Generic run-time binding interpreter

• US 6,263,376 B1
• Filed: 02/24/1997
• Issued: 07/17/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 02/24/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Emc IP Holding Company LLC (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Novell Incorporated (Open Text Corporation)
• Inventors: Fisher, Kamika L., Mullins, Timothy W., Vincent, Robert Jeffrey, Hatch, Charles A., Thurgood, Brent W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Banankhah, Majid
• Assistant Examiner(s): CALDWELL, PATRICIA G
• Application Number:
  US08/806,505
• Time in Patent Office: 1,604 Days
• Field of Search: 395/704, 395/183.14, 395/708, 714/38, 714/25, 717/8, 709/310-332, 707/1-9
• US Class Current: 719/310
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/45512 Command shells
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99934 Query formulation, input preparation, or translation

Abstract

A method for calling and executing a program is disclosed. A command having zero or sequentially independent parameters values is received. The command corresponds to a program with a number of recognized parameters equal to or greater than the number of parameter values in the command. The parameter values are parsed based at least in part on demarcations in the command. The parameter values are associated with the corresponding parameters recognized by the program. Any parameter which did not have corresponding parameter values are set to default values. The program is executed to perform one or more tasks using the parameter values and the default values.

Claims

1. A computer readable medium, comprising:

a) a plurality of function modules, each function module having one or more functions, each function having a plurality of instructions for manipulating information in a distributed directory;

b) a map file containing information for determining the location of the function modules which are loaded into a memory on a computing device and which have the functions at a runtime;

c) a parser adapted to receive a script command having zero or more order independent parameter values and parse the script command, said parser being further adapted to place the parsed command into a buffer; and

d) a flow control module adapted to receive the buffer and determine from the map file the function module having the function corresponding to the command, said flow control module being further adapted to pass the buffer to the corresponding function for execution of the instructions therein with any parameter values organized in an order required by the function.

2. A computer readable medium as recited in claim 1, wherein the script command has zero or more parameter tags with each tag having an associated value set.

3. A computer readable medium as recited in claim 2, wherein the buffer is a linked list comprising the parameter tags and the associated values.

4. A computer readable medium as recited in claim 2, wherein parameter tags in the script command are sequentially independent.

5. A computer readable medium as recited in claim 2, wherein the script command has less than the number of parameters recognized by the corresponding function.

6. A computer readable medium as recited in claim 1, wherein the buffer is of a predetermined type which each of the one or more functions can receive.

7. A computer readable medium as recited in claim 1, wherein at least one of the function modules is a DLL or an NLM.

8. A computer readable medium as recited in claim 1, wherein the flow control module is further adapted to load the corresponding function if the function is not already loaded.

9. A computer readable medium as recited in claim 1, wherein the corresponding function is adapted to associate the one or more parameter values to the corresponding parameters recognized by the function.

10. A computer system comprising the computer readable medium recited in claim 1.

11. A method for testing a distributed directory, comprising the steps of:

a) receiving a test command having zero or more order independent parameter tags with each parameter tag having a parameter name and an associated value;

b) parsing the command based at least in part on demarcations in the command;

c) using a map file to bind at a runtime a software module which corresponds to the command and contains instructions for testing the distributed directory;

d) encapsulating the parsed command into a buffer comprising the zero or more parameter tags and the associated values;

e) passing the information in the buffer to the software module corresponding to the command; and

f) executing the instructions in accordance with the information passed in the buffer.

12. A method as recited in claim 11, wherein the command is received as a script.

13. A method as recited in claim 11, further comprising the step of determining from a map the software module corresponding to the command.

14. A method as recited in claim 13, further comprising the step determining whether the software module has been loaded, and if the software module has not been loaded then loading the software module.

15. A method as recited in claim 11, wherein the number of parameter tags in the command is less than or equal to the number of parameters recognized by the corresponding instructions in the software module.

16. A method as recited in claim 11, wherein the step of processing involves associating the value sets to the corresponding parameters in the software module.

17. A computer readable medium comprising software capable of performing the method of claim 11.

18. A computer system capable of performing the method of claim 11.

19. A distributed directory operating on a network of computers, comprising:

a) a plurality of function modules each having one or more functions adapted to modify information in the distributed directory all being able to receive a buffer of a predetermined type;

b) a map file having an index of the correspondence between the functions and the function modules;

c) a parser adapted to receive a function call corresponding to one of said functions, said function call having zero or more order independent parameter tags with associated values, said parser being further adapted to parse the function call and to place the parsed function call into a buffer with the parameter tags in ordered sequence; and

d) a flow control module adapted to receive the buffer and reference the map to determine which function module has the function corresponding to the function call at a runtime, said flow control module being further adapted to pass the data in the buffer to the corresponding function for execution.

20. A distributed directory as recited in claim 19, wherein the buffer is a linked list comprising the parameter tags and the associated value sets.

21. A distributed directory as recited in claim 19, wherein the parameter tags in the function call are sequentially independent.

22. A distributed directory as recited in claim 19, wherein the number of parameter tags in the function call is less than or equal to the number of parameters recognized by the corresponding function.

23. A distributed directory as recited in claim 19, wherein the corresponding function is adapted to associate the value sets to the corresponding parameters recognized by the function.

24. A distributed directory as recited in claim 19, wherein the one or more functions provide functionality to test the distributed directory.

25. A method for testing a distributed directory, comprising the steps of:

a) developing a plurality of functions, each function comprising a series of instructions for manipulating information in a distributed directory;

b) storing the plurality of functions in a plurality of function modules, each function module having one or more functions;

c) indexing each of the plurality of functions to a corresponding function module at a runtime;

d) creating a script having a plurality of function calls for testing the distributed directory, each function call corresponding to a function;

e) receiving the script;

f) parsing the script and separating zero or more parameter tags for each function call where the pre-parsed parameter tags are order independent;

g) passing each function call to the function module having the function corresponding to the function call and having the parameter tags needed by the function call in an order required by the function call; and

h) executing the instructions of the function corresponding to each function call.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein at least one function call in the script includes one or more parameter tags and associated value sets.

27. The method of claim 25, further comprising after step (c) the step of storing on a computer readable medium the correspondence between the functions and the function modules.

28. The method of claim 25, wherein the steps are performed sequentially as listed.