A program object providing an interface between a computer database manager and a client application program external to the interface object. The interface object includes associations between columns of the table and associated editing styles, a retrieve method, and an update method. Each editing style specifies a display format for data of the associated column. The column/style associations specify modifying methods for modifying data of respective columns of the table. The interface object ...

A supra-search engine tool includes a distributed computer system and automatically structures and organizes information requests, then independently searches, requests and organizes the data from information providers, including a variety of search engines and websites to match the tailored requests of the information consumers. The retrieved and processed information is then accessible via website, browser, fax, email, voicemail, mail, software and other communication means.

A dynamic database interface for relational and object-oriented databases includes a dynamic, self-modifying graphical user interface defining a plurality of graphical windows for searching and editing the contents of the relational database, as well as modifying the structure of the database tables. The graphical user interface recognizes modifications to the structure of the database tables and regenerates the graphical windows to accommodate such modifications. The graphical windows also depi...

A method and apparatus disclosed may be implemented in a digital computer to query a set of arbitrarily structured records. Arbitrarily structured records are structured differently from each other. A query engine, query structure, operators of conventional and non-conventional types may be used in formulating a query. The apparatus may evaluate records having missing fields, repeating fields, or an UNKNOWN value arising from a missing field, division by zero, modulo by zero, or the like. New ag...

The system, method, and program of this invention enables an object language application to issue a query over a view and to receive back, as query results, handles to application type objects which can be further manipulated by the application. A view is defined herein as a collection of a view type, and a view type is defined as a class or type. Upon receipt of the query referencing a view type, a query engine generates a query plan that builds mock (i.e., proxy) application type objects in me...

An object language application (e.g., C++, JAVA, etc.,) issues a query over a view and receives back, as query results, handles to application type objects which can be further manipulated by the application. A view is defined herein as a collection of a view type, and a view type is defined as a class or type. A tool is used by a programmer writing the application to create object language class definitions that are based upon the view type of the view referenced by the query. Upon receipt of t...

Described is a method and system of requirements management including the expression in a requirements management tool of a relationship selected from the group consisting of a satisfaction relationship, an alternative relationship, a conflict relationship, and a constant dependency relationship.Described is a requirements management method including a first automatic analyzing of a requirements set to find conflicts, having a conflict free requirements subset. and a second automatic analyzing o...

A method, computer program product, and data processing system for compressing and abbreviating text messages at a first text messaging device for transport and subsequent interpretation at a second text messaging device is disclosed. A user-defined message length reduction profile for producing human-readable compressed text is associated with a source text message at a first text messaging device. The source text message is then shortened using abbreviations and transformation rules in the pro...

An apparatus to compare two datasets, each of which includes multiple data blocks, includes a comparison unit and a report generator. The comparison unit identifies block-level differences therebetween, by comparing block-level metadata between the first and second datasets, without comparing the contents of the data blocks. The report generator generates a human-readable report of the differences between the first and second version of the dataset, including the differences in individual data b...

A search engine for databases, data streams, and other data sources allows user preferences as to the relative importance of search criteria to be used to rank the output of the search engine. A weighted preference generator generates weighted preference information including at least a plurality of weights corresponding to a plurality of search criteria. A weighted preference data search engines uses the weighted preference information to search a data source and to provide an ordered result li...