Method and system for optimizing metadata passing in a push content processing protocol

• US 20070260718A1
• Filed: 05/02/2006
• Published: 11/08/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 05/02/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Research In Motion Limited (Blackberry Limited)
• Inventors: Shenfield, Michael
• Granted Patent: US 7,644,139 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/223
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/958 Organisation or management of web site content, e.g. publishing, maintaining pages or automatic linking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/55 Push-based network services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/564 Enhancement of application control based on intercepted application data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/568 Storing data temporarily at an intermediate stage, e.g. caching

Abstract

A method and system of optimizing content delivery at a processing element in a dynamic content delivery architecture, the method having the steps of: receiving a content and metadata envelope at the processing element; checking the content and metadata envelope to determine whether the content and metadata envelope includes metadata for the processing element; if the content envelope contains metadata for the processing element, extracting and caching the metadata; if the content envelope does not contain metadata for the processing element, retrieving metadata for a content provider associated with the content from a cache on the processing element; and applying the extracted or retrieved metadata to the content and metadata envelope.

Claims

1. A method of optimizing content delivery at a processing element in a dynamic content delivery architecture, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving a content and metadata envelope at the processing element;

checking the content and metadata envelope to determine whether the content and metadata envelope includes metadata for said processing element;

if said content envelope contains metadata for said processing element, extracting and caching said metadata;

if said content envelope does not contain metadata for said processing element, retrieving metadata for a content provider associated with the content from a cache on the processing element; and

applying said extracted or retrieved metadata to said content and metadata envelope.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said checking step further checks whether the content and metadata envelope includes incremental metadata for said processing element, and if yes the method further comprising:

retrieving metadata for a content provider from the cache;

combining metadata retrieved from the cache with the incremental metadata forming combined metadata; and

performing said applying step with said combined metadata.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the processing element is a push proxy, a push client or a client application.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the content and metadata envelope contains metadata for one or more processing elements of said content delivery architecture.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the content and metadata envelope contains no metadata.

6. A processing element in a dynamic content delivery architecture, said processing element comprising:

communication means, said communication means adapted to receive a content and metadata envelope from a content provider or a previous processing element in said dynamic content delivery architecture and further adapted to pass a modified content envelope to a subsequent processing element in said dynamic content delivery architecture;

a metadata extractor adapted to extract metadata directed to the processing element from the content and metadata envelope;

a cache adapted to store metadata extracted by the metadata extractor; and

a processor adapted to apply metadata to the content and metadata envelope once metadata for the processing element has been extracted,

wherein said content metadata extractor is further adapted to retrieve metadata from said cache if no metadata for the processing element exists in the content envelope.

7. The processing element of claim 6, wherein said metadata extractor is further adapted to extract incremental metadata directed to the processing element.

8. The processing element of claim 7, wherein the metadata extractor is adapted to combine the extracted incremental metadata with metadata retrieved from the cache.

9. The processing element of claim 6, wherein the processing element is a push proxy, a push client or a client application.

10. The processing element of claim 6, wherein the content and metadata envelope contains metadata for one or more processing elements of said dynamic content delivery architecture.

11. The processing element of claim 6, wherein the content and metadata envelope contains no metadata.