Patent ID: 6961726

Claim:
An extensible file access method for accessing a foreign file system from a local data processing system with a native file system, said foreign file system being located on a remote data processing system, said foreign file system having a set of foreign file attributes corresponding to each of a plurality of files in the foreign file system, and said native file system having a set of native file attributes corresponding to each of a plurality of files in the native file system, said method comprising: generating a request from a client on the local data processing system to the remote data processing system to open a foreign file in the foreign file system; opening of the foreign file by the foreign file system; sending of file attributes of the foreign file, hereinafter foreign file attributes, to the local data processing system; storing of the foreign file attributes by the local data processing system; determining a subset of the foreign file attributes which are equivalent to a corresponding subset of file attributes of the native file system, the subset of the foreign file attributes hereinafter known as conventional file attributes; returning the conventional file attributes to the client; storing a remaining subset of the foreign file attributes which are not equivalent to a corresponding subset of file attributes of the native file system, the remaining subset of the foreign file attributes hereinafter known as extended file attributes; accessing of the foreign file attributes stored in the local data processing system by the local data processing system client to process the foreign file; and processing by the local data processing system client the foreign file using the stored foreign file attributes.