Abstract: The present invention relates to a system (10) for generating and maintaining virtual and physical metadata layers in a MetaBase metadata repository (110b) in order to simplify and optimize the retrieval of data from a plurality of disparate information sources (130a-130c). The system stores in a physical metadata layer of a MetaBase metadata repository a plurality of physical metadata elements, wherein each one of the physical metadata elements corresponds to the metadata elements in the plurality of information sources. Logical metadata elements are stored in the virtual metadata layer and are linked to the physical metadata elements in order to maintain the relationships therebetween.

Abstract: Systems and/or methods are presented that facilitate determining the contextual influence of a user in referrals of products or services, and determining an amount of compensation for successful referrals based on the contextual influence of the user. A central service component can track activity and receive data associated with referrals, including data related to the number and type of referrals, and the number of successful referrals. An evaluation component can analyze referral data associated with the user and can determine a conversion ratio as the number of successful referrals compared to the total number of referrals. The evaluation component can utilize the conversion ratio to facilitate determining an amount of compensation that can be awarded and distributed to the user based on the influence of the user within the context of the product or service referred by the user.

Abstract: Concurrent cuckoo hashing is performed on a hash table that includes a number of locations; each may hold a value. A plurality of processes may concurrently execute on the table; each process includes a sequence of operations, which are divided into a number of phases. Each phase corresponds to one operation in the sequence. An overflow buffer is provided for each location in the table. Each overflow buffer may hold a value displaced from its corresponding location in the table. A plurality of sequences of operations is concurrently executed. Each phase in a sequence executes by acquiring one or two locks on two locations in the table; a lock acts on a location and its overflow buffer. An operation of a phase is then executed. If, on conclusion of the phase execution, any overflow buffer holds a value, the execution is repeated until all overflow buffers are empty.

Abstract: A method and system for automatic distributed tuning of search engine parameters includes receiving a search parameter at a search engine. The search engine is equipped with a plurality of tunable knobs set at an initial setting. The search parameter is quantified by the initial setting of the plurality of tunable knobs. A search result is generated for the search parameter based on the initial setting of the plurality of tunable knobs. The search result includes a plurality of result objects. The search result is presented by the search engine. One or more result objects selected from the search result over time, is determined. The plurality of tunable knobs in the search engine are automatically tuned using one or more search algorithms to obtain optimal search result based on the selection of the result objects over time.

Abstract: An electronic data structure comprises benchmark information and an authorizing section for access to said benchmark information. A method processes and stores data objects by means of one or more processes running in a computer system having one or more of the electronic data structures. A request for benchmark information is received from a second party, the request including identification information of the second party. The benchmark information is analyzed to determine whether it contains in its electronic data structures and whether the authorizing section of the electronic data structure includes the identification information. Based on the determination, the benchmark information is presented to the second party.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method of manipulating a software application and processing data stored in a data source. The method includes receiving a natural language input and analyze the natural language input to identify semantic information contained therein. Portions of the natural language input are associated with command objects and entity objects of a schema based on the semantic information and the natural language input. The method also includes rendering data from the data source in a table of columns and rows based on the schema and the associated portions of the natural language input.

Abstract: Enabling secure and efficient marshaling, utilization, and releasing of handles in either of an operating system or runtime environment includes wrapping a handle with a counter to tabulate a number of threads using currently using the handle. Thus, handle administration is implemented to circumvent potential security risks, avoid correctness problems, and foster more efficient handle releasing.

Abstract: When an album search is started, message “For Album?” which prompts the user to select album search is displayed. When the user has selected the album search, message “By Title?” which prompts the user to select album title name search is displayed. When the user has selected the title name search, message “Keyword IN” which prompts the user to input a key word is displayed. When the user has input key word “P” for the search, the HD recording and reproducing device 300 references the album/track name database file and searches the database file for an album title name containing the input key word. The search result is displayed. In addition, highlight portions of tracks of an album corresponding to the search result are successively reproduced from track 1.

Abstract: A method and a device for simulating process flows in the graphics industry and for displaying the result calculated in the simulated process flows. The method is characterized by the following steps: inputting and/or selecting at least one order data set inputting and/or selecting at least one process data set calculating links between order data set and process data set as a function of the order data set and the process data set creating a process flow from the calculated links calculating the result and/or intermediate results for a process flow using the underlying order data set outputting the result and/or intermediate results.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method to synchronize the state of an application and an application's objects with data stored on the storage system. The storage system provides API's to create special data, called a marker journal, and stores it on a journal volume. The marker contains application information, e.g. file name, operation on the file, timestamp, etc. Since the journal volume contains markers as well as any changed data in the chronological order, IO activities to the storage system and application activities can be synchronized.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus, including computer program products, that include representing, in a repository, services from a server, the services including interacting with one or more collections of data elements using a set of operations on the data elements in the collections, the repository comprising descriptions of the collections and common attributes for each collection, the repository organized according to a meta model. The method also includes enabling a software entity to request a service represented in the repository, the service representing a first operation on one or more data elements in a first collection from the collections, and executing the first operation on the one or more data elements in the first collection.

Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for data processing. As disclosed herein, such systems and methods may include providing a data model with a set of entity types and set of attributes for each entity type, providing customizing data for the data model, the customizing data indicating data sources for the attributes and describing data structures being provided by the data sources, querying the attribute data for at least a first attribute of the set of attributes of one of the entity types, determining from the customizing data, if a single data source for the first attribute data of the one of the entity types is available, if such a single data source is not available, determining at least first and second ones of the data sources which in combination comprise the first attribute data of the one of the entity types, generating a sub-query for each one of the at least first and second data sources, and combining the results of the sub-queries to provide a query result.

Abstract: A method for storing a data block, comprising compressing the data block using a first compression algorithm to obtain a compressed data block, generating a data block compression header, combining the compressed data and the data compression header to obtain a compressed data block package, storing the compressed data block package in a storage pool, obtaining a compressed data block package location, calculating a data block checksum for the compressed data block, and storing a first indirect block in the storage pool, wherein the first indirect block comprises the compressed data block package location, the data block checksum, and a compression flag.

Abstract: A differential compression method and computer program product combines hash value techniques and suffix array techniques. The invention finds the best matches for every offset of the version file, with respect to a certain granularity and above a certain length threshold. The invention has two variations depending on block size choice. If the block size is kept fixed, the compression performance of the invention is similar to that of the greedy algorithm, without the expensive space and time requirements. If the block size is varied linearly with the reference file size, the invention can run in linear-time and constant-space. It has been shown empirically that the invention performs better than certain known differential compression algorithms in terms of compression and speed.

Abstract: A fact table is set up without any dimension columns. The data in the table is ordered according to an order corresponding to the ordering of the dimensions. The table is divided into segments corresponding to contiguous portions of data. The portions of the table containing non-null values for the measures are placed into the segments. The size of the segments and the location segments may be determined according to the density of discontinuities in the data. An indexed organized table is used to determine the beginning and end of each segment of the table, the locations of the discontinuities in the data, and to facilitate accessing the measures of the table.

Abstract: A distributed query engine pipeline architecture comprises cascaded analysis engines that accept an input query and each identifies a portion of the input query that it can pass on to an execution engine. Each stage rewrites the input query to remove the portion identified and replaces it with a placeholder. The rewritten query is forwarded to the next analysis engine in the cascade. Each engine compiles the portion it identified so that an execution engine may process that portion. Execution preferably proceeds from the portion of the query compiled by the last analysis engine. The execution engine corresponding to the last analysis engine executes the query and makes a call to the next higher execution engine in the cascade for data from the preceding portion. The process continues until the results from the input query are fully assembled.

Abstract: Tag registration information, keyword registration information, and state management information are generated based on a search condition, and a tag search of detecting a tag registered in the tag registration information from document data of a structured document is switched to and from a keyword search of detecting a keyword registered in the keyword registration information according to the state management information.

Abstract: Method, system and article of manufacture for scheduling queries. In particular, the scheduling options made available to a user for a particular unit of work are determined dynamically at the time of scheduling. In this way, the execution cost, for example, of a particular unit of work can be taken into account when determining which scheduling options to make available. In addition, or alternatively, system availability and/or user parameters may be accounted for when determining which scheduling options to make available.

Abstract: Methods and systems consistent with the present invention provide distributed storage systems that are scalable, secure, available, and manageable. These storage systems may utilize a single storage switch and allow resource sharing while securely separating customer data. A snapshot capability may be provided to capture a point-in-time image of the stored data and to track changes made to the stored data relative to a point-in-time image.

Abstract: This invention addresses to execute an emergency access interception in a widely distributed environment. An access controller 100 manages an access control list (ACL) 110 recording access right to each object, and a black list (BL) 120 recording user information corresponding to the emergency access interception. The access controller 100 receives a request for authentication to access right and judges whether or not the access right is proper, first according to the BL 120 then ACL110. In case where the user information corresponding to the request is recorded in the BL 120, the access controller 100 sends out the user information to other access controllers and instructs them to register it in the black list. This invention effectively actualizes the emergency access interception under the widely distributed environment in case where the interception is required for any user.