Abstract: A method, apparatus, and article of manufacture for an index screening system. A query is executed to access data stored on a data storage device connected to a computer. In particular, while accessing one or more indexes to retrieve row identifiers, index matching predicates in the query are applied to select row identifiers and index screening predicates in the query are applied to eliminate one or more selected row identifiers.

Abstract: A method and apparatus is provided for populating an object-oriented data structure from data stored in a conventional relational database. In particular, a method and apparatus is provided for transforming the results of a complex relational database query such as a join query (i.e., where each row of results from the relational database corresponds to data from multiple tables) into a network of inter-related heterogeneous objects contained an object-oriented data structure. Further, the present invention provides a method and apparatus for more efficiently knitting the relationships between newly created objects in an object-oriented data structure.

Abstract: A method, apparatus and article of manufacture for the incremental presentation of data from non-object-oriented datastores as datastore persistent objects. A computerized system in accordance with the principles of the present invention includes a "bridge" that interfaces between an application program and a non-object-oriented database management system to materialize data retrieved from the non-object-oriented database management system as objects that can be manipulated by the application program. The bridge includes a datastore collection comprised of a specified number of datastore persistent objects. The datastore collection manages the datastore persistent objects such that they are added and deleted from the datastore collection.

Abstract: Techniques for determining a safe recovery time value after a failure of a first node in a computer system are described. According to the techniques, every node in a multi-node parallel database system maintains a logical clock for generating timestamps. The logical clocks are synchronized by attaching a current timestamp to every message that is sent by a node. When a node receives an incoming timestamp that is greater than the value indicated by the associated logical clock, it sets the associated logical clock forward to at least the value of the timestamp. When a node fails, a recovery node calculates a "safe" logical clock value to use in recovering the crashed node. In calculating the "safe" logical clock value, the recovery node searches specific areas of the database to locate and recover a most recent timestamp value associated with the crashed node.

Abstract: A method and system for persisting an object in a relational database schema by creating a new relational table at application program run-time for each class of objects to be persisted. The method may generate a schema map object for each class of objects to be persisted. The schema map object may be generated in response to the first transaction in which an object of a certain class is to be persisted and remains in memory for persisting, querying, restoring or deleting objects of that class. The schema map object determines the fields of each class of objects to be persisted, defines one or more columns in the table in accordance with the data types of the fields, and controls the passing of data between the table and the object fields.

Abstract: A method is described for operating a data processing system having a plurality of processors to sort a set of data records each having an associated key for governing the sort process. The method comprises determining a range for the key values by sampling the key values. The range is divided into a plurality of quantiles, one for each processor, each quantile having a respective index. At each processor, a plurality of buckets are defined, each bucket corresponding to a respective one of a plurality M.sub.p of subintervals in the quantile, each subinterval having a respective index. The index of the quantile in which the key value lies and the index of the subinterval in which the key value lies are determined directly from the key values using fast operations. Each key is distributed to the processor corresponding to the quantile in which the key value lies.

Abstract: Multimedia documents, for example, HTML pages, are created by a user in a graphic development environment running on a computer system by representing an object (e.g., an image) in a standard format while enabling the user to view and manipulate the object in a rich, native format which is different from the standard format. After the user has manipulated the object as desired, the native format representation of the object is automatically converted to the standard format and is used to represent the object in the multimedia document.

Abstract: A system for the management of media data and binding of media date to requests for pieces of media, which includes a plurality of procedures that can establish and write storage of new media, and make requests for media based on media source identification and range on the specified media source. A system for the management of relational information between media sources, which includes a plurality of procedures to set and query the information. Relations are established either via interaction with the sources or by user's specifications. Relations are based on positions in the source, labels on these positions and ranges from the labels indicating the length of the relation. Further the invention provides for the separation of information concerning source relations, actual media stored for these sources, and binding of media to specific needs for the media within the system.

Abstract: An advanced message queuing system is integrated into a database system. A queue is an ordered list of messages. Messages are requests for processing by an application. Messages are database objects and can represent events or data. Messages comprise user data and control information such as a queue name. Each queue is part of a table in a relational database. A queue table holds a set of queues. Dictionary tables store configuration information describing queues and queue tables. Messages are entered into a queue by instructing the database system using an enqueuing command attached to a message and control information. The control information describes how to order, schedule, and execute the message, and can include a result queue name into which a result message is written after execution. The system responds to a dequeuing command by delivering a copy of a message from the queue. A user can define message order within a queue, message delay factors, and exception processing.

Abstract: The objective of the instant invention is to define a computer user interface display system that presents hierarchical data in an enhanced tree presentation control that blends the ease-of-use character of the familiar "tree presentation control" with a technique for navigating more complex lattice data structures, while at the same time providing more node information by displaying configured lattice-node labels along with the node's name. Thus a primary objective of this invention is to facilitate building, maintaining and using a multiple inheritance taxonomy such as a product catalog data base by means of a multi-navigation path browsing system, which is made possible through the capability of this system's multiple inheritance capability; with indicators in the tree view to indicate ancestors such as immediate parents and further removed ancestors.

Abstract: A data processing device capable of digital processing of analog data and obtaining analog output signals from the result of digital processing, without the use of analog-digital converters or digital-analog converters.

Abstract: Disclosed is a structure of storing data inputted to a computer, wherein the inputted data are recorded on a memory unit in input time order such that the data is in between a pair of predetermined delimit symbols. This provides a novel data storage structure that can store all data occurred by the POS terminal.

Abstract: A technique for maintaining the integrity of data maintained in an object in a persistent store of objects. When a modification event is initiated during a transaction to modify an object, a copy of the object is created. Modifications are made to the copy of the object, and the original object remains available to be accessed with its original value. The modifications to the copy of the object can be reviewed, or further modifications can be made to the copy before the modifications are committed and the changes to the copy applied to the original object and thus available to all users of the persistent store. Alternatively, the modification event can be canceled prior to commitment and never be made available via the persistent store.

Abstract: A computer system for managing a plurality of data types. Particularly, this invention relates to a computer system for capturing instruction data, including audio, image, charts, CAD, text, numeric and background data, from an instructor and/or searched data, including text, numeric, database, diagnostic, CAD, audio and image data, for use in teaching and learning about, as well as analyzing, different subject matter.

Abstract: A method of automatically extracting metadata from a document. The method of the invention provides a computer readable document that includes blocks comprised of words, an authority list that includes common uses of a set of words, and a neural network trained to extract metadata from groupings of data called compounds. Compounds are created with one compound describing each of the blocks. Each compound includes the words making up the block, descriptive information about the blocks, and authority information associated with some of the words. The descriptive information may include such items as bounding box information, describing the size and position of the block, and font information, describing the size and type of font the words of the block use. The authority information is located by comparing each the words from the block to the authority list.

Abstract: A geographic database for use with a navigation application program that provides navigation features to an end-user. The geographic database includes data entities that represent segments of roads and additionally includes data entities that represent aggregations of segments of roads. The data entities that represent aggregations of segments of roads are used during a route calculation by the navigation application to suppress evaluation of roads of lesser functional rank thereby enhancing performance of the navigation system. According to one aspect, each of the data entities that represent segments of roads that represents a segment of a road that together with at least one other segment of a road forms part of an aggregation which is represented by one of the data entities that represent aggregations of segments of roads includes a reference thereto.

Abstract: A computer system modeling tool generates a working user interface from the entities, attributes and relationships of a data model while assuring referential data integrity and and enforcing cardinality.

Abstract: A digital semiconductor integrated circuit is equipped with: a digital signal input circuit; an analog signal input circuit made receptive of an analog signal for feeding out a digital signal corresponding to the analog signal; and a common external terminal connected commonly with the input terminals of the digital signal input circuit and the analog signal input circuit. By a suitable switch circuit, the common external terminal can be used as either an analog signal input terminal or a digital signal input terminal. As a result, the number of the external output terminals required can be reduced.

Abstract: An intelligent network agent intercepts transactions between clients and servers to perform Distributed Information Logistics Services (DILS) functions such as automatically retrieving updated files from remote servers and delivering them to local client programs. For example, HTTP clients and HTTPD servers are connectionless and stateless, thus there is no way for a server to update a browser automatically when an HTML document is changed. The invention provides a method to update any number of clients from any number of servers without making any changes to currently existing HTTP clients or HTTPD servers. Furthermore, the invention can provide various other DILS services for clients to reduce latency and communication costs for members of a group with interests in similar objects.

Abstract: A document indexing and retrieval system and method which assigns weights to the key words and assigns a relative value to pairs of key words (i.e. defines a relative relation on K.times.K) based on their frequency of occurrence and co-occurrence in the document data base. In response to a query both the weights and this relative relation are used to suggest additional and/or alternative key words which are very likely to find relevant documents. Documents are then ranked by number of hits adjusted for the weights of hit words and their relative values.