System for controlling electronic messaging protocol between plurality of computer system by using identical electronic messaging system

• US 5,983,265 A
• Filed: 10/20/1997
• Issued: 11/09/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 10/21/1993
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Paradigm4, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Paradigm4, Inc.
• Inventors: Martino, John A. II
• Primary Examiner(s): Meky, Moustafa M.
• Application Number:
  US08/954,772
• Time in Patent Office: 750 Days
• Field of Search: 395/200.3, 395/200.31, 395/200.36, 395/200.55, 395/200.56, 395/200.6, 709/200, 709/201, 709/202, 709/206, 709/217, 709/218, 709/219, 709/220, 709/221, 709/222, 709/223, 709/224, 709/227, 709/228
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/547 Messaging middleware
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/546 Message passing systems or structures, e.g. queues
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/18 Multiprotocol handlers, e.g. single devices capable of handling multiple protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/32 Architecture of open systems interconnection [OSI] 7-layer type protocol stacks, e.g. the interfaces between the data link level and the physical level
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/326 in the transport layer [OSI layer 4] H04L69/16 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

A novel method of and system for heterogeneous connectivity and universal and generic interfacing for distributed applications and processes residing in a wide variety of computing platforms communicating over varied transport facilities, through an integrated set of lower-level programs and routines that handle specific services (message/data recovery, security, directory services, etc.) available from applications and processes within varied complex computing and communications environments, and without having to deal with the idiosyncrasies of differing networks, protocols, devices, multiple "standards", routing, recovery and other transport difficulties and differences. This is effected by novel single-function software modules or verbs, called application programming interface (API), that together provide a consistent and universal interface through which application programs/processes can access the messaging communications services in a manner that isolates the applications and processes from the confusing and fast-changing communications environment, as well as from differences in various computer operating systems, platforms and hardware.

Claims

1. A method for controlling an electronic messaging protocol between a plurality of computer systems, each computer system executing an application program or a process, the method comprising the steps of:

providing a substantially identical electronic messaging system (EMS), including a plurality of verb-based software modules, in each of the plurality of computer systems; and

directly accessing and controlling, through the EMS, the electronic messaging protocol by the respective application program or process in each of the plurality of computer systems, using the plurality of verb-based modules of the EMS, for transmitting a message from a transmitting application/process to a receiving application/process, including the steps of;

forming and releasing queues in response to a set of queue-controlling verb-based modules for storing and processing the message, with the queues being associated with a transmitting application/process and a receiving application/process involved in the electronic messaging protocol;

transmitting and receiving the message by the electronic messaging protocol using a set of transmission/reception verb-based modules; and

generating acknowledgment signals to acknowledge, to the transmitting application/process, the receipt of the message by the receiving application/process.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of providing the EMS includes the steps of:

staging the message using a router for transmission or reception by the transmitting application/process or by the receiving application/process, respectively; and

providing an application programming interface (API) between the router and the corresponding application/process associated with the EMS, wherein the API includes the plurality of verb-based modules.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the step of staging includes the step of:

managing the queues and messages therein using a queue manager of the router.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

storing into saved files, during a shutdown procedure of the EMS, any non-transmitted saveable messages in the queues; and

rebuilding queues of saved non-transmitted messages from the saved files during a start-up procedure of the EMS.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of controlling the electronic messaging protocol using the EMS further comprises the step of:

formatting the message by;

generating an associated message header; and

encapsulating the message for transmission and reception by adding the message header to the message.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the step of formatting further includes the steps of:

determining whether the message has a data length greater than a nominal limit; and

subdividing each message having a length exceeding the nominal limit into message segments; and

wherein each message segment has an associated message header generated and added thereto for transmission.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the plurality of verb-based software modules includes at least the following modules:

COMMIT, to inform a router of the EMS that the message has been successfully received and processed by the receiving application/process, and that the queue associated with the transmitting application/process may be released;

DELETE, to remove a selected message from a specified queue regardless of priority, pending or active state, or whether receipt has yet been acknowledged;

FREEBUF, to release data/storage and queue entries when no longer required;

GET BUF, to allocate resources such as internal memory needed to support message sending and status services;

INITIALIZE, to connect the calling application/process for performing the electronic messaging protocol;

PURGE, to remove all of the messages from any local queue regardless of priority and pending an active state;

RECEIVE, to deliver an incoming message to the receiving application/process and to queue the message traffic awaiting delivery and priority to the receiving application/process;

SEND, to place a message into a routing queue for eventual transmission from the transmitting application/process to the receiving application/process;

STATE, to inquire about or to alter the state of any local routing message queues;

STATUS, to inquire about or alter the status of any message in a specified message sending queue and to obtain the number of messages in such queue; and

TERMINATE, to resolve latent messages before termination of the corresponding application/process and then to terminate the application connection to a routing message queue.

8. A method for sending and receiving a message between a plurality of computer systems, each computer system executing an application program or a process, the method comprising the steps of:

providing a substantially identical electronic messaging system (EMS), including a plurality of verb-based software modules, in each of the plurality of computer systems; and

directly accessing and controlling, through the EMS, the electronic messaging protocol by the respective application program or process in each of the plurality of computer systems, using the plurality of verb-based modules of the EMS, for transmitting a message from a transmitting application/process to a receiving application/process, including the steps of;

creating an outgoing message queue associated with the transmitting application/process for storing the message prior to transmission;

formatting the message for transmission;

transmitting the formatted message to the receiving application/process;

creating an incoming message queue associated with the receiving application/process for storing the received formatted message;

acknowledging the receipt of the formatted message; and

releasing the memory associated with the outgoing message queue in response to the acknowledgment of receipt of the formatted message.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the steps of creating the outgoing message queue and the incoming message queue are performed by an INIT module of the plurality of verb-based modules.

10. The method of claim 8 wherein the step of formatting the message for transmission is performed by a SEND module of the plurality of verb-based modules.

11. The method of claim 8 wherein the step of acknowledging the receipt of the formatted message is performed by a COMMIT module of the plurality of verb-based modules.

12. The method of claim 8 wherein the step of releasing the memory associated with the outgoing message queue is performed by a FREEBUF module of the plurality of verb-based modules.

13. A communication system for controlling an electronic messaging protocol between a plurality of computer systems, each computer system executing an application program or a process, the communication system comprising:

a plurality of substantially identical electronic messaging systems (EMSs), each EMS operating in a respective one of the plurality of computer systems to be directly accessed and controlled by the respective application program or process in the respective one of the plurality of computer systems for transmitting messages from a transmitting application/process to a receiving application/process, wherein each EMS includes;

an application programming interface (API) having a plurality of verb-based software modules which are called by the transmitting application/process and the receiving application/process to perform transmission and reception functions, respectively; and

a router for managing incoming and outgoing queues of the messages.

14. The communication system of claim 13, wherein the incoming and outgoing queues are created and released in response to queue-controlling verb-based modules.

15. The communication system of claim 13, wherein the router formats the messages for transmission.

16. The communication system of claim 15, wherein the router, responsive to initiation of a SEND module, generates an Interface Control Block as a message header to format the message for transmission.

17. The communication system of claim 13, wherein each EMS, responsive to the message exceeding a nominal limit, subdivides the message into message segments and formats the message segments for separate transmission.

18. The communication system of claim 13, wherein each EMS includes a plurality of communication agents, with each communication agent being adapted to connect the respective EMS to communication devices corresponding to the communication agent.

19. The communication system of claim 18, wherein each EMS includes a communications manager for connecting the router to the plurality of communication agents for transmitting the messages from the API to at least one of the communication agents.

20. The communication system of claim 13, wherein the transmitting application/process sends the messages through its corresponding EMS and through a network protocol to another EMS of the receiving application/process.