John F Strack

US Patent:

6175853, Jan 16, 2001

Filed:

Sep 17, 1996

Appl. No.:

8/714943

Inventors:

John Strack - Palo Alto CA

Assignee:

Netscape Communications Corporation - Mountain View CA

International Classification:

G06F 900

US Classification:

709107

Abstract:

A distributed locking apparatus for a collaborative computing system permits members of a collaborative session to obtain and transfer a lock without the use of a central lock server. Each member of the collaborative session has a lock engine, which transitions among four states depending on the location of the lock. An Available state indicates that the lock is available. A Pending state indicates that the member has requested the lock. A Held state indicates that the member currently holds the lock. A Locked state indicates that another member currently holds the lock. A message structure permits the members to obtain and release the lock and to resolve conflicts over the lock between members of the session.