SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR INTEGRATION OF BROWSER-BASED THIN CLIENT APPLICATIONS WITHIN DESKTOP RICH CLIENT ARCHITECTURE

• US 20100057836A1
• Filed: 09/03/2008
• Published: 03/04/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/03/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Oracle International Corporation (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Oracle International Corporation (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Anbuselvan, Ananthalakshmi
• Granted Patent: US 8,996,658 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/70 Software maintenance or management

Abstract

Techniques for facilitating the reuse of a browser-based thin client of a client-server application in a browser-independent context. These techniques may be used, for instance, to integrate the functionality of a browser-based thin client in a desktop-based, rich client infrastructure. In one set of embodiments, these techniques include determining one or more browser dependencies that require the thin client to operate within a web browser. For example, the thin client may depend on a web browser to handle application security, the loading/caching of client-side files, the receipt/passing of application parameters, and the like. These browser dependencies are then eliminated. As a result, the thin client can be subsequently reused without the presence of a web browser. In one set of embodiments, this process is performed by a conversion utility that automatically converts program code for the browser-based thin client into program code for a browser-independent client application.

Claims

1. A method for facilitating the reuse of a browser-based thin client of a client-server application in a browser-independent context, the method comprising:

receiving program code for the browser-based thin client; and

converting the program code for the browser-based thin client into program code for a browser-independent client application, wherein the converting comprises;

determining one or more browser dependencies that require the browser-based thin client to operate within a web browser in order to interact with a server side of the client-server application; and

eliminating the one or more browser dependencies.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the browser-based thin client is implemented as a JAVA applet or an ActiveX control.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the browser-independent client application is a desktop-based, rich-client application.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the browser-independent client application is a web service.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the converting is performed without human intervention.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the browser-based thin client is dependent on the web browser to handle application security when interacting with the server side of the client-server application, and wherein eliminating the one or more browser dependencies comprises eliminating the dependency on the web browser to handle said application security.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein eliminating the dependency on the web browser to handle said application security comprises:

creating an authentication handler in the browser-independent client application, wherein the authentication handler is configured to perform one or more authentication duties on behalf of the browser-independent client application that were previously performed by the web browser on behalf of the browser-based thin client; and

creating an authorization handler in the browser-independent client application, wherein the authorization handler is configured to perform one or more authorization duties on behalf of the browser-independent client application that were previously performed by the web browser on behalf of the browser-based thin client.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the one or more authentication duties include authenticating a user attempting to login to the client-server application.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the one or more authorization duties include determining whether a user is authorized to perform a function via the client-server application.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein the authentication handler includes a generic authentication API, wherein the authorization handler includes a generic authorization API, and wherein a main process of the browser-independent client application is configured to automatically call the generic authentication API or the generic authorization API when authentication or authorization is required.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the generic authentication API and the generic authorization API are configured to invoke one or more external security APIs that are external to the browser-independent client application.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the one or more external security APIs include an authentication operation provided by an external identity service.

13. The method of claim 6, wherein the browser-based thin client is dependent on the web browser to download and cache one or more files necessary for accessing the server side of the client-server application, and wherein eliminating the one or more browser dependencies further comprises eliminating the dependency on the web browser to download and cache said one or more files.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the one or more files include a JAVA Archive (JAR) file.

15. The method of claim 6, wherein the browser-based thin client is dependent on the web browser to receive one or more execution parameters, and wherein eliminating the one or more browser dependencies further comprises eliminating the dependency on the web browser to receive said one or more execution parameters.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the one or more execution parameters are selected from a list consisting of:

performance-related parameters, user interface-related parameters, and login-related parameters.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the client-server application is an Oracle Forms-based application.

18. A system for facilitating the reuse of a browser-based thin client of a client-server application in a browser-independent context, the system comprising:

a storage component configured to store program code for the browser-based thin client; and

a processing component in communication with the storage component, wherein the processing component is configured to;

convert the program code for the browser-based thin client into program code for a browser-independent client application, wherein the converting comprises;

determining one or more browser dependencies that require the browser-based thin client to operate within a web browser in order to interact with a server side of the client-server application; and

eliminating the one or more browser dependencies.

19. A machine-readable medium for a computer system, the machine-readable medium having stored thereon a series of instructions which, when executed by a processing component, cause the processing component to facilitate the reuse of a browser-based thin client of a client-server application in a browser-independent context by:

receiving program code for the browser-based thin client; and

converting the program code for the browser-based thin client into program code for a browser-independent client application, wherein the converting comprises;

determining one or more browser dependencies that require the browser-based thin client to operate within a web browser in order to interact with a server side of the client-server application; and

eliminating the one or more browser dependencies.