Download and upload of email messages using control commands in a client/server web application

• US 8,601,475 B2
• Filed: 12/05/2005
• Issued: 12/03/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/02/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AOL Inc. (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Inventors: Landsman, Richard A.
• Primary Examiner(s): An, Meng
• Assistant Examiner(s): WAI, ERIC CHARLES
• Application Number:
  US11/294,182
• Publication Number:
  US 20070033588A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,920 Days
• Field of Search: 718/100, 709/224
• US Class Current: 718/100
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/957 Browsing optimisation, e.g. caching or content distillation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/08 Annexed information, e.g. attachments
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/12 Applying verification of the received information cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for data integrity or data verification H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/06 specially adapted for file transfer, e.g. file transfer protocol [FTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/568 Storing data temporarily at an intermediate stage, e.g. caching

Abstract

The present invention relates generally to client-server architectures for allowing generic upload and download functionality between a web application at a server and a client. One exemplary method includes sending a download/upload request to a web application at the server, where the download/upload request specifies at least one file to download/upload; receiving a transmission from the server; parsing the transmission to identify a download/upload command and an associated download/upload manifest, where the download/upload manifest includes executable code that, when executed on the client, will perform the download/upload of the at least one file.

Claims

1. In a system including at least a client and a server, a method for downloading email messages to the client from the server, the method comprising:

by a web browser email application at the client, displaying a list of email messages and associated email attachment files stored on the server to allow a user to select at least one email message and email attachment file from the list to download from the server;

by the web browser email application at the client, receiving user input that specifies the at least one email message and email attachment file to download from the server, wherein the web browser email application is configured to continue to operate on locally stored data when the client is in an offline state;

by the web browser email application at the client, in response to receiving the user input that specifies the at least one email message and email attachment file to download, sending a request directed to a web application at the server, where the request specifies the at least one email message and email attachment file to download;

by the client, receiving a transmission from the server, wherein the transmission was sent by the server to the client in response to the request sent by the web browser email application at the client;

by the client, parsing the transmission to identify a control command;

by the client, parsing the control command to determine if the control command comprises a download command;

by the client, in response to determining that the control command comprises a download command, parsing the transmission from the server to detect a download manifest that is associated with the download command, where the download manifest includes executable code that, when executed on the client, will perform the download of the at least one email message and email attachment file to the client from the server; and

by a background agent application at the client, in response to the identification of the download command and the associated download manifest, immediately commencing execution of the executable code on the client to download the at least one email message and email attachment file, wherein the background agent application is configured to be independent from the web browser email application such that the background agent application continues downloading the at least one email message and email attachment file according to the download manifest after the web browser email application at the client is terminated.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein parsing the transmission to identify the download command and the associated download manifest further comprises authenticating the transmission from the server as being authorized to provide download commands to the client.

3. In a system including at least a client and a server, a method for downloading email messages from the server to the client, the method comprising:

by a web application at the server, receiving, from a web browser email application at the client, a request to download at least one email message and email attachment file from a list of email messages and associated email attachment files stored on the server, wherein the web browser email application is configured to continue to operate on locally stored data when the client is in an offline state;

by the server, in response to the request from the web browser email application;

generating a download command and an associated download manifest, where the download manifest includes executable code that, when executed by a background agent application at the client, will perform the download of the at least one email message and email attachment file from the server to the client; and

sending the download command and the associated download manifest in a transmission to the background agent application at the client, wherein, in response to receiving the transmission from the server, a control command detecting module at the client parses the transmission to identify a control command, parses the control command to determine if the control command comprises a download command, and parses the transmission from the server to detect the download manifest that is associated with the download command, wherein the background agent application is configured to be independent from the web browser email application at the client such that the background agent application continues downloading the at least one email message and email attachment file according to the download manifest after the web browser email application at the client is terminated, wherein the background agent application is further configured to, in response to identifying the download command and the associated download manifest, immediately commence executing the executable code to the download the at least one email message and email attachment file from the server to the client.

4. The method as recited in claim 3, wherein the background agent receives the at least one email message from the server after the transmission from the server is authenticated as being authorized to provide download commands to the client.

5. A method for uploading email messages from a client to a server, the method comprising:

displaying, by a web browser email application at the client, a list of email messages and associated email attachment files stored on the client to allow a user to select at least one email message and email attachment file from the list to upload to the server;

receiving, by the web browser email application at the client, user input that specifies the at least one email message and email attachment file to upload to the server;

sending, in response to receiving the user input that specifies the at least one email message and email attachment file to upload, a request from the client to the server, the request specifying the at least one email message and email attachment file to upload;

receiving, by the client, a transmission from the server that was sent by the server to the client in response to the request sent by the web browser email application at the client;

parsing, by the client, the transmission to identify a control command;

parsing, by the client, the control command to determine if the control command comprises an upload command;

parsing, by the client, in response to determining that the control command comprises an upload command, parsing the transmission from the server to detect an upload manifest that is associated with the upload command, the upload manifest including executable code that, when executed on the client, will perform the upload of the at least one email message and email attachment file from the client to the server; and

in response to the identification of the upload command and the associated upload manifest, immediately commencing execution of the executable code on the client to upload the at least one email message and email attachment file, wherein a background agent application on the client is configured to be independent from the web browser email application and configured to continue to upload the at least one email message and email attachment file according to the upload manifest after the web browser email application at the client is terminated.

6. The method as recited in claim 5, wherein parsing the transmission to identify the upload command and the associated upload manifest further comprises authenticating the transmission from the server as being authorized to provide upload commands to the client.

7. A method for uploading email messages from a client to a server, the method comprising:

receiving, by a web application at the server, a request to upload at least one email message and email attachment file, wherein the request is generated based user input received at a web browser email application at the client displaying a list of email messages and email attachment files;

by the server, in response to the request from the web browser email application;

generating an upload command and an associated upload manifest that includes executable code that, when executed by a background agent application at the client, will upload the at least one email message and email attachment file from the client to the server; and

sending the upload command and the associated upload manifest in a transmission to the background agent application at the client, wherein, in response to receiving the transmission from the server, a control command detecting module at the client parses the transmission to identify a control command, parses the control command to determine if the control command comprises an upload command, and parses the transmission from the server to detect the upload manifest that is associated with the download command, wherein the background agent application is configured to be independent from the web browser email application at the client such that the background agent application continues uploading the at least one email message and email attachment file according to the upload manifest after the web browser email application at the client is terminated, and further wherein the background agent application is configured to, in response to identifying the upload command and the associated upload manifest, immediately commence executing the executable code to upload the at least one email message and email attachment file from the client to the server.

8. The method as recited in claim 7, wherein the background agent uploads the at least one email message and email attachment file from the client to the server after the transmission from the server is authenticated as being authorized to provide upload commands to the client.