Method and apparatus for enabling synchronizing data in different devices having different capabilities

• US 20030217181A1
• Filed: 05/20/2002
• Published: 11/20/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 05/20/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: IoT Innovations LLC (Empire IP LLC)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: Kiiskinen, Arto
• Granted Patent: US 6,920,486 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/248
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/275 Synchronous replication

Abstract

A method and apparatus by which a user of two or more client devices (10 11) each hosting a data store (10c 11c) can have the data stores kept synchronized by a server (12) (in some cases operated as a synchronizing service) in a way acceptable to the user even though at least one of the two data stores (10c) includes a data component (such as a field of a record) that is not in the other data store (11c) (or for which a correspondence from the one data store (10c) to the other data store (11c) in respect to the data component has not yet been set, including possibly a null correspondence). Any such so-called problem field is monitored by a sync field scanner (12g) usually hosted by the server, which alerts the user that a data component is a problem field only when the user first provides a value for the data component. The invention provides that, if possible, the sync field scanner (12g) automatically suggests to the user how to accommodate the problem field that occurs in one data store (10c) but not in the data store (11c).

Claims

1. A method by which a first client data store (10c) hosted by a first client device (10) is synchronized with respect to a second client data store (11c) hosted by a second client device (11) by synchronizing the two client data stores (10c 11c) with respect to a server data store (12c) hosted by a server device (12), the two client data stores (10c 11c) each including various data components, the method characterized by:

forming (23 39) structure information indicative of the structure of the two client data stores (10c 11c) in respect to at least one data component of the first client data store (10c) for which the second client data store (11c) does not have either one corresponding data component or does not have two or more data components that in combination correspond to the at least one data component;

detecting (34) a use of the at least one data component in the first client data store (10c); and

setting (36) a correspondence of the at least one data component in the first client data store (10c) in respect to the second client data store (11c).

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the server (12) detects (34) the use of the at least one data component of the first client data store (10c), and the server (12) responds by setting the correspondence, so as to indicate that in subsequent synchronizations information included in the at least one data unit component is either not to be included in the second client data store (11c) or is to be included in one or more indicated data components of the second client data store (11c).

3. The method of claim 2, wherein after forming (2339) the structure information, the server (12) maintains (2339) the structure information, and further wherein the server (12) detects (34) the use of the at least one data component of the first client data store (10c) and does so based on the structure information being maintained.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the server (12) detects (34) the use of the at least one data component of the first client data store (10c) and then determines for the at least one data component whether the at least one data component has one or more corresponding data components in the second client data store (11c).

5. The method of claim 2, further characterized in that the correspondence relates the at least one data component of the first client device (10) to either one data component of the second client device (11) not necessarily identical in structure to the at least one data component of the first client device (10), or to a combination of two or more data components of the second client device (11).

6. The method of claim 2, wherein the correspondence is set and indicated to the server (12) by a user of the first client device (10).

7. The method of claim 2, wherein the correspondence is set automatically by the server (12).

8. The method of claim 2, wherein a proposed correspondence is determined automatically by the server (12) and suggested to the user of the first client device (10).

9. The method of claim 2, wherein the user of the first client device (10) is alerted by a message provided to the user indicating that the at least one data component has been used.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the user of the first client device (10) is alerted via a user interface of the first client device (10).

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the user of the first client device (10) is alerted via a user interface of the server (12).

12. The method of claim 1, further characterized by the server (12) synchronizing the data stores (11c) of the two client devices (1011) based at least in part on the set correspondence.

13. The method of claim 1, further characterized in that the information indicative of the structure comprises information about the manufacturer or the model of the second client device (11) or about software used by the second client device (11) in connection with the second data store (11c).

14. The method of claim 1, further characterized in that the information indicative of the structure comprises data characterizing the data components supported by the second client device (11).

15. The method of claim 1, further characterized in that the information indicative of the structure is maintained on the server (12).

16. The method of claim 1, further characterized in that the information indicative of the structure is maintained at least in part on the first client device (10) or the second client device (11).

17. A device (101112) comprising means for performing or enabling the steps of claim 1.

18. A device as in claim 17, wherein the device (101112) is either a wireless communication terminal or a wireline communication terminal.

19. A device as in claim 17, wherein the device (101112) is a server device (12).

20. A device as in claim 17, wherein the device (101112) is a client device (1011).

22. A computer program for providing instructions to a telecommunications device (101112) so that the telecommunications device (101112) performs or enables the steps of claim 1.

21. A system, comprising a first client device (10) and a second client device (11) and also a server device (12), the first client device having a first client data store (10c) and the second client device having a second client data store (11c), the first client data store (10c) being kept wholly or partly synchronized with the second client data store (11c) by synchronizing the two client data stores (10c 11c) with respect to a server data store (12c) hosted by the server device (12), the two client data stores (10c 11c) each including various data components, the system characterized by the server device (12) having:

means for forming (23 39) structure information indicative of the structure of the two client data stores (10c 11c) in respect to at least one data component of the first client data store (10c) for which the second client data store (11c) does not have either one corresponding data component or does not have two or more data components that in combination correspond to the at least one data component;

means for detecting (34) a use of the at least one data component in the first client data store (10c); and

means for recording (37) a correspondence of the at least one data component in the first client data store (10c) in respect to the second client data store (11c).