Abstract: A method of processing allocation and deallocation requests in a computing environment. The method forms an Allocation Queue of requests for resource allocations, a Deallocation Queue of requests for resource deallocations, a Pending Queue of requests for resource allocation which cannot be met immediately, and a Cancel Queue of requests to cancel an earlier request already waiting in either the Pending Queue or the Allocation Queue. A cycle of servicing the Allocation Queue, the Deallocation Queue, the Pending Queue, and the Cancel Queue in a chronological sequence is carried out. In the cycle: the Deallocation Queue is serviced first, the Cancel Queue is serviced after the Deallocation Queue is serviced until the Cancel Queue is empty, the Pending Queue is serviced after the Cancel Queue is serviced, and the Allocation Queue Queue is serviced after the Pending Queue is serviced.

Abstract: A first representation of an electrical network includes a first set of simultaneous linear algebraic equations (SLAE's). A second representation of an electrical network includes a second set of SLAE's. The equations of the SLAE's include a number of unknowns and have coefficients for the respective unknowns. A number of the coefficients are expressed in algebraic form. The coefficients of one such equation from one of the sets of SLAE's are for respective elements of the set's respective electrical network and the unknowns are for respective operating properties of the set's respective electrical network. Results are derived in pairs for each unknown of each respective one of the SLAE's. The pairs of results are compared in a specified manner to determine a network equivalence. The results are derived from the SLAE's and expressed in algebraic form, so that the comparing of the pairs of results includes comparing algebraic expressions.

Abstract: Grouping blocks of text according to user-defined contexts, and editing group specific blocks can be used to improve document consistency during editing and revising of electronic documents. A change made in one block often requires appropriate changes to be made in other blocks that are contextually related to the changed block. Such changes are made to ensure this consistency. Commands that deal with block groups (such as, create group, add block to group(s), delete block from group(s), edit group, merge group, etc.) are provided to assist a user in editing documents.

Abstract: A computer program product and computer system for implementing a method of compiler optimisation of source code during compilation of the source code in a computer environment. The compiler optimisation of source code includes: recasting two algebraic expressions into a form of one or more token pairs arranged sequentially in a string, each token pair including an operator followed by an operand; reducing the strings in accordance with a set of predetermined simplifying rules; and comparing the reduced strings by matching to detect an equivalence of the two algebraic expressions.

Abstract: A method, system and computer program product for enabling the concurrent editing of a document containing a plurality of independent or loosely connected segments by multiple authors is described. Among other things, the invention allows assigning of editing rights for each segment to a defined set of segment authors, making available a special segment that contains metadata shared by all the segments of said documents, and providing email means private to said document, for facilitating communication between the authors of the document.

Abstract: A computer implemented method (200) is described for determining the equivalence of two sets of simultaneous linear algebraic equations. Each of said equations is of a form: ei1x1+ei2x2+ei3x3+ . . . +eiixn=bi wherein xj are unknowns, eij are coefficients and bi are quantities, and defining the relationship between the unknowns within the set. The coefficients and quantities are known algebraic expressions. The unknowns are iteratively eliminated (250 to 280) from each of the sets of simultaneous linear algebraic equations until each of said equations are in the form: (lii)kxi=(ri)k wherein lii and ri are algebraic expressions, and k={1;2} indicate one of said sets that said equation is derived from. The products (lii)1*(ri)2 and (lii)2*(ri)1 are compared (300) for each of the unknowns. Only if the products match (310) for all the unknowns are the two sets of simultaneous linear algebraic equations equivalent (312). An apparatus (100) for performing the above method (200) is also provided.

Abstract: A computer program product and computer system for implementing a method of compiler optimisation of source code during compilation of the source code in a computer environment. The compiler optimisation of source code includes: recasting two algebraic expressions into a form of one or more token pairs arranged sequentially in a string, each token pair including an operator followed by an operand; reducing the strings in accordance with a set of predetermined simplifying rules; and comparing the reduced strings by matching to detect an equivalence of the two algebraic expressions.

Abstract: A method, apparatus, and computer program product for determining, in a computer environment, the equivalence, if any, of two algebraic expressions. The expressions are recast into a form of one or more token pairs arranged sequentially in a string, such that each token pair includes an operator followed by an operand. The strings are reduced in accordance with a set of predetermined simplifying rules. The reduced strings are compared by matching, to detect equivalence of the two algebraic expressions. The source code is compiled into object code, wherein the source code includes the two algebraic expressions, and wherein the compiling includes the recasting, the reducing, and the comparing. The method, apparal us, and computer program product may be used in compiler optimisation of source code and like computing tasks.

Abstract: The present invention discloses a method of allocating resource units such as hotel rooms, computer memory locations, seats in an aircraft, etc which constitute a sequence of allocatable resource units. Each resource unit is identified with a leading and a trailing identifier separated by a first divider and placed in a string which is able to be compared with a similar string representing an allocation criterion. The strings are matched and if a match is successful then the first divider of the matched portion of the string is replaced with a second divider which thereby indicates that an allocation has been made. A system for carrying out the above method and a computer program product incorporating the method are also disclosed. A method of queuing resource allocation and deallocation requests is also disclosed.

Abstract: A computer implemented method (200) is described for determining the equivalence of two sets of simultaneous linear algebraic equations. Each of said equations is of a form: ei1x1+ei2x2+ei3x3+ . . . +eiixn=bi where xj are unknowns, eij are coefficients and bi are quantities, and defining the relationship between the unknowns within the set. The coefficients and quantities are known algebraic expressions. The unknowns are iteratively eliminated (250 to 280) from each of the sets of simultaneous linear algebraic equations until each of said equations are in the form: (lii)kxi=(ri)k wherein lii and ri are algebraic expressions, and k={1;2} indicate one of said sets that said equation is derived from. The products (lii)1*(ri)2 and (lii)2*(ri)1 are compared (300) for each of the unknowns. Only if the products match (310) for all the unknowns are the two sets of simultaneous linear algebraic equations equivalent (312). An apparatus (100) for performing the above method (200) is also provided.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for searching data to locate a portion identified by a search query. The data may comprise text files in a database. The search query comprises two or more data fragments expected to be contained in the portion of data being sought and in any order. The method comprises receiving the data fragments and searching the data to locate matches between the data and the respective data fragments. Any overlapping matches are discriminated and replaced by an iterative search process until there is found a minimal portion of the data containing all of the data fragments without overlaps, the term minimal meaning a portion with only one complete set of the data fragments (though some but not all can be duplicated). The identified portion of text can be highlighted in a display of the data.

Abstract: The present invention is a method (100) of determining the syntactic correctness of an expression for use in a computing environment. After creating (30) a string of characters from said expression, it looks for substrings (character sequences), which are legitimate and replaces (54) them with a shorter but semantically equivalent substring. It also looks for character sequences which are illegitimate, and replaces (54) them with a substring (i.e. “?”) to indicate that it has met with an illegal sequence. It does these operations repeatedly, and in predetermined sequences, till no further changes in the string can be made; that is, the string achieves a constant length. An expression is determined to be syntactically correct only if said string reduces to a single predetermined character.

Abstract: The present invention discloses a method for determining, in a computer environment, the equivalence, if any, of two blocks of assignment statements in a computer program for use in compiler optimization of source code, program verification, program proving, and like computing tasks. The method, inter alia, successfully eliminates, from a block of assignment statements, all intermediate variables and statements which are identities and also those which are irrelevant to the computation of the output variables and brings the block to a form suitable for comparing two or more blocks of assignment statements. A system for carrying out the above method and a computer program product incorporating the method are also disclosed.

Abstract: A computer implemented method (200) is provided for representing a network in a canonical form. The network has nodes and arcs. Each arc has a source node and a destination node. Each node has an identifier, and optionally, one or more properties. Various manipulations that may be carried out on the network's canonical representation are also provided. Further, a computer implemented method is provided for determining the equivalence between two networks either on the basis of the nodes' identifiers or some specific property of the nodes. An apparatus (100) for performing the above method (200) is also provided.

Abstract: A method 100, an apparatus, and a computer program product for constructing a runtime symbol table SymTbl[ ] for a computer program are disclosed. In the method, a symbol table SymTbl[ ] for storing one or more entities Ei is initialized 110. One or more tickets Ti are then added 120 into the symbol table SymTbl[ ] for each entity Ei that does not already exist in the symbol table SymTbl[ ]. An offset address is then inserted 130 after a predefined token “>” for each ticket Vi in a predefined set V of tickets in the symbol table SymTbl[ ] characterized as a sequence of the tickets Vi. One or more preassigned addresses are also inserted 140 in the symbol table SymTbl[ ] for each ticket Vi in the set V of tickets that has preassigned addresses.

Abstract: A method for processing information about a polygonal pattern in the context of pattern recognition in a computer environment, the method comprising the steps of: (a) taking the corners of the pattern in turn in order from a first of the corners through the last of the corners, forming a first ordered sequence M of values representing the respective scalar distances between each corner of the polygonal pattern and each other corner, the sequence including (i) the distances between said first of said corners and each other corner in turn and (ii) taking each other corner in turn, the distances between that other corner and each other corner starting with the said first corner, and (iii) including at appropriate positions in the sequence zero values to correspond to the distance between each corner and itself; (b) re-ordering the values of said first sequence M to form a second ordered sequence P1 comprising a set of values p1 which includes for each corner starting with said first corner, values in a series

Abstract: A method, system and computer program product for enabling the concurrent editing of a document containing a plurality of independent or loosely connected segments by multiple authors is described. Among other things, the invention allows assigning of editing rights for each segment to a defined set of segment authors, making available a special segment that contains metadata shared by all the segments of said documents, and providing email means private to said document, for facilitating communication between the authors of the document.

Abstract: In a compiler or program proving or verification software code, it is often useful to analyse a computer program and one way in which this might be partially achieved is by comparing algebraic expressions to see if they are equivalent, i.e. to see if they are derivable from a common template or function definition. Herein a string matching and replacement algorithm is used to compare two functions. Initially, each expression is converted to a “reduced” form by reference to a set of standard rules so as, for example, to ensure that terms comprising the same variables are combined. The variables names in each term are then replaced with symbols to produce, for each expression, a corresponding character string which, arranged in a predetermined order, are compared to determine equivalence of the expressions. To achieve this, a matrix M is formed with entries corresponding to the symbols and the matrix elements are incremented according to pre-set rules.

Abstract: A method and system for analysing software to estimate the cost of production, development and maintenance of computer applications. Unlike previous proposals for such analysis, where the primary measured parameters are the numbers of lines of code and function points, the inventive method identifies high complexity software segments arising from specific discontinuities in execution of the program, ie points at which the program has to, in effect, make decisions. These items are assigned complexity indices which may be summed to give an overall complexity value for the program or the indices may be displayed as a histogram showing the complexity distribution of the program.

Abstract: A remedial method (200) and apparatus (100) is described, by which unit information can be documented in a computer program. A set of user-supplied precompiler directives is added to the computer program that is to be converted, in which a preferred set of units, called primary units, are prescribed. A precompiler tool performs a conversion of a unit to its corresponding unit in the preferred set of units.