Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Jeffrey Marc Richter

Karen E Fries

John M Tippett

James S Miller

Brian Keith Pepin

Jason Duane Clark

Thomas E Quinn

Thomas Edward Quinn, Jr

James Slocum Miller

Thomas Edward Quinn

Threads of a process require a shared resource to perform their work. The threads have a shared object, which might include a lock and an expiration time. When the resource has not been acquired and any one of the threads attempts to access the shared resource, that thread locks the lock, acquires the shared resource, sets the expiration time, releases the lock, and then uses the shared resource to perform its work. When any one of the threads requires the resource and the resource has been acquired but the expiration time is within a time threshold, only that thread refreshes the resource, resets the expiration time, and uses the resource to perform its work. When any of the threads require the resource and the resource is available and not expired, the thread uses the shared resource.

Efficient and scalable use of shared resources

The present invention extends to methods, systems, and computer program products for discovering, qualifying, and activating software add-in components. An add-in components manager discovers one or more add-in components at the computer system are of a specified type of add-in component requested by an application. The add-in component manager qualifies at least one discovered add-in component based on the at least one discovered add-in component satisfying one or more qualification constraints. The one or more qualification constraints are representative of functionality that is to be associated with an add-in component for the add-in component to interoperate with the application in a desired manner. The add-in component manager activates a qualified add-in component in accordance with the one or more qualification constraints for use with the application.

Discovery, qualification, and activation of software add-in components

Node-to-node communication pipelines may include code modules that are configured and assembled across a protocol according to dynamically input module-specific parameters. The parameters may be input to a service into which the modules are registered, and one or more appropriate pipelines may be dynamically assembled.

Node-to-node communication pipelines

Thread usage is managed when locking resources during the possibly-contentious accessing of such resources. In a described implementation, a thread that is executing a corresponding access request is not suspended when its corresponding access request is delayed because a targeted resource is currently locked for accessing by another thread. Instead, when a targeted resource is locked, the blocked access request is queued up in a queue of access requests. The corresponding thread is then permitted to perform other work. When the resource is subsequently unlocked and thus becomes available, an access request (e.g., the oldest or highest priority access request) that is queued is retrieved, and a thread is allowed to execute it. Implementations for general locking access schemes, for read/write-bifurcated locking access schemes, etc. are described. Implementations are described from conceptual, functional, temporal, code or function, contention, thread, and other perspectives.

Resource accessing with locking

A system for enhancing searching of a network has an architecture that supports a search tool component capable of soliciting a search query from a user and of invoking an instance of an Internet browser in which to display search results. A further embodiment of the invention providing at least one search option suggesting changing at least one search parameter and at least one option allowing the user to indicate that their search was successful.

System for enhancing a query interface

A system for enhancing searching of a network has an architecture that supports a network indexing component capable of indexing terms located in pages on the network and capable of receiving a search query and returning a topic for each term in the query that matches an indexed term. An embodiment of the system further provides for a search tool capable of displaying text associated with assisting a user to perform a search of the Internet and an animation component capable of displaying an animated character. Further embodiments support a search tool component capable of soliciting a search query from a user and of invoking an instance of an Internet browser in which to display search results. A further embodiment of the invention providing at least one search option suggesting changing at least one search parameter and at least one option allowing the user to indicate that their search was successful.

A method of aiding a user in searching a computer environment includes retrieving a search query from a user, accessing a user profile and selecting a search area based on the search query and the user profile. In other embodiments of the present invention, a method provides for receiving a search query, categorizing at least one term in the search query based on an indexed list of terms derived from pages on a network, and identifying at least one search area based on the category of a search term.

System for improving search area selection

A computer-readable medium has computer-executable instructions for retrieving a search query provided by a user and locating an ambiguity in the search query that affects the optimization of the search query. The instructions also provide for requesting additional information from the user to clarify the text of the search query. Additional aspects of the invention allow the user to see and select past search queries. Further aspects of the invention automatically construct a boolean search query from a non-boolean query. Other aspects of the invention modify a search query based on its scope. In one embodiment of the invention a search query is modified based on natural language parse data produced by performing a natural language parse of the search query.

Growing community of inventors

Kirkland, WA, United States of America

Jeffrey Marc Richter