User console and computer operating system asynchronous interaction interface

• US 5,684,992 A
• Filed: 06/07/1995
• Issued: 11/04/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 09/04/1990
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Abrams, Robert Michael, Tracy, Patrick Reed, Schoen, William James
• Primary Examiner(s): Kriess, Kevin A.
• Application Number:
  US08/476,535
• Time in Patent Office: 881 Days
• Field of Search: 395/650, 395/700, 395/680, 395/651, 395/670
• US Class Current: 719/314
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces

Abstract

A method for operating a computer system includes the identification of at least one of a plurality of consoles to the operating system so as to be able to dynamically specify console attributes. Furthermore, a unique command and response token value is provided for associating commands and subsequently generated responses or messages so that they may be directed to an appropriately select set of consoles as determined by the token value and the console attributes. These facilities provide a programmable and flexible interface to a computer and its operating system environment so as to facilitate the utilization of console devices for controlling the computer complex from one or more remote locations in a consistent, protected, efficient but yet flexible manner.

Claims

1. A method for operating a computer system which includes an operating system supporting multiple address spaces for programs and data and which also supports data spaces for data access, said computer system further including a plurality of consoles for communicating with said computer system, said method comprising the steps of:

identifying at least one of said consoles to said operating system, including a specification of console attributes;

transmitting at least one command from one of said identified consoles to said computer system by means of console support programming which is active in one of said multiple address spaces;

associating said command with a token value;

processing by said operating system said command and generated responses or solicited messages with respect thereto which are also associated with said token value and placed in a queue in one of said data spaces; and

subsequently selecting said queued responses or messages as determined by said token value.

2. The method of claim 1 in which said attributes include at least one selected from the list consisting of command authority, routing code, message level, message display format, command scope, migration identifier and storage limit.

3. The method of claim 1 in which said computer system comprises a plurality of separate loosely coupled computers.

4. The method of claim 1 in which said queued messages or responses are processed in first-in, first-out order.