PROXYING EXTERNAL DATA AND SERVICES INTO APPLICATIONS AS NATIVE TYPES

• US 20100211375A1
• Filed: 02/17/2009
• Published: 08/19/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 02/17/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Gersten, Thomas K., Salgado, Rolando Jimenez
• Application Number:
  US12/371,934
• Publication Number:
  US 20100211375A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 703/27
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/36 Software reuse

Abstract

Architecture that provides the capability to receive types associate with external data and services and then integrate (or blend) these types into other applications such as office suite applications and collaboration applications. The result is the user is given a complete view of a given business problem and allows the user to complete tasks and plans in a single context. The architecture creates new defined types and blends these new defined types with the host native types of the particular host application (e.g., office application, collaboration application, etc.) so the user can operate from within a single context. Formal and pre-existent business applications, as well as external data sources are seamlessly proxied into the everyday productivity tools and/or collaboration environment to enable the user complete work as a single work stream within a known user experience with expected behaviors.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented interface system, comprising:

a proxy component for representing external data and services of external sources as new defined types compatible with a host application; and

an integration component for integrating the new defined types into the host application with host application native types for seamless interaction with the external data and services of the external sources via the host application.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the host application is an office suite application.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the host application is a collaboration application.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the proxy component and the integration are part of the host application, the host application a client or a server.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the proxy component includes behaviors that describes at least one of a user experience behavior, data behavior, or business behavior of the external data and services.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the proxy component includes operation definitions that describe operations exposed by end points.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the operation definitions describe operations exposed by data and services of different external sources.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the proxy component includes a schema that describes a data structure of an end point of an external source.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the proxy component is associated with one or more other proxy components, the relationship facilitating interaction between the data and services of disparate end points.

10. A computer-implemented interface system, comprising:

proxy components of a host application for representing external data and services of external sources as new defined types compatible with the host application, the proxy components including,

operation definition components that describe operations exposed by the external sources;

a schema component that describes data structures of end points of the external sources; and

a behaviors component that describes a user experience behavior, data behavior, and business behavior of the external data and services; and

an integration component of the host application for integrating the new defined types with existing native types for seamless interaction with the external data and services of the external sources via the host application.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the host application is an office productivity application or a collaboration application.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the operation definitions describe operations exposed by data and services of different external sources.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein the proxy component is associated with one or more other proxy components, the relationship facilitating interaction between the data and services of disparate end points.

14. A computer-implemented interface method, comprising:

representing external data and services of external sources as new defined types compatible with a host application; and

integrating the new defined types with host native types of the host application for seamless interaction with the external data and services of the external sources via the host application.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising representing a user experience behavior of the external data and services in a new defined type.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising representing a data behavior of the external data and services in a new defined type.

17. The method of claim 14, further comprising representing a business entity behavior of the external data and services in a new defined type.

18. The method of claim 14, further comprising creating a runtime program for automatic interaction with the external sources via the new defined types.

19. The method of claim 14, further comprising defining an association from one proxy component to another proxy component for interactive processing of the external data and services of different types.

20. The method of claim 14, further comprising defining operations on end points of the external sources as part of the new defined types.