Distributed system architecture for variable coupling

• US 20060155868A1
• Filed: 02/08/2005
• Published: 07/13/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/20/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP AG (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Redding, Guy M., Vayssiere, Julien J.P., Milliner, Stephen, Elms, Kim
• Granted Patent: US 8,239,503 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/232
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/465 Distributed object oriented systems remote method invocation [RMI] G06F9/548
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4862 the task being a mobile agent, i.e. specifically designed to migrate

Abstract

A distributed computer system in several embodiments includes several architectures or configurations. Each configuration exhibits a different degree of coupling between an application that provides data and an application that consumes that data. In an embodiment, a provider application knows the identity of a consumer application, converts data into the format of the consumer application, and transmits the data to the consumer application. In other embodiments, the provider application does not know the identity of the consumer application, and transmits data to the consumer application through an intermediary. In such embodiments, either the provider or the intermediary can perform the data conversion. In another embodiment, a manager object oversees the transformation of the system from one configuration to another in real time.

Claims

1. A computer including:

a configuration including a mediation configuration, an adaptation configuration, and a crystallization configuration; and

a mobile code technology, such that said computer is capable of transforming between said mediation configuration, said adaptation configuration, and said crystallization configuration.

2. The computer of claim 1, wherein said configuration is a mediation configuration including a provider object space, an intermediary object space, and a consumer object space.

3. The computer of claim 2, wherein

the provider object space includes data of a first format;

the intermediary space includes the data of the first format and data of a second format; and

the consumer object space includes the data of the second format.

4. The computer of claim 2, wherein the provider object space includes a provider application, a provider wrapper, and a first proxy object.

5. The computer of claim 2, wherein the intermediary object space includes a converter object and a second proxy object.

6. The computer of claim 2, wherein the consumer object space includes a consumer wrapper and a consumer application.

7. The computer of claim 1, wherein the configuration is an adaptation configuration including a provider object space, an intermediary object space, and a consumer object space.

8. The computer of claim 7, wherein

the provider object space includes data of a first format and data of a second format;

the intermediary object space includes the data of the second format; and

the consumer object space includes the data of the second format.

9. The computer of claim 7, wherein the provider object space includes a provider application, a provider wrapper, a converter, and a first proxy object.

10. The computer of claim 7, wherein the intermediary object space includes a second proxy object.

11. The computer of claim 7, wherein the consumer object space includes a consumer wrapper and a consumer application.

12. The computer of claim 1, wherein the configuration is a crystallization configuration including a provider object space and a consumer object space.

13. The computer of claim 12, wherein the provider object space includes data of a first format and data of a second format;

and

the consumer object space includes the data of the second format.

14. The computer of claim 12, wherein the provider object space includes a provider application, a provider wrapper, a converter, and a proxy object.

15. The computer of claim 12, wherein the consumer object space includes a consumer application and a consumer wrapper.

16. The computer of claim 1, wherein the mobile code technology includes Java.

17. The computer of claim 1, further including a manager object, wherein the manager object manages the transformation among the mediation, adaptation, and crystallization configurations.

18. A computer architecture including:

a mediation configuration, an adaptation configuration, and a crystallization configuration; and

a mobile code technology that enables the computer architecture to transform among the mediation configuration, the adaptation configuration, and the crystallization configuration;

wherein the mediation configuration includes a provider object space, an intermediary object space, and a consumer object space; and

wherein the provider object space includes a provider application, a provider wrapper, a first proxy object, and data of a first format; and

wherein the intermediary object space includes a converter, a second proxy object, and data of the first format and data of a second format; and

further

wherein the consumer object space includes a consumer application, a consumer wrapper, and the data of the second format;

wherein the adaptation configuration includes the provider object space, the intermediary object space, and the consumer object space; and

wherein the provider object space includes the provider application, the provider wrapper, the converter, the first proxy object, and the data of the first format and the data of the second format; and

wherein the intermediary object space includes the second proxy object and the data of the second format; and

further

wherein the consumer object space includes the consumer application, the consumer wrapper, and the data of the second format;

wherein the crystallization configuration includes the provider object space and the consumer object space; and

wherein the provider object space includes the provider application, the provider wrapper, the converter, the first proxy object, and the data of the first format and the data of the second format; and

wherein the consumer object space includes the consumer application, the consumer wrapper, and data of the second format.

19. The computer architecture of claim 18, wherein in the mediation configuration,

the first proxy object in the provider object space transmits the data of the first format from the provider object space to the intermediary object space;

the converter in the intermediary object space converts the data of the first format into the data of the second format; and

the second proxy object in the intermediary object space transmits the data of the second format from the intermediary object space to the consumer object space.

20. The computer architecture of claim 18, wherein in the adaptation configuration,

the converter in the provider object space converts the data in the first format to the data in the second format;

the proxy object in the provider object space transmits the data in the second format from the provider object space to the intermediary object space; and

the proxy object in the intermediary object space transmits the data in the second format from the intermediary object space to the consumer object space.

21. The computer architecture of claim 18, wherein in the crystallization configuration,

the converter in the provider object space converts the data of the first format into the data of the second format;

and

the proxy object in the provider object space transmits the data of the second format to the consumer object space.

22. The computer architecture of claim 18, further including a manager object, the manager object residing in either the provider object space, the intermediary object space, or the consumer object space, wherein the manager object oversees the transformation among the mediation, adaptation, and crystallization configurations.

23. A method including:

providing a first object space and a second object space;

providing a first software application and a second software application, the first software application residing on the first object space and including data in a first format, and the second software application residing in the second object space and including data in a second format;

converting data in the first object space from the first format into the second format; and

transmitting the data in the second format from the first object space to the second object space.

24. The method of claim 23, further including providing a third object space, the third object space serving as an intermediary between the first object space and the second object space.

25. The method of claim 23, further including:

converting the data in the first format in the first object space into the data in the second format;

transmitting the data in the second data format from the first object space to the third object space; and

transmitting the data in the second data format from the third object space to the second object space.

26. The method of claim 23, further including:

transmitting data in the first format from the first object space to the third object space;

converting the data in the first format in the third object space into the data in the second format; and

transmitting the data in the second format from the third object space to the second object space.

27. A machine readable medium including instructions to cause a machine to perform a process including:

providing a first object space and a second object space;

providing a first software application and a second software application, the first software application residing on the first object space and including data in a first format, and the second software application residing on the second object space and including data in a second format;

converting data in the first object space from the first format into the second format; and

transmitting the data in the second format from the first object space to the second object space.

29. The machine readable medium of claim 27, further including:

converting the data in the first format in the first object space into the data in the second format;

transmitting the data in the second data format from the first object space to the third object space; and

transmitting the data in the second data format from the third object space to the second object space.

30. The machine readable medium of claim 27, further including:

transmitting the data in the first format from the first object space to the third object space;

converting data in the first format in the third object space into the data in the second format; and

transmitting the data in the second data format from the third object space to the second object space.

28. The machine readable medium of 27, further including providing a third object space, the third object space serving as an intermediary between the first object space and the second object space.