A novel method and apparatus for managing user requests throughout a distributed processing system permits the tracking and managing of a request as it propagates throughout a transaction processing (TP) system; and provides a method and mechanism for communication between an end-user client and any server working as a result of the end-user client's initial request.

A calendar selling system comprises a server that stores information of a plurality of pictures and a terminal that receives information of the plurality of pictures from the server and shows the information to a user, and the user selects pictures for a calendar from the plurality of pictures according to the information with the terminal to order the calendar. The calendar selling system also comprises a printing office that receives information of the pictures selected by the user from the server, prints the calendar with the pictures selected by the user and dates set by the user or automatically set according to the date of the order, delivers the calendar to the user and bills the user. Therefore, the desired calendar can be purchased all through the year and delivered to the user quickly.

A distributed file system for a multi-processor system having multiple nodes, each node having a client processor and a client disk. The nodes are connected to a communications fabric for passing files between the nodes. One of the nodes acts as a server for passing files from the server to any of the other nodes. When a client processor reads a file on its client disk, the client processor obtains the server copy of the file and installs it on the client disk if the server copy of the file is more current, before the read operation. Provision is also made for atomically providing upgrades of application files to the client disks. When the client processor writes to a file, it sets a write flag in the file so that the file thus written to by the client processor is invisible to file operations from the server and the other nodes. The disclosed file system is particularly useful for systems administration of a multi-processor system having a single point of systems software install.

A system and apparatus for enabling supplementary service functions, such as directed call pickup, to be implemented in a communications network having more than one server. The multi-server call pickup system is adapted to enable a user to pick up another user's call from a selected destination anywhere within the network, including outside the local server in a multi-server network. The directed call pickup system includes a pickup request unit that is used for initiating the call pickup feature from a specified location in the network. A remote determination unit and a local determination unit to determine whether to establish local or remote connections to a call pickup user may also be provided. A call establishing unit with a negotiation process for connection establishment is provided to establish a connection between the call and the call pickup user. A notification unit may be provided to notify the system of the completed connection. A link release unit may also be provided to release any temporary links used in establishing the connection. A restriction checking unit may be provided as well to ensure that the pickup user is appropriate for picking up the call. An exception handler to enable the appropriate handling of service errors may also be provided.

The method relates to the location-independent exchange of process data between application programs (5) and process management systems (4). The process management systems (4) and the application programs (5) are provided in a number of different process computers systems (2.1 to 2.7) which are interconnected via a network (1). The data exchange takes place by using a software system (3) which is called Process Information Broker PIB (3) and has three types of component, namely PIB server (3.1), PIB client (3.2) and PIB services (3.3). The PIB services (3.3) contain a switching service (3.31) and a user administrator (3.32). During the start-up of the system and for the purpose of updating, in the respective computer system (2.1 to 2.7), process data are converted from process-computer-specific data structures into process-computer-independent data structures, typified and provided as stored data in an interface. All the computer systems (2.1 to 2.7) register the process data types provided by them, including the storage location thereof, with the switching service (3.31). The stored process data are accessed by the application programs (5) by involving the switching service (3.31) in order to ask for the offered process data types and their storage location. On this basis, process data types are retrieved and operations executed.