International Business Machines Corporation

Apratim Purakayastha

Ajay Mohindra

Paul Christesten Castro

Norman Howard Cohen

Danny L Yeh

Ravindranath Konuru

Frederique Anne Giraud

Murthy V Devarakonda

Deborra Jean Zukowski

Luke Wong

Uwe Karl Hansmann

Stefan Alfons Hepper

Thomas Stober

Danny Soroker

Archan Misra

Ramon Caceres

Maria Rene Ebling

Marion Lee Blount

William H Tetzlaff

John Sidney Davis, Ii

Wolfgang Segmuller

Barry Leiba

Douglas George Heintzman

Danny Lo-tien Yeh

David Michael Shofi

Daniel Irimie Dig

Sébastien Demathieu

Techniques are provided for testing new software slated to be deployed on a target machine population with a number of target machines having a number of existing software programs. Method steps can include obtaining a list of depending software programs on selected ones of the target machines. The list can include those of the existing software programs which depend on the new software and/or those of the existing software programs on which the new software depends. The steps can further include identifying relevant test cases based on the list of depending software programs, instantiating a plurality of test client platforms characteristic of the target machine population, and testing the relevant test cases on the plurality of test client platforms to identify failures.

Method and apparatus for testing software

Consolidating the launching of multiple tasks is provided. A task is launched when an associated software component is run or executed. In one embodiment, launch descriptions of individual tasks and composition parameters are respectively read. The parameters indicate relationships between the launchings of different tasks, such as launch order. A composite launch description is constructed, by selectively processing the individual launch descriptions and composition parameters, and the tasks are launched according to the composite launch description. In a further embodiment, multiple individual launch descriptions are delivered to a tool, each launch description being usable to launch a corresponding component to perform a corresponding task. The tool includes a set of launch relationships that specify the relationship between launchings of different components. The tool generates a single composite launch description that defines launching of the components in accordance with the launch relationships.

Consolidated launching of multiple tasks

Techniques for replicating data in a system having a data tier with a plurality of data sources and an application tier with a plurality of applications are provided. Such techniques can include creating an instance of an information model of the data that is specified by a schema. The model can be created in a form that is suitable for manipulation by at least one of the applications and that forms at least a portion of a model tier that is intermediate the data tier and the application tier. A replica of an instance of the information model can be created in a form suitable for remote transmission, and a consistency policy can be obtained that specifies a level of consistency required between the instance of the information model and the replica.

Method and system for model-based replication of data

The present invention discloses a new synchronization architecture for synchronization of data between different clients by using a central synchronization server linked to a Back End data store which additionally provides a cache for permanently buffering incoming updates into a permanent store by assigning an unique cache identifier (ID). Write conflicts between the synchronization server writing new entries to the cache and updates replicated from backend to cache are solved using a blocking mechanism based on the cache IDs, so that the backend updates are blocked as long as incoming updates from the clients having the same cache ID are not completely written into the cache during a synchronization session. The present invention is preferably suited for a synchronization architecture having a high number of clients connected with the central synchronization server as blocking of the Back End data store, and the connection and the transport to the Back End data store are minimized.

Method for a caching mechanism for a central synchronization server

Improved discovery techniques are provided. For example, in one aspect of the invention, a technique for making providers of a particular kind of data available to an application program includes the following steps/operations. The technique discovers whether one or more data providers are capable of providing the particular kind of data, wherein a discovered data provider is either a connected data provider or a virtual data provider. When a data provider capable of providing the particular kind of data is discovered and the discovered data provider is a virtual data provider, the technique instantiates the virtual data provider. When a data provider capable of providing the particular kind of data is discovered, the technique makes a data-provider handle for the discovered data provider available to the application program, with a common interface.

Methods and apparatus for discovering data providers satisfying provider queries

A framework of a service directory that can handle service records changing rapidly is provided by using a content-based routing network. A directory node for providing the service directory is called a data resolver. The data resolver listens for service advertisements for certain service categories from service providers, and stores such advertisement data in the form of service records in a local cache. If a data resolver receives a query for some services, it first looks in the cache. If the cache contains at least one service record that satisfies the query, the data resolver returns the record. Otherwise, the data resolver issues a secondary query corresponding to the query it received, to other data resolvers connected by the content-based routing network. Simultaneously, the data resolver begins listening for service advertisements (service records) from other data resolvers on the content-based routing network.

Method and apparatus for discovery of dynamic network services

A method for providing inter-application communication between a sending device and one or more receiving devices in a wireless network comprises the steps of: (i) at the sending device, tagging a data item with an identifier unique to an intended communication between the sending device and the one or more receiving devices; (ii) at the sending device, broadcasting the tagged data item in the wireless network; (iii) at a receiving device, receiving the broadcast data item when the receiving device is within a radio-range of the sending device; and (iv) at a receiving device, accepting the data item for processing when the identifier substantially matches an identifier expected by an application associated with the receiving device; wherein the sending device and the receiving device need not be aware of each other's presence.

Method and apparatus for inter-application communication in wireless networks

Method and apparatus are provided for enabling partial replication of object stores, wherein two or more computers can partially replicate object stores by allowing synchronization of only such objects contained in the stores that are intended to be shared among the stores.

Method and apparatus for enabling partial replication of object stores

A method, system, and apparatus for handing-off data receivers in a broadcast-based data dissemination environment. Data receiver hand-off is carried out between data sources in different data cells broadcasting information of the same category. Furthermore, data cell ranges are based on geographic regions rather than signal strength coverage. Generally, the hand-off process involves acquiring the current receiver location of the data receiver and comparing the receiver location with a current data cell range. If the current receiver location is outside the current data cell range, a hand-off controller searches for a new data source encompassing the current receiver location coordinates and having an associated data topic matching the current topic. Once a new data source is found, the hand-off controller subscribes the data receiver to the new data source.

Data source hand-off in a broadcast-based data dissemination environment

A system and method wherein a mobile user, or a user interacting with a mobile program, can at any time initiate a program status request. The program status request initiates the sequence of events whereby the current location of the program is determined and/or the current user location is made available to the program without the necessity of either entity changing location. Further, the agent script for the program maintains a composite data structure which includes an input buffer for storing input variables, an output buffer for storing output values to be displayed to the user, a program state data structure, and an optional bag buffer for temporarily storing input variables which the program will need in the course of future execution. By maintaining such a composite data structure, it is assured that all necessary information can be provided at a program location regardless of whether the program or the user has relocated.

Method and apparatus for enabling location-independent and location-transparent interaction between a program and a user

A system and method of implicitly localizing agent access to a network component located on a remote host includes the steps of determining a host location of the network component; automatically relocating an agent to the remote host; and incorporating the agent into an address space shared by the network component. The agent is preferably a script.

System and method for automatically localizing access to remote network

An improved method and apparatus for dynamic execution of mobile agents. For example, a symbolic name for a component to be executed can be dynamically resolved using a component directory to determine an appropriate network host that the agent needs to visit. Preferably, the component directory can be queried by client or host machines, and updated by component hosts. Changes in a component's location and/or availability can also be captured at runtime and the agents dynamically routed to alternate component hosts. Still other features enable agents to flexibly accommodate the dynamics of the system. For example, if the attributes of a component are modified, or a component host becomes heavily loaded, agents can adapt to such changes by looking up an alternate host for the same component. Yet other features provide improved system manageability. For example, component hosts can freely update a component's location and/or attributes at any time. Changes to code for agents that use components residing at an updated component location are not required.

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Yorktown Heights, NY, United States of America

Apratim Purakayastha