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Information processing method, information processing apparatus, and program product

Information processing method, information processing apparatus, and program product description/claims

This application is a continuation of prior U.S. application Ser. No. 10/206,970, filed Jul. 30, 2002, which is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from the prior Japanese Patent Application No. 2001-230309, filed Jul. 30, 2001, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a mobile agent system in which an agent moves between, e.g., network-connected information devices and performs processing.

2. Description of the Related Art

A mobile agent system has conventionally been known as a technique of moving between network-connected information devices, and integrating and processing pieces of information on the information devices. The agent is an autonomous software processing unit which is constructed by data in an executable form, its executable state, and data used for execution. In the mobile agent system, such an agent processes information on a given information device.

The mobile agent moves and operates between a plurality of information devices. The operation authority which defines processes the agent performs on each device is determined from the type of agent and the settings of each information device. The operation authority of the agent is controlled by a method of laying a specific interface unique to each information device open to the agent and restricting the agent operation to only ones via the interface. The operation authority is fixed for each information device.

Each of the information devices between which the agent moves has a platform which provides an environment where the agent operates, e.g., one which provides an environment where an agent constructed on the Operating System (OS) of a computer or the like operates.

A destination information device to which the agent is to move determines whether to accept the agent on the basis of identification information of the agent. An agent whose security cannot be determined from identification information is inhibited from moving to the device. Even an agent which is permitted to move uniformly performs only permitted operations regardless of the identification information of the agent.

In this manner, the operation of the agent accepted by the destination device is restricted.

When movement of an agent or the operation of the agent at a destination are to be restricted, the prior art imposes only uniform, fixed restrictions on the basic identification information of the agent and predetermined operations permitted in the destination information device regardless of the type or function of the agent.

The present invention has its object to provide an information processing method capable of flexibly changing the operation of an agent within the range of restrictions preset in a destination information device for the agent when the agent moves between devices, and an information processing apparatus using the same.

According to embodiments of the present invention, there is provided an information processing method between a first information processing apparatus as one of a plurality of network-connected information processing apparatuses and a second information processing apparatus as another one of the plurality of network-connected information processing apparatuses. The method includes storing, in the first information processing apparatus, a plurality of programs which execute processing to cope with a user request; storing, in the second information processing apparatus, restriction information used for selecting authorized programs for which executions are authorized within the second information processing apparatus; transferring the restriction information from the second information processing apparatus to the first information processing apparatus; and moving at least one program selected from among the plurality of programs, of which execution authorization is checked based on the restriction information, from the first information processing apparatus to the second information processing apparatus.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall arrangement of an information processing system according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a table showing examples of a security policy;

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