System, method and computer program product for evaluating metadata before executing a software application

• US 9,916,429 B2
• Filed: 01/28/2011
• Issued: 03/13/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 10/03/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Salesforce.com, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Salesforce.com, Inc.
• Inventors: Hess, Ron, Tamm, Steven, Brooks, David, Palke, Amy, Moses, Evan
• Primary Examiner(s): Huang, Tsan-Yu J
• Application Number:
  US13/016,941
• Publication Number:
  US 20110197287A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,601 Days
• Field of Search: 705 59
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/10 Protecting distributed programs or content, e.g. vending or licensing of copyrighted material protection in video systems or pay television H04N7/16 ; Digital rights management [DRM]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/12 Protecting executable software
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/61 Installation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling

Abstract

Systems and methods are provided for managing license objects to applications in an application platform database system. The method includes associating an LMA with an application installed to the application platform by a developer, notifying a license manager to which the license manager application is installed of the installation of the application to the application platform, and managing subscriber access to the application using the license manager application.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

maintaining a multi-tenant database system having a common set of portions accessible by a plurality of users of the multi-tenant database system and having user-specific portions respectively accessible only by one or more particular users of the plurality of users;

storing, by the multi-tenant database system, an application package in the common set of portions of the multi-tenant database system, wherein the application package includes a first application associated with a first user of the plurality of users;

storing, by the multi-tenant database system, a license manager application (LMA) in a first portion of the multi-tenant database system that is specific to the first user, wherein the multi-tenant database system stores a second LMA in a second portion of the multi-tenant database system that is specific to a second user of the plurality of users;

subsequent to a request to the multi-tenant database system by a particular user of the plurality of users to install the first application, the multi-tenant database system installing the first application in a third portion of the multi-tenant database system that is specific to the particular user, wherein the installing includes;

receiving an indication that the particular user has agreed to a licensing agreement regarding use of the first application;

generating license information particular to the particular user; and

transmitting, via an application programming interface (API) call, the license information to the first portion of the multi-tenant database system; and

tracking, by the LMA stored in the first portion of the multi-tenant database system, use of the first application by a plurality of subscribing users including the particular user, wherein the tracking includes determining whether use of the first application is in accordance with the licensing agreement based on the license information.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

storing, by the multi-tenant database system, the LMA in the common set of portions of the multi-tenant database system; and

receiving, at the multi-tenant database system, a request from the first user to download the LMA to the first portion of the multi-tenant database system, wherein the storing the LMA in the first portion of the multi-tenant database system is performed responsive to the receiving the request.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the tracking further includes tracking a number of installations of the first application by the plurality of users.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the tracking further includes tracking a number of subscribers to the first application.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the application package includes one or more fields corresponding to customizations of the first application, wherein the customizations are particular to a subscriber to the first application.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein at least one of the customizations indicates a maximum number of installations allowed for a particular subscriber.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the tracking further includes tracking the one or more fields corresponding to the customizations.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising, in response to receiving an indication that the particular user has uninstalled the first application, sending, by the multi-tenant database system, a notification of the uninstallation to the first user via the LMA.

9. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having computer instructions stored thereon that are capable of being executed by a computer system to cause operations comprising:

maintaining a common set of portions accessible by a plurality of users of a multi-tenant database system and having user-specific portions respectively accessible only by one or more particular users of the plurality of users;

storing an application package in the common set of portions of the multi-tenant database system, wherein the application package includes a first application associated with a first user of the plurality of users;

storing a license manager application (LMA) in a first portion of the multi-tenant database system that is specific to the first user;

storing a second LMA in a second portion of the multi-tenant database system that is specific to a second user of the plurality of users;

subsequent to a request to the multi-tenant database system by a particular user of the plurality of users to install the first application, installing the first application in a third portion of the multi-tenant database system that is specific to the particular user, wherein the installing includes;

receiving an indication that the particular user has agreed to a licensing agreement regarding use of the first application;

generating license information particular to the particular user; and

transmitting, via an application programming interface (API) call, the license information to the first portion of the multi-tenant database system; and

tracking, by the LMA stored in the first portion of the multi-tenant database system, use of the first application by one or more subscribing users including the particular user, wherein the tracking includes determining whether use of the first application is in accordance with the licensing agreement based on the license information.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9, wherein the operations further comprise:

receiving, at the multi-tenant database system, a request from the first user to download the LMA to the first portion of the multi-tenant database system, wherein the storing the LMA in the first portion of the multi-tenant database system is performed responsive to the receiving the request.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9, wherein the application package includes one or more fields corresponding to customizations of the first application, wherein the customizations are particular to a subscriber to the first application.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the operations further comprise:

receiving, from the particular user, updated information corresponding to an update to at least one of the one or more fields; and

responsive to the receiving the update, storing the updated information in the third portion of the multi-tenant database system.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the tracking further includes tracking updates to the one or more fields by the one or more subscribing users.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the one or more fields includes one or more of the following fields:

license name, package version, lead, license status, installation date, number of seats, licensed seats, expiration, proxy user, account, contact.

15. A multi-tenant database system comprising:

a processor; and

a memory coupled to the processor, wherein the memory has computer instructions stored thereon that are capable of being executed by the processor to cause operations comprising;

maintaining a common set of portions accessible by a plurality of users of the multi-tenant database system and having user-specific portions respectively accessible only by one or more particular users of the plurality of users;

storing an application package in the common set of portions of the multi-tenant database system, wherein the application package includes a first application associated with a first user of the plurality of users;

storing a license manager application (LMA) in a first portion of the multi-tenant database system that is specific to the first user;

storing a second LMA in a second portion of the multi-tenant database system that is specific to a second user of the plurality of users;

subsequent to receiving a request by a particular user of the plurality of users to install the first application, installing the first application in a third portion of the multi-tenant database system that is specific to the particular user, wherein the installing includes;

receiving an indication that the particular user has agreed to a licensing agreement regarding use of the first application;

generating license information particular to the particular user; and

transmitting, via an application programming interface (API) call, the license information to the first portion of the multi-tenant database system; and

tracking, by the LMA stored in the first portion of the multi-tenant database system, use of the first application by a plurality of subscribing users including the particular user, wherein the tracking includes determining whether use of the first application is in accordance with the licensing agreement based on the license information.

16. The multi-tenant database system of claim 15, wherein the application package includes one or more fields corresponding to customizations of the first application, wherein the customizations are particular to a subscriber to the first application.

17. The multi-tenant database system of claim 16, wherein the operations further comprise:

storing information in the one or more fields that is particular to the particular user in the third portion of the multi-tenant database system, wherein the tracking further includes tracking changes made to the information in the one or more fields that is particular to the particular user.

18. The multi-tenant database system of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise:

receiving, from the first user, an update to the application package; and

storing the updated application package in the common set of portions of the multi-tenant database system.

19. The multi-tenant database system of claim 18, wherein the operations further comprise:

responsive to receiving the updated application package, notifying the particular user of the update to the application package.

20. The multi-tenant database system of claim 19, wherein the tracking further comprises tracking a number of the plurality of subscribing users that have downloaded the updated application package.