Customized library management system

• US 7,243,346 B1
• Filed: 05/21/2001
• Issued: 07/10/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 05/21/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Seth, Demsey M., Patch, Ray
• Primary Examiner(s): BULLOCK JR, LEWIS ALEXANDER
• Application Number:
  US09/862,412
• Time in Patent Office: 2,241 Days
• Field of Search: 719/331, 719/332, 717106-108, 717120-122, 717169-178, 717162-170
• US Class Current: 717/163
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/445 Program loading or initiating bootstrapping G06F9/4401; security arrangements for program loading or initiating G06F21/57

Abstract

A customized library management method and system generates a customized class library needed for executing an application in a client system. In response to an identification of a given application, the server determines the appropriate classes and methods to include in a library to be sent to the client based on certain parameters. The customized class library includes classes that are required by the application and that are not yet loaded on the client. The requested application and the customized class library are then transmitted to the client for execution. Within a customized class library management system, a client system can deflate, delete and regenerate applications and class libraries in accordance with resource requirements of the client and other criteria.

Claims

1. A computer program product stored on at least one computer storage medium encoding a computer program for executing on a computer system a computer process for generating, before execution of an application requested by a client, a customized library for execution of the requested application by the client, the client including one or more client-loaded types already loaded on the client, the computer process comprising:

receiving an application request for the application not loaded on the client;

identifying one or more application-referenced types developed by third parties on which the application depends for execution but which are not part of the application;

identifying the one or more client-loaded types;

comparing the one or more application-referenced types to the one or more client-loaded types to identify one or more client-needed types, wherein client-needed types comprise one or more application-referenced types that are not client-loaded types;

receiving a device profile specifying a characteristic of the client;

identifying more than one client-needed type candidate, based on the client-needed types identified in the operation of the identifying the one or more client-needed types;

selecting one of the client-needed type candidates based on the characteristic identified in the device profile to provide one of the client needed types;

generating the customized library, including the one or more client-needed types; and

separately sending the customized library and the application to the client for execution.

2. The computer program product of claim 1 wherein the operation of generating a customized library comprises:

inserting only client-needed types into the customized library.

3. The computer program product of claim 1 wherein the operation of identifying one or more application-referenced types comprises:

identifying a version identifier of at least one of an application-referenced type and a client-needed type.

4. The computer program product of claim 1 wherein operation of generating a customized library comprises:

excluding from the customized library one or more non-identified types, each non-identified type not being referenced by the application.

5. The computer program product of claim 1 wherein the operation of identifying one or more application-referenced types comprises:

examining the application to identify one or more type references, each type reference being associated with an application-referenced type; and

generating a dependency list identifying the one or more application-referenced types, based on the one or more type references.

6. The computer program product of claim 5 wherein the operation of generating a dependency list comprises:

recursively examining an application-referenced type to identify one or more additional type references referenced by the application-referenced type; and

adding the one or more additional type references to the dependency list.

7. The computer program product of claim 1 wherein the operation of comparing the one or more application-referenced types to the one or more client-types to identify one or more client-needed types comprises:

generating a client composite list to identify the one or more client-needed types, the one or more client-needed types including the one or more application-referenced types not loaded on the client.

8. The computer program product of claim 7 wherein the operation of generating a client composite list comprises:

determining whether a new version of an application-referenced type is needed by the client, based on a versioning policy.

9. The computer program product of claim 7 wherein the operation of identifying one or more client-loaded types comprises:

accessing a client catalog specifying the one or more client-loaded types loaded on the client; and

examining the client catalog to identify the one or more client-loaded types.

10. The computer program product of claim 1 wherein the operation of identifying one or more client-needed types comprises:

identifying the one or more client-loaded types by receiving a list of the client-loaded types from the client; and

evaluating the client-loaded types against the application-referenced types to identify the client-needed types.

11. The computer program product of claim 1 wherein the operation of identifying one or more client-needed types comprises:

receiving a client composite list specifying the one or more application-referenced types not loaded on the client.

12. The computer program product of claim 1 wherein the operation of generating a customized library comprises:

creating a new library containing no types; and

adding each of the one or more client-needed types to the new library to provide the customized library.

13. The computer program product of claim 12 wherein the adding operation comprises:

adding one or more global data fields of each client-needed type to the new library.

14. The computer program product of claim 12 wherein the adding operation comprises:

adding a method signature corresponding to a method of each client-needed type to the new library; and

adding a code body associated with the method of each client-needed type to the new library.

15. The computer program product of claim 14 wherein the operation of adding a method signature comprises:

adding to the new library metadata describing the method.

16. The computer program product of claim 1 wherein an application-referenced type includes a class.

17. The computer program product of claim 1 wherein an application-referenced type includes at least one of a method, a class, a data field, or a resource.

18. The computer program product of claim 1 wherein a client-loaded type includes at least one of a method, a class, a data field, or a resource.

19. The computer program product of claim 1 wherein the computer process further comprises:

receiving a device profile specifying a characteristic of the client; and

excluding an attribute from the customized library, if the attribute is incompatible with the characteristic of the client.

20. A customized library management system executing on a processor for managing a customized class library, the system comprising:

an application server module receiving an application request and transmitting a requested application to a client;

a receiver module receiving a device profile specifying a characteristic of the client;

an identification module identifying more than one client-needed type candidate,

a selection module wherein the selection module selects one of the client-needed type candidates based on the characteristics identified in a device profile to provide one of a client needed type; and

a customized library generator identifying application-referenced types, the customized library generator also creating a customized library before execution of the requested application by the client and separately sending the customized library to the client, the customized library including one or more client-needed types, which are application-referenced types developed by third parties not loaded on the client but required by the application to execute.

21. A customized library management system executing on a processor for separately receiving a customized library associated with an application, the system comprising:

a catalog identifying one or more client-loaded types that are loaded on a client;

a filter module comparing the catalog to a list of one more application-referenced types, which are developed by third parties and required by the application to execute, and generating a client composite list to identify one or more client-needed types, the client-needed types comprising one or more of the application-referenced-types that are not client-loaded types;

a receiver module receiving a device profile specifying a characteristic of the client;

an identification module identifying more than one client-needed type candidate, based on the client needed types identified in the operation of identifying the one or more client-needed types;

a selection module wherein the selection module selects one of the client-needed type candidates based on the characteristics identified in a device profile to provide one of a client needed type; and

a customized library generator loading the client-needed types from the client composite list into the customized library before execution of the application by the client; and

a client receipt module for separately receiving the customized library and the application.

22. The customized library management system of claim 21 further comprising:

a client request module requesting the application from a server.

23. The customized library management system of claim 21 wherein the catalog comprises:

an application identifier associated with the application loaded on the client.

24. The customized library management system of claim 21 wherein the catalog further comprises:

dependency information identifying a client-loaded type referenced by the application.

25. The customized library management system of claim 21 wherein the catalog further comprises:

an install point indicator associated with the application.

26. The customized library management system of claim 21 wherein the catalog comprises:

a type identifier associated with a client-loaded type; and

dependency information associated with the type identifier and identifying one or more client-loaded applications referencing the client-loaded type.

27. The customized library management system of claim 21 wherein the catalog comprises:

dependency information recording a reference count of one or more applications referencing the client-loaded type.

28. A computer program product stored on at least one computer storage medium encoding a computer program for executing on a server computer system a computer process for generating, before execution of an application requested by a client, a customized library for execution of the requested application by the client, the client including one or more client-loaded types already loaded on the client, the computer process comprising:

receiving an application request for the application not loaded on the client;

identifying one or more application-referenced types developed by third parties on which the application depends for execution but which are not part of the application;

sending a list of the one or more application-referenced types;

receiving a client composite list of the client-needed types, wherein client-needed types comprise one or more application-referenced types that are not client-loaded types;

receiving a device profile specifying a characteristic of the client;

identifying more than one client-needed type candidate, based on the client-needed types identified in the operation of the identifying the one or more client-needed types;

selecting one of the client-needed type candidates based on the characteristic identified in the device profile to provide one of the client needed types;

generating the customized library, including the one or more client-needed types from the client composite list; and

separately sending the customized library and the application to the client for execution.

29. A computer program product stored on at least one computer storage medium encoding a computer program for executing on a client computer system a computer process for receiving, before execution of an application requested by a client, a customized library for execution of the requested application by the client, the client including one or more client-loaded types already loaded on the client, the computer process comprising:

sending an application request for the application not loaded on the client;

receiving a list of application-referenced types for the application;

comparing the list of application-referenced types to a catalog of the one or more client-loaded types;

determining one or more client-needed types, wherein the one or more client-needed types are application-referenced types that are not client-loaded types;

creating a client composite list including the one or more client-needed types;

sending the client composite list;

receiving a device profile specifying a characteristic of the client;

identifying more than one client-needed type candidate, based on the client-needed types determined in the operation of the determining the one or more client-needed types;

selecting one of the client-needed type candidates based on the characteristic identified in the device profile to provide one of the client needed types;

receiving the customized library, including the one or more client-needed types in the client composite list;

separately receiving the application; and

executing the application.