Processing messages in a message queueing system

• US 20060150196A1
• Filed: 11/30/2005
• Published: 07/06/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/30/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Herrmann, Christian
• Granted Patent: US 7,716,678 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 719/314
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/547 Messaging middleware
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/546 Message passing systems or structures, e.g. queues

Abstract

A system, method, and a computer program product for processing messages in a message queuing system includes an application repository, a message store, and a queue-less application programming interface in each message queuing system.

Claims

1. A message queuing system, comprising:

a message manager for providing an interface to applications, for executing requests of said applications, and for providing an interface for managing a message store and an application repository;

a message store for storing messages from said applications;

an application repository for storing application identification data provided by said applications, wherein said application identification data includes at least one of;

an application class which defines the function of the application and an application identification data key computed by said application; and

a message queuing application program interface for connecting applications to and disconnecting from said message manager of a message queuing system, for putting messages to and getting messages from said message queuing system, and providing with each connect and put request application identification data of said application to said message manager.

2. The message queuing system according to claim 1, further comprising communication links for communicating with other message queuing systems.

3. The message queuing system according to claim 2, wherein the other message queuing systems belonging to a message queuing cluster.

4. The message queuing system according to claim 3, wherein said message manager provides, for the message queuing cluster, additional functionality for providing a update of said application repository to all members of the message queuing cluster, for receiving updates of said application repository of said members of said message queuing cluster, and processing said updates.

5. The message queuing system according to claim 4, wherein said processing of said update includes updating said application repository, scanning the message store for messages dedicated to applications currently connected to said members of said message queuing cluster, and sending identified messages to said dedicated members of said message queuing cluster.

6. The message queuing system according to claim 5, wherein identifying messages is performed by comparing application identification data assigned to a message stored in said message store with said application identification data of connected applications stored in said application repository.

7. The message queuing system according to claim 3, further comprising a workload balancer being part of said message manager, wherein said message manager periodically computes a performance index for each connected application and stores said performance index with application identification data of said assigned application in said application repository, said workload balancer uses said performance index for comparing said performance indices of said applications and responsively selects a member of said message queuing cluster.

8. The message queuing system according to claim 1, wherein said message queuing application program interface is an integral part of said application.

9. The message queuing system according to claim 1, wherein said message queuing application program interface is separate from said application and is dynamically linked at run-time or statically at build time.

10. The message queuing system according to claim 1, wherein said application identification data is computed during start-up time of said application by using the program code of said application from the file system as input and applying a HASH function to said input.

11. The message queuing system according to claim 10, wherein said application identification data key is stored in the private memory of said message queuing application program interface.

12. The message queuing system according to claim 1, wherein said message store and said application repository are implemented as a data base.

16. The method according to claim 12, further comprising:

receiving a message put request;

evaluating a connection of the specified target application with a member of said message queuing cluster; and

sending received message to said member of said message queuing cluster for the target application.

17. The method according to claim 12, further comprising:

receiving changes of the content of the application repository of a member of said message queuing cluster;

scanning said message store for messages with assigned application identification data of said target application matching with application identification data of received changes; and

sending identified messages to said member.

18. The method according to claim 17, further comprising:

receiving messages from a member of said message queuing cluster; and

storing received messages in said message store.

13. A method for processing messages in a message queuing system, comprising:

receiving a connecting request from an application including application identification data of the connecting application, wherein said application identification data includes an application class defining the function of said connecting application, a provider name of said application, an application identifier, an application version, an application identification data key;

establishing a session with said application and storing said application identification data in an application repository;

receiving a message from said connected application including application identification data of a target application, wherein said application identification data includes at least the application class of said connected application or the application identification data key of said connected application;

storing said message including application identification data of said target application and application identification data of said connected application in a message store;

receiving a message get request of an already connected application;

scanning said message store for messages with assigned application identification data of said target application matching with application identification data of said requesting application, wherein said scanning is either based on a first-in-first-out procedure or on a message priority procedure; and

sending an identified message to said requesting application.

14. The method according to claim 13, further comprising:

detecting changes in content of said application repository; and

providing said changes to all members of the message queuing cluster.

15. The method according to claim 14, further comprising:

receiving changes of the content of the application repository of said members of said message queuing cluster; and

updating said content of said application repository with said received changes.

19. A computer program product for processing messages in a message queuing system, said computer program product comprising a computer readable medium having computer readable program code tangibly embedded therein, the computer readable program code comprising:

computer readable program code configured to receive a connecting request from an application including application identification data of the connecting application, wherein said application identification data includes an application class defining the function of said connecting application, a provider name of said application, an application identifier, an application version, an application identification data key;

computer readable program code configured to establish a session with said application and store said application identification data in an application repository;

computer readable program code configured to receive a message from said connected application including application identification data of a target application, wherein said application identification data includes at least the application class of said connected application or the application identification data key of said connected application;

computer readable program code configured to store said message including application identification data of said target application and application identification data of said connected application in a message store;

computer readable program code configured to receive a message get request of an already connected application;

computer readable program code configured to scan said message store for messages with assigned application identification data of said target application matching with application identification data of said requesting application, wherein said scanning is either based on a first-in-first-out procedure or on a message priority procedure; and

computer readable program code configured to send an identified message to said requesting application.