Control of messages in publish/subscribe system

• US 10,447,626 B2
• Filed: 07/07/2015
• Issued: 10/15/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 07/07/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Lieu, Hanson
• Primary Examiner(s): Algibhah, Hamza N
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hollister, James Ross
• Application Number:
  US14/792,759
• Publication Number:
  US 20170012909A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,561 Days
• Field of Search: 709206
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/00 Arrangements for program control, e.g. control units program control for peripheral devices G06F13/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/066 Format adaptation, e.g. format conversion or compression
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/18 Commands or executable codes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles

Abstract

Control of messages in a publish/subscribe system is described. A publishing system creates a message for publishing to multiple subscribers via a broker system. The message and associated metadata are provided. The metadata defines control of the message and relates to control of publishing of the message, by the broker system, and/or control of use of the message, by a subscribing system. The message is published with the metadata. A broker system receives the message and analyzes the metadata with respect to a subscriber. Based on the analysis, restrictions are applied to delivery of the message to the subscriber. A subscribing system receives the message and analyzes the metadata with respect to the subscriber. Based on this second analysis, restrictions are applied to use of the message by the subscriber.

Claims

1. A publishing system for allowing a corresponding publishing user to maintain fine-grain control of a message throughout an entire publish/subscribe architecture and for an entire useful life of the message, the publishing system comprising:

a memory; and

a processor in communication with the memory, the processor configured to obtain program instructions from the memory that cause the processor to perform a method comprising;

creating, by the publishing system, the message and metadata associated with the message, wherein the metadata, as selected by the corresponding publishing user, includes an event marker associated with a public event that occurs at different date ranges in different geographic locations such that the event marker is capable of defining the fine-grain control of the message in the form of date range restrictions on use of the message to be applied differentially by a plurality of subscribing systems in the publish/subscribe architecture; and

publishing, by the publishing system, the message with the associated metadata to the plurality of subscribing systems via a broker system, in the publish/subscribe architecture, that is separate from the publishing system,

wherein the receipt of the published metadata with the event marker at each subscribing system causes that subscribing system to look up the date range of the public event at its geographic location and restrict the use of the message by its corresponding subscribing user based on that date range such that fine-grain control of the message is maintained by the publishing user.

2. The publishing system of claim 1, wherein the method further comprising:

subscribing, by the publishing system and upon selection by the corresponding publishing user, to updates of the message created by the subscribing users at their corresponding subscribing systems, wherein the updates each incorporate additional associated metadata also created by the subscribing users.

3. The publishing system of claim 1, wherein the event marker is further configured to cause each subscribing system to delete the message responsive to that subscribing system changing its geographic location.

4. The publishing system of claim 1, wherein the restrictions on the use of the message are not settable or adjustable by the subscribing users.

5. The publishing system of claim 1, wherein all of the date ranges of the public event begin after and do not coincide with a date that the message is delivered to the subscribing systems.

6. The publishing system of claim 1, wherein each subscribing system looks up the date range of the public event at its geographic location in an external source that is separate from the publish/subscribe architecture.

7. A broker system in a publish/subscribe architecture, the broker system configured to allow a separate publishing system of the publish/subscribe architecture to maintain fine-grain control of a message throughout the entire publish/subscribe architecture including through end use of the message by a plurality of subscribing systems, the broker system comprising:

a memory; and

a processor in communication with the memory, the processor configured to obtain program instructions from the memory that cause the processor to perform a method comprising;

receiving, from the publishing system, the message for publishing to the plurality of subscribing systems, the message as received by the broker system including associated metadata, the associated metadata incorporating at least a broker-system-layer-control metadata subset designed to control delivery of the message by the broker system and a subscribing-system-layer-control metadata subset designed to control use of the message by the subscribing systems, wherein both metadata subsets are selected by a publishing user corresponding with the publishing system such that the entirety of the associated metadata defines the fine-grain control of the message in the form of restrictions on the message to be applied differentially at multiple layers of the publish/subscribe architecture as well as differentially among the plurality of subscribing systems;

determining, by the broker system and based on an analysis of the broker-system-layer-control metadata subset, that restrictions on the delivery of the message to each of the subscribing systems varies based on characteristics of the subscribing systems;

looking up, by the broker system and based on the determination about the broker-system-layer-control metadata subset, the characteristics of each subscribing system;

applying, by the broker system and based on the looked-up information for each subscribing system, the required restrictions to the delivery of the message to each subscribing system differentially such that the fine-grain control of the message by the publishing system is maintained at the broker-system layer of the publish/subscribe architecture; and

forwarding, by the broker system, at least the subscribing-system-layer-control metadata subset to each subscribing system to whom the message is delivered,

wherein, based on its analysis of the subscribing-system-layer control metadata subset, each subscribing system differently applies restrictions on the use of the message by its corresponding subscribing user, wherein the restrictions applied by each subscribing system are in addition to the restrictions applied by the broker system such that the fine-control of the message by the publishing system is also maintained at the subscribing-system-layer of the publish/subscribe architecture.

8. The broker system of claim 7, wherein upon selection by the corresponding publishing user, the publishing system subscribes to updates of the message created by the subscribing users at their corresponding subscribing systems, wherein the updates each incorporate additional associated metadata also created by the subscribing users, and wherein the updates are delivered to the publishing system in accordance with the additional associated metadata and via the broker system.

9. The broker system of claim 7, wherein the restrictions on the delivery of the message are based on a current location and a time at that current location for each of the subscribing systems.

10. The broker system of claim 7, wherein neither the restrictions on the delivery of the message nor the restrictions on the use of the message are not settable or adjustable by the subscribing users.

11. A computer program product for a broker system in a publish/subscribe architecture, the broker system configured to allow a separate publishing system of the publish/subscribe architecture to maintain fine-grain control of a message throughout the entire publish/subscribe architecture including through end use of the message by a plurality of subscribing systems, the computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium having program instructions embodied therewith, the program instructions executable by a processor to cause the processor to perform a method, carried out at the broker system, the method comprising:

receiving, from the publishing system, the message for publishing to the plurality of subscribing systems, the message as received by the broker system including associated metadata, the associated metadata incorporating at least a broker-system-layer-control metadata subset designed to control delivery of the message by the broker system and a subscribing-system-layer-control metadata subset designed to control use of the message by the subscribing systems, wherein both metadata subsets are selected by a publishing user corresponding with the publishing system such that the entirety of the associated metadata defines the fine-grain control of the message in the form of restrictions on the message to be applied differentially at multiple layers of the publish/subscribe architecture as well as differentially among the plurality of subscribing systems;

determining, by the broker system and based on an analysis of the broker-system-layer-control metadata subset, that restrictions on the delivery of the message to each of the subscribing systems varies based on characteristics of the subscribing systems;

looking up, by the broker system and based on the determination about the broker-system-layer-control metadata subset, the characteristics of each subscribing system;

applying, by the broker system and based on the looked-up information for each subscribing system, the required restrictions to the delivery of the message to each subscribing system differentially such that the fine-grain control of the message by the publishing system is maintained at the broker-system layer of the publish/subscribe architecture; and

forwarding, by the broker system, at least the subscribing-system-layer-control metadata subset to each subscribing system to whom the message is delivered,

wherein, based on its analysis of the subscribing-system-layer control metadata subset, each subscribing system differently applies restrictions on the use of the message by its corresponding subscribing user, wherein the restrictions applied by each subscribing system are in addition to the restrictions applied by the broker system such that the fine-control of the message by the publishing system is also maintained at the subscribing-system-layer of the publish/subscribe architecture.

12. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein upon selection by the corresponding publishing user, the publishing system subscribes to updates of the message created by the subscribing users at their corresponding subscribing systems, wherein the updates each incorporate additional associated metadata also created by the subscribing users, and wherein the updates are delivered to the publishing system in accordance with the additional associated metadata and via the broker system.

13. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein the restrictions on the delivery of the message are based on a current location and a time at that current location for each of the subscribing systems.

14. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein neither the restrictions on the delivery of the message nor the restrictions on the use of the message are not settable or adjustable by the subscribing users.