Method and apparatus for creating, sending, and using self-descriptive objects as messages over a message queuing network

• US 7,631,317 B2
• Filed: 11/18/2004
• Issued: 12/08/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Caron, Ilan Gabriel
• Primary Examiner(s): Ho; Andy
• Application Number:
  US10/991,723
• Publication Number:
  US 20050071314A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,846 Days
• Field of Search: 719/313, 719/315, 719/314, 719/316, 719/330
• US Class Current: 719/315
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/548 Queue
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/546 Message passing systems or structures, e.g. queues

Abstract

An invention for creating, sending, and using self-descriptive objects as messages over a network is disclosed. In an embodiment of the present invention, self-descriptive persistent dictionary objects are serialized and sent as messages across a message queuing network. The receiving messaging system unserializes the message object, and passes the object to the destination application. The application then queries or enumerates message elements from the instantiated persistent dictionary, and performs the programmed response. Using these self-descriptive objects as messages, the sending and receiving applications no longer rely on an a priori convention or a special-coding serialization scheme. Rather, messaging applications can communicate arbitrary objects in a standard way with no prior agreement as to the nature and semantics of message contents.

Claims

1. A system for performing asynchronous communications between computing devices, the system comprising:

a) a first computing device comprising a first process serializing a self-descriptive dictionary object to the body of an asynchronous message intended for a message queue by invoking a save method contained in the self-descriptive dictionary object and passing the asynchronous message to the save method as a target location for the serialized self-descriptive dictionary object, wherein the serialized self-descriptive dictionary object comprises a field for maintaining a count of the number of elements in the serialized self-descriptive dictionary object, and wherein each element of the serialized self-descriptive dictionary object comprises a triplet comprising a name, a type indicator identifying a type of an element of the serialized self-descriptive dictionary object, and a value;

b) the message queue for storing the serialized self-descriptive dictionary object until a recipient application is ready to receive the serialized self-descriptive dictionary object;

c) a second computing device comprising a second process retrieving the asynchronous message from the message queue when the recipient application is ready to receive the asynchronous message, wherein the self-descriptive dictionary object provides information necessary for the second process to deserialize the self-descriptive dictionary object without relying upon an established convention between the first process and the second process to deserialize and extract a data object from the asynchronous message; and

d) the recipient application on the second computing device receiving the deserialized self-descriptive dictionary object, extracting each element of the deserialized self-descriptive dictionary object, discovering the type of the element based upon the type indicator of the self-descriptive dictionary object, and instantiating the element based upon the discovered type, wherein the recipient application sends a remote query in response to a discovery of an unknown type indicator in the deserialized self-descriptive dictionary object.

2. The system as in claim 1, further comprising applying, by the first process, late binding techniques to the self-descriptive dictionary object.

3. The system as in claim 1, wherein the self-descriptive dictionary object includes at least one instruction for manipulating at least a portion of the self-descriptive dictionary object.

4. The system as in claim 3, wherein the at least one instruction includes at least one of the group consisting of:

an add instruction, a remove instruction, a lookup instruction, and an enumerate instruction.

5. The system as in claim 4, further comprising implementing the at least one instruction.

6. The system as in claim 1, further comprising the first process determining if the self-descriptive dictionary object supports persistence.

7. The system as in claim 1, further comprising the first process storing the serialized self-descriptive dictionary object in a message.

8. The system as in claim 1, further comprising the recipient application discovering a type indicator of the self-descriptive dictionary object based upon the type indicator.

9. The system as in claim 8, further comprising the recipient application instantiating the self-descriptive dictionary object.

10. The system as in claim 1, wherein the first process is an application.

11. The system as in claim 1, wherein the second process is an application.

12. The system as in claim 1, wherein the first computing device is a server and the second computing device is a client.

13. The system as in claim 1, further comprising the recipient application identifying the unknown type indicator based on a response to the remote query.

14. One or more computer-readable media containing executable instructions that, when executed, perform a method comprising:

a) a recipient application receiving an asynchronous message object from a message queue used for storing messages sent in asynchronous communication between a sending application and the recipient application comprising a self-descriptive dictionary object, wherein the self-descriptive dictionary object is serialized as the asynchronous message object by calling a save method and passing the asynchronous message object to the save method as a target location for the serialized self-descriptive dictionary object, and wherein the self-descriptive dictionary object includes at least a name, a type indicator identifying a type of an element of the self-descriptive dictionary object, and a value, and wherein the asynchronous message object is instantiated and the self descriptive dictionary object comprises information necessary for the recipient application to deserialize the self-descriptive dictionary object without relying upon an established convention between the sending application and the recipient application;

b) the recipient application looking up the type indicator of at least a portion of the self-descriptive dictionary object; and

c) the recipient application sending a query in response to a discovery of an unknown type indicator in the self-descriptive dictionary object.

15. The method as in claim 14, wherein sending the query includes sending the query to a remote server.

16. The method as in claim 14, wherein sending the query includes sending the query to a local process.

17. The method as in claim 14, further comprising the recipient application deserializing the self-descriptive dictionary object.

18. The method as in claim 14, further comprising applying late binding techniques to the self-descriptive dictionary object.

19. The method as in claim 14, further comprising determining a type indicator of the self-descriptive dictionary object.

20. The method as in claim 19, further comprising instantiating the self-descriptive dictionary object based on the type indicator.

21. The method as in claim 14, wherein looking up the type indicator includes accessing a lookup instruction of the self-descriptive dictionary object and implementing the lookup instruction.

22. A computer system having at least one processor for performing asynchronous communications, the system comprising:

a) a sender for serializing a self-descriptive dictionary object to the body of an asynchronous message intended for a message queue used for storing messages sent in asynchronous communication between the sender and a receiver by invoking a save method contained in the self-descriptive dictionary object and passing in the asynchronous message to the save method as a target location for the self-descriptive dictionary object, the save method serializing the self-descriptive dictionary object as the asynchronous message, and having at least one data connection giving access to an address for sending the self-descriptive dictionary object in the asynchronous message, wherein the serialized self-descriptive dictionary object comprises a field for maintaining a count of the number of elements in the serialized self-descriptive dictionary object, and wherein each element of the serialized self-descriptive dictionary object is in the form of a triplet comprising a name, a indicator identifying a type of an element of the self-descriptive dictionary object, and a value;

b) the receiver for retrieving the asynchronous message from the message queue and deserializing the self-descriptive dictionary object by instantiating the asynchronous message, the asynchronous message having at least one data connection giving access to an address for receiving the self-descriptive dictionary object and for dispatching a deserialized self-descriptive dictionary object, wherein the self-descriptive dictionary object comprises information necessary for the second process to deserialize the self-descriptive dictionary object without relying upon an established convention between the sender and the receiver; and

c) a recipient component for manipulating at least a portion of the deserialized self-descriptive dictionary object, and determining the type of an element contained within the self-descriptive dictionary object based upon the type indicator;

(d) based upon the determination, performing an element specific operation on the element if the element is of a known type indicator and sending a remote query in response to a discovery of an unknown type indicator in the self-descriptive dictionary object.

23. The system as in claim 22, wherein sending the query includes sending the query to a remote server.

24. The system as in claim 22, wherein sending the query includes sending the query to a local process.

25. The system as in claim 22, further comprising the recipient applying late binding techniques to the self-descriptive dictionary object.

26. The system as in claim 22, further comprising the recipient determining the type indicator of the self-descriptive dictionary object.

27. The system as in claim 26, further comprising instantiating the self-descriptive dictionary object based on the type indicator.

28. The system as in claim 22, wherein looking up the type indicator includes accessing a lookup instruction of the self-descriptive dictionary object and implementing the lookup instruction.