Electrical computers and digital data processing systems: input/ – Input/output data processing – Data transfer specifying
Reexamination Certificate
1998-12-29
2001-07-24
Lee, Thomas (Department: 2782)
Electrical computers and digital data processing systems: input/
Input/output data processing
Data transfer specifying
C709S213000, C709S216000, C709S241000, C709S241000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06266716
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to information management among applications and, more particularly, to providing an information bus for allowing interactive applications to acquire shared data from one another.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Numerous advances have been made recently to simplify the manner in which users interact with computer systems. For example, graphic user interfaces (GUI) have been created to provide visually intuitive means of interacting with a computer. In particular, GUIs such as that available in the Workplace Shell, part of the OS/2® operating system, commercially available from IBM Corporation, Boca Raton, Fla., enable users to process and store data using graphic metaphors which resemble real life objects. One of the major components of these and other GUIs is the icon, i.e., a small graphical representation of a familiar object, typically implemented with a bit map, which represents an object, data or other resource available on the computer system. The work area or “desktop” of the GUI may contain multiple icons which are easily selected and manipulated by the user with a pointing device i.e., a mouse, pen, touch screen or even speech recognition software. Such interfaces have vastly reduced the level of sophistication and experience necessary for users to interact in a meaningful manner with the computer system and, accordingly, have increased user productivity.
One of the major developments in the field of software design has been the emergence of object-oriented technology. As explained in greater detail hereinafter, object-oriented technology enables the analysis, design and implementation of software systems with intelligent, autonomous agents called objects. Such objects facilitate the design of modular software that more closely mimics the physical or logical entities within the real world.
One of the more recent developments in object-oriented programming is the Java® programming language developed by Sun Microsystems, Mountainview, Calif. The Java programming language is an object-oriented language, having many elements in common with the C programming language and C++ programming language, with additional modifications. The Java programming language has the benefits of an interpreted language in the performance of compiled code. To enable Java applications to execute on a computer network, a compiler generates an architecture-neutral object file format, i.e. the compiled code is executable on many processors, given the presence of the Java-run time system.
The Java language enables developers to write custom applications called Java applets. When integrated into webpages delivered over the Internet, Java applets allow expert graphics rendering, real-time interaction with users, live information updating and full use of multimedia and instant interaction with servers over a computer network. With the Java programming language, many applications will have better performance because multiple concurrent threads of activity in the applications were supported by the multithreading built into the Java environment.
The Java language and environment, including the JavaBeans specification provide mechanisms for the creation and management of small components whose function represent the building block to use in applications such as web applications. The term component as used in the specification, refers to Java applets as well as to Java Beans.
One method of providing data exchange across components sharing a common bus is known as Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE), found in Windows, marketed by Microsoft. The DDE uses an event-response model, where an interaction depends on the receiving application to understand a specific event and respond with application-specific callbacks. During operation, the communicating applications must be aware of each other and be in actual direct communication with one another. This requires interrupts and protocols to be formed that are time and resource consuming in order to share system information among applications and components.
Notwithstanding the current developments in data communication among applications and components in an object-oriented environment, a need exists for a system in which the semantics of data flow are based on interpreting the contents of data and the names of the data, not on the names or parameters of the events associated with the generation of the data.
In addition, a need exists for a system in which data flow among a plurality of components in a computer system, are capable of exchanging data without the need for a data broker to control the semantics of data flow among components or applications.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The widespread adoption of the Java programming language by the Internet Community creates an opportunity for developers to create a new class of interactive applications. The language and environment specifications provide mechanisms for the creation and management of small reusable feature sets known as Java Beans, whose functions generally represent only a portion of a Web application. However, the specifications do not suggest methods by which these beans should dynamically exchange data.
The disclosed invention interconnects beans by defining a small number of interfaces between cooperating beans, and specifying the protocol for use of those interfaces. In this specification, the fundamental building block for data exchange is the “data item.” The specification details how various forms of information are represented as data items, the lifetime management of these items, and the protocols for querying and extracting information from these items.
The protocols described here are based on the notion of an information bus. That is, all components that implement these interfaces can plug into the information bus. As a member of the bus, any component can exchange information with any other component in a structured way. Generally, the bus is asynchronous and is symmetric in the sense that no component may be considered the master of the bus; however, provision is made in the protocol for a controlling component that can act as the bus master or arbitrator of bus conversations.
In accordance with the present invention, an apparatus is disclosed that is utilized to produce data from an application to an information bus for sharing the data with other applications utilizing the information bus. The data producing apparatus comprises a data element building logic, which builds data elements containing the data within the application, a data notification logic, which notifies the information bus of the availability of the data element, and a data element transfer logic, which transfers data element from one application to another. An event listing logic can also be included that is utilized to listen for data element requests from applications utilizing the information bus. The data element builder logic may be configured to change the data within a data element and the data notification logic may be configured to announce the data change across the information bus to at least some of the applications. The data element builder logic specifies the data name using either a property or a parameter. The data element builder logic also provides a view associated with the data item where the data item is a java object. The data element builder logic may also remove data elements for access while the data notification logic notifies the information bus of the removal of the particular data elements.
A method is also disclosed in accordance with the present invention to allow an application to control data acquisition with participating applications sharing the information bus. The method comprises the steps of connecting the application to the information bus as an event producer, identifying data within the application to be shared, naming the data for sharing by a data name, notifying the information bus of the data name to make available to other participating applications, and, in response to a data request over the information bus,
Colan Mark T.
Wilson Douglass J.
International Business Machines - Corporation
Kudirka & Jobse LLP
Lee Thomas
Perveen Rehana
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