Trickle Sync Protocol

• US 20100082732A1
• Filed: 09/29/2008
• Published: 04/01/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: McCarthy, Brendan A., Guenther, Carsten
• Granted Patent: US 8,112,537 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1095 Replication or mirroring of data, e.g. scheduling or transport for data synchronisation between network nodes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/565 Conversion or adaptation of application format or content adding application control or application functional data H04L67/561

Abstract

Among other things, techniques and systems are disclosed for providing trickle syncing. In one aspect, a system includes a data repository to store one or more data records and a server in communication with the data repository. The server is designed to access the data repository in response to a user request to perform at least one of the following: access the one or more data records, add a data record, and modify the one or more data records. The system also includes a client application in communication with the server. The client application is designed to receive the user request through a client process; encapsulate a protocol that provides communications between the client process and the server; and forward the received user request to the server using the encapsulated protocol.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a data repository configured to store one or more data records;

a server in communication with the data repository, wherein the server is configured to access the data repository in response to a user request to perform at least one of the following;

access the one or more data records,

add a data record, and

modify the one or more data records; and

a client application comprising a protocol library in communication with the server, the client application configured to;

receive the user request through a client process,

encapsulate a protocol that provides communications between the client process and the server, and

forward the received user request to the server using the encapsulated protocol.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the client application comprises a Java application.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the client application is embedded within the client process.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the client application is configured to operate as a server-side process.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the client application is configured to receive the user request through the client process that comprises a web browser.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the client application is configured to encapsulate the protocol so that the client process can communicate with the server without knowledge of details of the protocol.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the client application is configured to encapsulate the protocol so that the server identifies the client process as a trusted client, wherein the server assumes correctness of data provided by the trusted client.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the server is configured to, in response to the forwarded request,

access the data repository;

obtain data identified in the forwarded request from the one or more data records; and

forward the obtained data identified in the forwarded request in a reply message to the client application.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the client application comprises a cache to temporarily store the data received in the reply message from the server.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the client application is configured to:

receive another request through the client process;

detect whether the temporarily stored data is valid; and

access the temporarily stored data instead of forwarding the received other request to the server when detecting that the temporarily stored data is valid.

11. A method comprising:

at a data processing apparatus, performing the following;

receiving a request to perform an operation comprising at least one of the following;

access one or more data records stored at a data repository,

add a data record to the data repository, and

modify the one or more data records stored at the data repository;

encapsulating a protocol for communicating the received request to a server; and

communicating the received request to the server using the encapsulated protocol to instruct the server to access the data repository to perform the requested operation.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein receiving the request comprises receiving the request at the data processing apparatus using a client application that comprises a Java application.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the client application is embedded within a client process.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the data processing apparatus comprises another server.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the client application is embedded in a web browser.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein the client application comprises a protocol library to encapsulate the protocol along with functionalities of the protocol.

17. The method of claim 11, wherein encapsulating the protocol comprises encapsulating the protocol to guarantee correctness of data provided to the server.

18. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

at the data processing apparatus, in response to communicating the received request to the server,

obtaining data identified in the received request associated with the one or more data records stored in the data repository.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

temporarily storing the obtained data.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

at the data processing apparatus;

receiving another request;

detecting whether the temporarily stored data is valid; and

accessing the temporarily stored data instead of forwarding the received other request to the server when detecting that the temporarily stored data is valid.

21. A computer program product, embodied on a computer readable medium, operable to cause a data processing apparatus to perform operations comprising:

receiving a request to perform an operation comprising at least one of the following;

access one or more data records stored in a data repository,

add a data record to the data repository, and

modify the one or more data records stored in the data repository;

encapsulating a protocol for communicating the received request to a server; and

communicating the received request to the server using the encapsulated protocol to instruct the server to access the data repository to perform the requested operation.

22. The computer program product of claim 21, further operable to cause a data processing apparatus to receive the request using a client application comprising a Java application.

23. The computer program product of claim 22, further operable to cause a data processing apparatus to receive the request using the client application that is embedded within a client process.

24. The computer program product of claim 21, further operable to cause a data processing apparatus comprising another server to receive the request.

25. The computer program product of claim 22, further operable to cause a data processing apparatus to receive the request using the client application embedded in a web browser.

26. The computer program product of claim 22, further operable to cause a data processing apparatus to use the client application comprising a protocol library to encapsulate the protocol along with functionalities of the protocol.

27. The computer program product of claim 21, further operable to cause a data processing apparatus to encapsulate the protocol to guarantee correctness of data provided to the server.

28. The computer program product of claim 21, further operable to cause a data processing apparatus to perform operations, in response to communicating the request to the server, comprising:

obtaining data identified in the received request associated with the one or more data records in the accessed data repository.

29. The computer program product of claim 28, further operable to cause a data processing apparatus to temporarily store the obtained data.

30. The computer program product of claim 29, further operable to cause a data processing apparatus to verify validity of the obtained data comprising:

receiving another request through the client process;

detecting whether the temporarily stored data is valid; and

accessing the temporarily stored data instead of forwarding the received other request to the server when detecting that the temporarily stored data is valid.