ACCESS GRID

SOFTWARE INFRASTRUCTURE AND DEVELOPMENT TOOLS USED TO CREATE DISTRIBUTED COLLABORATIVE ENVIRONMENTS AND APPLICATIONS TO BE USED IN THEM, IN THE NATURE OF A COLLECTION OF BASIC SOFTWARE AND ASSOCIATED SOFTWARE INTERFACES AND PROTOCOLS, IN AREAS SUCH AS COMMUNICATIONS, INFORMATION, RESOURCE LOCATION AND SCHEDULING, SECURITY, AND DATA ACCESS, WHICH TOGETHER MAY BE USED BY PROGRAMMERS TO CREATE APPLICATIONS AND ENVIRONMENTS WHICH COUPLE GEOGRAPHICALLY-DISTRIBUTED, HETEROGENEOUS COLLECTIONS OF RESOURCES