System and method for developing and administering web applications and services from a workflow, enterprise, and mail-enabled web application server and platform

• US 7,219,304 B1
• Filed: 06/19/2000
• Issued: 05/15/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 06/19/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: HCL Technologies Limited
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Kraenzel, Carl J., Immerman, John D., Mills, William A., Lu, Jeannie J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Kincaid; Kristine
• Assistant Examiner(s): Ke; Peng
• Application Number:
  US09/596,845
• Time in Patent Office: 2,521 Days
• Field of Search: 345/755, 345/803, 345/804, 345/740, 345/777, 345/810, 709/248, 715/755, 715/803, 715/804, 715/740, 715/777, 715/810, 726/26
• US Class Current: 715/755
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/53 by executing in a restricted environment, e.g. sandbox or secure virtual machine
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/54 Presence management, e.g. monitoring or registration for receipt of user log-on information, or the connection status of the users
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/60 Scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests, e.g. requests for application data transmissions using the analysis and optimisation of the required network resources admission control or resource allocation H04L47/70

Abstract

A workflow, enterprise, and mail-enabled application server and platform supports distributed computing and remote execution of web applications. Lotus Domino online services (DOLS) is used by a web site administrator to configure Internet Notes (iNotes) clients to auto download from server, thus providing iNotes clients with web access using HTTP with various browsers, and with local processing and replication. A local run time model comprises a hierarchy of models including object data store model, security model, indexing model, replication model, agent workflow model and mail model. DOLS provides a layered security model that allows flexibility for controlling access to all or part of an application. The highest level of security is managed through a database access control list (ACL). Further refinements within the security model provide access to specific documents, and their views, forms or folders, and include read access lists, write access lists, form access lists and readers and authors fields.

Claims

1. A system for providing at a client a user interface to distinguish between and manipulate states of replica copies of documents, databases and web sites online and offline with respect to a server, comprising

said server including a database file comprising a container for data, logic, and design elements of an on-line application including forms, views, agents, and code routines and an off-line configuration document;

said user interface for transporting, unpacking, configuring, updating, and administering at said client a framework defined at said client by a download page which is a client rendition of said off-line configuration document, said framework including said container and applications contained, said container including client local replicas of a logic model, a data model, and a security model providing an off-line web site for performing the same editing operations at said client on data in an offline document that can be done online to a server to data of an original document at said server;

web synchronization controls downloaded to said client upon a user initially opening said on-line application as an in-line to a web page status indicator and menu of commands at said user interface for switching online/offline operation, triggering synchronization, and viewing and editing synchronization properties of subscriptions, said subscriptions providing a logical grouping of data, application implementations, and application-instance security context and off-line subscriptions including said download page and containing client-side runtime and said framework for a fully functioning offline server for enforcing access control list (ACL) control on data when disconnected from said server and for enabling a user to take an offline replica of an original document selected from a plurality of documents downloaded from said server through an edit cycle several times with full fidelity editing, said synchronization controls providing full fidelity editing including user authentication, composition, edit, delete, sort, categorize, full-text search, workflow, data replication, application logic retention and on-line equivalent ACL security control operations, said ACL control operation including for each user name, server name, and group name in said ACL, an access level, access level privileges, user type, and roles; and

utilities for managing scheduled synchronization and credentials necessary to execute synchronization of said subscriptions thereby assuring that changes made to a replica of said online document will eventually be propagated to said original document and any other copies of said original document.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a disk space usage display element for enabling user limitation of usage or removal of said documents and databases.

3. The system of claim 1, said web synchronization controls selectively comprising an Internet Explorer Active X, Netscape plug in, and a Java component.

4. The system of claim 1, further comprising

a synchronization manager initial window for displaying to said user said status indicator and menu of commands;

said status indicator including a subscription listing including for each listed subscription subscription title, subscription on-line URL, subscription size, and subscription status and time of last synchronization; and

said menu of commands including command selection tabs for starting synchronization, stopping synchronization, viewing synchronization details, viewing synchronization properties, opening subscription online, opening subscription offline, enabling, disabling, and deleting subscriptions, with said subscriptions hooked on client side to all forms of logic for creating, reading, updating, and deleting documents that normally execute on said server.

5. The system of claim 4, said menu of commands being operable only with respect to subscriptions selected in said subscription listing.

6. The system of claim 5, said tab for viewing synchronization properties displaying a subscription properties box for viewing and changing security and synchronization setting for a subscription selected in said subscription listing.

7. The system of claim 6, said subscription properties box including a subscription tab, a schedule tab, a security tab, and a synchronization options tab.

8. The system of claim 7, said subscription tab providing user selectable tabs for viewing subscription title, size, URL, synchronization state, last synchronization time, last synchronization status, and next scheduled synchronization time.

9. The system of claim 7, said schedule tab providing a user selectable tab for disabling synchronization.

10. The system of claim 7, said security tab providing to said user a user selectable tab for remembering said user password in support of future scheduled replication without user prompt for user password.

11. The system of claim 7, said synchronization options tab providing user selectable tabs for selectively viewing section settings, limiting the size of sections for downloading, limiting download to documents saved within a selectable number of days, disabling synchronization of optional sections, limiting total size of selected subscriptions, auto downloading any new optional files, sending pending outgoing mail messages before closing exiting, synchronizing new or modified documents before shutdown, or requesting notification of completed synchronizations.

12. A method for providing a user interface to distinguish between and manipulate states of replica copies of documents, databases and web sites at a client which may function both online and offline with respect to a server within a network including said client and said server, comprising the steps of:

said user interface transporting, unpacking, configuring, updating, and administering a framework defined at said client by a download page which is a client rendition of a server off-line configuration document to include a container and applications contained, said container including data, logic, and design elements for said application defined by said download page to enable the same editing operations on data in an offline document that can be done online to data of an original document;

displaying web synchronization controls as an inline to a web page status indicator and menu of commands, said controls selectively switching online/offline operation, triggering synchronization, and viewing and editing synchronization properties of subscriptions, said subscriptions providing a logical grouping of data, application implementations, and application-instance security context and off-line subscriptions containing client-side runtime and framework for a fully functioning offline server for enforcing access control list (ACL) control on data when disconnected and for enabling a user to take a replica of an original on-line document through an edit cycle several times with full fidelity editing, said full fidelity editing including user authentication, composition, edit, delete, sort, categorize, full-text search, workflow, data replication, application logic retention and on-line equivalent ACL security control operations, said ACL control including an access level, access level privileges, user type, and roles for each user name, server name, and group name in said ACL; and

displaying utilities for managing scheduled synchronization and credentials necessary to execute synchronization thereby assuring that changes made to a replica of said online document will be eventually be propagated to said original document and any other copies of said original document.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising the step of:

displaying a synchronization manager initial window to said user said status indicator and menu of commands;

said status indicator including a subscription listing including for each listed subscription subscription title, subscription on-line URL, subscription size, and subscription status and time of last synchronization; and

said menu of commands including command selection tabs for starting synchronization, stopping synchronization, viewing synchronization details, viewing synchronization properties, opening subscription online, opening subscription offline, enabling, disabling, and deleting subscriptions.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising the step of:

displaying a subscription properties box for selectively viewing and changing security and synchronization settings for a subscription selected in said subscription listing.

15. A program storage device readable by a machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by a machine to perform method steps for providing a user interface to distinguish between and manipulate states of replica copies of documents online and offline, said method steps comprising:

said UI transporting, unpacking, configuring, updating, and administering a framework including a container and applications contained, said container including data, logic, and design elements for said application to enable the same editing operations on data in an offline document that can be done online to data of an original document;

displaying web synchronization controls as an inline to a web page status indicator and menu of commands, said controls selectively switching online/offline operation, triggering synchronization, and viewing and editing synchronization properties of subscriptions, said subscriptions providing a logical grouping of data, application implementations, and application-instance security context and off-line subscriptions containing client-side runtime and framework for a fully functioning offline server for enforcing access control list (ACL) control on data when disconnected and for enabling a user to take a local replica of an on-line original document through an edit cycle several times with full fidelity editing, said full fidelity editing including user authentication, composition, edit, delete, sort, categorize, full-text search, workflow, data replication, application logic retention and on-line equivalent ACL security control operations, said ACL control including for each user name, server name, and group name in said ACL, an access level, access level privileges, user type, and roles; and

displaying utilities for managing scheduled synchronization and credentials necessary to execute synchronization thereby assuring that changes made to a replica of said online document will be eventually be propagated to said original document and any other copies of said original document.

16. A computer program product configured to be operable for providing a user interface to distinguish between and manipulate states of replica copies of documents online and offline, according to the steps of:

said UI transporting, unpacking, configuring, updating, and administering a framework including a container and applications contained, said container including data, logic, and design elements for said application to enable the same editing operations on data in an offline document that can be done online to data of an original document;

displaying web synchronization controls as an inline to a web page status indicator and menu of commands, said controls selectively switching online/offline operation, triggering synchronization, and viewing and editing synchronization properties of subscriptions, said subscriptions providing a logical grouping of data, application implementations, and application-instance security context and off-line subscriptions containing client-side runtime and framework for a fully functioning offline server for enforcing access control list (ACL) control on data when disconnected and for enabling a user to take a local replica of an original document through an edit cycle several times with full fidelity editing, said full fidelity editing including user authentication, composition, edit, delete, sort, categorize, full-text search, workflow, data replication, application logic retention and on-line equivalent ACL security control operations, said ACL control including for each user name, server name, and group name in said ACL, an access level, access level privileges user type, and roles; and

displaying utilities for managing scheduled synchronization and credentials necessary to execute synchronization thereby assuring that changes made to a replica of said online document will be eventually be propagated to said original document and any other copies of said original document.

17. A system for providing a user interface to distinguish between and manipulate states of replica copies of documents, databases and web sites at a client which may function both on-line and off-line with respect to a server within a network including said client and said server, comprising:

a framework including a container and applications contained, said container including data, logic, and design elements for said application;

said user interface for transporting, unpacking, configuring, updating, and administering said framework;

said user interface including web synchronization controls including a web page status indicator and a menu of commands for switching online/offline operation, triggering synchronization, viewing, and editing synchronization properties of subscriptions;

said subscriptions providing a logical grouping of data, application implementations, and application-instance security context;

said subscriptions including off-line subscriptions containing client-side runtime and framework for a full function offline server and including an access control list, said access control list including for each client user name, server name, and group name in said access control list, an access level, access level privileges, user type, and user roles;

said offline server executing at said client for enabling a user operating said user interface to take a replica of an on-line original document through an edit cycle a plurality of times with full fidelity editing while said client is off-line with respect to said server, said full fidelity editing including user authentication, composition, edit, delete, sort, categorize, full-text search, workflow, data replication, application logic retention and on-line equivalent access control list security control operations;

said offline server executing at said client for enforcing access control list control on data when said client is disconnected from said server, including enforcing access level, access level privileges, user type, and user roles as defined in said access control list; and

said framework further including utilities for managing scheduled synchronization and credentials necessary to execute synchronization of said subscriptions thereby assuring that changes made to said replica of said online document will be eventually be propagated to said original document and any other copies of said original document.