REMOTABLE PROJECT

• US 20110271249A1
• Filed: 04/29/2010
• Published: 11/03/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/29/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Habibbhai, Riyaz, Wang, Enzhou
• Granted Patent: US 9,116,778 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 717/113
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/70 Software maintenance or management
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/141 Setup of application sessions admission control or resource allocation in data switching networks H04L47/70
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/562 Brokering proxy services

Abstract

Aspects of the subject matter described herein relate to remote project access. In aspects, project data for a project that is hosted on a server is provided to a client for use in a development environment of the client. A development environment may be instantiated and configured to allow a user to interact with the project as if the project existed solely on the client. Components on the client and server take care of transferring data and messages to and from the server to ensure that the user experience is seamless.

Claims

1. A method implemented at least in part by a computer, the method comprising:

at a client, receiving input to access a server software project that is hosted on a server;

establishing a communication channel with a proxy component of the server, the proxy component operable to attempt to communicate with the client in conjunction with one or more pre-defined actions occurring on the server with respect to the server software project;

obtaining project data regarding the server software project from the proxy component, the project data indicating structure and code of the server software project;

on the client, creating a client software project corresponding to the server software project from the server project data; and

configuring a development environment to access the client software project.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving input to access a server software project that is hosted on a server comprises receiving input from a control of an Internet browser hosted on the client, the Internet browser displaying a page that includes a document associated with the server software project, the code, when executed, performing an operation with respect to data of the document.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising receiving, from the proxy component, data indicating a change made to a structure of the document and, in response, configuring the development environment to recognize the change.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein establishing a communication channel with the proxy component comprises initiating, from the client, a network connection with the proxy component.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein creating a client project corresponding to the server project from the server project data comprises creating folders on a storage medium of the client and placing files in the folders, the folders corresponding to folders used on the server for the server software project, the files corresponding to files used on the server for the server software project.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein configuring a development environment to access the client software project comprises configuring the development environment to access data in the folders created on the client.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving an indication to save data of the client software project and, in response, sending data indicative of changes made in the development environment to the proxy component.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving an indication to close the client software project and, in response, sending to the proxy component data indicating that the client software project is closed or to be closed on the client.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving data indicating a change made to the server software project and, in response, configuring the client software project and development environment in accordance with the change.

10. A computer storage medium having computer-executable instructions, which when executed perform actions, comprising:

at a server, receiving a request to access a server software project;

establishing a communication channel with a development controller of a client, the development controller of the client operable to create a client software project corresponding to the server software project and to configure a development environment to access the client software project; and

providing project data regarding the server software project to the development controller via the communication channel, the project data indicating structure and code of the server software project for use in creating the client software project and configuring the development environment.

11. The computer storage medium of claim 10, wherein receiving a request to access a server software project comprises receiving a request to access a server software project that is associated with a document, the code of the server software project, when executed, performing an operation with respect to data of the document.

12. The computer storage medium of claim 11, further comprising sending, to the development controller, data indicating changes made to a structure of the document, the data for use by the development controller to update the development environment to recognize the change.

13. The computer storage medium of claim 10 further comprising receiving, from the development controller, data indicative of changes made in the development environment and updating the server software project in accordance with the changes.

14. The computer storage medium of claim 10, further comprising placing a lock on the server software project, receiving an indication that the client has or is closing the client software project, and removing the lock in response thereto.

15. The computer storage medium of claim 10, further comprising obtaining a request to modify the code and, in response, sending a message to the development controller, the message requesting that the development controller indicate whether changes have been made to the client software project.

16. The computer storage medium of claim 15, further comprising, if changes have been made to the client software project, obtaining the changes from the development controller and updating the server software project with the changes.

17. In a computing environment, an apparatus, comprising:

a user interface operable to receive input indicative of a server software project that is hosted on a server;

a development environment operable to host a client software development project and to provide access to the client software development project via the user interface, the development environment including a programming interface by which the development environment may be configured; and

a development controller operable to establish a communication channel with the server and to obtain project data regarding the server software project via the communication channel, the project data indicating a structure and code of the server software project, the development controller further operable to create a client software project corresponding to the server software project, the development controller further operable to configure the development environment via the programming interface to access the client software project.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the development controller is further operable to provide, to the server, data indicative of updates made to the client software project.

19. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the development controller is further operable to provide, to the server, an instruction to execute code of the server software project.

20. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the development controller is further operable to receive data indicative of a change made to a structure of a document associated with the server software project and to configure the development environment to recognize the change for autocompletion activities within the development environment.