Communication channel between web application and process outside browser

• US 9,390,172 B2
• Filed: 12/03/2009
• Issued: 07/12/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/03/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Schleifer, Jason E., Ozzie, Raymond
• Primary Examiner(s): Algibhah, Hamza
• Assistant Examiner(s): EDWARDS, JAMES A
• Application Number:
  US12/630,208
• Publication Number:
  US 20110138059A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,413 Days
• Field of Search: 709/227
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/95 Retrieval from the web
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/128 involving web programs, i.e. using technology especially used in internet, generally interacting with a web browser, e.g. hypertext markup language [HTML], applets, java
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/45529 Embedded in an application, e.g. JavaScript in a Web browser
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/541 via adapters, e.g. between incompatible applications

Abstract

One or more techniques and/or systems are disclosed herein for relaying a request to a process running on a computing device from a web client and receiving a response from the process. A bridge message client disposed in a web application, running in a browser on a computer, opens a local connection to a process running outside the browser. The bridge message client comprises a communication channel ID that identifies a communication channel to host the local connection to a bridge server, and a bridge message client ID facilitates communications from the bridge server to the web application. The bridge server is disposed outside of the browser environment, and can receive a request from the bridge message client and forward it to the process, and/or can receive a response to the request from the process and forward it to the bridge message client over the local connection.

Claims

1. A system for securely relaying a request to a process running on a computing device from a web application, comprising:

a bridge message client component installed within a web application running in a browser environment local to a computing device, configured to;

establish a secure local connection with a bridge server component based upon using a bridge message client identification to identify the bridge message client component as originating from a trusted source associated with the bridge server component, the bridge server component hosted within the computing device outside the browser environment; and

relay, through the secure local connection, a request from the web application to the bridge server component for routing to a process running on the computing device outside the browser environment.

2. The system of claim 1, the bridge message client component comprising a communication channel identification configured to identify a communication channel to host the secure local connection to the bridge server component.

3. The system of claim 1, the web application downloaded from a website, the downloaded web application comprising the bridge message client component.

4. The system of claim 1, the web application comprising at least one of a desktop gadget or a social network application.

5. The system of claim 1, comprising:

the bridge server component configured to;

receive, through the secure local connection, the request from the bridge message client component; and

forward the request to the process if a determination is made that the bridge server component is configured to respond to the request.

6. The system of claim 5, the bridge server component configured to:

receive a response to the request from the process; and

relay, through the secure local connection, the response to the bridge message client component for the web application.

7. The system of claim 6, the bridge message client component configured to:

forward the response to the web application.

8. The system of claim 1, the web application associated with a multimedia runtime environment.

9. The system of claim 1, the bridge message client component and the bridge server component originating from a root domain of the trusted source.

10. A method for securely relaying a request to a process running on a computing device from a web application, comprising:

establishing, by a bridge message client component installed within a web application running in a browser environment local to a computing device, a secure local connection with a bridge server component based upon using a bridge message client identification to identify the bridge message client component as originating from a trusted source associated with the bridge server component, the bridge server component hosted within the computing device outside the browser environment; and

relaying, by the bridge message client component through the secure local connection, a request from the web application to the bridge server component for routing to a process.

11. The method of claim 10, comprising:

receiving, by the bridge server component through the secure local connection, the request from the bridge message client component; and

forwarding, by the bridge server component, the request to the process.

12. The method of claim 11, comprising:

receiving, by the bridge server component, a response to the request from the process; and

relaying, by the bridge server component through the secure local connection, the response to the bridge message client component for the web application.

13. The method of claim 12, comprising:

forwarding, by the bridge message client component, the response to the web application.

14. The method of claim 10, the web application comprising a desktop gadget.

15. The method of claim 10, the web application comprising a social network application.

16. The method of claim 10, the web application associated with a multimedia runtime environment.

17. The method of claim 10, the bridge message client component and the bridge server component originating from a root domain of the trusted source.

18. The method of claim 10, the bridge message client installed in the web application as a separate downloadable module from the trusted source.

19. The method of claim 10, the bridge message client component comprising a communication channel identification configured to identify a communication channel to host the secure local connection to the bridge server component.

20. A computer readable medium, excluding signals, comprising computer executable instruction that when executed via a processing unit perform a method for facilitating communication between a web application and a process running on a computing device, the method comprising:

establishing, by a bridge message client component installed within a web application running in a browser environment local to a computing device, a secure local connection with a bridge server component based upon using a bridge message client identification to identify the bridge message client component as originating from a trusted source associated with the bridge server component, the bridge server component hosted within the computing device outside the browser environment;

relaying, by the bridge message client component through the secure local connection, a request from the web application to the bridge server component for routing to a process running on the computing device outside the browser environment;

receiving, by the bridge server component, a response to the request from the process; and

relaying, by the bridge server component through the secure local connection, the response to the bridge message client component for the web application.

21. A system for securely relaying a request to a process running on a computing device, comprising:

a bridge message client component installed within a browser environment local to a computing device, configured to;

establish a secure local connection with a bridge server component based upon using a bridge message client identification to identify the bridge message client component as originating from a trusted source associated with the bridge server component, the bridge server component hosted within the computing device outside the browser environment; and

relay, through the secure local connection, a request to the bridge server component for routing to a process running on the computing device outside the browser environment.