Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Kevin Joseph Fischer

Jeffrey E Larsson

Steven Miles Greenberg

Juha P Niemisto

Eric Snyder

Anna Timasheva

Robert Wayne Coffen

Narayan Nevrekar

Terri L Sorge

Scott Rosemund

Aleksandr Slepak

Jeff Larsson

Bob Coffen

Rajeev S Misra

Atul Bhartia

Francisc Stugren

Gopal Parupudi

Eric B Fox

Sohail Baig Mohammed

Adil Ahmed Sherwani

Kirk A Glerum

Mahmood Gulam Qadir

Michael Ronn Marcelais

Brian T Hill

Eric A LeVine

Russell S Johnson

Meredith Anne McClurg

Ramakrishnan NataraJan

Anubhuti Manohar

Kazi Al-Rashid

Naveen Reddy Karri

Jason Minick

Christine H Tran

Chi-Kit Chan

Jayaram R Iyer

Venkat Siva Sai Krishna Khanderao

Michael Guthrie

In some examples, a computing device determines a data manipulation from a job specification. The device determines a corresponding data-processing instruction using data-source metadata, and determines and executes a corresponding query. In some examples, a device receives search keys. The device searches data-source metadata using the search keys. The device weights a first data source based on producer-consumer relationships between data sources, and ranks the first data source using the weight. In some examples, a device determines structural and content information of a data record. The device determines a data-source identifier from the structural information and stores the content information with the data-source identifier in a database. In some examples, via a user interface, a device receives a job specification and annotation data. The device stores the spec and the annotation data in a metadata repository.

Database operation using metadata of data sources

Data assets, such as streams, databases, spreadsheets, or other data sources or types, are identified and representations of the data asset are stored. The representation of a data asset includes a schema used by the data asset, a location of the data asset, and keywords or other descriptive information. The representations of each data asset are indexed, and a search interface is provided that allows users to search for relevant data assets. In addition, dependencies, or other relationship information, among the various data assets is maintained and is used to generate a graph that shows the interrelatedness of the data assets. The graph can be explored by users to select data assets, and used to alert users when a change has been made to a data asset that may affect a data asset that they have used.

Discovery of data assets using metadata

A method and apparatus are provided for displaying help content corresponding to the occurrence of an event occurring within a computer. An alert help data file is periodically downloaded at a client computer. When a program alert occurs within a client computer, the alert help data file is searched to identify help content corresponding to the particular occurrence of the alert. An alert identifier may be uniquely assigned to each alert to assist in locating the corresponding help content. Moreover, an assert tag and a function result value may also be utilized to define and locate particular help content. Once located, the help content may be displayed to a user.

Method and apparatus for providing help content corresponding to the occurrence of an event within a computer

Many current computer software platforms support user customization and version upgradability. Unfortunately, upgrading a computer software platform may result in significant loss of user customization data. Additionally, it may be advantageous for users to export and import their customization data to share as customized business solutions with other instances of the computer software platforms. Accordingly, a technique for creating and importing a configuration package and a technique for creating and utilizing an update package is disclosed herein. The configuration package allows configuration data of elements within a computer software platform to be exported and imported. The update package allows elements to be exported within the update package. The update package may be utilized in upgrading, overwriting, and/or creating a new instance of elements. When an existing element is upgraded with an update element within the update package, the existing element's original configuration may be retained.

Serviceability and configuration management

A method and system are provided for remotely controlling the reporting of events occurring within a computer. A remote control file identifying the events and conditions under which the events should be reported is periodically retrieved at a client computer. When an event occurs within a client computer, the remote control file is searched for data indicating that the event should be recorded. If data is located within the remote control file indicating that the event should be reported, data describing the event is collected. The collected data then may be subsequently reported. The remote control file may also include data identifying the type of data to be collected and a date and time after which data for a particular event should not be collected or reported.

Method and system for remotely controlling the reporting of events occurring within a computer system

Method and system for verifying and storing documents during a failure in a program module. Once a failure is detected in the program module, control passes to an exception handler that determines whether the open files have been modified. If so, a crash handler is executed, which verifies and stores the documents by detecting and repairing any discovered corruption. The program module is then terminated and restarted. Upon restarting the program module, the repaired document is opened and displayed to the user with a list of repairs.

Method and system for verifying and storing documents during a program failure

The invention provides a method and computer-readable medium for generically reporting the occurrence of an event occurring within a computer system. When an event occurs, parameter values corresponding to one or more predefined parameters that describe the event are identified. The parameter values are then stored in a normalized database configured for storing event parameters corresponding to the occurrence of an unlimited number of event types.

Method and system for generically reporting events occurring within a computer system

Method and system for recovering information from open files during a failure in a program module. Once a failure is detected in the program module, control passes to an exception handler that determines whether the open files have been modified. If so, the open files are verified and stored as recovery versions of the files at the time of the failure. The program module is then terminated and restarted. Upon restarting the program module, the recovery version of the file at the time of the failure is opened and displayed to the user.

Method and system for recovering information during a program failure

A spreadsheet program saves data into a hypertext markup language (HTML) document that can be viewed with a browser program, but persists all of the information associated with that data necessary to maintain formatting and functionality of the data if reintroduced into the spreadsheet program. The HTML document can then be used both for displaying the data over the Internet or other network in a browser program, and also for opening the data in the spreadsheet program. The information necessary for preserving the format and functionality of the data in the spreadsheet program is incorporated into the HTML document using HTML, Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), and Extended Markup Language (XML). HTML is used for expressing cell data information that is displayed in the browser program, CSS are used for expressing cell-level properties of the data, and XML is used for expressing information that is not displayed in the browser program, but which is necessary for some functionality of the data when used in the spreadsheet program. If any formatting of the data are changed to enable display of the data in the browser program as displayed in the spreadsheet program, the original formatting information is retained in a supporting file that is ignored by a browser program.

Storage of application specific data in HTML

A method and system for loading files into a spreadsheet application program (SAP) operating on a computer system, using an escalating load sequence. The SAP determines if a normal load mode failed while attempting to load the files. In response to determining that the normal load mode failed, the SAP escalates the load sequence to a safe load mode, where a plurality of checks are performed and the files are repaired. The SAP also determines if the safe load mode was successful in repairing and loading the files. If the SAP determines that the safe load mode was unsuccessful, the SAP escalates the load sequence to a data recovery mode, where the spreadsheet application program attempts to extract formulas and values from the file.

Method and system for repairing corrupt files and recovering data

A method for enabling data generated in a parent application to be translated into another format, such as hypertext markup language (HTML), so that formatting functionality unique to the parent application is retained, and so that the data reintroduced into the parent application from an HTML document has all its original formatting and functionality restored. As the data are translated into the other format, formatting information specific to the parent application is included with the data, but in such a manner that the formatting information is ignored by applications such as web browsers that are compatible with the other format. While translating the data into the other format, any formatting commands in the data that are not fully supported in the other format are identified, and if found, are translated so as to emulate the form of the data in the parent application. Included in the translated data is a marker identifying changes in the formatting commands. When the translated data are reintroduced to the parent application, the parent application ignores the non-identical formatting indicated by the marker and instead uses the original formatting information that was included in the translated data. The method can be used to reduce the size of an HTML file that includes translated spreadsheet data by abbreviating the HTML code for empty cells, while ensuring that when translated spreadsheet data are reintroduced into a parent spreadsheet application, the original formatting and functionality of the spreadsheet data are maintained.

Translating data into HTML while retaining formatting and functionality for returning the translated data to a parent application

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Redmond, WA, United States of America

Kevin Joseph Fischer