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Apparatus and method for a federated naming system which can resolve a composite name composed of names from any number of disparate naming systems

  • US 5,377,323 A
  • Filed: 09/13/1991
  • Issued: 12/27/1994
  • Est. Priority Date: 09/13/1991
  • Status: Expired due to Term
First Claim
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1. In a distributed computing environment, an apparatus for a federated naming system which can resolve a composite name composed of any number of disparate naming systems, said apparatus comprising:

  • a) a plurality of arbitrary naming systems, each of said naming systems comprising a plurality of names, cash name being comprised of one or more atomic names, said atomic names being pointers to corresponding objects, each of said naming systems having names with syntax unknown to other naming systems, thereby permitting a new naming system to be added to said distributed computing environment without having to change any other associated naming system;

    b) a composite name, comprising a sequence of one or more names from different naming systems which are connected as a sequence of components, each component comprising a naming system identification symbol and a name from said naming system, said naming system identification symbol being uniquely related to one of said plurality of arbitrary naming systems, said sequence of components having an arbitrary number of said components corresponding to said one or more names;

    c) a first lookup device for resolving said composite name into said composite name'"'"'s corresponding parts by returning a head name and a tail name to a request that said composite name bc resolved, and if said taft name is a non-null value said head name is openfive to point to a context where said tail name can be further resolved, and repeating said resolving operation iteratiyely until said tail name returned is a null value at which time a location of an object designated by said composite name has been determined; and

    d) a second lookup device which is local to an individual one of said plurality of arbitrary naming systems which is used to resolve names unique to said individual naming system, into associated atomic names and to return a pointer to an object designed by an atomic name therby providing to said first lookup device a resolution for a name in said individual naming system.

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