Altering event lifetimes

A computer program product for use at a computer system including one or more processors and system memory, the computer system also including stream processing module, the stream processing module configured to process events from a plurality of event streams, the computer program product for implementing a method for adjusting the lifetime of an event in one event stream based on an event in another event stream, the computer program product comprising one or more computer storage devices having stored thereon computer-executable instructions that, when executed at a processor, cause the computer system to perform the method including the following:

• receive a first event from a first event stream, the first event having a time stamp indicating a start time and end time of the first event, the time from the start time to the end time representing the lifetime of the first event, the first event stream included in the plurality of event streams;
• alter the end time for the first event to extend the lifetime of the first event by a specified period of time;
• receive a second event from a second event stream, the second event having a time stamp indicating a start time of the second event, the second event stream included in the plurality of event streams;
• determine whether there is a correspondence between the first event and the second event based on a defined join condition, wherein the join condition comprises a temporal restriction which excludes a correspondence between the first event and the second event when the second event is entirely after the first event;
• and
• clip the lifetime of the first event by modifying the first event to end at the start time of the second event in response to the defined join condition indicating a correspondence between the first event and the second event;
• wherein receiving the second event from the second event stream comprises receiving the second event, wherein the start time of the second event is after the start time of the first event;
• and
• wherein clipping the lifetime of the event by modifying the first event to end at the start time for the second event comprises using the equivalent of a Left Anti Semi Join (LASJ) to clip the lifetime of the first event.

At a computer system including one or more processors and system memory, the computer system also including stream processing module, the stream processing module configured to process events from a plurality of event streams, a method for cleaning state from event streams, the method comprising:

• an act of receiving an first event from a first event stream, the first event having a time stamp indicating a start time of the first event, the first event stream included in the plurality of event streams;
• an act of extending the lifetime of the first event for a specified period of time such that the first event starts at the start time of the first event and ends at the specified period of time after the start time of the first event;
• an act of receiving a second event from a second event stream, the second event having a time stamp indicating a start time for the second event, the second event stream included in the plurality of event streams;
• an act of using the equivalent of a Left Anti Semi Join (“LASJ”) to clip the lifetime of the first event by modifying the first event to end at the start time for the second event, including:
• an act of extending the lifetime of the second event for an infinite time period;
• and
• an act of applying an LASJ predicate that detects that the first event and second event satisfy a join condition and that determines the start time for the second event is after the start time for the first event;
• and
• an act of determining that state can be cleaned for the first and second event streams up to a specified point in time, including:
• an act of receiving a current time increment (“CTI”) for the second event stream, the CTI for the second event stream indicating that modifications to events prior to the start time of the second event are no longer to occur in the second event stream;
• an act of determining that the CTI for the second event stream finalizes the second event;
• an act of receiving a current time increment (“CTI”) for the first event stream, the CTI for the first event stream indicating that modifications to events prior to the start time of the second event are no longer to occur in the first event stream;
• an act of determining, based on the LASJ predicate, that events from the second event stream prior to the start time of the second event are no longer to interact with events in the first event stream;
• and
• an act of cleaning state for any events prior to the start time of the second event from the first and second event streams in response to determining that state can be cleaned form the first and second event streams.