Client-server data communication

• US 20060136552A1
• Filed: 12/16/2004
• Published: 06/22/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/16/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP AG (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Krane, Rolf, Niessen, Rudolf
• Granted Patent: US 7,584,193 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/541 Client-server
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/54 Interprogram communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99938 Concurrency, e.g. lock management in shared database
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99939 Privileged access

Abstract

Methods and apparatus, including computer program products, using placeholder objects in the communication of structures of data objects. A server can respond to a request for a complete structure of data objects with a partial structure that includes placeholder objects, each having a position in the partial structure, each representing content that is present in the complete structure but omitted in the partial structure. A client can accept the partial structure instead of the complete structure, can transmit a placeholder substitution request to the server identifying a placeholder object, and can receive in response to the request a further structure of data objects to replace the identified placeholder object.

Claims

1. A client-server system comprising:

a server operable to respond to a request for a complete structure of data objects with a partial structure of data objects, the partial structure differing from the complete structure in that the partial structure includes one or more placeholder objects and omits one or more data objects, each placeholder object having a position in the partial structure, each placeholder object representing corresponding placeholder content, the corresponding placeholder content being content that is present at a position in the complete structure corresponding to the position of the corresponding placeholder object in the partial structure.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a client operable to accept the partial structure of data objects instead of the complete structure, the client being operable to transmit a placeholder substitution request to the server identifying a placeholder object, the client being operable to receive in response to the placeholder substitution request a further structure of data objects to replace the identified placeholder object.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the server is further operable to respond to a placeholder substitution request identifying a placeholder object with a further structure of data objects to replace the identified placeholder object in the partial structure.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the further structure of data objects is partial and contains one or more placeholder objects and omits one or more data objects.

5. The system of claim 2, wherein:

the client implements a data object model, the data object model defining a data structure for representing the partial structure of data objects, and an interface for operating on the partial structure of data objects.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the data objects represent user interface elements, and the data object model is a user interface object model.

7. The system of claim 5, wherein the data objects represent data types, and the data object model is a data type object model.

8. The system of claim 5, wherein the data object model is an XML document object model.

9. A computer program product, tangibly embodied in an information carrier, the computer program product comprising instructions operable to cause data processing apparatus to:

accept a partial structure of data objects in response to a request for a complete structure of data objects, the partial structure differing from the complete structure in that the partial structure includes one or more placeholder objects and omits one or more data objects, each placeholder object having a position in the partial structure, each placeholder object representing corresponding placeholder content, the corresponding placeholder content being content that is present at a position in the complete structure corresponding to the position of the corresponding placeholder object in the partial structure;

transmit a placeholder substitution request to the server, the placeholder substitution request identifying a first placeholder object;

receive from the server first placeholder content represented by the first placeholder object; and

replace the first placeholder object in the partial structure with the received first placeholder content.

10. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein the first placeholder content includes one or more placeholder objects.

11. A computer program product, tangibly embodied in an information carrier, the computer program product comprising instructions operable to cause data processing apparatus to:

respond to a request for a complete structure of data objects with a partial structure of data objects, the partial structure differing from the complete structure in that the partial structure includes one or more placeholder objects and omits one or more data objects, each placeholder object having a position in the partial structure, each placeholder object representing corresponding placeholder content, the corresponding placeholder content being content that is present at a position in the complete structure corresponding to the position of the corresponding placeholder object in the partial structure.

12. The computer program product of claim 11, further comprising instructions operable to cause data processing apparatus to:

receive a placeholder substitution request identifying a first placeholder object; and

transmit placeholder content represented by the first placeholder object.

13. A method comprising:

accepting a partial structure of data objects in response to a request for a complete structure of data objects, the partial structure differing from the complete structure in that the partial structure includes one or more placeholder objects and omits one or more data objects, each placeholder object having a position in the partial structure, each placeholder object representing corresponding placeholder content, the corresponding placeholder content being content that is present at a position in the complete structure corresponding to the position of the corresponding placeholder object in the partial structure;

transmitting a placeholder substitution request to the server, the placeholder substitution request identifying a first placeholder object;

receiving from the server first placeholder content represented by the first placeholder object; and

replacing the first placeholder object in the partial structure with the received first placeholder content.

14. A method comprising:

responding to a request for a complete structure of data objects with a partial structure of data objects, the partial structure differing from the complete structure in that the partial structure includes one or more placeholder objects and omits one or more data objects, each placeholder object having a position in the partial structure, each placeholder object representing corresponding placeholder content, the corresponding placeholder content being content that is present at a position in the complete structure corresponding to the position of the corresponding placeholder object in the partial structure.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

receiving a placeholder substitution request identifying a first placeholder object; and

transmitting placeholder content represented by the first placeholder object.