Schema hierarchy for electronic messages

• US 8,150,923 B2
• Filed: 10/23/2003
• Issued: 04/03/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/23/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Vaschillo, Alexander E., Starbuck, Bryan T., Giacobbe, Gail Borod, Wells, Stephen T., Combs, Robert C., Sundararaman, Sridhar, Rachamadugu, Raghavendra, Van Hoof, Hubert Louis Marie, Lueders, John Heinrich
• Primary Examiner(s): MACILWINEN, JOHN MOORE JAIN
• Application Number:
  US10/692,097
• Publication Number:
  US 20050108332A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,085 Days
• Field of Search: 709/206
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/42 Mailbox-related aspects, e.g. synchronisation of mailboxes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/56 Unified messaging, e.g. interactions between e-mail, instant messaging or converged IP messaging [CPM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00209 Transmitting or receiving image data, e.g. facsimile data, via a computer, e.g. using e-mail, a computer network, the internet, I-fax
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32128 attached to the image data, e.g. file header, transmitted message header, information on the same page or in the same computer file as the image for information embedded in the image H04N1/32144
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32368 Functions of a still picture terminal memory associated with transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32379 Functions of a still picture terminal memory associated with reception
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0065 Converting image data to a format usable by the connected apparatus or vice versa
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3212 of data relating to a job, e.g. communication, capture or filing of an image
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3225 of data relating to an image, a page or a document
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3274 Storage or retrieval of prestored additional information

Abstract

The present invention extends to methods, systems, computer program products, and data structures for efficiently storing and accessing electronic messages. Generally, electronic messages are created and transformed in accordance with an electronic message schema hierarchy. Electronic messages can be created according to a general message schema that defines a format for data fields that are common to all types of electronic messages (e.g. electronic mail, instant message, fax message). Electronic messages can also be extended according to message extension schemas that define formats for adding protocol specific and/or or application specific data fields to an electronic message. Data fields added in accordance with message extension schemas can differ between electronic messages types. Having some commonly defined fields and other differently defined fields promotes efficient storage and access of electronic messages, while also facilitating message compatibility with existing message protocols and message applications.

Claims

1. In a computer system that is network connectable along with one or more other computer systems to a network, the computer system including a processor and system memory, a method for creating an electronic message that can be sent using a plurality of different message protocols, that is formatted to be compatible with a plurality of different message applications, and that can be stored and accessed by any of the plurality of different message applications using any of the plurality of different messaging protocols, the method comprising:

an act of the processor creating a single message item representing the electronic message in accordance with a general message schema, the single message item creation including;

an act of defining one or more general data fields according to the general message schema that correspond to one or more general properties common to the plurality of different message protocols and common to the plurality of different message applications, including at least one data field corresponding to a primary type to the message item, the primary type indicating a primary behavior of a plurality of content portions linked to the message item;

an act of formatting the single message item for compatibility with the plurality of different message protocols, including for each different message protocol in the plurality of different message protocols;

an act of adding protocol specific data fields from at least one protocol specific extension schema to the single message item itself, to make the plurality of linked content portions compatible with the message protocol, each protocol specific extension schema accounting for any properties that are not common between the plurality of different message protocols; and

an act of assigning values to the protocol specific data fields within the single message item;

an act of formatting the single message item for compatibility with the plurality of different message applications, including for each different message application in the plurality of different message applications;

an act of adding application specific data fields from at least one application specific extension schema to the message item itself, to make the plurality of linked content portions compatible with the message application, each application specific extension schema accounting for properties that are not common between the plurality of different message applications; and

an act of assigning values to the application specific data fields within the single message item;

an act of assigning values to one or more of the general data fields, thereby defining at least one general property that is common between two different extension schemas; and

an act of sending the single message item, which has been formatted to include the protocol specific data fields for each of the plurality of different message protocols and the application specific data fields for each of the plurality of different message applications, to two or more of the plurality of different message applications via two or more of the plurality of different message protocols.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the primary type is selected from among:

electronic mail message, instant message, fax message, voice message, and news group posting.

3. The method as recited in claim 2, wherein the act of formatting the single message item for compatibility with the plurality of different message protocols comprises adding protocol specific data fields from at least two protocol specific extension schemas that are selected from among:

electronic mail protocol extensions, instant messaging protocol extensions, fax protocol extensions, voice message protocol extensions, and news group posting protocol extensions.

4. The method as recited in claim 2, wherein the act of adding protocol specific data fields from at least one protocol specific extension schema to the single message item itself comprises an act of adding protocol specific data fields from a POP3 protocol extension to the single message item, the POP3 protocol extension from an electronic mail POP3 extension schema.

5. The method as recited in claim 4, wherein the act of adding protocol specific data fields from at least one protocol specific extension schema to the single message item itself comprises an act of adding protocol specific data fields from an NNTP protocol extension from an electronic mail NNTP extension schema to the single message item, in addition to the protocol specific data fields previously added from the POP3 protocol extension.

6. The method as recited in claim 2, wherein the act of adding protocol specific data fields from at least one protocol specific extension schema to the single message item itself comprises an act of adding protocol specific data fields from a community news protocol extension to the single message item, the community news protocol extension from an electronic mail community news extension schema.

7. The method as recited in claim 6, wherein the act of adding protocol specific data fields from a community news protocol extension from an electronic mail community news extension schema to the single message item comprises an act of attaching data fields from the electronic mail community news extension schema to the single message item, the data fields including:

a community range field representing a collection of article ID ranges from a news group community that have been synchronized with community header properties;

a communities last refresh field representing the last time the community dynamic properties of the news group community including the collection of synchronized article IDs represented in the community range field was refreshed;

a low article ID field representing a low article ID included the a collection of synchronized article ID ranges represented in the community range field; and

a high article ID field representing a high article ID included the a collection of synchronized article ID ranges represented in the community range field.

8. The method as recited in claim 2, wherein the one or more general data fields include:

a primary type field defining a format for representing a primary message type corresponding to an electronic message, the primary message type implying a behavior of the electronic message;

a participants relationship field defining a format for representing links to message participants, the message participants being associated with the electronic message having a primary message type defined in accordance with the primary message type format in the primary type field;

a contents relationship field defining a format for representing links to one or more portions of message content, the one or more portions of content corresponding to the electronic message having a primary message type defined in accordance with the primary message type format in the primary type field;

a sent message folder relationship field defining a format for representing links to one or more message folders that the electronic message, having a primary message type defined in accordance with the primary message type format in the primary type field, should be moved to after being submitted for delivery; and

a download state field defining a format for representing download states corresponding to the electronic message having a primary message type defined in accordance with the primary message type format in the primary type field; and

wherein the act of assigning a primary type to the message item comprises an act of assigning a value to the primary type field.

9. The method as recited in claim 8, wherein the one or more general data fields also include:

a message status field defining a format for representing the status of the electronic message having a primary message type defined in accordance with the primary message type format in the primary type field, the message schema including or referring to a message status schema that defines the format for representing the status of the electronic message.

10. The method as recited in claim 9, wherein the message status field includes:

an IsRead field defining a format for representing an indication of whether or not the electronic message in identified by the identifier represented in the ID field has been marked as read;

a SendStatus field defining a format for representing an indication of the send status of the electronic message identified by the identifier represented in the ID field;

a LastActionTaken field defining a format for representing an indication of the last action that was taken on the electronic message identified by the identifier represented in the ID field;

a LastActionTime field defining a format representing the time that the last action indicated in the LastActionTaken field was taken;

a LastActionType field defining a format representing the type of that last action taken on the electronic message identified by the identifier represented in the ID field.

11. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the act of formatting the single message item for compatibility with the plurality of different message applications comprises adding application specific data fields from at least two application specific extension schemas that are selected from among:

electronic mail application extensions, instant messaging application extensions, fax application extensions, voice message application extensions, and news group posting application extensions.

12. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the act of adding application specific data fields from at least one application specific extension schema to the single message item itself comprises an act of adding application specific data fields from a Microsoft Outlook Express application extension to the single message item.

13. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising an act of supplementing the single message item with additional data to format the single message item for further compatibility with at least one additional message protocol or at least one additional message application, including:

an act of, subsequent to message creation, accessing the single message item;

an act of the processor snapping on additional data fields from a further message extension schema to the message item, thereby integrating the additional data fields into the single message item itself, the additional data fields defined in the further message extension schema having one or more new properties that are to be associated with the single message item to facilitate compatibility with an additional message protocol or an additional message application;

an act of retrieving at least one value from one or more other data fields attached to the single message item; and

an act of assigning the retrieved at least one value to at least one of the additional snapped on data fields to format the single message item for compatibility with the additional message protocol or the additional message application, such that the single message item contains data making it compatible with the plurality of different message protocols, the plurality of different message applications, and the additional message protocol or the additional message application.

14. The method as recited in claim 13, wherein the act of accessing the single message item comprises an act of accessing a single message item representing the electronic message, the single message item having the one or more general properties that are common to the plurality of different message protocols and the plurality of different message applications.

15. The message as recited in claim 13, wherein the act of snapping on additional data fields defined in a further message extension schema to the single message item comprises an act of snapping on additional data fields from a further message extension schema, the further message extension schema selected from among:

electronic mail protocol extension schemas, instant messaging protocol extension schemas, fax protocol extension schemas, voice message protocol extension schemas, news group posting protocol extension schemas, electronic mail application extension schemas, instant messaging application extension schemas, fax application extension schemas, voice message application extension schemas, and news group posting application extension schemas.

16. The method as recited in claim 13, wherein the act of retrieving at least one value from other data fields attached to the single message item comprises an act of retrieving values from one or more data fields of a single message item that represents one of:

an electronic mail message, a fax message, an instant message, a voice message, or a news group posting.

17. The method as recited in claim 13, wherein the act of assigning the retrieved at least one value to at least one of the additional snapped on data fields comprises an act of assigning a value retrieved from a data field defined in one of an electronic mail message extension schema, a fax message extension schema, an instant message extension schema, a voice message extension schema, or a news group posting extension schema, to a snapped on data field defined in one of an electronic mail message extension schema, a fax message extension schema, an instant message extension schema, a voice message extension schema, or a news group posting extension schema.

18. The method as recited in claim 13, wherein snapping on additional data fields from the further message extension schema to the single message item comprise act of snapping on additional data fields from an instant message application extension schema to a single message item that is currently compatible with an electronic mail message application;

and

wherein assigning the retrieved at least one value to at least one of the additional snapped on data fields to make the single message item compatible with the additional message protocol or the additional message application comprises an act of assigning the retrieved value to least one data field snapped on from the instant message application extension schema to make the single message item compatible with both an instant message application and the electronic mail message application.

19. The method as recited in claim 13, wherein snapping on additional data fields from the further message extension schema to the single message item comprise act of snapping on additional data fields from an electronic mail message application schema to a single message item that is currently compatible with first electronic mail message application;

and

wherein assigning the retrieved at least one value to at least one of the additional snapped on data fields to make the single message item compatible with the additional message protocol or the additional message application comprises an act of assigning the retrieved value to least one data field snapped on from the electronic mail message application extension schema to make the single message item compatible with both a second electronic mail message application and the first electronic mail message application.

20. The method as recited in claim 13, wherein snapping on additional data fields from the further message extension schema to the single message item comprise act of snapping on additional data fields from one of:

a fax protocol schema and a voice message protocol schema to a single message item that is currently compatible with an electronic mail message protocol; and

wherein the act of assigning the retrieved at least one value to at least one of the additional snapped on data fields to make the single message item compatible with the additional message protocol or the additional message application comprises an act of assigning the retrieved value to least one data field snapped on from the one of the fax protocol schema and the voice message protocol schema to make the single message item compatible with the electronic mail protocol and one of a fax application and a voice message application corresponding to the fax protocol schema and the voice message protocol schema respectively.

21. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein at least one protocol specific data field corresponds to one of an electronic mail protocol, an instant messaging protocol, a fax protocol, a voice message protocol, or a news group protocol.

22. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein at least one application specific data field represents one or more application specific electronic message properties that correspond to a specific message application, the specific message application being selecting from among the plurality of different types of message applications that have the common electronic message properties represented in the general properties field in common.

23. The method as in claim 1, wherein at least one application specific data field corresponds to one of an electronic mail application, an instant messaging application, a fax application, a voice message application, or a news group application.

24. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the one or more general data fields include:

an ID field representing an identifier that identifies the electronic message within an message database;

a primary type field representing a primary message type of the electronic message identified by the identifier represented in the ID field, the primary message type implying a behavior of the electronic message;

at least one MessageParticipant relationship field representing links to one or more message participants associated with the electronic message identified by the identifier represented in the ID field;

at least one MessageContents relationship field representing links to one or more portions of message content corresponding to the electronic message electronic message identified by the identifier represented in the ID field;

at least one sent message folder relationship field representing links to one or more message folders the electronic message identified by the identifier represented in the ID field is to be moved to after being submitted for delivery; and

a download state field representing a download state of the electronic message identified by the identifier represented in the ID field.

25. The method as recited in claim 24, wherein the one or more general data fields also include:

a message status field representing the status of the electronic message identified by the identifier represented in the ID field.

26. The method as recited in claim 25, wherein the message status field is comprised of:

an IsRead field representing an indication of whether or not the electronic message in identified by the identifier represented in the ID field has been marked as read;

a SendStatus field representing an indication of the send status of the electronic message identified by the identifier represented in the ID field;

a LastActionTaken field representing an indication of the last action that was taken on the electronic message identified by the identifier represented in the ID field;

a LastActionTime field representing the time that the last action indicated in the LastActionTaken field was taken; and

a LastActionType field representing the type of that last action taken on the electronic message identified by the identifier represented in the ID field.

27. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the plurality of content portions linked to the single message item include:

an electronic message relationship field representing a link to an electronic message, the link indicating that the portion of message content is associated with an electronic message;

a content type field representing a content type corresponding to the portion of message content;

an order field representing an order value, the order value indicating how the portion of message content is to be ordered with respect to other portions of message content that are also associated with the electronic message; and

a content properties field representing additional properties of the content type represented in the content type field.

28. The method as recited in claim 27, wherein the content properties field comprises:

an attachment type field representing an attachment type of the portion of message content.

29. The method as recited in claim 27, wherein the content properties field comprises:

a MIME URL field representing a link to a MIME path that corresponds to the portion of message content.

30. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the primary type indicates the behavior of a message attachment attached to the single message item, wherein the message attachment includes:

an electronic message relationship field representing a link to the single message item, the link indicating that the message attachment is associated with the single message item;

a type field representing a message type of the electronic message linked to by the link represented in the electronic message link field, the message type implying a behavior of the electronic message;

an IsPinned field representing the deletion status of the message attachment with respect to the electronic message;

an IsTrusted field representing trust information related to the message attachment; and

an attachment state field representing the type and behavior of the message attachment.

31. The method as recited in claim 30, wherein the message attachment further includes:

an attachment source relationship field representing a link to a database item where the message attachment was accessed.

32. The method as recited in claim 30, wherein the message attachment further includes:

a saved from relationship field representing a link to the message attachment.

33. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the an act of sending the single message item to two or more of the plurality of different message applications via two or more of the plurality of different message protocols comprises:

an act of sending the single message item to a first message application selected from the plurality of different message applications using a first message protocol selected from the plurality of different message protocols; and

an act of sending the single message item to a second different message application selected from the plurality of different message applications using a second different message protocol selected from the plurality of different message protocols.

34. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the an act of sending the single message item comprises sending the same data from the single message item to both the first message application and the second message application.

35. A computer program product for use in a computer system that is network connectable along with one or more other computer systems to a network, the computer program product for implementing a method for creating an electronic message that can be sent via a plurality of different message protocols to a plurality of different message applications, can that be stored and accessed by any of the plurality of different message applications using any of the plurality of different messaging protocols, the computer program product comprising one or more computer storage devices having stored thereon computer executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the computer system to perform the following:

create a single message item representing the electronic message in accordance with a general message schema, the single message item creation including;

populating one or more general data fields according to the general message schema that correspond to one or more general properties common to the plurality of different message protocols and common to the plurality of different message applications, including at least one data field corresponding to a primary type to the message item, the primary type indicating a primary behavior of a plurality of content portions linked to the message item;

populating the single message item with data fields that make the single message item compatible with the plurality of different message protocols, including for each different message protocol in the plurality of different message protocols;

snapping on protocol specific data fields from at least one protocol extension schema to the single message item itself, to make the plurality of linked portions of content compatible with the message protocol, each protocol specific extension schema accounting for any properties that are not common between the plurality of different message protocols; and

assigning values to the protocol specific data fields of the at least one protocol specific extension within the single message item;

populating the single message item with data fields that make the single message item compatible with the plurality of different message applications, including for each different message application in the plurality of different message applications;

snapping on application specific data fields from at least one application specific extension to the message item itself, to make the plurality of linked content portions compatible with the message application, each application specific extension schema accounting for properties that are not common between the plurality of different message applications; and

assigning values to the application specific data fields of the at least one application specific extension within the single message item;

assigning values to one or more of the general data fields, thereby defining at least one general property that is common between two different messaging extensions; and

send the single message item, which has been populated with the protocol specific data fields for each of the plurality of different message protocols and the application specific data fields for each of the plurality of different message applications, to two or more of the plurality of different message applications via two or more of the plurality of different message protocols.

36. The computer program product as recited in claim 35, further comprising computer executable instructions that, when executed, cause the computer system to perform the following:

subsequent to message creation, access the single message item;

snap on additional data fields defined from a further message extension schema to the message item, thereby integrating the additional data fields into the single message item itself, the additional data fields defined in the further message extension schema having one or more new properties that are to be associated with the single message item to facilitate compatibility with an additional message protocol or an additional message application;

retrieve at least one value from one or more other data fields attached to the single message item; and

assign the retrieved at least one value to at least one of the additional snapped on data fields to format the single message item for compatibility with the additional message protocol or the additional message application, such that the single message item contains data making it compatible with the plurality of different message protocols, the plurality of different message applications, and the additional message protocol or the additional message application.