International Business Machines Corporation

Michael Richard Cooper

Mark Wayne VanderWiele

Mark Joseph Hamzy

Steven Francis Best

Patrick Edward Nogay

Rabindranath Dutta

Michael Wayne Brown

Scott Thomas Jones

Marc Leslie Cohen

Brandon J Brockway

Mark W Vanderwiele

James Lee Gray

Jason Robert Kersten

Michael A Paolini

Jonathan Mark Wagner

Ravi Ravisankar

Joseph Celi, Jr

Lorin Ullmann

Kelvin Roderick Lawrence

Scott J Broussard

Kumar Ravi

Kenneth Wayne Borgendale

Joseph J Kubik

Robert J Kamper

Charles Vaughn Rankin

Kamal Chandrakant Patel

Matt Francis Rutkowski

Peter A Zannucci

Keith Edward Carter

Bryan Douglas Dobbs

David Harvey Fritz

Stephen Todd Pride

R Ravisankar

Janet Lynn Stashluk

Kamal Chandrankant Patel

A method, apparatus, and computer instructions for storing data in a file system. A determination is made as to whether space is available in an inode of the file in the file system. The data is stored into the inode in response to space being available. Additionally, data for a file may be stored in a block that is partially filled with data from another file. Data for a file may be stored using either the inode or by sharing a block. Data also may be stored using both of these mechanisms.

Increasing efficiency of data storage in a file system

Personalized searching including providing in a search portal a personal search term list; receiving from a user a navigation identification message; and inserting index records in a personalized search index. Inserting index records in a personalized search index typically comprises retrieving a document from a navigation location and indexing the navigation location and keywords from the personal search term list that occur in the retrieved document. A navigation identification message may comprise a search keyword and inserting index records in a personalized search index may include indexing the search keyword with the navigation location in the personalized search index. Embodiments typically include creating and transmitting to users, in dependence upon the personalized search index, search criteria, and user identification, responses to search query messages.

Personalized indexing and searching for information in a distributed data processing system

Method and apparatus for increasing efficiency of data storage in a file system

A system and method that centrally manages desktop packages is provided allowing the administrator to recover component files previously sent to servers located throughout the organization. Applications are assigned to users and workstations. Self-contained desktop packages are transmitted to servers. The servers, in turn, provide the desktop packages to clients. The packages and the components included in the packages include unique identifiers used to identify the packages and components. A manifest is maintained detailing the individual components included in each of the self-contained desktop files. When a disaster event occurs at the administrator's computer system, the administrator retrieves the self-contained desktop files from the servers to which the packages were previously transmitted. The administrator repopulates the component libraries by unpacking the components from the self-contained desktop files. The administrator uses the manifest to determine whether additional self-contained package files need to be retrieved from other servers.

System and method for restoring desktop components using distributed desktop packages

A method for providing additional descriptive information about a file during a download to a local computer so that functional and descriptive aspects of the file may easily be reviewed without having to open the file. A software application is provided that enhances current browser software. When a user desires to download a file from a remote source, the application causes the browser to link to the web site and retrieve particular descriptive information/data associated with the file, including the URL. Concurrently, a dialog box is opened and displayed on the display device of the local computer. The dialog box includes a text entry area in which the user can enter personalized identifying data/information about the file being downloaded. The downloaded file is saved along with the data retrieved from the web site as well as the user-entered data/information. The additional information is stored as extended attributes linked to the file and are retrieved without opening the file.

Method and apparatus of associating file description during a browser-initiated download

A system and method that allows an administrator to provide application extensions in a platform-neutral shell environment is provided. The administrator defines a graphical interface, such as an icon, used to launch the platform dependent software application. The administrator centrally manages the application extensions by defining the extension and including the extension definition in self-contained desktops. The administrator defines the executables and directories used to launch the corresponding application. The administrator selects desktop components, including application extensions, needed for a particular job role and packages the components into the self-contained desktop package file. The desktop packages and included application extensions are received and loaded on a platform-neutral desktop shell application. The shell application exists in a platform-neutral environment such as a Java virtual machine. The application extensions are launched from the shell application in order to invoke or utilize platform-dependent software applications.

System and method of extending application types in a centrally managed desktop environment

A system, method, and program of the invention enables a software programming tool to automatically populate a specified directory, such as a working directory of a specified application, with files matching a certain file type, e.g., *.gif, *.jpeg, or matching a general file description, e.g., pictures, images, spreadsheets, text. The files may reside within any directory accessible to the computer system running the specified application. When running the specified application, a user has access to all of the files matching the specified type or description from the one directory. The functionality of the tool is invoked each time the application is launched, without further user interaction, so that any newly created files matching the file type or general description are automatically copied or moved to the specified one directory.

Automatically populating an application's working directory with files having a specified type from other directory locations

A system and method that provides a platform-neutral shell application for a user interface is provided. The platform neutral shell application is performed in a way that prevents the user from accessing the underlying operating system. The desktop shell application executes in a middleware application. The operating system residing on the client computer system is booted. The middleware application is loaded on the operating system platform. The middleware application is programmed for the particular operating system being used by the client. The shell application is loaded on the middleware application. The shell application prevents the user from accessing the underlying operating system by maximizing the window in which the shell application is running, pinning the shell application window to the foreground, and removing controls from the desktop window would otherwise allow the user to bypass the desktop shell.

System and method for platform independent desktop lockdown

A method, system and computer program product in a data processing system for printing a disjoint web object and content of a web page is provided. Responsive to presenting the web page by the browser, an embedded tag is presented as the disjoint web object. The disjoint web object is then printed based on the embedded tag, wherein content relative to the disjoint web object is printed along with content of the web page.

Data processing system for converting content relative to a space used as an advertising medium into a printable object

A system, method and program of the invention provides an application program tool that generates a password for a user to access a resource. The tool receives as input from a user a global user password and at least one hash key. The tool applies a consistent algorithm to the name of the resource being accessed, such as a domain name for an Internet site, and the hash key, and the global user password to generate the password. The same password is regenerated the next time the user accesses the same resource. The tool automatically populates the resource with the password.

Generating and maintaining encrypted passwords

A mechanism for automatically generating code, in particular high level source code for remotely accessing functionality running in a remote process is provided. Given a specified set of functionality, which may be defined via an interface, for providing functionality to a local process, the mechanism generates, in source code form, software for remotely accessing the functionality by an application running in another process, that is, for accessing the functionality by an application running a second process. The code may be generated at build time but before the actual build of a software product implementing the functionality.

Method and system for automatic code generation accessing functionality in a remote process

A system and method that selects applications that are allowed to be performed by a particular user using a particular workstation is provided. The system identifies one or more roles that have been assigned to the user and matches the identified roles with one or more roles that have been assigned to the workstation. Roles that are allowed for both the workstation and the user are enabled to be used by the user using the workstation. In one embodiment, a user may be allowed to perform multiple roles from the user's workstation. The available roles are selected using an interface, such as a pop-up menu. In one embodiment, the desktop packages and components are received by, displayed on, and launched from a operating system platform-neutral shell application, such as a Java software application running on a Java virtual machine. In this manner, the packages and components are platform-independent.

System and method for determining desktop functionality based on workstation and user roles

A method for serving an image from a server to a client, e.g., a computer having a browser or other graphics viewing engine. The user of the client first specifies a set of one or more bitmap characteristics for an image transfer, with at least one of the bitmap characteristics including a number of bits per pixel. Preferably, this specification is accomplished using an applet or other piece of code that is downloaded to the client from the server. Later, when the server receives a client request that includes data identifying a specified bitmap characteristic, a server processing routine (e.g., a servlet) generates a version of the image that conforms to the specified bitmap characteristic. This version is then delivered back to the client in response to the original request. In this way, the user of the client machine can control the particular characteristics of the image files that are delivered to his or her machine.

Method for enabling a client to specify the characteristics of an image to be downloaded from a server

A mechanism is provided for storing user identifications and passwords in a mobile device, such as a personal digital assistant. A modified keyboard device driver may be installed on each platform the user accesses. When the user is prompted for a password from a functioning terminal, the user may select the appropriate account on the mobile device. The mobile device then may send the user identification and password for the account to the terminal. The modified keyboard device driver receives the user identification and password from the mobile device and converts it into keyed text. The accounts with user identifications and passwords may be protected by a password. Thus, the user must only remember the one mobile device password to access a plurality of resources and computer systems. Furthermore, the communications between the mobile device and terminal may be encrypted to prevent snooping.

Growing community of inventors

Austin, TX, United States of America

Michael Richard Cooper