Architecture, system and method for providing a plug-in architecture in a real-time web application framework

• US 8,180,828 B2
• Filed: 11/25/2009
• Issued: 05/15/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/25/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Red Hat, Inc. (International Business Machines Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Red Hat, Inc. (International Business Machines Corporation)
• Inventors: Macken, Luke J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Chan, Wing
• Assistant Examiner(s): Yohannes, Tesfay
• Application Number:
  US12/626,502
• Publication Number:
  US 20110125834A1
• Time in Patent Office: 902 Days
• Field of Search: 709/203
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/61 Installation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/44526 Plug-ins; Add-ons

Abstract

A method and apparatus for providing a plug-in architecture in a real-time web application framework is described. In one embodiment, the method includes receiving an application to be installed on a hub of a real-time web application framework. The method may also include installing the application on an entry point of the hub, the application one of a plurality of different types of applications to be automatically run by the hub.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving, by a hub server computing machine of a web application framework, an application, wherein the application polls one or more external resources to the web application framework to determine if at least one of new data and updated data is available at the external resources;

installing, by the hub server computing machine, the application on an entry point of the hub server computing machine, the application comprising one of a plurality of different types of applications to be run by the hub, wherein the plurality of different types of applications are detectable by the hub server computing machine upon start-up by scanning entry points; and

executing, by the hub server computing machine, the application in conjunction with a web stack executed by a web server separate from the hub server computing machine in the web application framework, the hub server computing machine to execute the application outside of the web stack;

wherein the application, when executed, delivers messages to framework widgets operating on clients of the web application framework, the messages comprising the at least one of the new data and the updated data found to be available at the external resources by the application.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the application is installed utilizing a package-based installation mechanism.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the application specifies a topic, the topic an abstraction of one a plurality of messaging queues implemented by a message broker.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the hub server computing machine operates independently of the web server within the web application framework.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

loading each application installed on the hub server computing machine; and

running the loaded applications according to one or more configuration parameters associated with the applications.

6. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium that provides instructions, which when executed on a processing system cause the processing system to perform a method comprising:

receiving, by a hub server computing machine of a web application framework, an application, wherein the application polls one or more external resources to the web application framework to determine if at least one of new data and updated data is available at the external resources;

installing, by the hub server computing machine, the application on an entry point of the hub server computing machine, the application comprising one of a plurality of different types of applications to be run by the hub, wherein the plurality of different types of applications are detectable by the hub server computing machine upon start-up by scanning entry points; and

executing, by the hub server computing machine, the application in conjunction with a web stack executed by a web server separate from the hub server computing machine in the web application framework, the hub server computing machine to execute the application outside of the web stack;

wherein the application, when executed, delivers messages to framework widgets operating on clients of the web application framework, the messages comprising the at least one of new data and updated data found to be available at the external resources by the application.

7. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 6, wherein the application is installed utilizing a package-based installation mechanism.

8. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 6, wherein the application specifies a topic, the topic an abstraction of one a plurality of messaging queues implemented by a message broker.

9. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 6, wherein the hub server computing machine operates independently of the web server within the web application framework.

10. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 6, further comprising:

loading each application installed on the hub server computing machine; and

running the loaded applications according to one or more configuration parameters associated with the applications.

11. A server computing machine comprising:

a memory; and

a processing device communicably coupled with the memory, the processing device configured to;

receive an application, wherein the application polls one or more external resources to the web application framework to determine if at least one of new data and updated data is available at the external resources;

install the application on an entry point of the server computing machine, the application comprising one of a plurality of different types of applications to be run by the processing device, wherein the plurality of different types of applications are detectable by the server computing machine upon start-up by scanning entry points; and

execute the application in conjunction with a web stack executed by a web server separate from the server computing machine in the web application framework, the application to be executed by the processing device in the server computing machine and outside of the web stack of the web server;

wherein the application, when executed, delivers messages to framework widgets operating on clients of the web application framework, the messages comprising the at least one of new data and updated data found to be available at the external resources by the application.

12. The server computing machine of claim 11, wherein the processing device is further configured to load each application installed on the hub server computing machine, and run the loaded applications according to one or more configuration parameters associated with the applications.

13. The server computing machine of claim 11, wherein the application is installed utilizing a package-based installation mechanism.

14. The server computing machine of claim 11, wherein the application specifies a topic, the topic an abstraction of one a plurality of messaging queues implemented by a message broker.

15. The server computing machine of claim 11, wherein the hub server computing machine operates independently of the web server within the web application framework.