Asynchronous client to server updates

• US 20090119302A1
• Filed: 11/05/2007
• Published: 05/07/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 11/05/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Palmer, Michael, Papel, Oscar, Zhang, Weiye
• Granted Patent: US 8,458,727 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2358 Change logging, detection, and notification replication G06F16/27
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/972 Access to data in other repository systems, e.g. legacy data or dynamic Web page generation

Abstract

Methods and apparatus are provided which enable client-server communication during the execution of a web application to be batched, so as to manage the processing load on server-side components of the web application and the transmission load on the network(s) coupling the client and server. In some embodiments, client-side components of the web application are operable to capture processing events in a change log on the client, and transmit at least a subset of the entries in the change log to the server upon the occurrence of a predetermined event, such as a passage of time since a previous transmission.

Claims

1. In a system comprising a client, a server and at least one network coupling the client and server, the client executing at least one component of a web application, the execution of the web application resulting in at least one processing event on the client, a method comprising acts of:

(A) recording an indication of a plurality of processing events occurring on the client in relation to the execution of the web application; and

(B) causing a representation of the indication recorded in the act (A) to be transmitted from the client to the server via the at least one network.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the act (A) comprises recording an indication of a plurality of processing events in a change log, the change log comprises a plurality of entries, and each entry corresponds to at least one of the plurality of processing events.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the act (B) further includes causing the representation of the indication recorded in the act (A) to be transmitted from the client to the server upon the occurrence of at least one predetermined event.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the at least one predetermined event comprises a predetermined amount of time passing since a previous transmission of an indication from the client to the server.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the at least one predetermined event comprises at least one event selected from a group comprising an occurrence of a predetermined quantity of processing events since a previous transmission of an indication from the client to the server, an occurrence of a predetermined event since a previous transmission of an indication from the client to the server, and an occurrence of a predetermined sequence of processing events since a previous transmission of an indication from the client to the server.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the representation includes an indication of the plurality of processing events in an order in which the processing events occurred on the client.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the representation includes an indication of a smaller number of processing events than was recorded in the act (A).

8. A client computer for use in a system which includes the client computer, a server computer and at least one network coupling the client computer and the server computer, the server computer executing at least one server-side component of a web application, the client computer comprising:

at least one processor programmed to;

execute at least one client-side component of the web application, the execution resulting in at least one processing event occurring on the client computer;

record an occurrence of a plurality of processing events on the client computer in relation to the execution of the web application; and

upon an occurrence of a predetermined event, cause a representation of plurality of processing events to be transmitted from the client computer to the server computer via the at least one network.

9. The client computer of claim 8, wherein the at least one processor is further programmed to record the occurrence of the plurality of processing events on the client computer in a change log, the change log comprises a plurality of entries, and each entry corresponds to at least one of the plurality of processing events.

10. The client computer of claim 8, wherein the at least one processor is further programmed to modify the predetermined event.

11. The client computer of claim 10, wherein the predetermined event comprises a predetermined amount of time passing since a previous transmission of an indication from the client to the server, and wherein the at least one processor is further programmed to increase the predetermined amount of time so as to decrease a frequency at which the representation is caused to be transmitted from the client computer to the server computer.

12. The client computer of claim 8, wherein the at least one client-side component of the web application enables creation, deletion and/or modification of at least one document.

13. The client computer of claim 12, wherein the at least one client-side component employs at least one data object corresponding to the at least one document during execution, and wherein the client computer further stores the at least one data object.

14. At least one computer-readable medium encoded with instructions which, when executed by at least one computer including a client computer and a server computer, perform a method comprising acts of:

(A) provide at least one client-side component of a web application, the at least one client-side component being operable to, when executed on the client computer, perform acts of;

(A1) causing a plurality of processing events to occur;

(A2) recording an indication of the plurality of processing events; and

(A3) upon an occurrence of at least one predetermined event, causing a representation of the indication recorded in the act (A2) to be transmitted from the client computer to a server computer via at least one network;

(B) provide at least one server-side component of a web application, the at least one server-side component being operable to, when executed on the server computer, perform acts of;

(B1) receiving the representation caused to be transmitted from the client computer in the act (A3);

(B2) performing at least one processing step corresponding to at least one of the plurality of processing events caused to occur in the act (A1).

15. The at least one computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the act (A2) further comprises recording an indication of the plurality of processing events in a change log, the change log comprises a plurality of entries, and each entry corresponds to at least one of the plurality of processing events.

16. The at least one computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein:

the web application enables a user of the client computer to create, delete and/or modify at least one document;

the act (A) further comprises providing at least one client-side component of a web application which, when executed by the client computer, causes at least one client object to be stored on the client computer, each client object corresponding to at least one document;

the act (B) further comprises providing at least one server-side component of a web application which, when executed by the server computer, causes at least one server object to be stored on the server computer, each server object corresponding to at least one client object;

the act (A1) further comprises causing a modification to the at least one client object; and

the act (B2) further comprises performing a modification to at least one server object corresponding to the at least one client object caused to be modified in the act (A1).

17. The at least one computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the at least one predetermined event is selected from a group comprising a predetermined amount of time passing since a previous transmission of an indication from the client to the server, an occurrence of a predetermined quantity of processing events since a previous transmission of an indication from the client to the server, an occurrence of a predetermined event since a previous transmission of an indication from the client to the server, and an occurrence of a predetermined sequence of processing events since a previous transmission of an indication from the client to the server.

18. The at least one computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the representation includes an indication of a smaller number of processing events than was recorded in the act (A2).

19. The at least one computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the act (A) further comprises providing at least one client-side component of a web application which, when executed by the client computer, enables a modification of the at least one predetermined event.

20. The at least one computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the act (B) further comprises providing at least one server-side component of a web application which, when executed by the server computer, enables a modification of the at least one predetermined event.