Client-based computation of checksums for product information

• US 8,856,090 B1
• Filed: 03/20/2012
• Issued: 10/07/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/20/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Honner, Nicholas
• Primary Examiner(s): Mofiz, Apu
• Assistant Examiner(s): BIBBEE, JARED M
• Application Number:
  US13/424,996
• Time in Patent Office: 931 Days
• Field of Search: 707/697, 707/698, 707/699, 707/710
• US Class Current: 707/697
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1004 to protect a block of data words, e.g. CRC or checksum G06F11/1076 takes precedence; security arrangements for protecting computers or computer systems against unauthorized activity G06F21/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders

Abstract

A client device is configured to generate checksums for attributes of product records to be transmitted to a marketplace operator system that provides an e-commerce marketplace. On subsequent transmissions of the product records, the client device can utilize the checksums to determine if the attributes of the product records have been modified since a previous transmission. If the attributes have not been modified, the client device does not re-transmit the unchanged attributes to the e-commerce marketplace. The client device may also be configured to retrieve a checksum configuration file from the marketplace operator system that includes data defining the manner in which the client device should compute the checksums.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for computation of checksums for product information by a client device, the computer-implemented method comprising executing instructions in a computer system to perform the operations of:

retrieving a checksum configuration file from a marketplace operator system by way of a client device, the checksum configuration file comprising data specifying a checksum algorithm, a checksum algorithm version number, and one or more attributes of product records for which a checksum should be generated by the client device prior to submission of the product records to the marketplace operator system;

determining at the client device whether a checksum has been previously generated for a product record;

in response to determining that a checksum has not been previously generated for the product record, utilizing a version of the checksum algorithm specified by the checksum algorithm version number to compute a checksum for the attributes of the product record specified by the checksum configuration file, and adding the computed checksum and data specifying the checksum algorithm version number to the product record;

in response to determining that a checksum has been previously generated for the product record, utilizing the version of the checksum algorithm specified by the checksum algorithm version number to compute a checksum for the attributes of the product record specified by the checksum configuration file, comparing the computed checksum to the previously generated checksum for the product record, and removing values for the attributes of the product record specified by the checksum configuration file from the product record if the computed checksum is the same as the previously generated checksum; and

transmitting the product record from the client device to the marketplace operator system.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising in response to determining that the computed checksum is not the same as the previously generated checksum:

replacing the previously generated checksum with the computed checksum at the client device; and

adding the computed checksum and data specifying the checksum algorithm version number to the product record.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, further comprising in response to receiving an error message from the marketplace operator system at the client device:

deleting the previously generated checksum for the product record;

retrieving an updated checksum configuration file from the marketplace operator system;

utilizing a version of the checksum algorithm specified by the updated checksum configuration file to compute an updated checksum for attributes of the product record specified by the updated checksum configuration file;

adding the updated checksum and data specifying the checksum algorithm version number utilized to compute the updated checksum to the product record; and

transmitting the product record from the client device to the marketplace operator system.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, wherein the attributes of the product records for which a checksum should be generated by the client device specified by the checksum configuration file comprise a subset of all of the attributes of the product records.

5. A computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable instructions stored thereupon which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to:

provide a checksum configuration file from a marketplace operator system to a client device, the checksum configuration file comprising data specifying a checksum algorithm, a checksum algorithm version number, and one or more attributes of product records for which a checksum should be generated by the client device prior to submission of the product records to the marketplace operator system;

receive a product record from the client device;

determine whether a checksum has been previously stored for the product record; and

in response to determining that a checksum has not been previously stored for the product record, determine whether a checksum algorithm version number received with the product record matches a current checksum algorithm version number, and to transmit an error message to the client device instructing the client device to obtain an updated checksum configuration file and to re-compute the checksum for the product record if the checksum algorithm version number received with the product record does not match the current checksum algorithm version number.

6. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 5, wherein the error message further indicates to the client device that the product record has been processed even though the checksum algorithm version number received with the product record does not match a current checksum algorithm version number.

7. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 6, having further computer-executable instructions stored thereupon which, when executed by the computer, cause the computer to:

in response to determining that the checksum algorithm version number received with the product record matches the current checksum algorithm version number, compute and store a checksum for one or more attributes of the product record, compare the computed checksum to a checksum received with the product record, and to transmit an error message to the client device if the computed checksum does not match the checksum received with the product record.

8. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 7, having further computer-executable instructions stored thereupon which, when executed by the computer, cause the computer to:

process all of the attributes of the product record in response to determining that the computed checksum matches the checksum received with the product record.

9. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, having further computer-executable instructions stored thereupon which, when executed by the computer, cause the computer to:

in response to determining that a checksum has been previously stored for the product record, determine whether the checksum received with the product record matches the checksum previously stored for the record, and process one or more attributes of the product record not utilized to compute the checksum in response to determining that the received checksum matches the stored checksum.

10. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 9, wherein the product record comprises one record in a seller feed received at the marketplace operator system and comprising a plurality of product records.

11. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the attributes of the product record for which a checksum should be generated by the client device specified by the checksum configuration file comprise a subset of all of the attributes of the plurality of product records in the seller feed.

12. An apparatus for computation of checksums for product records by a client device, the apparatus comprising:

at least one processor; and

a computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable instructions stored thereon which, when executed on the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to

determine whether a checksum has been previously generated for a product record,

in response to determining that a checksum has been previously generated for the product record, to compute a checksum for the product record and to compare the computed checksum to the previously generated checksum,

to remove one or more attributes utilized to compute the checksum from the product record if the computed checksum is the same as the previously generated checksum,

in response to determining that the computed checksum is not the same as the previously generated checksum, to replace the previously generated checksum with the computed checksum, and

to transmit the product record from the apparatus to a marketplace operator system.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the computer-readable storage medium has further computer-executable instructions stored thereon which, when executed on the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to:

retrieve a checksum configuration file from the marketplace operator system, and to

compute the checksum for the product record in accordance with data contained in the checksum configuration file.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the data contained in the checksum configuration file specifies a checksum algorithm for use in computing the checksum for the product record.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the data contained in the checksum configuration file further specifies a version number of the checksum algorithm for use in computing the checksum for the product record.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the data contained in the checksum configuration file further specifies one or more attributes of the product record that are to be included in the checksum.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the computer-readable storage medium has further computer-executable instructions stored thereon which, when executed on the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to:

in response to determining that a checksum has not been previously generated for the product record, to utilize a version of the checksum algorithm specified by the checksum algorithm version number to compute a checksum for the attributes of the product record specified by the checksum configuration file, and to add the computed checksum and data specifying the checksum algorithm version number to the product record.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the computer-readable storage medium has further computer-executable instructions stored thereon which, when executed on the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to:

receive an error message from the marketplace operator system; and

in response to receiving the error message, to delete the previously generated checksum for the product record, to retrieve an updated checksum configuration file from the marketplace operator system, to utilize a version of the checksum algorithm specified by the updated checksum configuration file to compute an updated checksum for attributes of the product record specified by the updated checksum configuration file, and to add the updated checksum and data specifying the checksum algorithm version number utilized to compute the updated checksum to the product record.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the product record comprises one record in a seller feed received at the marketplace operator system and comprising a plurality of product records.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the attributes of the product record for which a checksum should be generated by the client device specified by the checksum configuration file comprise a subset of all of the attributes of the plurality of product records in the seller feed.