System and method for providing collaborative replicated objects for synchronous distributed groupware applications

• US 20020129175A1
• Filed: 04/26/2002
• Published: 09/12/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 05/27/1997
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Atul Prakash, Guruduth Somasekhara Banavar, Kevan Lee Miller, Michael James Ward, Robert Evan Strom
• Original Assignee: Atul Prakash, Guruduth Somasekhara Banavar, Kevan Lee Miller, Michael James Ward, Robert Evan Strom
• Inventors: Strom, Robert Evan, Banavar, Guruduth Somasekhara, Ward, Michael James, Miller, Kevan Lee, Prakash, Atul
• Granted Patent: US 6,988,270 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 719/310
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/00 Administration; Management

Abstract

A system and method featuring a collection of model objects which hold data to be shared, and supporting interfaces to read and write the data, to create and destroy collaboration relationships and to attach “view objects” containing application code which will be automatically notified of value changes. Each user environment is provided with a model object control entity, referred to herein as a Collaboration Manager, which creates model objects, executes transactions, and creates association objects related to the collaboration. A concurrency control mechanism records the reads and updates of the data and of collaboration relationships within a single transaction site and guarantees that they are applied atomically and consistently to both the local and to all remote replica objects of the collaboration.

Claims

1. A system for automatically providing consistency of shared computer data in a collaborative relationship among distributed user sites, each user site being provided with object-oriented programming for running at least one application, comprising at each user site:

a collaboration manager for creating objects and executing transactions among objects;

a plurality of model objects created by said collaboration manager for automatically communicating updates among model objects at user sites; and

interface means for reading and writing said plurality of model objects.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein said plurality of model objects comprises at least one data model object for responding to requests pertaining to computer information stored at said data model object and at least one association object for holding data about said collaboration relationship.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein different distributed user sites are adapted to run different applications utilizing said shared computer information.

4. The system of claim 1 further comprising at least one user interface object for user notification of atomic sets of operations on said shared computer information at said model objects.

5. The system of claim 4 further comprising at least one view proxy objects for attaching one of said at least one user interface objects to one of said plurality of model objects.

6. The system of claim 4 additionally comprising transaction objects created by said at least one application in response to user input for operating on said shared computer information.

7. The system of claim 1 additionally comprising a plurality of transaction implementation objects, one for each atomic set of operations implemented on said shared computer information.

8. A collaboration of distributed user sites having shared computer information

a local user site having a collaboration manager for creating objects and executing transactions among objects and at least one local model object created by said collaboration manager for responding to requests pertaining to said shared computer information and interface means for reading and writing said at least one local model object;

and

a plurality of remote user sites each having a dedicated collaboration manager for creating objects and executing transactions among objects and at least one remote model object created by said dedicated collaboration manager for responding to requests pertaining to said shared computer information an interface means for reading and writing said at least one remote model object at said remote user site,

wherein said at least one local model object and said at least one remote model object maintain said shared computer information.

9. The collaboration of claim 8 wherein one, of said local user and said plurality of remote user sites has an original version of said shared computer information and the remaining user sites maintain replicated versions of said shared computer information.

10. The collaboration of claim 9 wherein one of said local user and said plurality of remote user sites is the primary site for controlling updates to said shared computer information.

11. A method for providing automatically updated consistent collaboration versions of shared computer information maintained at a plurality of local and remote model objects at a plurality of distributed user sites, each adapted to run at least one application and each having one of a plurality of collaboration managers comprising the steps of:

one of said plurality of collaboration managers receiving a user request relating to said shared computer information;

said one of said plurality of collaboration managers executing said request and generating an update to said one of said plurality of local model objects based upon said executing;

said one of said plurality of local model objects updating said shared computer information at its user site;

said one of said plurality of local model objects notifying the said remote model objects of said update; and

each of said remote model objects updating said shared computer information at its user site.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein said one of said plurality of collaboration managers executing said request and generating an update to said one of said plurality of local model objects based upon said executing comprises the steps of;

said one of said collaboration managers creating a transaction implementation object having a unique virtual time for said request;

said transaction implementation object invoking said at least one application for executing said request;

said transaction implementation object notifying one of said plurality of remote model objects maintaining said shared computer information of said execution.

13. The method of claim 11 wherein each of said user sites comprises at least one user interface object for providing user notification of updates to said shared computer information and further comprising the step of providing notification of said update to said user at said user interface object.

14. The method of claim 11 wherein said user request comprises a request from a remote one of said plurality of distributed user sites.

16. The method of claim 15 further comprising repeating said generating, receiving, creating and said acknowledging to alter said collaboration;

and, dynamically updating said graph to reflect alteration of said collaboration.

17. The method of claim 15 further comprising at least one successive model object generating a request to join said collaboration and said first model object executing said join request.

18. The method of claim 17 further comprising dynamically updating said graph in response to said execution of said join request.

19. The method of claim 15 further comprising at least one successive model object generating a request to leave said collaboration and said first model object executing said leave request.

20. The method of claim 19 further comprising dynamically updating said graph in response to said execution of said leave request.

15. A method for providing a collaboration of distributed user sites each having one or a plurality of collaboration managers and having shared computer information comprising the steps of:

creating at a first of said collaboration managers at a first user site at least one first model object for holding said shared computer information and for responding to requests pertaining to said shared computer information;

generating at said first model object an invitation to at least one of said distributed sites for collaborating with said first user site;

receiving said invitation in at least one of said distributed user sites;

creating at said collaboration manager of said at least one of said distributed user sites at least one successive model object for holding said shared computer information and for responding to requests pertaining to said shared computer information;

said at least one successive model object acknowledging said invitation for collaboration at said at least one of said distributed user sites; and

said at least one first model object and said at least one successive model object mapping said at least one of said distributed user sites to said first user site thereby creating at least one graph.