Modularized web provisioning

• US 20070061705A1
• Filed: 09/12/2005
• Published: 03/15/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 09/12/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Kamath, Rajesh, Harwood, Peter, Ammerlaan, Michael
• Granted Patent: US 8,176,408 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/205
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/958 Organisation or management of web site content, e.g. publishing, maintaining pages or automatic linking

Abstract

A system and method for modularized Web provisioning. Functionalities available for Web provisioning are modularized into individual feature files. A site template may reference one or more of such features. A site provisioned using the site template activates the referenced features by default. Features may be added to or removed from the site. A feature may include atomic Web provisioning elements, custom code, metadata specifying properties of the features, and/or activation dependency information specifying precedent features that need to be activated before the feature can be activated. Feature provisioning can be processed through a command-line tool, an object model, and/or a graphic user interface.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for modularized Web provisioning, the method comprising:

modularizing a plurality of functionalities (“

features”

) available for Web provisioning; and

creating a plurality of site templates, each of which references one or more of the plurality of features.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein creating one of the plurality of site templates includes:

referencing one of the plurality of features in the site template.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

creating a new feature for a functionality that is not provided by the plurality of features but is required by the site template; and

referencing the new feature in the site template.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

(a) instantiating one of the plurality of site templates to build a Web site; and

(b) activating features needed by the Web site.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein activating features includes:

customizing features referenced in the site template.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein customizing features referenced in the site template includes:

deactivating any of the features that is not needed by the Web site.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein activating features includes:

adding one of the plurality of features to the Web site that is not referenced by the site template but is needed by the Web site.

8. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

when need of the Web site changes, repeating (b).

9. The method of claim 4, wherein activating features needed by the Web site is done through any one of a group consisting of a graphical user interface, an object model, and a command line.

10. A Web provisioning system, comprising:

a plurality of modularized functionalities (“

features”

); and

at least one site template referencing one or more of the plurality of features.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein at least one of the plurality of features is referenced by more than one site template.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein a change to the feature is automatically reflected in the site templates referencing the feature.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein the plurality of features are defined in XML format.

14. The system of claim 10, wherein one of the plurality of features includes one or more atomic units (“

elements”

) providing a specific functionality for Web provisioning.

15. The system of claim 10, wherein one of the plurality of features includes custom code.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the custom code is used to configure an entity other than the feature itself.

17. The system of claim 10, wherein one of the plurality of features includes metadata defining one or more properties associated with the feature.

18. The system of claim 10, wherein one of the plurality of features includes activation dependency information identifying one or more of the plurality of features that need to be activated before activation of the feature.

19. The system of claim 10, wherein one of the plurality of features is associated with a scope.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the scope is selected from a group of scopes consisting of:

a site collection scope wherein the feature is applied to a collection of sites;

a farm scope wherein the feature is applied to every site in a Web farm; and

a site scope wherein the feature is only applied to an individual site.