Apparatus using circuit manager to associate a single circuit with each host application where the circuit is shared by a plurality of client applications
First Claim
1. Apparatus for establishing and managing communication circuits between one of a plurality of client computers and a central host computer, the client being capable of (i) interacting with a plurality of host applications resident and active on the host and (ii) running a plurality of client applications resident and active on the client, the apparatus comprising:
- a. a communication platform for establishing and maintaining communication circuits between the client and the host, the platform itself comprising means for sending digitally encoded outgoing messages to the host and for receiving digitally encoded incoming messages from the host;
b. a circuit manager for associating a single circuit with each host application active with respect to the client, the circuit capable of being shared by a plurality of client applications; and
c. routing means for decoding digital signatures associated with outgoing messages by client applications and, based thereon, routing the messages to host applications over the circuits associated therewith.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A computer architecture that permits applications resident on remote "client" computers to communicate simply and efficiently with applications resident on a central server is disclosed. Client applications can effectively retrieve information from the server without detailed knowledge of server applications, the location of a requested data item or the particular hardware configuration of the host or even the client. A circuit manager module opens and maintains a communication circuit to the appropriate server application, supervising routing of messages from all client applications to that server application. The circuit manager also receives all incoming messages, routing them to the appropriate client applications. A client application can specify message destination in the form of a specific circuit (which requires substantial program awareness of communication patterns), or an identifier associated with the target application, or the type of information being requested from the server.
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Citations
27 Claims
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1. Apparatus for establishing and managing communication circuits between one of a plurality of client computers and a central host computer, the client being capable of (i) interacting with a plurality of host applications resident and active on the host and (ii) running a plurality of client applications resident and active on the client, the apparatus comprising:
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a. a communication platform for establishing and maintaining communication circuits between the client and the host, the platform itself comprising means for sending digitally encoded outgoing messages to the host and for receiving digitally encoded incoming messages from the host; b. a circuit manager for associating a single circuit with each host application active with respect to the client, the circuit capable of being shared by a plurality of client applications; and c. routing means for decoding digital signatures associated with outgoing messages by client applications and, based thereon, routing the messages to host applications over the circuits associated therewith. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method of managing communications between one of a plurality of client computers and a central host computer, the client being capable of (i) interacting with a plurality of host applications resident and active on the host and (ii) running a plurality of client applications resident and active on the client, the method comprising the steps of:
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a. establishing a single communication circuit between the client and each host application active with respect to the client, the circuit capable of being shared by a plurality of client applications; b. accepting outgoing messages from client applications; c. analyzing the accepted messages for a digital signature indicative of a host application active with respect to the client; and d. routing the message to the indicated host application over the single circuit associated therewith. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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Specification