Abstract: The technology described herein is directed towards a system that provides a user propagated search platform. The system maintains campaign data for offers that when active, are made available to users of the platform. When a user of a (typically mobile) device selectively attaches to an active offer, the user device clones that offer, and as the user device travels, propagates the clone of the offer to other users (their user devices) for potential attachment. Those other users can in turn attach to the clone, to facilitate further propagation. The campaign data, as provided by a campaign producer such as a merchant, can specify various parameters, including location areas for attachment and clone travel, start and end times for a campaign's offer, different zones that can control different clone-related actions, and incentives for a user to attach to and propagate a clone of an offer.

Abstract: The technology described herein is directed towards a system that provides a user propagated search platform. The system maintains campaign data for offers that when active, are made available to users of the platform. When a user of a (typically mobile) device selectively attaches to an active offer, the user device clones that offer, and as the user device travels, propagates the clone of the offer to other users (their user devices) for potential attachment. Those other users can in turn attach to the clone, to facilitate further propagation. The campaign data, as provided by a campaign producer such as a merchant, can specify various parameters, including location areas for attachment and clone travel, start and end times for a campaign's offer, different zones that can control different clone-related actions, and incentives for a user to attach to and propagate a clone of an offer.

Abstract: In a distributed system querying and navigating data structures, databases, and XML documents in uniform and extensible manner is provided. Queries are defined that provide type information to a variety of digital objects. As such, the underlying data format is abstracted thereby allowing a single query to apply to multiple digital devices even though the multiple digital devices store their data in a different native format.

Abstract: A web service description language with object extensions provides type-centric extensions to web service description languages in order to describe and implement a type-centric, object-model agnostic, web service description. By implementing the constructs described herein, a heterogeneous distributed computing environment can implement rich type-centric services. For example, in a graph description, a type description indicates whether a type is encoded as a reference or embedded within another type. In a service reference description, a type description indicates whether a type is remoted by value or by reference. A type description indicates that a service extends another service, a service implements an interface (potentially multiple interfaces), a field of a type (including interfaces) is a reference type, a constant value field, or a bit field type that defines enumerations with associated values.

Abstract: A generic mechanism to persist data objects into databases without a fundamental dependence on the underlying data store is provided. Rather than relying on the expertise of a programmer to know what the structure of a database should look like, data types are defined and adorned by the programmer with attributes that suggest what the corresponding data will be used for, and without the programmer defining the structure of the database that will be used to store the data. Thereafter, the database is dynamically created to satisfy the needs suggested by the adorned attributes. In particular, a number of different tables are created according to the intended needs for accessing the data. By doing this an optimized database can be created to provide the desired results without requiring the programmer to have any specific knowledge regarding databases and corresponding database schemas.

Abstract: Type Description Language (TDL) is provided which is an extensible markup language (XML) based language that provides an interface description that makes the mapping between an interface specification and its wire format deterministic and simple. TDL provides seamless bridging between XML and object based views in a distributed environment. TDL leverages the duality between the type-based (objects) and XML-based views and may be used for exchanging metadata between various kinds of type (object) systems, such as Component Object Model (COM), Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA), Common Language Runtime (CLR), etc. In this regard, TDL proposes a new syntax for representing the behavior aspect of a type and illustrates that there is a one to one mapping from an abstract type to a schema type and vice-versa.

Abstract: A web service description language with object extensions provides type-centric extensions to web service description languages. The extensions illustrated herein provide the constructs to describe and implement a type-centric, object-model agnostic, web service description. By implementing the constructs described herein, a heterogeneous distributed computing environment can implement rich type-centric services.

Abstract: In a distributed system querying and navigating data structures, databases, and XML documents in uniform and extensible manner is provided. Queries are defined that provide type information to a variety of digital objects. As such, the underlying data format is abstracted thereby allowing a single query to apply to multiple digital devices even though the multiple digital devices store their data in a different native format.