Abstract: A system is disclosed that facilitates web-based information retrieval and display system. A wireless phone or similar hand-held wireless device with Internet Protocol capability is combined with other peripherals to provide a portable portal into the Internet. The wireless device prompts a user to input information of interest to the user. This information is transmitted a query to a service routine (running on a Web server). The service routine then queries the Web to find price, shipping and availability information from various Web suppliers. This information is then available for use by various applications through an interface support framework.

Abstract: The present invention provides various methods and apparatus for providing accurate estimates for point and range queries over two-dimensional rectangular data. However, the techniques of the present invention for rectangular data can be applied to data of other shapes, point data, or linear data. The present invention provides several grouping techniques for the approximating of spatial data. A method is disclosed for grouping a plurality of spatial inputs into a plurality of buckets. In one form of the present invention the plurality of spatial inputs, is grouped based on an equi-area partitioning technique. The equi-area partitioning technique can use the longest dimension of a bucket or bounding polygon as the criteria for splitting into further buckets or bounding polygons. An equi-count technique can also be used wherein the buckets are split using the highest projected spatial input count along a dimension as a splitting criteria. The bounding polygons may be minimum bounding rectangles.

Abstract: A method and system for caching dynamic SQL statements and their sections at different nodes in a multiple node Relational Database Management System (RDBMS) while maintaining cache and application integrity across all nodes. Each node in the RDBMS having a global cache shared by all applications on that node. One of the nodes in the RDBMS being a catalogue node which controls access to a database. The catalogue node maintaining a list of participating nodes that have requested access to the database controlled by the catalogue node. The list of participating nodes being used to notify each participating node of any changes to the database that may affect the validity of a dynamic SQL statement stored in the global cache of the node.

Abstract: An incremental garbage collector is disclosed. Upon termination of a function or program, the incremental garbage collector scans the object heap for objects allocated by the function or program that are not referenced outside the function or program that allocated the objects. Memory occupied by such objects is immediately reclaimed without having to wait for the garbage collector.

Abstract: In the communication network for distributing messages such as advertisements to terminal users, an information providing system provides the suitable information to each user. The system includes a terminal connected to a communications network, a user database for storing the characteristics of each user, a message database for storing messages, and a transmittal condition database for storing the user characteristics of the class of suitable recipients for each message. A message searcher searches for messages from the transmittal condition database based on the characteristics read out from the user database. A reader reads the retrieved messages from the message database and a transmitter transmits the messages to the terminal. An adder increases the value of a parameter associated with each user when the transmitted message is displayed on the terminal. A detector detects whether the user is active, and a stop means prevents the value of the parameter from being increased when the user is inactive.

Abstract: A format structure for storing retrievably encoded data on a recording medium is disclosed. A start field for indicating the start of a data file is provided. Immediately following the start field there provided an index field for storing indexing data respecting the data file. In the index field a sequence of one or more positions of other start fields leading in one direction from a current position on the medium toward one end of the medium is stored. Immediately following the index field there is a field for storage data, which forms the data file. A method for storing encoded data on a storage medium is also disclosed. The last file stored on the medium is located. The index field of the last stored file is then retrieved. The index field associated therewith is duplicated for later use. The system then moves the storage medium to the end of the last stored file. At the current position of the medium a filemark is inserted.

Abstract: A transaction processing system comprises a querying system and a logical database having an active database and a backup database. The querying system transmits a message for a transaction to the logical database for processing. The message is transmitted to the active database where the message is processed. The active database creates transaction state data based, in part, on the message. The active database transmits a response message to the querying system and forwards the original message to the backup database. The backup database processes the original message and creates its own transaction state data. The transaction state data in the backup database operationally matches the transaction state data in the active database so that if the active database fails, the backup database includes the requisite transaction state data necessary to complete the transaction. The querying system processes the response message and transmits a termination message to the logical database for processing.

Abstract: The invention described herein is an apparatus for accessing an information repository, including computer readable program code stored on computer readable media, where the computer readable program code includes code for organizing information stored in the information repository into a hierarchy. The hierarchy is a hierarchy of a number of derived containers that are generated in conformance with an information model which is a hierarchy of type-defined container definition nodes. Each of the derived containers corresponds to one of the type-defined container definition nodes, represents a category of information in the information repository, and has contents which can be other derived containers and/or information extracted from the information repository.

Abstract: A computing device has a database replica comprised of a plurality of records. A synchronization request is provided to a further computing device having a further database replica which is comprised of a further plurality of records. A version table maintains version numbers for each of the plurality of records. The version numbers each have a maximum size. The maximum size is selectable. The plurality of records may be synchronized with the further plurality of records based upon the version numbers.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for accessing an information repository, including computer readable program code stored on computer readable media, where the computer readable program code includes code for organizing information stored in the information repository into a location tree of a hierarchy of information, and the code creates a hierarchy of a number of derived containers that have contents and are generated in conformance with an information model which has a hierarchy of type-defined container definition nodes, where some of the derived containers correspond to type-defined container definition nodes that are location-based container definition nodes that represent a category of information in the information repository.

Abstract: Described above are methods of authoring multimedia titles and of storing and delivering multimedia content that implements guaranteed seamless branching on digital media with high seek latency and a fixed upper bound on this latency. Continuous media content is arranged as individual clips on a storage medium. Seamless branches between clips are identified by an author. A method is disclosed to identify individual clips as carrier clips or non-carrier clips to guarantee specified seamless behavior while optimizing bridge memory usage and availability of seamless jumps. Bridge data of a particular target media clip is interleaved or otherwise associated on the storage medium with a carrier clip that is upstream of the target media clip, and delivered along with the upstream media clip. As bridge data are delivered, they are stored in bridge memory, to be used to implement a subsequent seamless branch.

Abstract: An information sharing system using a computer so as to allow a plurality of users to share disclosed information, the system comprising, input section for receiving responses to the disclosed information from references of the disclosed information, evaluation information generation section for totalizing and processing the responses to generate evaluation information and storing the evaluation information after correlating it with the disclosed information, and evaluation information notifying section for presenting the evaluation information generated by the evaluation information generation section.

Abstract: A system, method, and computer program product for processing data are described herein. The system maintains first databases of patents, and second databases of non-patent information of interest to a corporate entity. The system also maintains one or more groups. Each of the groups comprises any number of the patents from the first databases. The system, upon receiving appropriate operator commands, automatically processes the patents in one of the groups in conjunction with non-patent information from the second databases. Accordingly, the system performs patent-centric and group-oriented processing of data. A group can also include any number of non-patent documents. The groups may be product based, person based, corporate entity based, or user-defined. Other types of groups are also covered, such as temporary groups.

Abstract: Given a log of previous web-surfer behavior listing the order in which each surfer downloaded specific items at the web site, and given a meaningful classification of those same items, future surfer behavior is predicted by the present invention. The algorithm utilizes a quantitative model relating items downloaded prior to some specified event to items downloaded after that same event. When the model is applied to a new surfer's session prior to an analogous event, the present invention predicts the likely behavior of the surfer subsequent to that event. The predicted behavior is then further analyzed to derive a quantitative value for the utility of the expected behavior. By randomly selecting sample sessions from a web log, multiple models of surfer behavior can be generated. The multiple models can then be applied to a new surfer's session to produce a predicted behavior/utility distribution and thus a confidence interval for the predicted behavior/utility.

Abstract: A file sharing system implemented on a system having a server system and a plurality of client systems connected to the server system via a network. The file sharing system includes a WWW server provided in the server system, a first storage unit provided in the server system and storing files, a WWW-server-function extension unit provided in the server system and operating in association with the WWW server to control the files based on file identifiers. The file sharing system further includes a WWW browser provided in a client system which is one of the client systems and receiving one of the files and a corresponding file identifier from the server device, a second storage unit provided in the client system and storing the one of the files, a WWW-browser-function extension unit provided in the client system and operating in association with the WWW browser to activate an application to update the one of the files and to send an updated file and the corresponding file identifier to the server system.

Abstract: Searching a file in a format unsupported by a search engine by creating term-topic links with associated probabilities. A file is retrieved comprising a compressed HTML file or a webpage. The file is parsed to retrieve data associated with title tags and body tags. In addition, user queries are received so that the user may associate a query with the title data. Term-topic links are created by linking terms from the retrieved data and the query with a topic. Heuristics are then used to determine the probability associated with each term-topic link. Term-topic links having a term containing nouns are assigned a higher probability than verbs, verbs are assigned a higher probability than adjectives, and adjectives and adverbs are assigned the same probability. The term-topic links are trained by adjusting the assigned probabilities based on a user defined query and an associated target topic.

Abstract: The invention described herein is an apparatus for accessing an information repository, including computer readable program code stored on computer readable media, where the computer readable program code includes code for organizing information stored in the information repository into a hierarchy. The hierarchy is a hierarchy of a number of derived containers that are generated in conformance with an information model which is a hierarchy of container definition nodes. Each of the derived containers corresponds to a different one of the container definition nodes, represents a category of information in the information repository, and has contents which can be other derived containers and/or information extracted from the information repository.

Abstract: A system that automatically restructures SGML documents into a format referred to as card-based documents is based on a Card Layout Style Specification Language (CLSSL). The CLSSL controls the information, arrangement, sequencing, and presentation features of the cards. The system includes a scroll-card transformer, a media-card extractor, a card style editor, a platform-independent generator and a platform dependent generator. SGML documents are first transformed in scroll-card transformer into cards based on various scroll-to-card transformation guidelines. The non-textual media that are associated with textual documents are also transformed in the media-card extractor by extracting a portion of the information for individual cards. Once the textual and non-textual documents are transformed properly into cards, the card layout style editor is used to create the formatting commands, referred to as Card Layout Style Specifications (CLSS), for each type of card in the card-based manual.

Abstract: Source data is more efficiently copied to log structured target storage by pre-configuring the target storage. The invention may be practiced in a system including a host, a storage controller, and the target storage. The host maintains a directory identifying logical units of stored data, and the storage controller maintains records classifying storage space as uncollected free space, collected free space, or space-in-use. First, the host receives input including source data and specification of a logical unit for the source data. In response, the host directs the storage controller to classify any storage space of the log target storage containing data of the specified logical unit as uncollected free space. This pre-configures the log structured storage to more efficiently receive the source data.

Abstract: A system and method of providing incremental updates for a geographical data set for use in navigation systems. The system and method include organizing updates of geographical data set into a series of transactions. Each of the transactions includes a transaction identifier that uniquely identifies the transaction, and n steps to be applied to the geographical data set to complete the transaction. All the steps of the transaction are required to be successfully applied in order for the transaction to be completed, otherwise, the entire transaction is not applied.