Coordinating communication medium state for subtasks

• US 8,549,538 B2
• Filed: 03/18/2010
• Issued: 10/01/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/18/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Allen, Nicholas A., Taylor, John A.
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, VAN H
• Application Number:
  US12/727,066
• Publication Number:
  US 20110231702A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,293 Days
• Field of Search: 719/310, 719/313, 719/315, 718/100
• US Class Current: 719/313
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/546 Message passing systems or structures, e.g. queues

Abstract

The present invention extends to methods, systems, and computer program products for coordinating communication medium state for subtasks. Embodiments of the invention use a received view of the contents of a message to produce a stream of subtask messages. Subtask message properties are each connected to the mechanism for performing the state coordination pattern on the original message. Subtask messages may each have the same message contents as the original message or may have message contents that vary according to the subtask. A message processor may then consume subtask messages from the subtask message stream and perform the state coordination pattern on each subtask message to reflect partial forward progress executing the original message. The outcome of the state coordination pattern for the original message is responsive to the collective outcomes of the state coordination patterns for the subtask messages.

Claims

1. In a computer architecture including one or more processors and system memory, the computer architecture also including a message state coordinator for coordinating state between an initial message consumer and a plurality of subtask consumers, a method for coordinating state between the initial message consumer and the plurality of subtask consumers, the method comprising:

an act of the message state coordinator receiving a content view of the contents of a message along with a coordination property from the initial message consumer, the initial message consumer having received the content view from a communication medium connected to the computer architecture, receiving the content view indicative of the communication medium having locked the message for exclusive access by the initial message consumer, the coordination property providing information on how the initial message consumer is to signal the disposition of the message back to the communication medium;

an act of the message state coordinator dividing the content view into a stream of subtask messages, each subtask message corresponding to a partial application state update for an application and each subtask message including a subtask coordination property, each subtask coordination property providing information on how to signal the disposition of a corresponding subtask message back to the message state coordinator;

for each subtask message, an act of the message state coordinator receiving one or more subtask signals from subtask consumers that consumed the subtask message, the one or more subtask signals indicating the disposition of the subtask message;

an act of the message state coordinator determining the disposition of the message based on the received subtask signals; and

an act of the message state coordinator using the coordination property for the message to signal the disposition of the message to the initial message consumer.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the computer architecture includes a communication medium and one or more initial message consumers, including the initial message consumer, that consume messages from the communication medium, further comprising prior to the message state coordinator receiving the content view of the contents of the message:

an act of the initial message consumer sending a message request to the communication medium;

an act of the initial message consumer receiving the content view of the contents of the message along with the coordination property from the communication medium; and

an act of the initial message consumer sending the content view of the contents of the message along with the coordination property to the message state coordinator.

3. The method as recited in claim 2, further comprising subsequent to signaling the disposition of the message to the initial message consumer:

an act of the initial message consumer receiving the disposition of the message from the message state coordinator; and

an act of the initial message consumer signaling the communication medium how to update communication medium state based on the received disposition of the message to coordinate the communication medium state with the application state.

4. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the act of the message state coordinator dividing the content view into a stream of subtask messages comprises an act of dividing the content view into a stream of subtask messages that vary according to subtask.

5. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the act of the message state coordinator dividing the content view into a stream of subtask messages comprises an act of dividing the content view into a stream of subtask messages that contain copies of the content view.

6. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the act of the message state coordinator dividing the content view into a stream of subtask messages comprises an act of subsequent to receiving subtask signals from subtask consumers for a portion of the subtask messages in the stream of subtask messages, altering the subtask messages in the stream of subtask messages based on the one or more received subtask signals from subtask consumers.

7. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein for each subtask message, an act of the message state coordinator receiving one or more subtask signals from subtask consumers comprises an act of receiving signals indicating successful processing of all subtask messages;

and

wherein the act of the message state coordinator determining the disposition of the message comprises an act of determining that the disposition of the message is successful based on the received signals indicating successful processing of all subtask messages.

8. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein for each subtask message, an act of the message state coordinator receiving one or more subtask signals from subtask consumers comprises an act of receiving signals indicating failed processing of at least one subtask message.

9. The method as recited in claim 8, further comprising:

an act of the message state coordinator inserting one or more retry subtask messages into the subtask message stream based on the at least one subtask message;

an act of the message state coordinator receiving one or more subtask signals from subtask consumers that consumed the one or more retry subtask messages;

and wherein the act of the message state coordinator determining the disposition of the message based on the received subtask signals comprises an act of the message state coordinator determining the disposition of the message based on the received one or more subtask signals for the one or more retry subtask messages.

10. The method as recited in claim 8, wherein the act of the message state coordinator determining the disposition of the message comprises an act of determining that the disposition of the message is failed based on the received signal indicating that a subtask message failed.

11. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein for each subtask message, an act of the message state coordinator receiving one or more subtask signals from subtask consumers comprises an act of receiving transaction disposition notifications from subtask consumers in different transactions.

12. The method as recited in claim 11, wherein the different transactions are one or more nested transactions contained in a common parent transaction.

13. In a computer architecture including one or more processors and system memory, the computer architecture also including a plurality of subtask consumers that process messages from a subtask message stream, the subtask message stream including a stream of subtask messages, each subtask message having been divided from a message received at a consumer and corresponding to a partial application state update for the message received at the consumer, a method for coordinating state between a subtask consumer and the subtask message stream, the method comprising:

an act of a subtask consumer, from among the plurality of subtask consumers, sending a message request to the subtask message stream;

an act of the subtask consumer receiving a content view of the contents of a message from the subtask message stream along with a subtask coordination property for the content view, receiving the content view indicative of the subtask message stream having locked the subtask message for exclusive access by the subtask consumer, the subtask coordination property providing information on how to signal the disposition of the subtask message back to the subtask message stream;

an act of the subtask consumer attempting to partially update application state for an application based on the content view;

an act of determining the disposition of the subtask message based on the attempted partial application state update; and

an act of the subtask consumer using the subtask coordination property to signal the disposition of the subtask message back to the subtask message stream.

14. The method as recited in claim 13, wherein the act of a subtask consumer, from among the plurality of subtask consumers, sending a message request to the subtask message stream comprises a subtask in one nested transaction scope sending a message request to the subtask message stream, the one nested transaction isolated from other nested transactions of other subtask consumers.

15. The method as recited in claim 13, wherein determining the disposition of the subtask message based on the attempted partial application state update comprises an act of determining the attempted application state update successfully transitioned the application to a next state;

and

wherein the act of the subtask consumer using the subtask coordination property to signal the disposition of the subtask comprises an act of the subtask consumer using the subtask coordination property to signal that the subtask message is to be deleted from the subtask message stream.

16. The method as recited in claim 13, wherein determining the disposition of the subtask message based on the attempted partial application state update comprises an act of determining the attempted application state update failed to transition the application to a next state;

and

wherein the act of the subtask consumer using the subtask coordination property to signal the disposition of the subtask comprises an act of the subtask consumer using the subtask coordination property to signal that the subtask message is to be unlocked.

17. The method as recited in claim 16, further comprising:

an act of a second subtask consumer, from among the plurality of subtask consumers, sending a message request to the subtask message stream;

an act of subsequent to the subtask consumer unlocking the failed message, the second subtask consumer receiving a content view of the contents of a message from the subtask message stream along with a subtask coordination property for the content view, receiving the content view indicative of the subtask message stream having locked the subtask message for exclusive access by the subtask consumer, the subtask coordination property providing information on how to signal the disposition of the subtask message back to the subtask message stream, the received message based on the failed message;

an act of the second subtask consumer attempting to partially update application state for an application based on the content view;

an act of determining the disposition of the subtask message based on the attempted partial application state update; and

an act of the second subtask consumer using the subtask coordination property to signal the disposition of the subtask message back to the subtask message stream.

18. The method as recited in claim 17, further comprising:

an act of the subtask consumer recording a record of the failed attempted application state update;

wherein the received message based on the failed message includes one or more processing failure message properties based on the recorded record; and

wherein the act of the second subtask consumer attempting to partially update application state for an application based on the content view comprises an act of the second subtask consumer attempting to partially update application state for an application based on at least a portion of the processing failure message properties.

19. A computer system, the computer system comprising:

a plurality of machines, each machine including;

one or more processors;

system memory;

a communication medium, the communication medium having a message flow of messages to the computer system;

one or more computer storage media having stored thereon computer-executable instructions representing an application, wherein the executable instructions can be executed to create a plurality of application instances that are distributed across the plurality of machines and compete for messages from the communication medium, wherein each application instance includes an initial consumer, at least one message state coordinator, and at least one subtask consumer, wherein the initial consumer is configured to;

send a message request to the communication medium;

receive a view of the contents of a message along with a coordination property from the communication medium, receiving the content view indicative of the communication medium having locked the message for exclusive access by the initial consumer;

send the content view of the contents of the message along with the coordination property to the message state coordinator;

receive the disposition of the message from the message state coordinator; and

signal the communication medium how to update communication medium state based on the received disposition of the message to coordinate the communication medium state with the application state;

wherein the at least one message state coordinator is configured to;

receive the content view of the contents of a message along with a coordination property from the initial message consumer;

divide the content view into a stream of subtask messages, each subtask message corresponding to a partial application state update for an application and each subtask message including a subtask coordination property, each subtask coordination property providing information on how to signal the disposition of a corresponding subtask message back to the message state coordinator;

for each subtask message, receive one or more subtask signals from subtask consumers that consumed the subtask message, the one or more subtask signals indicating the disposition of the subtask message;

determine the disposition of the message based on the received subtask signals; and

use the coordination property for the message to signal the disposition of the message to the initial message consumer; and

wherein each of the plurality of subtask consumers are configured to;

send a message request to the subtask message stream;

receive a content view of the contents of a message from the subtask message stream along with a subtask coordination property for the content view, receiving the content view indicative of the subtask message stream having locked the subtask message for exclusive access by the subtask consumer, the subtask coordination property providing information on how to signal the disposition of a the subtask message back to the subtask message stream;

attempt to partially update application state for an application based on the content view;

determine the disposition of the subtask message based on the attempted partial application state update; and

use the subtask coordination property to signal the disposition of the subtask message back to the subtask message stream.

20. The computer system of claim 19, wherein each of the plurality of subtask consumers are in a different nested transaction scope isolated from the nested transaction scopes of other subtask consumers.