Advertisable Management

Within real ``Grid'' computing it is often the case that one needs to make a particular object persistent or one needs to allow a particular object to be accessed from another computer. The ``advertisable'' management system makes this possible. More then that, it make it easy!

Assume for the moment you have a run-down car to give away, an red 1973 VW Beetle, and you wish to place an advert in the paper for this advertisable car. The first thing you would do is write a few sentences describing the car. Basically, these sentences could be summarized by a set of name value pairs ``color=red'', ``year=1973'', ``type=VW Beetle'', ``price=free''! One would then contact the newspaper that one wishes to place an advert in. This newspaper provides the service of hosting adverts; so, it can be thought of as an advert service. Upon contacting the newspaper one places the advert by associating the name value pairs ``color=red'', ``year=1973'', ...with the physical car in a forum that the public can access. Using the advertisable management system in GAT is no different from placing this add in the newspaper. It's so simply you know how to do it already.

Assume now that you have a File you wish to advertise. Assume it's a mov file which is 3.9 MB. Using GAT you first created some ``meta-data,'' a fancy word for data about data, describing the file. This meta-data is captured by a set of name value pairs, ``type=mov'', ``size=3.9'', ``size.units=MB'', which are placed in a Table. One then contacts the AdvertService and places the advert buy using the AdvertService to associate the Table with the File in a forum that the public can access. Any other user can then contact the AdvertService and query it, again using some meta-data, to obtain your File. Just like giving away the old VW for parts.

• Creating and Destroying an AdvertService
• Adding and Deleting Advertiseables
• Finding and Obtaining Advertisables