Application directory for a multi-user computer system environment

• US 10,691,437 B2
• Filed: 08/21/2017
• Issued: 06/23/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 09/09/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Salesforce.com, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Salesforce.com, Inc.
• Inventors: Brooks, David, Tucker, Lewis Wiley, Jasik, Benji, Mason, Timothy, Bezar, Eric David, Wong, Simon, Chasman, Douglas, Tzuo, Tien, Hansma, Scott, Gross, Adam, Tamm, Steven
• Primary Examiner(s): Ly, Anh
• Application Number:
  US15/682,277
• Publication Number:
  US 20180074806A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,037 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/173 using an interconnection network, e.g. matrix, shuffle, pyramid, star, snowflake
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/176 Support for shared access to files; File sharing support
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/211 Schema design and management
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/214 Database migration support
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2329 using versioning
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24573 using data annotations, e.g. user-defined metadata
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/27 Replication, distribution or synchronisation of data between databases or within a distributed database system; Distributed database system architectures therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/283 Multi-dimensional databases or data warehouses, e.g. MOLAP or ROLAP
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/289 Object oriented databases
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/40 of multimedia data, e.g. slideshows comprising image and additional audio data retrieval of still image data G06F16/50; retrieval of audio data G06F16/60; retrieval of video data G06F16/70
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/904 Browsing; Visualisation therefor for navigating the web G06F16/954; browsing optimisation for the web G06F16/957
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9566 URL specific, e.g. using aliases, detecting broken or misspelled links
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/972 Access to data in other repository systems, e.g. legacy data or dynamic Web page generation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0483 Interaction with page-structured environments, e.g. book metaphor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/60 Software deployment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/61 Installation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/658 Incremental updates; Differential updates
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/50 Circuit switching systems, i.e. systems in which the path is physically permanent during the communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/1433 Vulnerability analysis
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 : involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416

Abstract

A computer implemented method of developing computer applications, the method comprising providing to multiple users access, over a network, to information on a data center, with a subgroup of the users having access to a sub-portion of the information that is different from the sub-portion accessible by the remaining tenants of the subgroup; and communicating wide the data center over the network employing a computer system associated with a user of the sub-group to establish application functionality with the sub-portion that may be accessed, over the network, by additional parties authorized by the user. Also disclosed is a machine-readable medium and a data center, both of which facilitate carrying-out the steps of the method.

Claims

1. A non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon a plurality of instructions that are capable of being executed by a computer system to cause operations comprising:

creating, by the computer system based on user input from a first user of the computer system, a metadata package corresponding to an application, wherein the metadata package specifies a set of data associated with the first user within a data store of the computer system to be utilized by the application;

receiving, by the computer system from the first user, an indication that the application may be imported by other users of the computer system;

registering, by the computer system, the application in an application directory of the computer system, wherein the application directory is accessible to one or more users of the computer system and includes a listing of one or more applications available for import by the one or more users;

receiving, by the computer system from a second user of the computer system, a request to import the metadata package; and

in response to the request to import the metadata package, allowing, by the computer system, the second user to utilize the application with a different set of data associated with the second user within the data store of the computer system.

2. The non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein the metadata package further specifies a graphical user interface of the application to utilize the set of data associated with the first user.

3. The non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein the metadata package includes a definition for a plurality of tabs, each of which corresponds to a user interface for utilizing the set of data associated with the first user.

4. The non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:

prior to the registering the application in the application directory, scanning, by the computer system, the metadata package for malicious functionality.

5. The non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein the metadata package corresponding to the application includes information specifying one or more categories associated with the application;

and wherein the registering the application includes listing the application in the application directory based on the one or more categories.

6. The non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein the metadata package further includes a data model corresponding to the application.

7. The non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein allowing the second user to utilize the application includes permitting the second user to import the metadata package.

8. A method, comprising:

creating, by a computer system based on user input from a first user of the computer system, a metadata package corresponding to an application, wherein the metadata package specifies a set of data associated with the first user within a data store of the computer system to be utilized by the application;

receiving, by the computer system from the first user, an indication that the application may be imported by other users of the computer system;

registering, by the computer system, the application in an application directory of the computer system, wherein the application directory is accessible to one or more users of the computer system and includes a listing of one or more applications available for import by the one or more users;

receiving, by the computer system from a second user of the computer system, a request to import the metadata package; and

in response to the request to import the metadata package, allowing, by the computer system, the second user to utilize the application with a different set of data associated with the second user within the data store of the computer system.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the metadata package includes a definition for a plurality of tabs, each of which corresponds to a user interface for utilizing the set of data associated with the first user.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the metadata package further includes a data model of the application.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the computer system is a multi-tenant system.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the first user is associated with a first tenant of the multi-tenant system, and wherein the second user is associated with a second, different tenant of the multi-tenant system.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the application directory is accessible to users associated with a plurality of tenants of the multi-tenant system.

14. The method of claim 8, wherein the metadata package further includes business logic associated with the application.

15. The method of claim 8, wherein the metadata package includes a set of custom object definitions.

16. A method, comprising:

maintaining, by a computer system, an application directory for a plurality of users;

creating, by the computer system based on user input from a first user of the computer system, a metadata package corresponding to a first application, wherein the metadata package specifies a set of data associated with the first user within a data store of the computer system to be utilized by the first application;

registering, by the computer system, the first application in the application directory such that the first application is available for import by one or more of the plurality of users;

receiving, by the computer system from a second user of the computer system, a request to import the metadata package; and

in response to the request to import the metadata package, allowing, by the computer system, the second user to utilize the first application with a different set of data associated with the second user within the data store of the computer system.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the metadata package includes a definition for a plurality of tabs, each of which corresponds to a user interface for utilizing the set of data associated with the first user.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein allowing the second user to utilize the first application includes determining whether the second user is permitted to import the first application based on one or more user permissions associated with the second user.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein importing the metadata package includes:

detecting, for a first data object included in the set of data associated with the first user, a conflict between a name of the first data object and a name of a corresponding data object included in the different set of data associated with the second user; and

sending, by the computer system to the second user, an output indicative of the detecting.

20. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

receiving, by the computer system from the first user, an updated metadata package corresponding to an updated version of the first application;

registering, by the computer system, the updated version of the first application in the application directory;

receiving, from a third user of the computer system, a request to import the updated metadata package; and

in response to the request to import the updated metadata package, allowing the second user to utilize the updated version of the first application with the different set of data associated with the second user.