Service request apparatus, service request method, service request program product and computer-readable recording medium, service providing apparatus, and service providing method, service providing program product and computer-readable recording medium

• US 20060041896A1
• Filed: 08/04/2005
• Published: 02/23/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 08/06/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Inventors: Yagi, Atsuko
• Granted Patent: US 7,624,404 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 719/330
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/541 via adapters, e.g. between incompatible applications
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/547 Remote procedure calls [RPC]; Web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]

Abstract

A service request apparatus, which includes an application using a service provided by another apparatus by connecting to the another apparatus through a network, determines a communication method to call the service in response to a call request for calling a method with respect to the service, the call request sent from the application, and conducts a remote call of the method in response to the call request from the application based on the communication method.

Claims

1. A service request apparatus including an application using a service provided by another apparatus by connecting to the another apparatus through a network, the service request apparatus comprising:

determining a communication method to call the service in response to a call request for calling a method with respect to the service, the call request sent from the application; and

conducting a remote call of the method in response to the call request from the application based on the communication method.

2. The service request apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the call request of the method with respect to the service from the application includes information indicating a method identification name and a URI specifying the service.

3. The service request apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the communication method to call the service is determined based on communication method definition information in which the communication method to call the service is defined for each service.

4. The service request apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein the remote call is made based on a default communication method when the communication method to call the service is not defined in the communication method definition information.

5. The service request apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein the remote call is made based on another communication method when the remote call in accordance with the default communication method fails.

6. The service request apparatus claimed in claim 4, wherein when the communication method to call the service is not defined in the communication method definition information and the remote call succeeds by the default communication method, the default communication method used for the remote call is registered to the communication method definition information by associating with the service.

7. The service request apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein return information returned from another apparatus in response to the remote call is converted into an interpretable format for the application from a format based on the communication method.

8. The service request apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one communication method is a first communication method possible to pass through a firewall, and at least one communication method is a second communication method being higher than the first communication method.

9. The service request apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein the first communication method is a communication method using a structural description language.

10. The service request apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein the structural description language includes an extensible markup language.

11. The service request apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein the second communication method is a communication method using Enterprise JavaBeans™

or Remote Method Invocation™

.

12. A service providing apparatus capable of providing a service by at least two types of communication methods to a service request apparatus, the service providing apparatus comprising:

conducting a process defined in a method in response to a call request of the method with respect to the service by one of at least the two types of the communication methods; and

returning a process request of the process to the service request apparatus based on the communication method concerning the call request,

wherein the service request apparatus, which includes an application using a service provided by another apparatus by connecting to the another apparatus through a network, comprises;

determining the communication method to call the service in response to the call request for calling a method with respect to the service, the call request sent from the application; and

conducting a remote call of the method in response to the call request from the application based on the communication method.

13. The service providing apparatus as claimed in claim 12, wherein at least one communication method is a first communication method possible to pass through a firewall, and at least one communication method is a second communication method being higher than the first communication method.

14. The service providing apparatus as claimed in claim 13, wherein the first communication method is a communication method using a structural description language.

15. The service providing apparatus as claimed in claim 14, wherein the structural description language includes an extensible markup language.

16. The service providing apparatus as claimed in claim 13, wherein the second communication method is a communication method using Enterprise JavaBeans™

or Remote Method Invocation™

.

17. A service request method conducted in a service request apparatus including an application using a service provided by another apparatus by connecting to the another apparatus through a network, the service request method comprising:

determining a communication method to call the service in response to a call request for calling a method with respect to the service, the call request sent from the application; and

conducting a remote call of the method in response to the call request from the application based on the communication method.

18. A service providing method conducted in a service providing apparatus capable of providing a service by at least two types of communication methods, the service providing method comprising:

conducting a process defined in a method in response to a call request of the method with respect to the service by one of at least the two types of the communication methods; and

returning a process request of the process to the service request apparatus based on the communication method concerning the call request.

19. A service request program product for causing a computer to use a service provided by another apparatus connected through a network, the service request program product comprising:

determining a communication method to call the service in response to a call request for calling a method with respect to the service, the call request sent from the application; and

conducting a remote call of the method in response to the call request from the application based on the communication method.

20. A service providing program product for causing a computer to provide a service by at least two types of communication methods, the service providing program product comprising:

conducting a process defined in a method in response to a call request of the method with respect to the service by one of at least the two types of the communication methods; and

returning a process request of the process to the service request apparatus based on the communication method concerning the call request.

21. A computer-readable recording medium recorded with a service request program for causing a computer to use a service provided by another apparatus connected through a network, the service request program comprising:

determining a communication method to call the service in response to a call request for calling a method with respect to the service, the call request sent from the application; and

conducting a remote call of the method in response to the call request from the application based on the communication method.

22. A computer-readable recording medium recorded with a service providing program for causing a computer to provide a service by at least two types of communication methods, the service providing program comprising:

conducting a process defined in a method in response to a call request of the method with respect to the service by one of at least the two types of the communication methods; and

returning a process request of the process to the service request apparatus based on the communication method concerning the call request.