Distributed data sharing methods and systems

• US 20040083264A1
• Filed: 10/24/2002
• Published: 04/29/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 10/24/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Oracle America, Inc. (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Sun Microsystems Incorporated (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Veselov, Pavel S.
• Granted Patent: US 7,657,596 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/204
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1822 Conducting the conference, e.g. admission, detection, selection or grouping of participants, correlating users to one or more conference sessions, prioritising transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/131 Protocols for games, networked simulations or virtual reality
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]

Abstract

A system, method, and computer implemented method for sharing data between networked applications is provided. The system includes at least a whiteboard space, a single server mode library, and a client mode library. The single server mode library provides access to the whiteboard space, where the access is to read or post data to the whiteboard space. The client mode library is provided for one or more processes. The client mode library is in networked communication with the single server mode library, and the client mode library is capable of managing one or more reader objects and one or more posting objects. The single server mode library is further capable of managing one or more reader objects and one or more posting objects.

Claims

1. A method for managing shared data communication, comprising:

defining a whiteboard space;

detecting a process request to post or read data to the whiteboard space, and in response to the process request,

launching a server mode library for accessing the whiteboard space;

detecting a next process request to post or read data to the whiteboard space, and in response to the next process request,

launching a client mode library, the client mode library being in communication with the server mode library to obtain access to the whiteboard space, wherein each new process requesting to post or read to the whiteboard space creates a client mode library and each client mode library is in communication with a single one of the server mode library.

2. A method for managing shared data communication as recited in claim 1, wherein each process can be associated with one or more read objects for enabling read communication with the whiteboard space, and each process can be associated with one or more post objects for enabling posting communication to the whiteboard space.

3. A method for managing shared data communication as recited in claim 2, wherein read objects and post objects are associated with the whiteboard space.

4. A method for managing shared data communication as recited in claim 1, wherein each process is an application.

5. A method for managing shared data communication as recited in claim 2, wherein each read object and each post object is designated with a unique object identifier.

6. A method for managing shared data communication as recited in claim 1, wherein the server mode library maintains a poster table identifying posters to the whiteboard space and a reply address of the client mode library of the poster.

7. A method for managing shared data communication as recited in claim 1, wherein the server mode library maintains a whiteboard table for tracking active whiteboard spaces, the whiteboard space being tracked in the whiteboard table.

8. A method for managing shared data communication as recited in claim 1, wherein the whiteboard space maintains a message queue of messages posted to the whiteboard space, each message in the message queue being associated with a time to live (ttl) marker.

9. A method for managing shared data communication as recited in claim 8, further including a reader table, the reader table being implemented to track readers accessing data posted on the whiteboard space.

10. A method for managing shared data communication as recited in claim 1, wherein the whiteboard space identifies storage for data being posted and for holding the data being read.

11. A system for sharing data between networked applications, comprising:

a whiteboard space;

a single server mode library, the single server mode library providing access to the whiteboard space, the access being to read or post data to the whiteboard space; and

a client mode library being provided for one or more processes, the client mode library being in networked communication with the single server mode library, the client mode library capable of managing one or more reader objects and one or more posting objects, the single server mode library also being capable of managing one or more reader objects and one or more posting objects.

12. A system for sharing data between networked applications as recited in claim 11, wherein the whiteboard space defines a location for holding data.

13. A system for sharing data between networked applications as recited in claim 11, wherein a plurality of whiteboard spaces can be accessed by the single server mode library.

14. A system for sharing data between networked applications as recited in claim 13, wherein the each of the whiteboard spaces has a message queue.

15. A system for sharing data between networked applications as recited in claim 11, wherein the single server mode library manages the reader objects in a reader table, manages the poster objects in a poster table, and manages the whiteboard space in a whiteboard table.

16. A system for sharing data between networked applications as recited in claim 11, wherein the whiteboard space includes a message queue.

17. A system for sharing data between networked applications as recited in claim 16, wherein the message queue is capable of including messages posted to the whiteboard space, and each message in the message queue is associated with a time to live (ttl) marker.

18. A system for sharing data between networked applications as recited in claim 11, wherein the networked communication is over the Internet.

19. Computer readable media having program instructions for managing shared data communication, the computer readable media comprising:

program instructions for defining a whiteboard space;

program instructions for detecting a process request to post or read data to the whiteboard space, and in response to the process request,

program instructions for launching a server mode library for accessing the whiteboard space;

program instructions for detecting a next process request to post or read data to the whiteboard space, and in response to the next process request,

program instructions for launching a client mode library, the client mode library being in communication with the server mode library to obtain access to the whiteboard space, wherein each new process requesting to post or read to the whiteboard space creates a client mode library and each client mode library is in communication with a single one of the server mode library.

20. Computer readable media having program instructions for managing shared data communication as recited in claim 19, wherein each process can be associated with one or more read objects for enabling read communication with the whiteboard space, and each process can be associated with one or more post objects for enabling posting communication to the whiteboard space.