Patents by Inventor Thomas Owen McKinley

Thomas Owen McKinley has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 8452756
    Abstract: A database query optimizer includes an access plan storage mechanism that stores execution detail corresponding to a query statement in an access plan cache. By storing execution detail in the access plan cache along with the query statement, the execution detail is available when needed to debug database problems, even after a problem occurs. The execution detail stored in the access plan cache may be mined and analyzed after-the-fact, producing a very powerful tool for debugging database problems. Snapshots of the execution detail may also be created by a user. In addition, the user may setup autonomic snapshots and comparisons so that a user may be alerted from a degradation in database performance between two snapshots.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 9, 2006
    Date of Patent: May 28, 2013
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Mark John Anderson, Robert Joseph Bestgen, Daniel E. Beuch, Curtis Neal Boger, James Michael Flanagan, Scott Forstie, Shantan Kethireddy, Thomas Owen McKinley, Michael Donald Pfeifer
  • Patent number: 8285707
    Abstract: Database management systems and methods for searching a database are disclosed. In one embodiment, an inspector examines a plan cache or a program containing embedded queries. A plurality of similar queries is identified, and an alias is generated that satisfies the plurality of queries. The alias may be executed on a database to output a result set. Queries belonging to the alias may be executed on the result set of the alias, rather than on the database. Accordingly, efficiency is improved and runtime costs are reduced as compared to conventional database management systems.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 8, 2006
    Date of Patent: October 9, 2012
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Paul Reuben Day, Thomas Owen McKinley, Brian Robert Muras
  • Publication number: 20080114718
    Abstract: A database query optimizer includes an access plan storage mechanism that stores execution detail corresponding to a query statement in an access plan cache. By storing execution detail in the access plan cache along with the query statement, the execution detail is available when needed to debug database problems, even after a problem occurs. The execution detail stored in the access plan cache may be mined and analyzed after-the-fact, producing a very powerful tool for debugging database problems. Snapshots of the execution detail may also be created by a user. In addition, the user may setup autonomic snapshots and comparisons so that a user may be alerted from a degradation in database performance between two snapshots.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 9, 2006
    Publication date: May 15, 2008
    Inventors: Mark John Anderson, Robert Joseph Bestgen, Daniel E. Beuch, Curtis Neal Boger, James Michael Flanagan, Scott Forstie, Shantan Kethireddy, Thomas Owen McKinley, Michael Donald Pfeifer
  • Publication number: 20080109424
    Abstract: Database management systems and methods for searching a database are disclosed. In one embodiment, an inspector examines a plan cache or a program containing embedded queries. A plurality of similar queries is identified, and an alias is generated that satisfies the plurality of queries. The alias may be executed on a database to output a result set. Queries belonging to the alias may be executed on the result set of the alias, rather than on the database. Accordingly, efficiency is improved and runtime costs are reduced as compared to conventional database management systems.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 8, 2006
    Publication date: May 8, 2008
    Inventors: Paul Reuben Day, Thomas Owen McKinley, Brian Robert Muras
  • Patent number: 6915291
    Abstract: An apparatus, program product and method represent a database query access plan a query execution data structure including a plurality of query node objects arranged into a tree relationship to define a parent node object and at least one child node object, and an attribute data structure that references a plurality of attributes utilized by the query execution data structure. At least one of the parent and child node objects includes an attribute operation data structure configured to manipulate at least a subset of the plurality of attributes in the attribute data structure by accessing the attribute operation data structure. By partitioning the functionality of a query access plan into a collection of node objects and an attribute data structure, and then providing within at least a subset of the node objects attribute operation data structures that manipulate the attribute data structure, the resulting query engine architecture becomes significantly extendible and adaptable.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 7, 2002
    Date of Patent: July 5, 2005
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: David Glenn Carlson, David Lee Hermsmeier, Kevin James Kathmann, Thomas Owen McKinley
  • Patent number: 6807541
    Abstract: A weak record locking scheme that, while enforcing serialization of record updates, permits a read to extract data from uncommitted updates. Specifically, records are locked in association with a process or thread performing a lock. When the records affected by a transaction are initially locked for reading or updating, they are locked at the process level. When a particular record is to be read or updated as part of a transaction, it is locked at the thread level. A read transaction that will accept uncommitted changes uses a weak lock to lock the record for reading. A weak lock may be made on a record so long as the record is not already locked for updating at the thread level. While a record is weakly locked for reading, it cannot be locked for updating at the thread level. A record may thus be weakly locked even though the record is locked for updating at the process level by the same process. Weak locking thus preserves serialization of updates, while reducing delays caused by locking conflicts.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 2002
    Date of Patent: October 19, 2004
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Daniel Dean Bender, Thomas Owen McKinley, Robert Paul Mech, Robert Anthony Petrillo, Richard Miles Rocheleau
  • Publication number: 20030229627
    Abstract: An apparatus, program product and method represent a database query access plan a query execution data structure including a plurality of query node objects arranged into a tree relationship to define a parent node object and at least one child node object, and an attribute data structure that references a plurality of attributes utilized by the query execution data structure. At least one of the parent and child node objects includes an attribute operation data structure configured to manipulate at least a subset of the plurality of attributes in the attribute data structure by accessing the attribute operation data structure. By partitioning the functionality of a query access plan into a collection of node objects and an attribute data structure, and then providing within at least a subset of the node objects attribute operation data structures that manipulate the attribute data structure, the resulting query engine architecture becomes significantly extendible and adaptable.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 7, 2002
    Publication date: December 11, 2003
    Applicant: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
    Inventors: David Glenn Carlson, David Lee Hermsmeier, Kevin James Kathmann, Thomas Owen McKinley
  • Publication number: 20030163494
    Abstract: A weak record locking scheme that, while enforcing serialization of record updates, permits a read to extract data from uncommitted updates. Specifically, records are locked in association with a process or thread performing a lock. When the records affected by a transaction are initially locked for reading or updating, they are locked at the process level. When a particular record is to be read or updated as part of a transaction, it is locked at the thread level. A read transaction that will accept uncommitted changes uses a weak lock to lock the record for reading. A weak lock may be made on a record so long as the record is not already locked for updating at the thread level. While a record is weakly locked for reading, it cannot be locked for updating at the thread level. A record may thus be weakly locked even though the record is locked for updating at the process level by the same process. Weak locking thus preserves serialization of updates, while reducing delays caused by locking conflicts.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 28, 2002
    Publication date: August 28, 2003
    Applicant: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Daniel Dean Bender, Thomas Owen McKinley, Robert Paul Mech, Robert Anthony Petrillo, Richard Miles Rocheleau
  • Patent number: 6327597
    Abstract: A method, memory system, and computer program product are provided for implementing lock based delayed space recycle control. The memory space recycle method is used with a memory in a computer system. A data element lock is obtained for a data record in a data block. Then an update on the data record is performed. A waiting to be recycled index for the data block is maintained. The waiting to be recycled index includes a record number, an address of the large object block (LOB) and the length of the LOB space. When the last lock on a data element is about to be released the waiting to be recycled areas associated with that data element are freed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 6, 1999
    Date of Patent: December 4, 2001
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Thomas Owen McKinley, Gary Ross Ricard, Richard Miles Rocheleau
  • Patent number: 5761696
    Abstract: The present invention involves a database administrator that is comprised of a plurality of database managers and a plurality of database servers. The database managers act as an interface between the database servers and client programs and the database servers act as an interface between the database managers and the database itself. The client programs, database managers, and database servers all execute within a single-level-store environment, which allows them to communicate with one another without incurring the expense of inter-address space communication and/or the expense associated with the cross-address space mapping of query results.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 2, 1996
    Date of Patent: June 2, 1998
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Thomas Paul Giordano, Thomas Owen McKinley, Mukesh Rathor, David Rolland Welsh