System and method for mobile software application development and deployment

• US 7,331,035 B2
• Filed: 05/03/2001
• Issued: 02/12/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 05/05/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: @Hand Software Corporation (@Hand Corp.)
• Original Assignee: @Hand Corp.
• Inventors: Lurie, Marc, Loos, Michael T.
• Primary Examiner(s): Dam; Tuan
• Assistant Examiner(s): RUTTEN, JAMES D
• Application Number:
  US09/848,770
• Publication Number:
  US 20020033843A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,476 Days
• Field of Search: 717/176, 717/177, 717104-106, 717/168, 709/201, 709217-219, 711/10
• US Class Current: 717/104
• 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: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/289 Intermediate processing functionally located close to the data consumer application, e.g. in same machine, in same home or in same sub-network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/567 Integrating service provisioning from a plurality of service providers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/568 Storing data temporarily at an intermediate stage, e.g. caching
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/5682 Policies or rules for updating, deleting or replacing the stored data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/00 Services specially adapted for wireless communication networks; Facilities therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/04 adapted for relaying to or from another terminal or user

Abstract

A technique is introduced for developing and deploying an application in a mobile domain. In operation, a mobile data model may be accessed, and a portion of the mobile data model may selected to be instantiated at a distributed device in order to create a mobile data store at the distributed device. The mobile data store may contain enterprise information. A mobile software application and at least a portion of the mobile data model may be made available to a consumer, and, in some embodiments, the application and the portion of the data model may be deployed to a consumer. In some embodiments, the consumer may be a hand-held computing device.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a mobile data model generator configured to create;

a first mobile data model including a first set of classes, the first set of classes including some but not all of an available set of classes in an enterprise data store; and

a second mobile data model including a second set of classes, the second set of classes including some but not all of an available set of classes in the enterprise data store, the second set of classes different from the first set of classes;

an application development engine operable to generate instructions configured to reference one or more data elements, data relationships, data dependencies and data distribution attributes of the mobile data models when interfacing with a backend application, for deployment to a distributed computing platform and that allow the distributed computing platform to access information within a locally saved mobile data store, the mobile data store based on the first or second mobile data model; and

a mobile messenger layer configured to receive first data transactions associated with the first mobile data store and second data transactions associated with the second mobile data store and to alter the enterprise data store based on the first and second data transactions.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the application development engine is operable to generate instructions that allow a second distributed computing platform to access information within a locally saved second mobile data store, the second mobile data store based on the second mobile data model.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the first set of classes are selected for a first intended customer and the second set of classes are selected for a second intended customer.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the application development engine is configured to generate object oriented instructions.

5. The system of claim 1, further comprising an enterprise data model that includes the available set of classes.

6. The system of claim 5, further comprising a graphical user interface (GUI) engine configured to provide a developer with an interface for the mobile data model generator to create the first mobile data model, wherein the interface allows a user to select an appropriate class from the enterprise data model for inclusion in the first mobile data model.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the first set of classes includes a first class and wherein the second set of classes omits the first class.

8. A method, comprising:

accessing a first mobile data model including a first set of classes which includes some but not all of an available set of classes included in an enterprise data store;

instantiating the first mobile data model to create a first mobile data store;

creating a first mobile software application, operable to reference one or more data elements, data relationships, data dependencies and data distribution attributes of the mobile data models when interfacing with a backend application, to interact with the first mobile data store;

making the first mobile software applications available to a customer;

accessing a second mobile data model including a second set of classes which includes some but not all of the available set of classes in the enterprise data store, the second set of classes different from the first;

instantiating the second mobile data model to create a second mobile data store;

creating a second mobile software application, operable to reference one or more data elements, data relationships, data dependencies and data distribution attributes of the mobile data models when interfacing with a backend application, to interact with the second mobile data store, the second mobile software application different from the first; and

making the second mobile software applications available to a second customer.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the first set of classes is selected for the customer and the second set of classes is selected for the second customer.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the first set of classes is selected for a first mobile device type and the second set of classes is selected for a second mobile device type.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the first set of classes includes a first set of relations between classes, and the second set of classes includes a second set of relations different from the first.

12. The method of claim 8, further comprising creating a first domain data store at a first server based on the first mobile data model.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising synchronizing the first mobile data store with the first domain data store.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising creating a second domain data store at the first server based on the second mobile data model.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising synchronizing the first mobile data store with the first domain data store and synchronizing the second mobile data store with the second domain data store.

16. The method of claim 8, wherein a first customer receiving the first mobile software application is granted an ability to access and update data instances in the first mobile data store.

17. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

wirelessly providing the first mobile application to a first mobile device.

18. The method of claim 8, wherein the first set of classes includes a first class and wherein the second set of classes omits the first class.