Method and apparatus for remote source code inclusion

• US 6,279,151 B1
• Filed: 01/20/1998
• Issued: 08/21/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 01/20/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Breslau, Franklin C., Greenstein, Paul G., Rodell, John T.
• Primary Examiner(s): Powell, Mark
• Assistant Examiner(s): Vo, Ted T.
• Application Number:
  US09/009,293
• Time in Patent Office: 1,309 Days
• Field of Search: 395/705, 395/706, 395/707, 717/6, 717/5, 717/7, 717/10, 717/11
• US Class Current: 717/140
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/423 Preprocessors

Abstract

A method and apparatus for operating a compiler to process include statements contained in a source program that specify include files resident at non-connected network locations. The compiler also receives as input include options specifying include file libraries. The compiler initially examines each include option to determine whether it specifies an include file library resident at a non-connected network location. If it does, the compiler establishes a connection with the network location and obtains a list of the contents of the include file library via the connection. The compiler then examines each include statement to determine whether it specifies an include file resident at a non-connected network location. If it does, the compiler establishes a connection with the network location and obtains the include file via the connection. The retrieved include file is then used for compiling the source code to create the object program.

Claims

1. In a computer language compiler for translating a computer source program into an executable object program, said source program containing one or more include statements, each of said include statements directing the replacement of the statement with the contents of an include file specified by the statement, a computer-implemented method of operating said compiler on a local system to process said include statements, comprising the steps of:

scanning said source program for include statements specifying include files resident at non-connected remote network locations;

in response to detecting an include statement in said source program specifying an include file, adding an entry for said include file to an include file list;

scanning said include file list for entries for include files resident at non-connected network locations; and

in response to detecting an entry for an include file resident at a non-connected network location, automatically establishing a connection with said remote network location and obtaining said include file via said connection.

2. The method of claim 1 in which the detected include statement specifies a network address of said non-connected remote network location.

3. The method of claim 1 in which the detected include statement specifies a name of said non-connected remote network location that is resolvable by a name server.

4. The method of claim 1 in which the detected include statement specifies a uniform resource locator for said include file.

5. The method of claim 1 in which the entries in said include file list are sorted by location before being scanned.

6. In a computer language compiler for translating a computer source program into an executable object program, said source program containing one or more include statements, each of said include statements directing the replacement of the statement with the contents of an include file specified by the statement, said compiler also receiving as input one or more include options, each of which specifies an include file library containing one or more include files, a computer-implemented method of operating said compiler on a local system to process said include statements, comprising the steps of:

examining each of said include options to determine whether the option specifies an include file library resident at a non-connected remote network location;

in response to detecting an include option specifying a include file library resident at a non-connected remote network location, establishing a connection with said remote network location and obtaining a list of the contents of said include file library via said connection;

scanning said source program for include statements specifying include files resident at non-connected remote network locations; and

in response to detecting an include statement in said source program specifying an include file resident at a non-connected remote network location, automatically establishing a connection with said remote network location and obtaining said include file via said connection.

7. The method of claim 6 comprising the further step of storing said list in a temporary library accessible to said compiler.

8. The method of claim 7 in which lists of the contents of a plurality of remotely resident include file libraries are stored in said temporary library.

9. The method of claim 7 in which said temporary library has a path specification, said method comprising the further step of adding said path specification to a list of path specifications for include file libraries.

10. The method of claim 6, comprising the further step of:

storing library definition data on said local system for include file libraries resident at non-connected remote network locations.

11. The method of claim 10 in which said data specifies the network locations of said libraries.

12. The method of claim 10 in which said data specifies access parameters for said libraries.

13. The method of claim 10 in which said data specifies metering parameters for said libraries.

14. The method of claim 10 in which said data specifies the include files contained in said libraries.

15. The method of claim 14 in which said scanning step comprises the steps of:

scanning said source program for include statements; and

in response to detecting an include statement, determining whether said include statement specifies an include file resident at non-connected remote network locations.

16. The method of claim 15 in which said determining step comprises the step of:

examining the include files specified for each of the libraries in said library definition file to determine the library containing the include file referenced in said statement.

17. In a computer language compiler for translating a computer source program into an executable object program, said source program containing one or more include statements, each of said include statements directing the replacement of the statement with the contents of an include file specified by the statement, apparatus for processing said include statements on a local system, comprising:

means for scanning said source program for include statements specifying include files resident at non-connected remote network locations;

means responsive to the detection of an include statement in said source program specifying an include file for adding an entry for said include file to an include file list;

means for scanning said include file list for entries for include files resident at non-connected network locations; and

means responsive to detecting an entry for an include file resident at a non-connected network location for automatically establishing a connection with said remote network location and obtaining said include file via said connection.

18. The apparatus of claim 17 in which the entries in said include file list are sorted by location before being scanned.

19. A program storage device readable by a machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform method steps for operating a computer language compiler to process one or more include statements in a computer source program on a local system, said compiler translating said source program into an executable object program, each of said include statements directing the replacement of the statement with the contents of an include file specified by the statement, said method steps comprising:

scanning said source program for include statements specifying include files resident at non-connected remote network locations;

in response to detecting an include statement in said source program specifying an include file resident at a non-connected remote network location, adding an entry for said include file to an include file list;

scanning said include file list for entries for include files resident at non-connected network locations; and

in response to detecting an entry for an include file resident at a non-connected network location, automatically establishing a connection with said remote network location and obtaining said include file via said connection.

20. The program storage device of claim 19 in which the entries in said include file list are sorted by location before being scanned.

21. In a computer language compiler for translating a computer source program into an executable object program, said source program containing one or more include statements, each of said include statements directing the replacement of the statement with the contents of an include file specified by the statement, said compiler also receiving as input one or more include options, each of which specifies an include file library containing one or more include files, apparatus for processing said include statements on a local system, comprising:

means for examining each of said include options to determine whether the option specifies an include file library resident at a non-connected remote network location;

means responsive to detecting an include option specifying an include file library resident at a non-connected remote network location for establishing a connection with said remote network location and obtaining a list of the contents of said include file library via said connection;

means for scanning said source program for include statements specifying include files resident at non-connected remote network locations; and

means responsive to the detection of an include statement in said source program specifying an include file resident at a non-connected remote network location for automatically establishing a connection with said remote network location and obtaining said include file via said connection.

22. A program storage device readable by a machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform method steps for operating a computer language compiler to process one or more include statements in a computer source program on a local system, said compiler translating said source program into an executable object program, each of said include statements directing the replacement of the statement with the contents of an include file specified by the statement, said compiler also receiving as input one or more include options, each of which specifies a library containing one or more include files, said method steps comprising:

examining each of said include options to determine whether the statement specifies an include file library resident at a non-connected remote network location;

in response to detecting an include option specifying an include file library resident at a non-connected remote network location, establishing a connection with said remote network location and obtaining a list of the contents of said include file library via said connection;

scanning said source program for include statements specifying include files resident at non-connected remote network locations; and

in response to detecting an include statement in said source program specifying an include file resident at a non-connected remote network location, automatically establishing a connection with said remote network location and obtaining said include file via said connection.