STANDARD BASED DETECTION AND LAUNCH OF CLIENT APPLICATIONS

• US 20080288631A1
• Filed: 05/18/2007
• Published: 11/20/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 05/18/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Faisal, Adil, Wickes, Kenneth W., Kripalani, Amit, Kandimalla, Deepthi
• Granted Patent: US 8,943,189 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/656 while running

Abstract

The claimed subject matter provides a system and/or method that detects, installs and launches applications on client machines. The disclosed system can include a component that receives a request to launch or install a client application. The component detects whether an application is present in a client machine by scrutinizing the received request and extracting an agent string associated with the client application. Based at least in part on the agent string, a server in receipt of the request can distribute a formatted document affiliated with the client application and thereafter initiate the application to execute on the client machine through MIME-type association.

Claims

1. A machine implemented system that detects, launches, or installs client applications on client machines, comprising:

a component that receives from an interface a request to launch or install a client application, the component scrutinizes the request and extracts an agent string associated with the client application and based at least in part on the agent string distributes a formatted document affiliated with the client application and causes the client application to commence execution on a client machine.

2. The system of claim 1, the component scrutinizes the request and causes the client machine to divulge the existence of a browser cookie associated with the client application.

3. The system of claim 2, based at least in part on the browser cookie the component disseminates the formatted document associated with the client application and causes the client application to execute on the client machine.

4. The system of claim 1, the component analyzes the request and initiates a process to execute on the client machine and return an indication of a MIME type associated with the formatted document.

5. The system of claim 4, based at least in part on the MIME type the component distributes the formatted document to the client application and ensures the client application commences execution on the client machine.

6. The system of claim 1, the component fails to detect an agent string, a cookie, or a MIME type associated with a client application, based at least on the failure the component distributes an executable file associated with the client application, execution of the executable file generates the agent string, the cookie and registers a MIME type handler.

7. The system of claim 6, the agent string, the cookie and the MIME type distributed and persisted on the client machine.

8. The system of claim 6, the agent string, the cookie, or the MIME type provides future indication to the component that the client application is extant on the client machine.

9. The system of claim 6, the component ensures the executable file associated with the client application is installed on the client application, before the client application is completely installed the client machine can commence execution of the executable file.

10. The system of claim 1, the component utilizes the request to determine a locale or location of the client machine or an operating system version extant on the client machine.

11. The system of claim 1, the component effectuates a console to be displayed on the client machine based at least in part on information contained in the request.

12. The system of claim 1, the component employs the request to determine a installation language preference.

13. A method implemented on a machine that detects, launches or installs client applications, comprising:

receiving a request to install an application;

utilizing the request to locate an agent string affiliated with the application;

based at least in part on the agent string distributing a formatted document; and

executing the application on a client that generated the request.

14. The method of claim 13, the utilizing further includes distributing or initiating code on the client, the code causes the client to return persisted browser cookie information.

15. The method of claim 14, the persisted browser cookie information utilized to initiate execution of the application on the client.

16. The method of claim 13, further includes retrieving from the client a MIME type and utilizing the MIME type to instigate the client to commence execution of the application on the client.

17. The method of claim 13, further includes detecting that an agent string, a browser cookie, and a MIME type is unavailable and downloading an executable file associated with the application based at least in part on attributes supplied by the client.

18. The method of claim 13, further includes creating and persisting a user-agent string, a MIME type association for a particular file extension with the application and a browser cookie on the client.

19. The method of claim 13, prior to launching the application to the client, distributing a formatted document associated with the application

20. A system that detects, launches, or installs client applications, comprising:

means for obtaining a request for execution of an application;

means for extracting and analyzing information from the request; and

means for distributing and ensuring execution of the application on a means for execution based at least in part on the information from the request.