International Business Machines Corporation

Gregory Scott Hurlebaus

Gregory Richard Hintermeister

Josef Scherpa

Jennifer M Hatfield

Erik Duane Lindberg

Arindam Bhowmick

Carlos Chivardi

Michael J Branson

David Henry Sandifer

George Francis DeStefano

Michael Bill Murphy

Susette M Townsend

Ronald Joseph Haugen

Robert Anthony Mahlik

Steven Gene Halverson

Andrew James Streit

Patrick Michael Wildt

Gottfried Schimunek

Jaroslaw Miszczyk

Brent Joseph Baude

Brian Richard Lucier

A system and method for providing recommendations to at least one user is disclosed. A user profile for the user is obtained. Data is identified in the user indicative of interests of the users. This is stored in a profile store. Activity profiles and profiles of reviewers of the activity are created. A match between the author profiles, the user profiles and the activity profiles are identified. From these matches a list of activities is generated and presented to the user to select an activity to engage in.

Real time recommendation engine

A system and method for providing a group recommendation is disclosed. First a group having at least one member is defined. A group profile having at least one activity and a set of conditions for the activity are created. Based on the set of conditions a corresponding set of trigger events are identified. A number of electronic data sources are monitored for information related to set of conditions. The monitored set of conditions are compared against the set of trigger events. If the threshold between the set of conditions and the set of trigger events is met, then an alert is generated that is presented to the members of the group.

Group recommendations based on external factors

A system and method for providing counter intuitive recommendations to a user. A user profile is obtained for the user. A determination is made that a trigger condition has occurred for the user. The duration of the trigger condition is also determined. The trigger condition is associated with the user's profile. A request for a recommendation is received, and a list of recommendations is obtained. The recommendations are compared against the trigger condition to determine if the recommendation is compatible with the trigger condition. Those recommendations determined not to be compatible with the trigger condition are removed from the set of recommendations.

Counterintuitive recommendations based upon temporary conditions

A system and method for providing counter intuitive recommendations to a user. A user profile is obtained for the user. A determination that a trigger condition has occurred for the user. The duration of the trigger condition is also determined. The trigger condition is associated with the user's profile. A request for a recommendation is received, and a list of recommendations is obtained. The recommendations are compared against the trigger condition to determine if the recommendation is compatible with the trigger condition. Those recommendations determined not to be compatible with the trigger condition are removed from the set of recommendations provided to the user.

A tool for using an interconnected network of systems to create an index for a database table. An index advisor on a primary server recommends one or more indexes to improve efficiency. While resources of the primary server are being used by various queries and processes, the primary server sends the recommendations to a secondary server (with available resources) so that the recommended indexes may be built in parallel with the processes executing on the primary server. The secondary server builds the recommended indexes based on its own copies of the database tables. The secondary server sends the built indexes to the primary server, where the primary server must reconcile the indexes with any changes that took place to the database tables subsequent to the replication of the tables on the secondary server. The primary server makes the associations between the new indexes and the tables they were built for.

Smart index creation and reconciliation in an interconnected network of systems

A method and apparatus for synchronizing software between computers are disclosed. A software fix manager compares a preferred software inventory with a software inventory from a computer that is to be synchronized and, from this comparison, creates a number of software product synchronizations. An update manager uses the software fix list to apply software product synchronizations to the computer. Preferably, the computer can be brought to the same fix level or product level, if desired, as the preferred software inventory through this process. The software fix manager can place synchronizations in a fix list. There can be multiple software product synchronizations per software product, and the synchronizations can be applied to a computer by removing a software product fix or installing a product software fix. The current invention may also be applied to software products themselves, by installing or removing software products. The present invention potentially has its best application in networks, as numerous target computers or groups of target computers may be synchronized with a preferred software inventory of a model system.

Apparatus and method for synchronizing software between computers

An object oriented framework mechanism for distributing and managing operations of a network application defines classes and class relationships that provide for easily extending the framework to define new heterogeneous operations in a network application. Core functions of the framework mechanism support operation management functions, which may include status reporting, error recovery, scheduling, reexecution of previously-defined operations, persistence of operations, and sharing of operations between users. The framework mechanism provides extensible functions that are extended by a user to define a network application. A network application can thus be defined by a user that supports any or all of the above-mentioned operation management functions without explicitly providing these functions, because these functions are part of the core function of the framework mechanism.

Object oriented framework mechanism and method for distributing and managing heterogenous operations of a network application

An apparatus and method for creating packages and for transferring packages between computer systems provides a graphical user interface that allows a user to define various attributes for a package. Logical packages may be defined, which specify package elements to include in the package. Physical packages may also be defined, which contain a copy of the package elements specified in the logical package. Once a user defines a logical package, the logical package may be transferred to an endpoint system. The endpoint system reads the logical package, and from the parameters in the logical package determines where to retrieve the package elements and what other actions are appropriate while retrieving the package elements and constructing a physical package. In this manner, the endpoint system retrieves the package elements as required. The preferred embodiment of the present invention defines a packager using an object oriented framework mechanism that defines both core and extensible functions. Core functions of the framework mechanism cannot be modified by a user, while extensible functions in the framework mechanism are extended by a user to define a run-time package application. By providing an object oriented package framework mechanism, a developer can quickly and efficiently generate new package definitions and new features on the graphical user interface used to define a package.

Growing community of inventors

Rochester, MN, United States of America

Gregory Scott Hurlebaus