MESSAGE STATE MAINTENANCE AT A CURSOR

• US 20090132671A1
• Filed: 11/03/2008
• Published: 05/21/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 11/16/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Hill, Richard D., Srinivasan, Krishnan, Chkodrov, Gueorgui, Critchley, Craig A., Tarnavski, Tihomir, Gurunath, Pramod, Morris, Mitchell G.
• Granted Patent: US 7,945,631 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/00 User-to-user messaging in packet-switching networks, transmitted according to store-and-forward or real-time protocols, e.g. e-mail
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/02 using automatic reactions or user delegation, e.g. automatic replies or chatbot-generated messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/42 Mailbox-related aspects, e.g. synchronisation of mailboxes

Abstract

The present invention extends to methods, systems, and computer program products for maintaining message state at a cursor. A message consumer requests messages from a cursor. The cursor can maintain state information for the message consumers separately from a message log that stores messages. Any of a variety of message delivery assurances can be used when delivering a message to a message consumer.

Claims

1. In a componentized messaging system including a sending computer system with a message log, a second different receiving computer system with a cursor, and a computer network, wherein the sending computer system and the receiving computer system are connected to the network, the componentized message system for delivering messages from a message producer to a message consumer, the message log for capturing messages for delivery to the message consumer, the cursor maintaining message state for the message consumer such that message consumer state is maintained separate from the sending computer system, a method for maintaining message consumer state at the cursor, the method comprising:

an act of receiving a request for a message from the message consumer;

in response to receiving the request for a message from the message consumer;

an act of referring to a current read sequence number, the current read sequence number corresponding to the last message that was delivered;

an act of sending a request for a next message to the message log, the request including the current read sequence number to indicate to the message log that the cursor last received the message corresponding to the current sequence number from the message log;

an act of receiving a new message and a next sequence number from the message log, the next sequence number corresponding to the new message within the message log, the next sequence number being a sequence number after the current read sequence number that corresponds to a message;

an act of delivering the new message to the message consumer;

an act of receiving a deletion request from the message consumer, the deletion request requesting deletion of the new message; and

an act of storing a record in the cursor state, the record indicating that the cursor considers the new message to be deleted.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the act of receiving a deletion request from the message consumer comprises an act of receiving a delete request that identifies the next sequence number and a transaction ID, the transaction ID identifying a transaction that the cursor can enlist in to delete the message in conjunction with completed processing of new message.

3. The method as recited in claim 2, further comprising:

an act of assuring exactly once message delivery of the new message from the cursor to the message consumer for committed state, including;

an act of enlisting in the transaction based on the transaction ID;

an act of preparing to store the current read sequence number and next sequence number in response to the deletion request; and

wherein the act of storing a record in the cursor state, the record indicating that the cursor considers the new message to be deleted comprising an act of committing the transaction to insert a record of the current read sequence number and the next sequence number.

4. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

an act of receiving a lock request from the message consumer the lock request requesting that the new message be locked for reading by the message consumer;

an act of locking the new message for reading by message consumer in response to the lock request such that the new message is not visible to other message consumers that request messages;

an act of the cursor removing the lock on the message in response to the deletion request;

an act of expiring the lock on the timeout and making the message visible to other consumers; and

an act of transitioning the ownership of the lock from the consumer to the specification transaction without unlocking the lock during the transition.

5. The method as recited in claim 4, further comprising:

an act of assuring at most once message delivery of the new message from the cursor to the message consumer, including;

wherein the act of receiving a deletion request comprises an act of receiving the deletion request along with the lock request prior to the message consumer completely processing the message.

6. The method as recited in claim 4, further comprising:

an act of assuring at least once message delivery of the new message from the cursor to the message consumer, including;

wherein the act of receiving the deletion request from the message consumer comprises an act of receiving the deletion request subsequent to the message consumer completely processing the message.

7. The method as recited in claim 4, further comprising:

an act of assuring at best effort delivery of the new message from the cursor to the message consumer, including;

wherein the act of receiving a deletion request comprises an act of receiving the deletion request along with the lock request prior to the message consumer completely processing the message.

8. The method as recited in claim 4, wherein the act of receiving a deletion request from the message consumer comprises an act of receiving a delete request that identifies the next sequence number and a transaction ID, the transaction ID identifying a transaction that the cursor can enlist in to delete the message in conjunction with completed processing of new message.

9. The method as recited in claim 8, further comprising:

an act of assuring durable exactly once message delivery of the new message from the cursor to the message consumer, including;

an act of enlisting in the transaction based on the transaction ID;

an act of preparing to update the current reads sequence number to the value of the next sequence number in response to the deletion request; and

wherein the act of updating the current read sequence number to the value of the next sequence number comprising an act of committing the transaction to update the current read sequence number to the value of the next sequence number.

10. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

an act of sending an acknowledgement to the upstream systems, the acknowledgement including a further sequence number, the acknowledgment indicating to the message log that all sequence numbers prior to the further sequence number, including the next sequence number, have been deleted from the point of view of the cursor.

11. The method as recited in claim 10, further comprising:

an act of updating a base sequence number to the value of the further sequence number, the base sequence number representing the low watermark of messages the cursor might request, sequence numbers below the further sequence number being numbers that the cursor is not to request.

12. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

an act of the cursor including a duplicate detection algorithm, the duplicate detection algorithm configured to delete received duplicate copies of messages.

13. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

an act of maintaining a low watermark sequence number to indicate that messages with sequence numbers less than the low watermark sequence number were deleted from the cursor'"'"'s point of view;

an act of sending a ranged acknowledgement including the low watermark sequence number to upstream systems, the ranged acknowledgement indicating that the cursor will never be interested in messages with a sequence number lower than the low watermark sequence number.

14. In a componentized messaging system including a sending computer system with a message log, a second different receiving computer system with a cursor, and a computer network, wherein the sending computer system and the receiving computer system are connected to the network, the componentized message system for delivering messages from a message producer to a message consumer, the message log for capturing messages for delivery to the message consumer, the cursor maintaining message state for the message consumer such that message consumer state is maintained separate from the sending computer system, a method for maintaining message consumer state at the cursor, the method comprising:

an act of receiving a request for a message from the message consumer;

in response to receiving the request for a message from the message consumer;

an act of referring to a current read sequence number, the current sequence read number corresponding to the last message that the message consumer delivered to the message consumer;

an act of sending a request for a next message to the message log, the request including the current read sequence number to indicate to the message log that the cursor last received the message corresponding to the current read sequence number from the message log;

an act of receiving a new message and a next sequence number from the message log, the next sequence number corresponding to the new message within the message log, the next sequence number being a sequence number after the current read sequence number that corresponds to a message;

an act of sending the new message to the message consumer;

an act of messaging operations failing at a component selected from among the cursor and the message consumer prior to updating the current read sequence number to the value of the next sequence number;

an act of messaging operations returning at the failed component subsequent to the messaging operations failing;

an act of receiving an additional request for a message from the message consumer subsequent to messaging operations returning;

an act of again sending the new message to the message consumer in response to the additional request;

an act of receiving a deletion request from the message consumer, the deletion request requesting deletion of the new message; and

an act of updating the current read sequence number to the value of the next sequence number in response to the deletion request.

15. The method as recited in claim 14, further comprising:

an act of aborting a transaction to delete the new message in response to messaging operations failing at a component selected from among the cursor and the message consumer; and

an act of the message consumer rolling back any processing based on the new message in response to the aborting the transaction such that the message consumer returns to a prior state from before the new message was received, rolling back occurring prior to sending the additional request for a message.

16. The method as recited in claim 14, wherein the act of again sending the new message to the message consumer comprises an act of sending the message from durable storage at the cursor to the message consumer.

17. The method as recited in claim 14, further comprising subsequent to receiving the additional request and prior to again sending the new message to the message consumer:

in response to receiving the additional request for a message from the message consumer;

an act of again reestablishing the value of the current read sequence number from durable state at the cursor such that the current read sequence number corresponds to the last message that was deleted from the cursor'"'"'s perspective;

an act of sending another request for a next message to the message log, the request including the current reads sequence number to indicate to the message log that the cursor last received the message corresponding to the current read sequence number from the message log; and

an act of again receiving the new message and the next sequence number from the message log.

18. The method as recited in claim 17, wherein an act of again referring to the current read sequence number comprises an act of referring to a message delete entry in a state table in durable storage to reestablish the current reads sequence number.

19. A componentized messaging system for delivering messages from a message producer to a message consumer, the componentized message system comprising:

a sending computer system, the sending computer system comprising;

one or more processors;

system memory; and

a message log, the message log configured to accumulate messages from the message producer, in accordance with a message retention policy, from delivery to the message consumer;

a receiving computer system, the receiving computer system comprising;

one or more processors;

system memory; and

a cursor;

a computer network, wherein the sending computer system and receiving computer are connected to the network; and

wherein the receiving computer system further comprises one or more computer storage media having stored thereon computer-executable instructions for implementing a method for maintaining message consumer state at the cursor, the computer-executed instructions, that when executed at one of the processors of the sending computer system, cause the receiving computer system to perform the method, including performing the following;

receive a request for a message from the message consumer;

in response to receiving the request for a message from the message consumer;

refer to a current read sequence number, the current read sequence number corresponding to the last message that the message consumer instructed the cursor to delete;

send a request for a next message to the message log, the request including the current read sequence number to indicate to the message log that the cursor last received the message corresponding to the current read sequence number from the message log;

receive a new message and a next sequence number from the message log, the next sequence number corresponding to the new message within the message log, the next sequence number being a sequence number after the current read sequence number that corresponds to a message;

deliver the new message to the message consumer;

receive a deletion request from the message consumer, the deletion request requesting deletion of the new message; and

update the current read sequence number to the value of the next sequence number.

20. The componentized messaging system of claim 19, wherein the computer-executable instructions further comprise computer-executable instructions that when executed at one of the processors of the receiving computer system, cause the sending computer system to send an acknowledgement to the message log, the acknowledgement including a further sequence number, the acknowledgment indicating to the message log that all sequence numbers prior to the further sequence number, including the next sequence number, have been deleted at the cursor.