Abstract:
The present invention is an installation script generation engine. An application component distribution system can include a repository of semantic models for interdependent ones of application components. A mapping of individual listings in the semantic models to target platform specific installation instructions further can be included. Finally, a script generation engine can be configured to produce a target specific set of instructions for a specified application component based upon a mapping of at least one of the semantic models in the repository. Notably, each of the semantic models can include a listing of component relationships, target platform requirements and platform neutral installation instructions. Moreover, the component relationships can include at least one component relationship selected from the group consisting of a containment relationship, a usage relationship, a contradiction relationship, and an equivalence relationship. Finally, a Web services interface to the repository can be configured to permit remote access to the repository.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Statement of the Technical Field 
         [0002]    The present invention relates to the field of application component distribution, and more particularly to the target platform neutral management of application component requirements during the installation of an application component. 
         [0003]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0004]    Though often overlooked, application installation is a prerequisite to interacting with a software application. Specifically, in most circumstances, an application can be properly executed only subsequent to the completion of a successful installation process. At the minimum, a typical software application installation requires a transfer of files to the file structure of a computing system, and the configuration of the computing system to particularly interact with the software application. Ordinarily, the configuration of the computing system includes the addition or modification of registry settings, the addition or modification of entries to one or more initialization files, or both. 
         [0005]    In the context of an application installation meant to upgrade the components of an application, oftentimes, simply replacing application out-dated versions of application components with newer versions of components will not alone suffice as a complete application upgrade. Rather, in an era of code re-use, shared libraries, and interdependent program objects, replacing a single application component can have a dramatic effect upon other separate, but independent applications. Common disastrous consequences include altered and now incompatible application programming interfaces (APIs), re-positioned application objects, and removed application objects. In all cases, an application dependency can be broken simply by upgrading the application components of another, unrelated application. 
         [0006]    Whereas application component upgrades can be problematic generally, in an autonomic system, the problem can be particularly acute. For the uninitiated, autonomic computing systems self-regulate, self-repair and respond to changing conditions, without requiring any conscious effort on the part of the computing system operator. To that end, the computing system itself can bear the responsibility of coping with its own complexity. The crux of autonomic computing relates to eight principal characteristics: 
         [0007]    I. The system must “know itself” and include those system components which also possess a system identify. 
         [0000]    II. The system must be able to configure and reconfigure itself under varying and unpredictable conditions.
 
III. The system must never settle for the status quo and the system must always look for ways to optimize its workings.
 
IV. The system must be self-healing and capable of recovering from routine and extraordinary events that might cause some of its parts to malfunction.
 
V. The system must be an expert in self-protection.
 
VI. The system must know its environment and the context surrounding its activity, and act accordingly.
 
VII. The system must adhere to open standards.
 
VIII. The system must anticipate the optimized resources needed while keeping its complexity hidden from the user.
 
         [0008]    Thus, in keeping with the principles of autonomic computing, the installation of application components must not only account for the seamless installation and configuration of the application components, but also the impact of the installation upon existing applications in the target platform. Moreover, it can be important that dependencies required for the nominal operation of the application components exist within the target platform, or can be accessed from the target platform. Finally, it can be critical that the infrastructure provided by the target platform, including its computing resources, meets the resource requirements of the application components. Hence, it will be of paramount concern to the autonomic system that the target platform itself will not become “broken” in consequence of the installation of the application components. 
         [0009]    Presently, several application upgrade strategies exist. One such well-known strategy includes the venerable “ReadMe” file. In this strategy, software developers provide a list, typically as standard prose, of components in the application which are to be installed, the required pre-requisite components and any resource requirements to be provided by the target platform. Subsequently, during installation, an application administrator can peruse the contents of the list to determine the nature of the component installation. As it will be recognized by one skilled in the art, however, the creation and use of a conventional ReadMe file can be both tedious and unreliable. 
         [0010]    It will also be well understood by those skilled artisans that automated methods exist at least to remediate the tedium associated with the conventional ReadMe file. Specifically, various programming tools have been developed through which application component dependencies can be identified among system elements. Prior to any installation effort, the programming tool can be executed so as to determine the risk of undertaking the application installation. Still, this process lacks the granularity necessary to definitively assess the changing nature of dependencies. Moreover, modern automated methods are target platform specific. As a result, modern automated methods remain product level solutions which are ill-suited for the “write once run anywhere” nature of modern enterprise computing. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0011]    The present invention addresses the deficiencies of the art in respect to application component distribution and provides a novel and non-obvious method, system and apparatus for generating a target specific installation script for installing an application component from a platform neutral semantic model for the application component. 
         [0012]    In a preferred aspect of the invention, an application component distribution system can include a repository of semantic models for interdependent ones of application components. A mapping of individual listings in the semantic models to target platform specific installation instructions further can be included. Finally, a script generation engine can be configured to produce a target specific set of instructions for a specified application component based upon a mapping of at least one of the semantic models in the repository. Notably, each of the semantic models can include a listing of component relationships, target platform requirements and platform neutral installation instructions. Moreover, the component relationships can include, but are not limited to at least one component relationship selected from the group consisting of a containment relationship, a usage relationship, a contradiction relationship, and an equivalence relationship. Finally, a Web services interface to the repository can be configured to permit remote access to the repository. 
         [0013]    A script generation engine can be configured for use in either a standalone mode, for instance from fixed media, or in a network mode through an application component distribution system. The script generation engine can include a communicative coupling to a repository of semantic models for interdependent ones of application components configured for installation in a target platform. A mapping of individual listings in the semantic models to specific installation instructions for specific target platforms further can be provided, as can a script composition processor programmed to produce a specific set of instructions for installing a specified one of the interdependent application components in a specified one of the target platforms based upon the mapping. Importantly, each of the semantic models can include, but are not limited to, a listing of component relationships, target platform requirements and platform neutral installation instructions. In this regard, the component relationships can include, but are note limited to, at least one component relationship selected from the group consisting of a containment relationship, a usage relationship, a contradiction relationship, and an equivalence relationship. 
         [0014]    In a method for generating an installation script for installing an application component to a specific target platform, the method can include retrieving a semantic model for the application component from a communicatively coupled repository of semantic models. A set of dependent components required to be present in the specific target platform can be determined from the semantic model. Moreover, a set of resource requirements required to be met by the specific target platform further can be determined from the semantic model. Finally, the set of dependent components and the set of resource requirements can be mapped into platform specific instructions in a platform specific installation script. 
         [0015]    Notably, a set of platform neutral installation operations further can be determined from the semantic model. Consequently, the set of platform neutral installation operations can be mapped into the platform specific instructions as well. Preferably, a set of dependent components can be identified for the application component and a set of sub-dependent components can be identified for at least one of the dependent components. These steps can be repeated for each dependent and sub-dependent component in a hierarchy of dependent components for the application component. Finally, the further determining step can include computing a composite set of resource requirements for the application component and for the set of dependent components. 
         [0016]    Additional aspects of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The aspects of the invention will be realized and attained by means of the elements and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention, as claimed. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0017]    The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute part of the this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. The embodiments illustrated herein are presently preferred, it being understood, however, that the invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown, wherein: 
           [0018]      FIG. 1  is a schematic illustration of a script generation engine disposed within an application component distribution system; 
           [0019]      FIG. 2  is a block diagram illustrating the operation of the script generation engine of  FIG. 1 ; and, 
           [0020]      FIG. 3  is a flow chart illustrating a process for generating an installation script for use in the application component distribution system of  FIG. 1 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0021]    The present invention is a script generation system, method and apparatus for use within an application component distribution system. In accordance with the present invention, a model of a set of interdependent application components can be created to indicate the interdependencies there between. The model along with the target platform requirements can be recorded in a platform neutral format and stored within a component repository. Subsequently, the platform neutral format can be mapped to specific installation instructions in a target platform specific installation script for a subject application component for a specific target platform. In particular, the repository can be consulted to identify the target platform requirements for the subject application component and each dependency in the hierarchy of dependencies for the subject application component. In this way, prior to installing the subject application component, the composite target platform requirements can be evaluated within the script in advance as can the required dependencies within the target platform. 
         [0022]      FIG. 1  is a schematic illustration of a script generation engine disposed within an application component distribution system. The system can include a script generation engine  200  coupled to a source platform  150  configured for distributing subject application components  130  to individual target platform environments  190  over a component distribution network  180 . In this regard, the target platform environments  190  can range from an operating system to an application hosted within individual application hosting environment, within a distributed and coordinated network of application hosting environments, or within a cluster of application hosting environments. Additionally, the component distribution network  180  can range from a simple Intranet to a complex data communications network. 
         [0023]    The source platform  150  can be coupled to the components  130 . The components can include application logic compartmentalized in one or objects which can operate within an execution environment such as a virtual machine. As it will be recognized by the skilled artisan, each of the components  130 , can have specific resource requirements within the target platform  190 , including a minimum amount of accessible memory, fixed storage and network bandwidth, to name a few. Additionally, each of the components  130  can depend upon the operation of one or more other components  130 . For example, a Web application server can depend upon the operation of a database server, and a mail server can depend upon the availability of a data communications stack. 
         [0024]    In as much as the components  130  can have both a set of target platform requirements and component dependencies, target platform requirements  140  can be recorded for each of the components  130  and stored within a repository  120  communicatively associated with the script generation engine  200 . Preferably, the target platform requirements  140  can include deployment target requirements. The component dependencies, by comparison, can include a specification of the relationship between the components, including their respective ordering, any pre-requisite components required for the operation of other ones of the components, whether certain components are to be excluded from operation during the operation of other components, and equivalence among components such that one component can be interchanged for another. 
         [0025]    Through the communicative association between the script generation engine  200  and the repository  120 , the repository  120  can be accessed by a script generation process (not shown) in the script generation engine  200  based upon a specification of components. Within the repository  120 , a model of functional dependencies between components  130  also can be stored. Preferably, the model along with the requirements can be formatted within a markup language with components specified according to their respective network addressing scheme. In this way, one familiar with the schema for the markup language document can readily parse the document to identify the hierarchical model of interdependent application components and their respective target platform requirements. 
         [0026]    Significantly, a transformation engine  110  further can be communicatively associated with the script generation engine  200  and coupled to the repository  120 . The transformation engine  110  can resolve mappings between the dependency relationships specified in the repository  120  and actual instructions (not shown) for installing a corresponding one of the components  130  in the target platform  190 . Preferably, the transformation engine can generate a markup language formatted target specific script  160  for a selected set of components  170  to be installed in the target platform  190 . The script  160  can include specific instructions for deploying the components  170  in the target platform  190 . The instructions not only can identify pre-requisite minimum resources within the target platform  190 , but also the script can identify dependencies required for the operation of the components  170 , interchangeable ones of those dependencies, contradictions between the components  170  and already existing components in the target platform  190 , and limitations on usage of one or more of the components  170 . 
         [0027]    In further illustration,  FIG. 2  is a block diagram illustrating the operation of the script generation engine of  FIG. 1 . As shown in  FIG. 2 , the script generation engine  200  can be communicatively linked to an application component  220  subject to the installation script generation process of the present invention. The application component  220  can depend upon one or more other components  230 , referred to herein as “dependencies”. In this regard, the set of components required for the operation of the component  220 , including the component  220  itself, can be modeled as a hierarchy of components. 
         [0028]    A set of target platform requirements  210  further can be specified for the application component  220 . The target platform requirements  210  can include the minimum requisite type and level of resources required for the operation of the application component  220  within the target platform environment. Examples can include a minimal memory and fixed storage configuration, a minimum processor speed, minimum communications bandwidth and the like. A set of platform neutral installation instructions  270  also can be specified for the application component  210 . The instructions can include, by way of example, the creation or copying of a directory or a file, the execution of a script, or the removal of temporary files. In any case, the script generation engine  200  can process the target platform requirements  210 , the installation instructions  270  and the model of the component hierarchy into a platform neutral semantic model  260  specifying a set of installation instructions and target platform prerequisites. The semantic model  260  can be stored in a repository  250  for subsequent use. 
         [0029]    Importantly, the semantic model  260  can describe the interdependent relationships among the components  220 ,  230 . These relationships can include a containment relationship in which one component contains one or more sub-components which in of themselves can contain sub-components and so forth. These relationships further can include a usage relationship in which a specified component can be functional only in the presence of another component or components. These relationships yet further can include a contradictory relationship in consequence of which the installation of one component can disable the operation of one or more other components in the target platform in addition to any components which enjoy a usage relationship with the components in the target platform. Finally, these relationships can include an equivalence relationship in which two or more components can be considered interchangeable in terms of functionality. 
         [0030]    It will be recognized by the skilled artisan that the semantic model  260  can remain platform independent in that the semantic model can be a markup language document specifying the relationships through the use of markup language tags defined within a document type definition, and wherein individual components can be referenced within tags by way of a uniform identifier. When the application component  220  is to be installed to a specific target platform, the semantic model  260  can be retrieved from the repository  250  and transformed into platform specific installation instructions in a target specific script  240 . Part of the platform specific installation instructions can include, of course, pre-installation assurances that the target platform can meet the pre-requisite target platform requirements  210  included in the semantic model  260 . 
         [0031]      FIG. 3  is a flow chart illustrating a process for generating a platform specific target installation script for use in the application component distribution system of  FIG. 1 . First, prior to producing the platform specific script, a platform neutral semantic description of the installation must be created. In particular, in block  310 , the target platform requirements can be specified. Subsequently, those components upon which the application component directly depends can be stored within a repository of platform neutral instructions for installing the application component. 
         [0032]    Once the platform neutral installation instructions have been stored in the repository, on demand, the platform neutral installation instructions can be transformed to platform specific installation instructions for use in installing the application component to a specific target platform. In particular, in block  330  a connection can be established with the repository. In block  340 , a set platform neutral installation instructions can be retrieved not only for the application component and its direct dependencies, but also a set of platform neutral installation instructions can be retrieved for those components which are indirectly required for the operation of the application. An example of an indirect dependency in this respect can include those components upon which a dependency of the application component depends. 
         [0033]    In any case, the target platform requirements for the application component, the direct dependencies, and the indirect dependencies can be retrieved from the repository in block  350 . Importantly, it will be recognized that the target requirements for some of the dependencies and sub-dependencies may vary so that the computing resources of a target platform may satisfy the requirements of some of the dependencies and sub-dependencies while the target platform may fail to satisfy the requirements of others of the dependencies and sub-dependencies. Moreover, the very installation and operation of one the dependencies can consume the resources of the target platform required by others of the dependencies. 
         [0034]    Consequently, in a preferred aspect of the invention, a greatest common denominator for each enumerated resource in the target platform can be computed for non-shared resources and, in general, a total anticipated consumption of the resources can be computed. Subsequently, in block  370  each of the platform neutral instructions for installing each of the components, dependencies and sub-dependencies can transformed to a target specific listing of required dependencies, an order of installation, and other dependency relationships. Moreover, the target platform requirements further can be written to the target platform specific script. In both cases, the platform specific instructions can be formulated through a mapping of the platform neutral instructions in the repository. 
         [0035]    The present invention can be realized in hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software. An implementation of the method and system of the present invention can be realized in a centralized fashion in one computer system, or in a distributed fashion where different elements are spread across several interconnected computer systems. Any kind of computer system, or other apparatus adapted for carrying out the methods described herein, is suited to perform the functions described herein. 
         [0036]    A typical combination of hardware and software could be a general purpose computer system with a computer program that, when being loaded and executed, controls the computer system such that it carries out the methods described herein. The present invention can also be embedded in a computer program product, which comprises all the features enabling the implementation of the methods described herein, and which, when loaded in a computer system is able to carry out these methods. 
         [0037]    Computer program or application in the present context means any expression, in any language, code or notation, of a set of instructions intended to cause a system having an information processing capability to perform a particular function either directly or after either or both of the following a) conversion to another language, code or notation; b) reproduction in a different material form. Significantly, this invention can be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof, and accordingly, reference should be had to the following claims, rather than to the foregoing specification, as indicating the scope of the invention.