Asynchronous client to server updates

• US 8,458,727 B2
• Filed: 11/05/2007
• Issued: 06/04/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/05/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Palmer, Michael, Papel, Oscar, Zhang, Weiye
• Primary Examiner(s): Puente, Emerson
• Assistant Examiner(s): VERDI, KIMBLEANN C
• Application Number:
  US11/982,800
• Publication Number:
  US 20090119302A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,038 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 719/318
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2358 Change logging, detection, and notification replication G06F16/27
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/972 Access to data in other repository systems, e.g. legacy data or dynamic Web page generation

Abstract

Methods and apparatus are provided which enable client-server communication during the execution of a web application to be batched, so as to manage the processing load on server-side components of the web application and the transmission load on the network(s) coupling the client and server. In some embodiments, client-side components of the web application are operable to capture processing events in a change log on the client, and transmit at least a subset of the entries in the change log to the server upon the occurrence of a predetermined event, such as a passage of time since a previous transmission.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

initiating, by a client, a web application including client-side components executing on the client that communicate with server-side components of the web application executing on a server;

receiving, by the client from the server over at least one network coupling the client and the server, a plurality of objects including data for a document, wherein each object of the plurality of objects received by the client corresponds to an object retained by the server;

adding, by the client to each object of the plurality of objects, information causing a change log to add an entry when the data included in each object of the plurality of objects is changed;

storing, by the client, each object of the plurality of objects in a cache;

executing, by the client, one or more of the client-side components of the web application in response to one or more changes to the document, the executing of the one or more of the client-side components of the web application resulting in a plurality of processing events occurring on the client;

capturing, by the client, processing events of the plurality of processing events which cause communication with the server for batching client-server communication during the executing of the one or more of the client-side components of the web application;

recording, by the client, a plurality of entries in the change log, wherein each entry of the plurality of entries specifies;

at least one of the plurality of processing events occurring on the client,

at least one object of the plurality of objects stored in the cache, and

one or more values for the data in the at least one object of the plurality of objects changed by the executing of the one or more of the client-side components of the web application;

transmitting, by the client, the plurality of entries in the change log to the server in batch via the at least one network upon an occurrence of at least one predetermined event for asynchronous updating of the objects retained by the server; and

throttling, by the client, frequency of the client-server communication based on at least one of a processing load on the server-side components of the web application executing on the server and a latency of the at least one network.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one predetermined event comprises an occurrence of a predetermined sequence of the plurality of processing events since a previous transmission of the change log entries from the client to the server.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of entries in the change log reflects an order in which the plurality of processing events occurred on the client.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one predetermined event comprises a predetermined amount of time passing since a previous transmission of the change log entries from the client to the server.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one predetermined event comprises an occurrence of a predetermined quantity of the plurality of processing events since a previous transmission of the change log entries from the client to the server.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising at least one of:

deleting, by the client, one or more entries of the plurality of entries from the change log; and

merging, by the client, the plurality of entries in the change log.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

modifying, by the client, the at least one predetermined event.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

binding, by the client, at least one object of the plurality of objects to a portion of at least one of the one or more of the client-side components of the web application.

9. A client computer comprising:

at least one processor configured to execute computer-executable instructions; and

memory storing the computer-executable instructions, the computer-executable instructions for;

initiating a web application including client-side components executing on the client computer that communicate with server-side components of the web application executing on a server;

receiving, from the server over at least one network coupling the client computer and the server, a plurality of objects including data for a document, wherein each object of the plurality of objects received by the client computer corresponds to an object retained by the server;

adding, to each object of the plurality of objects, information causing a change log to add an entry when the data included in each object of the plurality of objects is changed;

storing each object of the plurality of objects in a cache;

executing one or more of the client-side components of the web application in response to one or more changes to the document, the executing of the one or more of the client-side components resulting in a plurality of processing event occurring on the client computer;

capturing processing events of the plurality of processing events which cause communication with the server for batching client-server communication during the executing of the one or more of the client-side components of the web application;

recording a plurality of entries in the change log, wherein each of the plurality of entries specifies;

at least one of the plurality of processing events occurring on the client computer,

at least one object of the plurality of objects stored in the cache, and

one or more values for the data in the at least one object of the plurality of objects changed by executing of the one or more of the client-side components of the web application; and

transmitting the plurality of entries in the change log to the server in batch via the at least one network upon an occurrence of at least one predetermined event for asynchronous updating of the objects retained by the server; and

throttling frequency of the client-server communication based on at least one of a processing load on the server-side components of the web application executing on the server and a latency of the at least one network.

10. The client computer of claim 9, wherein the memory further stores computer-executable instructions for:

modifying the at least one predetermined event.

11. The client computer of claim 10, wherein:

the at least one predetermined event comprises a predetermined amount of time passing since a previous transmission of the change log entries to the server; and

modifying the at least one predetermined event comprises increasing the predetermined amount of time so as to decrease a frequency at which the change log entries are transmitted from the client computer to the server.

12. The client computer of claim 9, wherein the memory further stores computer-executable instructions for:

binding at least one object of the plurality of objects to a portion of at least one of the one or more of the client-side components of the web application.

13. The client computer of claim 9, wherein the plurality of entries in the change log reflects an order in which the plurality of processing events occurred on the client computer.

14. The client computer of claim 9, wherein the computer-executable instructions further comprise computer-executable instructions for deleting and merging the change log entries.

15. At least one computer-readable memory device encoded with computer executable instructions which, when executed by a client computer, perform a method comprising acts of:

initiating a web application including client-side components executing on the client computer that communicate with server-side web components of the web application executing on a server;

receiving, from the server over at least one network coupling the client computer and the server, a plurality of objects including data for a document, wherein each object of the plurality of objects received by the client computer corresponds to an object retained by the server;

adding, to each object of the plurality of objects, information causing a change log to add an entry when the data included in each object of the plurality of objects is changed;

storing each object of the plurality of objects in a cache;

executing one or more of the client-side components of the web application in response to one or more changes to the document, the executing of the one or more of the client-side components of the web application resulting in a plurality of processing events occurring on the client computer;

capturing processing events of the plurality of processing events which cause communication with the server for batching client-server communication during the executing of the one or more of the client-side components of the web application;

recording a plurality of entries in the change log, wherein each of the plurality of entries specifies;

at least one of the plurality of processing events occurring on the client computer,

at least one object of the plurality of objects stored in the cache, and

one or more values for the data in the at least one object of the plurality of objects changed by the executing of the one or more of the client-side components of the web application;

transmitting the plurality of entries in the change log to the server in batch via the at least one network upon an occurrence of at least one predetermined event for asynchronous updating of the objects retained by the server; and

throttling frequency of the client-server communication based on at least one of a processing load on the server-side components of the web application executing on the server and a latency of the at least one network.

16. The at least one computer-readable memory device of claim 15, wherein the at least one predetermined event comprises at least one of:

a predetermined amount of time passing since a previous transmission of the change log entries from the client computer to the server,

an occurrence of a predetermined quantity of the plurality of processing events since the previous transmission of the change log entries from the client computer to the server, and

an occurrence of a predetermined sequence of the plurality of processing events since the previous transmission of the change log entries from the client computer to the server.

17. The at least one computer-readable memory device of claim 15, further encoded with computer-executable instructions for:

modifying the at least one predetermined event.

18. The at least one computer-readable memory device of claim 15, wherein the plurality of entries in the change log reflects an order in which the plurality of processing events occurred on the client computer.

19. The at least one computer-readable memory device of claim 15, further encoded with computer-executable instructions for deleting and merging the change log entries.

20. The at least one computer-readable memory device of claim 15, further encoded with computer-executable instructions for binding at least one object of the plurality of objects to a portion of at least one of the one or more of the client-side components of the web application.