Calls identify scenario for control of software objects via property routes

• US 6,918,123 B1
• Filed: 10/02/1998
• Issued: 07/12/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 10/02/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Uniloc 2017 LLC (SoftBank Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Shteyn, Yevgeniy Eugene
• Primary Examiner(s): An, Meng-Al T.
• Assistant Examiner(s): ZHEN, LI B
• Application Number:
  US09/165,683
• Time in Patent Office: 2,475 Days
• Field of Search: 719/318, 719/320, 719/328, 719310-317, 719/319, 709310-320
• US Class Current: 719/318
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4488 Object-oriented
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2805 Home Audio Video Interoperability [HAVI] networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2821 Avoiding conflicts related to the use of home appliances cryptographic protocols H04L9/00; protocols for network security H04L63/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2827 Reporting to a device within the home network; wherein the reception of the information reported automatically triggers the execution of a home appliance functionality
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/40117 Interconnection of audio or video/imaging devices home automation networks H04L12/2803; bitstream network arrangements specially adapted for distribution of digital video signals H04N7/24
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/2849 Audio/video appliances

Abstract

An information processing system has first and second physical components represented by a first and second software objects. Both objects have properties that are changeable through calls to the objects. The system enables registering a property route linking a first property of the first object to a second property of the second object so that a change in the first property causes the second call being issued to the second object upon invoking the property route. The input call to the first object comprises an identifier enabling to conditionally invoke the route. In this manner, routes belonging to different scenarios are being kept independent so that the system operates more reliable that without scenario identifiers.

Claims

1. An information processing system comprising:

a first physical component having at least a first property;

a second physical component having at least a second property;

a third physical component having at least a third property;

wherein;

the first property includes a plurality of routes,

at least one route of the plurality of routes being provided for altering the second property, and

at least one other route of the plurality of routes being provided for altering the third property, and

an instruction that alters the first property includes an identifier that selectively enables one or more routes of the plurality of routes to thereby enable altering the second property and the third property independently;

wherein

each of the first, second, and third physical components are each represented by corresponding first, second, and third software objects, and

changes to the first, second, and third properties are effected via software calls to the corresponding first, second, and third software objects.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the instruction alters the first property before selectively enabling the one or more routes, and

the enabling is based on a match between the identifier and the one or more routes of the plurality of routes.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein

the identifier comprises a reference to a scenario of operating the system.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein

the system enables a software application to register at least one of the plurality of routes;

and

the identifier comprises a reference to the software application.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein

the identifier comprises a reference to a scenario of operating the system.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein

the system enables a software application to register at least one of the plurality of routes;

and

the at least one of the plurality of routes comprises a reference to the software application.

7. The system of claim 4, wherein

the at least one of the plurality of routes registered by the software application is de-registered after running the software application on the system.

8. A method of enabling to control an information processing system, wherein:

the system comprises;

a first physical component represented by a first software object;

a second physical component represented by a second software object;

the first object has at least a first property that is changed upon receipt of a first call to the first object;

the second object has at least a second property that is changeable through a second call to the second object; and

the method comprises;

enabling to register a property route linking the first property to the second property so that a change in the first property selectively enables to issue the second call to the second object if the route is invoked;

enabling the first object to receive the first call with an identifier for selectively invoking the property route;

enabling to determine a correspondence between the identifier and the property route; and

enabling to invoke the route only if the identifier corresponds to the property route,

so that upon receipt of the first call, the first property is changed, but the second call to the second object is not invoked if the identifier in the first call does not correspond to the property route.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein

the first property is changed prior to invoking the route.

10. A component comprising:

at least one property that includes a plurality of property routes,

each route of the plurality of property routes being associated with an other property at one or more other components for selectively altering the other property, and

a software module that is configured to alter the at least one property and select other properties upon receipt of an instruction that includes an identifier of one or more selected routes of the plurality of property routes,

wherein

upon receipt of the instruction, the component is configured to effect alteration of;

the at least one property, and

each property associated with the one or more selected routes, only.

11. The component of claim 10, wherein

the software module is configured as an object in an Object Oriented Programming embodiment.