Data transfer utilizing a single functionally independent data transfer mechanism
First Claim
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1. A method for transferring data between a source process and a destination process in a data processing system having a plurality of connection mechanisms for establishing logical connections between the source process and the destination process, the method comprising the steps of:
- providing to the source process and to the destination process a uniform data transfer module for transferring the data from the source process to the destination process;
establishing a logical connection between the source process and the destination process utilizing one of the plurality of connection mechanisms; and
transferring the data from the source process to the destination process utilizing the uniform data transfer module, wherein the uniform data transfer module transfers the data in a manner that is independent of the connection mechanism used to establish the logical connection such that the uniform data transfer module operates in the same manner to transfer the data regardless of which of the plurality of connection mechanisms is used to establish the logical connection.
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Abstract
An improved data transfer mechanism is provided. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a uniform data transfer mechanism is used by each computer program performing data transfer. The uniform data transfer mechanism of the preferred embodiment of the present invention provides a communication mechanism and a flexible and robust interface to support all existing and future data transfer applications.
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Citations
51 Claims
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1. A method for transferring data between a source process and a destination process in a data processing system having a plurality of connection mechanisms for establishing logical connections between the source process and the destination process, the method comprising the steps of:
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providing to the source process and to the destination process a uniform data transfer module for transferring the data from the source process to the destination process; establishing a logical connection between the source process and the destination process utilizing one of the plurality of connection mechanisms; and transferring the data from the source process to the destination process utilizing the uniform data transfer module, wherein the uniform data transfer module transfers the data in a manner that is independent of the connection mechanism used to establish the logical connection such that the uniform data transfer module operates in the same manner to transfer the data regardless of which of the plurality of connection mechanisms is used to establish the logical connection. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. In a distributed system having a first software entity that is a source of a communication and a second software entity that is a destination of the communication, a communication mechanism comprising:
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a plurality of connection components for establishing connections between the source and the destination; and a data transfer component for receiving a data transfer request from the destination and for transferring data between the source and the destination responsive to the data transfer request after a connection has been established by one of the connection components, wherein the data transfer component transfers the data in a manner that is independent of the connection component used to establish the connection such that the data transfer component operates in the same manner to transfer the data regardless of which of the plurality of connection components is used to establish the connection, further comprising; a general transfer component for transferring the data from the source to the destination wherein the data transfer request specifies preferences for characteristics of the data and indicia of a plurality of transfer media and wherein the source selects one medium of the transfer media for transferring the data; a specific transfer component for transferring the data from the source to the destination wherein the data transfer request contains preferences for the characteristics of the data and a reference to the medium to be used for transferring the data; a query component for determining whether the data transfer request is supported by the source; a format component for determining the characteristics of the data transferred in response to the data transfer request, wherein the destination invokes the format component to determine if the characteristics of the data are suitable to the destination; a send component for sending the data from the destination to the source; a characteristic component for determining data characteristics supported by the source; and an advise component for establishing an advisory connection between the source and the destination, wherein the destination specifies advisory data within the source and an advisory sink to be notified when the advisory data is modified, the advisory sink being a software entity. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19)
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20. In a computer system having a memory containing a plurality of computer programs in a state of operation for performing applications of data transfer functionality, each of the computer programs having a plurality of connection components for establishing logical connections between the computer programs and each of the connection components invoked for one of the applications of data transfer functionality, a method for sending data from a first of the computer programs to a second of the computer programs, the method comprising the computer-implemented steps of:
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s selecting one of the plurality of connection components to perform a given one of the applications of data transfer functionality, wherein the data is transferred between the first computer program and the second computer program; invoking the selected connection component to establish a logical connection between the first computer program and the second computer program; providing to the first computer program and to the second computer program a uniform data transfer component for transferring the data between the first computer program and the second computer program and for utilization with all the applications of data transfer functionality; and invoking the uniform data transfer component to transfer the data between the first computer program and the second computer program, wherein the uniform data transfer component transfers the data in a manner that is independent of the connection component used to establish the logical connection such that the uniform data transfer component operates in the same manner to transfer the data regardless of which of the plurality of connection components is used to establish the logical connection. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22)
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23. A method for transferring data from a source computer program to a destination computer program in a computer system, the method comprising the computer-implemented steps of:
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providing a data object for the source computer program, the data object having member functions for transferring the data from the source computer program to the destination computer program in a way that is independent of a mechanism for specifying that data is to be transferred from the source computer program to the destination computer program; passing a reference to the provided data object from the source computer program to the destination computer program to establish a connection between the source computer program and the destination computer program; and under control of the destination computer program, using the passed reference to invoke a member function of the data object to effect the transfer of the data from the source computer program to the destination computer program. - View Dependent Claims (24)
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25. A method in a computer system for performing a data transfer operation that transfers data from a source to a destination, the computer system having a plurality of mechanisms for identifying the source and the destination of the data transfer operation, the method comprising the computer-implemented steps of:
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selecting one of the plurality of mechanisms; invoking the selected mechanism to identify the source and the destination of the data transfer operation and to send a reference to the data to be transferred from the source to the destination; and transferring the data from the source to the destination using the reference in a manner that is independent from the selected mechanism.
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26. A method for performing a plurality of applications of data transfer functionality wherein data is transferred between a source computer program and a destination computer program in a computer system having a uniform data transfer component for transferring the data and for utilization with all of the applications of data transfer functionality, each application of data transfer functionality having an associated connection component for establishing a logical connection between the source computer program and the destination computer program, the method comprising the computer-implemented steps of:
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selecting a first of the connection components to perform a first of the applications of data transfer functionality; invoking the first connection component to establish a first logical connection between the source computer program and the destination computer program; invoking the uniform data transfer component to transfer a first portion of the data between the source computer program and the destination computer program after invoking the first connection component; selecting a second of the connection components to perform a second of the applications of data transfer functionality; invoking the second connection component to establish a second logical connection between the source computer program and the destination computer program; and invoking the uniform data transfer component to transfer a second portion of the data between the source computer program and the destination computer program after invoking the second connection component. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28)
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29. A method for transferring data from a source computer program to a destination computer program in a computer system having a plurality of applications of data transfer functionality, the method comprising the computer-implemented steps of:
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invoking one of the plurality of applications of data transfer functionality such that the transfer of the data is initiated; and transferring the data in an application-independent manner from the source computer program to the destination computer program such that the data is transferred in the same manner regardless of which of the plurality of applications of data transfer functionality is selected.
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30. A method for transferring data from a source computer program to a destination computer program in a computer system, the source computer program performing a plurality of applications of data transfer functionality and having an interface containing functions which effectuate the transfer of the data, the method comprising the computer-implemented steps performed by the source computer program of:
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for at least two of the plurality of applications of data transfer functionality; sending a reference to the interface to the destination computer program; receiving an indication of an invocation of one of the functions of the interface via the sent reference; and transferring the data from the source computer program to the destination computer program in response to receiving the indication in a manner that is the same for each application of data transfer functionality. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32)
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33. A method for transferring data from a source computer program to a destination computer program in a computer system, the source computer program and the destination computer program performing a plurality of applications of data transfer functionality, the source computer program having an interface containing functions which effectuate the transfer of the data, the method comprising the computer-implemented steps performed by the destination computer program of:
for at least two of the plurality of applications of data transfer functionality, receiving a reference to the interface from the source computer program; invoking one of the functions of the interface via the received reference; and receiving the data from the source computer program in response to invoking one of the functions in a manner that is the same for each application of the data transfer functionality. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35)
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36. A computer-readable memory device that contains:
an interface data structure comprising a plurality of entries, the interface data structure for use in transferring data from a source application program to a destination application program, the interface data structure being provided to the source application program after which the source application program provides a reference to the interface data structure to the destination application program whereupon the destination application program accesses at least one entry of the interface data structure via the reference to transfer the data, each entry comprising; a function that effectuates the transfer of the data from the source application program to the destination application program in a manner that is independent of a mechanism used to select the source application program and the destination application program. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45)
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46. A computer-readable medium whose contents cause a data processing system to transfer data between a source process and a destination process, the data processing system having a plurality of connection mechanisms for establishing logical connections between the source process and the destination process, by performing the steps of:
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providing to the source process and to the destination process a uniform data transfer module for transferring the data from the source process to the destination process; establishing a logical connection between the source process and the destination process utilizing one of the plurality of connection mechanisms; and transferring the data from the source process to the destination process utilizing the uniform data transfer module, wherein the uniform data transfer module transfers the data in a manner that is independent of the connection mechanism used to establish the logical connection such that the uniform data transfer module operates in the same manner to transfer the data regardless of which of the plurality of connection mechanisms is used to establish the logical connection.
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47. A computer-readable medium whose contents cause a computer system having a memory containing a plurality of computer programs in a state of operation to perform applications of data transfer functionality, each of the computer programs having a plurality of connection components for establishing logical connections between the computer programs and each of the connection components invoked for one of the applications of data transfer functionality, a method for sending data from a first of the computer programs to a second of the computer programs, by performing the steps of:
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selecting one of the plurality of connection components to perform a given one of the applications of data transfer functionality, wherein the data is transferred between the first computer program and the second computer program; invoking the selected connection component to establish a logical connection between the first computer program and the second computer program; providing to the first computer program and to the second computer program a uniform data transfer component for transferring the data between the first computer program and the second computer program and for utilization with all the applications of data transfer functionality; and invoking the uniform data transfer component to transfer the data between the first computer program and the second computer program, wherein the uniform data transfer component transfers the data in a manner that is independent of the connection component used to establish the logical connection such that the uniform data transfer component operates in the same manner to transfer the data regardless of which of the plurality of connection components is used to establish the logical connection.
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48. A computer-readable medium whose contents cause a computer system to perform a plurality of applications of data transfer functionality wherein data is transferred between a source computer program and a destination computer program in the computer system, the computer system having a uniform data transfer component for transferring the data and for utilization with all of the applications of data transfer functionality, each application of data transfer functionality having an associated connection component for establishing a logical connection between the source computer program and the destination computer program, by performing the steps of:
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selecting a first of the connection components to perform a first of the applications of data transfer functionality; invoking the first connection component to establish a first logical connection between the source computer program and the destination computer program; invoking the uniform data transfer component to transfer a first portion of the data between the source computer program and the destination computer program after invoking the first connection component; selecting a second of the connection components to perform a second of the applications of data transfer functionality; invoking the second connection component to establish a second logical connection between the source computer program and the destination computer program; and invoking the uniform data transfer component to transfer a second portion of the data between the source computer program and the destination computer program after invoking the second connection component.
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49. A computer-readable medium whose contents cause data to be transferred from a source computer program to a destination computer program in a computer system having a plurality of applications of data transfer functionality wherein each application initiates the transfer of the data, by performing the steps of:
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selecting and invoking one of the plurality of applications of data transfer functionality such that the transfer of the data is initiated; and transferring the data in an application-independent manner from the source computer program to the destination computer program such that the data is transferred in the same manner regardless of which of the plurality of applications of data transfer functionality is selected.
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50. A computer-readable medium whose contents cause data to be transferred from a source computer program to a destination computer program in a computer system, the source computer program performing a plurality of applications of data transfer functionality and having an interface containing functions which effectuate the transfer of the data, by performing the steps of:
under the control of the source computer program, for each of the plurality of applications of data transfer functionality, sending a reference to the interface to the destination computer program; receiving an indication of an invocation of one of the functions of the interface via the sent reference; and transferring the data from the source computer program to the destination computer program in response to receiving the indication in a manner that is the same for each application of data transfer functionality.
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51. A computer-readable medium whose contents cause data to be transferred from a source computer program to a destination computer program in a computer system, the source computer program and the destination computer program performing a plurality of applications of data transfer functionality, the source computer program having an interface containing functions which effectuate the transfer of the data, by performing the steps of:
under the control of the destination computer program, for each of the plurality of applications of data transfer functionality, receiving a reference to the interface from the source computer program; invoking one of the functions of the interface via the received reference; and receiving the data from the source computer program in response to invoking one of the functions in a manner that is the same for each application of the data transfer functionality.
Specification