Extending functionality of web-based applications

• US 8,930,555 B2
• Filed: 03/08/2007
• Issued: 01/06/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/08/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Ivanov, Maxim, Pai, Samarth
• Primary Examiner(s): STRANGE, AARON N
• Application Number:
  US11/715,623
• Publication Number:
  US 20080222238A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,861 Days
• Field of Search: 709/229, 709/223, 709/235, 709/227, 717/170, 370/465, 705/14, 705/27, 713/201, 726/2, 707/515, 719/311
• US Class Current: 709/229
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/65 Updates security arrangements therefor G06F21/57
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/54 Interprogram communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0273 using web services for network management, e.g. simple object access protocol [SOAP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5012 determining service availability, e.g. which services are available at a certain point in time
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5058 Service discovery by the service manager
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/53 using third party service providers

Abstract

A centralized location for discovery and data exchange for web applications. Embodiments of the invention are directed to providing a centralized interface location to send data to and receive data from one or more web applications hosted on application servers different from a server hosting the centralized interface. An application developer for a subscriber having an account with the web application may therefore easily extend the functionality of one or more web applications by communicating with a single interface provided, rather than with separate interfaces for each application. The centralized interface may provide information such as a list of all web applications or functionality to which a particular subscriber has access, and may support any desired extension (e.g., addition of users).

Claims

1. A method for use in a computer system comprising a web application manager that provides to each of a plurality of subscribers a subscriber account, each subscriber account including at least one web application from a plurality of web applications made available for inclusion in the plurality of subscriber accounts, the method comprising:

operating at least one processor programmed by executable instructions to carry out at least one act, the at least one act comprising;

receiving an application programming interface (API) call for an API that provides a centralized discovery capability to enable a source of the API call to discover, via a single interaction with the API, which of the plurality of web applications is included in a subscriber account, wherein the source of the API call is a first entity and the subscriber associated with the subscriber account is a second entity, the first entity and the second entity being different entities, the first entity comprising at least one software process adapted to extend the functionality of the at least one web application of the plurality of web applications, and wherein the first entity is another web application hosted by a web server, and the other web application discovers which of the plurality of web applications is included in the subscriber account via the centralized discovery capability provided by the API; and

responding to the API call with a listing of which of the plurality of web applications is included in the subscriber account and, for at least one web application of the web applications included in the subscriber account, a descriptor that describes a functionality of the at least one web application of the web applications included in the subscriber account.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first entity is a computer program adapted to execute on a client computer, and the computer program discovers which of the plurality of web applications is included in the subscriber account via the centralized discovery capability provided by the API.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the API is a first API, and wherein the at least one act further comprises an act of:

receiving a second API call for a second API that enables communication with at least two servers hosting at least two web applications accessible by a user of the subscriber account via a third server that provides a centralized interface to the at least two servers; and

transmitting at least some information included in the second API call to at least one of the at least two servers.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the first API and the second API comprise a single API.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the at least two web applications are web applications capable of being discovered as included in the subscriber account via the first API.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the centralized discovery capability further enables the source of the API call to discover, via a single interaction with the API, of a version for each web application of the plurality of web applications.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the centralized discovery capability further enables the source of the API call to discover, via a single interaction with the API, of whether a computer program is compatible with a web application of the plurality of web applications.

8. A method for use in a computer system comprising a web application manager that provides to each of a plurality of subscribers a subscriber account, each subscriber account including at least one web application from a plurality of web applications available for inclusion in the plurality of subscriber accounts, the method comprising:

operating at least one processor programmed by executable instructions to carry out at least one act, the at least one act comprising;

receiving, at a third server that provides a centralized interface to at least two servers, an application programming interface (API) call for an API that enables communication with the at least two servers, the at least two servers each hosting at least one of the web applications available for inclusion in the subscriber account, the third server being a destination of a message comprising the API call and being transmitted by a source of the API call, the source of the API call comprising at least one software process adapted to extend the functionality of the at least one web application from the plurality of web applications by processing data managed by the at least one web application in a manner not provided by the at least one web application;

transmitting at least some information included in the API call from the third server to a server of the at least two servers, the at least some information comprising data transmitted by the source of the API call and a request that the data be stored by at least one of the plurality of web applications, wherein the source of the API call is another web application hosted by a web server, and the other web application communicates messages to at least one of the at least two servers through the centralized interface provided by the third server; and

receiving the data stored by the web application and transmitting the data stored by the web application to the source of the API call.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the API enables communication with the at least two servers by providing to at least one API function call that enables retrieval of information from the third server, the information comprising addresses for the at least two servers to allow the source of the at least one API function call to communicate with the at least two servers without knowing in advance the location of the at least two servers.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the API is the centralized interface, and the API enables communication with the at least two servers through the third server by receiving and processing messages from the source of the API call including content to be transmitted to the at least two servers and transmitting the content to the at least two servers.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the source of the API call is a computer program adapted to execute on a client computer, and the computer program communicates messages to at least one of the at least two servers through the centralized interface provided by the third server.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein the source may communicate, using the API, messages to any web application included in the subscriber'"'"'s account hosted by any application server through the centralized interface provided by the third server.

13. The method of claim 8, wherein the centralized interface enables discovery, via a single interaction with the API, of whether a computer program is compatible with the at least two servers.

14. An apparatus comprising:

a plurality of application servers, each hosting at least one web application;

a central server that provides a centralized interface to the plurality of application servers;

a client computer comprising at least one computer-readable medium having encoded thereon an application programming interface (API) that enables the client computer to transmit API calls to the central server requesting that the central server aid in transmitting data to be stored by at least one of the plurality of servers, the client computer being configured to execute at least one software process adapted to extend the functionality of the at least one web application of plurality of web applications and adapted to transmit the API calls to central server; and

a web server hosting another web application, the web server comprising at least one computer-readable medium having encoded thereon a second application programming interface (API) that enables the other web application to communicate with a plurality of web applications hosted by the plurality of application servers accessible by a user of the subscriber account via the centralized interface to the plurality of application servers;

wherein the other web application requests that the web server transmit the API calls to the central server requesting that the central server aid in communicating the messages to, and the other web application communicates messages to at least one web application through the centralized interface provided by the central server.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the API requests that the central server aid in communicating messages to the plurality of servers by requesting that the central server provide to the client computer information comprising addresses for at least one of the plurality of servers such that the client computer does not have to know in advance the location of the at least one of the plurality of servers.

16. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the API requests that the central server aid in communicating messages to the plurality of servers by requesting that the central server transmit at least some of the information contained in an API call to the plurality of servers.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein a computer program adapted to execute on the client computer requests that the client computer transmit the API calls, and the computer program communicates with at least one web application hosted by the plurality of application servers via the centralized interface.