Abstract: In order to set up a communication channel on a link connecting a client application on a client machine and a service application present on a device dependent on a terminal, the client machine includes a representative of the service application. A formatting module is located at the client machine, downstream of the representative, for formatting the client application messages in a form readable by the service application. A gateway is located at the terminal, for receiving the messages readable by the card and transmitting them to the service application. Typically, the communicating device is a smart card, and the service application is a card application. The link is typically a network, for example of the Internet type.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method for accessing a portable device, the portable device being connected to a host device. According to the invention, the host device, as a client, opens a communication channel to the portable device, as a server, according to a first network communication protocol, and the portable device, as a client, uses the communication channel to transport data to the host device, as a server, according to a second network communication protocol, without the implementation of any complex infrastructure. The invention relates also to a corresponding system for accessing a portable device, a corresponding portable device accessible from outside and a corresponding host device for accessing a portable device.

Abstract: In a distributed computing system which employs smart cards to provide services, the need for a fixed mapping between methods that can be invoked from a card application and APDU messages is avoided. A card skeleton provides a decoding table to a client proxy when a connection is established between a card and a terminal. With the information provided from the skeleton, the proxy dynamically maps methods to APDU messages, for communication during a given session. As a result, if the on-card application is enhanced to provide new methods, its corresponding skeleton is upgraded to recognize those methods. When the card is connected to a terminal, the updated information is provided to the proxy at the terminal, to enable the user to access the enhanced features of the application.

Abstract: Data to be stored is managed in different management modes including at least a first management mode and a second management mode. An identification is provided during a data preparation phase, for respectively identifying the data to be managed according to the different modes, and then managing on the basis of the provided identification. The storage can be located in a programmable smart card. Thus the data can include a code associated with an application whereof part (management code) is designed to customize the application during an initial phase, the identification being related to the data associated with this code part.

Abstract: Smart cards and other such devices with limited memory capacity function as hosts for services on a distributed computing network. The information to be deployed in the distributed computing system to provide access to those services is separated into two categories. One category consists of the information that is generic to all instances of the service. The second category constitutes that information which is specific to one instance of the application which provides a service. The specific information is stored on the smart card, whereas the generic information is stored elsewhere on the distributed computing network, for example on a server. In addition to the specific information, the card stores the address at which the generic information can be located on the network. When a card is inserted in a terminal connected to the network, the terminal retrieves the specific deployment information, along with the address for the generic information.

Abstract: In order to set up a communication channel on a link connecting a client application on a client machine and a service application present on a device dependent on a terminal, the client machine includes a representative of the service application. A formatting module is located at the client machine, downstream of the representative, for formatting the client application messages in a form readable by the service application. A gateway is located at the terminal, for receiving the messages readable by the card and transmitting them to the service application. Typically, the communicating device is a smart card, and the service application is a card application. The link is typically a network, for example of the Internet type.

Abstract: A mechanism is provided that enables an application to interact directly with certain types of communication messages, while at the same time retaining the advantages of a semantics-based framework, such as remote method invocation. A set of standard entry points are defined that can be employed by any application to receive and interact with communication messages. In one implementation of the invention, three such entry points are established as invokable methods that are called within the application. These three methods respectively relate to data processing operations, pre-processing operations and post-processing operations.

Abstract: The invention concerns the management of data designed to be stored in a storage (6), said data being designed to be managed in different management modes including at least a first management mode and a second management mode. The invention is characterised in that it consists in: providing an identification, during a data preparation phase, for respectively identifying the data to be managed according to the different modes, and managing and/or operating on the data on the basis of said provided identification (E6, P1). The storage can be located in a programmable smart card. Thus the data can include a code associated with an application whereof part (management code) is designed to customize the application during an initial phase, the identification being related to the data associated with said code part.

Abstract: Smart cards and other such devices with limited memory capacity function as hosts for services on a distributed computing network. The information to be deployed in the distributed computing system to provide access to those services is separated into two categories. One category consists of the information that is generic to all instances of the service. The second category constitutes that information which is specific to one instance of the application which provides a service. The specific information is stored on the smart card, whereas the generic information is stored elsewhere on the distributed computing network, for example on a server. In addition to the specific information, the card stores the address at which the generic information can be located on the network. When a card is inserted in a terminal connected to the network, the terminal retrieves the specific deployment information, along with the address for the generic information.

Abstract: In a distributed computing system which employs smart cards to provide services, the need for a fixed mapping between methods that can be invoked from a card application and APDU messages is avoided. A card skeleton provides a decoding table to a client proxy when a connection is established between a card and a terminal. With the information provided from the skeleton, the proxy dynamically maps methods to APDU messages, for communication during a given session. As a result, if the on-card application is enhanced to provide new methods, its corresponding skeleton is upgraded to recognize those methods. When the card is connected to a terminal, the updated information is provided to the proxy at the terminal, to enable the user to access the enhanced features of the application.

Abstract: A mechanism is provided that enables an application to interact directly with certain types of communication messages, while at the same time retaining the advantages of a semantics-based framework, such as remote method invocation. A set of standard entry points are defined that can be employed by any application to receive and interact with communication messages. In one implementation of the invention, three such entry points are established as invokable methods that are called within the application. These three methods respectively relate to data processing operations, pre-processing operations and post-processing operations.