Method for sharing groups of objects

• US 7,383,291 B2
• Filed: 05/24/2004
• Issued: 06/03/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 05/24/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Maury, Sébastien, Guiheneuf, Bertrand, Jalon, Julien, Gutknecht, Olivier, Ryder, Scott
• Primary Examiner(s): Alam; Hosain
• Assistant Examiner(s): Raab; Christopher J
• Application Number:
  US10/853,546
• Publication Number:
  US 20050262164A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,471 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 715/751
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06311 Scheduling, planning or task assignment for a person or group
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/109 Time management, e.g. calendars, reminders, meetings or time accounting
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99954 Version management

Abstract

A method of sharing a group of one or more objects between a plurality of users, in which one or more of said plurality of users is able to change parameter data of at least one said object. The method comprises storing at least one version of each said object; when an object is changed, creating a new version of the object, the new version of the object comprising additional data relating to the creation of the new version; storing the new version of the object together with any version of that object before the change; providing all versions of the object to each of said plurality of users; and using the additional data provided for each version of the object to determine how to display the object. The group may be a calendar and each object may be an event in the calendar. In that case, the object parameter data may comprise a start time of the event, an end time of the event, a description of the event, a status of the event, whether the event is to be repeated and the persons attending the event. The additional data may comprise an identification of the user who made the change, a time at which the change was made, a description of the change, a user comment relating to the change and an identification of the previous version of the event from which the present version was created.

Claims

1. A method of sharing a group of one or more objects between a plurality of users, in which one or more of said plurality of users is able to change parameter data of at least one said object, the method comprising:

reading program code from a first memory and processing said program code with a first processing unit performing,

storing at least one version of each said object, wherein the group is a calendar and wherein each object is an event in the calendar, and wherein the parameter data comprises at least one of a start time of the event, an end time of the event, and a description of the event,

when the object is changed, creating a new version of the object, the new version of the object comprising additional data relating to the creating of the new version,

storing the new version of the object together with the at least one version of the object before the change, and

transmitting the new version of the object over a network connection, and

reading program code from a second memory and processing said program code with a second processing unit performing,

comparing a remote version of the object with the new version of the object over the network connection based on the additional data,

determining a sequence relationship between the remote version of the object and the new version of the object based on the comparison, and

displaying the object in accordance with the determined sequence relationship, wherein the sequence relationship determines a previous version of the object and a recent version of the object from the remote version of the object and the new version of the object, and wherein the displaying displays the recent version of the object, the displaying not displaying the previous version of the object.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the parameter data further comprises at least one of a status of the event, whether the event is to be repeated and persons attending the event.

3. The method according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the additional data comprises at least one of an identification of the user who made the change, a time at which the change was made, a description of the change, a user comment relating to the change and an identification of the previous version of the event from which the new version was created.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the additional data comprises the time at which the change was made, the method further comprising displaying the most recently changed version of the object.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the additional data comprises an identification of the previous version of the event from which the present version was created.

6. The method according to claim 1, the method further comprising displaying one version of the object together with the additional data of another version of the object.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the additional data displayed includes at least one of an identification of the user who made the change, the time at which the change was made, a description of the change, a user comment relating to the change and an identification of the previous version of the object from which the new version was created.

8. The method according to claim 1, the method further comprising sharing the group of objects between the plurality of users by means of user devices in a network.

9. The method according to claim 8, the method further comprising storing all versions of objects in user devices accessed by users.

10. The method according to claim 9, the method further comprising storing all versions of objects in a network server.

11. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 10, wherein a first user device and a second user device connected in the network compares all versions of the objects stored in a same group.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the first user device receives from the second device versions of the objects not stored by the first user device.

13. The method according to claim 11, wherein the first user device transmits to the second device versions of the objects not stored by the second device.

14. The method according to claim 1, wherein when a user deletes the object from the group, the method comprises:

creating a new version of the object with additional data indicating that the object is deleted,

storing the new version of the object together with any version of the object before the deletion, and

displaying the object with an indication that the object has been deleted.

15. The method according to claim 1 or claim 14, wherein when a predetermined one of said plurality of users deletes the object from the group, the method comprises:

deleting all versions of the object and replacing the object with a token indicating that the object has been deleted and can no longer be changed.

16. The method according to claim 1, the method further comprising sharing a plurality of groups of objects.

17. The method according to claim 16, the method further comprising moving an object from a first group to a second group.

18. The method according to claim 17, the step of moving an object from a first group to a second group comprising copying all versions of the object in the first group and storing the object in the second group.

19. The method according to claim 1, the method further comprising selecting an existing version of an object, copying the parameter data of the selected version and storing the parameter data with additional data as a new version of the object.

20. The method according to claim 1, further comprising notifying one or more of said users when an object is changed.

21. A computer readable medium encoded with a plurality of computer-executable instructions being executed by a processing system for causing the processing system to perform a method of sharing a group of one or more objects between a plurality of users, in which one or more of said plurality of users is able to change parameter data of at least one said object, the method comprising:

reading program code from a first memory and processing said program code with a first processing unit performing,

storing at least one version of each said object, wherein the group is a calendar and wherein each object is an event in the calendar, and wherein the parameter data comprises at least one of a start time of the event, an end time of the event, and a description of the event,

when the object is changed, creating a new version of the object, the new version of the object comprising additional data relating to the creating of the new version,

storing the new version of the object together with the at least one version of the object before the change, and

transmitting the new version of the object over a network connection,

reading program code from a second memory and processing said program code with a second processing unit performing,

comparing a remote version of the object with the new version of the object over the network connection based on the additional data,

determining a sequence relationship between the remote version of the object and the new version of the object based on the comparison, and

displaying the object in accordance with the determined sequence relationship, wherein the sequence relationship determines a previous version of the object and a recent version of the object from the remote version of the object and the new version of the object, and wherein the displaying displays the recent version of the object, the displaying not displaying the previous version of the object.

22. A recording medium having recorded thereon a computer program for causing a computer to carry out a method of sharing a group of one or more objects between a plurality of users, in which one or more of said plurality of users is able to change parameter data of at least one said object, the method comprising:

reading program code from a first memory and processing said program code with a first processing unit performing,

storing at least one version of each said object, wherein the group is a calendar and wherein each object is an event in the calendar, and wherein the parameter data comprises at least one of a start time of the event, an end time of the event, and a description of the event,

when the object is changed, creating a new version of the object, the new version of the object comprising additional data relating to the creating of the new version, and

storing the new version of the object together with the at least one version of the object before the change;

reading program code from a second memory and processing said program code with a second processing unit performing,

transmitting the new version of the object over a network connection,

comparing a remote version of the object with the new version of the object over the network connection based on the additional data,

determining a sequence relationship between the remote version of the object and the new version of the object based on the comparison, and

displaying the object in accordance with the determined sequence relationship, wherein the sequence relationship determines a previous version of the object and a recent version of the object from the remote version of the object and the new version of the object, and wherein the displaying displays the recent version of the object, the displaying not displaying the previous version of the object.

23. A method of operating a network comprising at least a first user device and a second user device, wherein said user devices are arranged to carry out a method of sharing a group of one or more objects between a plurality of users, in which one or more of said plurality of users is able to change parameter data of at least one said object, the method comprising:

reading program code from a first memory and processing said program code with a first processing unit performing,

storing at least one version of each said object, wherein the group is a calendar and wherein each object is an event in the calendar, and wherein the parameter data comprises at least one of a start time of the event, an end time of the event, and a description of the event,

when the object is changed, creating a new version of the object, the new version of the object comprising additional data relating to the creating of the new version, and

storing the new version of the object together with the at least one version of the object before the change;

reading program code from a second memory and processing said program code with a second processing unit performing,

transmitting the new version of the object over a network connection,

comparing a remote version of the object with the new version of the object over the network connection based on the additional data,

determining a sequence relationship between the remote version of the object and the new version of the object based on the comparison, and

displaying the object in accordance with the determined sequence relationship, wherein the sequence relationship determines a previous version of the object and a recent version of the object from the remote version of the object and the new version of the object, and wherein the displaying displays the recent version of the object, the displaying not displaying the previous version of the object.

24. The method according to claim 23, further comprising a server.

25. A method of operating a user device to carry out a method of sharing a group of one or more objects between a plurality of users, in which one or more of said plurality of users is able to change parameter data of at least one said object, the method of sharing comprising:

reading program code from a first memory and processing said program code with a first processing unit performing,

storing at least one version of each said object, wherein the group is a calendar and wherein each object is an event in the calendar, and wherein the parameter data comprises at least one of a start time of the event, an end time of the event, and a description of the event,

when the object is changed, creating a new version of the object, the new version of the object comprising additional data relating to the creating of the new version, and

storing the new version of the object together with the at least one version of the object before the change;

reading program code from a second memory and processing said program code with a second processing unit performing,

transmitting the new version of the object over a network connection,

comparing a remote version of the object with the new version of the object over the network connection based on the additional data,

determining a sequence relationship between the remote version of the object and the new version of the object based on the comparison, and

displaying the object in accordance with the determined sequence relationship, wherein the sequence relationship determines a previous version of the object and a recent version of the object from the remote version of the object and the new version of the object, and wherein the displaying displays the recent version of the object, the displaying not displaying the previous version of the object.

26. A method of sharing a group of one or more objects between a plurality of users, in which one or more of said plurality of users is able to change parameter data of at least one said object, the method comprising:

reading program code from a first memory and processing said program code with a first processing unit performing,

storing at least one version of each said object,

when the object is changed, creating a new version of the object, the new version of the object comprising additional data relating to the creating of the new version, and

storing the new version of the object together with the at least one version of the object before the change;

reading program code from a second memory and processing said program code with a second processing unit performing,

transmitting the new version of the object over a network connection,

comparing a remote version of the object with the new version of the object over the network connection based on the additional data,

providing all versions of the object to each of said plurality of users, the all versions including the remote version,

using the additional data provided for each version of the object to determine how to display the object, and

displaying the object, in a calendar user interface, in accordance with a sequence of changes established according to relationships between different versions of the object, wherein the group is a calendar and each object is an event in the calendar, wherein the parameter data includes at least one of a start time of the event, an end time of the event, and a description of the event, wherein the sequence relationship determines a previous version of the object and a recent version of the object from the remote version of the object and the new version of the object, and wherein the displaying displays the recent version of the object, the displaying not displaying the previous version of the object.

27. The method according to claim 26, wherein the parameter data further comprises at least one of a status of the event, whether the event is to be repeated and persons attending the event.

28. The method according to claim 26 or claim 27, wherein the additional data comprises at least one of an identification of the user who made the change, a time at which the change was made, a description of the change, a user comment relating to the change and an identification of the previous version of the event from which the new version was created.

29. The method according to claim 26, wherein the additional data comprises the time at which the change was made, the method further comprising displaying the most recently changed version of the object.

30. The method according to claim 26, wherein the additional data comprises an identification of the previous version of the event from which the present version was created.

31. The method according to claim 26, the method further comprising displaying one version of the object together with the additional data of another version of the object.

32. The method according to claim 31, wherein the additional data displayed includes at least one of an identification of the user who made the change, the time at which the change was made, a description of the change, a user comment relating to the change and an identification of the previous version of the object from which the new version was created.

33. The method according to claim 26, the method further comprising sharing the group of objects between the plurality of users by means of user devices in a network.

34. The method according to claim 33, the method further comprising storing all versions of objects in user devices accessed by users.

35. The method according to claim 34, the method further comprising storing all versions of objects in a network server.

36. The method according to any one of claims 33 to 35, wherein a first user device and a second user device connected in the network compares all versions of the objects stored in a same group.

37. The method according to claim 36, wherein the first user device receives from the second device versions of the objects not stored by the first user device.

38. The method according to claim 36, wherein the first user device transmits to the second device versions of the objects not stored by the second device.

39. The method according to claim 26, wherein when a user deletes the object from the group, the method comprises:

creating a new version of the object with additional data indicating that the object is deleted,

storing the new version of the object together with any version of the object before the deletion, and

displaying the object with an indication that the object has been deleted.

40. The method according to claim 26 or claim 39, wherein when a predetermined one of said plurality of users deletes the object from the group, the method comprises:

deleting all versions of the object and replacing the object with a token indicating that the object has been deleted and can no longer be changed.

41. The method according to claim 26, the method further comprising sharing a plurality of groups of objects.

42. The method according to claim 41, the method further comprising moving an object from a first group to a second group.

43. The method according to claim 42, wherein the moving of an object from a first group to a second group comprising copying all versions of the object in the first group and storing the object in the second group.

44. The method according to claim 26, the method further comprising selecting an existing version of an object, copying the parameter data of the selected version and storing the parameter data with additional data as a new version of the object.

45. The method according to claim 26, further comprising notifying one or more of said users when an object is changed.