METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR UPDATING AND SYNCHRONIZING INFORMATION BETWEEN A CLIENT AND A SERVER

• US 20110258254A1
• Filed: 06/28/2011
• Published: 10/20/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/1997
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Forstall, Scott, Ferris, Michael, D'Harcourt, Charles, Popp, Nicolas
• Granted Patent: US 8,417,771 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/103 Formatting, i.e. changing of presentation of documents automatic justification G06F40/189; automatic line break hyphenation G06F40/191
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/44526 Plug-ins; Add-ons
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/54 Interprogram communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• 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 67/142 Managing session states for stateless protocols; Signalling session states; State transitions; Keeping-state mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99953 Recoverability

Abstract

The present invention provides a method and apparatus for integrating applets running on a client with the application logic for applications running on a server. The mechanism of the present invention provides two significant advantages over the prior art: the synchronization of state, and the recognition of user actions in the browser including the invocation of the appropriate application logic in the server. Instead of using the FORM element available in HTML, individual active applets are available and may be created that obtain user input (e.g. a checkbox, textbox, button, etc.). A hidden applet called the Applet Group Controller is created which handles communication between the applets on the browser and the application logic on the server. The Applet Group Controller maintains an association with each applet that maintains the keys and values of any parameters and variables for the applet. In a preferred embodiment, upon the invocation of an event, the association instructs an Action Coordinator to invoke an action. The Action Coordinator obtains and transmits a list of all of the keys and their values to the server. The server invokes the appropriate application logic and transmits the keys and their values (as updated during the execution of the application logic) back to the Action Coordinator. The Action Coordinator then pushes the updated values out to the applets (through their Associations) at which time the browser'"'"'s display is updated with the new values.

Claims

1. (canceled)

2. A method of synchronizing information between a client and a server comprising:

receiving at a server from a client via a communication interface (a) an action data indicating an action to be performed and (b) a key and a value corresponding to the key; and

using the value corresponding to the key to perform an action associated with the action data;

wherein one or more of the action, the key, and the value are associated with a display page being rendered at the client; and

using the value corresponding to the key to perform the action synchronizes the server with a corresponding value associated with the display page prior to the action being performed.

3. A method as recited in claim 2, further comprising updating the variable prior to performing the action.

4. A method as recited in claim 2, and further comprising determining, subsequent to the action being performed, that a value associated with the variable has changed from the value corresponding to the key to a new value;

and sending the new value to the client.

5. A method as recited in claim 4, wherein sending the new value to the client comprises sending to the client the key and an indication that the new value corresponds to the key.

6. A method as recited in claim 2, wherein the action value, key, and value are received in a package that comprises a plurality of keys, including said key, and for each key at least one corresponding value.

7. A method as recited in claim 6, further comprising binding each of at least a subset of the keys comprising the plurality of keys to a corresponding variable and for each such key using the value corresponding to the key to update the variable prior to performing the action.

8. A method as recited in claim 7, further comprising determining with respect to each key included in the at least a subset of the keys, subsequent to the action being performed, whether a value associated with the corresponding variable to which that key has been bound has changed from the value corresponding to the key to a new value;

and for each variable for which the associated value has changed to a corresponding new value, sending the key corresponding to that variable and the associated new value to the client.

9. A method of synchronizing information between a client and a server comprising:

receiving at the client an indication that an event has occurred;

determining at the client in response to the event whether a value associated with a key has changed from a last reported value to a current value that is different than the last reported value; and

if it is determined that the value has changed, reporting the current value to a remote server;

wherein the value is associated with a display page being rendered at the client; and

the server is configured to use the reported current value to update at the server a variable corresponding to the key.

10. A method as recited in claim 9, wherein the value is associated with a first applet;

the first applet is included in a plurality of applets running at the client; and

determining in response to the event whether a value associated with a key has changed comprises polling each applet included in the plurality of applets for a current state of one or more key-value pairs associated with that applet.

11. A method as recited in claim 10, wherein determining in response to the event whether a value associated with a key has changed further comprises determining, for each applet comprising the plurality of applets, which, if any, key-value pairs associated with that applet have changed.

12. A method as recited in claim 11, further comprising reporting to the remote server a respective updated value for each key-value pair determined to have changed.

13. A method as recited in claim 12, wherein polling each applet included in the plurality of applets includes invoking for each applet a method of an association object associated with that applet.

14. A method as recited in claim 13, wherein the event comprises a user input.

15. A computer system comprising:

a communication interface; and

a processor coupled to the communication interface and configured to;

receive from a client via the communication interface (a) an action data indicating an action to be performed and (b) a key and a value corresponding to the key; and

use the value corresponding to the key to perform an action associated with the action data;

wherein one or more of the action, the key, and the value are associated with a display page being rendered at the client; and

use the value corresponding to the key to perform the action synchronizes the server with a corresponding value associated with the display page prior to the action being performed.

16. A computer system as recited in claim 15, further comprising a memory configured to store the variable.

17. A computer system comprising:

a communication interface; and

a processor coupled to the communication interface and configured to;

receive an indication that an event has occurred;

determine in response to the event whether a value associated with a key has changed from a last reported value to a current value that is different than the last reported value; and

if it is determined that the value has changed, reporting the current value to a remote server;

wherein the value is associated with a display page being rendered at the client; and

the server is configured to use the reported current value to update at the server a variable corresponding to the key.

18. A computer system as recited in claim 17, further comprising a memory coupled to the processor and configured to store one or both of the current value and the last reported value.

19. A computer system as recited in claim 17, wherein the value is associated with a first applet;

the first applet is included in a plurality of applets running at the client; and

the processor is configured to determine in response to the event whether a value associated with a key has changed at least in part by polling each applet included in the plurality of applets for a current state of one or more key-value pairs associated with that applet.

20. A computer system as recited in claim 17, wherein the processor is configured to store for each key-value pair in a set of key-value pairs a corresponding last reported value for that key-value pair.

21. A computer program product for synchronizing information between a client and a server, the computer program product being embodiment in a non-transitory computer readable medium and comprising computer instructions for:

receiving an indication that an event has occurred;

determining in response to the event whether a value associated with a key has changed from a last reported value to a current value that is different than the last reported value; and

if it is determined that the value has changed, reporting the current value to a remote server;

wherein the value is associated with a display page; and

the server is configured to use the reported current value to update at the server a variable corresponding to the key.