PERVASIVE, DISTRIBUTED PROVISION OF SERVICES SUCH AS PRODUCT BROKERAGE

摘要

A client-server computing system (10) suited particularly for homogenous clients (16a-16e) of varying functional capabilities. Information handling capabilities are provided at the client (16c) and server (12) on a customized, as-needed basis. When a service is needed by a client (16c), the server (12) determines a number of factors that may be relevant to the manner in which the service is to be provided. Then, the server (12) selects from between two or more services having different executable code, and uploads the selected service to the client (16c). Thus, the code may be tailored to the client's capabilities, or other aspects of its function. Services are not permanently retained by a client (16c); rather, the client (16c) performs an analysis to determine whether services should be retained or purged. Also, state information is not permanently retained by a client (16c); the server (12) retains the information and uploads that information to the client (16c). The server (12) also manages its resources by loading service components on an as-needed basis.