Patent ID: 7606264

Claim:
A method for providing services in an electronic data processing system, comprising the steps of: in an electronic memory, storing a plurality of individual service components that respectively define separate functional parts of at least one service to be provided by a first data processing device to a second data processing device, at least one of said service components stored in said memory requiring updating of the functional part thereof; in response to an input received by said first data processing device, formulating, in said first data processing device, a service configuration for the service to be provided to the second data processing device by accessing said memory from said first data processing device and selecting at least one of said service components stored therein to generate said service with a service configuration defined by the functional part of the at least one service component selected from said memory; and in said first data processing device, when said one of said service components requiring updating is selected as said at least one service component in said service configuration, automatically modifying that service component to update the functional part thereof for inclusion in the service configuration of the service provided from the first data processing device to the second data processing device.