Apparatus which allows data sharing amongst computer programs from different program environments

• US 6,055,370 A
• Filed: 05/24/1996
• Issued: 04/25/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 05/18/1992
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Yamaguchi, Koichi, Weber, David Joseph, Frayne, Thomas E., Diephuis, James Alan, Gaitonde, Sunil Sharadchandra, Remay, William, Sissors, Kenneth Mark, Patry, Elaine Szafir, Brown, Marsha Ann, Vasquez, Ejuana D., Falcon, Lorenzo Jr., Demers, Richard Aime
• Primary Examiner(s): Follansbee, John A.
• Application Number:
  US08/655,336
• Time in Patent Office: 1,432 Days
• Field of Search: 395/800, 395/700, 395/600, 395/705
• US Class Current: 717/142
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/47 Retargetable compilers

Abstract

The ADL system provides a way in which computer programs written in different programming languages can share data. The ADL system comprises the ADL language and the facilities necessary to perform the data sharing function. The ADL language uses the concept of a data description and conversion module. A data description and conversion module, or more simply, an ADL module, is composed of declarations and plans. Each declaration is an ADL description of how a particular program environment represents data. The plan portion of the ADL module contains ADL statements that instruct the computer system to convert the data representations of the source program environment into the data representations of the target program environment.

Claims

1. A computer system having a first program environment and a second program environment, said system comprising:

a creating mechanism, said creating mechanism comprising means for creating a data description and conversion module, said data description and conversion module comprising first program environment data describing means and second program environment data describing means and means for converting data described by said second program environment data describing means into data described by said first program environment data describing means;

a compiler, said compiler comprising means for compiling said data description and conversion module to create an executable conversion program; and

an invoking mechanism, said invoking mechanism comprising means for invoking said executable conversion program, said executable conversion program being invoked by a first program from said first program environment to share data stored by a second program from said second program environment.

2. The computer system of claim 1 wherein said invoking mechanism further comprises means for said first program to call procedures of said second program.

3. The computer system of claim 1 wherein said invoking mechanism further comprises means for said first program to call procedures of said second program, said first program residing on a first computer system and said second program residing on a second computer system.

4. The computer system of claim 1 wherein said invoking mechanism further comprises means for said first program to send messages to said second program.

5. The computer system of claim 1 wherein said invoking mechanism further comprises means for said first program to send messages to said second program, said first program residing on a first computer system and said second program residing on a second computer system.

6. The computer system of claim 3 wherein said invoking mechanism further comprises means for said first program to obtain data stored by said second program.

7. The computer system of claim 1 wherein said invoking mechanism further comprises means for said first program to obtain data stored by said second program, said first program residing on a first computer system and said second program residing on a second computer system.

8. The computer system of claim 1 wherein said means for comprises:

a parsing mechanism for parsing data descriptions from a particular program environment into source DL data descriptions, and

a translating mechanism for translating said source ADL data descriptions into target data descriptions, said source data descriptions being ADL data descriptions for a program environment different from said particular program environment.

9. A method for sharing data between computer programs in first and second program environments, said method comprising the machine executed steps of:

creating a data description and conversion module, said data description and conversion module comprising first program environment data descriptions and second program environment data descriptions and means for converting data described by said second program environment data descriptions into data described by said first program environment data descriptions;

compiling said data description and conversion module into a conversion program; and

executing said conversion program to allow a first computer program from said first program environment to share data with a second computer program from said second program environment.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein said executing step comprises the machine executed step of said first program calling procedures of said second program.

11. The method of claim 9 wherein said executing step comprises the machine executed step of said first program calling procedures of said second program, said first program residing on a first computer system and said second program residing on a second computer system.

12. The method of claim 9 wherein said executing step comprises the machine executed step of said first program sending messages to said second program.

13. The method of claim 9 wherein said executing step comprises the machine executed step of said first program sending messages to said second program, said first program residing on a first computer system and said second program residing on a second computer system.

14. The method of claim 9 wherein said executing step comprises the machine executed step of said first program obtaining data stored by said second program.

15. The method of claim 9 wherein said executing step comprises the machine executed step of said first program obtaining data stored by said second program, said first program residing on a first computer system and said second program residing on a second computer system.

16. An apparatus for translating data descriptions, said apparatus comprising:

a reading mechanism for reading an intermediate data description;

a grouping mechanism for grouping said first intermediate data description into sequences of characters that represent individual constructs;

a copying mechanism for copying a first subset of said individual constructs, said first subset of said individual constructs being parallel language constructs;

a translator for translating a second subset of said individual constructs into most comparable language constructs; and

a generator for generating a second intermediate data description from said parallel language constructs and said comparable language constructs.

17. An apparatus for generating a data description, said apparatus comprising:

a reading mechanism for reading an intermediate data description;

a grouping mechanism for grouping said intermediate data description into sequences of characters that have a collective meaning, said sequences being tokenized data declarations;

an analyzer for analyzing said tokenized data declarations to ensure that they are grammatically correct;

a builder for building a parse tree from said tokenized data declarations;

a symbol table constructing mechanism for constructing a symbol table;

a semantic validation mechanism for traversing said parse tree and checking said tokenized data declarations to ensure that they are semantically correct and supported in a native program environment; and

a generator for generating a native data description from said tokenized data declarations and said symbol table.

18. A method for translating data descriptions, said method comprising the machine executed steps of;

reading a first intermediate data description;

grouping said first intermediate data description into sequences of characters that represent individual constructs;

copying a first subset of said individual constructs, said first subset of said individual constructs being parallel language constructs;

translating a second subset of said individual constructs into most comparable language constructs; and

generating a second intermediate data description from said parallel language constructs and said comparable language constructs.

19. A method for generating a data description, said method comprising the machine executed steps of:

reading an intermediate data description;

grouping said intermediate data description into sequences of characters that have a collective meaning, said sequences being tokenized data declarations;

analyzing said tokenized data declarations to ensure that they are grammatically correct;

building a parse tree from said tokenized data declarations;

constructing a symbol table;

validating said tokenized data declarations by traversing said parse tree and checking said tokenized data declarations to ensure that they are semantically correct and supported in a native program environment; and

generating a native data description from said tokenized data declarations and said symbol table.