Patents by Inventor Alan Demers

Alan Demers has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20060155789
    Abstract: Techniques for making a replica of a particular group of database objects of a database on a particular node that does not initially have the particular group of database objects include determining whether conditions for copying a full database from a first node are satisfied. If conditions for copying the full database from the first node are not satisfied, then a database-object-copy routine is employed for each database object in the particular group of database objects. If conditions for copying the full database from the first node are satisfied, then a full-database-copy routine for performing a copy of an entire database is employed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 1, 2006
    Publication date: July 13, 2006
    Inventors: Lik Wong, Alan Demers, James Stamos
  • Publication number: 20060149799
    Abstract: Techniques for making a replica of a particular group of database objects on a particular node of a network include receiving, during a transfer period, a first copy of the particular group of objects at the particular node from a first node on the network. The particular node receives, from a second node on the network, data indicating changes to the particular group of database objects on the second node, where the changes indicated in the data are changes that were made at the second node during the transfer period. The first copy of the particular group of database objects is modified based on the data indicating changes.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 1, 2006
    Publication date: July 6, 2006
    Inventors: Lik Wong, Alan Demers, James Stamos
  • Patent number: 6732237
    Abstract: A multi-tier caching system is provided for a computing device. The system comprises a first cache implemented in operating system or kernel space (e.g., in memory managed by or allocated to an operating system). The system also comprises a second cache implemented in application or user space (e.g., in memory managed by or allocated to an application program). Also provided is a method of operating the multi-tier caching system to serve one type of data from the first cache and a second type of data from the second cache. The first cache may store frequently requested data items and/or those that require little processing of a data request in order to identify a responsive data item. The first cache may also store data items that can be served in response to data requests having different forms, types, parameters, qualifiers or other indicia.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 29, 2000
    Date of Patent: May 4, 2004
    Assignee: Oracle International Corporation
    Inventors: Lawrence Jacobs, Alan Demers, Norman C. Woo
  • Patent number: 6105018
    Abstract: An efficient set of indexes to cover a plurality of anticipated query types is determined by building a directed acyclic graph whose nodes correspond to anticipated query types. A minimum leaf spanning tree for the equivalent graph is determined by repeatedly finding an augmenting path for a current spanning tree and producing a reduced leaf spanning tree based on the current spanning tree and the augmenting path until an augmenting path can no longer be found. The leaves of the minimum leaf spanning tree indicate which indexes should be built.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 1998
    Date of Patent: August 15, 2000
    Assignee: Oracle Corporation
    Inventors: Alan Demers, Alan Downing
  • Patent number: 5870760
    Abstract: A method and system are provided for processing records from a set of records, where records are repeatedly being added to the set of records, and where each record in the set of records has to be processed once for each of a plurality of entities. According to the method, each record that is added to the set of records is marked with a default batch value. For each entity of the plurality of entities, a batch of the records is processed by performing the steps of: reading a last batch value associated with the entity, processing the records in the set of records that are marked with batch values that are more recent than the last batch value associated with the entity, and updating the last batch value associated with the entity to a most recent batch value of the records processed for the entity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 1996
    Date of Patent: February 9, 1999
    Assignee: Oracle Corporation
    Inventors: Alan Demers, Sandeep Jain
  • Patent number: 5870761
    Abstract: A method and system are provided for duplicating at a destination site changes made to data at a source site. According to the method a plurality of streams are established between the source site and the destination site. The plurality of streams are used in parallel to propagate changes made at the source site to the destination site. A record of transactions that made changes that need to be propagated from the source site to the destination site is maintained at the source site. Before propagating changes made by a transaction to the destination site on a stream of the plurality of streams, the record of transactions is inspected to identify a set of transactions whose changes are not known to have been made permanent at the destination site. It is then determined whether the transaction could possibly depend on any transaction in the set of transactions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 1996
    Date of Patent: February 9, 1999
    Assignee: Oracle Corporation
    Inventors: Alan Demers, James Stamos, Sandeep Jain, Brian Oki, Roger J. Bamford
  • Patent number: 5781912
    Abstract: A method and system are provided for recovering after a failure in a data replication environment. According to the method, a transaction is executed at a source site that makes changes that must be replicated at a destination site. The changes are made permanent at the source site. The changes are made permanent at the source site without the source site being informed as to whether the changes were successfully applied at the destination site. The changes are sent to the destination site. The changes are applied at the destination site. If the changes are successfully applied before the failure, then the changes are made permanent at the destination site and a record is added to a set of records at the destination site. The record indicates that the changes where made permanent at the destination site. After a failure, the set of records at the destination site are used to determine which changes must be sent from the source site to the destination site after the failure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 1996
    Date of Patent: July 14, 1998
    Assignee: Oracle Corporation
    Inventors: Alan Demers, Sandeep Jain