Abstract: A computer-implemented method for facilitating World Wide Web Searches and like database searches by combining search result documents, as provided by separate search engines in response to a query, into one single integrated list so as to produce a single document with a ranked list of pages, by forming a set of selected queries, the queries including respective terms, for which selected queries relevance data from past data is known, herein referred to as training queries, in a vector space comprising all training queries, the relevance data comprising judgments by a user as to whether a page is appropriate for a query which retrieved it.

Abstract: A method implemented on a computer for facilitating World Wide Web Searches and like database searches by combining search result documents, as provided by separate search engines in response to a query, into one single integrated list so as to produce a single document with a ranked list of pages, includes the steps of: (a) training the computer for each search engine by clustering training queries and building cluster centroids; (b) Assign weights to each cluster reflecting the number of relevant pages expected to be obtained by this search engine for queries similar to those in that cluster; (c) processing an incoming query by selecting, for each search engine, that cluster centroid that is most similar to the incoming query and returning the weight associated with the selected cluster as the weight of the current search engine; and (d) apportioning the N slots in the retrieved set according to the weights returned by each search engine.

Abstract: A program, consisting of data and a plurality of successive operations on the data, is executed on a distributed heterogeneous multiple computer system having a plurality of autonomous nodes each including a processor and associated memory. A control arrangement initiates execution of the program on a first autonomous node in the multiple computer system. A coupling arrangement transfers execution of the program to a second autonomous node in the multiple computer system in response to one of the successive operations in the program.