JP3006187B2 - Distributed processing system - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a distributed processing system suitable for large-scale distributed processing, and more particularly to a distributed processing system including a plurality of networks connecting a large number of computers.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, distributed processing is used in various fields. In order to realize efficient distributed processing, objects on each computer are efficiently managed and utilized, and communication between them is performed. Needs to be made more efficient. Therefore, several methods have been proposed so far.

As described in JP-A-61-267859,
It has a process management table in which the status, identification number, node address, and the like of processes on each node are registered. When a message is transmitted, a supervisor process refers to the process management table and transmits a message, so that an efficient message is transmitted. 2. Description of the Related Art A distributed processing system capable of performing exchange is known.

In order to efficiently use and manage a large amount of resources, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1-166158, resources distributed on each computer are used as if they are resources on one computer. The management information for realizing the virtual resource management as shown in FIG. 2 is held on one computer, and the virtual resources are allocated to the distributed resources by using the virtual identification means having the same management structure on all the computers. 2. Description of the Related Art An access method of a distributed resource for performing access is known.

[0005]

However, the above-mentioned prior art is a system in which processes are managed for each computer, or resources of the entire system are managed in one place.
For this reason, no consideration is given to the efficient management of large-scale distributed processing systems that are distributed over a wide area and have a large amount of hardware and software. Unless known in detail, there is a problem that efficient processing cannot be realized.

An object of the present invention is to provide a distributed processing system capable of efficiently managing a large number of objects in a large-scale distributed processing system.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a distributed processing system capable of efficiently using those objects managed efficiently.

[0008] Here, the object means an application program, a process, a program module, a file, a database, and other resources in a distributed environment. Generally, the processing is started by receiving a message. Then, the process proceeds while the objects exchange messages.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, it is effective to modularize and manage related objects among a large number of objects. However, for that purpose, means for efficiently using and managing a set of modularized objects is required. Therefore, in the present invention, an object-forming means capable of treating a set of objects as one object is provided.

[0010] In order to achieve the above object, when a message is sent to one object that has been made into an object by the above-mentioned objectizing means, the processing for the message is performed in an optimal manner among a plurality of objectized objects. A message transfer means is provided so as to request efficient object processing.

[0011]

When the functions and data of a plurality of objects are used, the object conversion means provides an interface that can be treated as the functions and data of another object. Therefore, when another object uses the functions or data, it is only necessary to send a message to the objectized object and request processing, and it is possible to realize those functions and data by one object. Can be used in the same way.

The message transfer means stores information on functions and data of a plurality of modularized objects, and when a process is requested by a message to the objectized objects, the plurality of modularized objects are processed. In order to use the functions and data efficiently, refer to the information on the stored functions and data and select an object to execute the requested processing from among the plurality of modularized objects,
By transferring a message to the object, efficient processing is realized.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

(1) Outline of an embodiment of the present invention First, an outline of an embodiment of the present invention will be described. In this embodiment, the object is one program module, and is executed as one process in the computer. A process is a processing flow of a series of programs executed by a processor, and is also called a task. Generally, an application program is composed of a plurality of functional modules, and each functional module can be an object. And while communicating by sending and receiving messages between those objects,
Execute the process. In a distributed system, a method of configuring an application program by a combination of a client process that requests a specific process and a server process that executes the requested process is widely used.
Each of the client process and the server process is one object. Details of the object will be described later.

In an actual distributed processing system, a plurality of application programs are executed simultaneously, so that the distributed processing system has a large number of objects. In a distributed system, it is very important to manage these many objects efficiently. Therefore, a plurality of related objects are managed by being modularized. The group of modular objects is called the world. FIG. 1 is a conceptual configuration diagram of one embodiment of the present invention. The system has objects 111,1
21, 122, 131, 132, 211, 221 and 31
There are 1,321 and many other objects. Here, objects 211, 221, 222, 231, and 2
32 as world 2w, objects 311, 321,
322, 331, 332 are modularized as world 3w. Then, direct message communication is possible only between objects in the same world.

However, in this case, it is impossible for an object outside the world to use a function of an object outside the world. In order to make the functions and data of objects in one world available to other objects easily and efficiently, the functions of multiple objects in the world are treated as if they were one object. Provide an interface that can be handled. However, in general, it is not necessary to provide all functions and data of all objects in the world to the outside of the world, and it is sufficient that some required functions and data can be handled from the outside.
In the present embodiment, a part of the functions of the objects in the world 2 w is
Part of the functions of the objects in w can be handled as one object 131. And objects 111, 121,
131, 141, and 142 are modularized as one world 1w.

In order to represent a part of the functions of a plurality of objects in the world as one object in another world, in this embodiment, object conversion processing 12o, 13o and message transfer processing 2m, 3m are provided. Object conversion is a process to show some of the functions of objects in the world as functions of one object, and message transfer is a process that actually performs a job requested by an object outside the world. This is the process of assigning objects. That is, a message sent to an object representing the other world is transferred to the other world by the object conversion process associated with the object, and further, a specific object in the world is transferred by the message transfer processing unit of the other world. Is transferred to and processed. Thus, each object only communicates with objects in the world where those objects exist, and indirectly communicates between different worlds and can use the functions of objects in other worlds. .

In the present embodiment, for example, the object conversion processing 12o includes the functions B,
Of the functions C, D, J, N, and P, only the functions B, C, and D are shown as functions of the object 121 in the world 1w. Therefore, the object in the world 1w does not directly communicate with the object in the world 2w, and the object 121 itself has the functions B, C,
A job can be requested as having the function D.
Here, the requested job is actually executed by any object in the world 2w, but to which object it is actually assigned is determined by the message transfer process 2m. Details of these processes will be described later.

For example, in FIG. 1, if the object 111 requests the object 121 to perform a job by a message 1112m, the processing for the message is requested to the object conversion processing 12o (12o1) and further to the message transfer processing unit 2m. (12o2). The message transfer processing unit 2m requests processing by transmitting a message 2121m to the object 211, for example.
Then, the object 211 actually performs the processing. If necessary, the object 211 is, for example, the object 22
1, a message 2122m, and an object 22
1 transmits a message 2223m to the object 231 and executes a process requested by a plurality of objects in the world 2w.

(2) System Configuration A specific configuration of an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. One embodiment of the present invention is a distributed processing system in which a plurality of networks 1, 2 and 3 exist. Network 1 has computer 1
1, Computer 12, Computer 13, and Network 2 are connected to Computer 21, Computer 22, and Computer 23, and Network 3 is connected to Computer 31, Computer 32, and Computer 33. Network 1 and Network 2 are Gateway 1
2g, the network 1 and the network 3 are connected by a gateway 13g, and communication over a plurality of networks is possible.

A network is given a network number, and a network can be uniquely determined in the system by designating the network number. Further, a computer number is assigned to a computer for each network, and a computer can be uniquely determined in a network by designating the computer number. A computer address is formed by combining a network number and a computer number, and a computer can be uniquely determined in the system by specifying the computer address. For example, Internetworking with TCP / IP, Principles, Protocols, and Architecture (1988) (Prentce-Hall, Inc.) (Internetworking with TCP)
/ IPPrinciples, Protocols, and Architecture (198
8)), the currently widely used network communication protocol TCP / I
The P protocol uses a computer address expressed as a 32-bit integer. In one embodiment of the present invention, the network numbers of network 1, network 2, and network 3 are 1, 2, and 3, respectively. For example, the computer number of the computer 11 is 1, the computer address is 11, the computer number of the computer 12 is 2, the computer address is 12, the computer number of the computer 21 is 1, and the computer address is 21.
The same applies to the computer numbers and computer addresses of other computers.

Each computer has a multi-process function capable of simultaneously executing a plurality of processes. Therefore, a plurality of objects can exist simultaneously on one computer and operate in parallel. For example, The Design and Implementation of the 4.3, published by Addison-Wesley Publish Company.
BSD Unix Operating
System (1989) (The Design and Implementation
of the 4.3BSD UNIX Operation System (198
As described in 9)), the currently widely used UNIX operating system (UNIX is an operating system developed by AT & T Bell Laboratories) has a multi-process function and utilizes it. By doing so, multiple processes can be executed simultaneously on one computer. Each computer has one inter-process communication processing unit. In this embodiment, the computer 11 is 11c, the computer 12 is 12c, the computer 2
1 has 21c. Similarly, other computers have an inter-process communication processing unit. Message communication can be performed between processes by the inter-process communication processing unit.

Communication between processes is performed using ports. Each computer is provided with a plurality of ports, and each port is given a port number. In one computer, a port can be uniquely determined by specifying a port number. For example, the Design and Implementation of the 4.3 BSS
Dee-Unix Operating System (1
989), the Unix operating system provides an inter-process communication function called a socket. Here, the port is specified by a port number represented by a 16-bit (2 byte) integer.

In this embodiment, the inter-process communication processing unit uses a socket. In a socket, communication between processes is possible by specifying a socket address. The socket address includes an address family number, a port number, and a computer address. The address family number is a 16-bit (2-byte) integer indicating the type of address. However, in this embodiment, only one address type is used, and the same address family number is always used. Therefore, communication between processes is possible only by designating a computer address and a port number.

Each computer has an object. For example, the computer 11 has an object 111, and the computer 12 has an object 121, an object 122, and a computer 1.
3 includes an object 131 and an object 132, a computer 21 includes an object 211, and a computer 22 includes an object 221 and an object 222. Similarly, objects exist in other computers.

There is one meta-object for each object. The meta-object is a program module having a function of managing objects. In this embodiment, the meta-object mainly performs communication management, that is, processes related to transmission and reception of messages. For example, object 11
A meta-object 116 exists in 1 and a meta-object 216 exists in the object 211, and are associated with each other. However, for objects representing other worlds, a meta-object with an object conversion processing function, which is obtained by adding a function of executing an object conversion process to a normal meta-object, is provided. Therefore, in this embodiment, FIG.
Is executed by the meta-object with the object conversion function. For example, the computer 12 has a meta-object 126 with an object conversion function associated with the object 121, and the computer 13 has a meta-object 136 with an object conversion function associated with the object 131.
Exists. Then, object conversion processing 1 in FIG.
2o is a meta-object 1 with an object processing function
26, the object conversion processing 13o is executed by the meta-object 136 with the object conversion processing function.

In this embodiment, one object is executed by one process, but a meta-object is also included in the object process. Therefore, the object and the meta-object associated therewith exist on the same computer.

In one embodiment of the present invention, a module obtained by modularizing a plurality of objects is called a world. That is, the world indicates a range in which a plurality of related objects exist. There can be more than one world in the system. The world is given a world name. Only direct communication is possible between objects in the same world. The object is given an object name. By specifying an object name, an object can be uniquely determined within one world.

In this embodiment, it is assumed that an object existing in a computer connected to one network belongs to one world. That is, an object existing in a computer connected to the network 1 belongs to the world 1w, an object existing in a computer connected to the network 2 belongs to the world 2w, and an object existing in a computer connected to the network 3 belongs to the world 3w. That is, the objects 111, 121, 122, 131, and 132 correspond to the world 1
In w, the objects 211, 221, 222, 231 and
232 is the world 2w, objects 311, 321, 3
22, 331, 332 belong to the world 3w.

There is one message transfer processor and one world object management database for each world. In other words, one of the computers connected to each network has a message transfer processing unit and a world object management database. In the present embodiment, the computer 11 connected to the network 1 stores the message transfer processing unit 1m and the world object management database 1d.
A message transfer processing unit 2m and a world object management database 2 are sent to a computer 21 connected to the network 2.
d, a computer 31 connected to the network 3 has a message transfer processor 3m and a world object management database 3d.

In this embodiment, the message transfer processing of the message transfer processing unit is described by a program, and one message transfer processing unit is executed by one process. The world object management database is a file,
The object name of the object in the world, the computer address where the object exists, the port number connected to the meta-object associated with the object, a message that the object can accept, and information on the function of the object are stored. The message transfer processing unit can transfer a message between objects by reading information stored in the world object management database.

In order to represent the functions of a plurality of objects in the world to objects in other worlds, it is necessary to associate a message transfer processing unit with a meta-object having an object conversion processing function. Therefore, the message transfer processing unit and the meta-object with the
The computer address and port number where the other party exists are stored, and inter-process communication is performed between them. In this embodiment, a fixed port number, for example, port number 100 is given to the message transfer processing unit. As a result, for example, a message transmitted to the object 121 is
6 to the message transfer processor 2m. The message transfer processing unit 2m reads information on the objects in the world stored in the world object management database 2d, determines an appropriate destination object, and transfers the message to the object. Therefore,
Without directly communicating between objects belonging to different worlds, functions of objects belonging to other worlds can be used.

FIG. 3 shows the relationship between the world and objects in this embodiment. Since it is not necessary to be aware of object conversion processing and message transfer processing from the viewpoint of an object, it can be expressed only by the relationship between the world and objects as shown in the figure.
Objects 211, 221, 222, 2 in the world 2w
Some functions realized by the functions 31 and 241 are represented by the object 121 in the world 1w. Similarly, a part of the functions realized by the plurality of objects in the world 3w is the object 13 in the world 1w.
1 represented. In such a relationship between the worlds, the world 1w is referred to as an upper world of the world 2w, and the world 2w is referred to as a lower world of the world 1w. (3) Object An object according to an embodiment of the present invention is a program that is activated by receiving a message and executes a process. Generally, an object is a set of data and procedures related to the data. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the object 132 is composed of data and programs of Procedure 1, Procedure 2, and Procedure 3. In each procedure, a message name of a received message for starting the process is defined.
For example, when a message having a message name of message e is received, procedure 1 is performed, and the message name is message f.
Is defined to start procedure 2 when a message of message h is received, and to start procedure 3 when a message having a message name of message h is received.

However, in the case of an object associated with a meta-object having an object processing function,
Even if the procedure is not particularly defined, the processing corresponding to the received message is executed by the object conversion processing of the meta-object with the object conversion processing function. Details of this operation will be described later.

A message is a means for exchanging information between objects. In this embodiment, since the meta-object has a communication management function, inter-object communication is executed by the object requesting the meta-object to transmit and receive a message.

The message handled by the object consists of only the message name or the message name and one or more argument data. FIG. 5 shows the data format of the message actually handled by the object. The message 800 is a memory address 80 in which a character string representing a message name is stored.
1, data 802 indicating the number of arguments, and memory addresses 803, 804, etc., where each argument data is stored. The character strings of the message names are 8011 and 8012
Is represented by a sequence of character codes. The actual data of the argument is 8031,8 according to each data type.
041 is stored. The data type of the argument is defined in advance in the program of each object so that the sender object and the receiver object match for each message. Similarly, the presence or absence of a response and the data type of the response are also defined in advance. The reply is stored at the address indicated by the message argument.
Information on the number and data types of the message arguments, the presence / absence of a reply, and the data type is also stored in the meta-object associated with the object that transmits and receives the message, and is used in the meta-object message transmission and reception process.

The operation of the object will be described with reference to FIG. The object first requests the meta-object to read a message addressed to the object (100
1). This is done by calling a procedure in the meta-object program. The operation of the meta-object in response to a message read request will be described later. FIG. 5 if the message received by the meta-object exists
The message can be received as data in the format shown in FIG. If the received message is not obtained, repeat the message read request to the meta-object,
If it is obtained, the process proceeds to the next process (1002). Next, the object executes a procedure selection execution process for the received message (1100), and if a reply is necessary (100)
3) Request a message reply from the meta object (1004). A message reply request can also be executed by calling the procedure of the meta-object.

Next, a procedure selection execution process for a received message will be described with reference to FIG. This is an example of the object 132 shown in FIG. First, it is determined what the message name of the received message is (110).
1). If the message is e, execute procedure 1 (110
2) If the message is f, execute procedure 2 (1103);
If the message is h, procedure 3 is executed (110
4). The arguments of the message are used for processing the procedure to be executed. If a message with a message name for which no corresponding procedure exists is received, it is ignored and no processing is performed.

Objects can execute processing in parallel while exchanging messages with each other by inter-object communication. Objects can send messages to other objects as needed in the procedure program. To transmit a message, message data in the format shown in FIG. 5 may be generated, and a message transmission may be requested to a meta-object associated with the object. The message transmission request is also executed by calling the procedure of the meta-object.

In the present embodiment, a plurality of different message transmission systems are provided. That is, there are object address designation transmission, object name designation transmission, transmission with transmission destination determination information, and broadcast type transmission. The object address designation transmission is to designate and transmit a computer address at which a destination object exists and a port name to which the object is connected when the object name is known. Sending by specifying the object name is to send by specifying the destination object name. Although the object name is known,
It can be used when the destination computer address and port number are unknown. The transmission with transmission destination determination information is to transmit the transmission destination determination information used to determine the transmission destination with the function name of the procedure to be executed by the object receiving the message. This is the object name,
It is used when only the function name is known without knowing the computer address and port number. In this case, the message name may be unknown. The destination and the name of the message sent by the transmission with the destination information are determined by the message transfer means, the details of which will be described later. Broadcast transmission is used when a message is transmitted to all objects in the world without specifying a destination.
Which transmission method is used is specified when requesting a message transmission from the meta object.

Also, the messages can be prioritized. The priority can be given as an integer from 0 to 256, for example, and the smaller the number, the higher the priority. If there are a plurality of received messages, the object executes the processing corresponding to those messages in order from the message with the highest priority.
The processing related to the priority is executed by the meta-object, which will be described later.

(4) Meta-object FIG. 8 shows the relationship between the meta-object, the object, and the inter-process communication processing unit. The meta-object 137 is connected to the object 132 and the inter-process communication processing unit 13c. The meta-object 137 has a message queue 137q, and the messages addressed to the object 132 are arranged in accordance with the priority order and stored in the message queue 137q.

The meta-object reads a message from the message queue from the object, receives a request (1328) for message transmission, message reply, etc.
Execute the process. Further, it requests the inter-process communication processing unit to read a message from a port, transmit a message, and the like (1379). If necessary, process the object (13) such as rewriting data or procedures in the object.
29) can also be performed.

The message handled by the object has the format shown in FIG. 5, and the object and the meta object exchange messages according to this format, as described above. On the other hand, the format of the message handled by the inter-process communication processing unit is the format shown in FIG. That is, message 9
00 is data 901 representing the overall size (number of bytes) of the message, and data 90 representing the type of the message.
2, priority 903, message name 904, data 905 representing the number of arguments, argument data 906, destination determination information 907, and reply information 908. Here, the message type indicates whether the message is a message transmitted by specifying an object address, a message transmitted by specifying an object name, a message transmitted by transmission with destination determination information, a message transmitted by broadcast, or a reply message.

Further, the message name is composed of a sequence 9041, 9042 of character codes representing the character string. Add a terminator at the end of the character code sequence. Argument data is a combination of the size (the number of bytes) and the data itself for each argument data, which are arranged for all arguments. The first argument size 9061, the first argument data 9062, Size of second argument 9063,2
It consists of the 90th argument data 9063 and the like. In the case of a reply message, the reply data is sent as argument data. The transmission destination determination information is a character string representing a function name, and is a sequence of character codes 9071, 9072, and the like. The reply information includes data 9081 indicating whether or not a reply to the message is required, and a source address of the message, that is, a computer address 9082 and a port number 9083 of a reply destination to the message.

The processing of the meta-object is started by a request from the object. The details will be described with reference to FIG. Processing differs from object to request (2001). If the request from the object is a request to read a message from the message queue,
The process reads out the message from the port to the inter-process communication processing unit and executes it (2002). Since the inter-process communication processing unit is realized by a function of the operating system, this request is realized by calling a system call of the operating system. Messages are retrieved one by one. If a message exists in the port (2003), the message storage processing 2100 for storing the message in the message queue is executed, and then the processing returns to the processing 2002 again. If a message does not exist in the port, it is checked whether a message exists in the message queue (2004). If there is no message, the process is terminated. If there is, a message at the head of the message queue is read (2005). ). If the read message requires a reply, the message sender, ie, the reply destination computer address and port number, in the reply information of the message are stored (200).
6). If this meta-object is a normal meta-object, the data format of the message is converted from the format shown in FIG. 9 to the format shown in FIG. 5 and passed to the object (2008), and the process ends. If this meta-object is a meta-object with an object-forming processing function, the object-forming processing 2200 is executed and the processing ends.

When the request from the object is message transmission, first, message data in the format shown in FIG. 9 is generated based on the data received from the object in the format shown in FIG. 5 (2009), and the message transmission request processing is performed. 23
Execute 00. Then, if a reply message to the message is not required, the process is terminated. If necessary, the process proceeds to the next process (2010). That is, after executing the reply message wait 2400, the reply obtained by the execution is returned to the object (2011).

If the request from the object is a reply to the message, reply message data in the format shown in FIG. 9 is generated (2012), and the process of transmitting the reply message to the stored reply destination computer address and port number is performed. It requests the inter-communication processing unit (2013).

Next, the message queue storage processing 2100, object conversion processing 2200, message transmission request processing 2300, and reply message waiting processing 2400 in the above processing will be described in detail.

FIG. 11 shows a message storage process 2100 for a received message. First, it is checked whether the message queue is empty (2101). If it is empty, the received message is stored in the message queue (210).
2). If it is not empty, it is checked whether a message having a lower priority than the received message exists in the message queue (2103). If so, insert the received message before those lower priority messages (2
104). If not, the received message is stored at the end of the message queue (2105). By the above processing, the messages in the message queue are arranged in order from the one with the highest priority. In the case of the same priority, the message that arrived earlier is located earlier.

Next, the object conversion processing 2200 will be described. This processing is executed only in the case of a meta-object with an object conversion processing function. The meta-object with the object processing function stores processable message information, and performs object processing by referring to this information. FIG. 12 shows an example of the processable message information stored in the meta-object 126 with the object processing function. Processing can be performed when the message name is message b, message c, or message d, indicating that functions B, C, and D can be realized, respectively. Therefore, the objects in the world 1w transmit a message to the object 121 and request a job, assuming that the object 121 itself connected to the meta-object 126 with the object conversion function has the functions B, C, and D. be able to. The meta-object with the object processing function stores the computer address of the associated message transfer processing unit, requests the inter-process communication processing unit in which the meta-object with the object processing function exists and sends the message to the message transfer processing unit. Can be transferred.

The object conversion processing for a message read from the message queue will be described with reference to FIG. First, it is checked whether or not the message name of the read message is the message name described in the processable message information (2201). If the message name is not described, the process for the read message is not performed and the process ends. If it is described, the function name corresponding to the message name is written in the read message data as the destination determination information (see FIG. 9), and the transmission of the message is associated as the transmission with the destination determination information. Requesting the inter-process communication processing unit by designating the computer address and the port number of the message communication processing unit (220)
2).

For example, when the message b arrives at the object 121, the function B is added as destination determination information of the message, and then the message transfer processing unit 2
m. Similarly, when the message d arrives, a function D is added as transmission destination determination information and transferred. Then, as described later, these messages are transferred by the message transfer processing unit 2m to objects in the world 2w that realize their functions.

Next, the message transmission request processing 2300 will be described with reference to FIG. In this case, the processing differs according to the message transmission format (2301). In the case of transmission by specifying an object address, a given computer address and port number are specified, and a message transmission is requested to the inter-process communication means (2302). In the case of object-name-specified transmission, transmission with destination determination information, and broadcast-type transmission, the message transfer processing unit in the world to which the object associated with the meta-object being processed belongs, that is, the computer in which the meta-object exists. By designating the computer address and port number of the message transfer processing unit in the connected network, requesting the inter-process communication means to transmit the message (230
3). That is, in this case, since the computer address and port number of the destination of the message are unknown, the message is once transmitted to the message transfer processing unit, and the message transfer processing unit is requested to transfer the message to the destination object.

The reply message waiting process 2400 will be described with reference to FIG. First, a request to read a message from a port is issued to the inter-process communication processing unit and executed (2
401). If a message exists in the port, the process proceeds to the next process, and if not, the process returns to the process 2401 (2402). If a message is obtained, it is checked whether it is a reply message (2403). If the message is a reply message, the process is terminated; otherwise, the obtained message is stored in a message queue 2100.
Is performed, the process returns to the process 2401 again.

As described above, the meta-object mainly executes and manages message transmission / reception processing, and can handle messages having a priority. Also,
In the case of a meta-object with an object conversion function, an object conversion process is performed that enables an object connected to the meta-object to behave as if it has the function of an object existing in another world.

(5) Message Transfer Processing Unit The message transfer processing unit in this embodiment, upon receiving a message to the message transfer processing unit, reads out information stored in the world object management database and transfers the message. The destination object is determined, and the message is transferred to the computer address and the port number.

FIG. 16 shows an example of the world object management database. Object names, computer addresses, port numbers, and all objects in the world
Acceptable message names and function names are stored. For example, the object 111 exists in the computer with the computer address 11 and is connected to the port with the port number 101, and can receive the message with the message name of message a. When the message is received, the function name is the function of the function A. Is stored. Further, the object 132 exists in the computer of the computer address 13 and is connected to the port of the port number 102, and can receive the messages having the message names of the message e, the message f, and the message h.
, The procedure of the function I is executed when the message f is received, the procedure of the function K is executed when the message f is received, and the procedure of the function H is executed when the message h is received. I have. Also, the object 121 represents a part of the functions of the objects in the world 2w, but in FIG. 16, among the functions of the objects in the world 2, the functions B, C, and D are the objects 12.
It can be seen that 1 is representative.

The operation of the message transfer processing unit will be described with reference to FIG. First, the message transfer processing unit requests the inter-process communication processing unit to read the message stored in the port of the message transfer processing unit (3001). If the message is obtained, the process proceeds to the next process. If not, the process returns to the process 4001 (3002). Next, the type of the message is checked (3003).

First, if the message is an object name designation transmission message, information stored in the world object management database is read, and a computer address and a port number where the designated transmission destination object exists are obtained (3004). Then, it designates the computer address and the port number and requests the inter-process communication processing unit to transmit the read message (3005).

Next, if the message is a transmission message with destination determination information, the function name given as the destination determination information, the object name stored in the worldwide object management database, the computer address, the port number,
The computer address, port number, and message name of the destination object of the message are determined by comparing the information of the receivable message name and the function name (300).
6) A request is made to the inter-process communication processing unit for message transmission by designating the determined destination computer address and port number (3007). If the message name in the world object management database with the matching function name is different from the message name of the sent message,
Rewritten to the message name in the World Object Management Database.

For example, the message transfer processing unit 2 of the world 2w
In the case where a message is transmitted by communication with destination determination information in which destination determination information of function B is added to m, the computer address is changed with reference to the world object database 2d shown in FIG. It is understood that a message having a message name of message g should be transmitted to the object 221 having the port number 101. In this case, even if the message name of the transferred message is not specified or is another message name, the message name is transmitted after being corrected to the message g. Therefore, when the message b is sent to the object 121 in the world 1w as described above, the message name of the message transferred to the message transfer processing unit in the world 2w is corrected to the message g, and Will be transferred.

It should be noted that the function name of the object database in the world determines whether a message transmission to one object is sufficient to realize the function or whether the communication must be broadcast communication to an object in the world. Information is also stored. For example, when a message is transmitted by communication with destination determination information in which destination determination information of function D is added to a message transfer processing unit of the world 2w, referring to the in-world object database 2d shown in FIG. , Information of function D / part is stored for all objects. This means that each object implements only a part of the function D, and it is necessary to transmit a message to all objects in the world 2 to execute the function D. Therefore, in this case, the inter-process communication means is requested to transmit a message having the message name k by designating the computer address and the port number for all the objects.

Finally, if the message is a broadcast type communication (3003), a message obtained by designating a computer address and a port number is transmitted to all objects stored in the world object management database. (3008).

As described above, the message transfer means reads out the information stored in the world object management database and executes the message transfer processing. In addition, the message sent from the meta-object with the object conversion function of the other world
It also has a function of transferring to objects in the world where the message transfer means exists.

(6) Inter-Process Communication Processing Unit As described above, in the present embodiment, the inter-process communication processing unit is realized by using the inter-process communication function of the operating system. Therefore, when the meta-object or the message transfer processing unit requests the inter-process communication processing unit to transmit a message, the message transmission system call may be called, and when the meta-object or the message transfer processing unit requests reading of the message in the port, the message reception system call may be called. .

The outline of the operation in the inter-process communication processing section will be described with reference to FIG. Here, a message reception interrupt process 4100 activated when a message from another computer arrives, a message transmission system call process 4200 activated by a system call from a process in a computer in which the inter-process communication processing unit exists, An outline of the operation of the message reading system call processing 4300 will be described.

The message reception interrupt processing is started when a message arrives from another computer via the network (4101). Then, a message according to the TCP / IP protocol sent from the network is received (4103), the message is stored in the designated port (4104), and the process ends.

The message transmission system call process is executed when a meta-object (including a meta-object with an object processing function) or a message transfer processing unit in the computer calls the message transmission system call (4).
201) Activated and given message is TCP / I
Transmission is performed according to the P protocol (4202).

The message receiving system call is executed when the meta-object (including the meta-object with the object conversion function) or the message transfer processing unit in the computer calls the message receiving system call (430).
1) Activated, reads the message in the port and returns it to the caller (4302).

For the above-described inter-process communication processing, for example, the socket function of the aforementioned Unix operating system can be used as it is. That is,
The Design and Implementation
For example, as described in of the 4.3 BSD Unix Operating System (1989), a message sending system call is a sendto system call, and a message receiving system call is recv.
A system call may be used. However, in this case, the sending process and the receiving process using interprocess communication use a socket system call for opening a socket in advance, a bind system call for allocating an address to the socket, and a conn for issuing a connection request.
ect accepts system calls and connection requests
sten system call, acccept to establish connection
It is necessary to make it possible to send and receive messages using a socket using a system call or the like.

As described above, the inter-process communication processing unit can be easily realized by using the inter-process communication function of the operating system.

(7) Effects of One Embodiment of the Invention The embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail. According to an embodiment of the present invention, objects in the world can be modularized and managed, and objects in other worlds where objects representing the world exist can be used as functions of the objects in the modularized world and their functions. Because you can send a message to one object that is an object of them without having to know on which computer the object exists, you can request processing.
There is an effect that efficient processing is possible.

Even if the configuration of a system such as a computer and an object in the world is changed, only the information stored in the world object management database which handles the information of the world is changed, and the object of another world is changed. No change is required for the processing of the meta-object with the object conversion function, the message transfer processing unit, and the like, so that there is an effect that the system can be flexibly coped with expansion and change.

Messages between objects belonging to different worlds are transferred by the meta-object with the object processing function and the message transfer processing unit, and the communication between the meta-object with the object processing function and the message transfer processing unit is based on the function name. Since it is designated and mediated, even if the object that realizes the function or the message name for it is changed, it is only necessary to change the information stored in the changed object management database in the world. There is an effect that the system can be realized.

Also, objects belonging to different worlds cannot communicate directly, and only some of the functions in the world can be used from the outside. This has the effect that a highly reliable distributed system can be realized.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, even if the computer address and port number of the message transfer destination are not known,
Since the message transfer processing unit determines the computer address where the object exists, and the inter-process communication processing unit determines the port number of the object, the message can be transmitted only by specifying the object name. Furthermore, even if the name of the destination object or message is unknown,
By simply specifying the function name that the user wants to use, the message transfer processing unit provides a function to determine the destination object. Therefore, there is an effect that it is possible to realize a system that is easy to create an object, has excellent object reusability, and can flexibly cope with system expansion and change.

Further, since one world corresponds to one network, there is an effect that broadcast-type communication in the world can be efficiently performed. Configuration information in one network, such as a computer address where the object exists, is stored in a world object management database on a computer connected to the network,
Since the change in the configuration in the network does not affect the outside of the network, there is an effect that the system management becomes easy.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, since each object has a meta-object and executes and manages the communication process, the object itself performs the details of the message transmission / reception process using the inter-process communication processing unit. The message can be transmitted and received without being aware of this, and when changing the communication method or the like, it is only necessary to change the processing of the meta-object, and the object is not affected. Therefore, there is an effect that an object can be easily created and maintainability is good.

Further, since the meta-object changes the order of the messages in the message queue according to the priority of the message, the object can execute the processing in descending order of the priority without being particularly conscious of the priority. . Also, when changing the processing related to the priority, only the processing of the meta-object needs to be corrected. For this reason, an object can be created without considering the processing related to the priority order, and the development efficiency can be improved, and a flexible system can be easily realized.

(8) Another Embodiment of the Invention In one embodiment of the present invention, the object is one process, but the object is an application program, a program module, dedicated hardware,
Any process, such as a server process, a file, or a database, is started by a message and uses a resource in the system. Thereby, various resources in the system can be regarded as the same processing unit called an object, and there is an effect that the resources in the system can be efficiently used and managed.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the message transfer means and the object management database in the world exist, but the system can be constructed without using these. In this case, the meta-object with the objectizing function does not transfer the message to the message transfer means in another world, but transmits the message to all the objects in the other world by broadcast transmission.
Then, an object capable of executing the process for the message executes the process. This has the effect that the system configuration can be simplified and the system can be easily constructed.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the meta-object and the object are realized as the same process, but may be formed as different processes. Thus, even if an abnormality occurs in one of the processes, the other process is not affected. Therefore, there is an effect that a system with excellent reliability can be realized.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the meta-objects are provided one by one for the objects. However, the objects which do not need the object conversion processing are not provided with the meta-objects, and the objects directly use the inter-process communication means. A system can also be realized. This also has the effect of simplifying the system configuration and facilitating development.

In the embodiment of the present invention, one meta-object is provided for each object. However, a plurality of objects may share one meta-object for handling message transmission / reception of a plurality of objects. This has the effect that the system can be realized with less resources.

In the above-described embodiment of the present invention, message communication between objects for requesting processing is realized by transmitting and receiving a message including a message name and an argument, but a remote procedure call is used as the message communication. You can also. As a result, the object can be described as a normal procedure, so that the object can be easily described and the existing program can be easily reused.

In the above-described embodiment of the present invention, the world has two hierarchies. However, a world composed of a plurality of objects including objects representing the world is represented by a higher-level object so that many world hierarchies are represented. The system may also be composed of For example, as shown in FIG. 19, the worlds 4w and 5w are respectively represented by objects 241 and 251 in the world 2w, the worlds 6w and 7w are respectively represented by objects 361 and 371 in the world 3w, and the worlds 2w and 3w are respectively represented. A system represented by the objects 121 and 131 in the world 1w can be realized.
As a result, a large-scale distributed system including the target object can be easily realized.

In the embodiment of the present invention, one world is represented by one object. However, one world may be represented by a plurality of objects. For example, in FIG. 20, the world 3w is represented by two objects, an object 131 in the world 1w and an object 231 in the world 2w. This has the effect that objects of two different worlds can share and use the functions of the other world. Here, when representing objects in two different worlds, the functions and data represented by the respective objects may be different. As a result, an interface suitable for each world can be provided, and a complicated distributed system can be efficiently realized.

Further, in one embodiment of the present invention, the first world is represented by one object of the second world,
By representing the second world including the objectized object as one object included in the first world, the objectization process can be performed in both directions. For example, as shown in FIG. 21, this is a system in which the world 1 w is turned into an object 212 in the world 2 and the world 2 w is turned into an object 121 in the world 1. This allows multiple worlds to request each other for processing as if they were equal.
There is an effect that a flexible distributed system can be realized, and one existing world can be easily realized by combining two existing worlds.

In the embodiment of the present invention, one network corresponds to one world. However, a plurality of networks can correspond to one world, or one network can correspond to a plurality of worlds. . As a result, there is an effect that a large-scale distributed system can be supported and a flexible system configuration can be realized.

In the above-described embodiment of the present invention, the message from the lower world to the upper world is only a reply message to the message from the upper world, but the object in the lower world requests the message transfer processing unit. It is also possible to transfer messages to the upper world and use the functions of objects in the upper world. This makes it possible to more efficiently utilize the functions and data of the object.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the message transfer processing unit determines the transfer destination of the message by referring only to the function of the object in the world handled by the message means. In the case where there are a plurality of objects, it is also possible to determine the operation status of the computer in which the object exists, select an object on the computer with a low operation rate, and transfer the message.
Thereby, there is an effect that efficient distributed processing can be realized.

[0093]

According to the present invention, a large number of objects can be modularized and managed, and the functions and data details of the plurality of modularized objects, the computers on which the objects exist, and the like can be considered. Instead, it is sufficient to consider only one object that is made into an object, so that the use and management of the object are easy and efficient.

Also, when a message is sent to an object to request processing, the message can be sent without being aware of which object on which computer the message should be sent to and what communication format should be used. There is an effect that management becomes easy and efficient.

Even if the configuration of a system such as a computer or an object in a module is changed, the interface with the outside does not change. Therefore, the system can be flexibly coped with expansion or change of the system. This has the effect of improving the reusability of the software. In addition, by making it impossible to directly use the objects in the module from the outside, there is an effect that a highly reliable distributed system with good hermeticity and prevention of system shutdown or destruction due to external factors can be realized.

Furthermore, by combining modules and objects hierarchically, a large amount of resources can be managed and used in a hierarchical manner, so that a large-scale distributed system can be easily realized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining an outline of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a specific configuration of one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of an object and a world according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a program configuration of an object according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration of a message handled by an object according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing processing of an object according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a procedure selection execution process of an object according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the relationship between meta-objects, objects, and inter-process communication means according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a configuration of a message handled by an inter-process communication unit according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing processing of a meta-object according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a process of storing a message queue of a meta-object according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing processable message information stored in a meta-object with an objectizing function according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an object conversion process of a meta-object with an object conversion function according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a meta object message transmission request process according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 15 is a view showing a meta-object reply message waiting process according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing information in a world object management database according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing processing of a message transfer unit according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing processing of an inter-process communication processing unit according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing the configuration of an object and the world according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing the configuration of an object and the world according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 21 is a diagram showing the configuration of an object and the world according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1,2,3 ... network, 11,12,13,21,
22, 23, 31, 32, 33: Computer, 12g, 13
g: gateway, 1w, 2w, 3w: world, 111,
121, 122, 131, 132, 211, 221, 2
22, 231, 232, 311, 321, 322, 33
1,332... Object, 12o, 13o... Object conversion processing, 126, 136...
6,226,227,236,237,316,32
6,327,336,337 ... meta object, 11
c, 12c, 13c, 21c, 22c, 23c, 31
c, 32c, 33c: Inter-process communication processing unit, 1m, 2
m, 3m ... message transfer processing unit, 1d, 2d, 3d ...
World Object Management Database.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on front page (72) Inventor Masahiko Saito 4026 Kuji-cho, Hitachi City, Ibaraki Prefecture Within Hitachi Research Laboratory, Hitachi, Ltd. (72) Inventor Yoshiki Kobayashi 4026 Kuji-cho, Hitachi City, Ibaraki Prefecture Hitachi Research, Ltd. In-house (72) Inventor Hiroaki Nakanishi 5-2-1 Omika-cho, Hitachi City, Ibaraki Pref. Hitachi, Ltd. Omika Plant (56) References JP-A-4-46570 (JP, A) JP-A-3-80337 ( JP, A) JP-A-2-247768 (JP, A) JP-A-2-113362 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G06F 15/16 620 G06F 9 / 44 535 G06F 9/46 360

Claims (9)

(57) [Claims] In a distributed processing environment in which a message is exchanged between a plurality of objects existing on a plurality of computers connected to a network and processing is performed, a set of related objects is modularized, and the plurality of modularized Has object conversion means for converting some or all of the functions and data of the object into objects as functions and data of other objects, and has been requested to process one object converted into an object by the object conversion means. A distributed processing system, wherein the processing is executed at times using the function and data of the modularized object. 2. In a distributed processing environment in which a message is exchanged between a plurality of objects on a plurality of computers connected to a network and processing is performed, a set of related objects is modularized, and the plurality of modularized objects are Object conversion means for converting some or all of the functions and data of the object into functions and data of another object; and
Ri that the sent message against the object of the one object with a message transfer means for transferring one or more objects <br/> of the set of relevant of <br/> object that is the modular Characteristic distributed processing system. 3. A distributed processing system in a distributed processing system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said object, characterized in that one of the processes that make up the application program. 4. A distributed processing system in a distributed processing system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said object, characterized in that one of the program modules that make up an application program. Distributed processing system 5. A method according to claim 1 or 2 distributed processing system, wherein the object, characterized in that the database. 6. The distributed processing system of the distributed processing system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the range of the object to perform the modularization, characterized in that the population of objects of one or a plurality of networks. 7. A distributed processing system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, the distributed processing system, characterized in that the function and data of the modular multiple objects, object into a plurality of other objects. 8. The method of claim 1 or 2 distributed processing system according, or to an object into another object in any form functions and data of the modular multiple objects, the freely definable And a distributed processing system. 9. The method of claim 1 or 2 distributed processing system according a plurality of objects above modularity, distributed processing system characterized in that the only direct communication possible between those objects.