Apparatus and method of providing a pluggable user interface

• US 6,990,655 B2
• Filed: 09/27/2001
• Issued: 01/24/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 09/27/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Amin, Sandip A., Abdelhadi, Sanaa F.
• Primary Examiner(s): Zhen, Wei Y.
• Assistant Examiner(s): RAMPURIA, SATISH
• Application Number:
  US09/965,001
• Publication Number:
  US 20030061328A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,580 Days
• Field of Search: 717120-123, 717136-139, 717/174, 345/854, 709223-250, 700/83, 705/7, 715/733, 715/759
• US Class Current: 717/120
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/75 Indicating network or usage conditions on the user display
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]

Abstract

An apparatus and method for interfacing an existing system management software user interface with a new system management software utility are provided. The method and apparatus comprises a cross-referencing table that is used to translate communication between the user interface and the new system management software utility using a set of specifications from both the user interface and the new utility.

Claims

1. A method of interfacing an existing system management user interface running on a first computer system with a system management software utility running on a second computer system in a network, said second computer system having a network address, said method comprising the steps of:

providing a set of specifications for interfacing the user interface with a plurality of software management utilities, including the software management system utility running on the second computer system;

determining the software management system utility running on the second computer system by using a table cross-referencing the network address of the second computer system with the system management software utility running on the second computer system; and

interfacing, using specifications from the set of specifications, the user interface with the software utility running on the second computer system.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said table includes code to translate communications between said user interface and said system management software utility.

3. A computer program product in a computer readable medium for interfacing a system management user interface running on a first computer system with a system management software utility running on a second computer system in a network, said second computer system having a network address, said computer program product comprising:

code means for providing a set of specifications for interfacing the user interface with a plurality of software management utilities, including the software management system utility running on the second computer system;

code means for determining the software management system utility running on the second computer system by using a table cross-referencing the network address of the second computer system with the system management software utility running on the second computer system; and

code means for interfacing, using specifications from the set of specifications, the user interface with the software utility running on the second computer system.

4. The computer program product of claim 3 wherein said table includes code to translate communications between said user interface and said system management software utility.

5. A first computer system having a system management user interface, said user interface being interfaced with a system management software utility running on a second computer system in a network, said second computer system having a network address, said first computer system comprising:

at least one memory device for storing code data;

at least one processor for processing said code data to use a table cross-referencing the network address of the second computer system with the system management software utility running on the second computer system to determine specifications from the set of specifications to use to interface said software management system utility running on the second computer system with the user interface, and to interface the user interface with the new software management system utility.

6. The first computer system of claim 5 wherein said table includes code to translate communications between said user interface and said system management software utility.

7. A method of interfacing an existing system management user interface running on a first computer system with a system management software utility running on a second computer system in a network by using a cross-referencing table, said second computer system having a network address, said method comprising the steps of:

providing a set of specifications for interfacing the user interface with a plurality of software management utilities, including the software management system utility running on the second computer system;

automatically determining the software management system utility running on the second computer system by using a table cross-referencing the network address of the second computer system with the system management software utility running on the second computer system; and

interfacing, using specifications from the set of specifications, the user interface with the software utility running on the second computer system.