International Business Machines Corporation

John Bryan Ibbotson

Colin Leonard Bird

Graham Anthony Bent

Patrick Dantressangle

Andrew James Stanford-Clark

Michael Starkey

David Couttie Fallside

John Christopher Hawkins

Stephen James Paul Todd

John Michael Knapman

Sydney George Chapman

Mark Patrick Nuttall

Ian Henderson

A method for propagating a query in a system made up of a number connectable database management system nodes, where each node is associated at least one database, includes: selecting a first node from the number of nodes; generating at least one connection operable to propagate a query from the first node to a first subset of the number of nodes; generating at least one connection operable to propagate a query from a second node in the first subset to a second subset of the plurality of nodes; where at least one node in the second subset is different from nodes in the first subset.

Propagating a query in a federated database

A system and associated method for collaboratively developing information. An information delivery system for information regarding rapidly evolving software products builds an initial information set and a vocabulary. The initial information set is released for annotations on the information set by contributing users. The vocabulary defines a group of terms and respectively associated confidence level that can be used in describing annotations. An access control list may be employed in authenticating contributing users in accessing the information delivery system to assure reliability of annotations. A reliable annotation having a confidence level satisfying a threshold confidence level is integrated with the information set according to an approval by a content owner.

System and method for collaborative information development

A tool () for graphically defining an expression is disclosed. The tool comprises a graphic user interface (GUI) component () and an expression generator component () adapted to read a graphic definition of an expression provided by a user through the GUI component. The GUI component is responsive to user input to define one or more tree structures comprising a hierarchical series of nodes, and one or more lists comprising a plurality of items, each list item being associated with respective node of an associated tree. The expression generator component analyzes the graphic definition and generates an expression based on the structure of the or each tree and any list items associated with respective nodes of a tree.

Method and tool for graphically defining an expression

A method for classification of objects () for retrieval from a database (). The method includes a user () classifying an object () by designating one or more terms for the object (). The one or more terms are saved in association with an address for the object () in a user index (). The user index () is in a local environment () of the user (). The method also includes promoting the one or more terms for the object () from the user index () to a global index () if the one or more terms meet a predefined set of rules. The global index () is accessible by multiple users () and may be a search engine index. The objects () for retrieval from the database () may be web pages or web sites on the Internet. The objects () may be in the form of text documents, audio, video, image or any other form of media or a combination of forms of media. The one or more terms may be terms in the object () or in an associated description of the object ().

Method for classification

Disclosed are a method, system and computer program product for placing a group order, mediated by a system having one or more computers, the method comprising the steps of: publishing, by a publisher, information about a quantity of a material; subscribing, via a subscriber, to a topic comprising said information; receiving, via a subscriber, said information; aggregating, via a subscriber, said information from at least one of said publishers; and responsive to said step of aggregating, selecting based on at least one criterion a best time to place said group order.

Apparatus and method for optimizing group bulk purchases

Handling processor-intensive operations in a data processing system

An apparatus for detecting errors in frames of seismic data that can be presented as images, such images being expected to exhibit an inherent symmetry about an axis, the apparatus comprising: a storage device for storing a frame of seismic data which can be presented as an image; a selection device for selecting an axis within the image as the axis of symmetry; a divider for dividing the data about the axis of symmetry to create first and second sets of data; and a comparison means for comparing the sets of data according to preselected matching criteria to determine, based on the degree of matching, whether the extent of mismatch in the frame of data is within a predetermined tolerance.

Growing community of inventors

Salisbury, United Kingdom

John Bryan Ibbotson