Facilitating client server interaction

• US 8,793,398 B2
• Filed: 08/29/2008
• Issued: 07/29/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 08/29/2008
• 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., Kuratomi, Toshio E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Moore, Ian N
• Assistant Examiner(s): Huynh, Dung B
• Application Number:
  US12/201,330
• Publication Number:
  US 20100057937A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,160 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 709/246
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/252 between a Database Management System and a front-end application
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/258 Data format conversion from or to a database
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/972 Access to data in other repository systems, e.g. legacy data or dynamic Web page generation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/541 via adapters, e.g. between incompatible applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/289 Intermediate processing functionally located close to the data consumer application, e.g. in same machine, in same home or in same sub-network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/2895 Intermediate processing functionally located close to the data provider application, e.g. reverse proxies
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/565 Conversion or adaptation of application format or content adding application control or application functional data H04L67/561
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/08 Protocols for interworking; Protocol conversion
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/085 specially adapted for interworking of IP-based networks with other networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/18 Multiprotocol handlers, e.g. single devices capable of handling multiple protocols

Abstract

The apparatus includes a base client module and a server module. The base client module receives requests from a client application on a client computer. The base client module calls a resource of a web application. A server module transparently interacts with the logic of the web application to obtain the requested data and sends it back to the base client in a format handled by the base client. The base client can then reformat the data to a client application requested format before passing the data to the client application. This method allows a client application programmer to obtain easily usable data from a web application by using the base client.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving a uniform resource locator identifying a web application by a base client module from a client application during initialization of the base client module by the client application, wherein the base client module is an instance exclusive to client application and specific to the web application;

receiving a first request from the client application on a client computer after initialization for data in a first non-web page format from a web application on a remote server at the base client module on the client computer;

establishing cookies for a session with the web application by the base client module;

executing a function call by the base client module in response to the first request, the function call provided by a server module of the web application, wherein the function call is communicated directly to the server module within an application layer;

receiving a response data to the function call in a Java Script Object Notation (JSON) format from the server module;

reformatting the response data into the first non-web page format for the client application by the base client module; and

identifying an error indicator in the response data.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first request is a call to a method of the base client module.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

initiating an error for the client application in response to the error indicator.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving authentication data for the web application during initialization of the base client module.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the client application is implemented in Python.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the base client module is a sub-class of a general class and provides additional processing of the result data for the client application.

7. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium, having instructions stored therein, which when executed, cause a computer to perform a set of operations comprising:

receiving a uniform resource locator identifying a web application by a base client module from a client application during initialization of the base client module by the client application, wherein the base client module is an instance exclusive to the client application and specific to the web application;

receiving a first request from the client application on a client computer after initialization for data in a first non-web page format from a web application on a remote server at the base client module on a client computer;

establishing cookies for a session with the web application by the base client module;

executing a function call by the base client module in response to the first request, the function call provided by a server module of the web application, wherein the function call is communicated directly to the server module within an application layer;

receiving a response data to the function call in a Java Script Object Notation (JSON) format from the server module;

reformatting the response data into the first non-web page format for the client application; and

identifying an error indicator in the response data.

8. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 7, wherein the first request is a call to a method of the base client module.

9. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 7, having further instructions therein, which when executed, cause the computer to perform a further set of operations, further comprising:

initiating an error for the client application in response to the error indicator.

10. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 7, having further instructions therein, which when executed, cause the computer to perform a further set of operations, further comprising:

receiving authentication data for the web application during initialization of the base client module.

11. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 7, wherein the client application is implemented in Python.

12. A system comprising:

a processor;

a system memory coupled to the processor; and

a base client module to provide an interface between a remote web application and a client application executed by the processor, the interface to service data requests for the web application and to return response data in a client application format, the client application format being a non-web page format;

the base client module receiving a uniform resource locator identifying the web application from the client application during initialization by the client application,

wherein the base client module generates a cookie to track a session with the remote web application;

wherein the base client module is an instance exclusive to the client application and specific to the web application,

wherein servicing data requests comprises executing a function call by the base client module, the function call provided by a server module of the web application,

wherein the function call is communicated directly to the server module within an application layer,

wherein the response data is in a Java Script Object Notation (JSON) format, and wherein the response data is reformatted from the JSON format into the client application format by the base client module; and

wherein the base client module identifies an error in the response data.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the function call is a method of the server module.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein the network processor initializes the base client module that is a sub-class of a general class and provides additional processing of the result data for the client application.