Method and apparatus for generating and using location-independent distributed object references
First Claim
1. A tangible non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having a series of computer instructions fixed thereon, and executable by a computer to cause the computer to perform a method for making a method call on a remote object, comprising:
- (a) constructing a location-independent proxy object that includes (1) a live reference containing a location of the remote object, (2) a universally unique identifier (UUID) which provides a unique global reference to that remote object, and (3) a refresh proxy method;
(b) making a method call on the remote object using the live reference;
(c) when the method call made in step (b) fails, using the UUID that is included in the location-independent proxy object to obtain a new reference to the remote object by using the refresh proxy method; and
(d) using the new reference to make another method call on the remote object.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Location-independent references include a live reference containing a location of a remote object and a universally unique identifier (UUID) which provides a unique global reference to that remote object. If a method call to the remote object using the live reference fails, the UUID is used to obtain a new reference to the remote object and the new reference is then used to make another method call. A new reference can be obtained from an identifier directory that contains a mapping between UUIDs and location-independent references. When a remote object is first created, or when a remote object is moved from one location to another, the remote object registers with any and all such directories that it can find in its environment. These registrations are leased; that is, if they are not occasionally refreshed by the remote object which registered them, they are dropped from the directory.
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Citations
10 Claims
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1. A tangible non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having a series of computer instructions fixed thereon, and executable by a computer to cause the computer to perform a method for making a method call on a remote object, comprising:
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(a) constructing a location-independent proxy object that includes (1) a live reference containing a location of the remote object, (2) a universally unique identifier (UUID) which provides a unique global reference to that remote object, and (3) a refresh proxy method; (b) making a method call on the remote object using the live reference; (c) when the method call made in step (b) fails, using the UUID that is included in the location-independent proxy object to obtain a new reference to the remote object by using the refresh proxy method; and (d) using the new reference to make another method call on the remote object. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. Apparatus including a programmed computer, the computer including a tangible non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon that are executable by the computer for making a method call on a remote object, the instructions implementing:
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a reference generator that constructs a location-independent proxy object including (1) a live reference containing a location of the remote object, (2) a universally unique identifier (UUID) which provides a unique global reference to that remote object, and (3) a refresh proxy method; a call mechanism that makes a method call on the remote object using the live reference; a lookup mechanism operable when the method call made by the call mechanism fails, that uses the UUID that is included in the location-independent proxy object to obtain a new reference to the remote object by using the refresh proxy method; and a mechanism that uses the new reference to make another method call on the remote object. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10)
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Specification