Electrical computers and digital processing systems: virtual mac – Task management or control
Reexamination Certificate
2000-08-30
2004-08-24
Follansbee, John (Department: 2151)
Electrical computers and digital processing systems: virtual mac
Task management or control
C718S101000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06782534
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a technique for controlling computer programs.
An enterprise information system comprises a plurality of transaction programs for performing transactions such as purchase and remittance peculiar to an enterprise. Each of the transaction programs is generally composed of a plurality of processing steps. A part of the processing steps is common to the plurality of transaction programs. Such a part of the processing steps is separated as a component from each of the transaction programs so that it can be used in common to the plurality of transaction programs.
A technique for using such components generally and efficiently is called “component technique”. Use of the component technique permits buying and selling of components as circulating parts. Moreover, such components can be used so efficiently that a plurality of components are generated on a memory in accordance with a request from a transaction program or deleted from the memory automatically when the transaction program need not use the plurality of components. Typical examples of the component technique are an Enterprise Java Beans (EJB) technique, a Common Object Request Broker Architecture Component Model (CCM) technique, and a Component Object Model (COM) technique. The EJB technique is provided by Sun Microsystems Inc. in U.S.A. (see Enterprise Java Beans Specification v1.1, Public Release, Sun Microsystems Inc., Aug. 11, 1999 (Reference 1)). The CCM technique is provided by Object Management Group Inc., a group of standardization in U.S.A. (see CORBA Components—Volume I: Joint Revised Submission, Object Management Group Inc., Aug. 2, 1999 (Reference 2)). The COM technique is provided by Microsoft Corporation in U.S.A. (see Understanding COM+, David S.Platt, Microsoft Press, Jun. 16, 1999, ISBNo. 7356-0666-8 (Reference 3). In the EJB technique, components are called “Enterprise Beans”.
One of general characteristics of components is in that the components do not directly use any system program such as transaction service and security service used by transaction programs. In order to provide a component as a more general part, a component provider mounts only a processing logic required to be reused on the component. This is because as follows. The method required for controlling such a system program varies in accordance with the transaction program using the component. Accordingly, if a logic for using the system program is mounted on the component in advance, the transaction allowed to use the component is limited so that general-purpose characteristic is lowered.
The fact that the component does not directly use the system program causes a problem when the transaction program requests the component to use the system program. To solve this problem, a container for controlling the component acts in place of the component to call the system program such as transaction service or security service. The call of the system program is performed as a part of a component controlling process. A plurality of component control methods inclusive of such system program calls are defined by the component technique while attribute values are associated with the plurality of component control methods respectively correspondingly. The container calls the system program property in accordance with the attribute value indicating one of the component control methods.
The classification of the attribute values is defined by each component technique. For example, attribute values concerning transaction control and security management are described in the EJB technique. The following six values are defined as attribute values concerning transaction control. “Not Support-ed”: transaction control is not provided. “Required”: new transaction is added to start if there is no transaction added when the component is used. “Supported”: transaction control is provided. “RequiresNew”: new transaction is always added to start when the component is used. “Mandatory”: process is terminated abnormally if there is no transaction added when the component is used. “Never”: process is terminated abnormally if there is some transaction added when the component is used.
A system constructor can provide a definition file at the time of system construction to give an attribute value indicating a component control method to the container. In the EJB technique, an attribute description format called “Deployment Descriptor” is used for storing an attribute value in a definition file to provide the definition file to the container. Detailed information concerning the Deployment Descriptor is described in chapter 16 “Deployment Descriptor” of the EJB specification (Reference 1).
The way of determining the attribute value indicating a component control method and the process as a result thereof will be described below.
FIG. 2
is a data flow chart showing the theory of an enterprise information system constructed by a background art. A container
100
is a program for controlling a component
110
. The component
110
is a program to be used by a transaction program
120
. The transaction program
120
has data
201
containing a component name (inclusive of the name of a method to be used) corresponding to the component
110
to be used, and a parameter for using the component
110
to be used. An attribute value acquisition section
103
is a program that is used by the container
100
for acquiring an attribute value indicating a component control method. The attribute value acquisition section
103
has table data
210
for holding attribute values correspondingly associated with component names (inclusive of method names). Component name (inclusive of method name)/parameter
2001
is data that is supplied into the container
100
from the transaction program
120
and then supplied from the container
100
into the attribute value acquisition section
103
. Component name (inclusive of method name)/parameter/attribute value
2002
is data that is supplied into the container
100
from the attribute value acquisition section
103
. Parameter
2003
is data that is supplied into the component
110
from the container
100
.
A flow of processing in the background art will be described below. When a system user starts use of a transaction program
120
, the transaction program
120
supplies the container
100
with a component name (inclusive of a method name) corresponding to a component
110
to be used and a parameter
210
for using the component
110
to be used. The container
100
receives component name (inclusive of method name)/parameter
2001
and outputs the component name (inclusive of method name)/parameter
2001
into the attribute value acquisition section
103
. The attribute value acquisition section
103
acquires an attribute value corresponding to the component name (inclusive of method name) from the table data
210
. Then, the attribute value acquisition section
103
outputs component name (inclusive of method name)/parameter/attribute value
2002
into the container
100
. The container
100
carries out a process in accordance with the input attribute value. Then, the container
100
outputs parameter
2003
into the component
110
corresponding to the component name. The component
110
receives the parameter
2003
and carries out a process.
The process carried out by the container
100
in accordance with the attribute value is described in detail in Chapter 11 “Support for Transactions” and Chapter 15 “Security Management” of the EJB specification (Reference 1).
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An enterprise information system constructed by use of the aforementioned background art has been used up to now. The needs of using a component in common, however, has increased because the opportunity of processing a large number of transaction programs simultaneously on a system has increased with the advance of improvement in function of the system. If transaction programs use components by generating the components individually on a memory without sharing the components though
Satoh Masao
Takahashi Norio
Tasaka Mitsunobu
Antonelli Terry Stout & Kraus LLP
Follansbee John
Hitachi , Ltd.
Patel Ashok B.
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