International Business Machines Corporation

Robert S Keller

Marvin L Williams

William J Johnson

George C Manthuruthil

Greg P Fitzpatrick

Trevor J Bodz

Rohit F Colaco

Roshan C Ail

Jayalakshmi P Atmacharan

Vijay Bhombore-Rao

Gregory Peter Fitzpatrick

Michael Shannon Nichols

Steven Kenneth Howard

William R Sterrett

Travis Woodruff

Hadyn A Inniss

A method, system and computer program product for resolving values of parameters of tags. A map is created which includes the number of times each parameter is referenced by the tags in a web page requested by a client device. The parameters in the map are then sorted in a list in descending order based on the number of times referenced by the tags. The value for the parameter listed at the top of the list is looked up. If the value cannot be located, then those tags that are associated with this parameter are added to a list of tags to be ignored. By ignoring such tags in this list, the resolving of tag values for tags to be syndicated can occur more quickly and efficiently, including syndicating the tag data before the web page is completely loaded.

Efficiently resolving the values for the tag parameters thereby syndicating the tag data as early as possible

Methods and arrangements to analyze web traffic of a portal are contemplated. Embodiments include transformations, code, state machines or other logic to analyze web traffic of a portal by a portlet receiving a request for web page content from the portal and generating a fragment of a web page. The fragment may include code to collect data from clients on web traffic of the portlet and to transmit the data to a facility for the collection of data on web traffic of the portal and the portlet. Some embodiments may involve a portal requesting web page content from a portlet, and the portal receiving a fragment of a web page from the portlet. The fragment may include code to collect data from clients on web traffic of the portlet and to transmit the data to the data collection facility.

Analyzing web site traffic

A method and system for validating access to a computer system in an unobtrusive manner. A finite ordered series of substantive activities, such as icon manipulations, application invocations or file manipulations is specified and stored for future reference. Thereafter, each time access to the computer system is attempted, the initial activities of a prospective user are identified and compared to the stored finite ordered series of substantive activities. Access is validated and continued access permitted in response to a match between the prospective user's initial activities and the stored finite ordered series of substantive activities. In this manner, access to a computer system may be validated without the necessity of utilizing an explicit access/password screen which may be compromised. In one embodiment of the present invention, a selected application may be automatically invoked or a particular activity automatically executed in response to a validation of access.

Method and system for access validation in a computer system

An electronic mail object on a data processing system contains a request that the recipient perform an action. In addition, the electronic mail object contains an action or command for carrying out the request. Upon receipt of the electronic mail object, the recipient can carry out the request by selecting the action. The action is marked by starting and ending markers so that it can be isolated and extracted from the electronic mail object. Once extracted, the action is executed on the data processing system. In addition, the recipient can establish criteria for evaluating whether the selected command should be executed.

Method and system for providing actions by way of electronic

Method of, and apparatus for, optical character recognition of predominate and non-predominate color coded characters based on hypothesis testing utilizing both geometric optical character recognition and color coded optical character recognition techniques. In this hypothesis testing technique, geometric OCR is used to generate a null hypothesis that a target character has been recognized, and an alternative hypothesis that the target character has not been recognized. Color coded OCR is used to select either the null hypothesis or the alternative hypothesis. Alternatively, the roles of geometric OCR and color coded OCR may be reversed such that color coded OCR is used for hypothesis generation, and geometric OCR is used for hypothesis selection.

Method of and apparatus for optical character recognition based on

Automatic detection and processing of an empty multimedia data object is used to determine the data type of a multimedia data object. The system also detects whether the multimedia data object, or a component thereof, is empty based upon its data type. The system also appropriately processes a detected empty multimedia data object, or a component thereof. The appropriate processing may include no action, informing a user, program, or device of a detected empty multimedia data object, or a component thereof, inhibiting further processing of a detected empty multimedia data object, or a component thereof, or deleting a detected empty multimedia data object, or a component thereof.

Method of and apparatus for providing automatic detection and processing

A method and system utilizing a data processing system for the efficient designation and retrieval of particular segments within a multimedia presentation. Operation of the multimedia presentation may be controlled by operation of a plurality of data processing system user interface commands. A digital counter is established for multimedia presentations which do not have an existing digital counter, or for multimedia presentations which have an existing digital counter whose output may not be accessed by the data processing system. Thereafter, a particular rate of change for the digital counter is correlated with each user interface command which has been registered within the data processing system, enabling a user to thereafter access and automatically position particular segments within the multimedia presentation in a random order utilizing the user interface commands.

Method and system for efficient designation and retrieval of particular

The method and apparatus of the present invention permit users to associate conditions of interest, such as keywords or originator identities. In response to the sending of a message, the data processing system determines which user conditions are met by the message input into the system and may associate the identities of such users with the message. In one embodiment, the system returns to the sender of the message the identities of users whose conditions are met by the message. In another embodiment, the system routes the message to users whose conditions are met by the message and, optionally, returns a confirmation of the delivery of the message to the sender. In either embodiment, a user can designate himself as 'invisible', so that the system will not report the invisible user's identity to the sender.

Method and apparatus for disseminating messages to unspecified users in

Method of, and apparatus for, providing a group query. An Interrogator Process provides an interface to a requesting user and formulates appropriate queries. Queries may be of the form of a single user query, a multiple user query, a group query, or a physical area query. A group is a collection of users who share a common characteristic. This common characteristic may be the same department, the same surname, the same job title, using the same device, executing the same process or application, etc.

Method of and apparatus for providing a group query

Method of, and apparatus for, providing automatic detection of the physical presence of a user of a data processing system. The present invention comprises an Event Detection Process, a Presence Detection Process, and an Interrogator Process. The Event Detection Process detects presence indicating events. The Presence Detection Process evaluates the presence indicating events to determine the physical presence of a user or someone else other than a user. The Interrogator Process provides an interface to a requesting user and formulates appropriate queries to be sent to one or more Presence Detection Processes.

Method of and apparatus for providing existential presence

The present invention allows the inclusion of a place mark in an electronic mail item. The place mark serves to identify and link an on-line reference to the mail item. When a user sends the mail item to a recipient, the place mark but not the reference goes with the item. Upon receipt, the recipient may select the place mark during review of the mail item and the on-line reference will be automatically called and displayed. Upon completing review of the reference, the recipient may transfer control from the on-line reference to the mail item without having to back out of the reference and then initiate the electronic mail.

System for automatically establishing a link between an electronic mail

A data processing system determines the relative frequency of occurrence in a specified file object of two specified classes of display objects and displays the contents of the file object accentuating display objects of the class having the desired relative frequency of occurrence. Relative frequency of occurrence may be determined by number of occurrences of display objects within each of the two classes or by determining a weight for each display object of each of the two classes. Relative frequency of occurrence may be computed either by separately summing or by computing the difference of either the number of objects or the weight of objects of the two classes.

Method and apparatus for visual accentuation of displayed information

Color coding of characters both for optical character recognition by a machine and for viewing by a human is provided by coloring a character with a predominate color distinguishable by humans and a non-predominate color non-distracting to humans, but distinguishable by a color scanner. The advantage of the present invention is higher optical character recognition accuracy rates without the severe visual distraction to human readers of prior art color coded characters. A further technical advantage is that the invention can be practiced with conventional color printers and color scanners instead of the specialized apparatus of prior art color coded characters.

Method of and apparatus for producing predominate and non-predominate

Method of, and apparatus for, processing a color coded character to recognize the character being examined by an OCR device. Said color coded character comprises a predominate color associated with said character distinguishable by humans, and a non-predominate color associated with said character and non-distracting to humans, but distinguishable by a color scanner. The present invention allows the non-predominate color of a character to be used as the sole criteria for recognizing the character.

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Grapevine, TX, United States of America

Robert S Keller