Abstract: A method and system for searching databases uses query catching and/or metadata exploration features to analyze the search terms entered and present suggestions displayed on the initial search results page, together with the traditional search results. The method and system simplifies and improves the user's experience by mapping user queries to relevant methods for accessing content based on string similarity measures, term relationships, and editorial assertions. The method and system uses an underlying search engine that enhances search results and suggests topics, dates, and/or publications, displayed as links on the results page, to help focus the search using automatic indexing.

Abstract: According to embodiments of the invention a method for servicing a problem management record are provided. The method may include creating a problem management record profile from information provided in a problem management record, wherein the information includes characteristics of a client computer system and symptoms of a problem. The method may also include comparing the profile to profiles of previously resolved problem management records to find a profile having at least one matching. The method may also include contrasting information used to obtain a solution to a problem of the previously resolved problem management record to the information provided in the problem management record, wherein information used to obtain a solution which is not provided in the information provided in the problem management record is classified as additional information. The method may also include collecting the additional information, wherein collecting includes searching documentation of the client computer system.

Abstract: A system and method to discover subscriber content affinity and make corresponding recommendations is disclosed. A particular embodiment includes collecting digital content from a plurality of content feeds; receiving a subscriber-provided affinity indicator from a subscriber; filtering the digital content based on the subscriber-provided affinity indicator to produce filtered content; tracking interactions with the filtered content by the subscriber; and automatically determining implicit subscriber affinity based on subscriber interactions with the filtered content.

Abstract: A distributed cache invalidation system operating on multiple data centers utilizes metadata, read from a replication stream transmitted between data centers, to identify cached items to be invalidated.

Abstract: A method, system and computer program product for generating answers to questions. In one embodiment, the method comprises receiving an input query, identifying a plurality of candidate answers to the query; and for at least one of these candidate answers, identifying at least one proof of the answer. This proof includes a series of premises, and a multitude of documents are identified that include references to the premises. A set of these documents is selected that include references to all of the premises. This set of documents is used to generate one or more scores for the one of the candidate answers. A defined procedure is applied to the candidate answers to determine a ranking for the answers, and this includes using the one or more scores for the at least one of the candidate answers in the defined procedure to determine the ranking for this one candidate answer.

Abstract: Disclosed are various embodiments for creating a “tailored” document by combining specific parameter values with a generalized document constructed to accept parameter values. The specific parameter values may substitute for default parameter values of the general document, and/or may suggest portions of the general document that can be omitted from the tailored document. Additional specific parameter values may be retrieved by querying available data stores using one or more specific parameter values as criteria in the query. Furthermore, the tailored documents may be correlated to identify symptoms of systemic events that may be collectively reported within the individual tailored documents. For the systemic events that are identified, the tailored documents associated with the event may be modified to incorporate a suggested response in the body of the tailored documents.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for indicating location status. A computing device can receive a query from a user device, a current time, and a location for the user device. The computing device identifies results responsive to the query, including one or more business results that are each associated with a business location and operating hours. The computing device can select a subset of the business results as open results based on the operating hours of the business results, the current time, and travel times from the device location to the respective business locations. Data can be provided for a search engine results page that designates the subset of the business results as open results.

Abstract: Systems and methods are disclosed for using a first deduplicating store to update a second deduplicating store with information representing how data objects change over time, said method including: at a first and a second deduplicating store, for each data object, maintaining an organized arrangement of temporal structures to represent a corresponding data object over time, wherein each structure is associated with a temporal state of the data object and wherein the logical arrangement of structures is indicative of the changing temporal states of the data object; finding a temporal state that is common to and in temporal proximity to the current state of the first and second deduplicating stores; and compiling and sending a set of hash signatures for the content that has changed from the common state to the current temporal state of the first deduplicating store.

Abstract: Systems, methods, and other embodiments associated with virtual masked databases are described. One example system includes a masking logic to mask an unmasked column of a database table to produce a masked column. The masked column is then added to the database creating a bi-masked database. A portion of the bi-masked database is then selected by a view logic and provided to a user. The view provided to the user may allow fast, conflict free queries and updates to the database. By providing the user either masked or unmasked data based on information associated with the user, an added layer of data security may be achieved.

Abstract: A computerized-method of synchronizing data among a federation of servers interconnected over a network that has intermittent or low signal transmission bandwidth is provided. Each server in the federation of servers can receive update messages, determines connection status, maintain data catalogs and transmits updates such that nodes in the federation of servers are synchronized.

Abstract: Systems and methods are disclosed herein for generating a normalized record from an import record, the normalized record having attribute-value pairs corresponding to a native schema. In import records, a plurality of attribute-value are identified each having an attribute label not found in a native schema. One or more attribute labels in the native schema having as possible values one or more values corresponding to the values of the plurality of attribute-value pairs are also identified. The computer system generates one or more normalization rules relating one or more attribute labels of the plurality of attribute-value pairs to at least a portion of the one or more attribute labels in the native schema. Normalization rules may be validated by crowdsourcing. Normalization rules may be applied by identifying implicated rules by classifying the import record and identifying rules applicable to the classification.

Abstract: A search engine is operable to receive keyword information and semantic information that gives meaning and context to the keyword information. The search engine searches a keyword database with the keyword information to determine a set of links to web pages. The search engine also searches a semantic database with the semantic information, and ranks the set of web links based on the search.

Abstract: A framework or infrastructure (extensibility framework/infrastructure) for extending the indexing capabilities of an event processing system. The capabilities of an event processing system may be extended to support indexing schemes, including related data types and operations, which are not natively supported by the event processing system. The extensibility is enabled by one or more plug-in extension components called data cartridges.

Abstract: A method for implementing adaptive merging in database indexes includes selecting a key range from a database query having a range predicate and searching a database for data matching the key range. The data matching the key range is merged to form a collected dataset which is stored for future retrieval. A method for optimizing B-tree representation of a database using actual queries is also provided.

Abstract: The present invention extends to methods, systems, and computer program products for resolving pairwise links to groups. Embodiments of the invention use an iterative algorithm to transform a collection of pairwise links to groups of records that correspond to the same entity. The algorithm can be stopped after any number of iterations for an increasing accurate approximation result. The algorithm essentially guarantees a correct solution for groups of size up to the number of iterations. This algorithm scales linearly on the size of the record set, with little impact from the number of links.

Abstract: An approach to compression of a large (n point or samples) data set has a combination of one or more desirable technical properties: for a desired level of accuracy (?), the number of compressed points (a “coreset”) representing the original data is O(log n); the level of accuracy comprises a guaranteed bound expressed as multiple of error of an associated line simplification of the data set; for a desired level of accuracy and a complexity (e.g., number k of optimal line segments) of the associated line simplification, the computation time is O(n); and for a desired level of accuracy (c) and a complexity of the associated line simplification, the storage required for the computation is O(log n).

Abstract: Improved duplicate and near-duplicate detection techniques may assign a number of fingerprints to a given document by (i) extracting parts from the document, (ii) assigning the extracted parts to one or more of a predetermined number of lists, and (iii) generating a fingerprint from each of the populated lists. Two documents may be considered to be near-duplicates if any one of their fingerprints match.

Abstract: Embodiments of the invention provide systems and methods for generating metadata describing dependencies for composable elements. The method includes maintaining a database of composable elements. Each composable element may have associated metadata to describe dependencies for the composable elements. The method may further include receiving a request to compose two or more of the composable elements into a new element. The method may then compare the dependencies of the two or more composable elements in order to determine dependencies common to the two or more composable elements and unique to the two or more composable elements. Further, the method may determine a level of restriction for each of the common dependencies and generate metadata for the new element to include each of the unique dependencies and each of the common dependencies, wherein the common dependencies are set to the highest level of restriction.

Abstract: A mechanism is provided for filtering an address book. Contacts are read of the address book of a user. An operative connection is maintained to a social networking site related to the user. Social networking communication data of the user is extracted from the social networking site. The contacts are ranked in the address book based on the social networking communication data of the user.

Abstract: Provided are a computer program product, system, and method for maintaining multiple copy versions of component values in a system. A database includes entries for components in a system, wherein there is one entry for each of a plurality of component values associated with a component, wherein each entry indicates a range of copy versions for which the component value applies. A copy operation is performed at a current time to create a current copy version. A determination is made as to whether the component values for the components at the current time have changed since a previous copy version. The previous copy version is maintained in the database and immediately precedes the current copy version. For each component value that has changed, the entry for the component having the open indicator as the end copy version is updated to indicate the previous copy version as the end copy version.