Infrastructure for accessing a peer-to-peer network environment

• US 7,774,495 B2
• Filed: 02/13/2003
• Issued: 08/10/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 02/13/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Oracle America, Inc. (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Oracle America, Inc. (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Arora, Akhil K., Haywood, Arvin C., Pabla, Kuldipsingh A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Osman; Ramy M
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nano; Sargon N
• Application Number:
  US10/366,187
• Publication Number:
  US 20040162871A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,735 Days
• Field of Search: 709/212, 709/217, 709/238, 709/246, 455/432.2
• US Class Current: 709/238
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/104 Peer-to-peer [P2P] networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1046 Joining mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1093 Some peer nodes performing special functions
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/56 Provisioning of proxy services store-and-forward switching systems in data switching networks H04L12/54
• 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: H04W 4/08 User group management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/005 Discovery of network devices, e.g. terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/04 adapted for relaying to or from another terminal or user
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/18 between terminal devices

Abstract

Embodiments of a system and method for providing peer-to-peer (p2p) capabilities to devices with limited resources (e.g. wireless devices). A mechanism is described that allows the devices to participate as peer nodes in p2p network environments through wired or wireless connections. In one embodiment, the p2p network environment may be implemented according to a p2p platform, and the mechanism may be interoperable with p2p platform devices in the p2p network environment. A relay/proxy node on the network may serve as an interface to the p2p environment for devices using the mechanism to participate as peers in the p2p network. The relay/proxy node may be accessed using the mechanism to perform one or more p2p network environment functions on behalf of the devices.

Claims

1. A peer computing system, comprising:

a plurality of peer nodes configured to participate in a peer-to-peer environment on a network according to a peer-to-peer platform comprising one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols for enabling the peer nodes to discover peer-to-peer environment resources including each other, communicate with each other, and cooperate with each other to form peer groups in the peer-to-peer environment, wherein the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols are each defined as one or more types of messages in a format supported by the peer-to-peer platform;

one or more of the plurality of peer nodes each configured as a relay/proxy node configured to perform a plurality of distinct peer-to-peer environment functions in accordance with the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols on behalf of wireless devices; and

a plurality of wireless devices each configured to implement an instance of a wireless peer-to-peer infrastructure that enables the wireless devices to communicate with one or more of the relay/proxy nodes according to a wireless peer-to-peer infrastructure protocol to participate as peer nodes in the peer-to-peer environment, wherein the wireless peer-to-peer infrastructure protocol uses binary messages in communications between the wireless devices and the relay/proxy nodes instead of messages in the format supported by the peer-to-peer platform;

wherein the wireless peer-to-peer infrastructure includes one or more software modules and provides an Application Programming Interface (API) to the software modules for directing a relay/proxy node, via the wireless peer-to-peer infrastructure protocol, to perform the peer-to-peer environment functions on behalf of an application on a wireless device.

2. The peer computing system as recited in claim 1, wherein, to communicate with one or more of the relay/proxy nodes according to a wireless peer-to-peer infrastructure protocol to participate as peer nodes in the peer-to-peer environment, the plurality of wireless devices are each further configured to:

send outgoing binary messages formatted according to the wireless peer-to-peer infrastructure protocol to the one or more of the relay/proxy nodes; and

receive incoming binary messages formatted according to the wireless peer-to-peer infrastructure protocol from the one or more of the relay/proxy nodes.

3. The peer computing system as recited in claim 2, wherein the outgoing binary messages and the incoming binary messages formatted according to the wireless peer-to-peer infrastructure protocol are transported to and from the relay/proxy nodes over Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP).

4. The peer computing system as recited in claim 2, wherein the one or more of the relay/proxy nodes are each configured to:

receive a plurality of incoming messages formatted according to the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols and indicating one or more of the plurality of wireless devices as destinations; and

translate a subset of the plurality of incoming messages formatted according to the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols and indicating one or more of the plurality of wireless devices as destinations into the incoming binary messages formatted according to the wireless peer-to-peer infrastructure protocol.

5. The peer computing system as recited in claim 2, wherein the one or more of the relay/proxy nodes are each configured to:

translate the outgoing binary messages formatted according to the wireless peer-to-peer infrastructure protocol and received from the plurality of wireless devices into outgoing messages formatted according to the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols; and

translate incoming messages formatted according to the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols and indicating one or more of the plurality of wireless devices as destinations into the incoming binary messages formatted according to the wireless peer-to-peer infrastructure protocol.

6. The peer computing system as recited in claim 5, wherein the incoming messages formatted according to the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols each comprises a plurality of elements, and wherein, to translate incoming messages formatted according to the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols and indicating one or more of the plurality of wireless devices as destinations into the incoming binary messages formatted according to the wireless peer-to-peer infrastructure protocol, the one or more of the relay/proxy nodes are each configured to exclude one or more of the plurality of elements in the incoming messages formatted according to the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols from the incoming binary messages formatted according to the wireless peer-to-peer infrastructure protocol.

7. The peer computing system as recited in claim 1, wherein the relay/proxy nodes are each further configured to:

receive a binary message formatted according to the wireless peer-to-peer infrastructure protocol from one of the wireless devices;

generate one or more messages formatted according to one of the peer-to-peer platform protocols in response to the binary message formatted according to the wireless peer-to-peer infrastructure protocol; and

send the one or more messages formatted according to one of the peer-to-peer platform protocols to one or more of the plurality of peer nodes.

8. The peer computing system as recited in claim 1, wherein the relay/proxy nodes are each further configured to:

receive a message formatted according to one of the peer-to-peer platform protocols and indicating one of the wireless devices as a destination of the message;

generate a binary message formatted according to the wireless peer-to-peer infrastructure protocol from the message formatted according to the one of the peer-to-peer platform protocols; and

send the binary message formatted according to the wireless peer-to-peer infrastructure protocol to the indicated destination wireless device.

9. The peer computing system as recited in claim 8, wherein the message formatted according to the one of the peer-to-peer platform protocols comprises a plurality of elements, and wherein, to generate a binary message formatted according to the wireless peer-to-peer infrastructure protocol from the message formatted according to the one of the peer-to-peer platform protocols, the relay/proxy nodes are each further configured to exclude one or more of the plurality of elements in the message formatted according to the one of the peer-to-peer platform protocols from the binary message formatted according to the wireless peer-to-peer infrastructure protocol.

10. The peer computing system as recited in claim 1, wherein the relay/proxy nodes are each further configured to:

receive a query message formatted according to the wireless peer-to-peer infrastructure protocol from one of the wireless devices;

perform a query in the peer-to-peer environment on behalf of the one of the wireless devices in response to the query message;

receive a plurality of messages formatted according to one of the peer-to-peer platform protocols in response to the query;

filter the plurality of messages formatted according to the one of the peer-to-peer platform protocols to determine a subset of the plurality of messages formatted according to the one of the peer-to-peer platform protocols to send to the one of the wireless devices;

generate a binary message formatted according to the wireless peer-to-peer infrastructure protocol from each of the messages formatted according to the one of the peer-to-peer platform protocols in the subset; and

send the binary messages formatted according to the wireless peer-to-peer infrastructure protocol to the one of the wireless devices.

11. The peer computing system as recited in claim 1, wherein the plurality of peer-to-peer environment functions include discovery of peer-to-peer network resources in the peer-to-peer environment.

12. The peer computing system as recited in claim 11, wherein the peer-to-peer network resources include peers, peer groups, and peer-to-peer platform communications channels.

13. The peer computing system as recited in claim 1, wherein the plurality of peer-to-peer environment functions include creating peer-to-peer network resources in the peer-to-peer environment.

14. The peer computing system as recited in claim 13, wherein the peer-to-peer network resources include peer groups and peer-to-peer platform communications channels.

15. The peer computing system as recited in claim 1, wherein the plurality of peer-to-peer environment functions include joining peer groups in the peer-to-peer environment.

16. The peer computing system as recited in claim 1, wherein the plurality of peer-to-peer environment functions include communicating with peer-to-peer network entities in the peer-to-peer environment.

17. The peer computing system as recited in claim 16, wherein the peer-to-peer network entities include peer nodes and software modules.

18. The peer computing system as recited in claim 1, wherein the wireless peer-to-peer infrastructure is implemented according to the Java 2 Platform, Micro Edition (J2ME) platform.

19. The peer computing system as recited in claim 1, wherein the plurality of wireless devices include one or more Mobile Information Device Profile (MIDP)-compliant devices.

20. The peer computing system as recited in claim 1, wherein the plurality of wireless devices include two or more wireless devices each using a different one of Connected Limited Device Configuration (CLDC), Mobile Information Device Profile (MIDP), CDC (Connected Device Configuration), PP (Personal Profile), PBP (Personal Basis Profile), and PDAP (Personal Digital Assistant Profile).

21. The peer computing system as recited in claim 1, wherein a first wireless device is a model of cell phone and a second wireless device is a different model of cell phone, and wherein the first wireless device and the second wireless device are configured to communicate as peer nodes in the peer-to-peer environment via the one or more relay/proxy nodes and in accordance with the wireless peer-to-peer infrastructure.

22. The peer computing system as recited in claim 1, wherein a first wireless device is a cell phone using a carrier service and a second wireless device is a cell phone using a different carrier service, and wherein the first wireless device and the second wireless device are configured to communicate as peer nodes in the peer-to-peer environment via the one or more relay/proxy nodes and in accordance with the wireless peer-to-peer infrastructure.

23. A peer computing system, comprising:

a plurality of peer nodes configured to participate in a peer-to-peer environment on a network in accordance with one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols, wherein the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols are each defined as one or more types of messages in a format supported by the peer-to-peer platform;

one of the plurality of peer nodes configured to perform a plurality of distinct peer-to-peer environment functions in accordance with the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols on behalf of other devices; and

a device comprising;

a processor; and

a memory comprising program instructions, wherein the programming instructions are executable by the processor to implement;

one or more software modules configured to communicate with the one of the plurality of peer nodes to perform the peer-to-peer environment functions on behalf of the device, wherein the software modules use binary messages formatted according to a binary message protocol to communicate with the one of the plurality of peer nodes instead of messages in the format supported by the peer-to-peer platform; and

an application configured to access the software modules via an Application Programming Interface (API) to communicate with the one of the plurality of peer nodes to perform the plurality of peer-to-peer environment functions on behalf of the application.

24. The peer computing system as recited in claim 23, wherein the API includes:

interfaces to one or more methods for generating and manipulating binary messages formatted according to the binary message protocol; and

interfaces to two or more methods for directing the one of the plurality of peer nodes to perform the plurality of peer-to-peer environment functions.

25. The peer computing system as recited in claim 23, wherein, to communicate with the one of the plurality of peer nodes to perform the peer-to-peer environment functions on behalf of the device, the one or more software modules are each configured to:

send outgoing binary messages formatted according to the binary message protocol to the one of the plurality of peer nodes; and

receive incoming binary messages formatted according to the binary message protocol from the one of the plurality of peer nodes.

26. The peer computing system as recited in claim 23, wherein the binary message protocol is one of HTTP, TCP, UDP and Bluetooth.

27. The peer computing system as recited in claim 25, wherein the one of the plurality of peer nodes is further configured to:

receive a plurality of incoming messages formatted according to the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols and indicating the application as a destination; and

translate a subset of the plurality of incoming messages formatted according to the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols and indicating the application as a destination into the incoming binary messages formatted according to the binary message protocol.

28. The peer computing system as recited in claim 25, wherein the one of the plurality of peer nodes is further configured to:

translate the outgoing binary messages formatted according to the binary message protocol and received from the device into outgoing messages formatted according to the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols; and

translate incoming messages formatted according to the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols and indicating the application as a destination into the incoming binary messages formatted according to the binary message protocol.

29. The peer computing system as recited in claim 28, wherein the incoming messages formatted according to the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols each comprises a plurality of elements, and wherein, to translate incoming messages formatted according to the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols and indicating the application as a destination into the incoming binary messages formatted according to the binary message protocol, the one of the plurality of peer nodes is configured to exclude one or more of the plurality of elements in the incoming messages formatted according to the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols from the incoming binary messages formatted according to the binary message protocol.

30. The peer computing system as recited in claim 23, wherein the device is a wireless device.

31. The peer computing system as recited in claim 23, wherein the device is a small device.

32. The peer computing system as recited in claim 23, wherein the device is a Mobile Information Device Profile (MIDP)-compliant device.

33. The peer computing system as recited in claim 23, wherein the application, the one or more software modules, and the API are implemented according to the Java 2 Platform, Micro Edition (J2ME) platform.

34. The peer computing system as recited in claim 23, wherein the plurality of peer-to-peer environment functions include discovery of peer-to-peer network resources in the peer-to-peer environment.

35. The peer computing system as recited in claim 23, wherein the plurality of peer-to-peer environment functions include creating peer-to-peer network resources in the peer-to-peer environment.

36. The peer computing system as recited in claim 23, wherein the plurality of peer-to-peer environment functions include joining peer groups in the peer-to-peer environment.

37. The peer computing system as recited in claim 23, wherein the plurality of peer-to-peer environment functions include communicating with peer-to-peer network entities in the peer-to-peer environment.

38. The peer computing system as recited in claim 23, wherein the one of the plurality of peer nodes implements a relay/proxy service configured to perform the plurality of peer-to-peer environment functions in accordance with the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols on behalf of other devices.

39. A device, comprising:

a processor; and

a memory comprising program instructions, wherein the programming instructions are executable by the processor to implement;

one or more software modules configured to communicate with a relay/proxy service implemented on another device to perform a plurality of distinct peer-to-peer environment functions on a network; and

an application, wherein the application is configured to access the software modules via an Application Programming Interface (API) to communicate with the relay/proxy service to direct the relay/proxy service to perform the plurality of peer-to-peer environment functions on behalf of the application;

wherein the relay/proxy service is configured to participate in a peer-to-peer environment on the network in accordance with one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols, wherein the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols are each defined as one or more types of messages in a format supported by the peer-to-peer platform, and wherein the software modules use binary messages formatted according to a binary message protocol to communicate with the one of the plurality of peer nodes instead of messages in the format supported by the peer-to-peer platform.

40. The device as recited in claim 39, wherein the API includes:

interfaces to one or more methods for generating and manipulating binary messages formatted according to the binary message protocol;

interfaces to one or more methods for generating and manipulating elements of the binary messages; and

interfaces to two or more methods for directing the relay/proxy service to perform the plurality of peer-to-peer environment functions.

41. The device as recited in claim 39, wherein the API includes interfaces to one or more methods for generating and manipulating peer-to-peer platform messages.

42. The device as recited in claim 39, wherein the API includes interfaces to two or more methods for directing the relay/proxy service to perform the plurality of peer-to-peer environment functions.

43. The device as recited in claim 39, wherein the wherein the API includes:

interfaces to one or more methods for generating and manipulating peer-to-peer platform messages; and

interfaces to two or more methods for directing the relay/proxy service to perform the plurality of peer-to-peer environment functions.

44. The device as recited in claim 39, wherein, to communicate with a relay/proxy service implemented on another device to perform a plurality of distinct peer-to-peer environment functions on a network, each of the software modules is configured to:

send outgoing binary messages formatted according to the binary message protocol to the relay/proxy service; and

receive incoming binary messages formatted according to the binary message protocol from the relay/proxy service.

45. The device as recited in claim 39, wherein the binary message protocol is one of HTTP, TCP, UDP and Bluetooth.

46. The device as recited in claim 39, wherein the device is a wireless device.

47. The device as recited in claim 39, wherein the device is a small device.

48. The device as recited in claim 39, wherein the device is a Mobile Information Device Profile (MIDP)-compliant device.

49. The device as recited in claim 39, wherein the application and the API are implemented according to the Java 2 Platform, Micro Edition (J2ME) platform.

50. The device as recited in claim 39, wherein the API is part of a Java 2 Platform, Micro Edition (J2ME) platform library.

51. The device as recited in claim 39, wherein the peer-to-peer environment functions include discovery of peer-to-peer network resources in the peer-to-peer environment.

52. The device as recited in claim 39, wherein the plurality of peer-to-peer environment functions include creating peer-to-peer network resources in the peer-to-peer environment.

53. The device as recited in claim 39, wherein the plurality of peer-to-peer environment functions include joining peer groups in the peer-to-peer environment.

54. The device as recited in claim 39, wherein the plurality of peer-to-peer environment functions include communicating with peer-to-peer network entities in the peer-to-peer environment.

55. A peer node, comprising:

a processor; and

a memory comprising program instructions, wherein the program instructions are executable by the processor to;

participate with other peer nodes in a peer-to-peer environment on a network according to one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols, wherein the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols are each defined as one or more types of messages in a format supported by the peer-to-peer platform; and

implement a relay/proxy service configured to perform a plurality of distinct peer-to-peer environment functions in accordance with the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols on behalf of one or more devices coupled to the peer node, wherein the relay/proxy service is configured to communicate with the one or more devices according to a binary message protocol, wherein the binary message protocol uses binary messages in communications between the one or more devices and the relay/proxy service instead of messages in the format supported by the peer-to-peer platform.

56. The peer node as recited in claim 55, wherein, to perform a plurality of peer-to-peer environment functions in accordance with the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols on behalf of one or more devices coupled to the peer node, the relay/proxy service is configured to:

receive outgoing binary messages formatted according to the binary message protocol from the one or more devices; and

send incoming binary messages formatted according to the binary message protocol to the one or more devices.

57. The peer node as recited in claim 55, wherein the binary message protocol is one of HTTP, TCP, UDP and Bluetooth.

58. The peer node as recited in claim 56, wherein, to perform a plurality of peer-to-peer environment functions in accordance with the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols on behalf of one or more devices coupled to the peer node, the relay/proxy service is configured to:

receive a plurality of incoming messages formatted according to the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols and indicating the one or more devices as destinations; and

translate a subset of the plurality of incoming messages formatted according to the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols and indicating the one or more devices as destinations into the incoming binary messages formatted according to the binary message protocol.

59. The peer node as recited in claim 56, wherein, to perform a plurality of peer-to-peer environment functions in accordance with the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols on behalf of one or more devices coupled to the peer node, the relay/proxy service is configured to:

translate the outgoing binary messages formatted according to the binary message protocol and received from the one or more devices into outgoing messages formatted according to the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols; and

translate incoming messages formatted according to the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols and indicating the one or more devices as destinations into the incoming binary messages formatted according to the binary message protocol.

60. The peer node as recited in claim 59, wherein the incoming messages formatted according to the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols each comprises a plurality of elements, and wherein, to translate incoming messages formatted according to the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols and indicating the one or more devices as destinations into the incoming binary messages formatted according to the binary message protocol, the relay/proxy service is configured to exclude one or more of the plurality of elements in the incoming messages formatted according to the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols from the incoming binary messages formatted according to the binary message protocol.

61. The peer node as recited in claim 55, wherein the one or more devices include one or more wireless devices.

62. The peer node as recited in claim 55, wherein the one or more devices include one or more small devices.

63. The peer node as recited in claim 55, wherein the one or more devices include one or more Mobile Information Device Profile (MIDP)-compliant devices.

64. The peer node as recited in claim 55, wherein the plurality of peer-to-peer environment functions include discovery of peer-to-peer network resources in the peer-to-peer environment.

65. The peer node as recited in claim 55, wherein the plurality of peer-to-peer environment functions include creating peer-to-peer network resources in the peer-to-peer environment.

66. The peer node as recited in claim 55, wherein the plurality of peer-to-peer environment functions include joining peer groups in the peer-to-peer environment.

67. The peer node as recited in claim 55, wherein the plurality of peer-to-peer environment functions include communicating with peer-to-peer network entities in the peer-to-peer environment.

68. A method comprising:

one of a plurality of peer nodes configured to participate in a peer-to-peer environment on a network in accordance with one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols receiving a plurality of outgoing binary messages formatted according to a binary message protocol from an application on a device coupled to the one of a plurality of peer nodes, wherein the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols are each defined as one or more types of messages in a format supported by the peer-to-peer platform, and wherein the binary message protocol uses binary messages in communications between the device and the one of the plurality of peer nodes instead of messages in the format supported by the peer-to-peer platform; and

the one of the plurality of peer nodes performing a plurality of distinct peer-to-peer environment functions in accordance with the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols on behalf of the application in response to the plurality of outgoing binary messages formatted according to the binary message protocol.

69. The method as recited in claim 68, wherein the binary message protocol is one of HTTP, TCP, UDP and Bluetooth.

70. The method as recited in claim 68, wherein performing at least one of the plurality of distinct peer-to-peer environment functions in accordance with the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols on behalf of the application in response to the plurality of outgoing binary messages formatted according to the binary message protocol comprises:

the one of the plurality of peer nodes receiving a plurality of incoming messages formatted according to the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols and indicating the application as a destination; and

the one of the plurality of peer nodes translating a subset of the plurality of incoming messages formatted according to the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols and indicating the application as a destination into one or more incoming binary messages formatted according to the binary message protocol; and

the one of the plurality of peer nodes sending the one or more incoming binary messages formatted according to the binary message protocol to the device.

71. The method as recited in claim 68, wherein performing at least one of the plurality of distinct peer-to-peer environment functions in accordance with the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols on behalf of the application in response to the plurality of outgoing binary messages formatted according to the binary message protocol comprises:

the one of the plurality of peer nodes translating the one or more outgoing binary messages formatted according to the binary message protocol into one or more outgoing messages formatted according to the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols; and

the one of the plurality of peer nodes sending the one or more outgoing messages formatted according to the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols to one or more others of the plurality of peer nodes.

72. The method as recited in claim 68, wherein performing at least one of the plurality of distinct peer-to-peer environment functions in accordance with the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols on behalf of the application in response to the plurality of outgoing binary messages formatted according to the binary message protocol comprises:

the one of the plurality of peer nodes receiving one or more incoming messages formatted according to the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols and indicating the application as a destination; and

the one of the plurality of peer nodes translating the one or more incoming messages formatted according to the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols and indicating the application as a destination into one or more incoming binary messages formatted according to the binary message protocol.

73. The method as recited in claim 72, wherein the incoming messages formatted according to the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols each comprises a plurality of elements, and wherein said translating the one or more incoming messages formatted according to the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols and indicating the application as a destination into one or more incoming binary messages formatted according to the binary message protocol comprises the one of the plurality of peer nodes excluding one or more of the plurality of elements in the incoming messages formatted according to the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols from the incoming binary messages formatted according to the binary message protocol.

74. The method as recited in claim 68, wherein the device is a wireless device.

75. The method as recited in claim 68, wherein the device is a small device.

76. The method as recited in claim 68, wherein the device is a Mobile Information Device Profile (MIDP)-compliant device.

77. The method as recited in claim 68, wherein the application is implemented according to the Java 2 Platform, Micro Edition (J2ME) platform.

78. The method as recited in claim 68, wherein the plurality of peer-to-peer environment functions include discovery of peer-to-peer network resources in the peer-to-peer environment, creating peer-to-peer network resources in the peer-to-peer environment, joining peer groups in the peer-to-peer environment, and communicating with peer-to-peer network entities in the peer-to-peer environment.

79. A method comprising:

a device sending a plurality of outgoing binary messages formatted according to a binary message protocol and generated by an application on the device to one of a plurality of peer nodes configured to participate in a peer-to-peer environment on a network in accordance with one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols, wherein the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols are each defined as one or more types of messages in a format supported by the peer-to-peer platform, and wherein the binary message protocol uses binary messages instead of messages in the format supported by the peer-to-peer platform; and

the one of the plurality of peer nodes performing a plurality of distinct peer-to-peer environment functions in accordance with the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols on behalf of the application in response to the plurality of outgoing binary messages formatted according to the binary message protocol.

80. The method as recited in claim 79, wherein the binary message protocol is one of HTTP, TCP, UDP and Bluetooth.

81. The method as recited in claim 79, wherein performing at least one of the plurality of distinct peer-to-peer environment functions in accordance with the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols on behalf of the application in response to the plurality of outgoing binary messages formatted according to the binary message protocol comprises:

the one of the plurality of peer nodes translating the one or more outgoing binary messages formatted according to the binary message protocol into one or more outgoing messages formatted according to the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols; and

the one of the plurality of peer nodes sending the one or more outgoing messages formatted according to the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols to one or more others of the plurality of peer nodes.

82. The method as recited in claim 81, wherein performing at least one of the plurality of distinct peer-to-peer environment functions in accordance with the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols on behalf of the application in response to the plurality of outgoing binary messages formatted according to the binary message protocol comprises:

the one of the plurality of peer nodes receiving a plurality of incoming messages formatted according to the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols and indicating the application as a destination in response to the one or more outgoing messages formatted according to the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols;

the one of the plurality of peer nodes translating a subset of the plurality of incoming messages formatted according to the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols and indicating the application as a destination into one or more incoming binary messages formatted according to the binary message protocol; and

the one of the plurality of peer nodes sending the one or more incoming binary messages formatted according to the binary message protocol to the device.

83. The method as recited in claim 82, wherein the incoming messages formatted according to the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols each comprises a plurality of elements, and wherein said translating a subset of the plurality of incoming messages formatted according to the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols and indicating the application as a destination into one or more incoming binary messages formatted according to the binary message protocol comprises the one of the plurality of peer nodes excluding one or more of the plurality of elements in the incoming messages formatted according to the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols from the binary incoming messages formatted according to the binary message protocol.

84. The method as recited in claim 79, wherein the device is a wireless device.

85. The method as recited in claim 79, wherein the device is a small device.

86. The method as recited in claim 79, wherein the device is a Mobile Information Device Profile (MIDP)-compliant device.

87. The method as recited in claim 79, wherein the application is implemented according to the Java 2 Platform, Micro Edition (J2ME) platform.

88. The method as recited in claim 79, wherein the plurality of peer-to-peer environment functions include discovery of peer-to-peer network resources in the peer-to-peer environment, creating peer-to-peer network resources in the peer-to-peer environment, joining peer groups in the peer-to-peer environment, and communicating with peer-to-peer network entities in the peer-to-peer environment.

89. A computer-accessible storage medium comprising program instructions, wherein the program instructions are computer-executable to implement:

one of a plurality of peer nodes configured to participate in a peer-to-peer environment on a network in accordance with one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols receiving a plurality of outgoing binary messages formatted according to a binary message protocol from an application on a device coupled to the one of a plurality of peer nodes, wherein the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols are each defined as one or more types of messages in a format supported by the peer-to-peer platform, and wherein the binary message protocol uses binary messages in communications between the device and the one of the plurality of peer nodes instead of messages in the format supported by the peer-to-peer platform; and

the one of the plurality of peer nodes performing a plurality of distinct peer-to-peer environment functions in accordance with the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols on behalf of the application in response to the plurality of outgoing binary messages formatted according to the binary message protocol.

90. The computer-accessible storage medium as recited in claim 89, wherein the binary message protocol is one of HTTP, TCP, UDP and Bluetooth.

91. The computer-accessible storage medium as recited in claim 89, wherein, in performing at least one of the plurality of distinct peer-to-peer environment functions in accordance with the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols on behalf of the application in response to the plurality of outgoing binary messages formatted according to the binary message protocol, the program instructions are further computer-executable to implement:

the one of the plurality of peer nodes receiving a plurality of incoming messages formatted according to the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols and indicating the application as a destination; and

the one of the plurality of peer nodes translating a subset of the plurality of incoming messages formatted according to the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols and indicating the application as a destination into one or more incoming binary messages formatted according to the binary message protocol; and

the one of the plurality of peer nodes sending the one or more incoming binary messages formatted according to the binary message protocol to the device.

92. The computer-accessible storage medium as recited in claim 89, wherein, in performing at least one of the plurality of distinct peer-to-peer environment functions in accordance with the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols on behalf of the application in response to the plurality of outgoing binary messages formatted according to the binary message protocol, the program instructions are further computer-executable to implement:

the one of the plurality of peer nodes translating the one or more outgoing binary messages formatted according to the binary message protocol into one or more outgoing messages formatted according to the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols; and

the one of the plurality of peer nodes sending the one or more outgoing messages formatted according to the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols to one or more others of the plurality of peer nodes.

93. The computer-accessible storage medium as recited in claim 89, wherein, in performing at least one of the plurality of distinct peer-to-peer environment functions in accordance with the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols on behalf of the application in response to the plurality of outgoing binary messages formatted according to the binary message protocol, the program instructions are further computer-executable to implement:

the one of the plurality of peer nodes receiving one or more incoming messages formatted according to the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols and indicating the application as a destination; and

the one of the plurality of peer nodes translating the one or more incoming messages formatted according to the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols and indicating the application as a destination into one or more incoming binary messages formatted according to the binary message protocol.

94. The computer-accessible storage medium as recited in claim 93, wherein the incoming messages formatted according to the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols each comprises a plurality of elements, and wherein, in said translating the one or more incoming messages formatted according to the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols and indicating the application as a destination into one or more incoming binary messages formatted according to the binary message protocol, the program instructions are further computer-executable to implement the one of the plurality of peer nodes excluding one or more of the plurality of elements in the incoming messages formatted according to the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols from the incoming binary messages formatted according to the binary message protocol.

95. The computer-accessible storage medium as recited in claim 89, wherein the device is a wireless device.

96. The computer-accessible storage medium as recited in claim 89, wherein the device is a small device.

97. The computer-accessible storage medium as recited in claim 89, wherein the device is a Mobile Information Device Profile (MIDP)-compliant device.

98. The computer-accessible storage medium as recited in claim 89, wherein the application is implemented according to the Java 2 Platform, Micro Edition (J2ME) platform.

99. The computer-accessible storage medium as recited in claim 89, wherein the plurality of peer-to-peer environment functions include discovery of peer-to-peer network resources in the peer-to-peer environment, creating peer-to-peer network resources in the peer-to-peer environment, joining peer groups in the peer-to-peer environment, and communicating with peer-to-peer network entities in the peer-to-peer environment.

100. A computer-accessible storage medium comprising program instructions, wherein the program instructions are computer-executable to implement:

a device sending a plurality of outgoing binary messages formatted according to a binary message protocol and generated by an application on the device to one of a plurality of peer nodes configured to participate in a peer-to-peer environment on a network in accordance with one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols, wherein the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols are each defined as one or more types of messages in a format supported by the peer-to-peer platform, and wherein the binary message protocol uses binary messages instead of messages in the format supported by the peer-to-peer platform; and

the one of the plurality of peer nodes performing a plurality of distinct peer-to-peer environment functions in accordance with the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols on behalf of the application in response to the plurality of outgoing binary messages formatted according to the binary message protocol.

101. The computer-accessible storage medium as recited in claim 100, wherein the binary message protocol is one of HTTP, TCP, UDP and Bluetooth.

102. The computer-accessible storage medium as recited in claim 100, wherein, in performing at least one of the plurality of distinct peer-to-peer environment functions in accordance with the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols on behalf of the application in response to the plurality of outgoing binary messages formatted according to the binary message protocol, the program instructions are further computer-executable to implement:

the one of the plurality of peer nodes translating the one or more outgoing binary messages formatted according to the binary message protocol into one or more outgoing messages formatted according to the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols; and

the one of the plurality of peer nodes sending the one or more outgoing messages formatted according to the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols to one or more others of the plurality of peer nodes.

103. The computer-accessible storage medium as recited in claim 102, wherein, in performing at least one of the plurality of distinct peer-to-peer environment functions in accordance with the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols on behalf of the application in response to the plurality of outgoing binary messages formatted according to the binary message protocol, the program instructions are further computer-executable to implement:

the one of the plurality of peer nodes receiving a plurality of incoming messages formatted according to the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols and indicating the application as a destination in response to the one or more outgoing messages formatted according to the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols;

the one of the plurality of peer nodes translating a subset of the plurality of incoming messages formatted according to the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols and indicating the application as a destination into one or more incoming binary messages formatted according to the binary message protocol; and

the one of the plurality of peer nodes sending the one or more incoming binary messages formatted according to the binary message protocol to the device.

104. The computer-accessible storage medium as recited in claim 103, wherein the incoming messages formatted according to the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols each comprises a plurality of elements, and wherein, in said translating a subset of the plurality of incoming messages formatted according to the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols and indicating the application as a destination into one or more incoming binary messages formatted according to the binary message protocol, the program instructions are further computer-executable to implement the one of the plurality of peer nodes excluding one or more of the plurality of elements in the incoming markup language messages formatted according to the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols from the incoming binary messages formatted according to the binary message protocol.

105. The computer-accessible storage medium as recited in claim 100, wherein the device is a wireless device.

106. The computer-accessible storage medium as recited in claim 100, wherein the device is a small device.

107. The computer-accessible storage medium as recited in claim 100, wherein the device is a Mobile Information Device Profile (MIDP)-compliant device.

108. The computer-accessible storage medium as recited in claim 100, wherein the application is implemented according to the Java 2 Platform, Micro Edition (J2ME) platform.

109. The computer-accessible storage medium as recited in claim 100, wherein the plurality of peer-to-peer environment functions include discovery of peer-to-peer network resources in the peer-to-peer environment, creating peer-to-peer network resources in the peer-to-peer environment, joining peer groups in the peer-to-peer environment, and communicating with peer-to-peer network entities in the peer-to-peer environment.

110. A computer-accessible storage medium comprising program instructions, wherein the program instructions are computer-executable to implement:

a development platform for developing applications for devices; and

a library of the development platform comprising a plurality of library functions accessible to the applications for communicating with relay/proxy nodes configured to participate in a peer-to-peer environment on a network according to one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols to direct the relay/proxy nodes to perform a plurality of distinct peer-to-peer environment functions in accordance with the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols, wherein the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols are each defined as one or more types of messages in a format supported by the peer-to-peer platform, and wherein the library functions use binary messages for communications between the applications and the relay/proxy nodes instead of messages in the format supported by the peer-to-peer platform.

111. The computer-accessible storage medium as recited in claim 110, wherein the plurality of library functions include:

one or more functions for generating and manipulating peer-to-peer platform messages;

one or more functions for generating and manipulating elements of the peer-to-peer platform messages; and

two or more functions for performing the plurality of peer-to-peer environment functions.

112. The computer-accessible storage medium as recited in claim 110, wherein the plurality of library functions include one or more library functions for generating and manipulating peer-to-peer platform messages.

113. The computer-accessible storage medium as recited in claim 110, wherein the plurality of library functions include two or more library functions for performing the plurality of peer-to-peer environment functions.

114. The computer-accessible storage medium as recited in claim 110, wherein the development platform is Java 2 Platform, Micro Edition (J2ME).

115. The computer-accessible storage medium as recited in claim 110, wherein the devices are wireless devices.

116. The computer-accessible storage medium as recited in claim 110, wherein the devices are small devices.