Abstract: A method and apparatus for distribution of applications amongst a number of servers, ensuring that changes to application data on a master for that application are asynchronously replicated to a number of slaves for that application. Servers may be located in geographically diverse locations; the invention permits data replication over high-latency and lossy network connections and failure-tolerance under hardware and network failure conditions. Access to applications is mediated by a distributed protocol handler which allows any request for any application to be addressed to any server, and which, when working in tandem with the replication system, pauses connections momentarily to allow seamless, consistent live-migration of applications and their state between servers.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for metadata management. One of the methods includes receiving user input selecting a first node. The method includes receiving a first data lineage of a first object, the first object having a type, the first data lineage describing relationships between the first object and one or more datasets or transforms. The method includes receiving user input selecting a second node. The method includes receiving a second data lineage of a second object, the second object having the same type as the first object. The method includes performing a comparison of the first node and the first data lineage to the second node and the second data lineage. The method includes generating a report based on the comparison.

Abstract: An method for searching a database and sorting the results of a search to identify important, authoritative, and seminal records and to bring them to the front of the search result. The method comprises a means of rapidly identifying references to other records within each record and an algorithm that uses those references to identify the seminal, authoritative, and important cases. The invention may be used in legal research, permitting researches to find additional seminal documents that are missed by a standard Boolean search and to sort search results by seminality so that they can rapidly find the seminal case in an area of law.

Abstract: Disclosed are systems and methods for predicting demographics about authors of social media. A dataset relates features from social media messages to known demographic information about authors of the social media messages. The social media messages and known demographics may be retrieved from different social media services. Adjustable weights are associated with alternative demographic values for the features. The dataset is used to predict unknown demographics of users based on the adjustable weights associated with the alternative demographic values for extracted features from social media messages. A confidence level may be output for a predicted demographic that corresponds to a difference between a sum of weights associated with the predicted value and another demographic value. The predicted demographic value may be output when the confidence level exceeds a threshold. The weights may be updated when the confidence level is below the threshold even when the prediction is correct.

Abstract: A method of determining the complexity of a collaborative effort which method includes receiving data via a processor, the data including identities of social actors or sets of social actors in the collaborative effort, and storing the data in a repository accessible by the processor; defining nodes, via the processor, and associating the nodes with each of the social actors of or with each of the sets of social actors in the collaborative effort to define nodes that represent each of the social actors or each of the sets of social actors; identifying, via the processor, one or more dimensions for each social actor; defining a coordination complexity (G), via the processor, and determining, for each dimension, a sum of a difference between every two of the nodes, multiplying the sum by a weight specific for that dimension, and adding each of the multiplied sums for each dimension. In another aspect, the invention includes a system of determining complexity of a collaborative effort.

Abstract: Systems and methods for managing data, such as metadata. In one exemplary method, metadata from files created by several different software applications are captured, and the captured metadata is searched. The type of information in metadata for one type of file differs from the type of information in metadata for another type of file. Other methods are described and data processing systems and machine readable media are also described.

Abstract: Systems, methods, and other embodiments associated with a unit of work for incremental data processing are described. In one embodiment, a method includes selecting a unit of work key for a program that processes records in a source table. The unit of work key is selected such that modifications to a record having a certain unit of work key value will not affect the program's processing of records having a different unit of work key value. The selected unit of work key is associated with the program. When a record in the source table is created, modified, or deleted, a unit of work key value is identified for the record and a selected set of records having the identified unit of work key value is provided to the program. Thus, records in the data source that do not have the identified unit of work key values are not provided to the program.

Abstract: A distributed garbage collection in a distributed storage system is described, where the storage controller functions of the distributed storage system are separated from that of distributed storage system storage media. In an exemplary embodiment, a storage controller server generates a live object map of live objects stored on the distributed storage system in a plurality of block segments distributed across a plurality of storage controller servers. The storage controller server further scans the plurality of block segments to generate segment summary statistics, where the segment summary statistics indicates the number of live objects stored in the plurality of block segments. In addition, the storage controller server compacts each of the plurality of block segments that have a low utilization based on the segment summary statistics. Furthermore, the live object map is a probabilistic data structure storing a list of valid objects.

Abstract: For managing a database in a data-processing system, a polymorph table and a mapping structure are provided. The polymorph table includes a discrimination column and a total number of columns of each type equal to a maximum of the virtual columns of the type. The mapping structure stores information mapping each virtual column to a polymorph column of the same type. A virtual access request is received based on one of the virtual columns of one of the virtual tables. Selected mapping information is retrieved that maps each selected virtual column to one of the polymorph columns. The virtual access request is converted into a polymorph access request according to an identifier of the selected virtual table and the selected mapping information. The polymorph table is accessed according to the polymorph access request.

Abstract: A computer-implemented method for deduplicating archive objects may include (1) tagging, using an archiving service, archive objects to indicate data related to the archive objects, (2) assigning an archive object and an additional archive object to be processed by a deduplication engine, (3) determining a degree of overlap between the archive object and the additional archive object based on tags assigned to the archive object and the additional archive object by the archiving service, and (4) adjusting, using the deduplication engine, deduplication between the archive object and the additional archive object using the degree of overlap determined to exist between the archive object and the additional archive object based on the tags assigned by the archiving service. Various other methods, systems, and computer-readable media are also disclosed.

Abstract: The methods and systems described herein may involve determining at least one lifeotype of at least one individual, analyzing the at least one lifeotype, and delivering content to at least one individual based on the analysis. The methods and systems described herein may involve providing a game, determining at least one lifeotype of at least one player of the game, analyzing the at least one lifeotype, and affecting the game play based on the analysis. The methods and systems described herein may involve providing an interactive space, determining at least one lifeotype of at least one individual in the space, analyzing the at least one lifeotype, and modifying at least one attribute of the space based on the analysis.

Abstract: Target file generation systems and methods are described, which are optionally for use by ordinary computer users enable those users to readily generate target files without the requirement that they know the internal layout structures of the target files. A user is enabled to select a template file from a plurality of template files via a user interface configured to be displayed on a computer display to the user, wherein the template files include changeable fields associated with corresponding field delimiters and prompting labels. An incomplete software program file containing variable name locations is accessed from memory. The program file is parsed to locate the variable name locations. The label names obtained from the template file selected by the user are inserted into the variable name locations to further complete the software program file. The software program file is stored in computer memory.

Abstract: A computer program product includes a computer readable storage medium having program instructions embodied therewith, the program instructions executable by a processor to cause the processor to perform a method including receiving input from a first communication device of a first user identifying a target sentiment associated with a second user, monitoring current online activity of the second user to determine a current sentiment for the second user, and initiating communication between the first communication device of the first user and a second communication device of the second user in response to the current sentiment of the second user meeting the target sentiment input by the first user.

Abstract: Among other things, a user can navigate a database of philanthropic charities systematically to select a set of charities of interest, by interactively specifying in any order a succession of one or more (e.g., up to five) different criteria to narrow the selection from more general to more specific. A result of applying each of the criteria is displayed in real time to the user.

Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention disclose a method, computer program product, and system for optimizing spatial queries, the method comprising a computer receiving a spatial data set, and a target spatial shape. The computer determining a distribution data set which aligns with the geometry of the spatial data set. The computer performing a query to determine a list of full and partial shapes of the spatial data set located within the target spatial shape. The computer determining a ratio for a determined partial shape of the spatial data set using the distribution data set. The computer determining an apportioned value of a variable of the spatial data set within the determined partial shape. The computer summarizing into a result set the value of the variable within the determined list of full and partial shapes of the spatial data set.

Abstract: A mechanism is provided in a data processing system for managing filesystem inodes. The mechanism monitors inode consumption in a filesystem. The mechanism periodically determines a number of inodes to add to the filesystem based on the inode consumption and adds the number of inodes to the filesystem.

Abstract: Systems and methods for managing data, such as metadata or index databases. In one exemplary method, a notification that an existing file has been modified or that a new file has been created is received by an indexing software component, which then, in response to the notification performs an indexing operation, where the notification is either not based solely on time or user input or the notification includes an identifier that identifies the file. Other methods in data processing systems and machine readable media are also described.

Abstract: A sandboxed process is initiated in response to a request for a preview of dynamic media content. A stream of frames is generated in a preview specific format by a plug-in that executes within the sandboxed process. The stream of frames is provided as the preview of the dynamic media content, where the preview is viewable on a display screen.

Abstract: Embodiments are directed to processing queries using schema graph traversal and to establishing a schema graph that allows queries to be answered by traversing graph nodes. In one scenario, a computer system receives a query which specifies relational tables and corresponding relationships that are to be retrieved from a relational database. The computer system accesses a schema graph that includes graph nodes representing relational tables, as well as edges that identify relationships between the relational tables. The graph nodes include relational data that was loaded from one storage area (e.g. a non-volatile storage area), and the schema graph is stored in a second storage area (e.g. a volatile storage area). The computer system then traverses the schema graph, beginning at a set of graph nodes and continuing along the edges to other graph nodes until the query has been satisfied, and then reports the results of the graph traversal.

Abstract: Systems and methods for processing media files are described. In one embodiment, one or more events are captured having associated event data and associated with a client device, wherein each event is associated with an article and at least one of the articles is a media file, wherein at least one of the events is captured in real time upon the occurrence of the event, at least some of the event data and articles associated with the events are indexed and stored, a search query is received, and the at least one media file is determined as relevant to the search query.