Abstract: A method and apparatus for saving and restoring persistent objects in a distributed object-oriented programming environment. This invention maintains persistent values for individual attributes and or instance variables. Attribute persistence is implemented using an interface that is inherited by any class that wants to have persistent attributes. The interface provides load.sub.-- attribute and store.sub.-- attribute methods that provide TypeCode based encoding and decoding. The methods provide improved performance by maintaining a cached copy of the encoded attribute and its TypeCode in memory in addition to the copy that exist in external storage. This allows the load.sub.-- attribute method to return the attribute without having to access external storage. Performance is enhanced during the object restoration process by restoring only the attribute values currently needed instead of the entire object.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for monitoring the status of a computer network by displaying polygon-shaped objects (or "icons") to represent groups of devices connected to the network. In a preferred embodiment each device (or "node") on the network is assigned to one of a number of groups (or "clusters"), each cluster is represented as a polygon-shaped object on a computer system display, and the number of sides for each polygon is displayed according to the size of the group represented. The appearance of the sides of each polygon may also help indicate the size of the group. A base value may be varied to partly govern the shape and appearance of the polygon.

Abstract: A method, system and program for displaying data in a panel with output fields which are insufficiently long to display some data. A panel with data in a plurality of output fields is displayed, in one preferred embodiment, the data is displayed in matrix form. A first data displayed in a truncated manner in a first output field insufficiently long to fully display the first data. If the first output field is selected, a first location on the display is determined at which a first floating output field sufficiently long to display the first data will not overlap any significant feature of the panel and the first floating output field is displayed at this location. An indicia is displayed in any output field to indicate that the data is displayed therein in a truncated manner. If subsequent output fields are selected containing truncated data, their floating output fields are located so that they do not overlap any previous floating output field.

Abstract: Data processing application requests are processed in a computer system configured as a plurality of nodes with a plurality of interacting processes. Data is requested by an application request originating on a first node. The request data includes data located on a plurality of the nodes. A portion of computer memory on the nodes is established as agent message queues ("AMQ's"). A first process, acting as a coordinating agent, receives an application request on the first node. The coordinating agent generates a plurality of internal requests for the application request. The coordinating agent communicates the internal requests to a fast communication manager process ("FCM") on the first node. The first FCM, sends the internal requests to FCM's on the nodes having the request data ("request data nodes"), for storage in selected AMQ's on the request data nodes. The internal requests are retrieved from the selected AMQ's by processes acting as subordinate agents on the request data nodes.

Abstract: A system, method and program product for determining and displaying the status of client application programs executing on a multiprocessing server. Server process control blocks and synchronization object descriptors are created in the shared memory of the server. Application program interfaces APIs are linked to the control blocks and descriptors during the execution of the various multiprocessing application programs. A status utility related to the service process monitor selectively accesses information from the control blocks and descriptors to determine the status of the individual multiple processes executing on the server workstation. In a preferred form, the status information is conveyed to and displayed on a video display associated with the service process monitor. In contrast to operating system monitors which disclose the status of all processes as a whole, the present server process monitor particularizes the information to the specific client process.