Method and system for external notification and/or resolution of software errors

• US 6,615,376 B1
• Filed: 11/19/1999
• Issued: 09/02/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 11/19/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: X/Net Associates, Inc. (ACI Worldwide Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: X/Net Associates, Inc. (ACI Worldwide Incorporated)
• Inventors: Olin, Gregg R., Pagano, Brian S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Wright, Norman M.
• Application Number:
  US09/443,669
• Time in Patent Office: 1,383 Days
• Field of Search: 714/25, 714/24, 714/48, 714/49, 714/47, 714/57
• US Class Current: 714/57
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0703 Error or fault processing not based on redundancy, i.e. by taking additional measures to deal with the error or fault not making use of redundancy in operation, in hardware, or in data representation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0748 in a remote unit communicating with a single-box computer node experiencing an error/fault remote testing G06F11/2294
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0766 Error or fault reporting or storing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0772 Means for error signaling, e.g. using interrupts, exception flags, dedicated error registers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0793 Remedial or corrective actions recovery from an exception in an instruction pipeline G06F9/3861; by retry G06F11/1402; for recovering from a failure of a protocol instance or entity H04L69/40
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/875 Monitoring of systems including the internet
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/656 while running
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces

Abstract

A method of providing external notification of an error includes detecting an error during an execution of a program command in a first set of commands in a first system, identifying a second system to notify when the error is detected, generating a notification signal based on the detected error, and transmitting the notification signal to the second system. Optionally, the error can be resolved by receiving at least one corrected command from the second system in response to the notification signal and implementing the at least one corrected command into the first set in the first system. A system and a computer readable medium capable of executing the method of the present invention are also disclosed.

Claims

1. A method of providing external notification of an error comprising:

detecting an error during an execution of a program command in a first set of commands in a first system;

identifying in the first system one of a plurality of second systems to notify when the error is detected based on the first set of commands being executed;

generating a notification signal based on the detected error; and

transmitting the notification signal to the identified second system.

2. The method according to claim 1 further comprising disabling the program command of the first set being executed when the error was detected.

3. The method according to claim 2 further comprising:

receiving at least one corrected command from the second system in response to the notification signal; and

implementing the at least one corrected command into the program commands of the first set in the first system.

4. The method according to claim 3 further comprising issuing a resolution signal in the first system after said implementing.

5. The method according to claim 1 wherein the notification signal further comprises the program command being executed when the error occurred.

6. The method according to claim 5 further comprising identifying a first number of the program commands executed prior to the program command being executed when the error occurred, the notification signal further comprising the first number of the program commands.

7. The method according to claim 1 further comprising storing the detected error, wherein said generating is carried out when a first number of the detected errors for the same executed program have been stored.

8. A method of resolving an error comprising:

detecting an error during an execution of a program command in a first set of commands in a first system;

identifying in the first system one of a plurality of second systems to notify when the error is detected based on the first set of commands being executed;

generating a notification signal based on the detected error;

transmitting the notification signal to the identified second system;

receiving at least one corrected command from the identified second system in response to the notification signal; and

implementing the at least one corrected command into the first set in the first system.

9. The method according to claim 8 further comprising disabling the program command of the first set being executed when the error was detected.

10. The method according to claim 8 further comprising issuing a resolution signal in the first system after said implementing.

11. The method according to claim 8 wherein the notification signal further comprises the program command being executed when the error occurred.

12. The method according to claim 11 further comprising identifying a first number of the program commands executed prior to the program command being executed when the error occurred, the notification signal further comprising the first number of the program commands.

13. The method according to claim 11 further comprising storing the detected error, wherein said generating is carried out when a first number of the detected errors for the same executed program have been stored.

14. A system comprising:

a detector configured to detect an error during an execution of a program command in one of a plurality of sets of commands;

a memory having stored therein an address for each of a plurality of systems and each of the plurality of sets of commands are associated with one of the plurality of systems;

a generator configured to generate a notification signal to one of the plurality of systems based on the one of the plurality of sets of commands in which the detected error is found; and

a transmitter configured to transmit the notification signal to the to the one of the plurality of systems associated with the one of the plurality of sets of commands in which the detected error is found.

15. The system according to claim 14, wherein the transmitter is a modem coupled to a phone line or wireless communication system, or an Internet connection.

16. The system according to claim 14, wherein the address is a telephone number or an electronic mail address.

17. A computer readable medium having stored thereon instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform the steps of:

detecting an error during an execution of a program command in a first set of commands in a first system;

identifying in the first system one of a plurality of second systems to notify when the error is detected based on the first set of commands being executed;

generating a notification signal based on the detected error; and

transmitting the notification signal to the identified second system.

18. The computer readable medium according to claim 17 wherein the computer readable medium has stored thereon further instructions which cause the processor to perform the step of disabling the program command of the first set being executed when the error was detected.

19. The computer readable medium according to claim 17 wherein the computer readable medium has stored thereon further instructions which cause the processor to perform the step of implementing into the program commands of the first set in the first system at least one corrected command received from the second system.

20. The computer readable medium according to claim 19 wherein the computer readable medium has stored thereon further instructions which cause the processor to perform the step of issuing a resolution signal in the first system after said implementing.

21. The computer readable medium according to claim 17 wherein the computer readable medium has stored thereon further instructions which cause the processor to perform the step of identifying a first number of the program commands executed prior to the program command being executed when the error occurred, the notification signal further comprising the first number of the program commands.

22. The computer readable medium according to claim 17 wherein the computer readable medium has stored thereon further instructions which cause the processor to perform the step of storing the detected error, wherein said generating is carried out when a first number of the detected errors for the same executed program have been stored.