Communication apparatus and method between distributed objects

• US 6,694,368 B1
• Filed: 02/04/2000
• Issued: 02/17/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 12/28/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Korea Telecommunication Authority
• Original Assignee: Korea Telecommunication Authority
• Inventors: An, Sun Shin, Kim, Sang Kyung, Sun, Kyung Sup
• Primary Examiner(s): Maung, Zarni
• Assistant Examiner(s): KANG, PAUL H
• Application Number:
  US09/498,422
• Time in Patent Office: 1,474 Days
• Field of Search: 709/201, 709/202, 709/203, 709/227, 709/228, 709/229, 709/230, 709/302, 709/303, 709/304, 709/305, 717/100, 717/106, 717/108, 717/116, 717/120
• US Class Current: 709/227
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/465 Distributed object oriented systems remote method invocation [RMI] G06F9/548
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/54 Interprogram communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/16 Implementation or adaptation of Internet protocol [IP], of transmission control protocol [TCP] or of user datagram protocol [UDP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/162 involving adaptations of sockets based mechanisms secure socket layer H04L63/168
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

Disclosed is a communication apparatus between distributed objects comprising: a plurality of separate software buses adapted to determine whether or not a communication service of which function and property is provided in a distributed platform; a platform administrator adapted to build and administrate a communication architecture in the distributed platform; a bus manager adapted to manage both a standard of types of the plurality of software buses and a bus object instance in the distributed platform by a strategic plan and an instruction of the platform administrator; a bus trader adapted to provide a trade function through an interaction with the bus manager, and a client object and a server object of an application level; an object trader adapted to allow the client to dynamically find an appropriate server; a repository adapted to provide a function which stores persistently instance information and various types of the plurality of software buses; a bus adapter adapted to provide the client and server objects with an application programing interface (API) associated with a bus binding process for use of the distributed platform, and adapted to perform a necessary trade and the bus binding process through an interaction with the bus trader and the plurality of buses; and a bus factory adapted to create a bus object coinciding with the standard of types of the plurality of software buses.

Claims

1. A communication apparatus between distributed objects comprising:

a plurality of separate software buses adapted to determine whether or not a communication service of which function and property are provided in a distributed platform;

a platform administrator adapted to build and to administrate a communication architecture in the distributed platform;

a bus manager adapted to manage both a standard of types of the plurality of software buses and a bus object instance in the distributed platform by a strategic plan and instruction of the platform administrator;

a bus trader adapted to provide a trade function through an interaction with the bus manager, and a client object and a server object of an application level;

an object trader adapted to allow the client to dynamically find an appropriate server;

a repository adapted to provide a function which stores persistently instance information and various types of the plurality of software buses;

a bus adapter adapted to provide the client and server objects with an application programing interface (API) associated with a bus binding process for use of the distributed platform and adapted to perform a necessary trade and the bus binding process through an interaction with the bus trader and the plurality of buses; and

a bus factory adapted to create a bus object coinciding with the standard of types of the plurality of software buses.

2. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the platform administrator standardizes previously various types of software buses constituting a communication architecture of a distributed platform, and stores templates of the standardized various types of software buses in the distributed platform.

3. The communication apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the software bus requested by an application object is created by the distributed platform through the use of the templates.

4. The communication apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the types of software buses are standardized by a bus semantic property tree and a Bus Interface Definition Language (BIDL).

5. The communication apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the bus semantic property tree is classified into a viewpoint of a link configuration for indicating a direction in which messages are exchanged between a transmitting party object and a receiving party object in a connection shape configured through the software buses, a viewpoint of an interaction style for distinguishing characteristics of an interaction interface generated through the software buses from a function which should be supported internally for transmission of a message, and a viewpoint of a service property for representing the non-functional aspect of the software buses.

6. The communication apparatus according to claim 5 wherein, the property node belonging to the link configuration viewpoint includes a topology property node which reflects a shape of end point-to-end point of the buses and has sub-properties of PTP(point-to-point) and MP(multipoint).

7. The communication apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the property node belonging to the interaction style viewpoint includes an interface type property node for identifying which kind of communication mechanism is used by objects.

8. The communication apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the interface type property node comprises:

an operation interface property node branched out into two sub-properties consisting of an operation bus property adapted to describe a standard corresponding to an operation signature type, and an operation semantic property adapted to represent a call property of an operation while representing only two properties upon occurrence of an obstacle in a system or a communication link of a distributed environment; and

a stream interface property node branched out into three sub-properties consisting of a stream bus property adapted to describe a stream bus interface standard of an application level, a stream Quality of Service(QoS) semantic property adapted to represent a support policy for guaranteeing a stream Quality of Service(QoS), and a stream direction adapted to represent a direction of a stream data flow through software buses.

9. The communication apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the property node belonging to the service property viewpoint comprises a bus property node for representing a property distinguished in the non-functional aspect of the software buses.

10. The communication apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the bus interface definition language (BIDL) comprises:

a bus template syntax definition section which consists of a template header section adapted to describe a name of a bus template and a template description section adapted to represent a semantic property of a software bus;

a bus context standard section bus adapted to represent a topology property corresponding to context information of a bus type;

a bus property standard section adapted to describe information on names and types of particulars corresponding to a non-functional service property of a bus type; and

a bus interface standard section adapted to freely represent diverse communication patterns requested by users.

11. The communication apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the bus interface standard section comprises an operation bus interface standard section and a stream bus interface standard section, the operation bus interface standard section including an operation bus declaration section consisting of a header portion adapted to describe a name of a bus type, a body portion adapted to define concrete members of the bus type and a trailer portion adapted to define a supporting type declaration necessary for description of a pattern of a bus type member existing as a subpattern within the body portion, and an operation semantic declaration section having two property values as defined in the bus semantic property tree, and the stream bus interface standard section including a stream Quality of Service (QoS) semantic declaration section, a stream direction declaration section, and a stream bus declaration section consisting of a header portion adapted to describe a name of a bus type and a body portion adapted to define concrete members of the bus type, the stream QoS semantic declaration section and the stream direction declaration section adapted to define property values of a type specifier and the type.

12. The communication apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the body portion of a bus type declaration section includes a list of event members representative of a stream property of a bus.

13. The communication apparatus according to claim 12, wherein each event member represents one stream flow having audio/video/animation types.

14. A communication method between distributed objects, comprising the steps of:

allowing a client to acquire both an identifier of a software bus and a reference of an object providing a service requested by the client;

binding the client to a desired software bus for a request of a call by the client;

allowing the client to request a service to the server through the software bus bound to the client;

allowing the server to register an object and the server to acquire a reference of a bus object created on the basis of a signature and a semantic property of interfaces which the server wants to provide;

binding the server to bus objects which the server wants to use by using the reference acquired in the preceding step;

allowing the server to receive parameters of the request and perform an implementation method thereof when a request of the service by the client is transmitted to the server through the software bus and to load an associated software bus with a return result of the implementation method if there is the return result of the implementation method; and

allowing the client to receive a result for the request by the client object through the software bus.

15. The communication method according to claim 14, wherein the software buses are standardized previously, and templates of the standardized software buses are stored in a distributed platform.

16. The communication method according to claim 15, wherein the types of software buses are standardized by a bus semantic property tree and Bus Interface Definition Language (BIDL).

17. The communication method according to claim 16, wherein the bus semantic property tree is classified into a viewpoint of a link configuration for indicating a direction in which messages are exchanged between a transmitting party object and a receiving party object in a connection shape configured through the software buses, a viewpoint of an interaction style for distinguishing characteristics of an interaction interface generated through the software buses from a function which should be supported internally for transmission of a message, and a viewpoint of a service property for representing the non-functional aspect of the software buses.

18. The communication method according to claim 17 wherein, the property node belonging to the link configuration viewpoint includes a topology property node which reflects a shape of end point-to-end point of the buses and has sub-properties of PTP(point-to-point) and MP(multipoint).

19. The communication method according to claim 17, wherein the property node belonging to the interaction style viewpoint includes an interface type property node for identifying which kind of communication mechanism is used by objects.

20. The communication method according to claim 19, wherein the interface type property node comprises:

an operation interface property node branched out into two sub-properties consisting of an operation bus property adapted to describe a standard corresponding to an operation signature type, and an operation semantic property adapted to represent a call property of an operation while representing only two properties upon occurrence of an obstacle in a system or a communication link of a distributed environment; and

a stream interface property node branched out into three sub-properties consisting of a stream bus property adapted to describe a stream bus interface standard of an application level, a stream Quality of Service(QoS) semantic property adapted to represent a support policy for guaranteeing a stream Quality of Service(QoS), and a stream direction adapted to represent a direction of a stream data flow through software buses.

21. The communication method according to claim 17, wherein the property node belonging to the service property viewpoint comprises a bus property node for representing a property distinguished in the non-functional aspect of the software buses.

22. The communication method according to claim 16, wherein the bus interface definition language (BIDL) comprises:

a bus template syntax definition section which consists of a template header section adapted to describe a name of a bus template and a template description section adapted to represent a semantic property of a software bus;

a bus context standard section bus adapted to represent a topology property corresponding to context information of a bus type;

a bus property standard section adapted to describe information on names and types of particulars corresponding to a non-functional service property of a bus type; and

a bus interface standard section adapted to freely represent diverse communication patterns requested by users.

23. The communication method according to claim 22, wherein the bus interface standard section comprises an operation bus interface standard section and a stream bus interface standard section, the operation bus interface standard section including an operation bus declaration section consisting of a header portion adapted to describe a name of a bus type, a body portion adapted to define concrete members of the bus type and a trailer portion adapted to define a supporting type declaration necessary for description of a pattern of a bus type member existing as a subpattern within the body portion, and an operation semantic declaration section having two property values as defined in the bus semantic property tree, and the stream bus interface standard section including a stream Quality of Service (QoS) semantic declaration section, a stream direction declaration section, and a stream bus declaration section consisting of a header portion adapted to describe a name of a bus type and a body portion adapted to define concrete members of the bus type, the stream QoS semantic declaration section and the stream direction declaration section adapted to define property values of a type specifier and the type.

24. The communication method according to claim 23, wherein the body portion of a bus type declaration section includes a list of event members representing a stream property of a bus.

25. The communication method according to claim 24, wherein each event member represents a stream flow having audio/video/animation types.