EXTENSIBLE DISTRIBUTION/UPDATE ARCHITECTURE

• US 20140033198A1
• Filed: 04/08/2009
• Published: 01/30/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 04/08/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Adobe Inc.
• Original Assignee: Adobe Systems Incorporated (Adobe Inc.)
• Inventors: Umapathy, Thangaraj, Teo, Richard, Somasundaram, Sudharshan, Durga, Kapil Raja, G, Akshaya, CG, Raghuram, Rajagopalan, Shyam, Gore, Mihir, Singh, Mandeep, Sharma, Hemantha, Kumar, Priyesh
• Granted Patent: US 10,025,573 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 717/176
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/00 Information retrieval; Database structures therefor; File system structures therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/61 Installation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/445 Program loading or initiating bootstrapping G06F9/4401; security arrangements for program loading or initiating G06F21/57

Abstract

Methods and systems to install a player to process content data are disclosed. In some embodiments, a method includes launching a content access manager on a user device to read metadata containing compatible player data, determine whether a compatible player able to access the content data is installed on the user device, and if not, to install a compatible player. Other embodiments involve receiving content data and data about one or more compatible players able to access the content data, generating the metadata using the data about one or more compatible players, and distributing the content data, the metadata, and the content access manager in a transmittable unit. Additional apparatus, systems, and methods are disclosed.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving a package, the package comprising content data, a content access manager, and metadata, the metadata comprising compatible player data that specifies a compatible player type; and

launching the content access manager to enable processing of the content data via a machine, the content access manager to;

read the compatible player type from the metadata,

determine whether a compatible player capable of processing the content data is currently installed on the machine based on the compatible player type specified by the metadata and a look up of player types currently installed on the machine, and

install the compatible player on the machine when the compatible player is not currently installed on the machine.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the content access manager comprises:

a generic content access manager configured to determine player compatibility corresponding to a plurality of content data types.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the content data comprises:

the metadata.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining a player type of the compatible player; and

determining a player version of the compatible player.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining whether an installed player is a latest available version.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining that the compatible player is currently installed on the machine and that the compatible player is not the latest available version; and

based on the determining, installing the latest available version of the compatible player available.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

transmitting information about the content data to a remote location accessible via a network;

transmitting device information to the remote location; and

retrieving the compatible player from a remote location accessible via a network.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

launching the compatible player to process the content data.

9. A method comprising:

receiving content data;

receiving compatible player data, the compatible player data specifying a compatible player type;

generating metadata using the compatible player data; and

transmitting to a receiver a package comprising the content data, metadata, and a content access manager, the content access manager being configured to;

read the compatible player type from the metadata,

determine whether a compatible player capable of processing the content data is currently installed on a machine based on the compatible player type specified by the metadata and a look up of player types currently installed on the machine, and

install the compatible player on the machine when the compatible player is not currently installed on the machine.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the compatible player data comprises:

supported device information.

12. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

receiving data about the content data, and

generating metadata using the compatible player data and data about the content data.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein the content access manager comprises:

a generic content access manager configured to determine whether the compatible player is installed on the machine to process a plurality of content data types.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein the content data comprises:

the metadata.

10. (canceled)

15. A non-transitory machine-readable medium comprising stored instructions, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause a user device to:

read metadata comprising compatible player data that specifies a compatible player type,

determine whether a compatible player capable of processing the content data is currently installed on the user device based on;

sending the compatible player type specified by the metadata to a player distribution server,

sending user device information to the player distribution server, and

responsive to sending the compatible player type and user device information, receiving a location of the compatible player from the player distribution server; and

install, from the location received from the player distribution server, the compatible player on the machine when the compatible player is not currently installed on the machine.

16. The machine-readable medium of claim 15, further comprising:

the content data and the metadata.

17. A system comprising:

a storage medium to store metadata and content data; and

a content access manager module to

read, at a machine, the metadata comprising compatible player data that specifies a compatible player type;

determine whether a compatible player capable of processing the content data is currently installed on the machine based on the compatible player type specified by the metadata and a look up of player types currently installed on the machine; and

install the compatible player on the machine when the compatible player is not currently installed on the machine.

18. The system of claim 17, further comprising:

an input/output (I/O) interface to receive a package comprising the content data, the content access manager, and the metadata.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein the content access manager module comprises:

a generic content access manager module configured to determine whether the compatible player is installed on the machine to process a plurality of content data types.

20. The system of claim 17, wherein content data comprises:

the metadata.

21. The system of claim 17, wherein the machine comprises:

a mobile device.

22. The system of claim 17, further comprising an I/O interface wherein the I/O interface is to:

transmit information about the content data to a remote location accessible via a network;

transmit device information to the remote location accessible via a network; and

receive the compatible player from a remote location.

23. A system comprising:

at least one processor coupled to a memory;

a packaging module to, using the at least one processor,

receive content data and compatible player data specifying a compatible player type able to process the content data,

generate metadata using the compatible player data, and

create a package comprising the content data, the metadata, and a content access manager, the content access manager configured to;

read the compatible player type from the metadata, determine whether a compatible player capable of processing the content data is currently installed on a machine based on the compatible player type specified by the metadata and a look up of player types currently installed on the machine, and install the compatible player on the machine when the compatible player is not currently installed on the machine; and

a distribution module to transmit, using the at least one processor, the package to a receiver.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein the receiver is:

a user device.

25. The system of claim 23, wherein the receiver is:

an aggregator, wherein the aggregator is to collect a plurality of packages and distribute the plurality of packages to one or more user machines.

26. The system of claim 23, wherein the packaging module is to:

receive content data and compatible player data from a user interface.

27. The system of claim 23, wherein the content access manager comprises:

a generic content access manager configured to determine whether the compatible player is installed on a machine to process a plurality of content data types.

28. A method comprising:

executing instructions on a computing platform to receive binary digital electronic signals representing a package, the package comprising binary digital electronic signals representing content data, a content access manager, and binary digital electronic signals representing metadata, the content data able to be presented to a user;

executing instructions on the computing platform to store the binary digital electronic signals representing the package in a memory location of the computing platform; and

executing instructions on the computing platform to initialize the content access manager to enable access to the binary digital electronic signals representing content data via a machine, the content access manager to

read the binary digital electronic signals representing metadata comprising compatible player data specifying a compatible player type,

determine whether a compatible player capable of accessing the binary digital electronic signals representing content data is currently installed on the machine based on the binary digital electronic signals representing the compatible player type of the metadata and a look up of player types currently installed on the machine, and

install the compatible player on the machine when the compatible player is not currently installed on the machine.

29. A method comprising:

executing instructions on a computing platform to receive binary digital electronic signals representing content data able to be presented to a user;

executing instructions on a computing platform to receive binary digital electronic signals representing compatible player data, the compatible player data specifying a version of a compatible player capable of accessing the binary digital electronic signals representing content data;

executing instructions on a computing platform to generate metadata using the compatible player data; and

executing instructions on a computing platform to transmit to a user device a package comprising the binary digital electronic signals representing content data, metadata, and a content access manager, the content access manager being configured to;

read the version of the compatible player from the metadata,

determine whether a compatible version of a player capable of processing the content data is currently installed on a machine based on the version of the compatible player specified by the metadata and a look up of player types currently installed on the machine, and

install the compatible version of the player on the machine when the compatible version of the player is not currently installed on the machine.