Non-blocking communication between an application and a server

• US 9,442,777 B2
• Filed: 07/31/2009
• Issued: 09/13/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 07/31/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Thayer, Karen E., Walls, Jeffrey J., Fisher, Jerald C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hwang, Joon H
• Assistant Examiner(s): LIN, SHERMAN L
• Application Number:
  US12/533,485
• Publication Number:
  US 20110029595A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,601 Days
• Field of Search: 709/203, 709/228, 709/227, 709/213
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/541 Client-server
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/54 Interprogram communication

Abstract

A system and method for providing non-blocking communication with a communications server are disclosed herein. A computer system includes one or more processors and a software system executable by the processor. When executed, the software system provides an application thread and additionally provides a server communication thread configured to provide non-blocking communication between the application thread and a communication server. The server communication thread is configured to process commands based on requests for communication server services generated by the application thread. The server communication thread is further configured to communicate with the communication server based on the commands and to block pending a server response. The application thread is configured to execute unimpeded by the communication.

Claims

1. A computer system, comprising:

a processor;

a memory coupled to the processor comprising a software system that when executed by the processor provides;

an application thread, the application thread comprising;

an application logic module, and

a communication server gateway module;

a server communication thread to provide non-blocking communication between the application thread and a communication server,

wherein the application logic module, when executed, causes the processor to generate a request for information stored on the communication server,

wherein the communication server gateway module, when executed, causes the processor to receive the information request and to generate a service command, based on the information request, the service command being configured for processing by the server communication thread; and

a command storage structure to provide information transfer between the application thread and the communication thread by storing and providing exclusive access to;

the service command generated by the communication server gateway module for processing by the server communication thread, and

a command status response passing from the server communication thread to the communication server gateway module,

wherein the server communication thread to process commands based on requests for communication server services generated by the application thread;

wherein the communication thread is to communicate with the communication server based on the commands and to block pending a server response, and the application thread is to execute unimpeded by the communication.

2. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the communication thread further comprises a gateway worker module to process information received from the communication server and to provide the information to the application logic module.

3. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the server communication thread is to determine a presence of a command in the command storage structure based on periodic polling of the command storage structure by the server communication thread and to determine a presence of information provided by the communication server based on polling a message queue to receive communication server provided information.

4. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the server is a Microsoft Office Communications Server and the server communication thread comprises a Microsoft Office Communications Server client.

5. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the software system when executed by the processor provides a plurality of server communication threads each to provide non-blocking communication between the application thread and one of a plurality of communication servers each to provide different types of user presence information, and wherein the application thread is to provide a communication session with a different computer system based on presence information received from the plurality of communication servers.

6. A method, comprising:

generating, by a processor, via execution of an application program in a primary thread, a request for a server to provide information;

storing, by the processor, a command in a command storage structure providing mutually exclusive access and accessible to the primary thread and a secondary thread, wherein the command is derived from the request;

generating, by the processor, via execution of a client program in a secondary thread, a query to the server based on the command;

receiving a response, by the processor, via execution of the secondary thread, from the server based on the query;

wherein the execution of the primary thread continues uninterrupted while the secondary thread generates the query and waits for the response.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising converting, by the processor, the request to the command;

wherein the command is executable by the client program executing in the secondary thread.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the command storage structure provides bidirectional communication between the primary thread and the secondary thread.

9. The method of claim 6, further comprising storing in the command storage structure, by the processor, a status response indicative of errors in the execution of the command by the client program in the secondary thread.

10. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

polling, by the processor, via execution of the client program in the secondary thread, the command storage structure for the presence of a command, and a server response queue for a presence of response to the query; and

providing, by the processor, the response from the server received by the client in the secondary thread to the application program in the primary thread.

11. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

launching, by the processor, via execution of the primary thread, a plurality of secondary threads, each secondary thread to communicate with one of a plurality of servers; and

initiating, by the processor, via execution of the application program, a communication session based on presence information received from the plurality of servers.

12. A non-transitory computer-readable medium encoded with a computer program comprising:

instructions that when executed cause a processor to generate, via execution of an application program in a primary thread, a request for a server to provide user presence information;

instructions that when executed cause the processor to store a command in a command storage structure providing mutually exclusive access and accessible to the primary thread and a secondary thread, wherein the command is derived from the request;

instructions that when executed cause the processor to generate, via execution of a client program in a secondary thread, a query to the server based on the request;

instructions that when executed cause the processor to receive a response to the query, via execution of the secondary thread, from the server;

instructions that when executed cause the processor to provide uninterrupted execution of the primary thread while the secondary thread generates the query and waits for the response.

13. The computer-readable medium of claim 12, further comprising instructions that when executed cause the processor to convert the request to a command executable by the client executing in the secondary thread.

14. The computer-readable medium of claim 12, further comprising instructions that when executed cause the processor to bypass the command storage structure and provide the response to the query directly from the secondary thread to the primary thread.

15. The computer-readable medium of claim 12, further comprising instructions that when executed cause the processor to store in the command storage structure a status response indicative of whether an error occurred during the execution of the command by the client in the secondary thread.

16. The computer-readable medium of claim 12, further comprising instructions that when executed cause the processor to poll, via execution of the client in the secondary thread, the command storage structure for a presence of a command, and a server response queue for a presence of a response to the query.

17. The computer-readable medium of claim 12, further comprising instructions that when executed cause the processor to provide the response from the server received by the client in the secondary thread to the application program in the primary thread.

18. The computer-readable medium of claim 12, further comprising:

instructions that when executed cause the processor to launch a plurality of secondary threads each secondary thread to communicate with one of a plurality of servers; and

instructions that when executed cause the processor to initiate a communication session based on presence information received from the plurality of servers.