Importance

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Abstract

A distributed computing system executes application programs which call functions, each function carrying out an operation such as read or write accessing a data file in response to an input argument generated by the calling application program. The system includes client computers for executing the application programs and server computers for executing 'server programs', programs which carry out the called functions. The client and server computers communicate through a network. To make a function call, an application program running on a client computer generates an argument for the function and sends a request identifying the function to a 'client gate' program also running on the client program. Each client computer stores a configuration file indicating which server star carries out each function, and which server computer can execute that server star. When the client gate receives the function request, it consults the configuration file and then sends a request referencing the identified server star and function to a 'server gate' program executed by the identified server. The server gate thereupon invokes the server star which carries out the function. The server gate forwards function output data produced by the server star to the client gate which returns the data to the application program. Thus a change in the network location or structure of a data file used by application programs can be accommodated by modifying configuration files and/or the server stars without necessarily altering the application programs themselves.

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First Claim