Bi-directional data modification with synchronization

• US 7,930,272 B2
• Filed: 10/18/2010
• Issued: 04/19/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/22/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Augustine, Matthew S., Ozzie, Jack E., Chung, Richard Yiu-Sai, Moromisato, George P., Ozzie, Raymond E., Suthar, Paresh S., Sagar, Akash J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Trujillo; James
• Assistant Examiner(s): Spieler; William
• Application Number:
  US12/906,916
• Publication Number:
  US 20110035355A1
• Time in Patent Office: 183 Days
• Field of Search: 707/626, 707/635, 707/809
• US Class Current: 707/626
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/178 Techniques for file synchronisation in file systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/27 Replication, distribution or synchronisation of data between databases or within a distributed database system; Distributed database system architectures therefor

Abstract

Systems and methods for synchronizing data between endpoints, including the modification of data on an endpoint without necessarily modifying data that is communicated between endpoints are disclosed. In such systems and methods the representation of data on an endpoint may be modified so that constraints on that particular endpoint are enforced, without requiring a similar or the same modification to the data when it is synchronized to other endpoints.

Claims

1. One or more computer-readable storage media comprising instructions which, when executed by one or more processing devices, perform:

storing a local domain data item, the local domain data item being stored compatibly with local constraints for representing the local domain data item;

receiving, from a first remote endpoint, first synchronization data reflecting a first update to a remote domain data item that is stored at the first remote endpoint;

determining whether applying the first update to the local domain data item is incompatible with the local constraints; and

when applying the first update is incompatible with the local constraints;

identifying a modification to the local domain data item that implements the first update compatibly with the local constraints;

realizing the first synchronization data on the local domain data item by applying the modification to the local domain data item;

after the realizing, applying a locally generated second update to the local domain data;

generating second synchronization data reflecting the first update and the second update, but not the modification; and

sending the second synchronization data to a second remote endpoint.

2. The computer readable storage media of claim 1 wherein the first synchronization data is consistent with a protocol defining extensions relating to synchronizing data using a feed.

3. The computer readable storage media of claim 1 wherein the local constraints identify characters that are supported in the first synchronization data but that are not supported in the local domain data item, and the modification comprises replacing an unsupported character in the first synchronization data with a character that is supported in the local domain data item.

4. The computer readable storage media of claim 1 wherein the remote domain data item and the local domain data item are file system elements.

5. The computer readable storage media of claim 4 wherein the local constraints relate to:

a duplicate file system element;

a cycle involving the local domain data item;

or

an orphaned local domain data item.

6. The computer readable storage media of claim 1, further comprising instructions which, when executed by the one or more processing devices, perform:

storing the local domain data item in a location that is different from a location specified by the first update.

7. The computer readable storage media of claim 1 further comprising instructions which, when executed by the one or more processing devices, perform:

recording, in a data structure, an identifier associated with the first update and;

recording, associated with the identifier, a description of the modification to the local domain data item.

8. A system comprising:

a device configured to;

store a local domain data item, the local domain data item being stored compatibly with local constraints for representing the local domain data item;

receive, from a first remote endpoint, first synchronization data reflecting a first update to a remote domain data item that is stored at the first remote endpoint;

determine whether applying the first update to the local domain data item is incompatible with the local constraints; and

when applying the first update is incompatible with the local constraints;

identify a modification to the local domain data item that implements the first update compatibly with the local constraints;

realize the first synchronization data on the local domain data item by applying the modification to the local domain data item;

after the first synchronization data is realized, apply a locally generated second update to the local domain data;

generate second synchronization data reflecting the first update and the second update, but not the modification; and

send the second synchronization data to a second remote endpoint.

9. The system according to claim 8, further comprising the first remote endpoint.

10. The system according to claim 9, further comprising the second remote endpoint.

11. A method comprising:

storing local domain data, the local domain data being stored based on local system constraints;

obtaining synchronization data corresponding to the local domain data, the synchronization data reflecting an update that is invalid according to the local system constraints;

realizing the synchronization data onto the local domain data, the realizing including modifying the update to be valid according to the local system constraints; and

generating updated synchronization data that includes the update that is invalid according to the local system constraints.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the local system constraints include file system constraints.

13. The method according to claim 11, further comprising:

sending the updated synchronization data to a remote endpoint.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein:

the local system constraints indicate a limited representation or limited functionality for the update, and

the remote endpoint fully implements the update without the limited representation or limited functionality.

15. The method according to claim 13, wherein the updated synchronization data does not reflect the modifying of the update to be valid according to the local system constraints.

16. The method according to claim 11, further comprising:

storing a data structure that records how the update is modified to be valid according to the local system constraints,

wherein the updated synchronization data is generated based on the data structure.

17. The method according to claim 11, wherein the synchronization data is obtained by receiving an incoming feed.

18. The method according to claim 17, further comprising:

sending the updated synchronization data to a remote endpoint in an outgoing feed.

19. The method according to claim 11, wherein the update reflects a file name that is invalid according to the local system constraints, and the file name is modified to be valid as part of the realizing.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein the updated synchronization data is generated by mapping from the modified file name back to the file name that is invalid according to the local system constraints.