Method and system for processing messages in a distributed computing environment

• US 6,108,689 A
• Filed: 10/11/1996
• Issued: 08/22/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 10/11/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Williams, Richard Charles, Fagen, Scott Andrew
• Primary Examiner(s): Burgess, Glenton B.
• Assistant Examiner(s): FIELDS, KENNETH WAYNE
• Application Number:
  US08/730,527
• Time in Patent Office: 1,411 Days
• Field of Search: 395/200.36, 395/200.37, 395/200.66, 395/684, 395/200.67, 395/200.43, 709/206, 709/207, 709/213, 709/237, 709/236, 709/304, 709/245
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/542 Event management; Broadcasting; Multicasting; Notifications
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/544 Buffers; Shared memory; Pipes

Abstract

A message processing facility provides a send function for sending messages to designated locations. The facility allows a default target for a message, initiates parallel execution, adds additional processes to an already parallel execution, determines that a problem has completed and performs the appropriate completion actions. The message processing facility enables coordination of the results of a network that has been widened in its parallelism, without creating subproblems. Processes within the parallel network do not need to be aware of the topology or the position of a given process within the topology. The width of the parallelism involved in a particular request is tracked, and therefore, the appropriate number of results expected can be determined automatically and dynamically. Therefore, despite dynamic changes in topology, completion can be determined without awareness of the processes that create the results.

Claims

1. A method for processing messages in a computer system, comprising:

sending a message to a location designated to receive said message, said message comprising a request identifier specifying a request said message corresponds to and a sequence identifier indicating a position of said message in a dynamic processing sequence of said request, said position being relative to any other messages of said request, wherein said sending said message to said location comprises using a send function to send said message to said location, said send function including a parameter indicating that said request is a new request, and wherein said parameter further comprises a target parameter to receive results for said new request when processing for said new request is completed;

retrieving, by a process, said message from said location; and

sending, by said process, said message to any one or more other processes dynamically chosen from among a plurality of processes, by said process, to receive said message.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said retrieving comprises:

removing said request identifier and said sequence identifier prior to retrieval of said message.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining completion of said dynamic processing sequence.

4. A system for processing messages in a computer system, comprising:

means for sending a message to a location designated to receive said message, said message comprising a request identifier specifying a request said message corresponds to and a sequence identifier indicating a position of said message in a dynamic processing sequence of said request, said position being relative to any other messages of said request, wherein said means for sending said message to said location comprises a send function to send said message to said location, said send function including a parameter indicating that said request is a new request, and wherein said parameter further comprises a target parameter to receive results for said new request when processing for said new request is completed;

means for retrieving, by a process, said message from said location; and

means for sending, by said process, said message to any one or more other processes dynamically chosen from among a plurality of processes, by said process, to receive said message.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein said means for retrieving comprises:

means for removing said request identifier and said sequence identifier prior to retrieval of said message.

6. The system of claim 4, further comprising means for determining completion of said dynamic processing sequence.

7. An article of manufacture, comprising:

at least one computer usable medium having computer readable program code means embodied therein for causing messages to be processed in a computer system, the computer readable program code means in said article of manufacture comprising;

(a) computer readable program code means for causing a computer to send a message to a location designated to receive said message, said message comprising a request identifier specifying a request said message corresponds to and a sequence identifier indicating a position of said message in a dynamic processing sequence of said request, said position being relative to any other messages of said request, wherein said computer readable program code means for causing a computer to send said message to said location comprises computer readable program code means for causing a computer to effect a send function to send said message to said location, said send function including a parameter indicating that said request is a new request, and wherein said parameter further comprises a target parameter to receive results for said new request when processing for said new request is completed;

(b) computer readable program code means for causing a computer to retrieve, by a process, said message from said location; and

(c) computer readable program code means for causing a computer to send, by said process, said message to any one or more other processes dynamically chosen from among a plurality of processes, by said process, to receive said message.

8. The article of manufacture of claim 7, wherein said computer readable program code means for causing a computer to retrieve comprises computer readable program code means for causing a computer to remove said request identifier and said sequence identifier prior to retrieval of said message.

9. The article of manufacture of claim 7, further comprising computer readable program code means for causing a computer to determine completion of said dynamic processing sequence.