Abstract: One embodiment of the present invention is a component manager that manages one or more communication components that implement one or more communication protocols, the component manager including: (a) an encapsulator that generates an object implementation of a pre-established interface for each of the one or communication components, wherein each such object implementation of the interface provides indirect access to its associated communication component and directives to the component manager that must be executed on behalf of the associated communication component, which directives are not communicated to the associated communication component; (b) a directory service object submitter that inserts an object representing a client interface for a communication component into a directory, which object can be retrieved using a name assigned to the communication component; (c) a synchronous transmitter invoker that executes an identified synchronous transmit method in a communication component that implements

Abstract: One embodiment of the present invention is a component manager that manages one or more tracking components, the component manager including: a deployer that generates a client interface for each tracking component output port, and deploys the client interface in a directory service, wherein each entry is a tracking point object. In another embodiment, the deployer further generates a client interface for each tracking component input port, and deploys the client interface in a directory service, wherein each entry is a tracking point object.

Abstract: One embodiment of the present invention is a component manager that manages one or more deferred response components wherein each deferred response component has at least one method designated as having a deferred response, the component manager including an interface constructor that automatically constructs: (a) a Requester interface implementation for each deferred response component; and (b) a Responder interface implementation for each deferred response component.

Abstract: One embodiment of the present invention is a component manager that manages one or more workflow automated task components that implement an automated task in a workflow process definition running in a workflow engine, the component manager including: (a) a work coordinator that reads a workitem from a worklist in the workflow system and obtains a name of an automated task component and a method to invoke and workitem parameters; (b) a task translator that converts the workitem parameters into a method invocation on an automated task component instance representing the automated task; and (c) wherein the work coordinator synchronously waits for an invocation response before updating the workitem in the worklist.

Abstract: Arbitrary content-files on arbitrary computing platforms are enclosed by content-wrappers. The content-wrapper also binds searchable metadata that describes the content-files within the content-wrapper, as well as user-defined metadata. The metadata can include a title, author, date, and keywords that describe the content-file. The metadata provides searchable text for arbitrary content-files, including non-textual content-files such as graphics, audio, video, and multimedia content. Thus non-textual as well as textual data can be searched. The format of the original content-file is unimportant since the content-file is wholly embedded within the content-wrapper, or a reference (such as a URL) to the content is embedded within the content-wrapper. Content-wrappers can thus enclose any kind of file or even a data stream. Content-wrappers are designed for different computers and operating systems such as Microsoft-Windows-based PC's, UNIX workstations, and Apple Macintosh computers.