JP2002278755A - Method and device for calling selection of distributed software components - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To automatically select and call distributed software components having the same or equivalent functions. SOLUTION: In environment that the software components are dispersedly arranged on a network, when a plurality of software components having the same function exist, a software component to obtain the optimal evaluation result to satisfy conditions provided on the calling side is selected and called by providing the respective software components with evaluation information.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an environment in which software components having the same function or the same function exist in an environment in which software components are distributed and arranged on a network. And selecting and calling a software component that obtains the best evaluation result that satisfies the condition given by the calling side.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art One of the techniques for improving software productivity is to make software components. The term “partialization of software” as used herein refers to dividing software into reusable function units and exposing interfaces necessary for using individual functions. In order to reuse the componentized software in the application, the software components required by the application may be copied and distributed on each computer in advance, but if the number of computers increases, the copied and distributed software components may be used. Maintenance is complicated. If the computers are interconnected via a network, the software components are distributed on the server computer, and the remaining computers share the software components distributed on the server. The complexity of maintenance management due to distribution and duplication of software components is eliminated.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a conventional method of using software components in a distributed arrangement. In order for the application 601 to use the software components 606 distributed and arranged, it is necessary to search and find the target software components 606 on the network 602. Software component 606 to application 6
To make searchable from 01, software component 6
Service information 607 which describes an identifier for uniquely identifying the service 06 and an interface for using the service is registered in the directory 605, and made public on the directory server 603.

When the application 601 uses the software component 606, the software component 606
The software component 60 that is targeted by using the directory server 603 by designating an identifier capable of uniquely identifying
6 has been searched, and the software component 606 has been used by calling it via the component server 604 only when it was found.

By the way, software components 606 are stored in a server on a worldwide network such as the Internet.
Is distributed, there is a possibility that a plurality of software components 606 having the same or equivalent functions are distributed. Even if the functions are the same or equivalent, it is conceivable that usage conditions such as a usage fee may be different for each software component 606 for reasons such as differentiation from other software components. However, in the method of searching for a software component 606 by designating an identifier that can be uniquely identified, it is impossible to use a software component other than the software component determined in advance by the application 601. Also,
The user of the application 601 has the same or equivalent function, and the usage fee of the software component 60 is lower.
For example, when it is desired to select and use the software component 6, a mechanism for selectively using the software component 606 is required.

[0006]

However, the software component 606 divides software into reusable function units and discloses interfaces necessary for using individual functions. Information such as usage fee when using is not stored internally. Therefore, when the application 601 uses the software component 606, the software component 60
6 is searched by designating an identifier that can be uniquely identified, and the found software component 606 is used unconditionally. Even if a plurality of software components 606 are found on another server as a result of the search, a simple selection method such as using the software component 606 found first is used. Therefore, there is a problem in that the application must select and use software components having the same or equivalent functions but different usage conditions.

An object of the present invention is to provide a method and an apparatus for selecting and calling a software component having the best evaluation result that satisfies a condition given by a caller by giving evaluation information to each software component. It is in.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides a system environment in which a plurality of software components having the same function or the same function are distributed on a network. Obtaining the evaluation information associated with each software component in advance in response to the call request to the user, evaluating each software component based on the obtained evaluation information, and giving the calling side the evaluation result. Selecting the software component that obtained the best evaluation result for the condition and returning it to the calling side. Further, the evaluation information of the software component is dynamically described in a script language.

Further, the apparatus according to the present invention comprises a storage means for storing evaluation information for each software component in a system environment in which a plurality of software components having the same or equivalent functions are distributed on a network; Means for obtaining evaluation information corresponding to the software component requested by the calling side from the storage means; means for evaluating each software component based on the obtained evaluation information; Means for selecting a software component that has obtained the best evaluation result with respect to the condition and returning the selected software component to the calling side.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing an embodiment of a distributed software component utilization method to which the present invention is applied. In FIG. 1, a network 1
In addition to the service information 107 that describes an identifier for uniquely identifying the software component 106 and an interface for using a service, the software component 106
Prepares evaluation information 112 that describes information for evaluating the service provided by. The evaluation information 112 describes charging information and the like for use of the service.

The service information 107 and the evaluation information 112 are
A set is registered in the directory 105. The contents of the directory 105 are made public on the network 102 via the directory server 103. Directory server 1
03 provides a general service for publishing various resources on the network 102. The software component 106 is released to the network 102 via the component server 104. A component selection call server 111 is installed as a proxy server between the application 101, the directory server 103 and the component server 104, and a request for using the software component 106 from the application 101 is made via the component selection call server 111. .

Next, the structure of the component selection calling server 111 will be described. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the structure of the component selection calling server 111. Component selection call server 111 shown here
Is composed of a control unit 121, a component search unit 122, a component evaluation unit 123, a component selection unit 124, and a component calling unit 125. The control unit 121 controls other units. The part search means 122 is a directory server 10
3, the software component 106 is searched for from the public resources registered in the directory 105 using the service information 108, and all the search results are listed. The component evaluation unit 123 searches the directory 10 for all the software components 106 listed by the component search unit 122.
Using the evaluation information 113 registered in No. 5, it is evaluated whether or not the condition presented by the application 101 is satisfied. The component selection unit 124 compares the result evaluated by the component evaluation unit 123 with the condition presented by the application 101, and selects the software component 106 that satisfies the condition most advantageously. The component calling unit 125 is configured to send a call from the application 101 to the component selecting unit 1.
The call is relayed to the software component 106 selected in 24.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the processing contents of the component selection calling server 111. First, application 1
It is assumed that the component selection calling server 111 receives a conditional call from 01 to the software component 106 on behalf of the software component 106. First, the software component 106 is searched and listed by the component search means 122 using the directory server 103 (step 301). Next, it is determined whether the software component 106 has been found. If the software component 106 has not been found, the process proceeds to step 307 and an error is set (step 302). Next, all the software components 106 listed by the component search unit 122 are evaluated by the component evaluation unit 123 (step 303). Next, based on the result evaluated by the component evaluation unit 123, the component selection unit 12
In step 4, the software component 106 is selected (step 30).
4). Next, the software component 1 is
It is determined whether 06 has been selected. If not, the process proceeds to step 307 (step 305). next,
Software component 106 selected by component selection means 124
Is called by the component calling means 125, and the process is terminated (step 306). If an error has occurred, the error is set and the process ends (step 307).

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing, as an example of the data structure of the evaluation information 113, a data structure in the case of handling charging information for the service of the software component 106. In this example, the data structure is X
Expressed in ML. The evaluation information 113 is charging information for the service of the software component 106, and includes a unit price up,
It consists of an average execution time et, a charge estimation script scr, and the like. The unit price up is a constant serving as a basis for charging, and is a numerical value serving as a basis for setting a service fee. The breakdown of the unit price up is composed of a charge up for one service call, a charge upt per unit time related to the execution of the service, a fixed charge upm on a monthly basis without depending on the usage amount, and the like. The average execution time et is an average value of the time required to execute the service, and is basic information when charging is performed according to the service execution time. Price quote script scr
This is a program code for calculating a fee required to execute a service using a unit price up, an average execution time et, and the like. The billing information is ultimately expressed as a service charge, but the service charge calculation process generally differs for each service. Therefore, it is not sufficient to simply return the numerical value in the unit price up as a means for obtaining the service usage fee. Therefore, the source program code of the logic for calculating the service charge in a script language capable of describing the procedure is described and stored in the charge estimation script scr. By storing the source program code of the script language in the charge estimation script scr, the affinity with XML is improved.

FIG. 5 shows an example in which the charge estimation script scr in the data structure of FIG. 4 is expressed in XML and JavaScript. In this example, a procedure CalcChargeByCall for calculating a fee by specifying the number of calls using the JavaScript language as an argument is defined in the XML SCRIPT tag. In the procedure CalcChargeByCall, the number of calls given by the argument is determined, and if the number of calls exceeds ten, half the unit price of the call is returned; otherwise, the unit price of the call is returned. As described above, embedding a script in an XML element enables more flexible evaluation of the software component 106.

In the above example, the example of the billing information as the evaluation information has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Various types of information can be used in appropriate combinations. Also, a component selection call server 111, a directory server 103, a component server 104
Are arranged independently of each other, but their functions can be appropriately combined and arranged in one or two servers.

[0017]

As described above, according to the present invention, when there are a plurality of software components having the same function in an environment where software components are distributed and arranged on a network, each software component is evaluated. By providing the information, by selecting and calling the software component having the best evaluation result that satisfies the condition given by the calling side, the following effects can be obtained. (1) It is possible to select and call a software component that satisfies a condition without describing a logic for selecting the software component on the side that uses the software component. (2) A software component can be selectively called without being aware of an increase or decrease in the number of available software components. (3) The use of software components that do not meet the conditions can be suppressed in advance.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of a method for selectively calling a distributed software component according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a structure of a component selection calling server.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of component selection calling.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a data structure of evaluation information.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a charge estimation script.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a conventional method of using distributed software components.

[Description of sign]

101 application, 102 network, 1
03: directory server, 104: component server, 10
5 directory, 106 software component, 107
... service information, 108 ... service information (copy), 1
11 ... parts selection calling server, 112 ... evaluation information, 113
... Evaluation information (copy), 121 ... Control means, 122 ... Part search means, 123 ... Part evaluation means, 124 ... Part selection means, 125 ... Part calling means.

Claims (3)

[Claims] In a system environment in which a plurality of software components having the same function or equivalent functions are distributed on a network, a call request for each software component is evaluated in advance in correspondence with each software component. Obtaining information, evaluating each software component based on the obtained evaluation information, and selecting, from among the evaluation results, a software component having the best evaluation result with respect to the condition given by the caller. And returning to the calling side. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the evaluation information of the software component is dynamically described in a script language. 3. In a system environment in which a plurality of software components having the same function or equivalent functions are distributed and arranged on a network, storage means for storing evaluation information for each software component and a request from a caller A means for obtaining evaluation information corresponding to the software component from the storage means; a means for evaluating each software component based on the obtained evaluation information; Means for selecting a software component having obtained an evaluation result and returning the selected software component to a calling side.