Brian Beckman

Secure distributed applications are produced by default upon construction. Mechanisms are provided to address distributed application vulnerabilities (e.g., cross-site scripting, cross-site request forgery, replay attacks. . . ) automatically. These mechanisms are provided in conjunction with a tier split component that breaks up an application for execution across multiple contexts or tiers. As a result, any application that is tier split is protected from security vulnerabilities by default… Show more

Secure distributed applications are produced by default upon construction. Mechanisms are provided to address distributed application vulnerabilities (e.g., cross-site scripting, cross-site request forgery, replay attacks. . . ) automatically. These mechanisms are provided in conjunction with a tier split component that breaks up an application for execution across multiple contexts or tiers. As a result, any application that is tier split is protected from security vulnerabilities by default without any intervention on the part of a developer. Show less

Many people without advanced programming skill scan build sophisticated spreadsheet models but thiere is no equivalent for spreadsheet-like programming for data-driven visualizations. The invention is a mechanism for inference of a dependency graph that leads from input model parameter(s) to output model parameters using analytics. As the identity of the input and/or output model parameter(s) change, or as the analytics themselves change, the dependency graph may also change. This might trigger… Show more

Many people without advanced programming skill scan build sophisticated spreadsheet models but thiere is no equivalent for spreadsheet-like programming for data-driven visualizations. The invention is a mechanism for inference of a dependency graph that leads from input model parameter(s) to output model parameters using analytics. As the identity of the input and/or output model parameter(s) change, or as the analytics themselves change, the dependency graph may also change. This might trigger a partial or full resolve of the analytics. The intermediate parameters involved in the dependency graph may be viewed and evaluated by the user. Claims are directed towards the process of inferring the dependency graph.
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Typically, Computer Aided Design (CAD) and solid modeling applications convey information visually. However, there are limits on the type and scope of information that can be attributed to the various visual representations and how much the model can be manipulated to test various scenarios inspite of using solvers. This invention is a flexible but complex solver that solves even when the identity of the known and unknown model parameters changes with each solve. Claims are directed to this… Show more

Typically, Computer Aided Design (CAD) and solid modeling applications convey information visually. However, there are limits on the type and scope of information that can be attributed to the various visual representations and how much the model can be manipulated to test various scenarios inspite of using solvers. This invention is a flexible but complex solver that solves even when the identity of the known and unknown model parameters changes with each solve. Claims are directed to this enhanced solver which is able to automatically use a solver framework to formulate an equation representing analytical relationships between multiple model variables and solve for an output model variable without changing the solver framework when the output model variable changes.
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Many algorithms in data visualization, computer graphics, and computational geometry require triangle meshes, which can be created using triangulation algorithms. Often, such algorithms are complex, slow and exposed to numerical hazards. The invention is a method of determining that points of an irregular mesh are displaced from a regular grid by small amounts and then simply performing triangulation by defining one or more diagonals for the quadrilaterals of the irregular mesh. In particular… Show more

Many algorithms in data visualization, computer graphics, and computational geometry require triangle meshes, which can be created using triangulation algorithms. Often, such algorithms are complex, slow and exposed to numerical hazards. The invention is a method of determining that points of an irregular mesh are displaced from a regular grid by small amounts and then simply performing triangulation by defining one or more diagonals for the quadrilaterals of the irregular mesh. In particular, the claims are directed to determining that quadrilaterals in an irregular grid are convex and not concave, and as a result, defining one or more diagonals for each of the quadrilaterals.
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Widgets or gadgets are mini applications that afford a limited set of information and/or functionality. However, conventional widgets are proprietary in nature or confined to particular vendor systems. The invention relates to cross platform and compositional widgets. Mechanisms are provided to enable development of a widget once and deployment across different hosts. Specialized widgets targeting a particular environment can be generated from generic widgets, and specialized widgets can be… Show more

Widgets or gadgets are mini applications that afford a limited set of information and/or functionality. However, conventional widgets are proprietary in nature or confined to particular vendor systems. The invention relates to cross platform and compositional widgets. Mechanisms are provided to enable development of a widget once and deployment across different hosts. Specialized widgets targeting a particular environment can be generated from generic widgets, and specialized widgets can be generalized to generic widgets to enable retargeting. Furthermore, compositionality of widgets of the same or differing formats is supported. Widgets can be combined or embedded in various ways to support aggregate functionality. The claims are directed to cross platform as well as compositional widget systems and methods.
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Today, programming distributed applications is a painful process that requires programmers to understand many different technologies and to make decisions prematurely on how to partition their programs. The invention provides tier splitting support for distributed execution environments. Initially, applications are split or sliced into multiple tiers in a variety of ways, for instance as a function of execution and/or runtime context. Pre-split libraries are provided for programmers by the… Show more

Today, programming distributed applications is a painful process that requires programmers to understand many different technologies and to make decisions prematurely on how to partition their programs. The invention provides tier splitting support for distributed execution environments. Initially, applications are split or sliced into multiple tiers in a variety of ways, for instance as a function of execution and/or runtime context. Pre-split libraries are provided for programmers by the tier-splitting component and/or directly by programmers. A testing component is provided to enable distributed applications to be tested and debugged. The claims are directed towards acquiring a tier agnostic computer application and transforming the application into a multiple tier application to facilitate distributed processing.
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A data-driven analytics model uses analytics components (such as equations, rules, and constraints) that dynamically define which model parameters are known, which are unknown, and solves for the unknown model parameters. The invention is a hybrid solver that performs forward solves, inversions, and numerical solves depending on the need. If the model analytics is to be inverted, the model analytics is inverted, and the forward solve is performed. On the other hand, if the inversion of the… Show more

A data-driven analytics model uses analytics components (such as equations, rules, and constraints) that dynamically define which model parameters are known, which are unknown, and solves for the unknown model parameters. The invention is a hybrid solver that performs forward solves, inversions, and numerical solves depending on the need. If the model analytics is to be inverted, the model analytics is inverted, and the forward solve is performed. On the other hand, if the inversion of the model analytics is not to be performed, then a numerical solve is performed. Claims are directed towards hybrid solving and the solver architecture.
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Any given application has limits on the type of information that can be visually conveyed, how that information is visually conveyed, or the scope of data and behavior that can be attributed to the various visual representations. The invention relates to authoring of 3D content and allows any type of visual item to be rendered using model analytics. In this invention, a solver framework is used to solve for output model variables by coordinating the solving operations of multiple constituent… Show more

Any given application has limits on the type of information that can be visually conveyed, how that information is visually conveyed, or the scope of data and behavior that can be attributed to the various visual representations. The invention relates to authoring of 3D content and allows any type of visual item to be rendered using model analytics. In this invention, a solver framework is used to solve for output model variables by coordinating the solving operations of multiple constituent solvers. Claims are directed towards the solver framework including coordinating and processing one or more specialized solvers and providing one or more output model variables.
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Memoization is a mechanism that caches results of function calls for subsequent reuse rather than re-computing results anew. Conventionally, functions are manually or explicitly memoized to optimize execution. The invention pertains to automatic and transparent memoization. Functions are analyzed alone or in combination with context information and memoized automatically based on the analysis. Furthermore, memoization is unobservable such that nothing special needs to be done to employ a… Show more

Memoization is a mechanism that caches results of function calls for subsequent reuse rather than re-computing results anew. Conventionally, functions are manually or explicitly memoized to optimize execution. The invention pertains to automatic and transparent memoization. Functions are analyzed alone or in combination with context information and memoized automatically based on the analysis. Furthermore, memoization is unobservable such that nothing special needs to be done to employ a memoized function. In one instance, this is accomplished by dynamically injecting code that intercepts calls to an original function and redirects them to a memo function. The claims are directed to identifying a function and automatically and transparently memorizing the function.
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Programmatic constructs are mapped directly to syntactically match the same or similar constructs using shallow embedding. The invention pertains to deep and modified shallow embedding techniques for program language integration. The techniques involve decomposing a language into primitive semantic components. In case of deep embedding, decomposed components are explicitly implemented or simulated in a host computer language to ensure semantic consistency. In modified shallow embedding, lower… Show more

Programmatic constructs are mapped directly to syntactically match the same or similar constructs using shallow embedding. The invention pertains to deep and modified shallow embedding techniques for program language integration. The techniques involve decomposing a language into primitive semantic components. In case of deep embedding, decomposed components are explicitly implemented or simulated in a host computer language to ensure semantic consistency. In modified shallow embedding, lower level semantic components are directly mapped to same or similar components in a host language and a map is utilized to translate or transform embedded language applications to those of a host language. The claims are directed towards analyzing semantic components of a first and second computer programming language and implementing the components of the first language in terms of the second language to embed the first language within the second.
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There are many situations in which it would be advantageous to allow adding new members to a data type after it has been compiled into an assembly. The invention is a system for extending data types with an extension unit that modifies a pre-existing base data type. The system also includes a supplemental member that provides additional functionality to the pre-existing base type, and is included with the extension. This system can be used to extend capabilities of programming languages as well… Show more

There are many situations in which it would be advantageous to allow adding new members to a data type after it has been compiled into an assembly. The invention is a system for extending data types with an extension unit that modifies a pre-existing base data type. The system also includes a supplemental member that provides additional functionality to the pre-existing base type, and is included with the extension. This system can be used to extend capabilities of programming languages as well as provide additional programming options for software developers.
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Claims are directed toward executing a LINQ operator to perform a change of basis for a set of vectors in a vector space.

Collections of data, such as executable code or information in a word document, are conventionally modified directly. However, in some instances it is not possible or desirable to directly change data. The invention is a mechanism for out-of-band augmentation that stores data separately from the original data and then applies one or more augmentations to the data when it is requested. Claims are directed to an interface that acquires data and a collections of augmentations and an application… Show more

Collections of data, such as executable code or information in a word document, are conventionally modified directly. However, in some instances it is not possible or desirable to directly change data. The invention is a mechanism for out-of-band augmentation that stores data separately from the original data and then applies one or more augmentations to the data when it is requested. Claims are directed to an interface that acquires data and a collections of augmentations and an application that applies the augmentations to the data and returns the result.
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In order to make XML literals in programming languages useful, there needs to be a way to embed expressions and namespaces inside XML literals that refer to information or logic that is defined within the program but outside of the XML. The invention is a compilation architecture that compiles an instance of an extensible markup language (XML) document object model (DOM) to provide support for XML literals in the underlying programming language. The architecture also supports escaping XML… Show more

In order to make XML literals in programming languages useful, there needs to be a way to embed expressions and namespaces inside XML literals that refer to information or logic that is defined within the program but outside of the XML. The invention is a compilation architecture that compiles an instance of an extensible markup language (XML) document object model (DOM) to provide support for XML literals in the underlying programming language. The architecture also supports escaping XML identifiers, a reification mechanism, and a conversion mechanism to convert between collections and singletons.
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In some programming languages and environments, not all data is explicitly typed. However type information is useful for detecting and reporting programming errors, and may be used to provide execution efficiency. This invention provides the means for a system to work with untyped data as if it had a type, and to derive types of members of objects using metadata. Specifically, metadata associated with each datum includes (1) the datum's position within a group, (2) a name indicator, and (3) the… Show more

In some programming languages and environments, not all data is explicitly typed. However type information is useful for detecting and reporting programming errors, and may be used to provide execution efficiency. This invention provides the means for a system to work with untyped data as if it had a type, and to derive types of members of objects using metadata. Specifically, metadata associated with each datum includes (1) the datum's position within a group, (2) a name indicator, and (3) the datum's value. A type is then assigned to the datum based on the datum's name and position.
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Computing systems increasingly must work with data from diverse sources. Although a large number of formats and representations exist, several major ways of representing data have evolved and become prevalent in modern computing environments. Choice among formats is a common problem encountered by software developers. The invention is a system for accessing data stored in database format using a stongly-typed system. A data source indicator identifies a datum of a data source to be typed and a… Show more

Computing systems increasingly must work with data from diverse sources. Although a large number of formats and representations exist, several major ways of representing data have evolved and become prevalent in modern computing environments. Choice among formats is a common problem encountered by software developers. The invention is a system for accessing data stored in database format using a stongly-typed system. A data source indicator identifies a datum of a data source to be typed and a type definition component that defines a strongly typed view of the datum. The system can be used to provide types for untyped data as well as supporting advanced functions that rely on the presence of strongly-typed data.
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Previous programming languages support null objects of a particular type or value, but no unification of the systems. The invention is an enhancement to a programming languages by allowing null unification on a type level in addition to a value level. For example, a Nullable(Of T) class can be used to add a null value to the value space of a value type T. This also applies to static types of both reference and value types T. The new operator adds a level of nullability (and removes such… Show more

Previous programming languages support null objects of a particular type or value, but no unification of the systems. The invention is an enhancement to a programming languages by allowing null unification on a type level in addition to a value level. For example, a Nullable(Of T) class can be used to add a null value to the value space of a value type T. This also applies to static types of both reference and value types T. The new operator adds a level of nullability (and removes such nullability) without a mention of the actual type, to steer static type overloading in a precise manner. Accordingly, a new operation can be implemented for types and expressions (e.g., in form of a question mark "?") that identifies nullability, (and symbol "!" for removing nullability).
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Programming languages are checked syntactically and grammatically, which prevents some flexibility in expression of the language. The invention is a system that enhances expressibility in a programming language via relaxation of artificial restrictions and extension of delegates associated therewith, without changing the runtime infrastructure. The invention uses a stub that can replace an impermissible expression in the programming language, to leverage the existing permissible expressions… Show more

Programming languages are checked syntactically and grammatically, which prevents some flexibility in expression of the language. The invention is a system that enhances expressibility in a programming language via relaxation of artificial restrictions and extension of delegates associated therewith, without changing the runtime infrastructure. The invention uses a stub that can replace an impermissible expression in the programming language, to leverage the existing permissible expressions. Such a stub can convert a currently impermissible delegate construction to a currently allowed delegate construction. Accordingly, the stub can provide an exact type match such that if a form is acceptable for functions, a parallel form becomes acceptable for delegates. A check for a requirement of exact match can be moved form a delegate creation to a function invocation. Thus, for example a restriction in visual basic that requires creation of a delegate upon existence of an exact match can be relaxed.
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Processing large amounts of input data for data mining or analysis purposes is currently a tedious problem because programmers need to understand low-level details necessary for parallel and distributed execution of the programs. The invention is a parallel implementation of queries with minimal assumptions on underlying infrastructure. The method employs vertical and horizontal parallelism to process queries. Large data collections are partitioned and queries are executed over such partitions… Show more

Processing large amounts of input data for data mining or analysis purposes is currently a tedious problem because programmers need to understand low-level details necessary for parallel and distributed execution of the programs. The invention is a parallel implementation of queries with minimal assumptions on underlying infrastructure. The method employs vertical and horizontal parallelism to process queries. Large data collections are partitioned and queries are executed over such partitions in parallel. This vertical partitioning can also be recursive in the initially partitioned data to be repartitioned by resources where appropriate. Techniques are provided to leverage properties of aggregations to implement iterate-aggregate shape queries in a highly parallelized manner employing one or both of vertical and horizontal parallelism. The claims are directed towards an identification component that identifies an iterate-aggregate shape query and an execution component that processes the query recursively in parallel over multiple partitions.
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In modern object oriented programming languages, support for more than one object model provides flexibility for the programmer. However, problems arise when the compiler is unable to determine if the user wants to access a given object using the primary or secondary object model. The invention provides a syntax for members added through a metaobject protocol. The method creates a special syntax to distinguish between accessing the secondary and the primary object model. The syntax generally… Show more

In modern object oriented programming languages, support for more than one object model provides flexibility for the programmer. However, problems arise when the compiler is unable to determine if the user wants to access a given object using the primary or secondary object model. The invention provides a syntax for members added through a metaobject protocol. The method creates a special syntax to distinguish between accessing the secondary and the primary object model. The syntax generally approximates the native syntax of the secondary object model and allows for the dynamic generation of member names. The claims are directed towards integrating a secondary object model into a programming environment containing a primary object model.
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Traditional transaction system models assume that interdependence of concurrent transactions, whether or not a commitment has occurred between them. A modeling of a business process can be implemented where autonomous and interdependent transactions are differentiated, so that sychronization of transactions is restrained based on this differentiation, and scheduling can be done either at the action or transaction level. The model can be reduced to a scheduling programming language (SLANG) or… Show more

Traditional transaction system models assume that interdependence of concurrent transactions, whether or not a commitment has occurred between them. A modeling of a business process can be implemented where autonomous and interdependent transactions are differentiated, so that sychronization of transactions is restrained based on this differentiation, and scheduling can be done either at the action or transaction level. The model can be reduced to a scheduling programming language (SLANG) or API operable to allow a user to easily implement a business workflow schedule using SLANG.
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Workflow applications for processing business transactions over a network require co-operation and proper interfacing between systems. A binding system is provided for binding a business workflow schedule to an API, such as a COM interface. Allows a user of a business workflow scheduler (such as SLANG - see 147248.01) to define links to other applications through port and message mapping. Can be useful for facilitating inter-business process compatibility.

Overlaps with US 7503033

The present invention relates to a graphical user interface (GUI) scheduler program for modeling business workflow processes. The GUI scheduler program includes tools to allow a user to create a schedule (process) for business workflow processes based on a set of rules defined by the GUI scheduler program. The program also provides tools for creating and defining message flows between entities. Additionally, the program provides tools that allow a user to define a binding between the schedule… Show more

The present invention relates to a graphical user interface (GUI) scheduler program for modeling business workflow processes. The GUI scheduler program includes tools to allow a user to create a schedule (process) for business workflow processes based on a set of rules defined by the GUI scheduler program. The program also provides tools for creating and defining message flows between entities. Additionally, the program provides tools that allow a user to define a binding between the schedule and components, such as COM components, script components, message queues and other workflow schedules. The scheduler program allows a user to define actions and group actions into transactions using simple GUI scheduling tools.
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Conventional application programming interfaces (APIs) associated with code generation enforce a rigid sequence of calls. The rigidity associated with such imperative APIs is not strictly necessary but rather tailored to the convenience of an API author rather than a user of the API. The invention pertains to modifications of APIs that facilitate computer programming. A wrapper is provided for imperative style APIs and is used to provide a unique interface for an imperative API. Constructs are… Show more

Conventional application programming interfaces (APIs) associated with code generation enforce a rigid sequence of calls. The rigidity associated with such imperative APIs is not strictly necessary but rather tailored to the convenience of an API author rather than a user of the API. The invention pertains to modifications of APIs that facilitate computer programming. A wrapper is provided for imperative style APIs and is used to provide a unique interface for an imperative API. Constructs are declared or used to define code and graphic literals that provide users with an easy way to define programmatic constructs. An interface is provided that enables users to compose or declare programmatic constructs in an independent fashion and an abbreviated literal syntax is supported to further aid program development. The claims are directed towards receiving a program specified with aid from a compositionally wrapped imperative API and executing the program to generate another program.
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Switch statements in object-oriented programming languages, such as Visual Basic and C#, are traditionally limited to literals having simple (non-structured) types. The invention implements a syntax for pattern matching over structured literals in object-oriented programming languages. Structured literal includes one or more variables, which is bound to a value if the pattern matches the value. The second pattern is a structured literal and is checked against the value if the first pattern does… Show more

Switch statements in object-oriented programming languages, such as Visual Basic and C#, are traditionally limited to literals having simple (non-structured) types. The invention implements a syntax for pattern matching over structured literals in object-oriented programming languages. Structured literal includes one or more variables, which is bound to a value if the pattern matches the value. The second pattern is a structured literal and is checked against the value if the first pattern does not match the value. The method defines a guard expression and statement block, evaluates the guard expression, and executes the statement block if the guard expression evaluated is true. The claims are directed towards defining a pattern in an object-oriented programming language and determining whether the pattern matches a value contained in an incoming data stream.
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It is desirable to optimize software by reducing resources needed for execution. Profiling can be used to detect references to object data members and determine an optimized layout for the data members (e.g., by splitting an object between pages). Data members having greater affinity (e.g., time-based affinity) can be grouped together on the same page in memory. Useful for optimizing execution speed and reducing working set.

The increasing number of transactions conducted over public networks has created a need for a simplified (computationally less intensive) method to facilitate two-party financial transactions between trusted trading partners. The invention facilitates such electronic commerce transactions over an unsecure network. For example, a first party presents a certified identifier to a second party through whom the first party maintains financial resources. The certified identifier confirms the identity… Show more

The increasing number of transactions conducted over public networks has created a need for a simplified (computationally less intensive) method to facilitate two-party financial transactions between trusted trading partners. The invention facilitates such electronic commerce transactions over an unsecure network. For example, a first party presents a certified identifier to a second party through whom the first party maintains financial resources. The certified identifier confirms the identity of the first party. The second party transfers a digitally signed certificate, including the certified identifieir, to the first party. The first party digitally signs the certificate and sends it to a seller in exchange for goods. The seller may then present the signed certificate to the second party, who pays to the seller an amount indicated in the signed certificate from the financial resources of the first party. The certified identifier may be, for example, a one time secret (OTS).
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Overlaps with US 7013459

Workflow applications processing a transaction lock data and system resources associated with the transaction in order to prevent failures, creating inefficiency for long-running transactions. A set of transactional boundaries can be set by a user of a workflow application such that data and resources associated with child actions within a transaction can be freed selectively without waiting for completion of entire transaction or root action.

Security schemes typically provide an impersonation feature by which software can run under a different security context. The invention provides security technology that can be used by application developers to enhance security. First, a caller chain can be automatically built via a wrapper for calling objects. Second, impersonation can be provided declaratively by indicating whether impersonation is to be performed or via a graphical user interface. Third, a transitive trust approach accepts… Show more

Security schemes typically provide an impersonation feature by which software can run under a different security context. The invention provides security technology that can be used by application developers to enhance security. First, a caller chain can be automatically built via a wrapper for calling objects. Second, impersonation can be provided declaratively by indicating whether impersonation is to be performed or via a graphical user interface. Third, a transitive trust approach accepts identity information from a list of trusted callers. The invention is useful for providing robust security services to application developers or deployers unfamiliar with the details of the security infrastructure. Claims are directed toward intercepting a call to a secured object, redirecting the call to security services, acquiring the identity associated with the call and adding the identity associated with the call to the list of callers.
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Overlaps with US 6604198

The author of executable code provides a privilege request code indicating what privileges it may perform on a client computer. The author digitally signs the code & privilege request code and attaches a certificate to the code. The client computer checks the privilege code against the certificate before running the code.

Consult a database of past conversation fragments and synthesize a conversation that leads from the current state to the user's goal state.

The invention pertains to annotating content, such an advertisement, a video, an image, etc., based upon user reaction data.

Software application styles can be modified to provide a desired user experience. Moreover, styles can be reused across software applications and execution environments. A styleable application can be produced by segmenting style from other applications parts. A stylized application can be generated from a styleable application as a function of a style definition selected by an end-user. Style definitions can be extracted from existing software applications or acquired from an online style… Show more

Software application styles can be modified to provide a desired user experience. Moreover, styles can be reused across software applications and execution environments. A styleable application can be produced by segmenting style from other applications parts. A stylized application can be generated from a styleable application as a function of a style definition selected by an end-user. Style definitions can be extracted from existing software applications or acquired from an online style marketplace. The claims are directed toward style acquisition and generating a stylized version of an application.
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The invention pertains to embedding entity information, such as a description of a new designer purse, into content, such as a scene of a movie depicting the new designer purse. The entity information may also comprise task completion logic, such as functionality used to purchase the new designer purse, which may be invoked by a user consuming the content. Also, during consumption of content, a user may submit new entity information associated with a newly identified entity. Claims are directed… Show more

The invention pertains to embedding entity information, such as a description of a new designer purse, into content, such as a scene of a movie depicting the new designer purse. The entity information may also comprise task completion logic, such as functionality used to purchase the new designer purse, which may be invoked by a user consuming the content. Also, during consumption of content, a user may submit new entity information associated with a newly identified entity. Claims are directed towards presenting embedded content. Show less

A system and method for automatically inferring turn restrictions in a road network given a stream of signal data. Can be adapted to arbitrary graph and network problems.

Client applications executing on a device are often restricted from receiving and participating in local events on the device. This invention is a local server provided on a device to provide a local event subscription service to client applications (particularly web applications). This model enables web applications to apply processing to any detectable local event without special configuration of the client application or the device, and applying server-side scripting using the native… Show more

Client applications executing on a device are often restricted from receiving and participating in local events on the device. This invention is a local server provided on a device to provide a local event subscription service to client applications (particularly web applications). This model enables web applications to apply processing to any detectable local event without special configuration of the client application or the device, and applying server-side scripting using the native language of the web application (e.g., Javascript).
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The invention pertains to pushing recommendations to users without requiring user solicitation for such recommendations.

The invention attempts to improve route planning (e.g., for driving, internet packet routing, social event planning, vacation planning, etc.) by configuring a route-planning module using one or more configuration plug-ins. Claims are directed towards systems and methods for configuring a route-planning module with a graph configuration plug-in, an attribute configuration plug-in, and/or a cost configuration plug-in.

Conventional touchscreen systems often suffer from a “fat finger” problem where it is difficult for a user to interact with an item in a user interface. The claims are directed to multiple touchscreen modes for interacting on a touch enabled device.

The invention attempts to more efficiently manage maps and map data by storing a base/low resolution of a curve and then storing higher resolution versions of the curve as offsets from the base curve, as opposed to saving a substantial amount of (redundant) data for each version of the curve. Claims are directed towards systems and methods for representing an N level curve from an N-1 level curve.

The invention is a way to provide a social agenda to a user. Actual social plans that people have carried out are stored in a database. When choosing fragments from the database, the system may use a merit function to score particular choices of fragments. The merit function can be made pluggable in the sense that it can be modified or replaced by a user or administrator.

Mobile devices typically operate as clients that rely on servers to determine its needs and send content accordingly – missing the efficiency benefit of distributed systems where computation is performed closest to the data source. The claims are directed toward embedding a server in a mobile device OS wherein the server emulates a web server for client application interaction and reacts to events and callbacks.

The claims are directed toward employing monadic operations, including those integrated within a general-purpose programming language, to process digital signals.

A dynamic query with a code object representation (e.g., expression tree) that includes an untyped parameter can be transformed into a dynamic query with a function call with a dynamic meta-object. The claims are directed toward generating an object structure representative of dynamic data in which the object structure records each operation associated with the dynamic data.

The invention provides bi-directional and dynamically programmable queries to be injected into communications between a client and a server. The invention enables injections of operators with closures (e.g., lambda operators) and enables evaluation of these operators within a monad. The closures are also converted to simply-typed closures to prevent malicious query injections. Claims are directed to the receipt, extraction, conversion, and evaluation of the injected operators within a monad.

The Claims are directed toward obtaining & storing routes traveled by people and using them when possible to present driving routes upon user request.

The removal of personally identifiable information from location traces is accomplished by aggregating multiple user trails together, splitting a single user trail into multiple "virtual" user trails, introducing equivalent sequences of turns or route segments that were never actually taken by the user, and combinations thereof.

The claims are directed to initiating execution of a game on a mobile device by a network service, presenting an incentive to a user of the mobile device to engage in gameplay of the game at a geographic location, presenting game goals relative to features of the geographic location, via the mobile device when the user is at the geographic location, capturing feature information at the geographic location in response to achieving a game goal and sending the captured feature information to a… Show more

The claims are directed to initiating execution of a game on a mobile device by a network service, presenting an incentive to a user of the mobile device to engage in gameplay of the game at a geographic location, presenting game goals relative to features of the geographic location, via the mobile device when the user is at the geographic location, capturing feature information at the geographic location in response to achieving a game goal and sending the captured feature information to a network service.
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The claims are directed to generating a polygon based virtual perimeter associated with a geographical POI and dynamic modification of the virtual perimeter according to user input, POI, and environment parameter changes.

The invention is directed to providing navigation (such as turn-by-turn directions) to an individual, who can either be stationary or moving. Also provided for is the ability to arrange a rendezvous among two or more users. Users can opt into having their location shared and, in the case of rendezvous, the rendezvous location to which each user is guided need not be the same for all users but can, instead, be different locations within a rendezvous area (such as a park or mall) or can be an… Show more

The invention is directed to providing navigation (such as turn-by-turn directions) to an individual, who can either be stationary or moving. Also provided for is the ability to arrange a rendezvous among two or more users. Users can opt into having their location shared and, in the case of rendezvous, the rendezvous location to which each user is guided need not be the same for all users but can, instead, be different locations within a rendezvous area (such as a park or mall) or can be an intermediate rendezvous location which can act as a staging area for the ultimate rendezvous. The claims are directed to system that provides the navigation directions based on the selection of an individual.
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Information workers analyze large amounts of data using documents of different types which can be shared among different users. The invention provides an authoring tool that allows a user to simply define an interactive document. The document is represented as multiple entities of different types interconnected by edges to form a directed acyclic graph. The entities may represent data sources, visualizations, or transformations of data, and the edges represent flow of data between the entities.… Show more

Information workers analyze large amounts of data using documents of different types which can be shared among different users. The invention provides an authoring tool that allows a user to simply define an interactive document. The document is represented as multiple entities of different types interconnected by edges to form a directed acyclic graph. The entities may represent data sources, visualizations, or transformations of data, and the edges represent flow of data between the entities. To publish the document, graph is converted into computer executable code that can be deployed in the cloud or on user devices. Claims are directed towards methods of publishing such a document.
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The invention enables a user to dynamically filter large amounts of information without excessive computation or querying of a database by using a summary of the relationships between distributions of items within a set of data. Interactive sliders and/or bar graphs that depict distributions of items in the data set may be adjusted on a mobile device by a user. Claims are directed to generating a summary that describes filtering relationships of a data set to allow a user to explore filter… Show more

The invention enables a user to dynamically filter large amounts of information without excessive computation or querying of a database by using a summary of the relationships between distributions of items within a set of data. Interactive sliders and/or bar graphs that depict distributions of items in the data set may be adjusted on a mobile device by a user. Claims are directed to generating a summary that describes filtering relationships of a data set to allow a user to explore filter criteria through a graphical user interface.
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The invention improves a user experience by providing models of data that may be of interest to a user based on tasks that may be relevant to the user. The system selects one or more task models based on user context. The task model can be used to generate data sets, which the user may elect to view by specifying a task indicated by the system to be relevant in the user’s context.

The invention is a technique for creating applications defined by expressions that can be created by nonprogrammers and where the execution of the application may be dynamically distributed over multiple devices. An application defined by expressions may be available on a user’s device and may need to solve an expression in response to an action by the user. The solution of the expression may depend on the solution of other expressions which may be distributed to other devices based on… Show more

The invention is a technique for creating applications defined by expressions that can be created by nonprogrammers and where the execution of the application may be dynamically distributed over multiple devices. An application defined by expressions may be available on a user’s device and may need to solve an expression in response to an action by the user. The solution of the expression may depend on the solution of other expressions which may be distributed to other devices based on resources available to the devices at the time of execution. The claims are directed to solving an expression at a first device by selecting a second device to solve another expression that is needed to solve the first expression.
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The invention allows processing a notification in a different context by setting up a RunOn component that controls execution of the notification on a particular context. Push-based stream operators optionally perform error checking to determine if notifications combined into a push-based stream share a common notification context. Components may be used in combinations to implement various policies, including a strict policy in which all notifications are scheduled in a common execution… Show more

The invention allows processing a notification in a different context by setting up a RunOn component that controls execution of the notification on a particular context. Push-based stream operators optionally perform error checking to determine if notifications combined into a push-based stream share a common notification context. Components may be used in combinations to implement various policies, including a strict policy in which all notifications are scheduled in a common execution context, a permissive policy that provides programming flexibility, and a hybrid policy that combines flexibility with error checking.
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This invention relates to the rendering of a view component that is populated using an underlying solver. The solver uses input parameter(s) to solve for output parameters, and then uses that output parameter to populate settings for the view component. Claims are directed towards the rendering of the view component using the underlying solver.

This invention relates to the formulation of a geometry that may be used to construct the complex scene. The geometry may in turn be used as input to yet another geometry, allowing for the recursive formulation of the complex scene. Claims are directed towards the formulation of the geometry.

The claims are directed towards the merging of chart data with complex visual scenes to thereby alter the complex visual scene to render information regarding the chart data.

Typically, an array of data structures is created by iterating(looping) over the data structures and expressed using a single array symbol. A ‘keyed array’ is one where values in the array are expressed using the array symbol in combination with a unique lookup key. This invention is a tool that allows for keyed arrays to be more generally represented, and does not require explicit iteration in order to bind values to an array, or operate upon the array. Claims are directed to the methods of… Show more

Typically, an array of data structures is created by iterating(looping) over the data structures and expressed using a single array symbol. A ‘keyed array’ is one where values in the array are expressed using the array symbol in combination with a unique lookup key. This invention is a tool that allows for keyed arrays to be more generally represented, and does not require explicit iteration in order to bind values to an array, or operate upon the array. Claims are directed to the methods of binding data to a keyed array by accessing the data structure and examining the type of array variable and selecting the appropriate keying set from those available in the system and binding this keying set to the key variable.
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The invention relates to leveraging quantum physics for simulations within a computer game. For instance, a simulation within a gaming environment can react similar to quantum physics equation or effect which can increase a game’s plausibility of a fantasy element (e.g., Multiple-Slit Experiment for teleportation, etc.). The claims are directed toward a macroscopic quantum effects (MQE) engine that can adjust variables associated with quantum physics equations within a gaming environment in… Show more

The invention relates to leveraging quantum physics for simulations within a computer game. For instance, a simulation within a gaming environment can react similar to quantum physics equation or effect which can increase a game’s plausibility of a fantasy element (e.g., Multiple-Slit Experiment for teleportation, etc.). The claims are directed toward a macroscopic quantum effects (MQE) engine that can adjust variables associated with quantum physics equations within a gaming environment in order to provide simulations that include quantum physics-based properties and characteristics.
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The claims are directed to a graph process system that employs process mechanisms identified at runtime and methods of serialization and deserialization.

Conventional distributed web applications are insecure by default. Accordingly, developers often produce insecure code because given developmental pressures security often fails to receive the time it deserves. The invention pertains to provisioning secure code by default upon construction. A security component can be injected within a development framework such as one that includes a tier-splitting mechanism to facilitate rewriting or transforming code to operate securely avoiding… Show more

Conventional distributed web applications are insecure by default. Accordingly, developers often produce insecure code because given developmental pressures security often fails to receive the time it deserves. The invention pertains to provisioning secure code by default upon construction. A security component can be injected within a development framework such as one that includes a tier-splitting mechanism to facilitate rewriting or transforming code to operate securely avoiding vulnerabilities to cross-site scripting, cross-site request forgery and replay attacks, among others. Further, techniques are provided to produce secure code including server provided capabilities that govern client/server interactions, sanitization of output data, and preventing circumvention of security when secure applications are combined with unsecure applications. The claims are directed to a distributed application development system including security from vulnerabilities by default and client/server interactions utilizing capabilities.
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In a distributed environment, documents are retrieved from remote locations across a network, which can result in a delay between a command to open a document and actually receiving it. This invention describes techniques for improving performance on the client by downloading portions of the application/content on an as-needed basis. This is combined with pre-fetching data that is likely to be needed and results in an optimal performance for the user. The claims are directed to variations of a… Show more

In a distributed environment, documents are retrieved from remote locations across a network, which can result in a delay between a command to open a document and actually receiving it. This invention describes techniques for improving performance on the client by downloading portions of the application/content on an as-needed basis. This is combined with pre-fetching data that is likely to be needed and results in an optimal performance for the user. The claims are directed to variations of a client-server system where the application is distributed across the client and server, and a prefetch component that pushes content to the client. Other claims are directed to client side activity
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Conventional object-oriented programming languages include various degrees of runtime functionality such as reflection and code generation. However, such functionality is often constrained by low-level underlying runtimes. The invention pertains to runtime code modification over dynamic language runtime. Source language code is translated to a dynamic language implementation that is executed over dynamic runtime. In addition to leveraging dynamic runtime to implement conventional runtime… Show more

Conventional object-oriented programming languages include various degrees of runtime functionality such as reflection and code generation. However, such functionality is often constrained by low-level underlying runtimes. The invention pertains to runtime code modification over dynamic language runtime. Source language code is translated to a dynamic language implementation that is executed over dynamic runtime. In addition to leveraging dynamic runtime to implement conventional runtime functionality, further dynamic functionality supported by the runtime can be exposed upward in a source language. As a result, languages can be extended to support efficient runtime addition, deletion and/or modification of code. The claims are directed to translating source language code including runtime functionality to target dynamic code for execution over dynamic runtime.
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Math libraries that are formulated for three dimensions and that convert from polar to rectangular coordinates do not just automatically work for two dimensions by ignoring or zeroing the last dimension. Therefore, each math library must be customized for its particular dimension. The invention relates to a mathematical formulation that converts between rectangular and polar coordinates in any number of dimensions. The invention causes the ith polar angle to be measured upwards from the (i-1)th… Show more

Math libraries that are formulated for three dimensions and that convert from polar to rectangular coordinates do not just automatically work for two dimensions by ignoring or zeroing the last dimension. Therefore, each math library must be customized for its particular dimension. The invention relates to a mathematical formulation that converts between rectangular and polar coordinates in any number of dimensions. The invention causes the ith polar angle to be measured upwards from the (i-1)th dimension instead of downards from the ith axis and then applies a sine function to the angle instead of a cosine function to obtain a rectangular coordinate. This causes the rectangular coordinate to be zero if and only if the polar angle is also zero. This allows a single mathematical formulation to be applied to any number of dimensions by just zeroing the coordinates not needed. The claims relate to converting to a rectangular coordinate using the last polar angle, an interface that receives and returns converted coordinates, and a device with conversion logic and an interface for converting between coordinate systems. This invention relates to computational geometry and may be applied in programs that draw pictures and animate scenes on computer screens.
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Code execution efficiency is affected by whether variables are early bound or late bound. This invention allows a programmer to to balance early and late binding in a programming language via an option component to opt-in/opt-out of late binding. Upon setting the option, late binding is triggered based on a static type for the variable (e.g. object, or type/string). The programming language implements a type inference component. Appropriate late bound helpers can be called to type direct the… Show more

Code execution efficiency is affected by whether variables are early bound or late bound. This invention allows a programmer to to balance early and late binding in a programming language via an option component to opt-in/opt-out of late binding. Upon setting the option, late binding is triggered based on a static type for the variable (e.g. object, or type/string). The programming language implements a type inference component. Appropriate late bound helpers can be called to type direct the late binding. Additionally, the variable can have different static types at different regions (e.g., a program fragment) of a programming language.
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When writing source code that includes a literal string like "Hello There", long literal strings must either be contained on a single line or wrapped with special characters. In general, the way source code is conventionally written requires that when a string or literal is defined that whatever follows - including non-printable control characters such as spaces and tabs form part of the declared string. This requires that longer strings that may run over to the next line of source code would… Show more

When writing source code that includes a literal string like "Hello There", long literal strings must either be contained on a single line or wrapped with special characters. In general, the way source code is conventionally written requires that when a string or literal is defined that whatever follows - including non-printable control characters such as spaces and tabs form part of the declared string. This requires that longer strings that may run over to the next line of source code would continue up and until the end of the given literal was determined. This causes code to appear choppy and disjointed from the normal sequence of readable indentations or character positions. This invention uses virtual margin capabilities that enhance traditional left-margin defaults for declarations of literals where white space within the traditional literal space would conventionally be considered as part of the literal. This technology generally applies to software programming tools and compiler applications.
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