Abstract: A method and system is provided for facilitating the retrieval of data from a database using a communications device where the database is stored remotely from the communications device. A communications device using the method or system may obtain remote data, such as e-mail addresses, facsimile numbers, phone numbers, or uniform resource locators, from a user's remotely stored personal database.

Abstract: Method, system and article of manufacture for a query analysis approach used to identify the contribution each criterion has on overall query results. Generally, for each criterion (or criteria set) defined by a query, an assessment is made of the change in the number of items returned from the query if the criterion (or criteria set) is removed.

Abstract: A data structure, method, and computer system for fast data copy is provided which uses control structures in a data copy track table. The control structures include a physical location pointer, a physical location pointer flag, a forward track pointer and a backward source pointer. These control structures are used in an update-in-place architecture. Requests for source or target data updates do not require additional write cycles.

Abstract: A method for responding to search requests for stored documents. Each of the stored documents includes metadata, content, and a document type identifier for identifying a type of the document. A search request including document type criteria, metadata criteria, and content criteria, is received. A first set of documents based on the metadata criteria is identified. Documents in the first set that have a document type identifier that matches the document type criteria are identified. A search method is identified from a plurality of search methods for searching the content of the identified documents in the first set based on the document type identifier of the documents. The content of the identified documents in the first set is searched using the identified search method and the content criteria.