APPLICATION USER INTERFACE REDIRECTOR

摘要

A novel application user interface redirector is disclosed that operates to extend an operating system, like Windows 95 or Windows NT, to allow applications to be used on one machine while actually executing on another machine. Most elements of the application execute on the server while the user interface elements of the application execute on the client. The result is that applications perform most operations, including input/output (I/O) intensive and CPU intensive operations, on the server but interact with the user on the local machine like any local application would. Multi-user capabilities are extended to support execution of applications, supporting multiple concurrent remote users. Utilizing the present invention, applications can execute on mixed architectures. Performance is further improved by providing a user interface skeleton or virtual user interface that locally generates the calls to the callback functions of the application. Any callback function return values are passed to the client. This improves the performance of the application user interface redirector over slow connections such as modems over dial up lines.