Methods for ensuring fair access to information

A computer-implemented method of performing transactions on objects held in a database in accordance with fairness criteria, wherein two or more entities are capable of initiating transactions to the database, each transaction including (i) one or more transaction steps or operations, and (ii) a transaction ownership step, the fairness criteria defining rules for determining a fair propagation delay time period that must pass after transaction initiation, the method comprising:

• (a) one of the entities initiating a transaction on an object at the database;
• (b) immediately processing the steps or operations of the initiated transaction up to the transaction ownership step;
• (c) determining propagation delays between the database and at least some of the other entities that are capable of initiating transactions to the database;
• (d) using the propagation delays and the fairness criteria to determine the fair propagation delay period;
• and
• (e) upon determining that the fair propagation delay period has been exceeded, detecting whether any of the other entities initiated a transaction on the same object during the fair propagation delay time period, and if not, then the transaction initiating entity performing the transaction ownership step on the transaction initiated in step (a).

An article of manufacture for releasing locks in accordance with fairness criteria, the locks being placed on corresponding objects held in a plurality of databases located at different nodes in a network during replication, the article of manufacture comprising a computer-readable medium encoded with computer-executable instructions for performing the steps of:

• (a) determining propagation delays between a transaction initiating node and one or more other nodes in the network;
• (b) locking an object during a transaction being executed at the transaction initiating node;
• (c) locking corresponding objects at one or more other nodes in the network that are manipulated as a result of the replication;
• and
• (d) upon determining that the object locks should be released, using the propagation delays to determine when to release the object locks so that all of the object locks at the one or more other nodes are released in accordance with the fairness criteria.

An article of manufacture for performing transactions on objects held in a database in accordance with fairness criteria, wherein two or more entities are capable of initiating transactions to the database, each transaction including (i) one or more transaction steps or operations, and (ii) a transaction ownership step, the fairness criteria defining rules for determining a fair propagation delay time period that must pass after transaction initiation, the article of manufacture comprising a computer-readable medium encoded with computer-executable instructions for performing the steps of:

• (a) one of the entities initiating a transaction on an object at the database;
• (b) immediately processing the steps or operations of the initiated transaction up to the transaction ownership step;
• (c) determining propagation delays between the database and at least some of the other entities that are capable of initiating transactions to the database;
• (d) using the propagation delays and the fairness criteria to determine the fair propagation delay period;
• and
• (e) upon determining that the fair propagation delay period has been exceeded, detecting whether any of the other entities initiated a transaction on the same object during the fair propagation delay time period, and if not, then the transaction initiating entity performing the transaction ownership step on the transaction initiated in step (a).