| 摘要 |
In mobile computing and context awareness in mobile ad-hoc networks ( 502 a) node connectivity is unpredictably time-varying. A middleware entity ( 110 ') solves the problem of automatically executing a user-defined set of actions ( 214 ), collected in a user profile ( 210 ), upon detection of events such as an attachment of a mobile terminal ( 504 ) to the ad-hoc network ( 502 a), changes of the underlying network topology, the moving of mobile terminals into the physical proximity of further mobile terminals, the presence of services and/or of users within said network, and a detachment of a mobile terminal from the ad-hoc network. Thereby, said actions ( 214 ) are invocations of services hosted on said mobile terminal ( 504 ) or other mobile terminals interconnected via said ad-hoc network ( 502 a). The aforementioned profiles are stored on mobile terminals (e.g. PDAs, mobile phones, etc.) or on fixed or mobile customer-edge (CE) devices such as television sets, home gateways, etc. Also envisioned is the deployment of a distributed database holding said profiles ( 210 ). A middleware entity ( 110 ') is provided to allow easy deployment of applications leveraging the aforementioned feature. This entity enables users specifying a list of operations-offered by the services located in a network ( 502 a)-that must automatically be executed whenever certain triggering conditions ( 204 ) are met. The monitoring of these triggering conditions ( 204 ) thereby leverages asynchronous notifications of specific events from various event producers. Said middleware entity ( 110 ') comprises means ( 108 ) for creating (S 1 ) bindings ( 206 ) between triggering conditions ( 204 ) and profiles ( 210 ) by assisting users to select triggering conditions ( 204 ), select or create profiles ( 210 ) and associate each triggering condition with at least one action ( 214 ) from a selected or created profile ( 210 ) as well as a core processing unit ( 110 ) for handling (S 2 ) said actions ( 214 ) upon reception of event notification messages indicating any met triggering conditions ( 204 ) and allowing (S 2 a'') applications to directly install bindings ( 206 ) by applying a specially designed application programming interface (API).
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