Method and system for client-based operations in server synchronization with a computing device

• US 20070016695A1
• Filed: 11/05/2001
• Published: 01/18/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 09/28/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Oracle America, Inc. (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Siebel Systems Inc. (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Susser, Martin, Chung, Pi-Yu, Rabbers, David
• Granted Patent: US 7,526,575 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/248
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/275 Synchronous replication
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99952 Coherency, e.g. same view to multiple users

Abstract

A method and system for synchronizing a main database of a server and a local database of a handheld device. A user can use an application residing in the handheld device to make transactions in the local database. In a synchronization operation, a synchronization client is used to: establish a connection between a server and the synchronization client; receive an identifier for the main database'"'"'s structure from the server; receive an identifier for the version of the handheld application from the server; send transaction information to the server; receive metadata to update the handheld application; and receive data extracted from the main database from the server. The synchronization client is also used to update filter information used by the server to reduce the size of the data downloaded to the handheld device.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

establishing a connection between a server and a synchronization client associated with a handheld device, the server having access to a first database and the handheld device having access to a second database, the handheld device comprising an application configured to allow user access to the second database, wherein the synchronization client is configured to use the connection in an operation to synchronize the second database and the first database;

receiving, from the server, first information indicative of a structure of the first database;

receiving, from the server, second information indicative of a version of the application;

sending, to the server, information of transactions performed on the second database;

receiving metadata from the server to update the application when the application has been updated since a previous synchronization operation;

sending, to the server, filter information;

filtering data based on the filter information; and

receiving, from the server, the filtered data;

determining whether the handheld device has sufficient memory to store the filtered data received from the server.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining whether the structure of the first database has been updated since the previous synchronization operation.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein determining whether the structure of the first database has been updated since the previous synchronization operation, comprises:

comparing the first information with information stored on the handheld device that is indicative of the structure of the first database when the previous synchronization operation was performed.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein receiving, from the server, the filtered data comprises:

receiving, from the server, a first set of data extracted from the first database when the structure of the first database has been updated since the previous synchronization operation, the first set of data including data that has not changed in the second database since the previous synchronization operation was performed.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein receiving, from the server, the filtered data comprises:

receiving, from the server, a second set of data extracted from the first database when the structure of the first database has not been updated since the previous synchronization operation, the second set of data not including data that has not changed in the second database since the previous synchronization operation was performed.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining whether the application has been updated since the previous synchronization operation.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein determining whether the application has been updated since the previous synchronization operation, comprises:

comparing the second information with information stored on the handheld device that is indicative of the version of the application when the previous synchronization operation was performed.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein sending, to the server, information of transactions performed on the second database, comprises:

receiving, from the server, an identifier of information of a last transaction received by the server; and

sending, to the server, transaction information that includes an identifier for each transaction made after the last transaction received by the server.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein sending to the server information of transactions performed on the second database, further comprises:

receiving, from the server, error information when the server detects a transaction error;

providing an indication of the error information to a user; and

receiving input from the user to process the transaction error.

14. The method of claim 2, wherein the means for receiving, from the server, the filtered data, comprises:

means for receiving, from the server, a first set of data extracted from the first database when the structure of the first database has been updated since the previous synchronization operation, the first set of data including data that has not changed in the second database since the previous synchronization operation was performed.

15. The method of claim 2, wherein the means for receiving, from the server, the filtered data, comprises:

means for receiving, from the server, a second set of data extracted from the first database when the structure of the first database has not been updated since the previous synchronization operation, the second set of data not including data that has not changed in the second database since the previous synchronization operation was performed.

10. (canceled)

11. An system, comprising:

means for establishing a connection between a server and a synchronization client associated with a handheld device, the server having access to a first database and the handheld device having access to a second database, the handheld device having an application to allow user access to the second database, wherein the synchronization client is configured to use the connection in an operation to synchronize the second database and the first database;

means for receiving, from the server, first information indicative of a structure of the first database;

means for receiving, from the server, second information indicative of a version of the application from the server;

means for sending, to the server, information of transactions performed on the second database by the user via the handheld device;

means for receiving metadata from the server to update the application on the handheld device when the application has been updated since a previous synchronization operation;

means for sending, to the server, user-specific filter information;

means for identifying, in the first database, data visible to the user of the synchronization client;

means for filtering the identified data based on the user-specific filter information; and

means for receiving, from the server, the filtered data;

means for determining whether the handheld device has sufficient memory to store the filtered data received from the server.

12. The system of claim 11, further comprising means for determining whether the structure of the first database has been updated since the previous synchronization operation.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the means for determining whether the structure of the first database has been updated since the previous synchronization operation, comprises:

means for comparing the first information with information stored on the handheld device that is indicative of the structure of the first database when the previous synchronization operation was performed.

16. The system of claim 11, further comprising means for determining whether the application has been updated since the previous synchronization operation.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the means for determining whether the application has been updated since the previous synchronization operation, comprises:

means for comparing the second information with information stored on the handheld device that is indicative of the version of the application when the previous synchronization operation was performed.

18. The system of claim 11, wherein the means for sending to the server information of transactions performed on the second database, comprises:

means for receiving, from the server, an identifier of information of a last transaction received by the server; and

means for sending, to the server, transaction information that includes an identifier for each transaction made after the last transaction received by the server.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the means for sending to the server information of transactions performed on the second database, further comprises:

means for receiving, from the server, error information when the server detects a transaction error;

means for providing an indication of the error information to a user; and

means for receiving input from the user to process the transaction error.

20. (canceled)

21. A machine-readable medium having stored thereon a plurality of instructions that when executed by a handheld device cause the handheld device to perform operations comprising:

establishing a connection between a server and a synchronization client, the synchronization client associated with the handheld device, the server having access to a first database and the handheld device having access to a second database, the handheld device comprising an application configured to allow user access to the second database, wherein the synchronization client is configured to use the connection in an operation to synchronize the second database and the first database;

receiving, from the server, first information indicative of a structure of the first database;

receiving, from the server, second information indicative of a version of the application;

sending, to the server, information of transactions performed on the second database;

receiving metadata from the server to update the application when the application has been updated since a previous synchronization operation;

sending, to the server, filter information;

receiving, from the server, data filtered based on the filter information;

determining whether the handheld device has sufficient memory to store the filtered data.

22. The machine-readable medium of claim 21, wherein the plurality of instructions further comprise instructions that when executed by the handheld device cause the handheld device to perform operations comprising:

determining whether the structure of the first database has been updated since the previous synchronization operation.

23. The machine-readable medium of claim 22, wherein the instructions for performing the operation of determining whether the structure of the first database has been updated since the previous synchronization operation, include instructions that when executed by the handheld device cause the handheld device to perform operations comprising:

comparing the first information with information stored on the handheld device that is indicative of the structure of the first database when the previous synchronization operation was performed.

24. The machine-readable medium of claim 22, wherein the instructions for performing the operation of receiving, from the server, the filtered data, include instructions that when executed by the handheld device cause the handheld device to perform operations comprising:

receiving, from the server, a first set of data extracted from the first database when the structure of the first database has been updated since the previous synchronization operation, the first set of data including data that has not changed in the second database since the previous synchronization operation was performed.

25. The machine-readable medium of claim 22, wherein the instructions for performing the operation of receiving, from the server, the filtered data, include instructions that when executed by the handheld device cause the handheld device to perform operations comprising:

receiving, from the server, a second set of data extracted from the first database when the structure of the first database has not been updated since the previous synchronization operation, the second set of data not including data that has not changed in the second database since the previous synchronization operation was performed.

26. The machine-readable medium of claim 21, wherein the plurality of instructions further comprises instructions that when executed by the handheld device cause the handheld device to perform operations comprising:

determining whether the application has been updated since the previous synchronization operation.

27. The machine-readable medium of claim 26, wherein the instructions for performing the operation of determining whether the application has been updated since the previous synchronization operation, include instructions that when executed by the handheld device cause the handheld device to perform operations comprising:

comparing the second information with information stored on the handheld device that is indicative of the version of the application when the previous synchronization operation was performed.

28. The machine-readable medium of claim 21, wherein the instructions for performing the operation of sending, to the server, information of transactions performed on the second database, include instructions that when executed by the handheld device cause the handheld device to perform operations comprising:

receiving, from the server, an identifier of information of a last transaction received by the server; and

sending, to the server, transaction information that includes an identifier for each transaction made after the last transaction received by the server.

29. The machine-readable medium of claim 28, wherein the instructions for sending to the server information of transactions performed on the second database, include instructions that when executed by the handheld device cause the handheld device to perform operations comprising:

receiving, from the server, error information when the server detects a transaction error;

providing an indication of the error information to a user; and

receiving input from the user to process the transaction error.

30. (canceled)

31. A handheld device, comprising:

a local database;

a user interface coupled to the local database;

a transaction recorder coupled to the local database, wherein the transaction recorder is configured to record information related to changes made to the local database by a user of the handheld device via the user interface and to provide the recorded information to a server during a synchronization operation;

a metadata importer coupled to the user interface, wherein the metadata importer is configured to receive metadata from the server during the synchronization operation, the metadata including information for updating the user interface; and

a data importer coupled to the local database, wherein the data importer is configured to receive data provided by the server during the synchronization operation, the data being a subset of data extracted from a main database based on visibility rules and filter information;

a device configured to whether the handheld device has sufficient memory to store the data provided by the server.

33. The handheld device of claim 31, wherein the data importer is configured to determine whether a structure of the main database has been changed since a previous synchronization operation.

34. The handheld device of claim 33, wherein the data importer is configured to receive an identifier corresponding to the structure of the main database and compare the received identifier with a stored identifier corresponding to the structure of the main database when the previous synchronization operation was performed.

35. The handheld device of claim 33, wherein the data importer is configured to receive a first set of data extracted from the main database by the server when the structure of the main database has changed since the previous synchronization operation, the first set of data including data that has not changed in the local database since the previous synchronization operation was performed.

36. The handheld device of claim 33, wherein the data importer is configured to receive a second set of data extracted from the main database by the server when the structure of the main database has not changed since the previous synchronization operation, the second set of data omitting data that has not changed in the local database since the previous synchronization operation was performed.

37. The handheld device of claim 31, wherein the metadata importer is configured to determine whether the user interface has been updated since the previous synchronization operation.

38. The handheld device of claim 37, wherein the metadata importer is configured to receive version information of a most currently available user interface and to compare the received version information with version information corresponding to the user interface included in the handheld device.

39. The handheld device of claim 31, wherein the transaction recorder is configured to receive from the server an identifier of a last transaction recorded by the transaction for which transaction information was received by the server from the handheld device, and to send to the server transaction information that includes an identifier for each transaction made after the last transaction.

40. The handheld device of claim 39, wherein the transaction recorder is configured to receive from the server error information when the server detects a transaction error, to provide an indication of the error information to a user, and to receive input from the user to process the transaction error.

32. (canceled)

41. A method, comprising:

establishing a connection between a server and a synchronization client associated with a handheld device, the server having access to a first database and the handheld device having access to a second database, the handheld device having an application to allow user access to the second database, wherein the synchronization client is configured to use the connection in an operation to synchronize the second database and the first database;

receiving first filter information from the server, the first filter information comprising at least one business object, each business object of the first filter information having an associated set of filters;

retrieving second filter information stored on the handheld device, the second filter information comprising at least one business object, each business of the second filter information object having an associated filter that was active during a previous synchronization operation;

processing the first filter and second filter information to select active filters;

storing the processed filter information to serve as filter information for a next synchronization operation; and

sending the processed filter information to the server during the synchronization operation.

42. The method of claim 41, wherein processing the first and second filter information comprises:

forming an XML document that includes a business object and its associated active filter.

43. The method of claim 41, wherein processing the first filter and second filter information to select active filters, comprises:

for each business object included in the first filter information, selecting an associeted default filter as the business object'"'"'s active filter;

for each business object and associated filter in the second filter information that is also included in the first filter information, selecting the associated filter of the second filter information as the business object'"'"'s active filter.

44. The method of claim 43, wherein selecting a default filter associated with the business object in the first filter information as the business object'"'"'s active filter, comprises:

forming a linked list of each business object and its associated set of filters; and

for each business object of the first filter information, selecting a first found default filter as the business object'"'"'s active filter.

45. The method of claim 44, wherein selecting the associated filter of the second filter information as the business object'"'"'s active filter, comprises:

for each business object of the second filter information, determining whether the business object and its associated filter in the second filter information is also present in the linked list; and

for each business object and associated filter of the second filter information that is present in the linked list, selecting the associated filter of the second filter information as the active filter.

46. A system, comprising:

means for establishing a connection between a server and a synchronization client associated with a handheld device, the server having access to a first database and the handheld device having access to a second database, the handheld device having an application to allow user access to the second database, wherein the synchronization client is configured to use the connection in an operation to synchronize the second database and the first database;

means for receiving first filter information from the server, the first filter information comprising at least one business object, each business object of the first filter information having an associated set of filters;

means for retrieving second filter information stored on the handheld device, the second filter information comprising at least one business object, each business object of the first filter information having an associated filter that was active during a previous synchronization operation;

means for processing the first filter and second filter information to select active filters;

means for storing the processed filter information to serve as filter information for a next synchronization operation; and

means for sending the processed filter information to the server during the synchronization operation.

47. The system of claim 46, wherein the means for processing the first and second filter information comprises:

means for forming an XML document that includes a business object and its associated active filter.

48. The system of claim 46, wherein the means for processing the first filter and second filter information to select active filters, comprises:

means, for each business object included in the first filter information, for selecting a default filter associated with the business object in the first filter information as the business object'"'"'s active filter;

means, for each business object and associated filter in the second filter information that is also included in the first filter information, for selecting the associated filter of the second filter information as the business object'"'"'s active filter.

49. The system of claim 48, wherein the means for selecting a default filter associated with the business object in the first filter information as the business object'"'"'s active filter, comprises:

means for forming a linked list of each business object and its associated set of filters; and

means, for each business object of the first filter information, for selecting a first found default filter as the business object'"'"'s active filter.

50. The system of claim 49, wherein the means for selecting the associated filter of the second filter information as the business object'"'"'s active filter, comprises:

means, for each business object of the second filter information, for determining whether the business object and its associated filter in the second filter information is also present in the linked list; and

means, for each business object and associated filter of the second filter information that is present in the linked list, for selecting the associated filter of the second filter information as the active filter.

51. A machine-readable medium having stored thereon a plurality of instructions that when executed by a computer cause the computer to perform operations comprising:

establishing a connection between a server and a synchronization client associated with a handheld device, the server having access to a first database and the handheld device having access to a second database, the handheld device comprising an application to allow user access to the second database, wherein the synchronization client is configured to use the connection in an operation to synchronize the second database and the first database;

receiving first filter information from the server, the first filter information including at least one business object, each business object of the first filter information having an associated set of filters;

retrieving second filter information stored on the handheld device, the second filter information including at least one business object, each business object of the second filter information having an associated filter that was active during a previous synchronization operation;

processing the first filter and second filter information to select active filters;

storing the processed filter information to serve as the filter information for a next synchronization operation; and

sending the processed filter information to the server during the synchronization operation.

52. The machine-readable medium of claim 51, wherein the instructions for performing the operation of processing the first and second filter information include instructions that when executed by the computer cause the computer to perform operations comprising:

forming an XML document that includes a business object and its associated active filter.

53. The machine-readable medium of claim 51, wherein the instructions for performing the operation of processing the first filter and second filter information to select active filters include instructions that when executed by the computer cause the computer to perform operations comprising:

for each business object included in the first filter information, selecting a default filter associated with the business object in the first filter information as the business object'"'"'s active filter; and

for each business object and associated filter in the second filter information that is also included in the first filter information, selecting the associated filter of the second filter information as the business object'"'"'s active filter.

54. The machine-readable medium of claim 53, wherein the instructions for performing the operation of selecting a default filter associated with the business object in the first filter information as the business object'"'"'s active filter include instructions that when executed by the computer cause the computer to perform operations comprising:

forming a linked list of each business object and its associated set of filters; and

for each business object of the first filter information, selecting a first found default filter as the business object'"'"'s active filter.

55. The machine-readable medium of claim 54, wherein the instructions for performing the operation of selecting the associated filter of the second filter information as the business object'"'"'s active filter include instructions that when executed by the computer cause the computer to perform operations comprising:

for each business object of the second filter information, determining whether the business object and its associated filter in the second filter information is also present in the linked list; and

for each business object and associated filter of the second filter information that is present in the linked list, selecting the associated filter of the second filter information as the active filter.

57. The handheld device of claim 54, wherein the filter processor to form an XML document that includes a business object and its associated active filter.

58. The handheld device of claim 54, wherein in processing the first filter and second filter information to select active filters, the filter processor to:

for each business object included in the first filter information, select a default filter associated with the business object in the first filter information as the business object'"'"'s active filter; and

for each business object and associated filter in the second filter information that is also included in the first filter information, select the associated filter of the second filter information as the business object'"'"'s active filter.

59. The handheld device of claim 58, wherein in selecting a default filter associated with the business object in the first filter information as the business object'"'"'s active filter, the filter processor to:

form a linked list of each business object and its associated set of filters; and

for each business object of the first filter information, select a first found default filter as the business object'"'"'s active filter.

60. The handheld device of claim 59, wherein in selecting the associated filter of the second filter information as the business object'"'"'s active filter, the filter processor to:

for each business object of the second filter information, determine whether the business object and its associated filter in the second filter information is also present in the linked list; and

for each business object and associated filter of the second filter information that is present in the linked list, select the associated filter of the second filter information as the active filter.

56. A handheld device, comprising:

a memory;

a local database stored in the memory;

a user interface coupled to the local database;

a transaction recorder coupled to the local database, wherein the transaction recorder is configured to record information related to changes made to the local database by a user of the handheld device via the user interface and to provide the recorded information to a server during a synchronization operation;

a data importer coupled to the local database, wherein the data importer is configured to receive data provided by the server during the synchronization operation and to store the data in the local database, the data being extracted from a main database and filtered by the server before being received by the data importer; and

a filter processor coupled to the memory, wherein the filter processor to;

receive first filter information from the server, the first filter information including at least one business object, each business object of the first filter information having an associated set of filters;

retrieve second filter information stored in the memory, the second filter information including at least one business object, each business of the second filter information object having an associated filter that was active during a previous synchronization operation;

process the first filter and second filter information to select active filters;

store the processed filter information in the memory to serve as filter information for a next synchronization operation; and

send the processed filter information to the server during the synchronization operation, the processed filter information to be used by the server in filtering the data extracted from the main database.