Distributed computing systems having capability services

An apparatus comprising:

• a processor;
• and
• at least one non-transitory computer readable medium comprising programming instructions that, when executed, will cause the processor to:
• receive a query from a first version of an application program for capabilities of a component, wherein the query comprises a condition indicative of whether a particular capability of the component is present;
• transmit the query to a computing node in a distributed system for capabilities of the component in the distributed system, wherein the capabilities comprise features associated with a graphical process unit (GPU), a virtual machine (VM) management service, a communication server, or combinations thereof;
• receive a response from the computing node, the response comprising information about the capabilities of the component in the distributed system, including the particular capability;
• based on the response, determine whether the particular capability is present in the component;
• and
• if the particular capability is not present in the component:
• transmit a subscription request to the computing node to subscribe to the particular capability;
• and
• receive a notification from the computing node in responsive to an occurrence that the particular capability is present in the component.

A method comprising:

• receiving a query, from a first version of an application program, for capabilities of a component in a distributed system, wherein the query comprises a condition indicative of whether a particular capability of the component is present, wherein the capabilities comprise features associated with a graphical process unit (GPU), a virtual machine (VM) management service, a communication server, or combinations thereof;
• determining the capabilities of the component in the distributed system from a capability store, including the particular capability;
• transmitting a response to the query with information about the capabilities of the component;
• receiving a subscription request to subscribe to the particular capability;
• and
• in response to a change in the capability store associated with a capability change of the component, wherein the capability change comprises an addition, a removal, or combinations thereof, of a capability of the component:
• determining whether the particular capability is present in the component;
• and
• if the particular capability is present in the component, responding to the subscription request with a notification.

At least one non-transitory computer readable medium encoded with instructions that, when executed, cause a system to:

• receive a query, from a first version of an application program. for capabilities of a component in a distributed system, wherein the query comprises a condition indicative of whether a particular capability of the component is present, wherein the capabilities comprise features associated with a graphical process unit (GPU), a virtual machine (VM) management service, a communication server, or combinations thereof;
• transmit a response to the query with information about the capabilities of the component, based on accessing a capability store, including the particular capability;
• receive a subscription request to subscribe to the particular capability;
• and
• in response to a change in the capability store associated with a capability change of the component, wherein the capability change comprises an addition, a removal, or combinations thereof, of a capability of the component:
• determine whether the particular capability is present in the component;
• and
• if the particular capability is present in the component, respond to the subscription request with a notification.