WO2001065417A1

WO2001065417A1 - Improved device independent remote data management

Info

Publication number: WO2001065417A1
Application number: PCT/US2001/006534
Authority: WO
Inventors: Chris H. D. Lin
Original assignee: Idini Corporation
Priority date: 2000-03-02
Filing date: 2001-02-28
Publication date: 2001-09-07
Also published as: TW493128B

Abstract

A method and apparatus for remotely controlling server command execution by a client computer are presented. The client is connected through a first server (58) to a plurality of servers. The client communicates with the first servers (58) within the plurality of servers using the language necessary to accomplish the desired task. The language used is determined using the operating environment and the application program interface (70) receiving the command.

Description

SPECIFICATION IMPROVED DEVICE INDEPENDENT REMOTE DATA MANAGEMENT

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to electronic devices used to interact with

information stored on a server. More particularly, the present invention provides

an apparatus interface between client devices and network servers which allows

applications executed on network server to be remotely controlled and

manipulated by the client device.

2. The Background Art

In modern computing, it is commonplace for electronic devices to be linked

together in a network and thus be able to share and operate on information

contained within that network. Networks include server devices which have

information and application software which may be used to "serve" the needs of

client devices.

It is known that a given network device may at times act as either a client

device or a server device. In this specification, the conventional definitions of

server and client devices are retained, and those terms shall refer to devices which, although possibly capable of alternating between server and client modes, are

operating in the named mode at the time a described activity is taking place.

Typical networks contain a wide variety of client device types, ranging

from larger devices such as personal computers and terminals, to smaller devices

such as Personal Digital Assistants (PDA's), and network capable cellular

telephones.

Each different client device type typically has a different language

associated with it, due to the variety of different functions those client device types

may be designed to perform.

In order to serve a given client device type, a server is required to store data

which would be used by that client device type in the language understood and

used by that device type. Examples of those languages include WML, HTML, etc.

Further, the server is required to understand the syntax of the commands sent to it

by client devices, and respond in kind so that the client device will understand the

response.

In addition to certain client device types being incapable of processing

information which is in a different language than that used by the client device, the

client application software which is available to interact with the server information often has functionality which is substantially reduced from that

functionality typically seen in modern desktop computers, due to the client device

having much less display area, lower power consumption requirements, less

processing power, and less memory. Thus, it is typical that a substantially reduced

subset of commands is available to those client device types.

Examples of prior art networks are seen in FIGS. 1 , IB, and I C.

Referring to FIG. 1A, a first client device 10 is linked to server 12 which

contains information files 14 and 6 in wireless markup language (WML), the

language used by client device 10.

Referring to FIG. IB, a second client device 18 is linked to server 20 which

contains files 22 and 24 in hypertext markup language (HTML) format, the

language used by client device 22.

Referring to FIG. IC, a network 30 may contain a first client device 32, and

a second client device 34, both linked to server 36. Server 36 contains files 38, 40,

and 42 in WML, HTML, Xtensive markup language (XML) respectively, the

particular languages suited for particular client devices which are expected to

occasionally require the information stored therein. File 44 is in text format, and may be a file which is incorporated at runtime into a display controlled by files 38,

40, or 42.

In this FIG. IC example, files 38, 40, 42 and 44 may contain the same

information, but in different formats. Thus, if client device 32 requires files in

WML format and requests information contained m the group of files represented

by files 38, 40, 42 and 44, server 36 must select file 38 for distribution to device

32. Correspondingly, if device 34 is requires files m XML format and requests _

information contained in the group of files represented by files 38, 40, 42 and 44,

server 36 must select file 42 for distribution to device 34.

Prior art networks, while suited for their intended puipose of delivering

information to client devices in the formats well-suited for those devices, suffer

significant drawbacks in that it is necessary that servers such as server 36 contain

desired information in the many formats desired by the different client devices

which it serves. Thus, an individual document is required to be stored in as many

formats as the number of types of client devices allowed to be connected to the

network.

It would therefore be beneficial to provide a method and apparatus which

requires only one copy of a given piece of information in a format known to the

server but which can also provide that information in any format required by the various types of portable electronic devices which may become linked to the

network.

Further, prior art networks suffer from their ability to allow client devices

to remotely control the manipulation of files. It was previously stated that client

devices have limited processing power and are therefore limited in the application

software that they can execute. It would therefore be tremendously beneficial to

provide a system and method for client devices to be able to manipulate

information in many different formats and using multiple languages.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A method and apparatus for remotely controlling server command

execution by a client computer are presented. The client is connected through a

first server to a plurality of servers. The client communicates with the first server

using a first language, and the first server communicates with each of the servers

within the plurality of servers using the language necessary to accomplish the

desired task. The language used is determined using the operating environment

and the application program interface receiving the command. In one embodiment,

the first server consults a rule identify a set of server commands in a second

language which is equivalent to the client command, and then consults a capability

table to determine one or more servers configured to execute each command. The

respective servers are then caused to execute one or more of the commands with

the set of server commands. Any results from those command executions are then

translated back into the client language and transmitted to the client for

processing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A, IB, and IC are examples of prior art networks.

5 FIG. 2 is one example of a electronic system according to the present

invention wherein client devices are linked to servers.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are a flow chart showing a method for processing client

device commands in a network according to the present invention.

10

FIG. 4 is an example of a rule table according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing another method according to the present

invention.

15

FIG. 6 is an example of a capability table according to the present invention

FIG. 7 is an example of a present invention server loading table.

!0

FIGS. 8 A and 8B are a flow chart showing another method of the present

invention. FIGS. 9A, 9B and 9C are a flow chart showing yet another method of the

present invention.

FIGS.10A, 10B and IOC are a flow chart showing yet another method of

the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ONE EMBODIMENT

Those of ordinary skill in the art will realize that the following description

of the present invention is illustrative only and not in any way limiting. Other

embodiments of the invention will readily suggest themselves to such skilled

persons having the benefit of this disclosure.

The present invention provides a method and apparatus for allowing client

devices having limited command functionality and which utilize a first language to

control the execution of application programs on remote servers using a second

language.

Briefly, a client device is connected to a second server through a present

invention first server. Commands are issued by the client to the first server in a first command language such as WML. If the command relates to an application

provided by a second server, the first server translates the command into the

language and format used by the second server, and transmits that command to the

server for action. Following the execution of the command by the second server,

the results are transmitted by the second server to the first server. Depending on

what those results are, the first server may transmit the results to the client device.

In this manner, a limited functionality client device may remotely cause

applications to be executed on a server which operates using a command syntax or

language unfamiliar to the client device.

FIG. 2 is one example of a present invention electronic system wherein

client devices are linked to servers.

Referring to FIG. 2 network 50 includes client devices 52 and 54 which

are of different types and therefore have different command syntax and use

different languages, adaptive server 56, and servers 58, 60, and 62. Adaptive

server 56 includes an adaptive client interface 64, a personalization module 66, a

service routing module 68, and application 70. Client devices 52 and 54 and

servers 58, 60, and 62 are typical prior art devices. Server 58 is an example of a typical prior art web server. Servers 60 and 62

are examples of typical prior art application servers. For the purposes of this

disclosure, servers 50, 60, and 62 use different command syntax and languages.

Client interface 64 receives input information from either of clients 52 or

54. Interface 64 is adaptive in that it is configured to determine the type of

devices connected at different ports, and communicate with those devices in their

own desired command syntax. Therefore, by way of example, a first device may

use WML, and a second device may use HTML, but commands issued by either

device through interface 64 will be understood by interface 64. Each port on the

interface may be attached to any type of device.

Personalization module 66 is configured to personalize each networking

session with each client. Following an authentication session which may be

managed by either interface 64 or personalization module 66, a preferences set is

consulted to determine the various settings the particular user of the client device

prefers. Methods to personalize network sessions are known in the art.

Service routing module 68 determines the proper resources with which to

handle command requests submitted by client devices. After a command is

initiated on a client device and transmitted to server 56, routing module 68

determines the proper server resources to utilize to accomplish the desired tasks, and then routes the requests to those servers. In order to determine the resources,

routing module 68 examines a rule table to identify the proper server commands to

satisfy particular client command requests.

Once the proper server commands are identified, routing module 68

examines a capability table and a loading table to determine which servers are

configured to perform the needed commands, and ranks those properly configured

servers in order of their loading. Generally, the most available server having the

quickest anticipated execution time will be chosen to execute the commands, and

the commands will be particularly structured and formatted for that server.

Application interface 70 is configured to transmit the proper server

commands and handle all of the communications between server 56 and servers

58, 60, and 62. Those of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate that each

application program has a set of commands associated with it. Those commands

are typically received through the use of an application program interface (API)

which has a format associate therewith. It is this format, coupled with any special

method of transferring data to the server, that is termed "language" in this

specification. The term "language" as used herein is therefore meant to be broad,

rather than limiting. Process manger 72 is configured to manage events and processes within

server 56.

FIGS. 3 A and 3B comprise a flowchart showing a method of the present

invention.

In describing methods of the present invention herein, reference is made to

a first server and a second server. It is intended that the term "first server" apply

to a server such as server 56 (FIG. 1) through which client commands are passed

in order to be processed and translated from the client device language into a

server language understood by a second server. It is therefore intended that the

term "second server" apply to those servers such as servers 58, 60, and 62 which

receive translated commands from the first server.

Referring to FIGS. 3 A and 3B together, the method begins at block 80

where a client device initiates a command. Such a command is not restricted and

can therefore be an application command, a web display command, or any other

commands used in a network.

At block 82, the client device transmits that client command to a present

invention first server. At block 84, the first server receives the client command and consults a rule

table to determine a set of one or more server commands equivalent to the client

command. An example of such a rule table is seen in FIG. 4 where a first column

of commands 86 translates into a set of one or more commands in a second

column of commands 88. By way of example and not intended to be limiting, a

client "compare" command 90 translates into a set of server commands including

commands 92, 94, 96, 98, 100, 102, and 104.

The server commands equivalent to "compare" command 90, in this

example, would be a set of commands which include the steps of (92) determining

whether the files being compared are in the same file format, (94) if the files being

compared are not the same file format, converting one document into the other

documents format, or converting both documents into a common third format, (96)

opening the first file, (98) opening the second file, (100) comparing the two files,

(102) closing the first file, and then (104) closing the second file. Those of

ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that commands such as those

described herein may be presented in one or more alternate sequences and still

accomplish an equivalent result.

The foregoing example is meant to be illustrative only. Those of ordinary

skill in the art will readily recognize that many different command constructs will achieve the same result. It is intended that all such constructs be included in the

present invention.

Returning to the discussion of FIG. 3, at block 1 10, the first server chooses,

in order of required execution, a command from the set of server commands

previously determined at block 84,

At block 112, the first server translates the chosen command into the

language (or format) required by the second server and transmits that translated

command to the second server for execution.

At block 114, the second server executes the translated command and

returns any results back to the first server.

At block 116, it is determined whether all commands from the set of server

commands have been processed through blocks 110, 112, and 114. If yes, the

method proceeds with block 118 where the first server collates the results of the

various command executions and translates those results into the first language (or

format) and transmits the translated results to the client for display. If, at block 116, not all commands from the set of server commands had

been processed, the method proceeds at block 110 where a new command is

chosen from the set and processed.

In the preceding example, a a client command is translated into a set of

server commands, and those server commands are then processed in the order with

which those commands are expected to be executed. As each command is

processed, it is transmitted to the proper server for execution. Those of ordinary

skill in the art will readily recognize that the commands making up the set of

server commands identified as being equivalent to the client command may be

occasionally be processed in parallel, and alternatively in different order, and still

achieve an equivalent result. Further, rather than transmitting each command as it

is processed, all commands may be processed and then transmitted to the

respective servers as a set.

A more detailed presentation of one method contemplated by the inventor

to accomplish the execution of block 84 is seen in FIG. 5.

Prior to the execution of block 84, the first server has received a client

command from the client device. Referring to FIG. 5, the detailed method of block 84 begins at block 130

where the first server interrogates a rule base such as seen in FIG. 4 in order to

map the client command into a set of equivalent server commands.

At block 132, the first server routing module chooses one of the server

commands from the set of equivalent server commands to be processed. It is

contemplated that each of the server commands will be chosen in the desired order

of execution, but it is not necessary that the order of command processing be

chosen in that manner.

Those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure will

readily recognize that this example method operates on the commands in order,

and transmits translated commands to the second server as they are translated.

However, an alternate embodiment may cause the commands to be translated in

any order, cache the results, then transmit the translated commands in their correct

order.

At block 134, the first server routing module interrogates a capabilities list

to determine one or more servers which are configured to execute the required

server commands. One example of such a capabilities table is seen in FIG. 6

which includes a column 136 of commands, a column 138 of applications, and a

column 140 of servers being configured to execute those applications.. By way of example, assume that the client command is to convert a file

from a first file format to a second file format. The client command is transmitted

from the client device in the client language to the first server which translates that

client command into one or more server commands using the rule base. The

capabilities table shows two servers having IDs 129 and 135 configured to execute

the "convert" command.

After determining that there are one or more servers configured to execute

the command, a server loading table such as that depicted in FIG. 7 is interrogated

to determine which of those two servers can execute the command most

efficiently. In this example, and using the capabilities table of FIG. 7, since the

loading on server 129 is less than the loading on server 135, server 129 will be

chosen to execute the command.

At block 150, it is determined whether each server command has been

mapped to a server configured to execute that command.

If yes, the method proceeds with block 152 where it is determined whether

all server commands have been processed through blocks 132, 134, and 150. If

yes, the method ends. If, at block 150, there exists at least one server command which doesn't

have an associated server configured to execute that command, the routing

module, at block 154, identifies a server capable of being configured to execute

the command and configures that server. This process of identifying a potential

server and properly configuring it is further described in U.S. Patent Application

S/N 09/432,491 entitled -."DIRECTORY-BASED FAILURE RECOVERY AND

LOAD BALANCING SYSTEM" naming inventor Horng-Dar Lin and assigned to

iDini, Inc. which is hereby incorporated herein in its entirety.

A further illustrative method of the present invention is presented herein as

FIGS. 8 A and 8B.

Referring to FIGS. 8 A and 8B together, the method begins at block 160

where a client device such as device 52 (FIG. 2) initiates a document display

request and transmits that request to a first server of the present invention such as

server 56. By way of example, assume that the client device command is to

present the details of a word-processing document to the client device for viewing.

Since the client device doesn't have the processing power to run such a complex

application such as WordPerfect, it is necessary that the first server ensure that the

WordPerfect application be executed on a server (its own, or a second server) with

the proper document requested by the client device and that display details are

translated and forwarded to the client device. At block 162 the first server receives the block 1 0 request. It is assumed

herein that information describing characteristics of device 52 have previously

been received, and that the client device type is known by the present invention

first server. It is therefore not necessary that information describing characteristics

the devices such as device 52 be transmitted with every document display request.

However, in order for a server such as server 56 to be able to provide

display, edit or other device dependent services, it is necessary that such

information describing characteristics of device 52 be provided at some point prior

to server 56 providing display information back to device 52. In the absence of

specific client device characteristic information, server 56 may assume a particular

default set of characteristics that would be used absent information pertaining to

the specific device such as device 52.

At block 1 4, the present invention first server identifies the language

required to retrieve the document and requests the document from its storage

location using that identified language. The identification of the language required

is accomplished by determining the type of server on which the document resides,

together with identifying the document file format. Those of ordinary skill in the

art are readily aware of many ways to identify a server type and a file format type. At block 166. the first server determines the content of the information

stored in the retrieved document and isolates differing content types into content

buckets. Examples of content types include images, text, graphics, etc.

At block 168, the first server transmits overview details of each content

bucket to the requesting client device, based on preference settings. If, for

example, a preference setting shows that the client device associated with a given

login identifier prefers text over graphics, or summary information instead of

actual text, the information provided the client at this block is adjusted

accordingly.

At block 170, the client device displays details relating to the various

content buckets, and a particular content bucket is chosen for display by

transmitting a "display bucket" command to the first server.

At block 172, the present invention first server compares information about

the particular content bucket with the display characteristics of the client device to

determine whether all of the information from the desired content bucket can be

displayed on a single screen of that client device.

If no, at block 174 a subset of information from the content bucket is

selected for display by the first server. This subset may include any set of information within the content bucket which may be displayed in a single screen

of the client device, such as the upper right region of the content bucket, the upper

left region of the content bucket, etc.

The selected subset of information selected for display is then transferred to

the client device and displayed. Once the information has been transferred, the

first server process manager awaits the receipt of the next client device command.

Those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure will readily

recognize that the client device may transmit windowing commands which cause

the first server to refresh the client device display to include different portions of

the chosen content bucket.

At block 176, a nonwindowing command is transmitted by the client device

to the first server and a determination is made whether the command is to choose a

new content bucket for display. If yes, the method proceeds at block 172. If no,

the method proceeds at block 178 where the new command is evaluated and

processed as described herein.

Those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit if this disclosure will

readily recognize that a method for using the client device to view a document

which is stored on a remote server may be as described above, where the

document is retrieved by the first server and then presented to the client device one display at a time, or may instead be a method wherein the document is left on the

remote server and that remote server is remotely controlled by the first server as

described herein to provide data relating to the different content buckets.

FIGS. 9 A, 9B, and 9C together are a flow chart showing a method of the

present invention.

Referring to FIGS. 9A, 9B, and 9C together, the method begins at block

200 when a client communication is received by a first server implementing the

present invention such as server 56 (FIG. 2).

At block 202, any necessary parsing of the client communication is

performed. If the client communication is a single command, no parsing is

required, and therefore the block 202 operation isn't performed. However, if the

client communication received at block 200 contains a plurality of commands, the

client communication is parsed into a set of distinct first server commands.

At block 204, a command to be processed is chosen from the set of first

server commands created at block 202. It is contemplated that some first server

commands will be dependent upon the prior execution of other commands, while

other first server commands are not dependent upon other commands and may

therefore be executed at any time. It is contemplated that this block 204 operation will take into account the commands available for processing, and the commands

previously executed, as is necessary.

Once a first server command is chosen for processing, a rule table such as

that seen in FIG. 4 is searched, at block 206, for one or more application

procedures that are equivalent to that chosen first server command. Recall that a

client communication will typically include information relating to the operation

desired, the format of any documents involved, and the type of client requesting-

the service. The rule table, as seen in FIG. 4, includes a command and its

argument(s), and procedures and arguments which an application server may

perform that are equivalent to the desired first server command. Optionally, the

rule table includes a priority indicator which indicates the order in which similar

procedures shall be processed. In the example of FIG. 4, no specific priority

indicator is shown. However, the rules are processed in order of occurrence in

table.

For example, if the first server command is an edit command, a rule table

inquiry provides procedures 208 and 210, procedure 208 having the steps of open

(212), edit command (214), and close (216). Therefore, to edit a document having

format X, it is required (under this procedure) to open the document, perform the

desired edit command, and then close the document. If the first procedure isn't able to be performed, the second procedure may

be performed, the second procedure having the steps of converting the document

from format X to format Y (218), performing the desired edit command in format

Y (220), then converting the resulting document back into format X (222). Those

of ordinary skill in the art having knowledge of this disclosure will readily

recognize that this second procedure requires multiple rule table interrogations,

and recursion.

Recursion is used when a command such as command 220 is also a rule,

such as rule 208. In this instance, when command 220 is processed, there may be

no application servers that understand how to perform the command directly.

When this situation occurs, the rule table is examined again to determine if a

equivalent procedure is available. At that time, procedure 208 will be substituted

for command 220.

If the rule table optionally includes a priority indicator for one or more

procedures, that priority indicator will be utilized when choosing which procedure

to process. For example, although procedures 208 and 210 are both "edit"

procedures, a system may exist wherein it is highly desirable to perform procedure

210 prior to executing procedure 208, then only executing procedure 208 as

necessary. Therefore, the priority indicator will indicate that procedure 210 is a

higher processing priority than procedure 208. At block 224, one of the procedures determined at block 206 is chosen for

processing. It is contemplated that the procedures in the rule table will be listed in

order of their desirability for execution. Therefore, procedure 208 would be

attempted prior to procedure 210, even though both procedures are equivalent to

the same rule. Those of ordinary skill in the art familiar with this disclosure would

be capable of determining other methods to cause highly preferred procedures to

execute prior to equivalent less-preferred procedures.

At block 226, the procedure determined at block 224 is examined, and a

command within that procedure is chosen for processing. Although it is

contemplated that commands within procedures will often be executed in the order

that they are listed in the rule table, it is contemplated that some commands having

no dependencies will execute concurrently or out of order with other commands

listed in the same procedure.

At block 228, the various application servers are polled to determine which

application servers are configured to execute the procedure command chosen at

block 226.

At block 230, it is determined whether at least one application server is

configured to perform the chosen procedure command. If yes, the method proceeds to block 232 where it is determined whether the chosen procedure

command depends on the results of a previous command in order to be executed

properly.

If no, the method proceeds at block 234 where the most efficient

application server is chosen to execute the chosen command, and that server is

then caused to execute that command. At block 236, it is determined whether the

chosen procedure comprises commands which have not yet been executed. If not,

the method proceeds at block 238 where it is determined whether any unprocessed

first server commands exist.

If no unprocessed first server commands exist, the method ends.

If, at block 230, there wasn't at least one application server configured to

execute the desired application command, the method proceeds at block 240 where

at least one application server is configured to execute that command. Further

details on at least one method which may be used to configure such an application

server is described in U.S. Patent Application S N 09/432,491 entitled

."DIRECTORY-BASED FAILURE RECOVERY AND LOAD BALANCING

SYSTEM" naming inventor Horng-Dar Lin and assigned to iDini, Inc. After a

server is configured to execute the desired command, the method proceeds at

block 232. If, at block 232, it is determined that the chosen application server

command requires the results of another command execution in order to itself

execute properly, it is determined, at block 242, whether that other command has

completed. If not, the method proceeds at block 244 where execution of the

present command is delayed until the precedent command has completed

execution. The method then proceeds at block 234.

If, at block 236, unexecuted commands within the chosen procedure exist,

one of those executed commands is chosen for execution as previously described,

and the method proceeds with block 228.

If, at block 238, unprocessed procedures exist, one of those procedures is

chosen for processing as previously described, and the method proceeds with

block 206.

FIGS. 10A, 10B and IOC are a flow chart showing yet another method of

the present invention.

In the method of FIG. 9, a client command was received, and that client

command was compared against a rule table to determine procedures that are equivalent to the client command, and those procedures were executed . One of

those procedures was chosen for processing based upon a predetermined priority,

and commands within that procedure were then executed on application servers

configured for that purpose..

In the FIG. 10 embodiment, a similar order of operations takes place.

However, following the step where all procedures equivalent to a given client

command are determined, the application servers are polled to determine two

things. First, it is determined whether one or more application servers are

configured to execute the desired commands. Second, data corresponding to those

configured servers if obtained in order for a decision to be made as to the most

efficient server to use to execute the given commands within a given procedure.

Once it is determined which procedure is most efficient to execute on particular

configured servers, the various commands within those procedures are executed.

Referring to FIGS. 10A, 10B, and IOC together, the method begins at step

250 when a client communication is received by a first server implementing the

present invention such as server 56 (FIG. 2).

At block 252, any necessary parsing of the client communication is

performed. If the client communication is a single command, no parsing is

required, and therefore the block 252 operation isn't performed. However, if the client communication received at block 250 contains a plurality of commands, the

client communication is parsed into a set of distinct first server commands.

At block 254, a command to be processed is chosen from the set of first

server commands created at block 252. It is contemplated that some first server

commands will be dependent upon the prior execution of other commands, while

other first server commands are not dependent upon other commands and may

therefore be executed at any time. It is contemplated that this block 254 operation

will take into account the commands available for processing, and the commands

previously executed, as is necessary.

Once a first server command is chosen for processing, a rule table such as

that seen in FIG. 4 is searched, at block 256, for one or more application

procedures that are equivalent to that chosen first server command. The same or

similar criteria is used here as was previously described for block 206 (FIG. 9).

At block 258, the various application servers are polled to determine their

configuration and available for processing commands within the procedures from

block 256. It is contemplated that the various application servers will respond

with their configuration information, including application loading. Therefore,

using the loading information, an intelligent decision may be made about which configured server to use to execute a given command, and which server(s) to

configure to execute commands it is not yet configured to execute.

At block 260, it is determined whether at least one server is configured to

execute a procedure commands which are (as a set) equivalent to the client

command. It is possible that one server will be able to perform all of the

commands within a given procedure. However, it is contemplated that two or

more servers will be used, each server performing a subset of the commands

within a given procedure.

If at least one server is configured to perform at least one equivalent

procedure, at block 262, it is determined whether multiple equivalent procedures

able to be performed which are equivalent to the client command being processed.

If yes, the method proceeds at block 264 where one of those procedures are

chosen for execution. It is contemplated that server efficiency will be taken into

account when choosing the procedure to be utilized, and the servers on which

commanάs within that procedure will be executed. Those of ordinary skill in the

art readily recognize that server efficiency includes many factors, including

loading, configuration time, etc. At block 266, the commands within the chosen procedure are issued to the

various servers for execution, taking into account command precedence as

previously discussed in relation to FIG. 9.

If, at block 260, none of the equivalent procedures may be executed

because either no servers are configured to execute one or more commands within

the procedures or the servers that are configured properly are overloaded, the

method proceeds at block 268 where one or more procedures are chosen to he

configured. It is contemplated that a decision to configure one procedure may be

made, or a decision to configure two or more equivalent procedures may be made,

based on command execution history, priority, and other factors known to those of

ordinary skill in the art.

At block 270, each command with the chosen one or more procedures that

isn't currently configured on an applications server is configured. It is

contemplated that some commands that are currently configured to be executed on

a server may be configured to also be executed on a different server, in order to

improve execution efficiency.

At block 266, the commands within one of the equivalent procedures are

executed. It is contemplated that if multiple servers had been configured at block 270 so that more choices were available, the method may proceed again at either

block 258 or block 262, depending on a given system designers desires.

If, at block 262, only one equivalent procedure was properly configured for

execution, that procedure is designated, at block 272, as the chosen procedure.

The method then proceeds at block 266, where commands within that procedure

are executed.

While embodiments and applications of this invention have been shown

and described, it would be apparent to those skilled in the art that many more

modifications than mentioned above are possible without departing from the

inventive concepts herein. The invention, therefore, is not to be restricted except

in the spirit of the appended claims.

Claims

What is Claimed is:

1. In a networked computer system having a client connected through a first

server to an application server, the client being configured to communicate with

said first server using a first language, the first server and the application server

configured to communicate with each other using a second language, a method for

remotely handling application commands comprising

initiating at least one command in said first language on the client and

transmitting said at least one command to said first server as a command string; ..

parsing said command string into distinct first server commands;

choosing from said first server commands a first command to be processed;

translating, using a rule table, said first command in said first language into

a procedure comprising at least one equivalent command in said second language;

choosing from said equivalent commands, a desired command to be

executed;

choosing an application server configured to execute said desired

command;

causing said application server to execute said desired command.

2. The method of claim 1 further including

determining that an application server is not configured to execute the

desired command;

configuring an application server to properly execute the desired command.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein determining that an application server is not

configured to execute the desired command is accomplished by polling the

available application servers to determine whether the desired command is

available for execution, and receiving information that no server is configured to

execute the desired command.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein said rule table is stored entirely on said first

server.

5. In a networked computer system having a client connected through a first

configured to communicate with each other using a second language, a method for

remotely handling application commands comprising:

initiating at least one command in said first language on the client and

transmitting said at least one command to said first server as a command string;

parsing said command string into distinct first server commands;

choosing from said first server commands a first command to be processed;

translating, using a rule table, said first command in said first language into

a procedure comprising at least one equivalent command in said second language; choosing from said equivalent commands, a desired command to be

executed;

determining that the application servers configured to execute the desired

command cannot perform the command within a predetermined acceptable time

span;

configuring an additional application server to properly execute the desired

command.

causing said additional application server to execute said desired command.

6. In a networked computer system having a client connected through a first

server to at least three application servers, the client being configured to

communicate with said first server using a first language, the first server and said

at least three application servers configured to communicate using a second

language, a method for remotely handling application commands comprising:

initiating at least two commands in said first language on the client and

transmitting said at least two commands to said first server;

choosing from said at least two first server commands at least two

commands to be processed;

translating said at least two command in said first language into an equal

number of equivalent command sets in said second language;

choosing from said equivalent command sets, a first command set to he

executed; causing a first one of said application servers to execute said first command

set;

choosing from said equivalent command sets, a second command set to be

executed;

causing a second one of said application servers to execute said second

command set.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein said causing a first one of said application

servers step is further defined as

determining the server efficiency factors for at least two of said at least

three application servers;

choosing the application server having the most desirable server efficiency

factor to execute said first command set;

causing said chosen server to execute said first command set.

8. The method of claim 6 wherein said causing a second one of said

application servers step is further defined as

determining that the server efficiency factors for a second application

server is more desirable than the server efficiency factor for said first application

server;

causing said second application server to execute said second command set.

9. The method of claim 6 wherein said translating is accomplished using a

rule table.

10. A machine readable media having stored thereon machine executable

instructions to perform a method in a networked computer system having a client

connected through a first server to an application server, the client being

configured to communicate with said first server using a first language, the first

server and the application server configured to communicate with each other using

a second language, the method being for remotely handling application commands

comprising:

initiating at least one command in said first language on the client and

parsing said command string into distinct first server commands;

choosing from said first server commands a first command to be processed;

translating, using a rule table, said first command in said first language into

a procedure comprising at least one equivalent command in said second language;

choosing from said equivalent commands, a desired command to be

executed;

choosing an application server configured to execute said desired

command;

causing said application server to execute said desired command.

11. The machine readable media of claim 10 further having stored thereon

instructions to perform the following additional instructions:

determining that an application server is not configured to execute the

desired command;

configuring an application server to properly execute the desired command.

12. The machine readable media of claim 11 wherein determining that an

application server is not configured to execute the desired command is

accomplished by polling the available application servers to determine whether

the desired command is available for execution, and receiving information that no

server is configured to execute the desired command.

13. A machine readable media having stored thereon machine executable

instructions to perform a method in a networked computer system having a client

connected through a first server to an application server, the client being

a second language, the method being for remotely handling application commands

comprising:

initiating at least one command in said first language on the client and

parsing said command string into distinct first server commands; choosing from said first server commands a first command to be processed;

translating, using a rule table, said first command in said first language into

a procedure comprising at least one equivalent command in said second language;

choosing from said equivalent commands, a desired command to be

executed;

determining that the application servers configured to execute the desired

command cannot perform the command within a predetermined acceptable time

span;

configuring an additional application server to properly execute the desired

command.

causing said additional application server to execute said desired command.

14. A machine readable media having stored thereon machine executable

instructions to perform a method in a networked computer system having a client

connected through a first server to at least three application servers, the client

being configured to communicate with said first server using a first language, the

first server and said at least three application servers configured to communicate

using a second language, the method for remotely handling application commands

comprising:

initiating at least two commands in said first language on the client and

transmitting said at least two commands to said first server; choosing from said at least two first server commands at least two

commands to be processed;

translating said at least two command in said first language into an equal

number of equivalent command sets in said second language;

choosing from said equivalent command sets, a first command set to be

executed;

causing a first one of said application servers to execute said first command

set;

choosing from said equivalent command sets, a second command set to be

executed;

causing a second one of said application servers to execute said second

command set.

15. The machine readable media of claim 14 further having stored thereon

instructions to perform the following additional instructions wherein said causing

a first one of said application servers step is further defined as

determining the server efficiency factors for at least two of said at least

three application servers;

choosing the application server having the most desirable server efficiency

factor to execute said first command set;

causing said chosen server to execute said first command set.