DISTRIBUTED AUTONOMIC SOLUTIONS REPOSITORY

• US 20080065577A1
• Filed: 10/24/2007
• Published: 03/13/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 10/16/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Steven Mastrianni, Thomas Chefalas
• Original Assignee: Steven Mastrianni, Thomas Chefalas
• Inventors: CHEFALAS, THOMAS, Mastrianni, Steven
• Granted Patent: US 8,250,563 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 706/47
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/95 Retrieval from the web
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/70 Software maintenance or management

Abstract

A method, apparatus, and computer instructions for managing software. A solution to a problem that has occurred with a program on a client data processing system is received by a server. This solution is created while solving the problem that occurred on the data processing system. The solution includes a process that may be executed on another data processing system to solve the same problem on that data processing system. The process is, for example, a script, a macro, or a set of computer executable steps or instructions. A database of solutions is selectively updated to reflect the new solution. In response to a request for a solution by another client system to a problem, the server will respond with the current solution that exists in the database.

Claims

1. A method in a data processing system for managing software, the method comprising:

responsive to identifying a problem in a program within a client computer system, initiating, by a user of the client computer system, an agent that executes within the client computer system;

associating a problem identifier with the problem identified in the program;

recording, by the agent into a script within the client computer system, diagnostic steps as the diagnostic steps are taken by the user to diagnose the problem, wherein the user does not take any action to have the diagnostic steps recorded by the agent into the script;

storing the problem identifier associated with the problem in the script;

recording, by the agent into the script, correction steps as the correction steps are taken by the user to correct the problem, wherein the user does not take any action to have the correction steps recorded by the agent into the script;

responsive to the correction steps correcting the problem, sending a solution that includes the correction steps and the problem identifier automatically to a server computer system by the agent.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

responsive to the server computer system receiving the solution, searching a rules database in the server computer system for a stored solution that includes the problem identifier;

responsive to locating the stored solution in the rules database in the server computer system, determining whether the stored solution includes stored correction steps that are the same as the correction steps;

responsive to determining that the stored correction steps are not the same as the correction steps, identifying differences between the stored correction steps and the correction steps to form identified differences;

notifying a system administrator about the identified differences; and

responsive to the system administrator approving an update, updating the stored solution to include the correction steps to form a second stored solution.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

responsive to connecting to the server computer system by a second agent in a second client computer system, obtaining updates to the rules database, wherein the updates include the second stored solution;

responsive to obtaining the updates, updating a local rules database in the second client computer system to include the updates; and

responsive to an occurrence of the problem in the second client computer system, using the second stored solution in the local rules database to correct the problem in the second client computer system.

4. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

updating the stored solution to form the second stored solution by eliminating steps from the stored correction steps and adding new steps to the stored solution with the identified differences.

5-18. -18. (canceled)

19. A computer program product including a computer readable medium for managing software, the computer program product comprising:

a computer usable medium having computer usable program code embodied therein, the computer usable medium comprising;

computer usable program code configured to initiate, by a user of a client computer system, an agent that executes within the client computer system in response to identifying a problem in a program within the client computer system;

computer usable program code configured to associate a problem identifier with the problem identified in the program;

computer usable program code configured to record, by the agent into a script within the client computer system, diagnostic steps as the diagnostic steps are taken by the user to diagnose the problem, wherein the user does not take any action to have the diagnostic steps recorded by the agent into the script;

computer usable program code configured to store the problem identifier associated with the problem in the script;

computer usable program code configured to record, by the agent into the script, correction steps as the correction steps are taken by the user to correct the problem, wherein the user does not take any action to have the correction steps recorded by the agent into the script;

computer usable program code configured to send a solution that includes the correction steps and the problem identifier automatically to a server computer system by the agent in response to the correction steps correcting the problem.

20. The computer program product of claim 19, further comprising:

computer usable program code configured to search a rules database in the server computer system for a stored solution that includes the problem identifier in response to the server computer system receiving the solution;

computer usable program code configured to determine whether the stored solution in the rules database in the server computer system includes stored correction steps that are the same as the correction steps in response to locating the stored solution;

computer usable program code configured to identify differences between the stored correction steps and the correction steps to form identified differences in response to determining that the stored correction steps are not the same as the correction steps;

computer usable program code configured to notify a system administrator about the identified differences; and

computer usable program code configured to update the stored solution to include the correction steps to form a second stored solution in response to the system administrator approving an update.

21. The computer program product of claim 20, further comprising:

computer usable program code configured to obtain updates to the rules database in responsive to connecting to the server computer system by a second agent in a second client computer system, wherein the updates include the second stored solution;

computer usable program code configured to update a local rules database in the second client computer system to include the updates in response to obtaining the updates; and

computer usable program code configured to use the second stored solution in the local rules database to correct the problem in the second client computer system in response to an occurrence of the problem in the second client computer system.

22. The computer program product of claim 20, further comprising:

computer usable program code configured to update the stored solution to form the second stored solution by eliminating steps from the stored correction steps and adding new steps to the stored solution with the identified differences.

23-24. -24. (canceled)