Patent ID: 7107596

Claim:
A computer-implemented method of providing a statistically-triggered heuristics service, comprising steps of: encapsulating one or more heuristics functions in a network-accessible heuristics object having an application programming interface (“API”); deploying the heuristics object as the heuristics service, such that the heuristics service is accessible to a plurality of application programs using the API of the deployed heuristics object; registering the heuristics service in a network-accessible service registry from which the application programs can programmatically discover the registered heuristics service and the API; and submitting, by at least one of the application programs using the API, run-time statistics information to the heuristics service for application, by the heuristics object, of at least one of the heuristics functions thereto, wherein: each heuristics function to be applied to the submitted run-time statistics information is determined by the heuristics object, by consulting a mapping encapsulated within the heuristics object wherein the mapping identifies, for each of a plurality of types of run-time statistics information, at least one of the heuristics functions to apply to that type of run-time statistics information; and the submitting application programs programmatically discover the API, for use in the submitting step, by consulting the network-accessible service registry.