Abstract: A technique for providing assistance to a user of a system includes receiving a current command entered into a command line interface of the system and determining a current state of a system. Command help for the current command is then generated based on the current state of the system.

Abstract: A method and system for monitoring the activity of a tape drive system having one or more electro-mechanical components that receive electrical current from a power supply. The method includes sampling an actual current supplied to an electro-mechanical component of a tape drive system from a power supply during an activity; reading a theoretical current for said activity from a memory; calculating a statistical value for said actual current and said theoretical current; comparing said statistical value to at least one threshold value; and outputting information to at least one of a user, another system, and another process based on said comparison of said statistical value to said at least one threshold value.

Abstract: The amount of code required to use the command pattern for client-server communications is reduced because, instead of creating separate commands for different actions, instructions required for an action are put into a single, abstract command, along with the required data. The command pattern, an object-oriented design pattern, describes a pattern for encapsulating instructions and data into a single object, called a command. A client application or a dynamic proxy uses the command pattern to encapsulate an identifier of a function to be performed at a server, and first data for use by the server in performing the function, into a command object, and provides the command object to a server host. The server host performs the function by associating instructions with the identifier and executing the instructions, using the first data, to obtain second data, and returns the command object with the second data to the client host.

Abstract: A system and method for implementing dynamic interfaces in a JAVA program including methods having a common implementation and other methods to be handled independently. The system comprises a first dynamic proxy object implementing an invocation handler for providing default implementations; a separate object providing implementations of any method in a defined interface that requires independent handling; and, a second dynamic proxy object provided for checking a method definition object for an implementation of the method, and in response, one of: invoking the method on the separate object if the implementation exists, and if the implementation does not exist, invoking the method on the first dynamic proxy object. The second dynamic proxy object thus allows for a single implementation for repetitive methods, while allowing special cases to be handled independently.

Abstract: A cursor control device such as a mouse allows a user to quickly switch between screens in a multi-monitor computing environment. Available programmable buttons on the cursor control device are programmed to achieve a functionality for switching between display regions on different screens, or within a screen. With a click of the button, the cursor can switch to another display region on the same screen or a different screen. Moreover, the cursor can switch to a corresponding location or a predetermined, e.g., fixed, location. The cursor can cycle or alternate among display regions. When switching back to the starting display region, the cursor can return to its original location, a location corresponding to that in a previous display region, or a predetermined location. A user interface allows a user to configure the behavior.

Abstract: A system and method implementable in a JAVA® application for providing C++ language friend-style access that grants JAVA® objects access to methods of another JAVA® object. The method comprises steps of: providing a method in the implementing JAVA object for determining the name of a JAVA object class that has called a method within the implementing JAVA object; comparing the JAVA object class name against a list of object names that have been granted access rights to the method in the implementing JAVA object; and, in response to the comparing, one of: enabling execution of the method of the implementing JAVA object upon determination that the calling object class is a member of the list, or, preventing execution of the method upon determination that the calling object is not a member of the list.

Abstract: An apparatus, system, and method are disclosed for converting a synchronous interface into an asynchronous interface. The apparatus includes a receive module, a generate module, and a return module. The receive module receives a request for a transaction from a synchronous requester, the generate module generates a delaying object and a forwarding interface compatible with the requested return type, and the return module returns the delaying object with the forwarding interface to the requester. Additionally, services for implementing such an apparatus, system, and method are disclosed. Implementation of the apparatus, system, and method provide for increased computing performance, reduced application run time, and decreased usage of computing resources.

Abstract: A technique for reducing the number of events that are transmitted by a server to a client/server application programming interface (API). At the server host, each of different event messages is associated with at least one event category in a hierarchy of event categories. Each client host sends a registration request to the server host in order to inform the host server host that the client wants to receive event messages associated with a specified event category. The server host associates the specified event category with each client host and communicates the event messages that are descendants of the specified event category, wherein the event messages may be descendants of more than one specified event category.