Abstract: The present technique includes a software framework which makes it possible for providing Business-to-Business (B2B) integration software as a service (SaaS). The framework follows a hub and spoke model wherein the hub and spoke communicate through web services. While the hub and spokes act as integration gateways with the enterprise systems, the hub also acts as a centralized remote command, control and configuration center for the entire setup. The hub software provides the ability to generate and remotely deploy the spoke environments and also manage them remotely. The generated spoke environment can be downloaded, installed and configured to connect to the local systems and act as a mediator for B2B integration between hub and the local systems. Once installed the environments are remotely managed through the management console provided by the hub software.

Abstract: A system and method for typing resources in a distributed system is provided which enables flexible searching mechanisms for finding distributed resources. The distributed system includes at least three types of resources: service, vocabulary and contract resources. The service resource includes the implementation logic for the service. A contract resource contains interface data used for accessing resources. The vocabulary resource contains an attribute schema defining attributes used to describe resources. Each resource—including service, vocabulary and contract resources—is typed by associating one or more vocabulary resources and one or more contract resources with the resource. The vocabulary resources explain the meaning of attribute lists describing the resource and enable the resource to be discovered. The contract resources provide data for accessing the resource.

Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention include a system and method for making it safe to execute downloaded code. The method includes accessing an application, the application making a system call to a library of a computer system for a resource, establishing a requesting thread. The method further includes the library sending a request message to a local security filter; the local security filter validating the requesting thread and returning a digital signature, that uniquely identifies the requesting thread, to the application. The application making a system call to a kernel of the computer system wherein the kernel uses the digital signature from the security filter to validate the requesting thread before allowing access to the requested resource.

Abstract: The present technique includes a software framework which makes it possible for providing Business-to-Business (B2B) integration software as a service (SaaS). The framework follows a hub and spoke model wherein the hub and spoke communicate through web services. While the hub and spokes act as integration gateways with the enterprise systems, the hub also acts as a centralized remote command, control and configuration center for the entire setup. The hub software provides the ability to generate and remotely deploy the spoke environments and also manage them remotely. The generated spoke environment can be downloaded, installed and configured to connect to the local systems and act as a mediator for B2B integration between hub and the local systems. Once installed the environments are remotely managed through the management console provided by the hub software.

Abstract: A conversation definition language (CDL) is disclosed that programmers may use to define sequences of interactions for communicating with a web service to facilitate use of the web service. CDL enables web services provided by different entities to engage in flexible and autonomous interactions. Using CDL, services can communicate by exchanging messages, and the message exchanges are expected to follow a specific pattern (i.e., a conversation). CDL is used to define the conversation, such that a service may expect a particular message in response to transmitting a particular message. CDL includes document type descriptions, interactions and transitions for describing a conversation. The document type descriptions describe the messages that may be exchanged. The interactions describe the type of actions (e.g., receive and/or transmit a message) that may be performed, and the transitions describe the possible sequences of the interactions.

Abstract: A software system with task-specific flexible bindings that enhance the ability to dynamically add and remove resources from availability to tasks and that eliminates the need for coordination of globally unique names. The software system includes a task-specific name space which corresponds to a task executing in the software system. The task-specific name space holds flexible bindings each of which associates a task-specific name used by the task to refer to a desired resource or a set of one or more resources of the computer system and to information that describes the desired resource. The software system includes a resource mediator that obtains a message from the task. The resource mediator keeps information for each resource that identifies a resource handler task for the desired resource by resolving the task-specific name using the flexible binding.

Abstract: A system and method for typing resources in a distributed system is provided which enables flexible searching mechanisms for finding distributed resources. The distributed system includes at least three types of resources: service, vocabulary and contract resources. The service resource includes the implementation logic for the service. A contract resource contains interface data used for accessing resources. The vocabulary resource contains an attribute schema defining attributes used to describe resources. Each resource—including service, vocabulary and contract resources—is typed by associating one or more vocabulary resources and one or more contract resources with the resource. The vocabulary resources explain the meaning of attribute lists describing the resource and enable the resource to be discovered. The contract resources provide data for accessing the resource.

Abstract: A system and method for typing resources in a distributed system is provided which enables flexible searching mechanisms for finding distributed resources. The distributed system includes at least three types of resources: service, vocabulary and contract resources. The service resource includes the implementation logic for the service. A contract resource contains interface data used for accessing resources. The vocabulary resource contains an attribute schema defining attributes used to describe resources. Each resource—including service, vocabulary and contract resources—is typed by associating one or more vocabulary resources and one or more contract resources with the resource. The vocabulary resources explain the meaning of attribute lists describing the resource and enable the resource to be discovered. The contract resources provide data for accessing the resource.

Abstract: A system for selling personal information through a trusted third party. An owner of the personal information provides policy governing the sale of the owner's personal information and authorizes information sources to provide the personal information to the trusted third party. The trusted third party provides for validation of the personal information and sells it to requesters in accordance with the policy, and provides payment or credit to the owner as compensation for the sale.

Abstract: A software system with self-describing attribute vocabularies that enhance the capability of service providers to advertise their resources and that facilitate the addition of new types of attributes and resources to the system. Each self-describing attribute vocabulary is characterized by a corresponding set of attribute properties and a corresponding set of:matching rules that are adapted to the corresponding attribute properties. The software system includes a matching engine that enables a service provider of a resource to describe the resource to the software system in terms of any one or more of the self-describing attribute vocabularies.

Abstract: A software system that provides access control to resources and that disassociates access rights to resources from references to resources to prevent the formation of large and unwieldy access control lists and to enable advanced decentralized security controls. The software system includes a repository that holds a resource descriptor for each resource including lock/permission pairs. Access to particular resources or groups of resources is provided by providing users with the appropriate keys. The keys are themselves are resources with resource descriptors in the repository. Access rights for users may be revoked by deleting keys from the repository. The software system also provides visibility fields for compartmentalizing access to resources. In addition, the software system provides authorizers that maintain audit trails when critical resource such as keys are passed among users and that enable advanced security control when passing resources among users.

Abstract: A conversation definition language (CDL) is disclosed that programmers may use to define sequences of interactions for communicating with a web service to facilitate use of the web service. CDL enables web services provided by different entities to engage in flexible and autonomous interactions. Using CDL, services can communicate by exchanging messages, and the message exchanges are expected to follow a specific pattern (i.e., a conversation). CDL is used to define the conversation, such that a service may expect a particular message in response to transmitting a particular message. CDL includes document type descriptions, interactions and transitions for describing a conversation. The document type descriptions describe the messages that may be exchanged. The interactions describe the type of actions (e.g., receive and/or transmit a message) that may be performed, and the transitions describe the possible sequences of the interactions.

Abstract: A software infrastructure for providing an open digital services marketplace including a naming manager that enables a requesting task to refer to a desired resource using a name which is local to the requesting task and a router that forwards the request to an appropriate handler for the desired resource and that enables at least one additional task to be invoked in response to the request. The infrastructure includes a permission manager that compares a set of access rights of the requesting task to the desired resource to a set of permissions associated with the desired resource such that the access rights are kept separately from the reference to the desired resource. The desired resource, the requesting task, the additional task, and a set of additional components used to handle the request are each modeled as a resource defined by a corresponding set of meta-data which includes a set of attributes and a reference to a grammar for interpreting the attributes.