Schema-based services for identity-based data access to favorite website data

• US 20040002976A1
• Filed: 06/28/2002
• Published: 01/01/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 06/28/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Lucovsky, Mark H.
• Granted Patent: US 7,246,122 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/9
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/211 Schema design and management
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing

Abstract

A schema-based FavoriteWebsites service for centralized access to per-user favorite website data, wherein access to data is based on each user'"'"'s identity. The FavoriteWebsites service includes a schema that defines rules and a structure for each user'"'"'s data, and also includes methods that provide access to the data in a defined way. The FavoriteWebsites schema thus corresponds to a logical document containing the data for each user. The user manipulates (e.g., reads or writes) data in the logical document by data access requests through defined methods. In one implementation, the FavoriteWebsites schemas are arranged to provide XML documents, and the services provide methods that control access to the data based on the requesting user'"'"'s identification, defined role and scope for that role. In this way, document data can be accessed by its owner, and shared to an extent determined by the owner. The structure of the data is defined from the perspective of the data, not from that of an application program or a device, whereby appropriate programs can communicate with the FavoriteWebsites service to access the data, with existing knowledge of the schema-defined format, regardless of the device or application program in use. Extensibility is defined into the schema.

Claims

1. In a computer network, a method comprising,

providing a favorite websites schema, the favorite websites schema having favorite websites-related fields arranged into a content document with defined structures for the fields;

receiving a data access request directed to favorite websites information, the request including associated identity information; and

in response to the data access request, manipulating at least one set of data in a logical favorite websites document that includes data therein according to the associated identity information, each set of data in the logical favorite websites document structured to correspond to a field in the content document.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein manipulating at least one set of data comprises reading data from at least one field in the logical favorite websites document.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein manipulating at least one set of data comprises writing data to at least one field in the logical favorite websites document.

4. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for performing the method of claim 1.

5. In a computer network, a method comprising,

receiving a request to retrieve favorite websites data, the request including associated identity information;

reading from a data store to obtain favorite websites data based on the associated identity information;

constructing a favorite websites document including at least part of the data, the document arranged according to a defined schema for favorite websites data; and

returning the document in response to the request.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the schema includes at least one defined field for extending the schema.

7. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for performing the method of claim 5.

8. A computer-readable medium having stored thereon a data structure, comprising:

a first set of data that identifies a website title;

a second set of data corresponding to a URL of the website identified in the first set of data; and

wherein the first and second sets of data are regularized according to a schema in a service such that an identity-based recipient of the data structure interprets the data according to the schema to obtain the settings for retrieving website data including the website title and URI at the recipient.

13. The data structure of claim 8 further comprising a third set of data corresponding to an extensibility field.

14. In a computer network, a method comprising,

sending a request to retrieve favorite websites data, the request including associated identity information and directed towards a favorite websites service;

receiving a favorite websites document in response to the request, the document arranged according to a defined schema for favorite websites data; and

interpreting the document to provide a list of favorite websites that can be accessed, the list including titles to enable selection of a website by a user, each title having an associated URL for automatically accessing a selected website.