Mobile application behavior modification via context sensitive issue framework

• US 10,142,162 B2
• Filed: 08/19/2016
• Issued: 11/27/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 08/19/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Hambridge, Christopher A., Holdaway, Kevan D., Jong, Wuchieh J., Lees, Dillon D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Shingles, Kristie D
• Application Number:
  US15/241,198
• Publication Number:
  US 20180054346A1
• Time in Patent Office: 830 Days
• Field of Search: 709202
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0817 by checking functioning
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/63 Routing a service request depending on the request content or context
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/324 in the data link layer [OSI layer 2], e.g. HDLC
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/20 Services signaling; Auxiliary data signalling, i.e. transmitting data via a non-traffic channel
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 40/00 Systems for electrical power generation, transmission, distribution or end-user application management characterised by the use of communication or information technologies, or communication or information technology specific aspects supporting them

Abstract

Modifying a behavior of a mobile application running on a mobile data processing system is provided. Information regarding a system function of the mobile data processing system is retrieved. It is determined whether the information regarding the system function meets a criterion of a policy trigger corresponding to the system function. In response to determining that the information regarding the system function does meet a criterion of the policy trigger corresponding to the system function, an action is performed to modify the behavior of the mobile application running on the mobile data processing system that corresponds to the system function meeting the criterion of the policy trigger.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for modifying a behavior of a mobile application running on a mobile data processing system, the computer-implemented method comprising:

retrieving, by the mobile data processing system, information regarding a system function of a mobile operating system running on the mobile data processing system;

determining, by the mobile data processing system, whether the information regarding the system function of the mobile operating system meets a criterion of a policy trigger corresponding to the system function of the mobile operating system; and

responsive to the mobile data processing system determining that the information regarding the system function of the mobile operating system does meet a criterion of the policy trigger corresponding to the system function, performing, by the mobile data processing system, an action to modify the behavior of the mobile application running on the mobile data processing system that corresponds to the system function of the mobile operating system meeting the criterion of the policy trigger, wherein the mobile data processing system utilizes an agent of the mobile data processing system to retrieve and monitor the information, wherein the agent comprises (i) an operating system function monitor that monitors the system function of the mobile operating system running on the mobile data processing system and (ii) the policy trigger.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the mobile data processing system utilizes a plurality of agents of the mobile data processing system to retrieve and monitor the information.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein each agent of the plurality of agents monitors a particular system function of the mobile operating system, and wherein the particular system function of the mobile operating system is selected from a group consisting of an I/O function performed by the mobile data processing system, a storage function performed by the mobile data processing system, a network function performed by the mobile data processing system, and an error function performed by the mobile data processing system.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the action to modify the behavior of the mobile application is a set of one or more actions selected from a group of actions consisting of providing a notification to a user of the mobile data processing system, reducing usage of one or more resources of the mobile data processing system, altering data transmission levels of the mobile data processing system, and providing a recommendation to the user of the mobile data processing system to utilize an alternate resource.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the mobile data processing system utilizes an event handler of the mobile application to perform the action, wherein the event handler is custom code inserted into the mobile application that is configured to perform a set of one or more actions based on a notification received from the agent that the event handler is registered with.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 5, wherein the mobile application registers the event handler with the agent that contains the policy trigger corresponding to the system function.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 6, wherein the operating system function monitor passes the information regarding the system function to the policy trigger for analysis, and wherein the policy trigger of the agent sends an event notification to the event handler in response to at least one of a context-based event trigger and a threshold-based event trigger being met.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, wherein the context-based event trigger is one of a group consisting of time of day, day of week, mobile device geographic location, mobile device model, mobile device operating system type, application status, weather, and some external information provided by a service.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, wherein the threshold-based event trigger is one of a group consisting of storage usage, processor usage, network signal strength, network type, network request response times, and I/O request response times.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the system function corresponds to a set of tasks being performed by the mobile application.

11. A mobile data processing system for modifying a behavior of a mobile application running on the mobile data processing system, the mobile data processing system comprising:

a bus system;

a storage device connected to the bus system, wherein the storage device stores program instructions; and

a processor connected to the bus system, wherein the processor executes the program instructions to;

retrieve information regarding a system function of the mobile data processing system;

determine whether the information regarding the system function meets a criterion of a policy trigger corresponding to the system function; and

perform an action to modify the behavior of the mobile application running on the mobile data processing system that corresponds to the system function meeting the criterion of the policy trigger in response to determining that the information regarding the system function does meet a criterion of the policy trigger corresponding to the system function, wherein the mobile data processing system utilizes a plurality of agents of the mobile data processing system to retrieve and monitor the information.

12. The mobile data processing system of claim 11, wherein each agent of the plurality of agents monitors a particular system function of the mobile operating system, and wherein the particular system function of the mobile operating system is selected from a group consisting of an I/O function performed by the mobile data processing system, a storage function performed by the mobile data processing system, a network function performed by the mobile data processing system, and an error function performed by the mobile data processing system.

13. A computer program product for modifying a behavior of a mobile application running on a mobile data processing system, the computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium having program instructions embodied therewith, the program instructions executable by the mobile data processing system to cause the mobile data processing system to perform a method comprising:

retrieving, by the mobile data processing system, information regarding a system function of a mobile operating system running on the mobile data processing system;

determining, by the mobile data processing system, whether the information regarding the system function of the mobile operating system meets a criterion of a policy trigger corresponding to the system function of the mobile operating system; and

responsive to the mobile data processing system determining that the information regarding the system function of the mobile operating system does meet a criterion of the policy trigger corresponding to the system function of the mobile operating system, performing, by the mobile data processing system, an action to modify the behavior of the mobile application running on the mobile data processing system that corresponds to the system function meeting the criterion of the policy trigger, wherein the mobile data processing system utilizes an agent of the mobile data processing system to retrieve and monitor the information, wherein the agent comprises (i) an operating system function monitor that monitors the system function of the mobile operating system running on the mobile data processing system and (ii) the policy trigger.

14. The computer program product of claim 13, wherein the mobile data processing system utilizes a plurality of agents of the mobile data processing system to retrieve and monitor the information.

15. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein each agent of the plurality of agents monitors a particular system function of the mobile operating system, and wherein the particular system function of the mobile operating system is selected from a group consisting of an I/O function performed by the mobile data processing system, a storage function performed by the mobile data processing system, a network function performed by the mobile data processing system, and an error function performed by the mobile data processing system.

16. The computer program product of claim 13, wherein the action to modify the behavior of the mobile application is a set of one or more actions selected from a group of actions consisting of providing a notification to a user of the mobile data processing system, reducing usage of one or more resources of the mobile data processing system, altering data transmission levels of the mobile data processing system, and providing a recommendation to the user of the mobile data processing system to utilize an alternate resource.

17. The computer program product of claim 13, wherein the mobile data processing system utilizes an event handler of the mobile application to perform the action, wherein the event handler is custom code inserted into the mobile application that is configured to perform a set of one or more actions based on a notification received from the agent that the event handler is registered with.

18. The computer program product of claim 17, wherein the mobile application registers the event handler with the agent that contains the policy trigger corresponding to the system function.

19. The computer program product of claim 18, wherein the operating system function monitor passes the information regarding the system function to the policy trigger for analysis, and wherein the policy trigger of the agent sends an event notification to the event handler in response to at least one of a context-based event trigger and a threshold-based event trigger being met.