Stateful tokens for communicating with external services

• US 10,423,475 B2
• Filed: 09/30/2016
• Issued: 09/24/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Werner, Kyle Anthony, Overholt, Mark David, Banina, Samuel Lenz, Arreola Gutierrez, Jose Miguel
• Primary Examiner(s): Wilson, Yolanda L
• Application Number:
  US15/283,154
• Publication Number:
  US 20180095813A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,089 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0709 in a distributed system consisting of a plurality of standalone computer nodes, e.g. clusters, client-server systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0793 Remedial or corrective actions recovery from an exception in an instruction pipeline G06F9/3861; by retry G06F11/1402; for recovering from a failure of a protocol instance or entity H04L69/40
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0817 by checking functioning
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34

Abstract

Generating a token for tracking a state of communications with multiple external services. Data is caused to be acquired from external services as a result of interpreting a communication from a client. The causing of the data to be acquired comprises causing a request to be issued for data from a first external service and receiving a response from the first external service. The response from the first external service includes at least a token associated with the first external service. In response to receiving the response from the first external service, an aggregate token is generated that includes the token associated with the first external service and a status of the request to the first external service. The aggregate token is caused to be sent to the client and is interpretable to inform the computer system of the status of the request to the first external service.

Claims

1. A computer system comprising:

one or more processors; and

one or more computer-readable storage media having stored thereon computer-executable instructions that are executable by the one or more processors to cause the computer system to generate an aggregate token for tracking a state of communications with multiple external services by causing the computer system to;

as a result of interpreting a communication from a client, cause data to be acquired from one or more external services, the causing of the data to be acquired from the one or more external services comprising;

causing a request to be issued for data from a first external service of the one or more external services; and

receiving a response from the first external service, the response from the first external service including at least a portion of data and a token that is associated with the first external service;

in response to receiving the response from the first external service, generate the aggregate token, wherein the aggregate token includes the token associated with the first external service and a status of the request to the first external service that is based on the at least the portion of data such that the token associated with the first external service is reused and becomes a part of the aggregate token; and

cause the aggregate token to be sent to the client along with a continuation link that is interpretable by the computer system to inform the computer system of the status of the request to the first external service.

2. The computer system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the aggregate token also includes a failure tracker that tracks when a failure has occurred.

3. The computer system in accordance with claim 2, wherein the failure tracker comprises a Boolean variable that identifies when a failure has occurred in a true or false manner.

4. The computer system in accordance with claim 2, wherein the failure tracker tracks particular failures that occur, such that the aggregate token is capable of informing the client of particular failures that have occurred.

5. The computer system in accordance with claim 4, wherein the client applies recovery logic to recover from any particular failures that have occurred, in response to receiving the aggregate token.

6. The computer system in accordance with claim 1, wherein, in response to receiving from the client the continuation link and the aggregate token, at least the following is performed:

interpret the continuation link to determine the status of the request to the first external service; and

cause a request to complete the request for data to be issued to the first external service based on the interpreted status.

7. The computer system in accordance with claim 6, wherein a response is received from the first external service, the response completing the request for data to the first external service.

8. The computer system in accordance with claim 7, wherein, in response to receiving the response completing the request to the first external service, at least the following is performed when data is caused to be acquired from at least a second external service:

attempt to complete a final response to send to the client; and

in response to attempting to complete the final response, determine that there is at least one more external service at which to make a request.

9. The computer system of claim 1, wherein a resource provider generates the aggregate token, the resource provided being stateless such that the resource provider refrains from tracking its own operations, including an operational state of the request, and

wherein, as a result of the resource provider being stateless, the aggregated token is used to track the operational state of the request.

10. A method, implemented at a computer system that includes one or more processors, for generating an aggregate token for tracking a state of communications with multiple external services, the method including:

as a result of interpreting a communication from a client, causing data to be acquired from one or more external services, the causing of the data to be acquired from the one or more external services comprising;

causing a request to be issued for data from a first external service of the one or more external services; and

receiving a response from the first external service, the response from the first external service including at least a portion of data and a token that is associated with the first external service;

in response to receiving the response from the first external service, generating the aggregate token, wherein the aggregate token includes the token associated with the first external service and a status of the request to the first external service that is based on the at least the portion of data such that the token associated with the first external service is reused and becomes a part of the aggregate token; and

causing the aggregate token to be sent to the client along with a continuation link that is interpretable by the computer system to inform the computer system of the status of the request to the first external service.

11. The method in accordance with claim 10, wherein the aggregate token also includes a failure tracker that tracks when a failure has occurred.

12. The method in accordance with claim 11, wherein the failure tracker comprises a Boolean variable that identifies when a failure has occurred in a true or false manner.

13. The method in accordance with claim 11, wherein the failure tracker tracks particular failures that occur, such that the aggregate token is capable of informing the client of particular failures that have occurred.

14. The method in accordance with claim 13, wherein the client applies recovery logic to recover from any particular failures that have occurred, in response to receiving the aggregate token.

15. The method in accordance with claim 10, further comprising:

in response to receiving from the client the continuation link and the aggregate token, performing at least the following;

interpreting the continuation link to determine the status of the request to the first external service; and

causing a request to complete the request for data to be issued to the first external service based on the interpreted status.

16. The method in accordance with claim 15, further comprising receiving a response from the first external service, the response completing the request for data to the first external service.

17. The method in accordance with claim 16, further comprising:

in response to receiving the response completing the request to the first external service, at least the following is performed when data is caused to be acquired from at least a second external service;

attempt to complete a final response to send to the client; and

in response to attempting to complete the final response, determine that there is at least one more external service at which to make a request.

18. One or more hardware storage devices having stored thereon computer-executable instructions that are executable by one or more processors of a computer system to generate an aggregate token for tracking a state of communications with multiple external services by causing the computer system to:

as a result of interpreting a communication from a client, cause data to be acquired from one or more external services, the causing of the data to be acquired from the one or more external services comprising;

causing a request to be issued for data from a first external service of the one or more external services; and

receiving a response from the first external service, the response from the first external service including at least a portion of data and a token that is associated with the first external service;

in response to receiving the response from the first external service, generate the aggregate token, wherein the aggregate token includes the token associated with the first external service and a status of the request to the first external service that is based on the at least the portion of data such that the token associated with the first external service is reused and becomes a part of the aggregate token; and

cause the aggregate token to be sent to the client along with a continuation link that is interpretable by the computer system to inform the computer system of the status of the request to the first external service.

19. The one or more hardware storage devices of claim 18, wherein the aggregate token also includes a failure tracker that tracks when a failure has occurred.

20. The one or more hardware storage devices of claim 19, wherein the failure tracker comprises a Boolean variable that identifies when a failure has occurred in a true or false manner.

21. The one or more hardware storage devices of claim 19, wherein the failure tracker tracks particular failures that occur, such that the aggregate token is capable of informing the client of particular failures that have occurred.