Application Compatibility Shims for Minimal Client Computers

• US 20120158396A1
• Filed: 12/17/2010
• Published: 06/21/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/17/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Douceur, John R., Howell, Jonathan R., Seehra, Arun M.
• Granted Patent: US 8,903,705 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 703/23
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/455 Emulation; Interpretation; Software simulation, e.g. virtualisation or emulation of application or operating system execution engines
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4555 Para-virtualisation, i.e. guest operating system has to be modified

Abstract

This document describes techniques for allowing a computing device that provides a minimal execution environment to execute legacy applications that rely on rich functionality that the computing device does not natively provide. For instance, a device may initially receive a request to execute an application and may determine whether the application is directly executable. In response to determining that the application is not directly executable, the computing device may determine whether the application specifies another application to provide the functionality. If the application specifies another application to provide this functionality, then the computing device retrieves the specified application and executes the specified application on the client computing device. If the application does not specify such an application, then the computing device may execute a default application for providing the functionality. The specified or default application then executes the application that is not directly executable on the minimal-execution-environment computing device.

Claims

1. One or more computer-readable media storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause one or more processors to perform acts comprising:

receiving a request to execute a first application on a computing device;

determining if the first application is directly executable on the computing device;

executing the first application at least partly in response to determining that the first application is directly executable on the computing device; and

at least partly in response to determining that the first application is not directly executable on the computing device;

determining if the first application specifies an application for executing the first application;

executing the specified application on the computing device at least partly in response to determining that the first application specifies an application, the specified application for executing the first application; and

executing a default application on the computing device at least partly in response to determining that the first application does not specify an application, the default application for executing the first application.

2. One or more computer-readable media as recited in claim 1, wherein:

the computing device provides an isolated container for the first application to execute within, but lacks at least one system service used for executing the first application; and

the first application is determined to be directly executable on the computing device when the first application provides each system service for executing the first application within the isolated container that the computing device does not provide.

3. One or more computer-readable media as recited in claim 1, wherein the first application comprises a web application, and the specified and default applications comprise respective browser applications for executing the web application.

4. One or more computer-readable media as recited in claim 1, the acts further comprising:

at least partly in response to determining that the first application specifies the application;

determining whether the specified application is locally available to the computing device; and

retrieving the specified application when it is determined that the specified application is not locally available;

and wherein the executing of the specified application occurs at least partly in response to the retrieving.

5. One or more computer-readable media as recited in claim 1, the acts further comprising associating the specified application or the default application with a principal associated with the first application.

6. One or more computer-readable media as recited in claim 1, wherein the executing of the first application with the specified application or the default application comprises executing the first application in compatibility mode, the acts further comprising:

at least partly in response to determining that the first application is not directly executable on the computing device;

determining if the first application includes an indication that it is not executable in the compatibility mode; and

refraining from executing the first application in the compatibility mode at least partly in response to determining that the first application includes the indication.

7. A method comprising:

receiving, at a computing device, a request to execute a first application that utilizes one or more system services that the computing device does not natively provide;

determining, at least partly in response to the receiving of the request, whether the first application specifies an application to provide the one or more system services;

at least partly in response to determining that the first application specifies an application, executing the specified application to provide the one or more system services utilized by the first application; and

at least partly in response to determining that the first application does not specify an application, executing a default application to provide the one or more system services utilized by the first application.

8. A method as recited in claim 7, wherein the one or more system services that the computing device does not natively provide include rendering stacks.

9. A method as recited in claim 7, wherein the first application comprises a web application and the specified and default applications comprise respective browsers.

10. A method as recited in claim 7, wherein the determining whether the first application specifies an application to provide the one or more system services comprises:

attempting to locate a text file at a pre-specified address associated with the first application; and

analyzing the text file to determine whether the first application specifies an application at least partly in response to successfully locating the text file at the pre-specified address associated with the first application.

11. A method as recited in claim 7, further comprising:

determining whether the first application indicates that it does not run in compatibility mode; and

refraining from causing execution of the first application via the specified application or the default application at least partly in response to determining that the first application indicates that it does not run in the compatibility mode.

12. A method as recited in claim 7, wherein the executing of the specified application or the default application comprises executing the specified application or the default application within a container that isolates the specified application or the default application, and the first application executing thereon, from other applications executing on the computing device.

13. A method as recited in claim 7, further comprising visibly indicating, as a part of the specified application or the default application, a principal associated with the first application.

14. A computing device that does not natively provide sufficient system services for rendering web applications, the computing device comprising:

one or more processors;

memory; and

a compatibility shim, stored in the memory and executable on the one or more processors, to determine when a particular web application does not include a set of system services that is sufficient for rendering the particular web application in combination with services provided by the computing device and, in response, to locate an application that provides at least a portion of the set of system services that is sufficient for rending the particular web application.

15. A computing device as recited in claim 14, wherein the system services include rendering stacks, libraries, plug-ins, a JavaScript engine, or a multimedia platform for adding animation, video, or interactivity to the particular web application.

16. A computing device as recited in claim 14, wherein the computing device executes the application that provides the at least a portion of the set of system services for rending the particular web application in a container that is isolated from other applications running on the computing device, and wherein the particular web application executes the application that provides the at least a portion of the set of system services within the container.

17. A computing device as recited in claim 14, wherein the application that provides the at least a portion of the set of system services comprises a web browser.

18. A computing device as recited in claim 14, wherein the compatibility shim is executable to locate the application that provides the at least a portion of the set of system services by:

determining whether the particular web application specifies a particular application for providing one or more system services;

at least partly in response to determining that the particular web application specifies a particular application for providing one or more system services;

determining whether the particular application is available locally on the computing device; and

retrieving the particular application at least partly in response to determining that the particular application is not locally available on the computing device.

19. A computing device as recited in claim 18, wherein the determining whether the particular web application specifies a particular application for providing one or more system services comprises attempting to locate a file having a canonical name at a host of the particular web application.

20. A computing device as recited in claim 14, wherein the compatibility shim is executable to locate the application that provides the at least a portion of the set of system services by:

determining whether the particular web application specifies a particular application for providing one or more system services; and

at least partly in response to determining that the particular web application does not specify a particular application for providing one or more system services, executing a default application for providing the system services.