Trusted access by an extendible framework method, system, article of manufacture, and computer program product

• US 20040143583A1
• Filed: 01/17/2003
• Published: 07/22/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 01/17/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: England, Laurence E., Glaser, Howard J., Poole, Rebecca L.
• Granted Patent: US 7,035,860 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/100
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99932 Access augmentation or optimizing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99939 Privileged access

Abstract

Appropriate actions are identified and associated with a selected artifact in a framework providing a customized application program. A metamodel is specified for a capture of relevant information pertaining to the selected artifact. This metamodel is implemented as a plugin which is integratable into the framework and which allows other plugins of the framework to access the relevant information pertaining to the selected artifact. A collection artifact is generated containing an empty instantiation of the metamodel in which an instantiation of the metamodel may be stored, and the collection artifact is sent to a target platform. On the target platform, the collection artifact containing an instance of the selected artifact is instantiated, and each instantiation of the selected artifact instance contains attributes, characteristics, and a replica of the selected artifact'"'"'s content. The instantiated collection artifact is transmitted back to the framework, and the selected artifact'"'"'s attributes and characteristics contained in the instantiated collection artifact are analyzed to ascertain appropriate access and actions allowed on the selected artifact.

Claims

1. An article of manufacture for use in a computer system for identifying and associating appropriate actions to a selected artifact in a framework providing a customized application program, said article of manufacture comprising a computer-readable storage medium having a computer program embodied in said medium which causes the computer system to execute the method steps comprising:

specifying a metamodel for a capture of relevant information pertaining to the selected artifact;

implementing the metamodel as a plugin, said plugin being integratable into the framework and allowing another plugin of the framework to access the relevant information pertaining to the selected artifact;

generating a collection artifact containing an empty instantiation of the metamodel in which an instantiation of the metamodel may be stored;

sending the collection artifact to a target platform;

instantiating, on the target platform, the collection artifact containing an instance of the selected artifact, each instantiation of the selected artifact instance containing attributes characteristics, and a replica of the selected artifact'"'"'s content;

transmitting the instantiated collection artifact back to the framework; and

analyzing the selected artifact'"'"'s attributes and characteristics contained in the instantiated collection artifact to ascertain appropriate access and actions allowed on the selected artifact.

2. The article of manufacture of claim 1 wherein the collection artifact is generated by a builder plugin associated with the metamodel plugin in response to a request to access the selected artifact.

3. The article of manufacture of claim 2 wherein the collection artifact comprises an XMI metadata file containing empty instantiations of the metamodel.

4. The article of manufacture of claim 1 wherein the sending of the collection artifact to the target platform is performed by a communicating plugin responsible for communicating to other platforms and for retrieving artifacts from those other platforms.

5. The article of manufacture of claim 1 wherein the allowable action is an invocation of an additional processing plugin which may process the selected artifact.

6. The article of manufacture of claim 5 wherein the plugin is an MOF-enabled Java file generated from an XMI metamodel schema generated from a UML representation of the metamodel.

7. A method of identifying and associating appropriate actions to a selected artifact in a framework providing a customized application program, said method comprising the steps of:

specifying a metamodel for a capture of relevant information pertaining to the selected artifact;

implementing the metamodel as a plugin, said plugin being integratable into the framework and allowing another plugin of the framework to access the relevant information pertaining to the selected artifact;

generating a collection artifact containing an empty instantiation of the metamodel in which an instantiation of the metamodel may be stored;

sending the collection artifact to a target platform;

instantiating, on the target platform, the collection artifact containing an instance of the selected artifact, each instantiation of the selected artifact instance containing attributes characteristics, and a replica of the selected artifact'"'"'s content;

transmitting the instantiated collection artifact back to the framework; and

analyzing the selected artifact'"'"'s attributes and characteristics contained in the instantiated collection artifact to ascertain appropriate access and actions allowed on the selected artifact.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the collection artifact is generated by a builder plugin associated with the metamodel plugin in response to a request to access the selected artifact.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the collection artifact comprises an XMI metadata file containing empty instantiations of the metamodel.

10. The method of claim 7 wherein the sending of the collection artifact to the target platform is performed by a communicating plugin responsible for communicating to other platforms and for retrieving artifacts from those other platforms.

11. The method of claim 7 wherein the allowable action is an invocation of an additional processing plugin which may process the selected artifact.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the plugin is an MOF-enabled Java file generated from an XMI metamodel schema generated from a UML representation of the metamodel.

13. A computer system identifying and associating appropriate actions to a selected artifact in a framework providing a customized application program, said computer system comprising:

a metamodel specifying relevant information for capture pertaining to the selected artifact;

a plugin implemention of the metamodel, said plugin being integratable into the framework and allowing another plugin of the framework to access the relevant information pertaining to the selected artifact;

a collection artifact containing an empty instantiation of the metamodel in which an instantiation of the metamodel may be stored;

a transmission of the collection artifact to a target platform;

an instance, on the target platform, of the collection artifact containing an instance of the selected artifact, each instantiation of the selected artifact instance containing attributes characteristics, and a replica of the selected artifact'"'"'s content;

a transmission of the instantiated collection artifact back to the framework; and

a plugin for analyzing the selected artifact'"'"'s attributes and characteristics contained in the instantiated collection artifact to ascertain appropriate access and actions allowed on the selected artifact.

14. The computer system of claim 13 wherein the collection artifact is generated by a builder plugin associated with the metamodel plugin in response to a request to access the selected artifact.

15. The computer system of claim 14 wherein the collection artifact comprises an XMI metadata file containing empty instantiations of the metamodel.

16. The computer system of claim 13 wherein the sending of the collection artifact to the target platform is performed by a communicating plugin responsible for communicating to other platforms and for retrieving artifacts from those other platforms.

17. The computer system of claim 13 wherein the allowable action is an invocation of an additional processing plugin which may process the selected artifact.

18. The computer system of claim 17 wherein the plugin is an MOF-enabled Java file generated from an XMI metamodel schema generated from a UML representation of the metamodel.