login service parameter portion thereof, is identical with one of the stored login service parameters, a step of adding a first pointer to that stored login service parameters structure into the stored login service parameter portion structure is carried out. A new login service parameter portion structure is allocated and the process repeated, thereby creating a linked list of login service parameter portion structures, each login service parameter portion structure pointing to both the stored login service parameter structure and to a next login service parameter portion structure.

Abstract: A change definition language (CDL) serves as an extension of (and in the general format of) the structured query language known as SQL. The change definition language allows all important alterations to be described, as changes to an existing definition, for example, and may be used by all phases of the development cycle. The CDL statements do not make the changes directly in the catalog, but instead work through SQL and another intermediate mechanism such as DB2 ALTER tailored to make changes using SQL. The changes expressed in CDL may be migrated to downstream phases and fed back to earlier phases by use of a batch of change statements expressed in CDL.

Abstract: The invention includes an agency computer program that operates on a server of computer network that includes other servers, terminals, storage sites, and optionally any other suitable network device, such as network printers. The agency program can be understood as a program that is interdisposed between a user at a terminal and a server having information, such as an HTML page, that the user is interested in viewing. To this end, the agency captures accessing signals generated by the user at the terminal and representative of a request by the user to access a page signal, such as a HTML page, stored by the server. The agency captures the accessing signal and employs it to fetch from the server of the page signal that is of interest to the user. Optionally, the agency can request a page signal from another agency. The agency can then analyze and process the collected page signal so that some or all of the hypertext links within the page signal can be redirected to the agency.

Abstract: A network browsing system includes a host computer coupled to a client computer by a network. A network browser process implemented on the client computer is capable of establishing a connection with the host computer and of generating a request for desired data from the host computer which is to generate desired images on the display of the client computer. A server process implemented on the host computer services the request for desired data received from the client computer by modifying the desired data into modified data such that no additional connection between the client computer and the host computer is required to receive the entirety of the modified data. The browser process of the client computer can generate the desired images from the modified data to the same extent that it could from the originally requested desired data.

Abstract: A fast and comprehensive analysis of a database table is peformed by reading a header block describing the location of blocks storing data information of a database table. The data blocks of the database table are read using direct asynchronous IO into memory. Data read in from the data blocks is analyzed to determine information regarding the health or condition of the database table. The analysis is performed by spawning separate processes, each process being assigned an approximately equivalent number of data blocks to analyze. Once each process completes analysis of the assigned data blocks, the analysis by each thread is summarized and averaged to provide information to the DBA relating to the condition of the database table. The information gathered regarding the database table is more comprehensive than that provided by currently available database management systems and tools.

Abstract: A paged addressing method and associated apparatus for dynamically addressed disk storage subsystem. The present invention stores the logical to physical address map in the disk array. The logical to physical address map is divided into useful sized portions. The logical to physical address map portions containing the most recently used logical to physical address information are retained in cache. Paging techniques are used to swap the logical to physical address map portions from disk to cache when a host disk access requires a logical address not currently within the mapping information in local memory (e.g., cache). The present invention keeps track of the most recently used logical to physical address map portions in cache by defining a cache map. Furthermore, a directory resides in cache that keeps track of the physical address for each logical to physical address map portion. The present invention reduces memory requirements, because the memory map of the disk array is not stored within cache.

Abstract: A method and a system of database divisional management for use with a parallel database system comprising an FES (front end server), BES's (back end servers), an IOS (I/O server) and disk units. The numbers of processors assigned to the FES, BES's and IOS, the number of disk units, and the number of partitions of the disk units are determined in accordance with the load pattern in question. Illustratively, there may be established a configuration of one FES, four BES's, one IOS and eight disk units. The number of BEST's is varied from one to four depending on the fluctuation in load, so that a scalable system configuration is implemented. When the number of BES's is increased or decreased, only the management information thereabout is transferred between nodes and not the data, whereby the desired degree of parallelism is obtained for high-speed query processing.

Abstract: A system and method for facilitating decision-making comprising a computer program causing linkage of data representing a plurality of argument structure units into a hierarchical argument structure. Each argument structure unit comprises data corresponding to a hypothesis and its corresponding counter-hypothesis, data corresponding to grounds that provide a basis for inference of the hypothesis or its corresponding counter-hypothesis, data corresponding to a warrant linking the grounds to the hypothesis or its corresponding counter-hypothesis, and data corresponding to backing that certifies the warrant. The hierarchical argument structure comprises a top level argument structure unit and a plurality of subordinate level argument structure units. Each of the plurality of subordinate argument structure units comprises at least a portion of the grounds of the argument structure unit to which it is subordinate.

Abstract: One system of a multisystem environment takes over log entries owned by another system of the environment. When a system owning entries on a primary log stream is inactive (or a sync point manager on the system is inactive), another system of the multisystem environment writes the log entries corresponding to the inactive system to other locations. The entries within the other locations are not owned by any system. Thus, the resource managers associated with those log entries are eligible for restarting on any system of the multisystem environment. However, all resource managers involved in a common set of transactions are to restart on the same system. The other resource managers can restart on another system. When one of the resource managers restarts on a system, the system takes back ownership of the entries associated with the common set of transactions.

Abstract: A relational data base management system includes a query processor that uses a query operator partition property to perform QEP pruning and to ensure that data input to a query operator is partitioned appropriately for the operation. The partition property indicates the group of network nodes across which a table is distributed. The query processor also makes use of partition classes that are designated "interesting classes" to perform preoptimization planning and query pruning, and to perform look-ahead partitioning based on partition classes that are identified as being of interest to future operations, thereby more efficiently evaluating complex query statements in an MPP, shared-nothing environment.

Abstract: If an unnecessary sentence is included in data tabulated at a display, a head address is prepared in a memory region for storing a new data group. A counter m indicating a function and a counter n indicating a data number corresponding to the function are initialized. A determination whether or not the data (Y(m)) is necessary is made for every function (X(m, n)), and the only necessary data is stored in the memory. This operation is performed to check four functions and 100 pieces of data for each of the four functions. When the operation is completed, the resultant data is stored as a set of data in the memory.

Abstract: This invention provides assistance to a user in accessing network attached information sources. In one aspect, the invention is a method for intelligently routing a user query to information sources relevant to that query, extracting relevant data fields from received responses, and intelligently presenting the extracted data in order of estimated relevance. The system of this invention implements one or more steps of the method in a centralized or distributed manner on one or more network attached computers. Further, this invention provides a novel language and implementation that facilitates easily written and maintained descriptions of information source query and response formats.

Abstract: An image processing method is disclosed for generating 3-D graphical model data representing the appearance of a number of points in a 3-D region from two or more 2-D images of the region, the method comprising the steps of a) calculating, for each point, at least one variance value representing the variation, between different ones of the 2-D images in the region of the position on the 2-D images at which the point would appear if it were visible in the images; b) calculating, for each point and using a predetermined rule, a merit value from the variance values, the merit value representing the probability that, if the point lay on a visible surface in the 3-D region, the calculated variance values would be obtained; and c) assigning appearance data to each point in accordance with the merit values and the appearances of the positions on the 2-D images where the point would appear if it were visible thereon. The model is to be rendered to produce images for graphics applications.