Remote procedure calls in heterogeneous systems

Claim 3

A method for calling a service procedure as set forth in claim 1, further comprising the steps of: upon completion of execution, returning a result parameter set from the service procedure to the local node routing procedure; formatting the result parameter set for the application program; and returning the result parameter set to the application program.

Claim 4

A method for calling a service procedure as set forth in claim 2, wherein said step of returning the result parameter set to the application program comprises the steps of: placing the result parameter set in a queue accessible by the application program; and reading the result parameter set from the queue into the application program.

Claim 5

A computer network for processing procedure calls, the computer network comprising: a local node; computer means located at the local node for executing an application program and thereby generating, an initialization call identifying the application program, and a procedure call in a native language construct for calling a procedure stored at the local node or at one of a plurality of remote nodes and passing a parameter set; means located at the local node responsive to the initialization call for, selecting mappings from names of procedures to sets of required parameters, locations on the local and the remote nodes of a plurality of procedures, and the language of each procedure; means located at the local node responsive to a procedure call for generating a procedure identifier, for identifying the language of the application, for determining from the selected mappings and the identification of the procedure whether it is located at the local or at a remote node and, responsive to the application and the called procedure being in different language groups, for translating the parameter set to a convention compatible with the language of the called procedure; means located at the local node responsive to determination that the procedure is located at the local node for calling the procedure utilizing the parameter set; means located at the local node responsive to determination that the procedure is located at the remote node for initiating establishment of a communications session between the local node and the remote node and passing the procedure identifier for the called procedure and the parameter set to the remote node during the communications sessions; means located at the remote node responsive to establishment of the communications session and receipt of a parameter set and identification of the procedure during the communications session for generating a procedure call for the called procedure; means located at the remote node for executing the called procedure utilizing the parameter set; and means located at the remote node for returning results generated by the procedure to the local node.

Claim 6

A computer network for processing procedure calls, the computer network comprising: a local node; computer means located at the local node for executing an application program and thereby generating, an initialization call identifying the application program, and a procedure call in a native language construct for calling a procedure stored at the local node or at one of a plurality of remote nodes and passing a parameter set; means located at the local node responsive to the initialization call for, selecting mappings from names of procedures to sets of required parameters, locations on the local and the remote nodes of a plurality of procedures, and the language of each procedure; means located at the local node responsive to a procedure call for generating a procedure identifier, for identifying the language of the application, for determining from the selected mappings and the identification of the procedure whether it is located at the local or at a remote node and, responsive to the application and the called procedure being in different language groups, for translating the parameter set to a convention compatible with the language of the called procedure; means located at the local node responsive to determination that the procedure is located at the local node for calling the procedure utilizing the parameter set; means located at the local node responsive to determination that the procedure is located at the remote node for initiating establishment of a communications session between the local node and the remote node and passing the procedure identifier for the called procedure and the parameter set to the remote node during the communications sessions; means located at the remote node responsive to establishment of the communications session and receipt of a parameter set and identification of the procedure during the communications session for generating a procedure call for the called procedure; means located at the remote node for executing the called procedure utilizing the parameter set; and means located at the remote node for returning results generated by the procedure to the local node.

Claim 7

A computer network for processing procedure calls as set forth in claim 4, wherein: the means for returning the result parameter set to the local node does so during the communications session; and the means for returning the result parameter set translates the result parameter set to a convention compatible with the language of the calling procedure and returns the result parameter set to the local node.

Claim 8

A computer network for processing procedure calls as set forth in claim 5 wherein: the procedure call responsive means at the local node include a first interface callable by the application program in a predetermined format, wherein said first interface calls the communications session initiating means; and the means for returning results include a second interface in a second predetermined format, wherein said second interface calls a procedure corresponding to the procedure identifier received during the communications session.

Claim 9

A computer network for processing a service procedure as set forth in claim 5, further comprising: queue means located at the local node for holding the result parameter set returned from the remote node for later availability to the application program.

Claim 10

A computer network for processing a procedure as set forth in claim 5, wherein the result parameter set returned from said remote node is returned to the application program by said procedure indicating means.