Abstract: A method and apparatus for implementing a performance-based firewall at the protocol layer. Application Action Objects (AAOs) are created for requesting applications and are mapped to specific protocol events. Each AAO is then used as a Usage Based Firewall (UBF) to monitor all usage of the protocol at the endpoint identified by the application, thereby acting as a performance-based, protocol layer firewall for communications at that endpoint.

Abstract: Administration of URIs in groups, including creating a group URI, creating a first member URI identifying a first resource, identifying, within the first resource, an embedded hyperlink to a second resource, creating, in dependence upon the embedded hyperlink, a second member URI identifying the second resource, and storing the group URI, the first member URI, and the second member URI. Embodiments include retrieving, in dependence upon the group URI, a plurality of first-tier member URIs, retrieving, in dependence upon the group URI, a plurality of second-tier member URIs associated with at least one first-tier member URI, retrieving a plurality of first-tier resources identified by the first-tier member URIs, retrieving a plurality of second-tier resources identified by the second-tier member URIs, displaying the first-tier resources, and displaying the second-tier resources.

Abstract: Administration of URIs in groups including retrieving, in dependence upon a group URI, a member URI, retrieving a resource identified by the member URI, determining a display interval length for the resource, and displaying the resource for the determined display interval length.

Abstract: Administration of URIs in groups, including creating a group URI, receiving, from a user, a search term, providing the search term to a search engine, and receiving a search result including an embedded hyperlink to an indexed resource. Embodiments include identifying the embedded hyperlink within the search result, creating, in dependence upon the embedded hyperlink, a member URI, and storing the group URI and the member URI.

Abstract: A dead e-mail identification locator discovers dead e-mail addresses without forwarding messages to valid recipients. Existing headers in the mail protocol are extended to include a test header. A mail server that supports the protocol extension of the present invention may send a reply if the address does not exist and may discard the message if the address does exist. The test header allows a sender to test an e-mail address for validity without the message being forwarded to the user, as will be described below. The sender may be a dead e-mail locator program, which tests a plurality of e-mail addresses, such as an e-mail address list or white pages of e-mail addresses.

Abstract: A system and method for providing at least one hidden markup attribute to convey additional information to target recipients. At least one hidden markup attribute is included in a communication from a server. When a browser at a client/user location receives the communication with the at least one hidden markup attribute, the browser will be able to decode the hidden markup attribute portion of the markup only if it has a correct render key. The render key may be predefined and exchanged between the server and the client. Alternatively, the render key may be communicated to the client with the hidden markup attribute communication. The latter scenario is useful when a server must dynamically calculate the render key based upon the client's capabilities (e.g., discovered during the establishment of communication between the entities). A server may alternatively have a generic default render key for all users.

Abstract: A method, system, and computer program product for logging events in a data processing system is provided. In one embodiment, responsive to a determination that a situation exists preventing a primary logger from executing a logging task, a swappable adaptive logger is created, which in turn is pointed to a boot logger created by a swappable adaptive log engine. Event information is then logged to the boot logger. For example, the boot logger may write event information to memory or to a file if the logging database is unavailable. When the primary logger becomes configured and functional, the swappable adaptive logger swaps the boot logger for the primary logger and begins writing event information to the primary logger.

Abstract: A system and method for implementing distributed transactions using configuration data that is available to all applications which may wish to access the data. Added to the configuration data is at least one status indicator to allow applications to ascertain the status of updates without performing a database-specific distributed transaction. An application which is preparing to write/update stored information must first change the at least one status indicator associated with the underlying storage. Thereafter, any other application which has a need to read or write the stored information will readily ascertain the status of the stored information from the configuration data. The other application which has need of the data may choose to read the old and/or partially updated data or may wait until the update has been completed and the at least one status indicator has been changed to indicate completion of the update.

Abstract: A method and implementing computer system are provided in which a user is able to customize pointer movements on a display screen corresponding to physical mouse movements. In an exemplary embodiment, a menu is presented on a display screen to allow a user to select and customize sensitivity settings for mouse movements. Further controls are selectively implemented to limit pointer movement along predetermined axes. Another feature enables a user to define screen areas surrounding function buttons or hyperlinks such that a user-controlled pointer movement in proximity to any sensitized area will automatically highlight the closest hyperlink or function for subsequent selection and/or actuation by the user. Another user selection enables a user to select various features regarding scroll boxes presented on a display screen within a browser program. The scroll box controls enable a user to define the size of scroll boxes as well as pointer interaction with regard to displayed scroll boxes.

Abstract: Information for receiving by a computer system has attributes which the computer system is capable of interpreting for displaying on a two-dimensional display device. The information includes background and character attributes, according to which the characters are displayable in a color or shade that contrasts to the background. At least one of the characters has a certain character attribute for two dimensionally displaying, such bold, italic, underlining, font type or color. The information is rendered in a delineation that is tactile-detectable on a control surface of a three-dimensional display device. As thus rendered, a representation of the background is rendered in a first plane, while a representation one of the characters has a top surface of the character rendered in a second plane, and a representation of the one of the characters having the certain character attribute has a top surface of the character rendered in a third plane.

Abstract: A method and implementing computer system are provided in which a request from a client for the display of a web page is processed by initially separating device-dependent display data from device-independent display data. The device-independent data is first sent back to the requesting client while the device-dependent data is being processed prior to being returned to the client. The device-dependent data processing includes separating bitmaps with text and bitmaps without text. The bitmaps are modified to suit the client system and the device-dependent modified bitmaps are returned to the client following the return of the device-independent data.

Abstract: Administration of URIs in groups. Creating, in a group URI-enabled data communications client, a group URI identifying a remote computer resource; creating, in response to at least one navigation event invoking a hyperlink to a document page at a network location, a member URI identifying the network location of the document page; and storing, together in the remote computer resource, the group URI and the member URI. Retrieving, in dependence upon the group URI, at least one member URI; storing the at least one member URI in data communications client navigation memory; retrieving a document page identified by the first member URI; displaying the retrieved document page; and invoking one or more other member URIs.

Abstract: A method allows a user to specify preferences in the configuration or use of data-presentation resources. In other words, a user has the ability to specify variability in the generation of data for data-presentation on an output device.

Abstract: A topographical aware Operating System (OS) which is platform and application independent. The OS contains a 2D to 3D rendering converter within a topographical framework, a Java Virtual Machine (JVM) interface and topographical application programming interface (APIs). The OS operates within a 2D environment and is capable of receiving input from a topographical input device and generates topographical output to a topographical or 2D output device. The OS further contains means for converting topographical input signals into topographical output, independent of which platform or applications which are running on the data processing system. In the preferred embodiment, the OS operates within a JVM environment and the topographical attributes enabled within the JVM environment include height, temperature, roughness, intensity, color, illumination, springiness etc. In another preferred embodiment, a topographical selection GUI is provided by which the OS may dynamically select attributes, etc.

Abstract: An implementation for the generation of a surrogate Web browsing session at a Web receiving display station by a user who does the basic browsing or searching for a principal user, e.g. the physically limited individual or the executive/professional ordering the browsing session. A user to is enabled to interactively navigate the Web through a sequence of linked hypertext documents in a browsing session at a receiving display station in combination with recording on a real-time basis, keystroke by keystroke and mouse point and click by point and click, page by page and selected hyperlink by selected hyperlink, the interactive navigation of said user in said browsing session.

Abstract: A method, a system, an apparatus, and a computer program product are presented for facilitating the customization, translation, or localization of messages, strings, or other program resources to be used by a locale-sensitive version of a Java program stored in a Java JAR file. After opening the JAR file, text strings within a resource bundle for a first locale can be determined through a particular process for inspecting the resource bundle. A resource bundle for a second locale containing translated versions of the text strings can be created through various means and then stored into the modified JAR file.

Abstract: A user of a data processing system may specify variability in the generation of data for data-presentation, either by displaying or printing, on an output device. The variability specification may be applied on a glyph-by-glyph basis to the presentation of glyphs. The data processing system provides processing of glyph-based quality variability requests in the following manner. The system receives a request for data-presentation of a series of glyphs and determines, for each glyph in the series of glyphs, whether quality variability is applicable to each glyph. If quality variability is applicable to each glyph, then the system determines a quality variance to be applied to each glyph according to predetermined data-presentation variability data and performs data-presentation of each glyph on an output device in accordance with the quality variance.

Abstract: A method, system, and computer program product for discovering status of a network topology. A network management framework provides the ability to specify a method for determining how to gather status of a data processing system. A data gathering technique (DGT) may be dynamically adjusted to discovery or monitoring of devices within the data processing system. Different data gathering techniques may be employed in an effort to discover or monitor the devices. In addition, results of previous network data gathering may be stored for later use. These stored results may used to develop an order of relative capabilities for a managed device or devices as compared to other device or devices in the same network. Discovery and monitoring information may be obtained about one device or N devices within the network.

Abstract: A method, system, apparatus, and computer program product is presented for management of a distributed data processing system on behalf of a plurality of management customers. Endpoint objects, system objects, and network objects are logically organized into a set of scopes that do not logically overlap. An administrative user may dynamically reconfigure logical networks within the distributed data processing system while managing the logical networks for a set of customers. The network management system is able to provide security at logical boundaries between networks. Geographic location identifiers are associated with network resources. Network-related actions can be performed on resources with common geographic boundaries. The network management framework assists administrators in opening or closing access to resources/devices at the boundaries such that portions of a highly distributed data processing system could be quarantined from other portions of the distributed data processing system.

Abstract: A method, system, apparatus, and computer program product is presented for management of a distributed data processing system on behalf of a plurality of management customers. Endpoint objects, system objects, and network objects are logically organized into a set of scopes that do not logically overlap. An administrative user may dynamically reconfigure logical networks within the distributed data processing system while managing the logical networks for a set of customers. The network management system is able to provide security while allowing for dynamic changes in location of devices. A geographic location identifier is automatically generated for an endpoint based on the endpoint's MAC address and its relation to a router within its network, thereby uniquely identifying the endpoint using the endpoint's hardware MAC address in conjunction with its geographic location. Security-related commands are implemented such that actions can be authorized with respect to geographic locations.