SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR INTEGRATION OF AN APPLICATION RUNTIME ENVIRONMENT INTO A USER COMPUTING ENVIRONMENT

• US 20110314389A1
• Filed: 06/20/2011
• Published: 12/22/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/18/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SweetLabs, Inc.
• Original Assignee: SweetLabs, Inc.
• Inventors: Robinson, Aaron, Bourke, Adrian, Meredith, Matt, Machado, Blake, Chavarria, Damien
• Granted Patent: US 8,756,488 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/751
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/048 Interaction techniques based on graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/60 Software deployment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/61 Installation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/45504 Abstract machines for programme code execution, e.g. Java virtual machine [JVM], interpreters, emulators
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416

Abstract

Systems and methods for creating application runtime environments or application environments that can be downloaded and integrated into the computing environment of a computing device are disclosed. One embodiment of the invention includes a computing device on which an operating system is installed that creates a computing environment, an Application Platform application, where the Application Platform application is at least partially natively implemented and creates an application runtime environment when executed by the computing device, and a cross-platform application, where the cross-platform application is configured to be executed within the application runtime environment and is not natively executable by the computing device. In addition, the Application Platform application is configured to integrate the cross-platform application into the computing environment of the computing device by providing at least one launch point for the cross-platform application within the computing environment.

Claims

1. A computing device configured to execute a cross-platform application, comprising:

a computing device on which an operating system is installed that creates a computing environment;

an Application Platform application, where the Application Platform application is at least partially natively implemented and creates an application runtime environment when executed by the computing device;

a cross-platform application, where the cross-platform application is configured to be executed within the application runtime environment and is not natively executable by the computing device; and

wherein the Application Platform application is configured to integrate the cross-platform application into the computing environment of the computing device by providing at least one launch point for the cross-platform application within the computing environment.

2. The computing device of claim 1, wherein:

the computing environment is a desktop computing environment that includes a task bar; and

at least one launch point is an icon in the taskbar of the desktop computing environment.

3. The computing device of claim 2, wherein:

the Application Platform application is configured to communicate with the operating system to add a badge to the at least one launch point for the cross-platform application within the desktop computing environment; and

the cross-platform application executing within the runtime environment is configured to utilize the Application Platform application to add a badge notification to the launch point for the cross-platform application within the desktop computing environment.

4. The computing device of claim 1, wherein:

the Application Platform application is configured to render pop up notifications within the desktop computing environment; and

the cross-platform application executing within the runtime environment is configured to utilize the Application Platform application to generate a pop up notification.

5. The computing device of claim 1, wherein:

the Application Platform is configured to render pop up notifications in which the pop up notification contains a web page rendered by a chromeless web browser application; and

the cross-platform application executing within the runtime environment is configured to utilize the Application Platform application to generate a pop up notification containing a web page rendered by the chromeless web browser.

6. The computing device of claim 1, wherein:

the Application Platform application is configured to monitor URL changes in the chromeless web browser and to extract an access token from one of the URLs returned to the chromeless web browser by a remote server; and

the Application Platform application is configured to locally store the access token.

7. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the computing device includes a processor and non-volatile storage and the Application Platform application and the cross-platform application are stored in the non-volatile storage of the computing device.

8. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the Application Platform application is configured to continuously execute the cross-platform application.

9. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the Application Platform application is configured to display a listing of cross-platform applications that can be installed on the computing device.

10. The computing device of claim 9, wherein the Application Platform application is configured to execute a cross-platform application to display the listing of cross-platform applications that can be installed on the computing device.

11. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the Application Platform application is configured to coordinate the installation of a second cross-platform application on the computing device.

12. The computing device of claim 11, wherein the Application Platform application is configured to verify the authenticity of the cross-platform application with a verification server prior to installing the second cross-platform application.

13. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the Application Platform application is configured to verify itself with a verification server.

14. The computing device of claim 13, wherein the Application Platform application is configured to disable itself when instructed to by the verification server.

15. The computing device of claim 13, wherein the Application Platform application is configured to initiate the installation of an updated version of the Application Platform application when instructed to by the verification server.

16. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the Application Platform application is configured to verify the cross-platform application with a verification server.

17. The computing device of claim 16, wherein the Application Platform application is configured to disable the cross-platform application when instructed to by the verification server.

18. The computing device of claim 16, wherein the Application Platform application is configured to initiate the installation of an updated version of the cross-platform application when instructed to by the verification server.

19. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the Application Platform application is configured to enable cross-platform applications executing within the runtime environment to access local storage.

20. The computing device of claim 19, wherein each cross-platform application has its own storage domain in local storage.

21. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the cross-platform application comprises:

a file containing the logic of the cross-platform application in a scripting language configured to be executed within the application runtime environment created by the Application Platform application; and

at least one file containing instructions for rendering a pop up notification in a rendering language configured to be rendered by the Application Platform application.

22. The computing device of claim 21, wherein the Application Platform application comprises:

a rendering engine process configured to implement the logic of the cross-platform application and to render the pop up notification; and

an integration process configured to enable the cross-platform application to communicate with operating system processes.

23. The computing device of claim 21, wherein the integration process is further configured to enable the cross-platform application to communicate with natively implemented processes executing on the computing device.

24. The computing device of claim 23, wherein the integration process is configured to expose APIs that enable the cross-platform application to make modifications to the computing environment.

25. The computing device of claim 21, wherein:

the cross-platform application further comprises an image file containing an icon; and

the Application Platform application is configured to display the icon as a launch point within the computing environment of the computing device.

26. The computing device of claim 25, wherein the Application Platform application is configured to apply a badge to the icon launch point in response to instructions in the file containing the logic of the cross-platform application.

27. The computing device of claim 25, wherein the Application Platform application is configured to apply a badge to the icon launch point in response to instructions in one of the at least one files containing instructions for rendering a pop up notification.

28. The computing device of claim 21, wherein:

the Application Platform is configured to render pop up notifications in which the pop up notification contains a web page rendered by a chromeless web browser application; and

the cross-platform application executing within the runtime environment is configured to pass a URL to the Application Platform application to render a pop up notification containing a web page rendered by the chromeless web browser using the URL.

29. The computing device of claim 28, wherein:

the Application Platform application is configured to monitor URL changes in the chromeless web browser and to extract an access token from one of the URLs returned to the chromeless web browser by a remote server; and

the Application Platform application is configured to locally store the access token.

30. The computing device of claim 24, wherein the Application Platform application is configured to enable cross-platform applications executing within the runtime environment to access local storage.

31. The computing device of claim 30, wherein the file containing the logic of the cross-platform application and the at least one file containing instructions for rendering a pop up notification share a local storage context when executed by the Application Process application.

32. The computing device of claim 24, wherein the Application Platform process is configured to generate a hash from at least one of the file containing the logic of the cross-platform application and the at least one file containing instructions for rendering a pop up notification and to provide the hash to a verification server.

33. The computing device of claim 32, wherein the Application Platform application is configured to disable the cross-platform application in response to an instruction from the verification server.

34. The computing device of claim 32, wherein the Application Platform application is configured to initiate installation of an updated version of the cross-platform application in response to an instruction from the verification server.

35. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the Application Platform application is configured to coordinate data transfer between an application executing within the computing environment of the computing device and a web application via a coordination server.

36. The computing device of claim 1, where the Application Platform application is configured to configure the computing environment of the computing device by coordinating the installation of a plurality of cross-platform applications in response to instructions from a verification server.

37. A method of installing a cross-platform application on a computing device on which an Application Platform application is installed, comprising:

downloading an installation package comprising;

a file containing logic for a cross-platform application in a scripting language configured to be executed within an application runtime environment created by an Application Platform application installed on the computing device; and

at least one file containing instructions for rendering a pop up notification in a rendering language configured to be rendered by the Application Platform application; and

saving the file containing the logic of the cross-platform application and the at least one file containing instructions for rendering a pop up notification to non-volatile storage on the computing device.

38. The method of claim 37, wherein the installation package comprises a header and a compressed payload and the header includes a public key and a digital signature for the package and the compressed payload comprises the file containing logic for the cross-platform application and the at least one file containing instructions for rendering a pop up notification.

39. The method of claim 38, further comprising verifying the authenticity of the installation package using the public key and the digital signature.

40. The method of claim 38, wherein the compressed payload further comprises a manifest file including the same public key as the public key in the header of the installation package.

41. The method of claim 37, wherein the installation package further comprises an icon image file configured to be displayed by the Application Platform applications as an icon launch point within the computing environment of the computing device.

42. A method of executing a cross-platform application on a computing device, comprising:

displaying a launch point within a computing environment generated by the operating system of a computing device;

executing instructions in a locally stored file containing the logic of a cross-platform application in response to user selection of the launch point using an Application Platform application installed on the computing device, where the instructions are in a scripting language that is not natively executable and at least a portion of the Application Platform is natively implemented; and

rendering a pop up notification using the Application Platform using a file containing instructions for rendering a pop up notification and in response to instructions within the locally stored file containing the logic of the cross-platform application, where the instructions are in a rendering language that is not natively executable.

43. The method of claim 42, wherein the Application Platform application performs an operating system call to display the launch point within the computing environment generated by the operating system of the computing device.

44. The method of claim 43, further comprising performing an operating system call using the Application Platform application to apply a badge to the launch point within the computing environment generated by the operating system of the computing device in response to execution by the Application Platform application of instructions within at least one of:

the locally stored file containing the logic of the cross-platform application; and

file containing instructions for rendering a pop up notification.

45. The method of claim 42, further comprising:

storing data in local storage in response to execution by the Application Platform application of instructions within at least one of;

the locally stored file containing the logic of the cross-platform application; and

file containing instructions for rendering a pop up notification; and

retrieving data in local storage response to execution by the Application Platform application of instructions within at least one of;

the locally stored file containing the logic of the cross-platform application; and

file containing instructions for rendering a pop up notification.