Abstract:
Disclosed are various embodiments for facilitating communications between application components that are distributed among many devices across a network. This allows for the application to execute as if on one device even though the application components are on many devices. A component interface is generated for the application components. The component interface intercepts communications sent from an application component, locates the intended receiving application component, and generates a component interface packet with the location. The component interface packet is then put into a network stream. The receiving component listens to the stream to obtain component interface packets that indicate the location of the device running the receiving application component. The component interface decodes the component interface packets intended for components associated with the component interface and sends communications encoded in the packet to the application components.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/750,218, filed on even date herewith, entitled “Distribution of Application Components among Devices,” now abandoned, and co-pending PCT Application No. PCT/US14/12796, filed Jan. 23, 2014, entitled “Distribution of Application Components among Devices.” 
     BACKGROUND 
     Applications are executed on devices. Applications may use significant resources during execution. Resources may be more optimally managed by distributing an application among many devices. Distributing applications among many devices may require developing a version of the application for each of the devices to facilitate executing parts of the application on different devices. Furthermore, it may be difficult to divide the application into components and execute the components as if all are on the same device. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Many aspects of the present disclosure can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily to scale, with emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the disclosure. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views. 
         FIG. 1  is a drawing of a networked environment according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  is a drawing of an example of a user interface rendered by a client in the networked environment of  FIG. 1  according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. 
         FIGS. 3A-3C  are flowcharts illustrating examples of functionality implemented as portions of a component system and a component wrapper system executed in a computing environment in the networked environment of  FIG. 1  according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic block diagram that provides one example illustration of a computing environment employed in the networked environment of  FIG. 1  according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Applications are executed on devices. For example, a game may be played on a personal computer. Such an application may comprise many application components. For instance, the game may have input components, graphic components, ranking components, score components, and many other components that facilitate execution of the game on the computer. According to various embodiments, these application components are distributed among many devices for execution to more optimally execute the application. For example, the input components may be executed on the computer, but the other components may be distributed across a network to a computing environment comprising many devices, such as servers, for executing the application components on one or more of those devices. 
     To optimally execute an application in devices, a system may determine an optimal distribution of the application components among a plurality of computing devices based on certain metrics. For example, the system may distribute an application component to a device that executes the application component using the least amount of memory or the least processor execution time. In spite of the distribution of application components for execution, the application components will still need to communicate with each other as if they are all executed on the same device. To facilitate this, the system may wrap components with a component interface. For example, the system may have a communication layer to intercept messages from components and then route the messages across the network to the device executing the application components intended to receive the messages. 
     During execution, the system may redistribute the application components if a performance metric violates a performance tolerance. For instance, the system may distribute a component to another device if the first device has too little available computing resources. The performance tolerances may be predefined or defined based on the performance metrics collected before or during execution. In various embodiments, the system may create a component distribution profile to reflect the distribution among certain devices, to facilitate an initial distribution, and to facilitate redistribution during execution. 
     In the following discussion, a general description of the system and its components is provided, followed by a discussion of the operation of the same. 
     With reference to  FIG. 1 , shown is a networked environment  100  according to various embodiments. The networked environment  100  includes a computing environment  103 , and a client device  106 , which are in data communication with each other via a network  109 . The network  109  includes, for example, the Internet, intranets, extranets, wide area networks (WANs), local area networks (LANs), wired networks, wireless networks, or other suitable networks, etc., or any combination of two or more such networks. 
     The computing environment  103  may comprise, for example, a server computer or any other system providing computing capability. Alternatively, the computing environment  103  may employ a plurality of computing devices that may be employed that are arranged, for example, in one or more server banks or computer banks or other arrangements. Such computing devices may be located in a single installation or may be distributed among many different geographical locations. For example, the computing environment  103  may include a plurality of computing devices that together may comprise a cloud computing resource, a grid computing resource, and/or any other distributed computing arrangement. In some cases, the computing environment  103  may correspond to an elastic computing resource where the allotted capacity of processing, network, storage, or other computing-related resources may vary over time. 
     Various applications and/or other functionality may be executed in the computing environment  103  according to various embodiments. Also, various data is stored in a data store  112  that is accessible to the computing environment  103 . The data store  112  may be representative of a plurality of data stores  112  as can be appreciated. The data stored in the data store  112 , for example, is associated with the operation of the various applications and/or functional entities described below. 
     The components executed on the computing environment  103 , for example, include the application distribution system  115 , application  118 , and other applications, services, processes, systems, engines, or functionality not discussed in detail herein. The application distribution system  115  is executed to distribute application components  119  among devices across a network and to facilitate communication between the application components  119  as if they are all executing on the same device. Embodiments of the application distribution system  115  may be executed to redistribute the application components  119  based on certain performance metrics that indicate another distribution may be preferred. In redistributing the application components  119 , the application distribution system  115  may need to capture the state of execution of the application components prior to redistribution and then update the components with the state of execution upon redistributing them among devices. 
     Various embodiments of the application distribution system  115  may facilitate communication across a network between the application components  119  distributed on various computing devices without modifying the components themselves with the location of other components. Thus, the application components  119  may continue to communicate as if being executed on one device. Communication may be structured by component interfaces  120  wrapped around the components. The component interface  120  intercepts communication calls or other messages from application components  119 . Once intercepted, the component interface  120  includes the messages in component interface packets that may be retrieved and decoded by application components  119  from a network stream regardless of which device is currently executing the application components  119 . 
     An application  118  is executed in the computing environment  103  and/or the client  108  by the application distribution system  115  distributing components  119  between the computing devices. An application component  119  may be any division of an application. For example, an application component may be a data structure in a library, a method, an object, a function, an externally identified division of the application, or any other part of an application. The application components  119  may be simultaneously executed on many devices, distributed to one device, or any combination thereof. For example, in a photo editor application  118 , user input application components  119  may be executed on the client  108  while processor-intense application components  119  may be executed on devices in the computing environment  103 . In various embodiments, the application distribution system  115  may distribute the same processor-intense application component  119  to many devices for execution to ensure the fastest available device executes the application component  119 . 
     The data stored in the data store  112  includes, for example, applications  121 , and potentially other data. Applications  121  may include data related to applications executed on devices. For example, application  121  data may include data related to application components  124 . Application component  124  may include data related to its execution. For example, a device  127  may have been preidentified as capable of executing the application component. A device  127  may be a server computer or any other system providing computing ability. 
     Another example of data related to an application component  124  is performance metrics  131 . Performance metrics  131  include any data related to executing application components  124 . Performance metrics may include, for example, an elapsed time of execution for the application component, a computing device metric, such as an availability of computing operations in the device executing the application component  119 , a processor execution time clocked while executing the application component  119 , a memory usage while executing the application component  119 , number of component operations consumed when executing the application component, or any other data relevant to measuring the performance of a computing device or the execution of the application component  119 . 
     An additional example of data related to an application component  124  is performance tolerances  134 . Performance tolerances  134  may be predefined and stored in the data store  112  or they may be heuristically determined based on execution of the application component  124 . Performance tolerances may be, for example, a maximum elapsed time of execution for the application component, a minimum availability of computing operations for the device executing the application component  119 , a maximum processor execution time clocked while executing the application component  119 , a minimum memory usage while executing the application component  119 , or any other data relevant to evaluating the performance of a computing device or the application component  119 . As illustrated by the examples of performance tolerances  134  and examples of performance metrics  131 , the application distribution system  115  may compare the performance tolerances  134  to respective performance metrics  131  for the application distribution system  115  to know when to redistribute the application components  119  among devices, as will be explained in more detail during discussion of  FIG. 3A  below. 
     Application  121  data may also include a component distribution profile  137 . The component distribution profile  136  may include any data related to the distribution of application components  119  among devices. For example, the component distribution profile  136  may include data related to when the application distribution system  115  redistributes the application components  124  to other respective devices  127 . Additional examples involve component distribution profile  137  data concerning an initial or default distribution of the application components  124 . This initial distribution may have been predetermined, for example, based on performance metrics  131  or some other indication of how to initially distribute application components  124  obtained from past execution of the application  118 . 
     The client  106  is representative of a plurality of client devices that may be coupled to the network  109 . The client  106  may comprise, for example, a processor-based system such as a computer system. Such a computer system may be embodied in the form of a desktop computer, a laptop computer, personal digital assistants, cellular telephones, smartphones, set-top boxes, music players, web pads, tablet computer systems, game consoles, electronic book readers, or other devices with like capability. The client  106  may include a display  144 . The display  144  may comprise, for example, one or more devices such as liquid crystal display (LCD) displays, gas plasma-based flat panel displays, organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays, LCD projectors, or other types of display devices, etc. 
     The client  106  may be configured to execute various applications such as a client application  141  and/or other applications. The client application  141  may be executed in a client  106 , for example, to access network content served up by the computing environment  103  and/or other servers, thereby rendering a user interface  147  on the display  144 . To this end, the client application  141  may comprise, for example, a browser, a dedicated application, etc., and the user interface  147  may comprise a network page, an application screen, etc. The client  106  may be configured to execute applications beyond the client application  141  such as, for example, email applications, social networking applications, word processors, spreadsheets, and/or other applications. 
     The client  108  is representative of a plurality of client devices that may be coupled to the network  109 . The client  108  may comprise, for example, a processor-based system such as a computer system. Such a computer system may be embodied in the form of a desktop computer, a laptop computer, personal digital assistants, cellular telephones, smartphones, set-top boxes, music players, web pads, tablet computer systems, game consoles, electronic book readers, or other devices with like capability. The client  108  may include a display  151 . The display  144  may comprise, for example, one or more devices such as liquid crystal display (LCD) displays, gas plasma-based flat panel displays, organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays, LCD projectors, or other types of display devices, etc. 
     The client  108  may be configured to execute application components  119  of application  118  as the components are distributed to the client  108  by the application distribution system  115 . The client application  118  may be executed in a client  108 , for example, to access network content served up by the computing environment  103  and/or other servers, thereby rendering a user interface  154  on the display  151 . To this end, the client application  118  may comprise, for example, a browser, a dedicated application, etc., and the user interface  154  may comprise a network page, an application screen, etc. The client  108  may be configured to execute applications beyond the client application  118  such as, for example, email applications, social networking applications, word processors, spreadsheets, and/or other applications. 
     Next, a general description of the operation of the various components of the networked environment  100  is provided. To begin, the application distribution system  115  may obtain an application  118  for execution. As the application  118  is developed, a user at a client  106  may identify application components  119  of the application  118  and devices capable of executing application components  119  through a user interface  147  for an application development client application  141 . The application distribution system  115  may then obtain these external identifications of the application components  119  across the network  109 . In various embodiments, the application distribution system  115  may also/instead identify application components  119  based on a data structure in a library, a method, an object, a function, or any other logical division an application. The application distribution system  115  may store information about the application  118  and application components  119  in the data store  112  as application  121  data and application component  124  data. 
     The application distribution system  115  may determine a distribution of the application components  119  across the computing environment  103  and/or client  108  based on performance metrics  131 , the components distribution profile  137 , or other indicators of the optimal distribution of components. The optimal distribution may be the most efficient use of computing resources, an externally identified optimal distribution, or other preferred distribution that meets performance tolerances  134 . The same component  119  may be distributed to multiple devices or to one device. In various embodiments, the application distribution system  115  may run in the computing environment  103 , the client  108 , or both, depending on the needs of the system. 
     Once the component distribution has been determined, the application distribution system  115  wraps the components  119  with component interfaces  120 . The components  119  may be wrapped individually or in groups of components  119 . The application distribution system  115  distributes the components  115  to their respective client  108  devices and/or devices in the computing environment  103 . The component interface  120  facilitates operation of the components  119  as if the application were being executed on a single device without modifying the components  119  themselves by intercepting and routing communications between the components  119 . 
     A component  119  attempts to communicate by, for example, calling another component  119 . Because the other component  119  may have been distributed to another device and the caller component  119  was not modified to call the component on the new device, the component interface  120  intercepts the communication. The component interface  120  creates an interface packet that may be routed to the component by sending the packet across the network  109  to the location of the device executing the other component. The interface packet may include, among other information, the location of the device executing the other component and the communication sent from the caller component  119 . The application distribution system  115  includes the location of devices executing other components  120  in the component interface  120 . The location may be, for example, the network address of the device executing the component  119  or any other identifier that facilitates the component interface  120  communicating across a network  109  with other components  119 . The application distribution system  115  updates the component interfaces  120  with new locations when the components  119  are redistributed. 
     The component interfaces  120  further facilitate communication by listening to network traffic to identify interface packets containing the location of the device on which the component interface  120  resides. Once an interface packet with the respective device&#39;s location is detected, the component interface  120  extracts the communication from the packet and sends it to the proper component  119 . 
     As the components  119  are executed in their respective devices, the application distribution system  115  collects performance metrics  131 . Based on a comparison of the performance metrics  131  to performance tolerances  134 , the application distribution system  115  may redistribute the components  119 . To do so, it must first obtain a current state of execution of the component  119 . It then updates the component interfaces  120  based on the new devices appointed to execute the components so that the component interface  120  may identify the device executing the component  119  intended to receive the communication. After distributing the components  119 , the application distribution system  115  will notify the components  119  of the current state of execution so that execution of the components  119  may continue despite the redistribution of the components  119 . During execution, the component interfaces  120  intercept messages to facilitate sending the message to the correct device associated with the component  119 . The component interfaces  120  also monitor network traffic to obtain messages intended for the device on which the component interface  120  is located. 
     As a non-limiting example, the application distribution system  115  may obtain an application  118  executed to edit pictures on a cell phone client  108 . The application  118  may have many features, such as tagging the picture, adjusting the brightness of the picture, and sharpening the picture. Each of these features may comprise many functions to facilitate the features. For example, the tag feature has an input box function, a store tag function, and possibly other functions required to allow the user to tag the picture with keywords. The brightness feature may have an input bar function for the user to input the brightness level change, a color analyzer function that identifies the red, blue, and green channel values, a color modifier function that adjusts those values, and a display function that displays the adjusted photograph to the user. The application distribution system  115  may identify each of these functions as an application component  119  or it may identify even smaller functions as components  119 . 
     Continuing the non-limiting example, to determine an initial distribution of the components  119  among the client  108  and devices in the computing environment  103 , the application distribution system  115  may identify that the brightness change input component  119  and the display component  119  must occur on the client  108  device, so it will distribute those application components  119  to the client  108  for execution. But the other application components  119  may be run on either the client device  108  or in the computing environment  103 . The application distribution system  115  may run these components on both the client and the computing environment  103  to obtain initial performance metrics  131 . Alternatively, the application distribution system  115  may already have performance metrics  131  and/or a component distribution profile  137  to facilitate determining a distribution of the components  119 . The application distribution system  115  may distribute the application components  119  to the device that indicates the lowest processor execution time, for example. This may be the devices located in the computing environment  103 , so the application distribution system  115  will distribute the color modifier component and color analyzer component  119  to the computing environment  103  for execution. One metric for determining distribution may be network latency. The application distribution system  119  may distribute components  119  needing immediate resources on the client  108  to the client  108  because the network latency renders distributing components  119  to the computing environment  103  less than optimal. 
     To facilitate communication between the input components  119  being executed in the client  108  and the components  119  being executed in the computing environment  103 , the application distribution system  115  will wrap the application components  119  being executed in the client  108  with a component interface  120  that has the network address of the device or devices in the computing environment  103  executing the other application components  119 . In various embodiments, each application component  119  may have its own component interface  120  with the network address of the device executing all other application components  119  or some other combination of application components  119  may be wrapped with a component interface  120 . 
     Continuing the non-limiting example, when the user slides the brightness input application component  119 , the component interface  120  associated with that component  119  will intercept the message sent to the color analyzer application component  119  because that message was sent without knowledge that the color analyzer application component  119  is not being executed on the client  108 . The application distribution system  115  is aware of this, so it generates a component interface packet with the network address of the device executing the color analyzer component  119  and the communication sent by the input component  119 . The application distribution system  115  places the component interface packet into a network stream on the network  109 . The component interface  120  of the color analyzer application component  119  listens to the network stream and obtains the packet because it has a network address that matches its device. The component interface  120  may then extract the message sent by the brightness input application component  119  and send it to the color analyzer application component  119 . Similarly, when the color modifier application component  119  sends the modification for the picture to the display application component  119 , the respective component interfaces  120  will intercept the messages, generate component interface packets, and extract the message from the component interface packets. 
     Referring next to  FIG. 2 , shown is one example of a user interface  154  ( FIG. 1 ), denoted herein as  154   a , rendered by a client application  188   b  ( FIG. 1 ), executed in a client  108  ( FIG. 1 ) in the networked environment  100  ( FIG. 1 ). The user interface  154   a  includes a network photo editor page  201  that depicts a picture and functions available for modifying that picture. The functions for modifying the picture may each be at least one application component  119  ( FIG. 1 ), denoted herein as  119   a . In various embodiments, the application distribution system  115  may further divide these functions into smaller functions for identifying application components  119  or an external identification may have indicated what division of the photo editor application should be made to identify its application components  119 . The application components  119   a  may be wholly or in part executed on the client  108  and/or in the computing environment  103  ( FIG. 1 ). 
     Referring next to  FIG. 3A , shown is a flowchart that provides one example of the operation of a portion of the application distribution system  115  according to various embodiments. It is understood that the flowchart of  FIG. 3A  provides merely an example of the many different types of functional arrangements that may be employed to implement the operation of the portion of the application distribution system  115  as described herein. As an alternative, the flowchart of FIG.  3 A may be viewed as depicting an example of steps of a method implemented in the computing environment  103  ( FIG. 1 ) according to one or more embodiments. 
     Beginning with box  300 , the application distribution system  115  evaluates whether distribution of application components  124  ( FIG. 1 ) among devices is possible. In various embodiments, the application distribution  115  may determine whether distribution of a component  124  to another device is possible based on external identification in a client  106  ( FIG. 1 ) during application development, a predefined device  127  ( FIG. 1 ) required for execution, or other indication of whether the components  119  may operate on multiple devices or whether the components  119  must execute on a single device. For example, a display component  119  comprising a user interface may be required on a display  151  ( FIG. 1 ) of the client  108  ( FIG. 1 ), but a generation component  119  that generates a part of that user interface may be done in either the client  108  or the computing environment  103 . 
     Moving to box  301 , the application distribution system  115  determines an initial distribution of application components  124  ( FIG. 1 ) among devices  127  ( FIG. 1 ). In various embodiments, the application distribution system  115  may distribute all of the application components  124  on multiple devices. This may, for example, facilitate obtaining performance metrics  131  ( FIG. 1 ). Alternatively, the application distribution system  115  may distribute the application components  124  to different devices  127 . In various embodiments, the application distribution system  115  may determine the distribution based on a component distribution profile  137  ( FIG. 1 ) stored in the data store  112  ( FIG. 1 ). For example, the component distribution profile  137  may identify certain devices  127  associated with certain application components  124  previously identified as an optimal distribution. In various embodiments, the application distribution system  115  may also or instead distribute the application components  124  based on performance metrics  131  ( FIG. 1 ) stored in the data store  112 . For example, each application component  119  ( FIG. 1 ) may be associated with a device based on a performance metric  131  within a predefined performance tolerance  134 . 
     Continuing with box  301 , application components  119  may represent any division of an application  118 . For example, an application component  119  may be a data structure in a library, a subroutine, an object, a function, or some other division of an application  118 . In various embodiments, application components  119  may be identified externally through a user interface  147  ( FIG. 1 ) on a client  106 . 
     In box  304 , the application distribution system  115  applies component interfaces  120  to the application components  119  to facilitate communications. These may be applied to each application component  119  or to groups of application components  124 . For example, the component interface  120  may be applied to all application components  119  on a device, or to some other group. The component interface  120  will be discussed more in connection with  FIGS. 3B and 3C . 
     In box  307 , the application distribution system  115  distributes the application components  119  among devices across a network and begins execution of the application components  119 . The application distribution system  115  distributes a component by sending the component  119  and its interface  120  to a respective device for execution. 
     In box  311 , the application distribution system  115  evaluates whether a collected performance metric  131  ( FIG. 1 ) has violated a performance tolerance  134  ( FIG. 1 ). If the performance metric  131  does not violate a respective performance tolerance  134 , then the application distribution system  115  continues to box  326 . A performance tolerance  134  sets either a maximum or a minimum value for a respective performance metric  131 . The performance tolerances  134  may be predefined and/or set by the application distribution system  115  based on current operating conditions. On example of a performance metric  131  may be an elapsed time of execution. The elapsed time of execution may be defined as the time spent executing the application component  119 . The respective performance tolerance  134  may set a maximum elapsed time of execution above which the tolerance would be violated since above the maximum would not be an optimal distribution. The maximum elapsed time of execution may be a value above the elapsed time of execution previously recorded in another device or some other definition that indicates another device may be more optimal. 
     Continuing with box  311 , another example of a performance metric  131  may be an availability of computing resources. The respective performance tolerance  131  may be a minimum availability of computing resources below which the tolerance would be violates since there may not be sufficient computing resources on that device to execute the application component  119 . Thus, the application distribution system  115  may distribute the application component  119  to another device that has more computing resources available. 
     Continuing with box  311 , an example of a performance metric  131  may be the processor execution time. The respective performance tolerance  131  may be a maximum processor execution time used by the application component  119  above which the application distribution system  115  may distribute the component to another device. The maximum processor execution time may have been defined based on a lower processor execution time in another device or some other indication the processor execution time would be more optimal in another device. 
     Continuing with box  311 , an example of a performance metric  131  may be the memory usage of the application component  119  in the device. The respective performance tolerance  131  may be a maximum memory usage above which the application distribution system  115  may distribute the component to another device. The maximum memory usage may have been defined based on a lower memory usage by the application component  119  in another device or some other indication that the memory usage would be more optimal in another device. 
     In box  314 , the application distribution system  115  obtains the current state of execution. This facilitates, for example, capturing the point in application prior to redistributing the application components  119  since once an application component is sent to a new device for execution, it will need to be able to continue execution as if it had not been redistributed. 
     In box  315 , the application distribution system  115  determines a new distribution of the application components  119 . This may be done similarly to determining an initial distribution in box  301 . In various embodiments, the application distribution system  115  may determine the distribution based on a component distribution profile  137  ( FIG. 1 ) stored in the data store  112  ( FIG. 1 ). For example, the component distribution profile  137  may identify certain devices  127  associated with certain application components  124  previously identified as an optimal distribution. In various embodiments, the application distribution system  115  may also or instead distribute the application components  119  based on performance metrics  131  ( FIG. 1 ) stored in the data store  112 . For example, each application component  119  may be associated with a device  127  based on a performance metric  131  within a predefined performance tolerance  134 . Network latency may also be taken into account when distributing application components  119 . 
     In box  317 , the application distribution system  115  updates the component interfaces for the application components  119  with the network addresses of the new devices executing the application components  119 . 
     In box  321 , the application distribution system  115  migrates the application components  115  to the devices identified in determining the new distribution in box  315 . In box  324 , the application distribution system  115  updates the components with the current state of execution so that the application  118  may continue to operate as if no distribution had occurred. 
     In box  326 , the application distribution system  115  updates the component distribution profile  137  with the new performance metrics  131  collected in box  311  and other data useful for determining a distribution of application components  119 . 
     In box  327 , the application distribution system  115  evaluates whether execution is complete. If it is not, it returns to box  311 . If it is, this portion of application distribution system  115  ends. 
     Referring next to  FIG. 3B , shown is a flowchart that provides one example of the operation of a portion of the component interface  120  according to various embodiments. It is understood that the flowchart of  FIG. 3B  provides merely an example of the many different types of functional arrangements that may be employed to implement the operation of the portion of the component interface  120  as described herein. As an alternative, the flowchart of  FIG. 3B  may be viewed as depicting an example of steps of a method implemented in the computing environment  103  ( FIG. 1 ) according to one or more embodiments. 
     Beginning with box  334 , the component interface  120  intercepts a communication from a first application component  119  ( FIG. 1 ) intended for a second application component  119 . The communication may be, for example, a message, a request for an output, or other interface with another application component  119 . 
     In box  337 , the component interface  120  identifies a network location of a device associated with the application component  119 . There may be many devices currently executing the application component  119 . In this instance, component interface  120  may identify the location of a device executing the application component  119  that has the best performance metric  131  and/or it may identify many of the devices executing the application component  119 . The network location may be, for example, a network address, an internet protocol address, a base address, a media access control address, and/or other location that identifies how to send a communication to a device across a network. 
     In box  341 , the component interface  120  generates a component interface packet comprising the communication and network location. The component interface packet may have any structure that facilitates communication between the application components  119  even if the application components  119  are not being executed on the same device. The component interface packet may, for example, have a header with the network location of the second application component  119  and a payload that has the communication sent from the first application component  119 . 
     In box  344 , the component interface  120  sends the component interface packet to the second application component  119 . This is done by putting the interface packet into a network stream if the application components are not being executed on the same device or it sends the component interface packet to the component on the same device if the same device is being used. Thereafter, this portion of the component interface  120  ends. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 3C , shown is a flowchart that provides one example of the operation of a portion of the component interface  120  according to various embodiments. It is understood that the flowchart of  FIG. 3C  provides merely an example of the many different types of functional arrangements that may be employed to implement the operation of the portion of the component interface  120  as described herein. As an alternative, the flowchart of  FIG. 3C  may be viewed as depicting an example of steps of a method implemented in the computing environment  103  ( FIG. 1 ) according to one or more embodiments. 
     Beginning with box  364 , the component interface  120  obtains a component interface packet from the network  109  ( FIG. 1 ). In box  367 , the component interface  120  extracts the device network location from the component interface packet. In box  371 , the component interface  120  evaluates whether the network location indicates that the component interface packet was intended for this device. This may be done, for example, by comparing the network location to a location associated with the device. For instance, if the network location is an internet protocol address, the component interface  120  will compare it to the internet protocol address of the respective device. If the network location does not match, then the component interface  120  continues to box  377 . 
     In box  371 , the component interface  120  extracts the payload from the component interface packet and sends it to the application component  119 . The payload may be, for example, a communication from another application component  119 . 
     In box  377 , the component interface  120  evaluates whether execution is complete. If it is not, the application distribution system  115  returns to box  364 . If it is complete, thereafter this portion of the component interface  120  ends. 
     With reference to  FIG. 4 , shown is a schematic block diagram of the computing environment  103  according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The computing environment  103  includes one or more computing devices  400 . Each computing device  400  includes at least one processor circuit, for example, having a processor  403  and a memory  406 , both of which are coupled to a local interface  409 . To this end, each computing device  400  may comprise, for example, at least one server computer or like device. The local interface  409  may comprise, for example, a data bus with an accompanying address/control bus or other bus structure as can be appreciated. 
     Stored in the memory  406  are both data and several components that are executable by the processor  403 . In particular, stored in the memory  406  and executable by the processor  403  are application distribution system  115 , and potentially other applications. Also stored in the memory  406  may be a data store  112  and other data. In addition, an operating system may be stored in the memory  406  and executable by the processor  403 . 
     It is understood that there may be other applications that are stored in the memory  406  and are executable by the processor  403  as can be appreciated. Where any component discussed herein is implemented in the form of software, any one of a number of programming languages may be employed such as, for example, C, C++, C#, Objective C, Java®, JavaScript®, Perl, PHP, Visual Basic®, Python®, Ruby, Flash®, or other programming languages. 
     A number of software components are stored in the memory  406  and are executable by the processor  403 . In this respect, the term “executable” means a program file that is in a form that can ultimately be run by the processor  403 . Examples of executable programs may be, for example, a compiled program that can be translated into machine code in a format that can be loaded into a random access portion of the memory  406  and run by the processor  403 , source code that may be expressed in proper format such as object code that is capable of being loaded into a random access portion of the memory  406  and executed by the processor  403 , or source code that may be interpreted by another executable program to generate instructions in a random access portion of the memory  406  to be executed by the processor  403 , etc. An executable program may be stored in any portion or component of the memory  406  including, for example, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), hard drive, solid-state drive, USB flash drive, memory card, optical disc such as compact disc (CD) or digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk, magnetic tape, or other memory components. 
     The memory  406  is defined herein as including both volatile and nonvolatile memory and data storage components. Volatile components are those that do not retain data values upon loss of power. Nonvolatile components are those that retain data upon a loss of power. Thus, the memory  406  may comprise, for example, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), hard disk drives, solid-state drives, USB flash drives, memory cards accessed via a memory card reader, floppy disks accessed via an associated floppy disk drive, optical discs accessed via an optical disc drive, magnetic tapes accessed via an appropriate tape drive, and/or other memory components, or a combination of any two or more of these memory components. In addition, the RAM may comprise, for example, static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), or magnetic random access memory (MRAM) and other such devices. The ROM may comprise, for example, a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or other like memory device. 
     Also, the processor  403  may represent multiple processors  403  and/or multiple processor cores and the memory  406  may represent multiple memories  406  that operate in parallel processing circuits, respectively. In such a case, the local interface  409  may be an appropriate network that facilitates communication between any two of the multiple processors  403 , between any processor  403  and any of the memories  406 , or between any two of the memories  406 , etc. The local interface  409  may comprise additional systems designed to coordinate this communication, including, for example, performing load balancing. The processor  403  may be of electrical or of some other available construction. 
     Although application distribution system  115 , and other various systems described herein, may be embodied in software or code executed by general purpose hardware as discussed above, as an alternative the same may also be embodied in dedicated hardware or a combination of software/general purpose hardware and dedicated hardware. If embodied in dedicated hardware, each can be implemented as a circuit or state machine that employs any one of or a combination of a number of technologies. These technologies may include, but are not limited to, discrete logic circuits having logic gates for implementing various logic functions upon an application of one or more data signals, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) having appropriate logic gates, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or other components, etc. Such technologies are generally well known by those skilled in the art and, consequently, are not described in detail herein. 
     The flowcharts of  FIGS. 3A-3C  show the functionality and operation of an implementation of portions of the application distribution system  115 . If embodied in software, each block may represent a module, segment, or portion of code that comprises program instructions to implement the specified logical function(s). The program instructions may be embodied in the form of source code that comprises human-readable statements written in a programming language or machine code that comprises numerical instructions recognizable by a suitable execution system such as a processor  403  in a computer system or other system. The machine code may be converted from the source code, etc. If embodied in hardware, each block may represent a circuit or a number of interconnected circuits to implement the specified logical function(s). 
     Although the flowcharts of  FIGS. 3A-3C  show a specific order of execution, it is understood that the order of execution may differ from that which is depicted. For example, the order of execution of two or more blocks may be scrambled relative to the order shown. Also, two or more blocks shown in succession in  FIG. 3  may be executed concurrently or with partial concurrence. Further, in some embodiments, one or more of the blocks shown in  FIG. 3  may be skipped or omitted. In addition, any number of counters, state variables, warning semaphores, or messages might be added to the logical flow described herein, for purposes of enhanced utility, accounting, performance measurement, or providing troubleshooting aids, etc. It is understood that all such variations are within the scope of the present disclosure. 
     Also, any logic or application described herein, including the application distribution system  115 , that comprises software or code can be embodied in any non-transitory computer-readable medium for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system such as, for example, a processor  403  in a computer system or other system. In this sense, the logic may comprise, for example, statements including instructions and declarations that can be fetched from the computer-readable medium and executed by the instruction execution system. In the context of the present disclosure, a “computer-readable medium” can be any medium that can contain, store, or maintain the logic or application described herein for use by or in connection with the instruction execution system. 
     The computer-readable medium can comprise any one of many physical media such as, for example, magnetic, optical, or semiconductor media. More specific examples of a suitable computer-readable medium would include, but are not limited to, magnetic tapes, magnetic floppy diskettes, magnetic hard drives, memory cards, solid-state drives, USB flash drives, or optical discs. Also, the computer-readable medium may be a random access memory (RAM) including, for example, static random access memory (SRAM) and dynamic random access memory (DRAM), or magnetic random access memory (MRAM). In addition, the computer-readable medium may be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or other type of memory device. 
     It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments of the present disclosure are merely possible examples of implementations set forth for a clear understanding of the principles of the disclosure. Many variations and modifications may be made to the above-described embodiment(s) without departing substantially from the spirit and principles of the disclosure. All such modifications and variations are intended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure and protected by the following claims.