A method that allows a search engine to find a document and allows a potential buyer to review portions of the document. The invention provides a plain text index to the document that may be searched by internet engines and reviewed by potential buyers of the document. The full text of the document remains encrypted and managed by a Digital Rights Management (DRM) package. The index is synchronized and hides contextual information so that potential buyers may determine whether they want to obtain rights to review the document.

Disclosed is a database management control system based on the client/server architecture including a client process operating on a client machine and a server process operating on a server machine, which prevents resources from remaining allocated without being properly relinquished. When a client makes a request for connection to the server, a starting order identifier notifying device notifies the server process of a starting order identifier indicating the starting order of an operating system on which the client process operates. An executing entity search device of the server process searches for executing entities under control of an executing entity control device, which are correlated to the same network address as a network address of the client machine on which the client process operates. From the executing entities searched out, a starting order identifier comparing device selects executing entities correlated to a starting order identifier older than the starting order identifier notified, and a recovery device terminates these executing entities and recovers or relinquishes resources allocated thereto. This makes it possible to recover resources remaining uselessly unavailable, when the client machine, the power of which was once turned off, is started again and the client process thereof makes a request for connection to the server process.

A method and system for providing access to data stored in a plurality of data sets. A simulated table definition is hosted by a server and includes selected data definitions from the plurality of tables. Data extraction logic is hosted by the server and extracts data from the plurality of tables into memory of the server consistent with the simulated table definition and responsive to a request for access to the simulated table. Interface logic is also hosted by the server and is coupled to the data extraction logic. The interface logic transmits the extracted data to the requester consistent with the simulated table and returns for reuse the memory occupied by data of the simulated table after transmitting the data.

A data transmission method includes the steps of generating a data characteristic table and a retrieval data table in a memory area on a server side (S102, S103); converting items of the tables into serial form and combining them to generate transmission data (S104); attaching control data corresponding to the characteristics of the transmission data (S108); transmitting the data to a client machine (S110); regenerating the data characteristic table and the retrieval data table in a memory area on the client side (S203); and reading predetermined data from the regenerated table (S204). This method increases the data transmission rate, decreases the response time, and increases the efficiency of use of the database.

Uniformly formatted sets of data are collected from a remote site and electronically transmitted back to a central collection site. In this process, data to be collected is specified. Then, a questionnaire specification file is generated. The questionnaire specification file defines the file specification and associated data structure for creating questionnaires. A telecommunications link is established between a central computing/data processing unit at the central collection site and a remote computing/data processing unit at the remote site. The questionnaire specification file is electronically transmitted to the remote data processing unit. In the remote unit, the defined file specification and associated data structure in the questionnaire specification file is used to create at least one questionnaire. The questionnaire is completed at the remote site by entering questionnaire data into the remote unit. The data is then transmitted in report format back to the central unit at the central collection site.