Batched tasks

• US 10,025,625 B2
• Filed: 07/29/2016
• Issued: 07/17/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Thiruvengadachari, Prashant, Sharma, Sanyam, Amirault, Daniel
• Primary Examiner(s): KIM, DONG U
• Application Number:
  US15/224,190
• Publication Number:
  US 20170286159A1
• Time in Patent Office: 718 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2282 Tablespace storage structures; Management thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4843 by program, e.g. task dispatcher, supervisor, operating system
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4881 Scheduling strategies for dispatcher, e.g. round robin, multi-level priority queues

Abstract

Reducing computational load for systems tracking tasks performed in a shared electronic environment allows for users to receive more nuanced notifications about the use of the shared of the electronic environment, more frequent notifications, or let the systems use those resources for other purposes. The systems and methods discussed herein provide for batching and queueing of tasks to reduce the computational load of systems and thereby improve the systems themselves and the user experience.

Claims

1. A method for reporting tasks taken in a shared electronic workspace (SEW) with improved computational efficiency, comprising:

receiving a task;

storing the task in a table;

determining whether the task belongs in a batch based on a predefined batch definition;

in response to determining that the task belongs in the batch, determining whether an existing batch is active in a queue;

in response to determining that the existing batch is active in the queue, adding the task to the existing batch;

determining whether a trigger has occurred for a given batch;

in response to determining that the trigger has occurred for the given batch;

preventing the given batch from receiving additional tasks so that when a second task is determined to belong to the given batch while the given batch is prevented from receiving additional tasks, a new batch is created to which the second task is to be added instead of the given batch;

generating and transmitting a report on tasks belonging to the given batch to a user; and

removing the given batch from the queue.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein when it is determined that no existing batch is active in the queue, creating a new batch and adding the task to the new batch.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the trigger occurs according to a set period of time.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the trigger occurs according to a number of tasks included in the given batch.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the report is an email that is transmitted to an email address associated with the user.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the report is a dialog in an authoring application of the SEW.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the batch comprises links to the tasks belonging to the batch, wherein the links point to the tasks in the table.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the task was made in a writer'"'"'s instance of the SEW and is received from the writer'"'"'s instance, and wherein storing the task in the table holds the task for processing in the SEW until the trigger occurs.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

wherein in response to determining that the trigger has occurred for the given batch, the tasks comprising the given batch are processed to affect the SEW.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein counteractive tasks or additive tasks are compressed in the batch.

11. A computer-implemented system for reporting tasks taken in a shared electronic workspace (SEW) with improved computational efficiency, comprising:

a memory having stored programmed instructions; and

a processor for executing the stored programmed instructions, wherein execution of the programmed instructions causes the processor to operate as;

a task table, operable to receive a task performed by a writer in the SEW;

a cache, operable to receive a batch definition from a receiver, wherein the batch definition defines a trigger for an event indicating that a given batch is ready for processing and wherein the batch definition defines criteria for whether a given task belongs to the given batch;

a batching agent, in communication with the cache, operable to examine the task to determine whether the task meets the batch definition and, in response to determining that the task meets the batch definition, assign the task to a batch;

an executor, in communication with the task table and the receiver, operable to receive the batch and in response to receiving the batch, pull the task assigned to the batch from the task table and generate and transmit a report based on the batch to the receiver;

a queue, in communication with the batching agent, operable to maintain the batch, wherein the batch is maintained in a hidden state and or in a visible state for execution, wherein the batch in the hidden state is operable to have additional tasks assigned to the batch and the batch in the visible state is not operable to have the additional tasks assigned, wherein the queue is further operable to change the batch from the hidden state to the visible state in response to the trigger, and wherein in response to the trigger changing the batch from the hidden state to the visible state, the visible state batch is prevented from receiving additional tasks so that when a new task is determined to belong to the visible state batch while the visible state batch is prevented from receiving additional tasks, a new batch is created to which the new task is to be added instead of the visible state batch; and

a polling agent, in communication with the queue and the executor, operable to remove the batch from the queue when the batch is in the visible state to transmit the batch to the executor.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the task is assigned by the batching agent to the batch and a second batch, defined by a second batch definition.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the batching agent is further operable to query the queue to determine whether an existing batch corresponding to the batch definition is maintained in the queue in the hidden state;

in response to determining that no existing batch corresponding to the batch definition is maintained in the queue in the hidden state, create a new batch as the batch; and

in response to determining that the existing batch corresponding to the batch definition is maintained in the queue in the hidden state, assign the task to the existing batch as the batch.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein the executor generating and transmitting the report based on the batch to the receiver further comprises combining related tasks comprising the batch.

15. The system of claim 11, wherein the event indicating that the batch is ready for processing is one of:

a number of clock cycles occurring in the SEW;

an amount of time;

or

a number of tasks assigned to the batch.

16. The system of claim 11, wherein the executor is further operable to perform the task assigned to the batch in the SEW in response to receiving the batch.

17. A method for reporting tasks taken in a shared electronic workspace (SEW) with improved computational efficiency, comprising:

polling a queue for a batch that is visible, wherein batches include identifiers for tasks performed by a writer in the SEW that meet a batch definition, wherein the batch definition is predetermined, and wherein batches are maintained in the queue as hidden or visible based on a trigger defined by the batch definition;

determining whether the batch is newly visible;

in response to determining that the batch is newly visible;

setting a lock on the batch to indicate that the batch is no longer newly visible;

retrieving the tasks from a task table;

processing the tasks within the SEW; and

releasing the lock from the batch; and

in response to the trigger indicating that the batch is visible but the lock indicating that the batch is no longer newly visible, preventing the visible batch from receiving additional tasks so that when a new task is determined to belong to the visible batch while the visible batch is prevented from receiving additional tasks, a new batch is created to which the new task is to be added instead of the visible batch.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the SEW is an electronic document being authored remotely by a plurality of writers, wherein a given writer of the plurality of writers has provided the batch definition to receive the tasks performed by other writers of the plurality of writers in response to a trigger defined by the batch definition occurring in the SEW.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein processing the tasks within the SEW further comprises invoking callbacks to execute the tasks within the SEW.