Avoiding conflict in update in distributed environment employing multiple clients

• US 8,713,552 B2
• Filed: 03/30/2010
• Issued: 04/29/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/30/2009
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Wakao, Masaki, Horiuchi, Yoshio, Uchida, Kenji
• Primary Examiner(s): Zhen, Li B
• Assistant Examiner(s): Lin, Hui-Wen
• Application Number:
  US12/749,694
• Publication Number:
  US 20100251206A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,491 Days
• Field of Search: 717/103
• US Class Current: 717/168
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/1767 Concurrency control, e.g. optimistic or pessimistic approaches

Abstract

A client transmits, to a server, an instruction to copy a certain file for update, and receives the copied file. Upon update of the received file, the client generates update information on the update of the received file, and transmits the generated update information to the server. The server extracts a file containing a part related to the received update information, and judges whether or not the extracted file has been copied and then transmitted to a different client. If judging that the extracted file has been copied and transmitted to the different client, the server transmits warning information to the different client to which the extracted file has been transmitted, the warning information indicating that the file is updated in the client other than the different client.

Claims

1. A method for avoiding conflicts when serving files to a plurality of clients capable of updating the files comprising:

collecting and storing a plurality of files at a server communicatively linked to a plurality of clients, wherein said files are stored in a tangible storage medium communicatively linked to the server;

copying a file, and transmitting copies of the file to a first set of clients;

receiving update information comprising updates associated with the transmitted copies of the file, and respective identifiers of each of the first set of clients along with their respective updates;

extracting, from the file, parts related to the received update information, wherein the extracting includes identifying relationships between parameters passed among the parts of the file or passed among the plurality of files stored at the server;

storing the update information in association with the extracted parts of the file in a repository separate from the file, without updating the file at the server;

judging, based on the stored update information and extracted parts, whether the file has been copied and updated by one or more clients of the plurality of clients other than the first set of clients; and

responsive to the judging that the file has been copied and updated by one or more other clients, transmitting warning information to all clients, the warning information including update information and including the respective identifiers of the clients submitting updates and indicating that the file copies received by the first set of clients are outdated versions of the file.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

storing the update information in association with the file; and

transmitting the file together with the update information stored in association with the file.

3. The method according to claim 2, further comprising:

storing information on structures of files to be updated, wherein the extracting of the file containing the part related to the update information, extracts on the basis of the stored information on the structures of the files.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the information on the structures of the file contains information on parameter passing between the files.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the files are program files for program development.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the collecting and storing of the plurality of files, the receiving the update information, the extracting the file, the judging, and the transmitting of the warning information are performed by at least one computer program when the at least one computer program is executed on the server, wherein the at least one computer program is stored in a tangible, non-transitory storage medium.

22. The method of claim 1, further comprising extracting a file containing a part related to the received update information.

7. A method for avoiding conflicts in a distributed environment deploying a plurality of clients, each of which are communicatively linked to a server, which collects and stores a plurality of files in a tangible storage medium, wherein said plurality of files are updatable by the plurality of clients, said method comprising:

transmitting, to the server from one of the clients, an instruction to copy a certain file for update, wherein said certain file is one of said plurality of files;

receiving, at the one client, a first file, which is a copy of the certain file;

updating the first file at the one client;

generating, update information based on updating the first file, wherein the update information comprises an update associated with the first file and an identifier of the one client;

transmitting, to the server, the generated update information, wherein the server extracts from the first file, parts related to the update information, wherein the extracting includes identifying relationships between parameters passed among the parts of the files or passed among the plurality of files stored at the server;

upon receipt of warning information including update information and including respective identifiers of a plurality of clients submitting updates from the server indicating that a second file, which is a copy of the certain file, at another client is an updated version of the file, wherein the warning information indicates that the first file is outdated relative to the second file, presenting a notification via a user interface of the one client that the warning information has been received, wherein the warning information is sent by the server responsive to the server judging, based on the stored update information and extracted parts, that the first file is outdated since the certain file has been copied and updated by the another client, wherein plurality of clients comprises the one client and the another client.

8. The method according to claim 7, further comprising:

judging whether or not the received first file is associated with the update information; and

only if the information the first file is judged as associated with the update information, making notification that the first file is associated with the update information.

9. The method according to claim 7, wherein the transmitting of the instruction, the receiving, the generating, and the transmitting of the generated update information are performed by at least one computer program when the at least one computer program is executed on the one client, wherein the at least one computer program is stored in a tangible, non-transitory storage medium.

10. A server that is connected to a plurality of clients so as to be capable of data communication with the clients, wherein said server is operable to collect and store a plurality of files, and copy a file and transmit the file copy to a first client, wherein the server comprises hardware operable to execute computer program instructions, the server further comprising:

a first receiving unit that receives update information, associated with the file, from a first client, wherein the update information comprises an update associated with the file and respective identifiers of each of a first set of clients along with their respective updates;

a unit for extracting, from the file, parts related to the received update information, wherein the extracting includes identifying relationships between parameters passed among the parts of the file or passed among the plurality of files stored at the server;

an update information storing unit that stores the received update information in a repository separate from the file, without updating the file at the server;

a copy judging unit that judges, based on the stored update information, whether the file has been copied, updated by one or more clients of the set of clients, and transmitted to a client other than the first client; and

a second information transmitting unit that, responsive to the copy judging unit judging that the file has been copied and transmitted to the other client, transmits warning information to the other client to which the file has been transmitted, the warning information including update information and including the respective identifiers of the clients submitting updates and indicating that the file copies received by the first set of clients are outdated versions of the file.

11. The server according to claim 10, further comprising:

an information attaching unit that stores the update information in association with the file; and

a file transmitting unit that transmits the file copy together with the update information stored in association with the file.

12. The server according to claim 10, further comprising a structure storing unit that stores information on structures of files to be updated, wherein an extracting unit extracts a file containing a part related to the update information, on the basis of the information on the structures of the files stored in the structure storing unit.

13. The server according to claim 12, wherein the information on the structures of the files contains information on parameter passing between the files.

14. The server according to 10, wherein the files are program files for program development.

15. The server according to claim 10, wherein each of the plurality of clients includes:

an instruction transmitting unit that transmits, to the server, an instruction to copy a certain file for update;

a file receiving unit that receives the file;

a generating unit that, upon update of the received file, generates update information on the update of the received file; and

a first information transmitting unit that transmits the generated update information to the server.

16. The server according to claim 15, further comprising:

an information attaching unit that stores the update information in association with the file; and

a file transmitting unit that transmits the file together with the update information stored in association with the file, wherein each of said plurality of clients further includes;

an information judging unit that judges whether or not the received file is associated with the update information; and

a notifying unit that, if the information judging unit judges that the file is associated with the update information, makes notification that the file is associated with the update information.

17. The server according to claim 15, wherein each of the plurality of clients further includes a warning notifying unit that, upon receipt of the warning information, makes notification that the warning information has been received.

18. The server according to claim 10, wherein the first receiving unit, the copy judging unit, and the second information transmitting units are each computer programs that are stored in a tangible, non-transitory storage medium, which perform functions when executed on hardware of the server.

19. A client, which is one of a plurality of clients communicatively linked to a server, wherein said server is operable to collect and store a plurality of files updated in some of the clients including said client, wherein the client comprises hardware operable to execute computer program instructions, the client comprising:

an instruction transmitting unit that transmits, to the server, an instruction to copy a certain file for update;

a file receiving unit that receives a first file, which is a copy of the certain file;

a file updating unit that updates the first file;

a generating unit that generates update information on the update of the received file copy, wherein the update information comprises an update associated with the first file and an identifier of the one client;

a first information transmitting unit that transmits the generated update information to the server, wherein the server extracts from the first file, parts related to the update information, wherein the extracting includes identifying relationships between parameters passed among the parts of the files or passed among the plurality of files stored at the server; and

a warning notifying unit that receives warning information from the server indicating that a second file copy at another client is an updated version of the file, wherein the warning information includes respective identifiers of a plurality of clients submitting updates to the server, wherein the warning information indicates that the first file is outdated relative to the second file, wherein the warning notifying unit presents a notification via a user interface of the client that the warning information has been received, wherein the warning information is sent by the server responsive to the server judging, based on the stored update information and extracted parts, that the first file is outdated since the certain file has been copied and updated by the another client, wherein plurality of clients comprises the one client and the another client.

20. The client of claim 19, further comprising:

an information judging unit that judges whether or not the received file is associated with the update information; and

a notifying unit that, if the information judging unit judges that the file is associated with the update information, makes notification that the file is associated with the update information.

21. The client of claim 19, wherein instruction transmitting unit, the file receiving unit, the generating unit, and the first information transmitting unit are each computer programs that are stored in a tangible, non-transitory storage medium, which perform functions when executed on hardware of the client.