Leveraging Collaborative Cloud Services to Build and Share Apps

• US 20110083167A1
• Filed: 09/29/2010
• Published: 04/07/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/19/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tropare, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Boopsie Incorporated
• Inventors: Kay, Timothy L., Carpenter, G. Gregory
• Granted Patent: US 9,104,738 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 726/4
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2228 Indexing structures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24532 of parallel queries
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/254 Extract, transform and load [ETL] procedures, e.g. ETL data flows in data warehouses
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6218 to a system of files or objects, e.g. local or distributed file system or database
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/36 Software reuse
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/403 Arrangements for multi-party communication, e.g. for conferences data switching systems for conference H04L12/18; arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities H04M3/56; television conferencing systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46

Abstract

The present invention includes systems and methods for retrieving information via a flexible and consistent targeted search model that employs interactive multi-prefix, multi-tier and dynamic menu information retrieval techniques (including predictive text techniques to facilitate the generation of targeted ads) that provide context-specific functionality tailored to particular information channels, as well as to records within or across such channels, and other known state information. Users are presented with a consistent search interface among multiple tiers across and within a large domain of information sources, and need not learn different or special search syntax. A thin-client server-controlled architecture enables users of resource-constrained mobile communications devices to locate targeted information more quickly by entering fewer keystrokes and performing fewer query iterations and web page refreshes, which in turn reduces required network bandwidth. Applications are built by leveraging existing collaborative cloud services that enable the maintenance and sharing of user content.

Claims

1. A system for facilitating the development of client applications that enable users to interact with shared user content maintained on an existing cloud platform, the system comprising:

(a) a service interface that provides access to the shared user content and to cloud services relating to that shared user content;

(b) a service extractor that utilizes the cloud services, via the service interface, to extract current information relating to the shared user content from the cloud platform, enabling the system to reflect changes over time relating to the shared user content;

(c) a content repurposer that interprets the shared user content and current information to ascertain the desired functionality to be implemented for a particular content domain, and repurposes the shared user content to that content domain by generating data structures to facilitate the implementation of the desired functionality; and

(d) a client application interface that provides access to one or more client applications to provide the client applications with the repurposed shared user content so as to enable the client applications to implement the desired functionality.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising an application builder that automatically generates one or more client applications.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the application builder automatically deploys the generated client applications.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the shared user content includes data and metadata, and wherein the content repurposer interprets the metadata and repurposes the shared user content in accordance with that interpretation.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the metadata controls the presentation format of the shared user content by the client applications.

6. The system of claim 4, wherein the metadata controls the branding of the client applications.

7. The system of claim 4, wherein the metadata controls dynamic menus that enable users of the client applications to invoke a particular function.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the existing cloud platform is Google Docs.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the existing cloud platform is Microsoft Live.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the cloud services provide indications of a recent modification of the shared user content or of access control settings relating to the shared user content.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the service extractor periodically polls the cloud platform to extract current information relating to the shared user content.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the cloud platform notifies the service extractor when the shared user content, or access control settings relating to the shared user content, has been modified.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the shared user content can be modified directly by users of the client applications.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein the shared user content includes a table of contents.

15. The system of claim 1, wherein the client applications can be accessed only by authorized users of the shared user content.

16. The system of claim 1, wherein the shared user content is maintained on the cloud platform in a tabular format.

17. A method for facilitating the development of client applications that enable users to interact with shared user content maintained on an existing cloud platform, the method including the following steps:

(a) providing access to the shared user content and to cloud services relating to that shared user content;

(b) utilizing the cloud services to extract current information relating to the shared user content from the cloud platform, enabling changes relating to the shared user content to be reflected over time;

(c) interpreting the shared user content and current information to ascertain the desired functionality to be implemented for a particular content domain, and repurposing the shared user content to that content domain by generating data structures to facilitate the implementation of the desired functionality; and

(d) providing access to one or more client applications to provide the client applications with the repurposed shared user content so as to enable the client applications to implement the desired functionality.

18. The method of claim 17, further including the step of automatically generating one or more client applications.

19. The method of claim 18, further including the step of automatically deploying the generated client applications.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein the shared user content includes data and metadata, and wherein the system interprets the metadata and repurposes the shared user content in accordance with that interpretation.

21. The method of claim 18, wherein the metadata controls the presentation format of the shared user content by the client applications.

22. The method of claim 18, wherein the metadata controls the branding of the client applications.

23. The method of claim 18, wherein the metadata controls dynamic menus that enable users of the client applications to invoke a particular function.

24. The method of claim 17, wherein the existing cloud platform is Google Apps.

25. The method of claim 17, wherein the existing cloud platform is Microsoft Live.

26. The method of claim 17, wherein the cloud services provide indications of a recent modification of the shared user content or of access control settings relating to the shared user content.

27. The method of claim 17, further including the step of periodically polling the cloud platform to extract current information relating to the shared user content.

28. The method of claim 17, wherein the cloud platform notifies the service extractor when the shared user content, or access control settings relating to the shared user content, has been modified.

29. The method of claim 17, wherein the shared user content can be modified directly by users of the client applications.

30. The method of claim 17, wherein the shared user content includes a table of contents.

31. The method of claim 17, wherein the client applications can be accessed only by authorized users of the shared user content.

32. The method of claim 17, wherein the shared user content is maintained on the cloud platform in a tabular format.