Abstract: An online customer support system (20) automates access for a user to a variety of types of information (24-31) maintained within a database (22). In a disclosed example, a dynamic user profile management module (50) automatically establishes a user profile including entitlements to sets of information within the database (22) each time a user accesses the system. A disclosed entitlement inference module (54) recognizes explicit entitlements based on accessibility indicators or infers entitlements based on various disclosed factors or relationships. A disclosed linking module (52) automatically determines a probability that a user can be granted another entitlement that was not granted by the entitlement inference module (54). An example process of registering a user includes requiring only a single piece of information from the user to automatically establish access for that user to an associated portion of the database (22) and any other portions of the database (22) that user should be able to access.

Abstract: A distributed storage system employs a Key-Value Store to dynamically change a table layout scheme based on user access patterns. The system can be used as a basic architecture to construct a distributed Key-Value Store to support both row-oriented and column-oriented table layout schemes, by using DHT (Distributed Hash Table) technology for high scalability.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for a new approach to the problem of finding communities in complex networks relating to a social definition of communities and percolation are disclosed. Instead of partitioning the graph into separate subgraphs from top to bottom a local algorithm (communities of each vertex) allows overlapping of communities. The performance of an algorithm on synthetic, randomly-generated graphs and real-world networks is used to benchmark this method against others. An heuristic is provided to generate a list of communities for networks using a local community finding algorithm. Unlike diffusion based algorithms, The provided algorithm finds overlapping communities and provides a means to measure confidence in community structure. It features locality and low complexity for exploring the communities for a subset of network nodes, without the need for exploring the whole graph.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for a new approach to the problem of finding communities in complex networks relating to a social definition of communities and percolation are disclosed. Instead of partitioning the graph into separate subgraphs from top to bottom a local algorithm (communities of each vertex) allows overlapping of communities. The performance of an algorithm on synthetic, randomly-generated graphs and real-world networks is used to benchmark this method against others. An heuristic is provided to generate a list of communities for networks using a local community finding algorithm. Unlike diffusion based algorithms, The provided algorithm finds overlapping communities and provides a means to measure confidence in community structure. It features locality and low complexity for exploring the communities for a subset of network nodes, without the need for exploring the whole graph.

Abstract: An indication of refusal of a lock request is received with a first operation identifier for a resource that is already locked with a lock associated with a second operation identifier from an agent that controls the resource, wherein the agent returns a value that determines how long the lock request is to stay on the queue. The lock request is placed in a queue with a lock queue timeout period based on the value from the agent. The lock request is reissued if the lock associated with the second operation identifier has been released and the lock request reaches a position of the queue from which the lock request is processed within the lock queue timeout period. The lock request is re-queued if the reissued lock request is not granted based on how many times the lock request has been previously placed in the queue.

Abstract: A method for organizing images from multiple image capture devices includes allowing the determination of an offset between image capture times recorded in a first image capture device and image capture times recorded in a second image capture device, adjusting the image capture times recorded in the second image capture device by the offset to produce adjusted image capture times by a computer processor, and sequencing images taken by the first image capture device and the second image capture device in an chronological order. The sequencing is based on the image capture times for the images captured by the first image capture device and the adjusted image capture times for the images captured by the second image capture device.

Abstract: There is provided a computer-implemented method of optimizing a query. An exemplary method comprises determining a maximum cardinality for an operator. The query may comprise the operator. The exemplary method also comprises determining a plurality of potential implementations for the operator. The exemplary method additionally comprises generating a query plan for the query based on the maximum cardinality and the potential implementations.

Abstract: A system and method for suggesting keywords for tagging a digital image are provided. In general, a requesting node is communicatively coupled to a keyword service via a network. The requesting node sends a request to the keyword service requesting suggested keywords for a digital image. The request includes information relating to the digital image such as positional information. Based on the information, the keyword service generates a list of suggested keywords and provides the list of suggested keywords to the requesting node. At the requesting node, the list of suggested keywords is displayed to a user, and the user selects one or more of the suggested keywords for tagging the digital image.

Abstract: A computer implemented method for displaying real-time computer mediated user consumption data, comprising: accessing consumption data corresponding to real-time computer mediated user consumption behavior; parsing the consumption data to identify one or more events comprising one or more instances of consumption data and wherein each event is associated with a user; adding the events to an event stack comprising a predetermined stack limit; and storing the consumption data for each event in a data structure configured to correlate related consumption data and provide a temporal context to the stored consumption data wherein addition of graphical symbols to a visualization display is responsive to the arrangement of the consumption data in the data structure.

Abstract: A host server hosting one or more virtual machines can back up host volumes and the one or more virtual machines installed thereon in an application-consistent manner. In one implementation, a host-level requestor instructs a host-level writer to identify which virtual machines qualify for application-consistent backups. The host-level requestor then instructs the host-level writer to initiate virtual machine backups through guest-level requesters in each appropriately-configured virtual machine, wherein the virtual machines create application-consistent backups within the virtual machine volumes. The host-level requester then initiates snapshots of the server volumes on the host-level. The virtual machine-level snapshots can thus be retrieved from within the host-level snapshots of the server volumes.

Abstract: System configuration is verified. Configuration information for a managed system is generated. The configuration information indicates existing software and hardware residing on the managed system. The configuration information is sent from the managed system to a management system. The management system compares the configuration information from the managed system with database information that indicates software and hardware supported by the management system in order to generate validity information that indicates any software or hardware on the managed system that is not supported by the management system. The validity information is sent from the management system to the managed system.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for a new approach to the problem of finding communities in complex networks relating to a social definition of communities and percolation are disclosed. Instead of partitioning the graph into separate subgraphs from top to bottom a local algorithm (communities of each vertex) allows overlapping of communities. The performance of an algorithm on synthetic, randomly-generated graphs and real-world networks is used to benchmark this method against others. An heuristic is provided to generate a list of communities for networks using a local community finding algorithm. Unlike diffusion based algorithms, The provided algorithm finds overlapping communities and provides a means to measure confidence in community structure. It features locality and low complexity for exploring the communities for a subset of network nodes, without the need for exploring the whole graph.

Abstract: Mechanisms of memory management in a real time runtime environment having a garbage collected memory heap are provided. The runtime environment includes a critical real time thread that is precluded from accessing the garbage collected memory heap. The runtime environment further includes a scoped memory area for the allocation of objects therein for access by the critical real time thread. The mechanisms determine whether the critical real time thread is in a defined state in which a delay associated with garbage collection can be accommodated by the critical thread. The mechanisms further initiate, in response to a determination that the critical real time thread is in the defined state, a process of garbage collection of the scoped memory area.

Abstract: Various mechanisms are provided for the lockdown of an item store. For example, a method is provided that comprises of disabling access to a relational engine for a set of users associated with a filing system utilizing the relational engine to manipulate data in an item store. Following such disabling of access, an exception is created by allowing access to the relational engine for users of the filing system based on a set of privileges the users have been assigned. The disabling of access can be accomplished by removing system users from ownership roles, and the allowing of access can be accomplished by providing certificates to users that have associated set of privileges granted to the users.

Abstract: A blog search engine may receive a search query. The blog search engine may determine scores for a group of blog documents in response to the search query, where the scores are based on a relevance of the group of blog documents to the search query and a quality of the group of blog documents. The blog search engine may also provide information regarding the group of blog documents based on the determined scores.

Abstract: A method, system, and computer program product for selecting indexes to be created over XML data are provided. The method, system, and computer program product provide for receiving a workload for the XML data, the workload including one or more database statements, and utilizing an optimizer to recommend a set of one or more path expressions based on the workload received, wherein the set of one or more path expressions is to be used to create one or more indexes over the XML data.

Abstract: A database of hyperlinks, stored in a hyperlink store or distributed across multiple machines such as a scalable hyperlink store, may be incrementally updated. When data is added, instead of modifying an existing data store, a hierarchy of data stores is built. The data stores are merged together, such that a new store is a suffix on an old store. Additions and updates go into new stores, which are relatively small. Lookups consult new stores first. A background thread merges adjacent stores. For example, a batch of updates is collected and incorporated into a new store and then the store is sealed. Subsequent updates are added to yet another new store. Stores are merged occasionally to prevent the chain of stores from becoming too long. Once the batch has been integrated, the new stores are sealed and are used to answer subsequent queries.

Abstract: A system and method for obtaining and processing web-scale data are provided herein. More particularly, a web-scale data processing system and method for crawling, storing, processing, encoding, and/or serving web-scale data are disclosed.

Abstract: A query generator for generating a query that returns a result set comprising data retrieved from a database and data returned by an analytic function that operates on at least a portion of the retrieved data is disclosed.

Abstract: Under control of a first agent, a resource controlled by a second agent is locked with a first operation identifier. Under control of the second agent: a request is received to lock the resource controlled by the second agent with a second operation identifier for a client request for a client application, wherein the resource is already locked with the first operation identifier; it is determined whether the first operation identifier and the second operation identifier are determined to be a same identifier; if it is determined that the first operation identifier and the second operation identifier are the same identifier, the request is responded to with an indication that the resource is locked with the same operation identifier; and, if it is determined that the first operation identifier and the second operation identifier are not the same identifier, the lock request is denied.