Dynamic object migration method using proxy object links to support automatic object distribution in an object-oriented environment

Claim 1

A method for dynamically distributing programmed objects of a computer program, each programmed object containing one or more programmed entities, from a first computer to one or more remote computers, said computer program having one or more programmed objects, said method comprising the steps of: partitioning the programmed objects of the computer program into (1) a first subset which are migratable at run-time from an initial location on the first computer to one of the remote computers and (2) a remaining subset which are not migratable, wherein the first subset and the remaining subset together comprise all the programmed objects of the computer program; creating a list of conditions under which each of the first subset of programmed objects are migratable; programmatically identifying, for each programmed object in the first subset, each programmed entity within said programmed object that allows access from other objects; programmatically generating a first proxy and a second proxy for each programmed object in the first subset and for each of the identified program entities, said first proxy residing on the first computer and said second proxy created on said first computer for transferring to one of the remote computers upon a migration of the programmed object, wherein said first proxy contains network linkage and indication to access said programmed object on said remote computer after the migration and said second proxy contains a programmatically generated entity to route the access from the first proxy to the programmed object on the remote computer; and dynamically migrating, at run-time, a selected programmed object that was executable on said first computer from said first computer to the remote computer when said selected object's corresponding condition from said list of conditions is met, without requiring intervention by a human.

Claim 2

A method for dynamically distributing programmed objects of a computer program, each programmed object containing one or more programmed entities, from a first computer to one or more remote computers, said computer program having one or more programmed objects, said method comprising the steps of: partitioning the programmed objects of the computer program into (1) a first subset which are migratable at run-time from an initial location on the first computer to one of the remote computers and (2) a remaining subset which are not migratable, wherein the first subset and the remaining subset together comprise all the programmed objects of the computer program; creating a list of conditions under which each of the first subset of programmed objects are migratable; programmatically identifying, for each programmed object in the first subset, each programmed entity within said programmed object that allows access from other objects; programmatically generating a first proxy and a second proxy for each programmed object in the first subset and for each of the identified program entities, said first proxy residing on the first computer and said second proxy created on said first computer for transferring to one of the remote computers upon a migration of the programmed object, wherein said first proxy contains network linkage and indication to access said programmed object on said remote computer after the migration and said second proxy contains a programmatically generated entity to route the access from the first proxy to the programmed object on the remote computer; and dynamically migrating, at run-time, a selected programmed object that was executable on said first computer from said first computer to the remote computer when said selected object's corresponding condition from said list of conditions is met, without requiring intervention by a human.

Claim 4

The method as claimed in claims 1 or 2 , wherein said dynamically migrating step further comprises the steps of: moving a copy of said selected programmed object to said remote computer; moving said second proxy for the selected programmed object to said remote computer; and directing said first proxy to call said second proxy on said remote computer.

Claim 9

A system contained within a computer network, the computer network having multiple computers connected together using telecommunications mechanisms, the system adapted for dynamically distributing programmed objects of a computer program from a first computer to one or more remote computers, wherein each programmed object contains one or more programmed entities and the computer program has one or more programmed objects, the system comprising: means for partitioning the programmed objects of the computer program into (1) a first subset which are migratable at run-time from an initial location on the first computer to one of the remote computers and (2) a remaining subset which are not migratable, wherein the first subset and the remaining subset together comprise all the programmed objects of the computer program; means for creating a list of conditions under which each of the first subset of programmed objects are migratable; means for programmatically identifying, for each programmed object in the first subset, each programmed entity within the programmed object that are accessible from other objects; means for programmatically generating a first proxy and a second proxy for each programmed object in the first subset and for each of the identified program entities, the first proxy residing on the first computer and the second proxy created on the first computer for transferring to one of the remote computers upon a migration of the programmed object, wherein the first proxy contains network linkage and indication to access the programmed object on the remote computer after the migration and the second proxy contains a programmatically generated entity to route the access from the first proxy to the programmed object on the remote computer; and means for dynamically migrating, at run-time, a selected programmed object that was executable on the first computer from the first computer to the remote computer when the selected object's corresponding condition from the list of conditions is met, without requiring intervention by a human.

Claim 10

A system contained within a computer network, the computer network having multiple computers connected together using telecommunications mechanisms, the system adapted for dynamically distributing programmed objects of a computer program from a first computer to one or more remote computers, wherein each programmed object contains one or more programmed entities and the computer program has one or more programmed objects, the system comprising: means for partitioning the programmed objects of the computer program into (1) a first subset which are migratable at run-time from an initial location on the first computer to one of the remote computers and (2) a remaining subset which are not migratable, wherein the first subset and the remaining subset together comprise all the programmed objects of the computer program; means for creating a list of conditions under which each of the first subset of programmed objects are migratable; means for programmatically identifying, for each programmed object in the first subset, each programmed entity within the programmed object that are accessible from other objects; means for programmatically generating a first proxy and a second proxy for each programmed object in the first subset and for each of the identified program entities, the first proxy residing on the first computer and the second proxy created on the first computer for transferring to one of the remote computers upon a migration of the programmed object, wherein the first proxy contains network linkage and indication to access the programmed object on the remote computer after the migration and the second proxy contains a programmatically generated entity to route the access from the first proxy to the programmed object on the remote computer; and means for dynamically migrating, at run-time, a selected programmed object that was executable on the first computer from the first computer to the remote computer when the selected object's corresponding condition from the list of conditions is met, without requiring intervention by a human.

Claim 12

The system as claimed in claims 7 or 8 , wherein the means for dynamically migrating further comprises: means for moving a copy of the selected programmed object to the remote computer; means for moving the second proxy for the selected programmed object to the remote computer; and means for directing the first proxy to call the second proxy on the remote computer.