A method of performing remote process execution in a computer network. A remote process execution request, including an identification of a process to be executed, is transmitted from a requesting computer to a serving computer. At both the requesting and the serving computers, a file addressing structure is established, so that a file reference by the remote process at the serving computer addresses a file located at the requesting computer. The remote process is activated at the serving computer in response to the remote process execution request. In response to a file reference by the remote process, the file is automatically accessed from the requesting computer in accordance with the addressing structure. The method includes a technique by means of which files may be selectively and automatically accessed from either the requesting or the serving computer, as desired by a user. A computer administrator may selectively override the file accessing instructions, if desired, thereby providing the ability to maintain file security for certain files.
A Web server computer system provides for server based controlled management over a client reference to a resource locator independently selected by a client computer system and referencing a server external Web server. The Web server system provides a client system with a predetermined URL reference to the Web server system encoded with predetermined redirection and accounting data including a reference to a second server system. On receipt by the first Web server system of the predetermined URL reference from said client system, the predetermined redirection and accounting data is decoded from the predetermined URL and processed by the Web server system to provide the client system with a redirection message including the reference to said second server system. The accounting data is processed by the Web server system and resulting data is selectively stored by the Web server system.
Systems and processes of the invention allow a computer to connect to a server of an Internet site for executing an application program that is stored on a disk linked to that server. Specifically, processes are disclosed that provide a data transport interface for connecting to the server. The processes transport from the server a server address signal representative of a network address of the server, and a path name signal representative of a file system that includes an application program. The process further generates a mount request as a function of the path name signal and transports the mount request to the server to direct the server to provide an array of server file pointers that point to a file descriptor representative of the file system that includes the application program. The processes generate an array of remote file pointers, as a function of the server address signal and the array of server file pointers, and provide the array of remote file pointers to a program loader that transports from the disk at the server site to a local program memory element, a file block associated with the selected remote file pointer. The process can employ a redirector that translates requests to access remote files into HTTP compliant commands for collecting files from an HTTP server site.
An improved, distributed network comprising a central server and at least one foreign server, which provides a method and means for integrating multiple networks with varying file systems is provided. The present invention allows foreign servers to coexist on a single integrated file server while eliminating server-to-server translations, thus improving the performance of the network. In a preferred embodiment, the central server communicates with central server clients in accordance with a central server network protocol, and converts central server network file service requests from the central server clients into central server file system commands. Foreign servers communicate with foreign server clients in accordance with a foreign server network protocol and convert foreign server network file service requests from foreign server clients into central server file system commands. The foreign servers also inform the central server of file system operations performed on the central server file system by the foreign file servers.
Method and apparatus in a computer system for communicating messages between message sending and message receiving processes, without the need of providing a system registry of receiving processes and message types. A process wishing to receive messages of type X creates a named pipe having name X. A process wishing to send a message of type X to other interested processes in the system opens every instance of the name pipe X and writes the message to each instance. The system automatically alerts the receiving process on the other end of a pipe instance and, in response, the receiving process reads the message from the named pipe.
A method of extended file access that allows a program running on a computer to access file types, beyond the "standard" file types whose formats have been pre-defined to the operating system, by placing the extended file data in a range of addresses outside the range of addresses of the recorded file data. The extended file data is accessed by positioning a file pointer to a location in the extended range of addresses, and accessing the extended file data at the location of the file pointer. A further embodiment includes preventing further access until the file pointer is repositioned. In this way, extended file data, such as additional characteristics of the file, can be accessed, though these characteristics are not specifically known to the operating system.
