System and method for translating an asset for distribution over multi-tiered networks

• US 7,685,577 B2
• Filed: 09/04/2001
• Issued: 03/23/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/01/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Op40 Holdings, Inc.
• Original Assignee: OP40 Incorporated
• Inventors: Pace, Charles P., Chen, Shuang, Pizzorni, Paolo R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Dam; Tuan Q
• Assistant Examiner(s): DAO, THUY CHAN
• Application Number:
  US09/947,161
• Publication Number:
  US 20030037173A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,122 Days
• Field of Search: 717/100, 717/137, 718/101, 707/10, 713/100, 709/220
• US Class Current: 717/136
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/60 Software deployment
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1095 Replication or mirroring of data, e.g. scheduling or transport for data synchronisation between network nodes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/565 Conversion or adaptation of application format or content adding application control or application functional data H04L67/561
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/40 for recovering from a failure of a protocol instance or entity, e.g. service redundancy protocols, protocol state redundancy or protocol service redirection management of faults, events, alarms or notifications in data switching networks H04L41/06

Abstract

The present invention provides a system and method for translating an asset for distribution to a multi-tiered network node. An asset may represent network and/or application components (e.g., data, objects, applications, program modules, etc.) that may be distributed among the various resources of the network. In an embodiment, an asset has a logic/data section and an extended environment section. The logic/data section defines a function of the digital asset along with the asset'"'"'s type, while the extended environment section supports the function of the logic/data section within at least one source environment. The asset type is determined and a process asset adapter, associated with the asset type and a target environment, is selected. The asset is then translated into a processed asset having a processed extended environment section supporting the function of the logic/data section in the target environment.

Claims

1. A method for transforming an asset into a target base environment format for distribution to and deployment in the target base environment, comprising:

organizing at least two stored assets into a package according to a package boundary determined by an asset boundary of at least one of the packaged assets, each packaged asset being a component of an application and having an asset type defined by the asset boundary, at least two asset layers including a logic/data section and an extended environment section, the logic/data section defining a function of each packaged asset and the asset type and the extended environment section supporting the function of each packaged asset in at least one source environment and a base environment associated with the at least two packaged assets;

determining if at least one asset type of the packaged assets is at least one of a session bean type and an entity bean type,

selecting a process asset adapter associated with the asset type and a target environment comprising a target node, and

removing an EJB implementation from the logic/data section,

generating a plurality of EJB stubs and skeletons associated with the target environment;

generating at least one class required by the target environment to execute the packaged assets, the class having at least one associated translated deployment descriptor;

moving the EJB stubs and skeletons and the translated deployment descriptor into the packaged assets, and

transforming the packaged assets into processed assets by a process adaptor process to deploy on the target node after distributing the processed assets thereto, the processed assets having at least the processed extended environment section changed by a target process to support the function of the logic/data section in the target environment;

wherein the target environment is a base environment deployed as an environment asset on the target node that contains at least one of a different computer hardware, software and operating environment from a source node comprising the source environment in which the packaged assets are transformed.

2. The method according to claim 1, further including storing the processed asset in the memory.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein said selecting is based on at least one of the logic/data section, and the extended environment section.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein said selecting is based on a descriptor associated with the target environment and a descriptor associated with the extended environment section.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the EJB stubs and skeletons and the translated deployment descriptors are moved into the extended environment section of the asset.

6. The method according to claim 5, further including storing the processed asset in a cache memory.

7. The method according to claim 5, further including creating at least one EJB proxy that is moved into the asset.

8. A system for transforming an asset into a target base environment format for distribution to and deployment in the target base environment, comprising:

a processor; and

a memory, coupled to the processor, storing assets, each stored asset being a component of an application and having an asset type defined by an asset boundary, at least two asset layers including a logic/data section and an extended environment section, the logic/data section defining a function of the stored asset and an asset type and the extended environment section supporting the function of the stored asset in at least one source environment and a base environment associated with the stored asset, the memory further staring instructions adapted to be executed by the processor to;

organize at least two of the stored assets into a package according to a package boundary determined by an asset boundary of at least one of the packaged assets,

determine if at least one asset type of the packaged assets is at least one of a session bean type and an entity bean type,

select a process asset adapter associated with the asset type and a target environment comprising a target node,

remove an EJB implementation from the logic/data section,

generate a plurality of EJB stubs and skeletons associated with the target environment;

generate at least one class required by the target environment to execute the packaged assets, the class having at least one associated translated deployment descriptor;

move the EJB stubs and skeletons and the translated deployment descriptor into the packaged assets,

transform the packaged assets into processed assets by a process adaptor process to deploy on the target node after distributing the processed asset thereto, the processed assets having at least the processed extended environment section changed by a target process to support the function of the logic/data section in the target environment;

wherein the target environment is a base environment deployed as an environment asset on the target node that contains at least one of a different computer hardware, software and operating environment from a source node comprising the source environment in which the packaged assets are transformed.

9. The system according to claim 8, further including instructions adapted to be executed by the processor to store the processed asset in the memory.

10. The system according to claim 8, wherein said selecting is based on at least one of the logic/data section, and the extended environment section.

11. The system according to claim 8, wherein said selecting is based on a descriptor associated with the target environment and a descriptor associated with the extended environment section.

12. The system according to claim 8, wherein the EJB stubs and skeletons and the translated deployment descriptors are moved into the extended environment section of the asset.

13. The system according to claim 12, further including a cache memory.

14. The system according to claim 13, further including instructions adapted to be executed by the processor to store the processed asset in the cache memory.

15. The system according to claim 13, further including instructions adapted to be executed by the processor to create at least one EJB proxy that is moved into the asset.

16. A computer-readable medium that tangibly stores instructions for transforming an asset into a target base environment format for distribution to and deployment in the target base environment, the instructions adapted to be executed by a processor to perform the steps of:

organizing at least two stored assets into a package according to a package boundary determined by an asset boundary of at least one of the packaged assets, each packaged asset being a component of an application and having an asset type defined by the asset boundary, at least two asset layers including a logic/data section and an extended environment section, the logic/data section defining a function of each packaged asset and the asset type and the extended environment section supporting the function of each packaged asset in at least one source environment and a base environment associated with the at least two packaged assets;

determining if at least one asset type is at least one of a session bean type and an entity bean type;

selecting a process asset adapter associated with the asset type and a target environment comprising a target node;

removing an EJB implementation from the logic/data section,

generating a plurality of EJB stubs and skeletons associated with the target environment;

generating at least one class required by the target environment to execute the packaged assets, the class having at least one associated translated deployment descriptor;

moving the EJB stubs and skeletons and the translated deployment descriptor into the packaged assets, and

transforming the packaged assets into processed assets by a process adaptor process to deploy on the target node after distributing the processed asset thereto, the distributed processed assets having at least the processed extended environment section changed by a target process to support the function of the logic/data section in the target environment;

wherein the target environment is a base environment deployed as an environment asset on the target node that contains at least one of a different computer hardware, software and operating environment from a source node comprising the source environment in which the packaged assets are transformed.

17. A system for transforming an asset into a target base environment format for distribution to and deployment in the target base environment, comprising:

a processor;

a memory coupled to the processor and storing instructions adapted to be executed by the processor, said instructions including;

means for organizing at least two stored assets into a package according to a package boundary determined by an asset boundary of at least one of the packaged assets, each packaged asset being a component of an application and having an asset type defined by the asset boundary, at least two asset layers including a logic/data section end an extended environment section, the logic/data section defining a function of each packaged asset and the asset type and the extended environment section supporting the function of each packaged asset in at least one source environment and a base environment associated with the at least two packaged assets;

means for determining if at least one asset type of the packaged assets is at least one of a session bean type and an entity bean type,

means for selecting a process asset adapter associated with the asset type and a target environment comprising a target node,

means for removing an EJB implementation from the logic/data section,

means for generating a plurality of EJB stubs and skeletons associated with the target environment;

means for generating at least one class required by the target environment to execute the asset, the class having at least one associated translated deployment descriptor;

means for moving the EJB stubs and skeletons and the translated deployment descriptor into the packaged assets, and

means for transforming the packaged asset into processed assets by a process adaptor process to deploy on the target node after distributing the processed asset thereto, the processed assets having at least the processed extended environment section changed by a target process to support the function of the logic/data section in the target environment;

wherein the target environment is a base environment deployed as an environment asset on the target node that contains at least one of a different computer hardware, software and operating environment from a source node comprising the source environment in which the packaged assets are transformed.