Method of constructing an object remotely across a computer network

• US 6,321,261 B1
• Filed: 11/25/1998
• Issued: 11/20/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 12/01/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Tumbleweed Holdings LLC (Equitable IP Corporation)
• Original Assignee: OBJECTSPACE, INC.
• Inventors: Glass, Graham W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Black, Thomas
• Assistant Examiner(s): CHEN, TE Y
• Application Number:
  US09/199,753
• Time in Patent Office: 1,091 Days
• Field of Search: 709/317, 709/203, 709/310-332, 709/201, 707/10, 707/103
• US Class Current: 709/223
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/465 Distributed object oriented systems remote method invocation [RMI] G06F9/548
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4862 the task being a mobile agent, i.e. specifically designed to migrate
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99944 Object-oriented database structure

Abstract

A method for remote constructing a Java object (114) and communicating therewith, includes the steps of first identifying a set of original methods of a Java class located in a first host address and port number (102), and generating a virtual Java class of the Java class having the set of methods and additionally a set of enhanced interface methods in the first host address and port number (102). Then a local virtual Java object (100) is created from the virtual Java class in the first host address and port number (102), and a remote Java object (114) is created from the virtual Java class by specifying the address of a second host address and port number (110) in which the created object is to reside. This method is also applicable to the remote creation of an agent, where an agent is a specialized object with mobility characteristics.

Claims

1. A method for remote construction of a Java object and communicating therewith, comprising:

identifying a set of original methods of an original Java class located in a first host address and port number for which to perform remote construction;

generating a virtual Java class of the original Java class in the first host address and port number, the virtual Java class having the set of methods and additionally a set of enhanced interface methods for interfacing with a remote object instance of the original Java class;

creating a local virtual Java object from the virtual Java class in the first host address and port number; and

creating a remote Java object from the original Java class and the local virtual Java object in a second host address and port number.

2. The method, as set forth in claim 1, wherein the remote Java object creating step includes assigning a middleman with a unique identifier to the remote Java object.

3. The method, as set forth in claim 1, wherein the remote Java object creating step includes registering the unique identifier of the middleman to a registry in the second host address and port number.

4. The method, as set forth in claim 1, wherein the remote Java object creating step includes copying the virtual Java class and methods thereof to the second host address and port number.

5. The method, as set forth in claim 1, wherein the remote Java object creating step includes assigning an alias to the remote Java object.

6. The method, as set forth in claim 5, wherein the remote Java object creating step includes registering the alias to a registry in the second host address and port number.

7. The method, as set forth in claim 1, further comprising:

sending a message to the remote Java via the local virtual object.

8. The method, as set forth in claim 1, wherein the remote Java object creating step includes constructing a reference to the address of the second host address and port number associated with the remote Java object.

9. The method, as set forth in claim 8, wherein the remote Java object creating step includes constructing a messenger for delivering an initializing message from the first host address and port number to the second host address and port number, where the initializing message includes construction arguments.

10. The method, as set forth in claim 9, wherein the remote Java object creating step includes:

conducting an encounter between an invoker of the original Java class and the messenger;

providing the initializing message containing construction arguments to the invoker; and

creating the remote object at the second host address and port number by the invoker.

11. The method, as set forth in claim 10, wherein the remote Java object creating step includes locating an invoker of the original Java class at the second host address and port number.

12. The method, as set forth in claim 10, wherein the remote Java object creating step includes constructing an invoker of the original Java class at the second host address and port number.

13. The method, as set forth in claim 12, wherein the invoker constructing step includes remote loading of a class closure of the original Java class to the second host address and port number.

14. The method, as set forth in claim 8, wherein the remote Java object creating step includes constructing a reply messenger for delivering a return value or thrown exception message from the second host address and port number to the first host address and port number.

15. The method, as set forth in claim 14, wherein the remote Java object creating step includes conveying the update data to the reference to update its reference to the remote Java object.