Abstract: A method and system for creating distributed applications without programming is disclosed. A Connection Editor interacts with an interface manager attached to each program in the visual development system. The interface manager allows connections to be made using the Connection Editor between the compatible properties of disparate programs by a visual process. Upon connection, the interface manager automates data flow between disparate properties without requiring any additional programming. Furthermore, the interface manager allows for dynamic properties to be exposed based on the run-time discovery of data.

Abstract: A method to collect address trace of instructions executed by a processor has been disclosed. An embodiment of the method includes receiving a software program having a set of instructions and performing instrumentation on the software program to determine addresses of the instructions of the software program in the order in which the instructions are executed by a processor.

Abstract: A method, apparatus, and computer instructions for updating a software component. A determination is made as to whether to update the software component. The software component is updated to form an updated software component in response to a determination to update the software component. The updated software component is automatically tested. A corrective action is performed in response to a failure in testing of the updated component.

Abstract: A method, apparatus and article of manufacture is provided for debugging within a computer system network. The method uses XML dataflows from/to a console for debugging of instructions located in a server, which has a database management system for retrieving data from a database stored in an electronic storage device coupled to the server. The method uses a debugger manager at the console for commanding and monitoring debugging operations of the server-side instructions, performed by a debugger engine, and uses XML command and status report dataflows for providing a database communication interface between the debugger manager and the debugger engine. Some preferred embodiments use stored procedures in addition to the XML dataflows, and the debugger manager executes in a multi-threaded environment.

Abstract: This invention describes a system and method for branding software deployed over computer networks. A user contacts the distributor's web site and initiates a download of the software. When the user visits the download website, the identity of the particular web site from which the download was initiated is transmitted to a branding server and captured on the user's computer, preferably in the form of a cookie. Subsequently, the user contacts the branding server and branding instructions are provided to the user's computer in accordance with the cookie. Branding may take the form of featuring the distributor's web site more prominently in an “integrated shopping service” or in a directory, or it may perform other alterations to the software. Branding is controlled by the software manufacturer's branding server, and can be modified at any time after the software is released.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method and apparatus for accessing related computer objects. In one embodiment, computer objects related to a user's current task by a metric are listed. In another embodiment, other users related to a user's current task by a metric are listed. In one embodiment, the metric used to determine whether a user is related to a computer object determines whether the user accessed the computer object. In another embodiment, the metric used to determine whether a user is related to a computer object determines whether the user is referenced in the computer object. In other embodiments, the metric used to determine whether a user is related to a computer object involves other measures of relatedness. In one embodiment, the metric used to determine whether a computer object is related to another computer object determines whether the computer objects have a related user in common.

Abstract: A method and apparatus to create an intermediate language or source code file from a server-side resource or dynamic web page file using a hierarchically specified set of user controls. The source code can then be compiled into an executable class allowing for rapid generation of web page control objects that perform server-side functions, including the rendering of client responses. The code generation scheme of the present invention is capable of creating control objects connected in a hierarchy to handle event processing and the setting of attributes to the specific objects.

Abstract: A method and system for modifying program applications of a legacy computer system to directly output data as XML using a DOM instance, models the legacy computer system, maps the model to an XML schema and automatically modifies one or more applications to directly output XML formatted data from an internally constructed DOM instance in cooperation with a writer engine. The writer engine allows for an arbitrary number of contexts to be simultaneously active and builds a complete DOM instance by using the multiple contexts to buffer output data. The writer engine directly loads XML schema information to construct and output DOM instances in accordance with the schema and subject to further transformation by XSLT stylesheets.

Abstract: The invention relates to a software system and method for dynamically varying context sensitive menus of a software system. In this method, a menu item is added to a context sensitive menu of a graphical user interface (GUI) at the request of a subsystem module. Then, an activation event for the context sensitive menu is received from the GUI. The added menu item is displayed as either active or inactive based on a response to a query from the software system to a second subsystem module. The action associated with the menu item specified by the first subsystem module is executed when the menu item is selected only if it is active.

Abstract: A method and system for type demotion of expressions and variables by bitwise propagation is disclosed. In one embodiment, a method, comprises determining when an operation on a larger data type may be replaced by the operation on a smaller data type having a reduced precision, wherein the operation is contained in code associated with a language implementation system; and replacing the operation on the larger data type by the operation on the smaller data type.

Abstract: A method of debugging code that executes in a multithreaded processor having a microengines includes receiving a program instruction and an identification representing a selected one of the microengines from a remote user interface connected to the processor pausing program execution in the threads executing in the selected microengine, inserting a breakpoint after a program instruction in the selected microengine that matches the program instruction received from the remote user interface, resuming program execution in the selected microengine, executing a breakpoint routine if program execution in the selected microengine encounters the breakpoint and resuming program execution in the microengine.

Abstract: Improved techniques for loading class files into virtual computing machines are disclosed. These techniques provide a mechanism that will generally improve the efficiency of virtual machines by selectively loading information into a virtual machine. As will be appreciated, this allows a better use of the resources of the virtual machine. This is especially effective in virtual machines that operate with limited memory resources (e.g., embedded systems). In one embodiment, class files suitable for loading into a virtual machine are initially loaded into a memory portion (e.g., heap memory). Then, information that is needed to be loaded into the virtual machine is selected. Finally, only the selected information is loaded into the virtual machine.

Abstract: A method for remotely enhancing a picture archiving communication system (PACS) is provided. The method includes establishing an Internet connection with a server. The method also includes directing the server to simultaneously install software to a plurality of PACS workstations and simultaneously installing software to the plurality of PACS workstations. The method may optionally include, in the directing step, instructing the server to install at least one software update to the plurality of workstations. The method may also optionally include, in the establishing step, logging on to a web server and authenticating a user, and sending an indication message to a remote user to indicate whether the software installation was successful. An alternative embodiment provides an apparatus for remotely enhancing a picture archiving communication system. In another exemplary embodiment of the invention, a method for remotely monitoring a picture archiving communication system (PACS) is provided.

Abstract: A system and method for monitoring the performance of a computer system by dynamically interposing an instrumented trap table. A base address of a trap table, which may be contained in a trap base address register, may be changed to indicate an instrumented trap table. An instrumented trap table may gather a variety of statistics, including the type of trap and an entry timestamp. An instrumented trap table may then call a non-instrumented trap table to process the trap. A non-instrumented trap table may pass control back to the instrumented trap table to collect further statistics, for example an exit timestamp. An instrumented trap table may then return process flow to the calling routing. In this manner, useful performance statistics may be gathered while trap events are processed by regular, optimized software.

Abstract: Presented is a system and a method for installing a suite of application programs that uses a common structure of a wizard page returned from a procedure exported from a dynamic link library (DLL) or executable (EXE) file. In this way, component writers are able to write their UI in a separate DLL or executable (EXE) file for their component. This improves portability of the UI as the writers are now able to take this file and copy it from version to version without needing to rewrite or port the code in any way. Further, the system and method allow for the usage of a number of default or template UI screens. Modification of the display order, including insertion and deletion of UI screens as well as reordering of the screens is also provided by the system and method of the invention. This functionality is provided through a textural setup database file that includes a textural listing of the UI screens to be utilized. A suite integration toolkit (SIT) utilizes this text file to coordinate the UI display.

Abstract: An interpreter invocation mechanism for switching between execution of native instruction words to interpreted instruction words uses a subroutine call instruction to start execution of the interpreter. The return address of the subroutine call instruction is used as an address pointer to the start of the interpreted code. The interpreted code may terminate with an Exit instruction whereupon normal native code execution resumes using the instruction at the immediately following memory address or alternatively with a Return instruction that recovers a return address previously stored to stack memory.

Abstract: A system that provides easy testing of software objects and reduces the burden on a program developer for maintaining a test system is presented. The system accepts as an input objects and automatically creates test drivers for these objects. The test objects are provided to a test bed comprising an application server where the objects are tested by application of the test drivers. In a preferred embodiment, the test bed comprises a collection of application servers. An application service provider provides the system test driver and the test bed. Access to the test system is provided by passing a representing of the object under test to the application service provided through a network interface. The application service provider provides test services on a fee for service basis.

Abstract: A method for recording and replaying execution of distributed programs on a computer system in a distributed environment, includes identifying an execution order of critical events of a program, generating groups of critical events of the program, wherein for each group, critical events belonging to the group belong to a common execution thread, and generating for each execution thread a logical thread schedule that identifies a sequence of the groups so as to allow deterministically replaying a non-deterministic arrival of stream socket connection requests, a non-deterministic number of bytes received during message reads, and a non-deterministic binding of stream sockets to local ports.

Abstract: A method, system, and computer program product for aggregating constraints and/or preferences using an inference engine and an enhanced scripting language. Values of multiple factors and the interrelationships between the factors and their values are aggregated, and the result is used to tailor or direct the processing of a software program. This approach enables representing complex decisions in a straightforward manner, and avoids the need to modify the software program to account for new factors and/or new values thereof.

Abstract: When compiling software for a processor that supports predication, an alerting instruction can be inserted to alert a global register allocator to map particular virtual predicates into the same physical registers. Redundant predicate generating instructions are removed from the resulting program. The alerting instruction can be a predicate copy pseudo-opcode. When the register allocator maps the virtual predicates into the same physical register, the predicate copy pseudo-opcode is removed. When the register allocator does not map the virtual predicates to the same physical register, the predicate copy pseudo-opcode is replaced by an instruction that will perform a predicate copy.