Method and system for providing interoperability of different version protocols without access to protocol specific code

• US 20060133417A1
• Filed: 12/02/2004
• Published: 06/22/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/02/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Cheng, Michael, Fox, Randy Eugene
• Application Number:
  US11/002,698
• Publication Number:
  US 20060133417A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/467
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/08 Protocols for interworking; Protocol conversion

Abstract

The present invention is directed to a method and system to preserve interoperability among processes in a distributed system through transformation of in-memory representation of different versions of the same data. When an upgraded process receives data from an un-upgraded process, the old protocol for desterilizing the data is used to convert the data into in-memory representation of the old protocol format. Then, the converted data is transformed in to the in-memory presentation of the new protocol format for use by the upgraded process. When the upgraded process sends data to the un-upgraded process, the in memory representation of the data in new protocol format is first transformed into the in-memory representation of the old protocol format. The old protocol for serializing data is then used to convert it into the old protocol format understood by the un-upgraded process.

Claims

1. A method of preserving interoperability between a first process with a first protocol and a second process with a second protocol wherein the second process receives the data from the first process, comprising:

receiving data from the first process;

utilizing the first protocol to de-serialize the data;

converting the data into an in-memory representation of the first protocol format; and

transforming the in-memory presentation of the first protocol format to an in-memory representation of the second protocol format,

wherein the second protocol is an upgraded version of the first protocol and the second process is capable of processing both the second protocol and the first protocol.

2. The method as described in claim 1, further comprising:

determining a version of the first protocol of the first process.

3. The method as described in claim 2, wherein version information of the first protocol is sent in a header of the data.

4. The method as described in claim 2, wherein version information of the first protocol is sent in service context.

5. The method as described in claim 2, wherein version information of the first protocol is sent separately from the data.

6. The method as described in claim 2, wherein a default version number is utilized when the version of the first protocol is not determined.

7. A method for preserving interoperability between a first process with a first protocol and a second process with a second protocol wherein the second process sends data to the first process, comprising:

transforming an in-memory representation of data from a second data format to a first data format, serializing the data through the first protocol; and

converting the in-memory representation of the first data format into a data suitable for being understood by the first protocol,

wherein the second protocol is an upgraded version of the first protocol and the second process is capable of processing the second data format and the first data format.

8. The method as described in claim 7, wherein the second process is capable of transforming between in-memory representation of both the first data format and the second data format.

9. The method as described in claim 7, further comprising:

determining a version of the first protocol of the first process.

10. The method as described in claim 9, wherein version information of the first protocol is sent in a header of the data.

11. The method as described in claim 9, wherein version information of the first protocol is sent in service context.

12. The method as described in claim 9, wherein version information of the first protocol is sent separately from the data.

13. The method as described in claim 9, wherein a default version number is utilized when the version of the first protocol is not determined.

14. A system of providing interoperability between a first process with a first protocol and a second process with a second protocol wherein the second process receives the data from the first process, comprising:

means for receiving data from the first process;

means for de-serializing the data through the first protocol;

means for converting the data into an in-memory presentation of the first data format; and

means for transforming the in-memory presentation of the first data format into an in-memory representation of the second data format,

wherein the second protocol is an upgraded version of the first protocol and the second process is capable of processing the second data format and the first data format.

15. The system as described in claim 14, further comprising:

means for determining a version of the first protocol.

16. The system as described in claim 15, wherein version information of the first protocol is sent to the second process separately from the data.

17. A system for providing interoperability between a first process with a first protocol and a second process with a second protocol wherein the second process sends the data to the first process, comprising:

means for transforming in-memory representation of data from a second data format to a first data format,

means for utilizing the first protocol to serialize the data; and

means for converting the in-memory representation of the first data format into data suitable for the first protocol,

wherein the second protocol is an upgraded version of the first protocol and the second process is capable of processing the second data format and the first data format.

18. The system as described in claim 17, wherein the second process is capable of transforming between in-memory representations of both the first data format and the second data format.

19. The system as described in claim 17, further comprising:

means for determining the version of the first protocol of the first process.

20. The system as described in claim 19, wherein default version number is utilized when the version of the first protocol is not determined.