Web-based virtual computing machine

• US 6,341,314 B1
• Filed: 03/30/1999
• Issued: 01/22/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 03/30/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Mourad, Magda Mahmoud, Tantawi, Asser Nasreldin, Pacifici, Giovanni, Doganata, Yurdaer Nezihi, Munson, Jonathan P., Marconcini, Franco
• Primary Examiner(s): Coulter, Kenneth R.
• Application Number:
  US09/281,473
• Time in Patent Office: 1,029 Days
• Field of Search: 709/225, 709/203, 709/229, 709/220, 709/205
• US Class Current: 709/229
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/95 Retrieval from the web
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/5015 Service provider selection
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5027 the resource being a machine, e.g. CPUs, Servers, Terminals
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5055 considering software capabilities, i.e. software resources associated or available to the machine
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]

Abstract

The present invention is a Web based operating system that provides general access to resources distributed throughout the Internet. It provides a graphical user interface through which users may perform common “desktop” operations, such as invoking applications, copying files, and setting sharing attributes of files, and translate them to the operations that are appropriate for the resources that are the target of the request. Additionally, the invention provides a general-purpose attribute store or registry to keep the persistent state needed by the WebTop and other applications, including users preferences, application-invocation information, and application settings and any other attribute-type information.

Claims

1. A system for controlling resources distributed throughout a computer network and providing access to said resources from a client computer terminal, said system comprising:

one or more client computers connected to said network for providing a graphical user interface for enabling said client computers to perform operations on said distributed resources via said network as well as on local resources; and

one or more servers connected to said network for storing files and settings of each of said client computers and for executing said resources responsive to commands initiated by said client computers, said servers comprising;

an application processing means for executing automation applications to enable automatic interaction between each of said client computers and said distributed resources;

an application registration means to register and store information including a location interface specification for each of said distributed resources; and

a means for said automation applications to exchange data between two or more of said resources.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein said operations on said distributed resources comprise invoking applications, copying files, setting sharing attributes of files, and translating said attributes of files to operations that are appropriate for said distributed resources.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein each of said servers further comprises user files and settings which include configurations, profiles, user preferences, application-invocation information, application settings, attribute information, and information registry.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein said distributed resources are registered by said application registration means and executed by said application processing means with a single invocation from said client computers.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein said automation applications are encoded as scripts and binary executable programs, and invoke a sequence of HTTP requests that appear to said user as a single interaction with said distributed resources.

6. The system of claim 5, further comprising a means to manually and programmatically register and store said automation applications.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein said automation applications use said location interface specification to access each of said distributed resources.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein each of said servers further comprises remote interface repositories for registering and storing each said location interface specification.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein said automation applications are automatically updated when said location interface specification is added, removed, or modified.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein said computer network is Internet.

11. A method for controlling resources distributed throughout a computer network and providing access to said resources from client computer'"'"'s terminals via one or more servers connected to said network, said method comprising the following steps:

storing files and settings of each said client computer on said servers;

registering and storing information including a location interface specification for each of said distributed resources on said servers;

receiving commands communicated by said client computers;

executing said resources in response to commands initiated by said client computers; and

executing automation applications to enable automatic interaction between each of said client computers and said resources, said automation applications exchanging data between two or more said distributed resources.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein said client computers provide a graphical user interface for enabling users to perform operations on said distributed resources via said network as well as on local resources.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein said operations on said distributed resources comprise invoking applications, copying files, setting sharing attributes of files, and translating said attributes of files to operations that are appropriate for said distributed resources.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein each said of servers comprises user files and settings which include configurations, profiles, user preferences, application-invocation information, application settings, attribute information, and information registry.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein said distributed resources are registered and executed with a single invocation from said client computers.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein said automation applications are encoded as scripts and binary executable programs, and invoke a sequence of HTTP requests that appear to said user as a single interaction with said distributed resources.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising a step to manually and programmatically register and store said automation applications.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein said automation applications use said location interface specification to access each of said distributed resources.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein each of said servers comprises remote interface repositories for registering and storing each said location interface specification.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein said automation applications are automatically updated when said location interface specification is added, removed, or modified.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein said computer network is Internet.

22. A computer program device readable by a machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by a machine to perform method steps for controlling resources distributed throughout a computer network and providing access to said resources from client computers'"'"' terminals via one or more servers connected to said network, said method comprising the following steps:

storing files and settings of each said client computer on said servers;

registering and storing information including a location interface specification for each of said distributed resources on said servers;

receiving commands communicated by said client computers;

executing said resources in response to commands initiated by said client computers; and

executing automation applications to enable automatic interaction between each of said client computers and said distributed resources, said automation applications exchanging data between two or more said distributed resources.

23. The computer program device of claim 22, wherein said client computers provide a graphical user interface for enabling users to perform operations on said distributed resources via said network as well as on local resources.

24. The computer program device of claim 23, wherein said operations on said distributed resources comprise invoking applications, copying files, setting sharing attributes of files, and translating said attributes of files to operations that are appropriate for said distributed resources.

25. The computer program device of claim 24, wherein each of said servers comprises user files and settings which include configurations, profiles, user preferences, application-invocation information, application settings, attribute information, and information registry.

26. The computer program device of claim 25, wherein said distributed resources are registered and executed with a single invocation from said client computers.

27. The computer program device of claim 26, wherein said automation applications are encoded as scripts and binary executable programs, and invoke a sequence of HTTP requests that appear to said user as a single interaction with said distributed resources.

28. The computer program device of claim 27, further comprising a step to manually and programmatically register and store said automation applications.

29. The computer program device of claim 28, wherein said automation applications use said location interface specification to access each of said distributed resources.

30. The computer program device of claim 29, wherein each of said servers comprises remote interface repositories for registering and storing each said location interface specification.

31. The computer program device of claim 30, wherein said automation applications are automatically updated when said location interface specification is added, removed, or modified.

32. The computer program device of claim 31, wherein said computer network is Internet.