Patent EP0482761A2 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
EP0482761A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Rule driven transaction management system and method
Assignee: Digital Equipment Corp
•
Filing: 1991-09-24
•
Granted: —
•
Expires: 2011-09-24
Abstract
Abstract During the processing of a transaction or other distributed computation, a computation management system creates a number of agents to handle various aspects or portions of the computations to be performed. Each agent progresses through a predefined set of state transitions which define the status of the agent at any point in time. The computation management system defines for each agent a set of dependencies, each dependency corresponding to a state transition which will be blocked until a particular state transition occurs in another specified agent. By defining selected combinations of dependencies for each agent, a variety of different interdependencies and cooperating protocols can be implemented. The distributed processing management system can be used both for managing transaction processing and for synchronizing events in other types of distributed computations.
Inventors
- 👤 Johannes Klein
- 👤 Alberto Lutgardo
- 👤 Edward Yjh-Uei Chang
- 👤 Edward Chi-Man Cheng
- 👤 Dora Lai-Wan Lee
- 👤 Edward Sze Lu
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-27 12:47
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06F; G06F9/00; G06F9/06; G06F9/46; G06F9/466
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 10
Claim 1
Independent Claim
155 words
In a transaction processing computer system, a method of managing computational agents cooperating in the performance of a transaction, the steps of the method comprising: creating a set of computational agents for performing a transaction, each computational agent being programmed to progress through a sequence of state transitions among a predefined set of states; defining and storing in at least one computer memory a set of predicates, each predicate denoting at least one relationship between state transitions of at least two of said computational agents; monitoring said computational agents while performing said transaction, said monitoring step including the steps of blocking certain state transitions by ones of said computational agents when said certain state transitions correspond to relationships denoted by said predicates, and allowing said blocked state transitions to proceed when said relationships denoted by said predicates are fulfilled; wherein said predicate defining step can define distinct predicates for distinct ones of said computational agents.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
67 words
The transaction processing method of claim 1, said method including the step of: defining a set of predicate types, each predicate type corresponding to a particular state transition in at least one of said computational agents which depends on the occurrence of another particular state transition in at least one other of said agents; where each said predicate is selected from said set of defined predicate types.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
44 words
The transaction processing method of claim 1, said method including the step of: denoting, for each said computational agent, (A) each other computational agent having state transitions depending on said computational agent and (B) said state transition on which said other agent is depending.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
47 words
The transaction processing method of claim 3, said method including the step of: up on each state transition in one of said computational agents, sending messages denoting said state transition to each said denoted other computational agent depending on said state transition in said one computational agent.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
150 words
In a transaction processing computer system, a transaction coordinator comprising: agent creating means for creating a set of computational agents for performing a transaction, each computational agent being programmed to progress through a sequence of state transitions; said agent creating means defining and storing in at least one computer memory a separate set of predicates for each computational agent, each said predicate denoting a selected one of said state transitions in a first identified one of said computational agents which is a pre-condition for a corresponding state transition in a second one of said computational agents; and transaction monitoring means coupled to said each of said computational agents for blocking state transitions in each computational agent corresponding to said set of predicates for said computational agent until the pre-conditions denoted by said computational agent's predicates are fulfilled; wherein at least two of said computational agents have distinct sets of predicates.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
70 words
The transaction processing computer system set forth in Claim 5, said transaction coordinator including: predicate defining means for defining a set of predicate types, each predicate type defining a particular corresponding state transition in one agent which depends on the occurrence of another particular state transition in another one of said agents; where each predicate defined by said agent creating means is selected from said set of defined predicate types.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
48 words
The transaction processing computer system set forth in Claim 5 said agent creating means including means for denoting, for each said computational agent, (A) each other computational agent having state transitions depending on said computational agent and (B) said state transition on which said other agent is depending.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
49 words
The transaction processing computer system set forth in Claim 7, further including: message sending means which, upon each state transition in one of said computational agents, sends messages denoting said state transition to each said denoted other computational agent depending on said state transition in said one computational agent.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
142 words
In a distributed processing computer system, a computation coordinator comprising: agent creating means for creating a set of computational agents for performing a computation, each computational agent comprising a computational process which progresses through a sequence of state transitions among a predefined set of states; said agent creating means defining for each computational agent a set of predicates, each predicate denoting a selected one of said state transitions in another identified one of said computational agents which is a pre-condition for a corresponding state transition in said computational agent; and monitoring means coupled to said each of said computational agents for blocking state transitions in each computational agent corresponding to said set of predicates for said computational agent until the pre-conditions denoted by said computational agent's predicates are fulfilled; wherein at least two of said computational agents have distinct sets of predicates.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
70 words
The distributed processing computer system set forth in Claim 9, said computation coordinator including: predicate defining means for defining a set of predicate types, each predicate type defining a particular corresponding state transition in one agent which depends on the occurrence of another particular state transition in another one of said agents; where each predicate defined by said agent creating means is selected from said set of defined predicate types.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
Maintenance schedule is calculated for granted US utility patents.