Patent Abstract
The present invention teaches a multi-layer protocol management system and method that allows for on-the-fly machine-readable protocol discovery and negotiation, distribution of protocol specifications and components, automatic implementation of protocols from corresponding machine-readable protocol specifications, and corresponding execution of automatically generated implementations. The present invention is capable of using, as well as capable of being designed to use, a method for specifying protocols using a language based on eXtensible Markup Language (XML). Furthermore, the automatic protocol implementation may be based on eXtensible Stylesheet Language for Transformations (XSLT) and Component-based Software Engineering (CBSE). The XML language, called eXtensible Markup Language (XML)-based protocol specification language (XPSL), may be used for allowing a high-level specification of a protocol, expressible in Finite State Machines (FSM), using Computer-Based Software Engineering (CBSE) principles. XSLT may be used to transform specification description into actual code. XSLT stylesheets can be designed to produce code in different programming languages (e.g., C++ or Java). CBSE may be used to build a set of operations needed by a protocol.