Patent · US Expired

Filtering an object interface definition to determine services needed and provided

US5949998A · kind A · utility

61Cited by
15References
35Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateJul 3, 1996
Grant dateSep 7, 1999
Priority date
Expiry dateJul 3, 2016

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
  • CPC primaryY10S715/968
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A distributed object application builder apparatus filters an object definition to determine both information needed (plugs) and provided (sockets) by an object. Each part (a run-time instance of an object) in the builder has plugs and sockets interconnected to other parts to define a distributed object application program. At run time, actual instances of objects are substituted for the parts. A method of determining the plugs of an identified part retrieves the interface (object definition) corresponding to the part. Once retrieved, the plugs of the part are identified by determining the object-valued attributes of the retrieved interface, by determining the operations from the retrieved interface that require one object-valued argument, and by retrieving the factory argument list from the factory method for the object. These attributes and arguments constitute the plugs of the part. Sockets of a part are determined similarly. The plugs of a part are determined based upon their matching with a previously chosen socket. Similarly, if a plug is chosen first from a part, this chosen plug is matched with a socket of another part. A distributed object application program is constructe…

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.