Method and apparatus for switching long duration tasks from synchronous to asynchronous execution and for reporting task results
US6026424A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Feb 23, 1998 |
| Grant date | Feb 15, 2000 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Feb 23, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F2209/549
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A client process in a computer system opens a communication channel to a server process in the computer system and instructs the server process to execute a task. The server process starts a timer when it begins execution of the task, to determine whether the task is of short or long duration. If the task completes before the timer reaches a predetermined value, the server process reports task completion to the client process on the open communication channel. If the task does not complete before the timer reaches the predetermined value, the server process closes the communication channel to preserve system resources and continues executing the task asynchronously. When the task is complete, the server process reopens a communication channel and reports task completion to the client process. Results are transmitted directly to the client process only if they are smaller than a predetermined size, otherwise, they are stored in a cache to preserve system resources. The client can then request the results when it is ready to receive them.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.