Abstract:
A method is disclosed for automating software availability management based on application program interface (API) versioning. The method includes receiving a call to a first version of an API method from a software application. The method includes retrieving software configuration information for the software application, the software configuration information including a set of supported versions of the API method. The method includes retrieving server configuration information for a server computing device, the server configuration information including a set of available versions of the API method. The method then includes determining availability of the server computing device to support the software application.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to the field of software development, and more particularly to software program development tools. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     An application programming interface (API) method specifies how some software components should interact with each other. An API method can be in the form of an API library, which is essentially a basic library consisting of interfaces, functions, classes, structures, enumerations, etc. for building a software application. An API library can also consist of specifications for routines, data structures, object classes, and variables. In other cases, an API method can come as just a specification of remote calls, allowing an application to cause a procedure to execute in another address space. API method and libraries are usually specific to a given technology: hence, the API methods of a given language cannot be used in other languages unless the function calls are wrapped with specific adaptation libraries. When clients and servers interact, they rely on pre-determined versions of API methods on the client application side and compatible API method versions in the API library on the server side. Often, the API versions in the API library are modified when changes are made on the server side. This leads to compatibility errors between client programs and server programs due to the versions required by the client not matching the versions available on the server. Compatibility errors require many changes to the client program to allow for software compatibility with the API library on the server. 
     SUMMARY 
     Embodiments of the present invention disclose a method, computer program product, and computer system for automating software availability management based on application program interface (API) versioning. In an embodiment, a computer processor receives a call to a first version of an API method from a software application. The computer processor retrieves software configuration information for the software application, the software configuration information including a set of supported versions of the API method. The computer processor then retrieves server configuration information for a server computing device, the server configuration information including a set of available versions of the API method. The computer processor then determines availability of the server computing device to support the software application. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a functional block diagram illustrating a distributed data processing environment, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a flowchart depicting operational steps of a compatibility program for determining whether required versions of API methods for a client program are available or compatible with versions of API methods of a server program, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  illustrates an example of a server device and a client device communicating via the compatibility program of  FIG. 2 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  depicts a block diagram of components of the client computing device of  FIG. 1 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of the present invention may be embodied as a system, method, or computer program product. Accordingly, aspects of the present invention may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment (including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.), or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may all generally be referred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system”. Furthermore, aspects of the present invention may take the form of a computer program product embodied in one or more computer-readable medium(s) having computer readable program code/instructions embodied thereon. 
     Any combination of computer-readable media may be utilized. Computer-readable media may be a computer-readable signal medium or a computer-readable storage medium. A computer-readable storage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of a computer-readable storage medium would include the following: an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. In the context of this document, a computer-readable storage medium may be any tangible medium that can contain or store a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. 
     A computer-readable signal medium may include a propagated data signal with computer-readable program code embodied therein, for example, in baseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated signal may take any of a variety of forms, including, but not limited to, electro-magnetic, optical, or any suitable combination thereof. A computer-readable signal medium may be any computer-readable medium that is not a computer-readable storage medium and that can communicate, propagate, or transport a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. 
     Program code embodied on a computer-readable medium may be transmitted using any appropriate medium, including, but not limited to, wireless, wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination of the foregoing. 
     Computer program code for carrying out operations for aspects of the present invention may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including an object-oriented programming language such as Java®, Smalltalk, C++ or the like and conventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C” programming language or similar programming languages. The program code may execute entirely on a user&#39;s computer, partly on the user&#39;s computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user&#39;s computer and partly on a remote computer, or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user&#39;s computer through any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider). 
     Aspects of the present invention are described below with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the invention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. 
     These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable medium that can direct a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable medium produce an article of manufacture including instructions which implement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. 
     The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, other programmable apparatus, or other devices to produce a computer-implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide processes for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. 
     Embodiments of the present invention recognize that when client and server software programs interact with each other, the programs rely on pre-defined APIs. When modifications are made to a server version of the software program, the API methods on the server may also be modified. These modifications lead to incompatibility between the client program and the server program because the changes to the server may not be communicated to the client program. Embodiments of the present invention recognize that being able to communicate required and available versions of API methods between client programs and server programs allows the client programs to automatically call a new version of an API method, when available. Additions or changes that are made to pre-existing APIs can be stored in a database on a server, such as in an API library. 
     The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the Figures.  FIG. 1  is a functional block diagram illustrating a distributed data processing environment, generally designated  100 , in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. 
     Distributed data processing environment  100  includes client computing device  120  and server computing device  130 , all interconnected over network  110 . Network  110  can be, for example, a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), such as the Internet, or a combination of the two, and can include wired, wireless, or fiber optic connections. In general, network  110  can be any combination of connections and protocols that will support communication between client computing device  120  and server computing device  130 . 
     Client computing device  120  includes client program  122 , compatibility program  124 , and user interface (UI)  126 . In various embodiments of the present invention, client computing device  120  can be a laptop computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a smart phone, or any programmable electronic device capable of communicating with server computing device  130  via network  110 . Client program  122  can be any type of program on client computing device  120  that communicates with server computing device  130  through network  110 . Client program  122  can be, for example, a software application, or a software component. UI  126  may be, for example, a graphical user interface (GUI) or a web user interface (WUI) and can display text, documents, web browser windows, user options, application interfaces, and instructions for operation. Client computing device  120  may include internal and external hardware components, as depicted and described in further detail with respect to  FIG. 4 . 
     Compatibility program  124  determines a version of an API method required by a client program, such as client program  122 . Compatibility program  124  checks to see if there is a version of the required API method on a server, such as server computing device  130 , that can support calls from corresponding client program  122 . Calls from client program  122  confirm that an API library is installed and available on server computing device  130  that supports the required version of the API method. An API library, for example, API library  132  on server computing device  130 , is installed and can contain older and newer versions of various API methods required by the client program  122 . Server program  134  may modify or revise API methods, for example, by updating or changing the language for code writing for the client program  122 . Compatibility program  124  communicates between client program  122  and server program  134  and receives configuration information for the client program  122  and the server program  134 , such configuration information including, for the client program, required versions of API methods, and for the server program, supported versions of API methods and any alternative versions. 
     If compatibility program  124  determines server computing device  130  does not have an API library that supports the required version of the API method for client program  122 , compatibility program  124  issues an error, for example, an error displayed on UI  126  to a user operating client computing device  120 . While in  FIG. 1 , compatibility program  124  is included within client computing device  120 , one of skill in the art will appreciate that in other embodiments, compatibility program  124  may be located elsewhere within distributed data processing environment  100  and can communicate with client computing device  120  and server computing device  130  via network  110 . 
     Server computing device  130  includes API library  132  and server program  134 . Server program  134  can be any type of program on server computing device  130  that communicates with client computing device  120  through network  110 . Server program  134  can be, for example, a database or a communication program. Server program  134  may update or modify API methods contained in API library  132  that can be called by client program  122 . Server program  134  may also create new versions of API methods. API library  132  contains versions of API methods that support client program  122 . Server computing device  130  can be a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a netbook computer, a PC, a desktop computer, a PDA, a smart phone, or any programmable electronic device capable of communicating with client computing device  120  via network  110 , and with other various components and devices within distributed data processing environment  100 . In an embodiment of the present invention, server computing device  130  can represent a computing system utilizing clustered computers and components to act as a single pool of seamless resources when accessed through a network. This is a common implementation for data centers and for cloud computing applications. 
       FIG. 2  is a flowchart depicting operational steps of compatibility program  124  for determining whether required versions of API methods for a client program are available or compatible with versions of API methods of a server program, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
     Compatibility program  124  receives a call for an API method (step  202 ). Client program  122  calls through compatibility program  124  to a required version of an API method on server computing device  130 . An API method corresponds to a client program or software application, for example, client program  122 , and each instance of client program  122  may call different versions of the API method. 
     Compatibility program  124  retrieves configuration information (step  204 ). Compatibility program  124  retrieves configuration information from client program  122 , API library  132 , and server program  134 . Configuration information from client program  122  may include, for example, a set of required versions, or versions of API methods supported by client program  122 . In an embodiment, software configuration information from client program  122  includes information mapping newer versions of API methods to previous alternative versions. Configuration information from API library  132  and server program  134  may include, for example, a set of available versions of API methods that support client program  122  and updates to API methods from server program  134 . In another embodiment of the present invention, updates to API methods may also be created by a programmer. For example, the API method version required by client program  122  may be the current API version that the server still uses, it may be an old version that the server still has access to, or it may a version of an API method that is no longer available. Configuration information can further include a list of API versions that are supported by a given client program, such as client program  122 , alternative versions for each API, and all API versions associated with a server program, such as server program  134 . In an embodiment, server configuration information from server program  134  and API library  132  includes mapped information between related versions, including new and previous versions, of API methods. 
     Compatibility program  124  determines whether the server computing device is available to support client program  122 , for example, whether API library  132  supports the required version of the API method (decision block  206 ). If API library  132  does support the required version (decision block  206 , “yes” branch), which can be determined based on the server configuration information and the software configuration information, compatibility program  124  allows the call to the required version of the API method from client program  122  (step  208 ). If API library  132  does not support the required version (decision block  206 , “no” branch), compatibility program  124  determines if there is an alternative version of the API method available in API library  132  (decision block  210 ). 
     Compatibility program  124  determines if there is an alternative version of the required API method (decision block  210 ). To determine if there is an alternative version of the required API version available on server computing device  130 , compatibility program  124  checks the server program  134  configuration information to see if the server program  134  is newer than the client program. Compatibility program  124  can also check client program  122  configuration information to determine whether client program  122  is newer than the server program. In an embodiment, the configuration information contains mapped information, which maps a new version of the required API method to the old version. If compatibility program  124  determines, for example, the client program  122  is newer than the server program  134 , the mapped information allows compatibility program  124  to determine if there is a compatible alternative version of the required API method available. If compatibility program  124  determines that there is an alternative version of the required API method available (decision block  210 , “yes” branch), compatibility program  124  redirects the call to the alternative version of the API method (step  212 ). In an embodiment, compatibility program  124  requires marshalling the call by a translator to modify the received call to the required version of the API method to a call to the alternative version of the API method. If compatibility program  124  does not find an alternative version of the required API method (decision block  210 , “no” branch), for example, the set of available versions of the API method does not support the required version of the API method, compatibility program  124  issues an error, for example, by sending an error message to a user on a UI such as UI  126  (step  214 ). 
       FIG. 3  illustrates an example of a server device and a client device communicating via compatibility program  124 , in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
     In the exemplary embodiment depicted in  FIG. 3 , client device  310  contains client program A  312 , and configuration information  314 . Server device  320  contains server program A  322 , configuration information  324 , and API library  326 . Both client program A  312  and server program A  322  are able to communicate via compatibility program  124 . Compatibility program  124  may reside on client device  310 , server device  320 , or may reside elsewhere and be accessible to both client device  310  and server device  320  via a network. Configuration information  314  includes required versions of API methods for client program A, and configuration information  324  includes available versions of API methods for corresponding server program A. Compatibility program  124  retrieves configuration information  314  and configuration information  324  from client program A and server program A, respectively. 
     In an example, a required version of an API method is defined within configuration information  314  for client program A  312 . Configuration information  314  defines the API method including parameters and data-types. Once a client program, such as client program A  312 , is shipped, changes to API interfaces or API behavior on the server, such as server device  320 , may cause the client program to no longer work. Each new API version created, and each API version revised, is stored within API library  326  on server program A  322 . In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the new API versions can be created by a programmer. Compatibility program  124  can retrieve configuration information  314  and configuration information  324  and communicate with both client program A  312  and server program A  322  to determine which versions of API methods are compatible with client program A  312 , and which versions of API methods are available in API library  326 . 
       FIG. 4  depicts a block diagram of components of client computing device  120 , in accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the present invention. It should be appreciated that  FIG. 4  provides only an illustration of one implementation and does not imply any limitations with regard to the environments in which different embodiments may be implemented. Many modifications to the depicted environment may be made. 
     Client computing device  120  includes communications fabric  402 , which provides communications between computer processor(s)  404 , memory  406 , persistent storage  408 , communications unit  410 , and input/output (I/O) interface(s)  412 . Communications fabric  402  can be implemented with any architecture designed for passing data and/or control information between processors (such as microprocessors, communications and network processors, etc.), system memory, peripheral devices, and any other hardware components within a system. For example, communications fabric  402  can be implemented with one or more buses. 
     Memory  406  and persistent storage  408  are computer-readable storage media. In this embodiment, memory  406  includes random access memory (RAM)  414  and cache memory  416 . In general, memory  406  can include any suitable volatile or non-volatile computer-readable storage media. 
     Client program  122 , compatibility program  124 , and UI  126  can be stored in persistent storage  408  for execution by one or more of the respective computer processor(s)  404  via one or more memories of memory  406 . In this embodiment, persistent storage  408  includes a magnetic hard disk drive. Alternatively, or in addition to a magnetic hard disk drive, persistent storage  408  can include a solid-state hard drive, a semiconductor storage device, a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), a flash memory, or any other computer-readable storage media that is capable of storing program instructions or digital information. 
     The media used by persistent storage  408  may also be removable. For example, a removable hard drive may be used for persistent storage  408 . Other examples include optical and magnetic disks, thumb drives, and smart cards that are inserted into a drive for transfer onto another computer-readable storage medium that is also part of persistent storage  408 . 
     Communications unit  410 , in these examples, provides for communications with other data processing systems or devices, including between client computing device  120  and server computing device  130 . In these examples, communications unit  410  includes one or more network interface cards. Communications unit  410  may provide communications through the use of either or both physical and wireless communications links. Client program  122  and compatibility program  124  may be downloaded to persistent storage  408  through communications unit  410 . 
     I/O interface(s)  412  allows for input and output of data with other devices that may be connected to client computing device  120 . For example, I/O interface(s)  412  may provide a connection to external device(s)  418  such as a keyboard, a keypad, a touch screen, and/or some other suitable input device. External device(s)  418  can also include portable computer-readable storage media such as, for example, thumb drives, portable optical or magnetic disks, and memory cards. Software and data used to practice embodiments of the present invention, e.g., client program  122 , compatibility program  124 , and UI  126 , can be stored on such portable computer-readable storage media and can be loaded onto persistent storage  408  via I/O interface(s)  412 . I/O interface(s)  412  also connect to a display  420 . Display  420  provides a mechanism to display data to a user and may be, for example, a computer monitor or an incorporated display screen, such as is used in tablet computers and smart phones. 
     The programs described herein are identified based upon the application for which they are implemented in a specific embodiment of the invention. However, it should be appreciated that any particular program nomenclature herein is used merely for convenience, and thus, the invention should not be limited to use solely in any specific application identified and/or implied by such nomenclature. 
     The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems, methods, and computer program products according to various embodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in the flowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portion of code, which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be noted that, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of the order noted in the Figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.