Programming language structures for use in a network for communicating, sensing and controlling information

A method for declaring a variable in a program and for configuring said variable for use in a network, said network having a plurality of nodes, said method comprising the steps of;

• declaring said variable in said program including the steps of
• declaring a state of a parameter of said variable, said parameter corresponding to service classes, said state indicating an acknowledged service;
• declaring said parameter as being configurable or nonconfigurable;
• after said declaring said variable in said program compiling said program on a computer system to produce compiled information, said computer system including a processor and a memory, said memory being coupled to said processor said compiled information including parameter data which indicates said state of said parameter and whether said parameter is configurable or nonconfigurable;
• after compiling said program accessing said parameter data to determine whether said parameter is configurable, if said parameter is configurable then
• determining a group of nodes, from said plurality of nodes, that will communicate information corresponding to said variable;
• determining a number of messages required to complete a transaction among said group of nodes using said variable and an acknowledged service;
• comparing said number of messages with a repeat count for a message including said variable;
• determining if said repeat count is less than a number of nodes in said group;
• if said repeat count is less than said number of nodes in said group then altering the state of said parameter, said stare being altered from acknowledged to unacknowledged repeat;
• and
• communicating information corresponding to said variable using an unacknowledged repeat service;
• if said repeat count is not less than said number of nodes in said group then communicating information corresponding to said variable using said acknowledged service.

A method for specifying how a node in a network communicates values associated with a variable to other nodes in said network, said method comprising the computer-implemented steps of:

• storing source data on a computer-readable medium said source data including a first variable information corresponding to said variable, said first variable information including parameter information for at least one parameter associated with said variable, said parameter information including for each parameter of said at least one parameter
• a parameter value;
• and
• a configuration indicator, said configuration indicator indicating whether said parameter is configurable;
• said parameter value of said at least one parameter indicating a first method of communicating said values associated with said variable;
• reading said source data from said computer-readable medium and compiling said source data to generate a complied data said compiled data including a second variable information, said second variable information including data which indicates the parameter value and the configuration indicator for each of said at least one parameter;
• generating based on said compiled data, connection information which indicates a method for communicating said values associated with said variable, said step of generating connection information including
• inspecting said second variable information to determine whether said at least one parameter is configurable,
• if said at least one parameter is configurable, then generating connection information that indicates a second method for communicating said values associated with said variable:
• if said at least one parameter is not configurable then generating connection information that indicates said first method for communicating said values associated with said variable:
• communicating said connection information to said node;
• said node storing nozzle variable information corresponding to said connection information:
• said node communicating values associated with said variable to other nodes in said network using said method of communicating said variable information that is indicated in said connection information.

A method of enabling two nodes in a network to sham information relating to a network variable, said network including a first node coupled in communications with a second node, said method comprising:

• defining a first variable in a first program, said first variable having a configurable first service class value;
• defining a second variable in a second program, said second variable having a configurable second service class value;
• a first computer generating connection information by accessing information corresponding to said first program and said second program, said connection information including a network variable identifier for said first node and said second node, said network variable identifier identifying that the value of the first variable is to be the value of the second variable, said connection information further including a third service class value, said third service class value being different from said first service class value and said second service class value;
• and
• a second computer, being coupled to said network, communicating said connection information to said first node and said second node;
• executing said first program on said first node, said first node having stored therein a value for said first variable while executing said first program;
• executing said second program on said second node said second node having stored therein a value for said second variable while executing said second program;
• while said second node is executing said second program and said first node is executing said first program, performing the steps of:
• communicating the value of said second variable stored in said second node to said first node using said third service class:
• and
• updating the value of said first variable stored in said first node to the value of said second variable.