Abstract: A method and system for managing accounts that control access to resources of different providers. The account management system allows providers to use a common logon procedure through an account management server. The account management system dynamically creates accounts when users request to access resources. To access to a resource, a user provides their credentials (e.g., user identifier and password) through a certain location (e.g., client computer) and identifies the resource (e.g., application). The account management system determines whether an account has already been created for those credentials. If not, the account management system authenticates the user, creates a new account for those credentials (i.e., registration), and associates the identified resource with the account.

Abstract: A program routine generates Requests for a target system, such as a physical device or program code, to perform a service. Each Request includes identification information, and passes through intermediate layers, including a family program interface and a Family Server, for processing before it reaches the target system. The program routine also generates Cancels, which include the appropriate identification information, and sends the Cancels after the Requests. Each Cancel tracks its Request, and upon finding the Request, attempts to cancel it. A Cancel may find a Request before the Request has been forwarded to a target system, while it is being processed by the target system, after it has been executed by the target system, or may not find it. Results of the Requests and of the Cancels are returned through the intermediate layers to the program routine.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for arbitrating access to a selected device in a computer system comprises a routine for registering access rules for accessing the selected system device, a plurality of competing clients which may each request a connection to the selected device, and an arbitrator which uses the registered access rules to negotiate access to the requested connection on behalf of the competing clients.

Abstract: A method and mechanism for automatically correlating a device to its appropriate driver and family within a computer system utilizing candidate matching. A device tree indicating devices coupled to a computer system is available from an operating system. Within the device tree are device nodes which specify a particular device's name (device name) and a property which indicates compatible device names (compatible names) to the particular device. Drivers and corresponding families for devices can be located in RAM, ROM, or in another storage media (such as disk drive). Drivers can include a data field indicating a driver name indicative of a corresponding device with which they operate. For a particular device, the system constructs a candidate list of drivers by comparing (1) the device name and (2) the compatible names from the device tree against all the driver names of data fields of all known drivers.

Abstract: The present invention is a system and method by which changes in states of devices within a computer system are identified and understood by relevant parts of the system. The system responds to state changes in a well-defined and predictable way without requiring a reboot cycle of operation. The state changes can be classified as a "hard event" or a soft event." Each event may further classified as, among others, a "device removed" event or a "device added" event.

Abstract: A method and mechanism for automatically correlating a device to its appropriate driver within a computer system utilizing candidate matching. A device tree indicating devices coupled to a computer system is available from an operating system. Within the device tree are device nodes which specify a particular device's name (device name) and a property which indicates compatible device names (compatible names) to the particular device. Drivers for devices can be located in RAM, ROM, or in another storage media (such as disk drive). Drivers can include a data field indicating a driver name indicative of a corresponding device with which they operate. For a particular device, the system constructs a candidate list of drivers by comparing (1) the device name and (2) the compatible names from the device tree against all the driver names of data fields of all known drivers. The candidate list is sorted so that matches by device name and proper version number are higher priority.