Capturing and replaying application sessions using resource files

• US 9,635,094 B2
• Filed: 03/15/2013
• Issued: 04/25/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 10/15/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Acoustic, L.P.
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Damale, Shridhar
• Primary Examiner(s): Baderman, Scott
• Assistant Examiner(s): Velez-Lopez, Mario M
• Application Number:
  US13/834,963
• Publication Number:
  US 20140108911A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,502 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• 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 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/75 Indicating network or usage conditions on the user display

Abstract

A capture and replay system identifies images displayed during an application session. A parser may generate Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) code from an application resource file or from the JSON post made by the application. A replay engine may use the HTML code to recreate at least some of the screens displayed during the application session. The capture and replay system may dynamically identify images that are not reproduced from the resources database and request an agent/(s) to asynchronously upload the image files associated with the images. The replay engine may use the uploaded image files to replay the application session. The capture and replay system may capture application sessions more efficiently by reproducing images from the resource file instead of capturing the images during the original application session and by dynamically requesting image files for the images were are not previously reproduced from the resource file. Once an image file is uploaded to server, it does not need to be requested again from any other agent.

Claims

1. An apparatus, comprising:

a memory configured to store client events from an application session; and

a processing device configured to;

identify the client events associated with image changes during the application session;

generate an image generation file including image code from an application resource file to generate one or more images from the application session;

identify the image code from the image generation file associated with the identified client events;

when none of the image code from the image generation file is associated with the identified client events, generate image code from the identified client events;

use the image code to render the image changes; and

replay the application session by combining the client events with the images.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the image generation file comprises Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) code and/or Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) code.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the application resource file is configured for compiling with source code to generate an executable application for conducting the application session.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing device is further configured to:

identify the client events associated with screen view changes; and

recreate some of the images from the application session from the client events associated with the screen view changes.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing device is further configured to:

receive an image identifier associated with the application session from an agent;

search a database for an image file associated with the image identifier;

send a request to the agent to send the image file when the image file is not identified in the database;

receive the image file from the agent in response to the request; and

use the image file to replay the application session.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the image identifier comprises a checksum generated from the image file.

7. An apparatus, comprising:

a processing device configured to;

monitor an application session;

capture client events for the application session;

capture image identifiers for images displayed during the application session, wherein the image identifiers are configured to identify image code from an application resource file associated with the images; and

send the client events and image identifiers to a replay system that generates an image generation file including the image code from the application resource file to generate one or more images from the application session.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the image identifiers are configured to identify Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) code generated from the application resource file.

9. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein:

the image code from the application resource file is configured to render webpages; and

the client events comprise user inputs entered into the webpages during the application session.

10. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the processing device is further configured to:

detect image changes during the application session; and

capture the image changes in the client events.

11. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the processing device comprises at least one of a portable smart phone and/or a portable tablet computer.

12. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the processing device is further configured to:

detect a displayed image during the application session;

identify an image file associated with the displayed image;

generate a file identifier associated with the image file;

send the file identifier to the replay system; and

send the image file associated with the file identifier to the replay system in response to a message indicating the image file is not stored on the replay system.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the file identifier comprises a checksum of the image file.