Patent ID: 7509371

Claim:
A computer-based method for performing application and task discovery in a network of computer devices running applications, comprising: broadcasting a request for application data over a communications network; receiving a plurality of responses over the communications network from a set of agents provided on the computer devices, the responses comprising the application data; and processing the application data from the received responses to generate a link and launch list for the network; wherein the application data comprises for each application associated with each of the agents an application identifier and a launch point, wherein the application data comprises for each application associated with each of the agents a set of task data for each task the corresponding application can run, the set of task data including a task identifier and a task entry point defining a task entry point for a task associated with the task identifier; and wherein the application data further comprises for each of the applications associated with the agents a list of elements managed by each of the applications and wherein the link and launch list comprises each of the listed elements paired with the application identifier associated with an application managing the particular element and the launch point for the managing application.