METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR PROVIDING EFFICIENT AND COMPLEX DATABASE FUNCTIONALITY TO A MOBILE DEVICE

• US 20100077468A1
• Filed: 09/10/2009
• Published: 03/25/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/10/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Salesforce.com, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Salesforce.com, Inc.
• Inventors: Fell, Simon, Kothule, Deepak, McDowall, Jason, Wittman, Allen, Singh, Siddhartha, Bergamo, Pierpaolo, Schroeder, Jason, Pragides, Ron
• Granted Patent: US 9,535,967 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 726/7
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/26 Visual data mining; Browsing structured data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/56 Financial cryptography, e.g. electronic payment or e-cash
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/60 Digital content management, e.g. content distribution
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/80 Wireless
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1001 for accessing one among a plurality of replicated servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/101 based on network conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/55 Push-based network services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/75 Indicating network or usage conditions on the user display
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3226 using a predetermined code, e.g. password, passphrase or PIN network architectures or network communication protocols for supporting authentication of entities using passwords in a packet data network H04L63/083
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3234 involving additional secure or trusted devices, e.g. TPM, smartcard, USB or software token network architectures or network communication protocols for supporting authentication of entities using an additional device in a packet data network H04L63/0853

Abstract

Methods, systems, and apparatus provide efficient and complex database functionality for an electronic device, e.g. a mobile device. These mechanisms and methods for providing efficient and complex database functionality to an electronic device can enable embodiments to provide quick access to certain data using a local application and seamless access within the local application to other data and complex presentation formats that are supplied by a server. The ability of embodiments to provide this hybrid functionality can enable users of the electronic devices to be more productive.

Claims

1. A method of obtaining, with an electronic device, access to data that is stored on a database, the method comprising:

receiving, at the electronic device, a first set of data from a server of the database;

storing the first set of data in a memory of the electronic device;

providing, with a local application, an application screen including a display page that displays at least a portion of the first set of data, the application screen including one or more server activation objects, wherein the local application is executed on one or more processors of the electronic device;

receiving a selection of one of the server activation objects;

in response to the selection, sending a request to the database server for a new display page, wherein the new display page is created by the database server and includes a second set of data that is stored at the database server;

receiving the new display page from the database server; and

displaying the new display page on the electronic device.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a change of data in the new display page;

sending the change to the database server; and

receiving a new set of data from the database server, wherein the new set of data includes the change sent to the database server.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein sending the change to the database server is in response to receiving a user selection of a save object.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

sending an access token to the database server,

wherein if the access token is not valid, the new display page is not received.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the access token is sent as part of the request for the new display page.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein sending an access token to the database server includes:

creating a hash with the access token; and

sending the hash to the database server.

7. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

receiving the access token from the database server in response to an activation of the electronic device, wherein the activation of the electronic device includes;

receiving a username and password entered by a user of the electronic device;

sending the username and password to the database server; and

if the username and password are valid, receiving the access token.

8. The method of claim 4, wherein the hash is created at least with the access token, a timestamp, and an organization ID that is associated with an entity that subscribes to the database.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the new display page corresponds to a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) of the database server.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

uploading a portion of the first set of data with the request for the new display page, the portion of the first set of data being associated with a first data object stored on the database, wherein the second set of data of the new display page includes data about the first data object that was not previously stored on the electronic device.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the electronic device is a mobile device.

12. A method of providing, to an electronic device, access to data that is stored on a database, the method comprising:

pushing, with a server of the database, a first set of data to a local application running on the electronic device for display by the local application;

receiving, from the local application, a request to the database server for a new display page;

creating, with the database server, the new display page, wherein the new display page includes a second set of data that is stored at the database server; and

sending the new display page to the electronic device.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

receiving, at the database server, an access token;

determining whether the access token is valid;

if the access token is not valid, not sending the new display page to the electronic device; and

if the access token is not valid, sending the new display page to the electronic device.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein determining whether the access token is valid includes comparing the access token to a token stored on the database and associated with the electronic device.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the access token is received as part of a hash, and wherein determining whether the access token is valid includes:

creating a hash with a token stored on the database and associated with the electronic device; and

comparing the hash to the hash received from the electronic device.

16. A method of obtaining, with an electronic device, access to data that is stored on a database, the method comprising:

receiving, at the electronic device, a first set of data from a first server of the database;

storing the first set of data in a memory of the electronic device;

providing, with a local application, an application screen including a detail page that displays at least a portion of the first set of data, the detail page including one or more server activation objects and being associated with a first data object stored on the database, wherein the local application is executed on one or more processors of the electronic device;

receiving a selection of one of the server activation objects;

in response to the selection, providing, to a second server associated with the selected server activation object, a request for a new detail page, wherein providing the request includes uploading, to the second server, a portion of the first set of data that is associated with the first data object;

receiving the new detail page from the second server, the new detail page including information associated with the first data object; and

displaying the new detail page on the electronic device.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the second server is not part of the database.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the second server is the first server of the database.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the portion of the first set of data that is uploaded to the second server includes an object identification code that the database uses for indexing the first data object.

20. The method of claim 16, wherein the detail page includes a plurality of server activation objects, and wherein each server activation objects is associated with a different server.