System, method and computer program product for dynamically enhancing an application executing on a computing device

• US 7,596,540 B2
• Filed: 12/01/2005
• Issued: 09/29/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/01/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Exent Technologies Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Exent Technologies Incorporated
• Inventors: Twig, Uri, Sheory, Ohad, Tzruya, Yoav
• Primary Examiner(s): Vincent; David R
• Assistant Examiner(s): Fernandez Rivas; Omar F
• Application Number:
  US11/290,830
• Publication Number:
  US 20070130292A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,398 Days
• Field of Search: 706/14, 706/18, 706 45- 47, 709217-219, 709224-226, 709230-232, 715/200, 715205-208, 715700-702, 715/710, 715/716, 715/733, 715/738, 715/739, 715/745, 715747-749, 715/760, 715/825, 715/826, 715/860
• US Class Current: 706/47
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4486 Formation of subprogram jump address
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0207 Discounts or incentives, e.g. coupons or rebates
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0241 Advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0252 based on events or environment, e.g. weather or festivals
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0272 Period of advertisement exposure
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0273 Determination of fees for advertising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0277 Online advertisement

Abstract

A system, method and computer program product for dynamically enhancing a software application, such as a video game, executing on a computing device, without having to change and recompile the original application code. The system includes a staging environment that monitors the execution of the application and indexes each item of graphical and/or audio information generated by the application into a first database. A system administrator or other entity then populates a second database by manual or automated means with one or more business rules, wherein each business rule is associated with one or more of the objects indexed in the first database. The system further includes a run-time environment that identifies items of graphics and/or audio information as they are generated by the application during run-time, uses the second database to determine if an identified item is associated with a business rule, and, responsive to a determination that an identified item is associated with a business rule, applies the business rule.

Claims

1. A method for dynamically enhancing a software application, comprising:

(a) executing the software application on a first computing device;

(b) intercepting a function call to a graphics or audio application programming interface (API) generated by the software application during execution on the first computing device, wherein the interception is performed by an interception component installed on the first computing device that is not part of the software application or the graphics or audio API;

(c) determining if a graphics or audio object associated with the function call intercepted in step (b) is associated with a business rule, wherein the determining is performed by business logic installed on the first computing device that is not part of the software application or the graphics or audio API; and

(d) responsive to a determination that the graphics or audio object is associated with a business rule, applying the business rule by the business logic.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein intercepting a function call to a graphics or audio API comprises emulating the graphics or audio API.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein applying the business rule comprises modifying the graphics or audio object.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein modifying the graphics or audio object comprises altering a portion of the graphics or audio object.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein altering a portion of the graphics or audio object comprises inserting advertising content within the graphics or audio object.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein modifying the graphics or audio object comprises replacing the graphics or audio object with a different graphics or audio object.

7. The method of claim 3, wherein modifying the graphics or audio object comprises not rendering or playing the graphics or audio object.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein applying a business rule comprises:

rendering or playing the graphics or audio object associated with the function call intercepted in step (b); and

also rendering or playing one or more additional graphics and/or audio objects that were not originally associated with the function call.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein rendering or playing one or more additional graphics and/or audio objects that were not originally associated with the function call comprises rendering or playing one or more graphics and/or audio objects that represent advertising content.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein applying the business rule comprises rendering advertising content within a graphic display associated with the software application.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein applying the business rule further comprises:

detecting user interaction with the rendered advertising content; and

providing additional information to the user responsive to detecting the user interaction.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein applying the business rule comprises:

logging information relating to the progress of an end user within the software application; and

transmitting the logged information, or a portion thereof, to a network entity.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising, prior to step (a):

(i) executing the software application on a second computing device;

(ii) intercepting function calls to a graphics or audio API generated by the software application during execution on the second computing device, wherein the interception is performed by an interception component installed on the second computing device that is not part of the software application or the graphics or audio API; and

(iii) indexing graphics and audio objects associated with the function calls intercepted in step (ii) in a first database, wherein the indexing is performed by an indexing component installed on the second computing device that is not part of the software application or the graphics or audio API;

(iv) associating business rules with one or more of the graphics and audio objects indexed in step (iii) in a second database; and

(v) making the second database available to the first computing device;

wherein step (c) comprises determining if a graphics or audio object associated with the function call intercepted in step (b) is associated with a business rule stored in the second database.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein step (iii) comprises computing a unique identifier (ID) for each of the graphics and audio objects associated with the function calls intercepted in step (ii) and storing each unique ID in the first database, and wherein step (iv) comprises associating business rules with one or more of the unique IDs in the second database.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein computing a unique ID comprises calculating a cyclic redundancy code for each of the graphics and audio objects associated with the function calls intercepted in step (ii).

16. The method of claim 14, wherein computing a unique ID comprises applying an encryption and/or hashing algorithm to each of the graphics and audio objects associated with the function calls intercepted in step (ii).

17. The method of claim 14, wherein step (c) comprises computing a unique ID for the graphics or audio object associated with the function call intercepted in step (b) and determining if the unique ID for the graphics or audio object associated with the function call intercepted in step (b) matches a unique ID stored in the second database.

18. A computer system, comprising:

a processor; and

a memory in communication with the processor, the memory storing a plurality of components for execution by the processor, the plurality of components including;

a software application;

an interception component to intercept a function call to a graphics or audio application programming interface (API) generated by the software application during execution, wherein the interception component is not part of the software application or the graphics or audio API; and

business logic to determine if a graphics or audio object associated with the intercepted function call is associated with a business rule and to apply the business rule responsive to a determination that the graphics or audio object is associated with the business rule, wherein the business logic is not part of the software application or the graphics or audio API.

19. The computer system of claim 18, wherein the interception component emulates the graphics or audio API.

20. The computer system of claim 18, wherein the business logic applies the business rule by modifying the graphics or audio object.

21. The computer system of claim 20, wherein the business logic modifies the graphics or audio object by altering a portion of the graphics or audio object.

22. The computer system of claim 21, wherein the business logic alters a portion of the graphics or audio object by inserting advertising content within the graphics or audio object.

23. The computer system of claim 20, wherein the business logic modifies the graphics or audio object by replacing the graphics or audio object with a different graphics or audio object.

24. The computer system of claim 20, wherein the business logic modifies the graphics or audio object by not rendering or playing the graphics or audio object.

25. The computer system of claim 18, wherein the business logic applies the business rule by rendering or playing the graphics or audio object associated with the intercepted function call and by also rendering or playing one or more graphics and/or audio objects that were not originally associated with the intercepted function call.

26. The computer system of claim 18, wherein the business logic applies the business rule by rendering advertising content within a graphic display associated with the software application.

27. The computer system of claim 26, wherein the business logic applies the business rule by detecting user interaction with the rendered advertising content;

and providing additional information to the user responsive to detecting the user interaction.

28. The computer system of claim 18, wherein the business logic applies the business rule by:

logging information relating to the progress of an end user within the software application; and

transmitting the logged information, or a portion thereof, to a network entity.

29. The computer system of claim 18, wherein the business logic determines if a graphics or audio object associated with the intercepted function call is associated with a business rule by:

computing a unique identifier (ID) for the graphics or audio object; and

comparing the unique ID computed for the graphics or audio object to unique IDs associated with business rules stored in a database.

30. The computer system of claim 29, wherein the business logic computes a unique ID for the graphics or audio object by calculating a cyclic redundancy code for the graphics or audio object.

31. The computer system of claim 29, wherein the business logic computes a unique ID for the graphics or audio object by applying an encryption and/or hashing algorithm to the graphics or audio object.

32. A computer program product comprising a computer usable medium having control logic stored therein, said control logic comprising:

first computer readable program code means for causing a computer to intercept a function call to a graphics or audio application programming interface (API) generated by a software application during execution;

second computer readable program code means for causing the computer to determine if a graphics or audio object associated with the intercepted function call is associated with a business rule; and

third computer readable program code means for causing the computer to apply a business rule responsive to a determination that the graphics or audio object is associated with the business rule,

wherein the first computer readable program code means, the second computer readable program code means and the third computer readable program code means do not comprise a part of the software application or the graphics or audio API.

33. The computer program product of claim 32, wherein the means for causing the computer to intercept a function call to a graphics or audio API comprises means for causing the computer to emulate the graphics or audio API.

34. The computer program product of claim 32, wherein the third computer readable program code means comprises means for causing the computer to modify the graphics or audio object.

35. The computer program product of claim 34, wherein the means for causing the computer to modify the graphics or audio object comprises means for causing the computer to alter a portion of the graphics or audio object.

36. The computer program product of claim 35, wherein the means for causing the computer to alter a portion of the graphics or audio object comprises means for causing the computer to insert advertising content within the graphics or audio object.

37. The computer program product of claim 34, wherein the means for causing the computer to modify the graphics or audio object comprises means for causing the computer to replace the graphics or audio object with a different graphics or audio object.

38. The computer program product of claim 34, wherein the means for causing the computer to modify the graphics or audio object comprises means for causing the computer not to render or play the graphics or audio object.

39. The computer program product of claim 32, wherein the third computer readable program code means comprises means for causing the computer to render or play the object associated with the intercepted function call and to also render or play one or more additional graphics and/or audio objects that were not originally associated with the intercepted function call.

40. The computer program product of claim 32, wherein the third computer readable program code means comprises means for causing the computer to render advertising content within a graphic display associated with the software application.

41. The computer program product of claim 40, wherein the third computer readable program code means further comprises means for causing the computer to:

detect user interaction with the rendered advertising content; and

provide additional information to a user responsive to detecting the user interaction.

42. The computer program product of claim 32, wherein the third computer readable program code means comprises means for causing the computer to:

log information relating to the progress of an end user within the software application; and

transmit the logged information, or a portion thereof, to a network entity.

43. The computer program product of claim 32, wherein the second computer readable program code means comprises means for causing the computer to:

compute a unique identifier (ID) for the graphics or audio object; and

compare the unique ID computed for the graphics or audio object to unique IDs associated with business rules stored in a database.

44. The computer program product of claim 43, wherein the means for causing the computer to compute a unique ID for the graphics or audio object comprises means for causing the computer to calculate a cyclic redundancy code for the graphics or audio object.

45. The computer program product of claim 43, wherein the means for causing the computer to compute a unique ID for the graphics or audio object comprises means for causing the computer to apply an encryption and/or hashing algorithm to the graphics or audio object.