SYNCHRONIZING METADATA AND DOCUMENT CONTENT ACROSS CLIENT SYSTEMS USING DIFFERENT COMMUNICATION CHANNELS

• US 20100211543A1
• Filed: 02/17/2009
• Published: 08/19/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 02/17/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Bernstein, Ethan Joseph, Knight, Mark Rolland, Antos, Christopher J., Bailor, Jonathan
• Granted Patent: US 8,327,278 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/617
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/275 Synchronous replication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1095 Replication or mirroring of data, e.g. scheduling or transport for data synchronisation between network nodes

Abstract

Tools and techniques for synchronizing metadata and document content across client systems using different communication channels are provided. These tools may define logical communication channels between client software components, and may allocate one of these channels to synchronizing updates to the contents of documents shared between these client components. These tools may allocate another one of the communication channels to synchronizing metadata between the client components, with the metadata describing activity pertaining to the shared documents. The client components may receive indications of activity made by users to the document contents, and may create metadata representing the activity. These client components may then transmit this metadata, using the further communication channel, to any number of other client components automatically in real time with the updates.

Claims

1. Apparatus comprising at least one computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions that, when loaded into a processor and executed, cause the processor to:

define a plurality of logical communication channels between at least two client components;

allocate at least a first one of the communication channels for synchronizing updates to contents of a document that is shared between the client components;

allocate at least a further one of the communication channels for synchronizing metadata between the client components, wherein the metadata describes activity pertaining to the document;

receive an indication of at least one instance of activity pertaining to the contents of the document by a user accessing one of the client components;

create metadata representing the activity; and

transmit the metadata, using the further communication channel, from the client component to a least a further one of the client components automatically in real time with the update.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising instructions to receive a command from the user, and in response to the command, transmit the document contents to at least the further client component, using the first communication channel.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, further comprising instructions to transmit, using the first communication channel, metadata representing a state of the document when the document contents are transmitted to the client component.

4. The apparatus of claim 2, further comprising instructions to transmit the document content to the further client component via least one server component.

5. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the instructions to receive a command include instructions to receive a command to save a current state of the document.

6. The apparatus of claim 2, further comprising instructions to instantiate a foreground process for transmitting updates to the document contents using the first communication channel, and further comprising instructions to instantiate a background process for transmitting the metadata using the further communication channel.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising instructions to transmit the metadata to the further client component via at least one server component.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the instructions to create metadata include instructions to create metadata that indicates where the user is editing within the document.

9. Apparatus comprising at least one computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions that, when loaded into a processor and executed, cause the processor to:

define a plurality of logical communication channels between at least two client components;

allocate at least a first one of the communication channels for synchronizing updates to contents of a document that is shared between the client components;

allocate at least a further one of the communication channels for synchronizing metadata between the client components, wherein the metadata describes activity pertaining to the document;

receive metadata from at least a first one of the client components via the further communication channel, wherein the metadata relates to at least one instance of activity pertaining to a first copy of the document content on the first client component; and

process the metadata to assess any impact to a further copy of the document content that is maintained locally at a further one of the client components.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, further comprising instructions to receive, via the first communication channel at least one update to the first copy of the document content.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, further comprising instructions to apply the update received via the first communication channel to a further first copy of the document content.

12. The apparatus of claim 10, further comprising instructions to receive, via the first communication channel, metadata with the update to the document content.

13. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the instructions to receive an update include instructions to receive an update to the document content in response to a command issued by a user accessing the first one of the client components.

14. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the instructions to receive an update include instructions to receive an update to the document content in response to a save command issued by a user accessing the first one of the client components.

15. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the instructions to receive metadata include instructions to receive metadata created and transmitted automatically by the first client component in real time with the update.

16. The apparatus of claim 9, further comprising instructions to receive the metadata from the first from the first client component via least one server component.

17. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the instructions to receive metadata include instructions to receive metadata that indicates where in the first copy of the document a user is editing on the first client component.

18. A system comprising:

a first client system including at least a first processor and at least a first computer-readable storage medium coupled to communicate with the first processor, wherein the first storage medium includes at least a first client software component for maintaining a first copy of a document locally at the first client system;

at least a second client system including at least a second processor and at least a second computer-readable storage medium coupled to communicate with the second processor, wherein the second storage medium includes at least a second client software component for maintaining a second copy of the document locally at the second client system;

a first logical channel placing the first and second client software components in communication with one another, wherein the first logical channel is adapted for synchronizing metadata between the client software components, wherein the metadata represents activity pertaining to the first or second copies out the document, and wherein the metadata is generated and transmitted in real time with occurrences of the activity; and

at least a second logical channel placing the first and second client software components in communication with one another, wherein the second logical channel is adapted for synchronizing at least one update to the document in response to a least one command issued by a user accessing the first or second client system.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the first and second client software components are respective instances of a document editing application.

20. The system of claim 18, wherein the first logical channel is adapted to operate with least one background process that synchronizes the metadata between the first and second client systems, and wherein the second logical channel is adapted to operate with a least one foreground process that synchronizes the least one update to the document between the first and second client systems.