Method and system for remote automation of object oriented applications

• US 5,881,230 A
• Filed: 06/24/1996
• Issued: 03/09/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 06/24/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Lovering, Bradford H., Christensen, Erik B.
• Primary Examiner(s): Maung, Zarni
• Application Number:
  US08/679,224
• Time in Patent Office: 988 Days
• Field of Search: 395/200.33, 395/200.3, 395/200.47, 395/200.48, 395/200.49, 395/683, 395/684
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/465 Distributed object oriented systems remote method invocation [RMI] G06F9/548

Abstract

An object oriented programming environment is extended to allow a client object oriented application running under a client/server operating system to communicate with a plurality of server object oriented applications located on one or more remote computers in a distributed computer environment. The extended object oriented programming environment provides the capability for a client object oriented application to connect to, and communicate with remote server object oriented applications as well as make object references to remote objects and remote object data. The extended object oriented programming environment is used for designing N-tiered logical models for distributed computing applications, while providing a flexible and adaptable M-tiered physical model underneath the N-tiered logical model. This environment is also used to provide the ability to reference remote objects from Internet and other client network applications.

Claims

1. A computing method for sending object information comprising:

providing a two-way communications path between a client object oriented application and a plurality of server object oriented applications residing on a plurality of remote computers, the two-way communications path including an object linking and embedding channel;

accepting an object reference from the client object oriented application to a remote object, wherein the remote object reference is uniquely represented and identifiable by both the client object oriented application and the plurality of server object oriented applications;

passing the accepted remote object reference over the provided two-way communications path to a selected server object oriented application; and

sending the remote object to the client object oriented application from the selected server object oriented application.

2. The method of claim 1 where the object reference is an object linking and embedding reference.

3. The method of claim 1 where said two-way communications path is a secure communications path providing security features including access control, data authentication, and data encryption/decryption.

4. A computer readable medium having stored therein instructions capable of causing a computer to perform the method of claim 1.

5. A computing system for providing three-tiered services, the system comprising:

a client application on a first computer;

a first remote server application on a second remote computer;

a second remote server application on third remote computer;

a first two-way communications channel between the client application and the first remote server application, said first two-way communications channel including an object linking and embedding channel;

a second two-way communications channel between the first remote server application and second remote server application, said second two-way communications channel including an object linking and embedding channel; and

a two-way communications path between the client application and the first and second remote server applications including said first and second two-way communications channels.

6. The system of claim 5 for providing three-tiered services where the client application is an application including a user interface, the first remote server application is an application including policies/rules and the generation of information from data, and the second remote server application is an application including data definition, data storage, and data retrieval.

7. In a computing method for sending object information that includes executing a client application on a first computer, said client application requesting a service from a first server application executing on a first remote computer, an improvement comprising:

inserting a plurality of second remote computers between said first computer and said first remote computer, said plurality of second remote computers executing a plurality of second remote server applications;

providing a two-way communications path between the client application and the first remote server application through said plurality of second remote server applications, the two-way communications path including an object linking and embedding channel;

said request for service from the client application being uniquely represented and understood by the client application, the first remote server application, and the plurality of second remote server applications;

passing said request for service from the client application, through the plurality of second remote server applications, to the first remote server application using said two-way communications path.

8. The method of claim 7 where the request for service is a request for service from a remote object.

9. The method of claim 7 where the request for service is an object linking and embedding service request.

10. A computing method for sending object information comprising:

providing a two-way communications path between a network client object oriented application and a plurality of network server object oriented applications residing on a plurality of remote computers, the two-way communications path including an object linking and embedding channel;

accepting an object reference to a remote object from hypertext markup language data on the network client object oriented application, where the object reference is uniquely represented and identifiable by the network client object oriented application and the plurality of network server object oriented applications; and

passing the accepted remote object reference over the provided two-way communications path to a selected server object oriented application; and

sending the remote object to the client object oriented application from the selected server object oriented application.

11. The method of claim 10 where said object reference is included in a universal resource locator within said hypertext markup language data.

12. The method of claim 10 where the object reference is an object linking and embedding reference.

13. The method of claim 10 where said two-way communications path is a secure communications path, providing security features including access control, data authentication, and data encryption/decryption.

14. A computer readable medium having stored therein instructions capable of causing a computer to perform the method of claim 10.

15. A computer system including a first computer and a remote second computer, each computer having a central processing unit coupled to a memory, and a client/server operating system, a method of maintaining object reference identity when an object reference is passed between the first and remote second computers, the method comprising:

modifying a registry database maintained on the first computer, the modifications including instructions for communicating with a remote server object oriented application residing on the second remote computer;

making a reference from a client object oriented application running on the first computer to the remote server object oriented application;

upon detection of said reference, using the instructions from said modified database registry to initiate on the first computer a proxy object oriented application, and establish a first two-way communications channel between said proxy object oriented application and a remote automation object manager running on the remote second computer;

requesting said remote automation object manager to initiate a remote stub object oriented application;

requesting said remote stub object oriented application to initiate a remote proxy object oriented application;

requesting said remote proxy object oriented application initiate a remote server stub object oriented application;

requesting said remote proxy object oriented application to establish a second two-way communications channel between said remote proxy object oriented application and said remote server stub object oriented application;

establishing a two-way communications path between the client object oriented application and the remote server object oriented application using said proxy, remote stub, remote proxy, and remote server stub object oriented applications and said first and second two-way communications channels; and

passing said reference from the client object oriented application on the first computer to the remote server object oriented application on the second computer using said two-way communications path.

16. The method of claim 15 further comprising:

passing said reference from said client object oriented application, to said proxy object oriented application, to said remote stub object oriented application, to said remote proxy object oriented application, to said remote server stub object oriented application, to said remote server object oriented application using said two-way communications path; and

maintaining the ability to identify said reference at each of said object oriented applications through which said reference is passed in said two-way communications path.

17. The method of claim 15 where the requesting said remote proxy object oriented application to initiate a remote server stub object oriented application includes requesting the remote proxy object oriented application to initiate the remote server object oriented application, the remote server object oriented application including a remote server stub object oriented application.

18. The method of claim 15 where the two-way communications path includes a two-way object linking and embedding channel.

19. The method of claim 15 where the reference is an object linking and embedding reference.