Distributed computing system for executing intercommunicating applications programs

• US 5,909,542 A
• Filed: 11/20/1996
• Issued: 06/01/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 11/20/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: CFI ProServices, Inc. (MX Holdings One LLC)
• Original Assignee: CFI ProServices, Inc. (MX Holdings One LLC)
• Inventors: Kossak, Marek H., Paquette, Robin L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Ramirez, Ellis B.
• Assistant Examiner(s): TITCOMB, WILLIAM D
• Application Number:
  US08/752,878
• Time in Patent Office: 923 Days
• Field of Search: 395/200.33, 395/200.34, 395/200.35, 707/200
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/547 Remote procedure calls [RPC]; Web services

Abstract

A distributed computing system executes application programs which call functions, each function carrying out an operation such as read or write accessing a data file in response to an input argument generated by the calling application program. The system includes client computers for executing the application programs and server computers for executing "server programs", programs which carry out the called functions. The client and server computers communicate through a network. To make a function call, an application program running on a client computer generates an argument for the function and sends a request identifying the function to a "client gate" program also running on the client program. Each client computer stores a configuration file indicating which server star carries out each function, and which server computer can execute that server star. When the client gate receives the function request, it consults the configuration file and then sends a request referencing the identified server star and function to a "server gate" program executed by the identified server. The server gate thereupon invokes the server star which carries out the function. The server gate forwards function output data produced by the server star to the client gate which returns the data to the application program. Thus a change in the network location or structure of a data file used by application programs can be accommodated by modifying configuration files and/or the server stars without necessarily altering the application programs themselves.

Claims

1. A distributed computing system comprising:

a client computer for executing a client program and a client gate program,

a server computer for executing a server program and for executing a server gate program, and

network means for providing a communication path between the client and server computer,

wherein said client program when executed calls a particular function to be executed by said server program by generating an argument for the particular function and sending a first request to said client gate program, the first request identifying said particular function,

wherein said client computer stores a configuration file containing an entry corresponding to said particular function and referencing said server program and said server computer,

wherein upon receiving the first request, the client gate program ascertains the server program that is to carry out the particular function and ascertains the server computer that is to execute the server program by reading said entry in the configuration file corresponding to the particular function, passes the argument from the client program to said server computer via said network means and sends a second request referencing said server program and said particular function to the server gate program via said network means,

wherein the server gate program, upon receiving the second request, invokes execution of the server program referenced thereby and tells the server program to carry out said particular function, and

wherein the server program, when executed, acquires the argument passed to the server computer and carries out the particular function in response to said argument.

2. The distributed computing system in accordance with claim 1 wherein the server computer stores a data file, wherein said particular function comprises accessing said data file in a manner indicated by said argument passed to the one server computer.

3. The distributed computing system in accordance with claim 1 wherein said particular function has associated therewith a unique function identification code (ID) and wherein said first request identifies said particular function by its ID.

4. The distributed computing system in accordance with claim 3 wherein the server program selectively executes any one of a plurality of functions when invoked including said particular function,

wherein the second request includes said ID of said particular function,

wherein the server gate program passes the ID of said particular function to said server program when it invokes execution of said server program, and

wherein the server program selects which one of said plurality of functions to execute in response to the ID passed by said server gate program.

5. The distributed computing system in accordance with claim 1 wherein the server program, when executed, attempts to carry out said particular function and thereafter returns a first response to said one server gate program indicting whether it has successfully carried out said particular function.

6. The distributed computing system in accordance with claim 5 wherein said server gate program, after receiving said first response, returns a second response to said client gate program, the second response indicating whether said particular function was successfully carried out.

7. The distributed computing system in accordance with claim 6 wherein said client gate program, after receiving said second response, returns a third response to said client program indicating whether said particular function was successfully carried out.

8. The distributed computing system in accordance with claim 1 wherein said configuration file contains a TimeOut field indicating a time,

wherein the client gate program includes the TimeOut field in the second request sent to the server gate program,

wherein upon successfully carrying out said particular function, said server program returns a first response to said server gate program indicating said particular function has been successfully carried out, and

wherein after invoking execution of said server program, said server gate program returns a second response to said client gate program, the second response indicating whether said server program has returned said first response within the time indicated by said TimeOut field.

9. The distributed computing system in accordance with claim 8 wherein said entry of the configuration file contains a Backout field indicating whether the server program referenced by the entry is to execute a backout function,

wherein the client gate program includes the Backout field in the second request sent to the server gate program,

wherein when the server program returns said first response after the time indicated by the TimeOut field, the server gate program again invokes the server program,

wherein the server program when again invoked, executes said backout function.

10. The distributed computing system in accordance with claim 9 wherein said backout function reversers an operation carried out by said particular function.

11. A distributed computing system comprising:

a client computer for executing a client program and for executing a client gate program,

a plurality of server computers, each executing at least one server program and each for executing a separate server gate program, wherein each server program carries out at least one function in response to an input argument; and

network means for providing a communication path between the client and server computers,

wherein the client program invokes execution of a plurality of functions by generating arguments for the functions and by sending a first request to the client gate program, the first request containing a list of said functions to be invoked,

wherein, upon receiving the first request, the client gate program ascertains a plurality of server programs that are to carry out the functions, passes the arguments generated by the client program via said network means to particular server computers that are to execute the ascertained server programs, and sends a separate second request to a server gate program executed by each particular server computer via said network means, the second request referencing server programs to be invoked,

wherein each server gate program, upon receiving a said second request, invokes execution of each server program identified thereby, and

wherein each server program, when executed, carries out its function in accordance with an argument passed to its server computer.

12. The distributed computing system in accordance with claim 11 wherein each function has associated therewith a unique function identification code (ID),

wherein said first request identifies said each function by its ID.

13. The distributed computing system in accordance with claim 12 wherein the client computer stores a configuration file,

wherein the configuration file contains an entry corresponding to each function ID,

wherein each entry of the configuration file references the particular server program that is to carry out the corresponding function and references a particular server computer that executes the particular server program, and

wherein the client gate program ascertains which server program is to carry out each function and ascertains which server computer executes that server program by reading the entry in the configuration file corresponding to the function'"'"'s ID.

14. The distributed computing system in accordance with claim 13 wherein the configuration file contains a TimeOut field indicating a time,

wherein the client gate program includes the TimeOut field in each second request sent to the server gate programs,

wherein upon successfully carrying out its function, each server program returns a first response to its server gate program indicating its function has been successfully carried out, and

wherein after invoking a server program, each server gate program returns a separate second response to said client gate program, the second response indicating whether the invoked server program has returned its first response within a time indicated by said TimeOut field.

15. The distributed computing system in accordance with claim 14 wherein each entry of the configuration file contains a Seq field indicating whether the server program referenced by the entry must successfully carry out its function within the time indicated in the TimeOut field of said entry before other server programs carrying out other functions listed in said first request may be invoked, and

wherein when the Seq field of a configuration file entry for a function included on said list indicates that the server program referenced by the entry must successfully carry out its function within the time indicated in the TimeOut field of said entry before server programs carrying other functions listed in said first request may be invoked, the client gate program refrains from sending a second request to server gate programs that are to invoke said other server programs until it receives a second response from a server gate program indicating that the server program referenced by the entry has successfully carried out its function within the time indicated in the TimeOut field of said entry.

16. The distributed computing system in accordance with claim 13 wherein upon successfully carrying out its function, each server program returns a first response to its server gate program indicating its function has been successfully carried out,

wherein upon receiving said first response, each server gate program returns a second response to said client gate program indicating the invoked sever program has successfully carried out its function,

wherein the configuration file contains a Sync field indicating whether the client gate is to respond synchronously or asynchronously to the client program,

wherein when the Sync field indicates that the client gate is to respond synchronously, the client gate waits until it has received a second response from each server gate invoking a server program carrying out a function listed in said first request and then sends a third response to said client program indicating that all functions listed in said first request have been successfully carried out, and

wherein when the Sync field indicates that the client gate is to respond asynchronously, the client gate sends a third response to the client program immediately upon receiving a second response from any server gate having invoked a server program carrying out a function listed in said first request, the third response indicating that the function listed in said first request has been successfully carried out.

17. A distributed computing system comprising:

a client computer for executing a client program, for executing a client gate program, and for storing a configuration file;

a plurality of server computers, each for executing at least one server program and each for executing a separate server gate program; and

network means providing a communication path between the client and server computers,

wherein each server program carries out at least one function in a manner indicated by an input argument,

wherein each function has a unique identification code (ID),

wherein the client program invokes execution of a plurality of functions by generating an argument for each of said plurality of functions and sending a first request to the client gate program, the first request containing an ID of each of said plurality of functions,

wherein the configuration file includes a TimeOut field indicating a time allowed for executing each function and includes an entry corresponding to each of said function IDs, each entry of the configuration file containing a DataStar field indicating which server program is to carry out the function referenced by the entry'"'"'s corresponding ID, a Server field indicating which server computer is to invoke the server program, and a Seq field indicating whether the function is to be successfully executed within the time indicated by the TimeOut field before other functions referenced by said list may be executed,

wherein, upon receiving the first request, the client gate program successively consults the configuration file entry for each successive ID on the list passes an argument generated by the client program to the server computer referenced by the Server field, and sends a second request containing the TimeOut and Datastar fields to the server gate program executed by the server computer referenced by the Server field,

wherein each server gate program, upon receiving said second request, invokes the server program identified by the Datastar field thereof, and

wherein each invoked server program acquires an argument passed to its server computer, executes its function in response thereto and then returns a first response to its invoking server gate program indicating whether it has successfully carried out its function.

18. The distributed computing system in accordance with claim 17 wherein each server gate program sends a second response to the client gate program, the second response indicating whether the server program invoked by the server gate program returned its first response within the time allowed by the TimeOut field included in the second request sent to the server gate program.

19. The distributed computing system in accordance with claim 18 wherein after sending a second request to a server gate program identified by the Server field of a configuration file entry containing a Seq field indicating that the function identified by the ID corresponding to the entry is to be carried out within the time indicated by the TimeOut field as a precondition to execution of a function whose ID is next listed in said first request, the client gate program waits until it receives a second response indicating that the function has been carried out before sending a second request in response to the next ID listed in the first request, and

wherein after sending a second request to a server gate program identified by the Server field of a configuration file entry containing a Seq field indicating that the function identified by the ID corresponding to the entry need not be carried out within the time indicated by the TimeOut field as a precondition to execution of a function whose ID is next listed in said first request, the client gate program sends a second request in response to the next ID listed in the first request without waiting until it receives a second response indicating that the function has been carried out.