A method and apparatus for sharing resources in a network environment. An
application running on a client can access a resource on a remote computer
by submitting a request via an Internet browser. The request is analyzed,
converted to proper format and is transferred over the network lines to a
server that can satisfy the request. For security reasons, an application
may not be authorized to submit a request directly to a server on the
Internet. If a requesting application has a trusted status, then its
request for connecting to the server is granted. If a request submitted by
an application to a server is denied, then a server that entrusts the
application is identified, and the request is submitted to that server. A
program code called a "servlet" is implemented on that server to accept
the requests submitted by a trusted application. The submitted requests
are analyzed by the servlet and are forwarded to a resource server that
can satisfy the requests. A response from the resource server is routed
through the servlet back to the requesting application.
