Data processing: database and file management or data structures – Database design – Data structure types
Reexamination Certificate
1999-03-26
2002-10-29
Corrielus, Jean M. (Department: 2172)
Data processing: database and file management or data structures
Database design
Data structure types
C709S202000, C709S238000, C709S243000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06473761
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention concerns an agent system in which an agent generated by an agent server is moved consecutively among communication devices via communication lines.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A typical agent system of the type which has recently been proliferating is shown in FIG.
14
. Agent server
50
, various communication devices
60
(personal computers, work stations, etc.) and storage device
80
, which stores a program to generate agents, are all connected via cable line
90
(or, although not pictured, they may be connected cordlessly). This line is used to transfer agent
70
, which we shall discuss shortly, from one device to the next.
In such an agent system, agent server
50
generates, based on a source program, an agent
70
consisting of object code. The agent
70
which has been generated is transmitted to a designated communication device
60
, where the system agent
601
for that device
60
executes it.
Agent systems of the sort described above use two methods to transmit an agent
70
. In one method, the agent is given its destination and target processing but not the route by which it is to reach the destination. In the other method, the agent is given only its target processing and does not receive either its destination or its transmission route.
We shall now discuss these two methods for transmitting an agent, with reference to the flow charts in
FIGS. 15 and 16
.
Method 1: Agent is given destination and target processing.
Agent server
50
uses a source program which executes specific processing stored in storage device
80
to generate object code. It also generates an agent by assigning a destination to this object code to indicate where it is to go (Step
510
), and it sends this agent
70
to its destination.
Agent
70
travels along line
90
to whichever communication device
60
has a node for the specified destination (Step
520
). It is taken in by this device
60
, whose system agent
601
executes it.
The system agent
601
of this device
60
renders a judgment as to whether the target processing assigned to agent
70
has been completed (Step
530
). If it determines that the processing has not been completed (Step
530
: N), it returns the agent to its source, agent server
50
.
When agent
70
returns to agent server
50
, the server respecifies its destination and target processing (Step
550
). We return to
520
, and the processing described above resumes.
If system agent
601
determines that the target processing has been completed (Step
530
: Y), agent
70
is sent back to agent server
50
(Step
540
) and the processing is completed.
Method 2: The agent is given only its target processing.
The agent system
601
for agent server
50
generates an agent with its target processing (Step
610
). This agent
70
is transmitted via line
90
(Step
620
).
Agent
70
is taken in at its destination, communication device
60
, and the system agent
601
for that device begins to execute its target processing.
In device
60
, the destination of agent
70
, a judgment is rendered as to whether the target processing has been completed (Step
630
). If it is determined that the processing has not been completed (Step
630
: NO), agent
70
returns to step
620
, goes to the communication device which is its next destination, and resumes the processing described above.
If system agent
601
determines that the target processing has been completed (Step
630
: Y), it sends agent
70
back to agent server
50
(Step
540
), and the processing is completed.
Regardless of whether the agent is given both its destination and its target processing or only its target processing, certain problems are inherent in the type of agent system described above.
In the first method mentioned above, in which agent
70
is given both its destination and its target processing, when the agent is to be routed through the nodes of a number of specified devices
60
, each node will have to be specified, as there is a 1 to 1 correspondence of destinations when the target processing is executed.
Thus if the target processing cannot be accomplished, agent server
50
will have to respecify all of the destinations, which will result in dead time.
In the second method mentioned above, in which the agent is given only its target processing, it will move to an arbitrary location (searching according to a rule) and execute that processing. Once it is given its target processing, the agent will never need to have its target reassigned. However, there is no way to choose a route, so if the processing is sequential, and there is, for example, an application gateway in a fire wall, the attempt of the agent to pass through will be regarded as an access violation. The agent will be unable to continue to the nodes of the devices
60
on the other side of the fire wall.
(3) In either methods mentioned above, the one in which the agent is given both a destination and the target processing or the one in which it is given only the target processing, agent
70
sets out without knowing the resource state of its destination, device
60
. For example, it does not know which regions of the device's memory are free. If it turns out that the agent is temporarily unable to use the resources of device
60
because, say, there is no free area in the memory to house it, agent
70
will not be generated in that device. It will not return to server
50
within the specified time, and server
50
will have no alternative but to execute error processing.
(4) Right now, the processing code used in device
60
is going to be native code, which is used by an ordinary MPU, or byte code expressed in JAVA, which is used in virtual machines.
As can be seen in
FIG. 17
, when an agent is sent between systems in which the system agents
601
in server
50
and device
60
use the same code, the system agent at the destination will be able to execute the agent. If the two systems use different codes, it will be unable to execute the agent.
If the two systems use different processing codes, the system to which the agent is sent must use a device
60
with a virtual processor such as a Java Virtual Machine.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The first objective of the present invention is to provide an agent system in which it will not be necessary to respecify the destination and in which the dead time entails in specifying the destination will be minimized.
The second objective of this invention is to provide an agent system in which even if the agent are not routed along a certain set of nodes, it will be able to select another node if need be.
The third objective of this invention is to provide an agent system which can avoid error processing by checking the resource state of the destination device before the agent goes there.
The fourth objective of this invention is to provide an agent system which can execute the processing when the agent is travelling between two systems using different processing codes.
In order to achieve the objectives mentioned above, this invention is configured for an agent system in which an agent server and a number of communication devices are connected via a communication line which may be a cable or cordless line. An agent with routing data generated by the aforesaid agent server travels among the aforesaid communication devices via the aforesaid communication line according to the aforesaid routing data.
The aforesaid communication devices is characterized by having a restoring and transmitting means to restore and transmit the agent which can modify the routing data for the agent which are received and stored in a memory, and which can restore the agent with a specified set of routing data and transmit the restored agent.
In this invention, the aforesaid communication devices is further characterized by having a memory area reserving means to reserve a memory area for the agent in a destining communication device to which the agent is to be sent according to the routing data.
The aforesaid communication devices is further characterized by having an ag
Naganuma Takefumi
Nakajima Akira
Nishiyama Tetsuto
Shigemori Yutsuka
Corrielus Jean M.
Dickstein , Shapiro, Morin & Oshinsky, LLP
Nguyen Tam V
Omron Corporation
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