Unified Resource Access via Intermediary Stubs
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Solution Overview
Problem
Managing resources scattered across multiple platforms in large enterprise environments is challenging due to the need for separate access techniques for each storage location, making it difficult to access and aggregate resources efficiently.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that uses an agent on a user computing device to create stubs for resources stored on different platforms, allowing them to be accessed through a single interface, where each stub includes information for locating the resource and is invoked when selected, presenting them in a unified interface as if they were locally stored.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If resources are stored across multiple platforms, then resource storage capacity and distribution are improved, but resource access complexity and management difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a stub as an intermediary object that mediates between the user and the actual distributed resources. The stub contains location information and acts as a proxy, allowing users to access resources through a unified interface without directly interacting with multiple platforms. This resolves the contradiction by maintaining resource distribution while simplifying access through the intermediary stub mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the resource access process into two distinct parts: the stub (which the user interacts with) and the actual resource (which resides on various platforms). This segmentation allows the resource distribution to be maintained across multiple platforms while the stub provides a simplified, unified access point, thus resolving the access complexity issue.
2Reliability
If separate access techniques are used for each storage location, then platform-specific access requirements are met, but overall system complexity and user burden increase
Solution Approach 1:
The stub is designed as a universal access mechanism that can represent resources from any platform. Instead of requiring different access techniques for each platform, the single stub interface provides multi-functional access to diverse storage locations, maintaining platform compatibility while reducing access technique diversity to a single unified method.
3Ease of operation
If resources are aggregated in a single interface, then resource management simplicity is improved, but the abstraction layer complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a simplified copy or representation of the resource access interface through the stub. Instead of directly managing complex platform-specific interfaces, the system creates stub copies that encapsulate the location information and access logic, providing simple resource management while the underlying complexity is handled by the stub generation and resolution mechanism.
Data Source
AI summary
A single interface can be provided for accessing resources that are distributed among multiple platforms. Resources that are stored in different platforms and to which a user should have access can be identified. A stub can be created for each identified resource and can include functionality for causing the resource to be opened when the stub is selected. These stubs can then be combined in a single folder or other type of user interface where they can be selected to cause the corresponding resource to be opened.