Systems and methods for maintaining local virtual states pending server-side storage across multiple devices and users and intermittent network connections

• US 9,961,149 B2
• Filed: 10/26/2016
• Issued: 05/01/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 12/24/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dropbox, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Dropbox, Inc.
• Inventors: Poletto, Stephen, Welinder, Nils Peter, Grue, Anthony
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel, Chirag R
• Application Number:
  US15/335,161
• Publication Number:
  US 20170048332A1
• Time in Patent Office: 552 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/1072 Decentralised address translation, e.g. in distributed shared memory systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/176 Support for shared access to files; File sharing support
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/27 Replication, distribution or synchronisation of data between databases or within a distributed database system; Distributed database system architectures therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/275 Synchronous replication
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/51 Indexing; Data structures therefor; Storage structures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/90 Details of database functions independent of the retrieved data types
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/906 Clustering; Classification
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0811 by checking connectivity
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/16 Threshold monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/06 specially adapted for file transfer, e.g. file transfer protocol [FTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1095 Replication or mirroring of data, e.g. scheduling or transport for data synchronisation between network nodes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/142 Managing session states for stateless protocols; Signalling session states; State transitions; Keeping-state mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/11 Allocation or use of connection identifiers

Abstract

Systems, methods, and non-transitory computer readable media are provided for maintaining local virtual states pending server-side storage across multiple devices and users and intermittent network connections. In exemplary embodiments, content added by a user to his or her account locally on a user device may be displayed, and all interactivity therewith may be facilitated, as if the content had already been created on the content management system. In content management system applications that support shared virtual spaces, changes made by the user from his or her user device to the shared virtual space (including creation of a new shared virtual space) may be displayed locally as soon as the change has been made, not waiting for the information to be transmitted to the server or its state to be made consistent with that of the mobile device.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, at a user device from a user of a digital content management system, a request to share a content item with one or more additional users;

in response to receiving the request to share the content item, sending, to the digital content management system, a request for a global ID for a shared virtual space accessible to the user and the one or more additional users;

prior to receiving the requested global ID;

assigning, to the content item, a local ID associated with a local virtual space corresponding with the shared virtual space;

allocating a portion of memory on the user device for the requested global ID; and

providing, for display on the user device, a representation of the local virtual space that comprises the content item;

receiving, from the digital content management system, the global ID for the shared virtual space; and

storing the received global ID in the allocated portion of memory of the user device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein allocating the portion of memory on the user device for the requested global ID comprises setting up a data structure on the client device for storing the local ID and the global ID.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein setting up the data structure comprises creating one or more of a lookup table, a translation table, or a database.

4. The method of claim 2, further comprising, prior to receiving the global ID, referencing one or more digital content items added to the local virtual space with the local ID.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein referencing the one or more digital content items with the local ID comprises adding one or more instances of the local ID to the data structure on the client device, wherein the one or more instances of the local ID correspond respectively to the one or more digital content items added to the virtual space.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein allocating the portion of memory on the user device for the requested global ID comprises allocating one or more portions of the data structure for the requested global ID based on the one or more instances of the local ID.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein allocating the portion of memory on the user device for the requested global ID comprises reserving a portion of an existing data structure on the client device for storing the local ID and the global ID.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the existing data structure comprises one or more additional instances of the local ID associated with one or more digital content items added to the local virtual space prior to receiving the global ID from the digital content management system.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving an additional request to share an additional content item with the one or more additional users; and

prior to receiving the requested global ID, updating the representation of the local virtual space to include the additional content item.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising creating the local ID, wherein sending the request for the global ID and creating the local ID are performed simultaneously in response to receiving the request to share the content item with the one or more additional users.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the request to share the content item with the one or more additional users comprises a request to add the content item to the shared virtual space accessible to the user and the one or more additional users.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

detecting a connectivity between the user device and the digital content management system;

determining that the connectivity is below a threshold connectivity; and

wherein assigning the local ID associated with the local virtual space is in response to determining that the connectivity is below the threshold connectivity.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising replacing the local ID with the global ID following receipt of the global ID.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein providing the representation of the local virtual space that comprises the content item comprises simulating a representation of the shared virtual space prior to a creation of the shared virtual space.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising, in response to receiving the global ID for the shared virtual space, replacing the local ID with the global ID.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein replacing the local ID with the global ID comprises replacing the local ID with the global ID in the portion of memory on the user device allocated for the requested global ID without alternating the displayed representation of the local virtual space that comprises the content item.

17. A non-transitory computer readable medium containing instructions that, when executed by at least one processor of a user device, cause the user device to:

receive, at a user device from a user of a digital content management system, a request to share a content item with one or more additional users;

in response to receiving the request to share the content item, send, to the digital content management system, a request for a global ID for a shared virtual space accessible to the user and the one or more additional users;

prior to receiving the requested global ID;

assign, to the content item, a local ID associated with a local virtual space corresponding with the shared virtual space;

allocate a portion of memory on the user device for the requested global ID; and

provide, for display on the user device, a representation of the local virtual space that comprises the content item;

receive, from the digital content management system, the global ID for the shared virtual space; and

store the received global ID in the allocated portion of memory of the user device associated with the local ID.

18. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 17, wherein allocating the portion of memory on the device comprises one of:

setting up a data structure on the client device for storing the local ID and the global ID;

or

reserving space of an existing data structure on the client device for storing the local ID and the global ID.

19. A system comprising:

at least one processor; and

a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions thereon that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the system to;

receive, at a user device from a user of a digital content management system, a request to share a content item with one or more additional users;

in response to receiving the request to share the content item, send, to the digital content management system, a request for a global ID for a shared virtual space accessible to the user and the one or more additional users;

prior to receiving the requested global ID;

assign, to the content item, a local ID associated with a local virtual space corresponding with the shared virtual space;

allocate a portion of memory on the user device for the requested global ID; and

provide, for display on the user device, a representation of the local virtual space that comprises the content item;

receive, from the digital content management system, the global ID for the shared virtual space; and

store the received global ID in the allocated portion of memory of the user device associated with the local ID.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein allocating the portion of memory on the user device comprises one of:

setting up a data structure on the client device for storing the local ID and the global ID;

or

reserving space of an existing data structure on the client device for storing the local ID and the global ID.