Mechanism for routing asynchronous state changes in a 3-tier application

• US 6,175,876 B1
• Filed: 07/09/1998
• Issued: 01/16/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 07/09/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Streit, Andrew J., Townsend, Susette M., Rackham, Devaughn L., Branson, Michael J., Halverson, Steven G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Black, Thomas G.
• Assistant Examiner(s): TRINH, WILLIAM B
• Application Number:
  US09/112,353
• Time in Patent Office: 922 Days
• Field of Search: 707/103, 709/251, 709/252, 714/15, 714/49
• US Class Current: 709/252
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/544 Remote
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/542 Event management; Broadcasting; Multicasting; Notifications
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99944 Object-oriented database structure
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99946 Object-oriented database structure network

Abstract

Routing asynchronous state changes in a multi-processing system having an end user system, a central application server system and an endpoint system, includes detecting a state change with a service object on the endpoint system, sending a notification to an associated service proxy object on the central application server system notifying the associated service proxy object of the state change, sending a notification to an associated distributed service object which is an owner of the service proxy notifying the associated distributed service object of the state change, sending a notification to an associated distributed service proxy object on the end user system notifying the associated distributed service proxy object of the state change, and posting an event to an associated owner window of the distributed service proxy object using a window identifier including sending a notification to the associated owner window notifying the associated owner window of the state change.

Claims

1. A method for routing asynchronous state changes in a multi-processing system having an end user system, a central application server system and an endpoint system, the method comprising:

detecting a state change with a service object on the endpoint system;

sending a notification to an associated service proxy object on the central application server system notifying the associated service proxy object of the state change;

sending a notification to an associated distributed service object which is an owner of the service proxy notifying the associated distributed service object of the state change;

sending a notification to an associated distributed service proxy object on the end user system notifying the associated distributed service proxy object of the state change; and

posting an event to an associated owner window of the distributed service proxy object using a window identifier including sending a notification to the associated owner window notifying the associated owner window of the state change.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the state change includes a data change, and wherein the method further comprises passing changed data from the endpoint system to the associated owner window along with the notifications of the state change.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein there are a plurality of service proxy objects associated with the service object on the endpoint system which detected the state change, and wherein the method further comprises:

sending a notification to each of the associated service proxy objects on the central application server system notifying the service proxy objects of the state change.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein there are a plurality of distributed service objects associated with the endpoint service proxy object, and wherein the method further comprises:

sending a notification to each of the associated distributed service objects on the central application server system notifying the associated distributed service objects of the state change.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein there are a plurality of distributed service proxies associated with the distributed service object, and wherein the method further comprises:

sending a notification to each of the associated distributed service proxies on the end user system notifying the associated distributed service proxies of the state change.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein there are a plurality of owner windows associated with the distributed service proxy, and wherein the method further comprises:

posting an event to each of the associated owner windows using respective window identifiers, including sending a notification to each of the associated owner windows notifying the associated owner windows of the state change.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the state change includes a data change, and wherein the method further comprises passing changed data from the endpoint system to each of the associated owner windows along with the notifications of the state change.

8. The method according to claim 6, wherein there are a plurality of service proxy objects associated with each service object on the endpoint system, and wherein the method further comprises:

sending a notification to each of the associated service proxy objects on the central application server system notifying the service proxy objects of the state change.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein there are a plurality of distributed service objects associated with each endpoint service proxy object, and wherein the method further comprises:

sending a notification to each of the associated distributed service objects on the central application server system notifying the associated distributed service objects of the state change.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein there are a plurality of distributed service objects associated with each endpoint service proxy object, and wherein the method further comprises:

sending a notification to each of the associated distributed service objects on the central application server system notifying the associated distributed service objects of the state change.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the state change includes a data change, and wherein the method further comprises passing changed data from the endpoint system to each of the associated owner windows along with the notifications of the state change.

12. A multi-processing system for performing the method according to claim 1, wherein the end user system comprises a personal computer, wherein the central application server system comprises a network server, and wherein the endpoint system comprises a remote computer database.

13. The system according to claim 12, wherein the multi-processing system comprises an N-tiered network.

14. The system according to claim 13, wherein the N-tiered network comprises a three-tiered, and wherein the end user system is disposed in a first tier and comprises a plurality of personal computers.

15. The system according to claim 14, wherein the central application server system is disposed in a second tier and comprises a plurality of network servers.

16. The system according to claim 15, wherein the endpoint system is disposed in a third tier and comprises a plurality of remote computer databases.

17. A multi-processing system for performing the method according to claim 2, wherein the end user system comprises a personal computer, wherein the central application server system comprises a network server, and wherein the endpoint system comprises a remote computer database.

18. A multi-processing system for performing the method according to claim 6, wherein the end user system comprises a personal computer, wherein the central application server system comprises a network server, and wherein the endpoint system comprises a remote computer database.

19. A multi-processing system for performing the method according to claim 11, wherein the end user system comprises a personal computer, wherein the central application server system comprises a network server, and wherein the endpoint system comprises a remote computer database.

20. The system according to claim 19, wherein the end user system comprises a plurality of personal computers, wherein the central application server system comprises a plurality of network servers, and wherein the endpoint system comprises a plurality of remote computer databases.

23. A multi-processing system for performing he method according to claim 1, wherein the end user system comprises at least one of a network computer and a personal computer.

21. In an object-oriented, multi-processing system having N-tiers, a method for routing asynchronous state changes comprising:

detecting a state change with an object in one of the N-tiers; and

sending a state change notification from the object in the one tier in which the state change was detected to an associated proxy in another tier affected by the state change.

22. The method according to claim 21, wherein there is a distributed service object on at least one tier of the N-tiered system, the distributed service object having on that tier a plurality of owned service proxies, each owned service proxy having an associated service object on another tier, the method further comprising notifying the distributed service object of a state change which affects a service object associated with a service proxy owned by the distributed service object.