Network system and object cooperation therein

• US 6,622,143 B1
• Filed: 07/31/1998
• Issued: 09/16/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 09/24/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Okada, Makoto, Iwao, Tadashige
• Primary Examiner(s): JUNG, DAVID YIUK
• Application Number:
  US09/126,324
• Time in Patent Office: 1,873 Days
• Field of Search: 707/1-206, 709/200-203
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/133 Protocols for remote procedure calls [RPC]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99942 Manipulating data structure, e.g. compression, compaction, compilation

Abstract

An object cooperative network system for executing processing in cooperation between objects connected by a common communication path. Each of the objects includes a transmitting section to transmit messages that include predetermined information to the network system. In addition, each object includes a monitoring section to monitor the predetermined information of the transmitted messages, and a reaction table to indicate correspondence between the transmitted messages. Each of the objects sets information to which the object should respond in the monitoring section, and receives a message to execute processing by making reference to the reaction table when information to which the object should respond is detected.

Claims

1. A network system connecting a plurality of computers, each of the plurality of computers comprising:

a transmitting section to transmit remote execution request messages that include predetermined information to the network system, where the messages are transmitted in a common predetermined transmission format which may be monitored and reacted to by any of the computers receiving the messages;

a reaction table;

a monitoring section to monitor the predetermined information of the transmitted messages from the plurality of computers, and to execute executable content which is related to the predetermined information in the reaction table when information to which the computer should react is detected; and

the reaction table to store information for detecting the predetermined information of the transmitted messages to which the computer should react in said monitoring section, and an executable program to run a reaction to each predetermined information when the predetermined information is detected.

2. A network system according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined information indicates which of the plurality of computers is transmitting the messages, a type of information being transmitted, and a parameter for transmission and reception that corresponds to the type of information being transmitted.

3. A network system according to claim 1, wherein the transmitted information corresponds to an operation of a mouse.

4. A network system according to claim 1, wherein the transmitted information corresponds to a display of a display device.

17. A system according to claim 1, wherein the remote execution request messages correspond to requests for executing remote procedures, and where execution request messages directed to different remote procedures use the common predetermined transmission format.

19. A system according to claim 1, wherein the reaction table of at least one of the plurality of computers is different from one or more other reaction tables, and wherein for any given remote execution request message, a corresponding reaction of a first of the computers may differ from a corresponding reaction of a second of the computers.

20. A system according to claim 1, wherein

a first of the computers has a first reaction table with a particular predetermined information and a first executable content corresponding to the particular predetermined information, and wherein

a second of the computers has a second reaction table with the particular predetermined information and a second executable content corresponding to the particular predetermined information, such that

when a third of the computers sends a remote execution request message including the particular predetermined information, the first computer reacts to the message by executing the first execution content, and the second computer reacts to the same message by executing the second execution content.

5. An object cooperation system for executing processing in cooperation between a plurality of objects connected by a common communication path, comprising:

an information transmitting section to produce information in a predetermined transmission format and to transmit the formatted information as messages to the common communication path, where the predetermined transmission format which may be monitored and reacted to by any of computers receiving the messages, and where the produced information indicates a remote procedure;

an information reaction table to specify information for use by an information detecting section to detect the formatted and transmitted information to which a response associated withthe remote procedure indicated by the transmission is to be made and to define a processing content to be executed for the response; and

the information detecting section to detect the transmitted information, wherein the information detecting section retrieves the information reaction table when transmitted information is detected, identifies whether the detected transmitted information is specified, and executes the processing content when the transmitted information is specified.

6. An object cooperation system according to claim 5, wherein the transmitted information includes which of the plurality of objects is transmitting the messages, a type of information being transmitted, and a parameter for transmission and reception that corresponds to the type of information being transmitted.

7. An object cooperation system according to claim 5, wherein each of the plurality of objects is an application in a different separate computer.

8. An object cooperation system according to claim 5, wherein each of the plurality of objects is an application in the same single computer.

9. An object cooperation system according to claim 5, wherein the transmitted information corresponds to an operation of a mouse.

10. A network system according to claim 5, wherein the transmitted information corresponds to a display of a display device.

11. An object cooperation system according to claim 5, wherein the common communication path is a network.

12. An object cooperation system according to claim 5, said information reaction table further comprising:

a basic table in which the transmitted information to which a response is made and the processing content are set; and

a first extension table, having a detected flag region to verify whether information is detected, that allows registration of a part of the basic table, wherein said information detecting section judges, when the information transmitted through said common communication path is detected, the detected flag region of the transmitted information registered in the first extension table after the detected flag region of the specified transmitted information within the first extension table is changed to a detected condition to execute the defined processing content only when the all information detection flag regions are changed to the detected condition.

13. An object cooperation system according to claim 12, said first extension table further comprising an inverted flag region and an information condition flag region, said information reaction table further comprising a second extension table having condition control information to control whether the specified transmitted information should be activated depending on the detected flag region and the inverted flag region, wherein said information detecting section changes the detected flag region of the specified transmission information in the first extension table to the detected condition, when the information transmitted through said common communication path is detected, sets the condition control information corresponding to the detected flag region and the inverted flag region to correspond to the specified transmitted information the first extension table by referring to the second extension table, and wherein said information detecting section judges the information condition flag region of the transmitted information registered in the first extension table and executes the processing contents defined in the basic table when all information condition flag regions are in the activated condition.

16. A system according to claim 5, wherein different remote procedures are requested with same predetermined transmission format.

14. A method for processing object cooperation in a network, comprising:

detecting remote execution request information transmitted to a common communication path and transmitted in a predetermined common transmission format, where the format may be reacted to by any object receiving the request information;

receiving the transmitted remote execution request information and determining information to which a response to the execution request is to be made by comparing the information to the transmitted remote execution request information;

selecting a processing content to be executed in the response, where the processing content corresponds to the determined information; and

issuing a command to initiate execution of the selected processing content, where execution of the processing content corresponds to execution of the remote execution request.

15. An object cooperation system for executing processing in cooperation between a plurality of objects, comprising:

means for monitoring remote procedure request messages transmitted from the plurality of objects in a predetermined common transmission format, where the format may be reacted to by any object receiving the request information;

means for setting information corresponding to and used to determine messages to which a response is made; and

means for defining a process to be executed for responding to a remote procedure request message when the response is made.

18. A method of object cooperation between objects residing on different hosts storing a reaction table comprising execution entries, each execution entry having a key comprising a host identifier, a function identifier, at least two parameter type castings, and processing content associated with the function identifier, the method comprising:

executing a function on a first host and in response sending to a second host an instruction message comprising elements comprising a host identifier the first host, a function identifier identifying the executed function, and at least two parameters used to execute the function on the first host, where the message has a static predetermined format that is independent of the function executed on the first host and having static length fields for containing said elements that comprise the message; and

receiving the sent instruction message at a second host, comparing the message elements to entries in the reaction table, determining the key of an entry in the reaction table matches the elements of the instruction message, and executing the processing content of the matched entry using as parameters the two parameters in the received instruction message.

21. One of a plurality of computers each having a construction for exchanging messages through a network, the construction of the computer comprising:

a transmitting section to transmit remote execution request messages that include predetermined transmission format which may be monitored and reacted to by any of the computers receiving the messages;

a reaction table;

a monitoring section to monitor the predetermined information of the transmitted messages from the other computers, and to execute executable content which is related to the predetermined information in the reaction table when information to which the computer should react is detected; and

the reaction table to store information for detecting the predetermined information of the transmitted messages to which the computer should react in said monitoring section, and an executable program to run a reaction to each predetermined information when the predetermined information is detected.

22. An object program for executing in any of a plurality of client computers and for providing cooperation between objects of the client computers, where the client computers are connected by a common communication path, the object program comprising:

an information transmitting section to produce information in a predetermined transmission format and to transmit the formatted information as messages to the common communication path, where the predetermined transmission format which may be monitored and reacted to by any of the client computers receiving the messages, and where the produced information indicates a remote procedure.

an information reaction table to specify information for use by a information detecting section to detect the formatted and transmitted information to which a response associated with the remote procedure indicated by the transmission is to be made and to define a processing content to be executed for the response; and

the information detecting section to detect the transmitted information, wherein the information detecting section retrieves the information reaction table when transmitted information is detected, identifies whether the detected transmitted information is specified, and executes the processing content when the transmitted information is specified.