Class store schema

• US 6,389,589 B1
• Filed: 09/21/1998
• Issued: 05/14/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 09/21/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Shaji, Ullattil, Mishra, Debi P., Horstmann, Markus
• Primary Examiner(s): DAM, TUAN QUANG
• Application Number:
  US09/158,023
• Time in Patent Office: 1,331 Days
• Field of Search: 717/11, 713/100, 713/155, 713/156, 713/162, 713/182, 713/201, 713/200, 709/203, 709/217, 709/221-223, 709/242, 709/244, 709/239, 709/219, 707/10, 707/104, 707/203, 707/204, 707/9, 707/103.R, 707/103.Y, 707/103.Z, 707/103
• US Class Current: 717/170
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/61 Installation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99939 Privileged access
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99944 Object-oriented database structure
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing

Abstract

A schema that facilitates the centralized management and deployment of applications, components and services across a computer network. Centralized class stores are provided under policies associated with a directory container such as a site, domain or organizational unit. Class stores include definition, state and location information for applications and components, such that applications and components are centrally available as needed. For example, via the class store, updates to components or applications for users under an organizational unit are performed once in a centralized location, whereby users or machines may automatically obtain new versions of applications as they become available, or software implementations as needed from a centralized repository. Class stores may be configured to contain packages of component and application information according to functional areas, level of security access, or other criteria as determined by an administrator. Component categories (e.g., spreadsheet, word processor, and so on) may also be maintained, whereby a suitable application may be located by its function. For customized administration and programmatic query or installation of specific components and packages, the class store also includes a manager object that offers a set of interfaces and APIs.

Claims

1. A computer-readable medium having stored thereon a data structure, comprising,

(a) a first data field containing data representing an identity of an executable software module;

(b) a second data field containing data representing network deployment state information of the executable software module in the first data field;

(c) a third data field containing data representing network location information for the executable software module in the first data field; and

if the network deployment state;

information in the second field indicates that the executable software module identified in the first field is to be made available to a user of a client machine of the network, making the executable software module available to the user when needed, independent of which client machine the user is using, by automatically accessing the network location information and automatically installing the executable software module on the client machine based on the location information.

2. The computer-readable medium having stored thereon the data structure of claim 1 wherein the deployment information comprises state information indicative of whether the application is assigned to the policy recipient.

3. The computer-readable medium having stored thereon the data structure of claim 1 wherein the deployment state information comprises state information relating the executable software module to another executable software module.

4. The computer-readable medium having stored thereon the data structure of claim 3 wherein the deployment state information indicates that the other executable software module is to be overwritten upon installing the executable software module.

5. The computer-readable medium having stored thereon the data structure of claim 3 wherein the deployment state information indicates that the other executable software module is to be uninstalled in conjunction with installing the executable software module.

6. The computer-readable medium having stored thereon the data structure of claim 1 wherein the executable software module is advertised to the user as being available for execution on the client machine prior to installing the executable software module.

7. The computer-readable medium having stored thereon the data structure of claim 1 wherein the deployment state information comprises information indicative of whether a patch is to be installed for the executable software module.

8. The computer-readable medium having stored thereon the data structure of claim 1 wherein the deployment state information comprises information indicative of a hardware processor compatible with the executable software module.

9. The computer-readable medium having stored thereon the data structure of claim 8 wherein the hardware processor information is used to determine whether the executable software module is compatible with the client machine.

10. The computer-readable medium having stored thereon the data structure of claim 1 wherein the deployment state information comprises information indicative of an operating system compatible with the executable software module.

11. The computer-readable medium having stored thereon the data structure of claim 10 wherein the operating system information is used to determine whether the executable software module is compatible with the client machine.

12. The computer-readable medium having stored thereon the data structure of claim 1 wherein the deployment state information comprises information indicative of class identifiers implemented by the executable software module.

13. The computer-readable medium having stored thereon the data structure of claim 1 wherein the deployment state information comprises information indicative of file types handled by the executable software module.

14. The computer-readable medium having stored thereon the data structure of claim 13 wherein the information indicative of file types comprises a list of file extensions.

15. The computer-readable medium having stored thereon the data structure of claim 1 wherein the network location information comprises information indicative of a network path.

16. The computer-readable medium having stored thereon the data structure of claim 15 wherein the network path information provides a network location where application advertisement script information is present.

17. The computer-readable medium having stored thereon the data structure of claim 15 wherein the network path information provides a network location where application advertisement binaries are present.

18. The computer-readable medium having stored thereon the data structure of claim 1 wherein the deployment state information comprises information indicative of another executable software module to be upgraded by the executable software module.

19. The computer-readable medium having stored thereon the data structure of claim 1 wherein the deployment state information comprises information indicative of another executable software module that can upgrade the executable software module.

20. The computer-readable medium having stored thereon the data structure of claim 19, wherein the deployment state information further comprises information indicative of the manner of upgrade.

21. The computer-readable medium having stored thereon the data structure of claim 20 wherein the information indicative of the manner of upgrade indicates that the upgrade will overlay the executable software module during installation of the other executable software module.

22. The computer-readable medium having stored thereon the data structure of claim 20 wherein the information indicative of the manner of upgrade indicates that the upgrade will uninstall the executable software module before installation of the other executable software module.

23. The computer-readable medium having stored thereon the data structure of claim 22 wherein the deployment state information comprises information indicative of a time when the executable software module was deployed.

24. The computer-readable medium having stored thereon the data structure of claim 1 wherein the deployment state information comprises information indicative of a time when the executable software module had its deployment state changed.

25. The computer-readable medium having stored thereon the data structure of claim 1 wherein the deployment state information comprises information indicative of whether the executable software module is to be orphaned on the user'"'"'s machine.

26. The computer-readable medium having stored thereon the data structure of claim 1 wherein the deployment state information comprises information indicative of a uniform resource locator providing a location where further information can be found about this executable software module.

27. A computer-readable medium having stored thereon a data structure, comprising:

a package capable of being deployed to a policy recipient;

an object class container including registration information corresponding to the package;

component categories information of the object class, including deployment state information corresponding to the package and network location information corresponding to a location of the package, and

if the deployment state information indicates that the package is to be made available to the policy recipient, deploying the package to the policy recipient when needed by automatically accessing the network location information and automatically installing the package from the network to the policy recipient machine based on the network location information.

28. The data structure of claim 27 wherein the package includes an application program.

29. The data structure of claim 27 wherein the package includes a set of binary component implementations.

30. The data structure of claim 27 wherein the package includes a standalone component.

31. The data structure of claim 27 wherein the package includes version information.

32. The data structure of claim 27 wherein the deployment state information includes data indicating that the package is published to at least one policy recipient.

33. The data structure of claim 27 wherein the deployment state information includes data indicating that the package is assigned to at least one policy recipient.

34. In a computer network having a plurality of client machines and a plurality of policy recipients comprising client users or client machines, a method comprising:

associating policy data with a policy recipient, the policy data including at least one class store containing application deployment information corresponding to the policy recipient, the application deployment information including an identity of at least one executable software module and a state of deployment therefor; and

managing which executable software is available for use on a particular client machine based on the policy data by;

1) accessing the at least one class store to determine the state of deployment information for a selected executable software module identified therein;

2) comparing an actual state of deployment of the selected executable software module on the client machine to the state of deployment information for the selected executable software module determined from the at least one class store; and

3) automatically configuring the client machine so that the actual state of deployment of the selected executable software module corresponds to the state of deployment information in the at least one class store.

35. The method of claim 34, further comprising, evaluating access control information associated with the at least class store.

36. The method of claim 34, wherein the policy recipient is a user, and wherein the policy data associated with that user makes at least one application program available to the user independent of which client machine in the network the user is using.

37. The method of claim 34, wherein automatically configuring the client machine occurs for the user each time the user logs onto that client machine.

38. The method of claim 34, wherein the policy recipient is a client machine, and wherein the policy data associated with that client machine makes at least one application program available to any user of the client machine.

39. The method of claim 34, wherein accessing the at least one class store indicates that the selected executable software module should not be installed on the client machine, wherein comparing an actual state of deployment indicates that the selected executable software module is installed, and wherein configuring the client machine includes uninstalling the selected executable software module from the client machine.

40. The method of claim 34, wherein configuring the client machine includes writing data related to the selected executable software module to a database maintained at the client machine.

41. The method of claim 40, wherein writing data to the database includes modifying a registry on the client machine.

42. The method of claim 34, wherein the selected executable software module comprises an application program, wherein configuring the client machine includes writing data related to the application program to the client machine to advertise the application as available for execution on the client machine regardless of whether it is actually installed on the client machine, and, if the application is later requested to be executed but is not installed for execution, automatically installing and executing the application on the client machine.

43. The method of claim 34, wherein configuring the client machine includes publishing the selected executable software module to the client machine by maintaining information on the client machine for automatically installing the selected executable software module on the client machine and executing it if later needed.

44. The method of claim 34, wherein accessing the at least one class store indicates that the selected executable software module should be patched on the client machine, and wherein configuring the client machine includes patching the selected executable software module on the client machine.

45. The method of claim 34, wherein accessing the at least one class store indicates that the selected executable software module should be overwritten on the client machine with another version thereof, and wherein configuring the client machine includes overwriting the selected executable software module on the client machine with the other version.

46. The method of claim 34, wherein accessing the at least one class store indicates that the selected executable software module should be uninstalled and replaced with another version thereof on the client machine, and wherein configuring the client machine includes uninstalling the selected executable software module and thereafter installing the other version of the selected executable software module on the client machine.

47. The method of claim 34, further comprising, receiving data corresponding to a class identifier at the client machine, querying the at least one class store to attempt to find executable software module deployment information associated with the class identifier, and if the class store includes deployment information for that class identifier, installing the executable software module based on the deployment information for that class identifier.

48. The method of claim 34 further comprising, receiving data corresponding to a file type at the client machine, querying the at least one class store to attempt to find executable software module deployment information associated with the file type, and if the class store includes deployment information for that file type:

a) installing the executable software module based on the deployment information for that file type in the class store, and

b) executing the executable software module.

49. The method of claim 34, wherein the deployment information in the class store further includes installation information of the selected executable software module, wherein accessing the at least one class store indicates that the selected executable software module should be installed on the computer system, wherein comparing the actual state of deployment indicates that the selected executable software module is not installed, and wherein configuring the computer system includes installing the selected executable software module on the computer system based on the installation information.

50. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for performing the method of claim 34.

51. The method of claim 34, wherein the selected executable software module comprises an application program, and wherein configuring the computer system includes, advertising the application by making the application appear available for execution on the computer system without installing the selected executable software module onto the computer system until needed.

52. In a computer network, a method comprising:

associating a class store with a policy recipient, the class store containing an identity of an executable software module and network location information of the executable software module;

receiving a request, at a client machine having a relationship with the policy recipient, to execute the executable software module;

querying for information, in a system to registry of the client machine, for executing the executable software module, and if the information needed to execute the executable software module is not found;

1) querying the class store for information corresponding to the executable software module;

2) installing the executable software module based on the network location information in the class store; and

3) executing the executable software module.

53. The method of claim 52 wherein the policy recipient corresponds to the client machine.

54. The method of claim 52 wherein the policy recipient corresponds to a user logged onto the client machine.

55. The method of claim 52 wherein receiving a request includes receiving a class identifier.

56. The method of claim 52 wherein receiving a request includes receiving file type data.

57. The method of claim 52 wherein installing the executable software module based on the network location information in the class store comprises, downloading at least one file from a network source.

58. In a computer network having a plurality of client machines and a plurality of policy recipients comprising client users or client machines, a system comprising:

a policy object, the policy object containing a class store, the class store containing application deployment information including an identity of an executable software module a state of deployment for the executable software module, and network location information for the executable software module;

a selected client machine having a relationship with a policy recipient that is associated with the policy object, the client machine having access to the policy object; and

executable code on the client machine that receives a request corresponding to execution of the executable software module, wherein based on the request, the executable code;

1) accesses the class store to obtain the state of deployment information for the executable software module;

2) determines from the state of deployment information in the class store whether the policy recipient is able to execute the executable software module, and if so, automatically installs and executes the executable software module based on the network location information in the class store.

59. The system of claim 58 wherein the selected client machine corresponds to the policy recipient and the policy object comprises a machine policy object.

60. The system of claim 58 wherein a user logged onto the selected client machine corresponds to the policy recipient.

61. The system of claim 58 herein the executable code on the client machine comprises operating system code.

62. The system of claim 58 wherein the request corresponding to execution of the executable software module includes class identifier data.

63. The system of claim 58 wherein the request corresponding to execution of the executable software module includes file type data.