RESOURCE LAUNCH FROM APPLICATION WITHIN APPLICATION CONTAINER

• US 20130151706A1
• Filed: 12/08/2011
• Published: 06/13/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/08/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Henriquez, Alberto, London, Kevin S., Howe, Travis M., Reskusich, Raymond M., Bhattacharyya, Debaprajna, Baker, James Henry III
• Granted Patent: US 8,935,402 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/226
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/445 Program loading or initiating bootstrapping G06F9/4401; security arrangements for program loading or initiating G06F21/57
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/452 Remote windowing, e.g. X-Window System, desktop virtualisation protocols for virtual reality H04L67/131

Abstract

A remote resource application that is associated with an application container in a manner that the application container restricts the remote resource application from directly accessing at least a file system of the computing system. The remote resource application provides a visualization for each of multiple remote resources. The user may launch the remote resource by selecting the corresponding visualization. Some of the remote resources are accessed by launching from the remote resource application itself in the context of the application container. Others of the remote resources are launched outside of the application container. The remote desktop application may operate securely within the application container, and still serve as an integrated location from which a user can access remote resources, regardless of whether the remote resource is launched from internal or external to the application container.

Claims

1. A computer program product comprising one or more computer-storage media having thereon one or more computer-executable instructions that are structured such that, when executed by one or more processors of the computing system, cause the computing system to operate the following:

a remote resource application that is associated with an application container in a manner that the application container restricts the remote resource application from directly accessing at least a file system of the computing system;

wherein the remote resource application presents a visualization for each a plurality of remote resource in which a first plurality of the remote resources may be accessed by launching from internal to the application container, and a second plurality of remote resources may be accessed by launching from external to the application container.

2. The computer program product in accordance with claim 1, wherein the plurality of visualizations are provided by a broker component that intermediates between the remote resource application and the file system to thereby provide the plurality of visualizations from the file system to the remote resource application.

3. The computer program product in accordance with claim 2, wherein the plurality of visualizations were provided in response to the broker component discovering one or more workspaces to which the user has previously subscribed or been subscribed, each workspace corresponding to at least a portion of the plurality of remote resources.

4. The computer program product in accordance with claim 3, wherein the act of the broker component discovering the one or more workspaces to which the user had previously subscribed or been subscribed occurs in response to the user completing subscription to at least one of the one or more workspaces.

5. The computer program product in accordance with claim 3, wherein the act of the broker component discovering the one or more workplaces occurs in response to a change in the remote resources corresponding to at least one of the one or more workplaces.

6. The computer program product in accordance with claim 3, wherein a user initiates subscription to a workspace by providing an e-mail address.

7. The computer program product in accordance with claim 3, wherein a user initiates subscription to a workspace by providing a uniform resource locator.

8. The computer program product in accordance with claim 1, wherein the remote resource application is configured to detect when a user selects a visualization of a remote resource provided by the remote resource application.

9. The computer program product in accordance with claim 8, wherein the remote resource application responds to the detected user selection by requesting that a broker component launch the remote resource visualized by the selected visualization, the broker component intermediating between the remote resource application and the file system.

10. The computer program product in accordance with claim 9, wherein the computer-executable instructions are further structured such that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computing system to operate the following:

a decision component configured to decide whether the corresponding remote resource is to be launched from internal to or external to the application container based on launch instructions accessed by the broker component.

11. The computer program product in accordance with claim 10, wherein if the decision component determines that the corresponding remote resource is to be launched from internal to the application container, the decision component provides the launch instructions back inside the application container to cause launch of the corresponding remote resource from within the application container.

12. The computer program product in accordance with claim 10, wherein if the decision component determines that the corresponding remote resource is to be launched from external to the application container, the decision component causes the remote resource to be launched from external to the application container.

13. A method for a computing system to operate a remote resource application that is associated with an application container in a manner that the application container restricts the remote resource application from directly accessing at least a file system of the computing system, the method comprising:

an act of the remote resource application presenting a visualization for each a plurality of remote resources in which a first plurality of the remote resources may be accessed by launching from internal to the application container, and a second plurality of remote resources may be accessed by launching from external to the application container.

14. The method in accordance with claim 13, further comprising:

an act of the remote resource application receiving the plurality of visualizations from a broker component that intermediates between the remote resource application and the file system to thereby provide the plurality of visualizations from the file system to the remote resource application.

15. The method in accordance with claim 13, further comprising:

an act of detecting that a user selects a visualization of a remote resource provided by the remote resource application;

an act of the remote resource application responding to the detected user selection by requesting that a broker component launch the remote resource visualized by the selected visualization; and

an act of deciding whether the corresponding remote resource is to be launched from internal to the application container or from external to the application container based on launch instructions corresponding to the remote resource.

16. The method in accordance with claim 15, wherein if it is determined that the corresponding remote resource is to be launched from internal to the application container, the launch instructions are provided back to internal to the application container for launching from within the application container.

17. The method in accordance with claim 15, wherein if it is determined that the corresponding remote resource is to be launched from external to the application container, the remote resource is launched from external to the application container.

18. The method in accordance with claim 15, wherein the act of deciding whether the corresponding remote resource is to be launched from internal to or external to the application container is performed in part based on whether the launch instructions indicate that the remote resources uses a desktop.

19. The method in accordance with claim 15, wherein the act of deciding whether the corresponding remote resource is to be launched from internal to or external to the application container is performed in part based on whether the launch instructions indicate that the remote resources accesses the file system.

20. A computer program product comprising one or more computer-storage media having thereon one or more computer-executable instructions that are structured such that, when executed by one or more processors of the computing system, cause the computing system to operate the following:

a remote resource application that is associated with an application container in a manner that the application container restricts the remote resource application from directly accessing at least a file system of the computing system;

wherein the remote resource application presents a visualization for each a plurality of remote resource in which a first plurality of the remote resources may be accessed by launching from within the application container, and a second plurality of remote resources may be accessed by launching from external to the application container,

wherein the plurality of visualizations are provided by a broker component that intermediates between the remote resource application and the file system to thereby provide the plurality of visualizations from the file system to the remote resource application,

wherein the plurality of visualizations were provided in response to a user of the remote resource application subscribing to one or more workspaces, each corresponding to at least a portion of the plurality of remote resources.