Method and apparatus for implementing serialized state data management for network applications

• US 8,566,392 B1
• Filed: 04/30/2010
• Issued: 10/22/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Touch Ahead Software LLC
• Original Assignee: Touch Ahead Software LLC
• Inventors: Mitchell, Keith D.
• Primary Examiner(s): SHAW, PELING ANDREW
• Application Number:
  US12/771,295
• Time in Patent Office: 1,271 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/958 Organisation or management of web site content, e.g. publishing, maintaining pages or automatic linking

Abstract

Disclosed is a system and technique for the consumption and management of persistent data (application “state” data) for use with any computer application having a device functional interface such as a web browser, mobile phone, mobile computing device, or web service interface which requires dynamic data transport over a network. According to the disclosed technique upon communication from server to client, only that portion of the state data which is required for a particular compound rendering composed of multiple UI elements, is processed for the client, by determining which UI elements are included in the currently requested rendering, and retrieving only those qualified and conditioned state containers. If no qualified and conditioned state container exists for a particular user/security-context/session/etc., a generic container is used as a template and only those state containers are transported over the network. Upon communication from client to server, only that portion of the state data which has been sent back for updating from the client, is processed by the server, by determining which UI elements have data in the current client transmission, and updating only those state data containers.

Claims

1. A method for managing state data between processes operably connected over a network, at least one of the processes associated with a device interface requiring dynamic data transport over a network, the method comprising:

encapsulating state data associated with the device interface into a plurality of data object containers, the data object containers being stored in memory and each of the data object containers including an element identifier;

receiving a request to modify the state data;

determining which element identifier exists in the request;

retrieving, from the memory, one or more of the data object containers associated with the received element identifier;

processing the data in the retrieved one or more data object containers; and

transmitting to the device interface the one or more data object containers containing the processed data.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

constructing a data object container from a generic container template, if no data object containers in memory are associated with the received element identifier.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the received element identifier is associated with the state data specific to any of a current user context, application context, network interface context or identifier control of the network process.

4. In a computer system operably coupled to at least one or more processes over a computer network, an apparatus for encapsulation and transportation of state data comprising:

a processor;

a memory coupled to the processor for storing a plurality of data objects;

a network interface coupled to the processor and memory;

program logic configured to encapsulate state data associated with the network interface into a plurality of data object containers, the data object containers being stored in the memory and each of the data object containers including an element identifier;

program logic configured to receive a request to modify the state data;

program logic configured to determine which element identifier exists in the request;

program logic configured to retrieve, from the memory, one or more of the data object containers associated with the received element identifier;

program logic configured to process the data in the retrieved data object containers; and

program logic configured to transmit to the network interface the one or more data object containers containing the processed data.

5. A computer program product for use with a computer system operatively coupled to a computer network, the computer program product comprising a tangible computer readable medium having program code embodied thereon, the program code comprising:

program code configured to encapsulate state data associated with a device interface into a plurality of data object containers, the data object containers being stored in the memory and each of the data object containers including an element identifier;

program code for receiving a request to modify the state data;

program code for determining which element identifier exists in the request;

program code for retrieving from the memory one or more of the data object containers associated with the received element identifier;

program code for processing the data in the retrieved data object containers; and

program code for transmitting to the device interface the one or more data object containers containing the processed data.

6. In a tangible computer usable memory, a data structure representing an element identifier of a data object container formed by encapsulating state data associated with a network process, the data structure comprising:

A. data identifying a control associated with the network process;

B. data identifying a current user context associated with the network process;

C. data identifying an application context associated with the network process; and

D. data identifying a network interface context associated with the network process.

7. The data structure of claim 6 in combination with other of said data structures, said plurality of data structure stored in a tangible computer accessible memory.

8. The data structure of claim 6 wherein the identifying the control associated with the network process comprises a compound identifier.

9. The data structure of claim 8 wherein the compound identifier comprises a user element identifier.

10. The data structure of claim 6 wherein the data identifying the control associated with the network process comprises a compound identifier.

11. A method for managing state data between processes operably connected over a network, at least one of the processes associated with a device interface requiring dynamic data transport over a network, the method comprising:

encapsulating state data associated with the device interface into a plurality of data object containers, the data object containers being stored in memory and each of the data object containers including an element identifier;

receiving a request to modify the state data, the request comprising an element identifier;

retrieving, from the memory, one or more of the data object containers associated with the received element identifier; and

processing data in the retrieved one or more data object containers.

12. The method of claim 11 further comprising:

transmitting to the device interface the one or more data object containers containing the processed data.

13. The method of claim 11 further comprising:

constructing a data object container from a generic container template, if no data object containers in memory are associated with the received element identifier.

14. The method of claim 11 wherein the received element identifier is associated with the state data specific to any of a current user context, application context, network interface context or identifier control of the network process.