Sharing material in a master-slave configuration using an instant messaging infrastructure

• US 7,792,904 B2
• Filed: 01/15/2008
• Issued: 09/07/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/15/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: LinkedIn Corporation (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Balasubramanian, Swaminathan
• Primary Examiner(s): Flynn; Nathan
• Assistant Examiner(s): SPRINGER, JAMES E
• Application Number:
  US12/014,497
• Publication Number:
  US 20090182833A1
• Time in Patent Office: 966 Days
• Field of Search: 709208-211, 709204-205
• US Class Current: 709/205
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1822 Conducting the conference, e.g. admission, detection, selection or grouping of participants, correlating users to one or more conference sessions, prioritising transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/4641 Virtual LANs, VLANs, e.g. virtual private networks [VPN] LAN interconnection over a bridge based backbone H04L12/462; encapsulation techniques H04L12/4633; routing of packets H04L45/00; packet switches H04L49/00; virtual private networks for security H04L63/0272
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]

Abstract

A method for utilizing an IM system enables presenters and participants to interact with material in a master-slave configuration. Both the presenter and participants access the material locally on their computers. The material on the participants'"'"' computer interacts with the presenter'"'"'s computer using an existing instant messaging infrastructure. As the presenter interacts with local material, events are broadcast to slave material as instant messages, such that these events are reproduced as interactions.

Claims

1. In a data processing system having a processor and at least one application executing on the processor, including Chat-Based Application Sharing Logic (CBASL), a method of using an instant messaging (IM) infrastructure in a master-slave configuration to transmit events that alter the visual state of material, the method comprising:

starting a master application in a master system;

connecting, via a chat server, the master system to one or more registered slave systems;

in response to the master application detecting an event that alters the visual state of the material in the master system, converting the event into a serialized command that is transmittable by the chat server;

adding the serialized command to a master event queue in the master system;

transmitting the serialized command from the master event queue in the master system to a slave event queue in one or more of the registered slave systems that are authorized and are running a slave application, wherein the slave application is a copy of the master application and the transmitting the serialized command comprises transmitting only change events at the master application to the slave applications, wherein an entire document and/or application is not transmitted from the master system to the slave systems;

fetching, in each registered slave system, the serialized command from the slave event queue within each registered authorized slave system;

reconstituting, in each registered slave system, the serialized command into an executable event command; and

executing the executable event command in each of the slave applications in the registered slave systems, wherein executing the executable event command alters a visual state of a copy of the material in the slave system.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining, at the master application in the master system, if the event is significant;

in response to the master application in the master system determining that the event is insignificant, blocking one or both of the converting of the event into the serialized command and the adding of the serialized command to the master event queue;

when the master application determines that the event is a significant event, the master application performing the functions of;

serializing the significant event into a command which can be executed on the slave system to change the slave system application in substantially the same way the master application is changed;

placing the command into the master application'"'"'s event queue;

the master system chat client obtaining the command from the event queue; and

transmitting the command using the chat infrastructure, wherein the command is received at the chat client of each registered slave system and is subsequently passed by the slave'"'"'s chat client to the slave application;

wherein, when the significant event is one of a page up or a page down event generated on a visual presentation program made up of multiple numbered slides, the event is processed in the master system to “

move”

up or down to a next slide.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining, at the master application in the master system, if the event queue is empty; and

if the event queue is not empty, enabling the chat client of the master system to perform the functions of;

reading from the head of the event queue;

fetching an event from the master event queue; and

transmitting that fetched event to one or more registered slave systems of each participant listed in the chat registry and having a registered chat client, wherein the fetched event is placed at the end of a respective one or more slave event queues.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

initializing a chat registry in the master system, wherein the chat registry registers an identity of authorized users who are authorized to participate in a virtual meeting in which the material is interactively shared between the master system and the registered slave systems; and

interactively sharing the material between the master system and the registered slave systems.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving at the master chat client a registration notification from a slave chat client of a slave application that is attempting to register with the master application;

on completion of a registration of the slave application, enabling the slave application to perform the following functions at the master application;

(1) downloading a clone (copy) of the master application (2) executing the cloned copy of the master application on the slave device; and

(3) initializing an event queue;

receiving a notification that a slave application is terminating;

responsive to receipt of the notification, updating the master system'"'"'s chat registry to remove/delete the slave application.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the material is one of a master application and a master document; and

when the material is the master application, the event alters a visual state of the master application; and

when the material is a master document that operates under the master application, the event alters a visual state of the master document, and wherein the executable event command alters a visual state of a slave document that is running in one of the slave systems, wherein the slave document is a cloned copy of the master document.

7. A system comprising:

a processor;

a data bus coupled to the processor;

a memory coupled to the data bus; and

a computer-usable medium embodying computer program code, the computer program code comprising instructions executable by the processor and configured for using an instant messaging (IM) infrastructure in a master-slave configuration to transmit changes to a visual appearance of material by performing the steps of;

starting a master application in a master system;

connecting, via a chat server, the master system to one or more registered slave systems;

in response to the master application detecting an event that changes a visual appearance of the material in the master system, converting the event into a serialized command that is transmittable by the chat server;

adding the serialized command to a master event queue in the master system;

transmitting the serialized command from the master event queue in the master system to a slave event queue in one or more of the registered slave systems that are authorized and are running a slave application, wherein the slave application is a copy of the master application and the transmitting the serialized command comprises transmitting only change events at the master application to the slave applications, wherein an entire document and/or application is not transmitted from the master system to the slave systems;

fetching, in each registered slave system, the serialized command from the slave event queue within each registered authorized slave system;

reconstituting, in each registered slave system, the serialized command into an executable event command; and

executing the executable event command in each of the slave applications in the registered slave systems, wherein executing the executable event command changes the visual appearance of a copy of the material in the slave system.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the instructions are further configured for:

determining, at the master application in the master system, if the event is insignificant; and

in response to the master application in the master system determining that the event is insignificant, blocking the converting of the event into the serialized command.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the instructions are further configured for:

determining, at the master system, whether the event is insignificant;

in response to the master system determining that the event is insignificant, blocking the converting of the event into the serialized command.

10. The system of claim 7, wherein the instructions are further configured for:

initializing a chat registry in the master system, wherein the chat registry registers an identity of authorized users who are authorized to participate in a virtual meeting in which the material is interactively shared between the master system and the registered slave systems.

11. The system of claim 7, further comprising instructions configured for:

receiving at the master chat client a registration notification from a slave chat client of a slave application that is attempting to register with the master application;

on completion of a registration of the slave application, enabling the slave application to perform the following functions at the master application;

(1) downloading a clone (copy) of the master application (2) executing the cloned copy of the master application on the slave device; and

(3) initializing an event queue;

receiving a notification that a slave application is terminating;

responsive to receipt of the notification, updating the master system'"'"'s chat registry to remove/delete the slave application.

12. The system of claim 7, wherein:

the material is one of a master application and a master document; and

when the material is the master application, the event alters a visual state of the master application; and

when the material is a master document that operates under the master application, the event changes a visual appearance of the master document, and wherein the executable event command changes a visual appearance of a slave document that is running in one of the slave systems, wherein the slave document is a cloned copy of the master document.

13. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium embodying computer program code, the computer program code comprising instructions executable by the processor and configured for using an instant messaging (IM) infrastructure in a master-slave configuration to transmit events that alter a state of material by performing the steps of:

starting a master application in a master system;

connecting, via a chat server, the master system to one or more registered slave systems;

in response to the master application detecting an event that alters the visual state of the material in the master system, converting the event into a serialized command that is transmittable by the chat server;

adding the serialized command to a master event queue in the master system;

transmitting the serialized command from the master event queue in the master system to a slave event queue in one or more of the registered slave systems that are authorized and are running a slave application, wherein the slave application is a copy of the master application and the transmitting the serialized command comprises transmitting only change events at the master application to the slave applications, wherein an entire document and/or application is not transmitted from the master system to the slave systems;

fetching, in each registered slave system, the serialized command from the slave event queue within each registered authorized slave system;

reconstituting, in each registered slave system, the serialized command into an executable event command; and

executing the executable event command in each of the slave applications in the registered slave systems, wherein executing the executable event command alters a visual state of a copy of the material in the slave system.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the instructions are further configured for:

determining, at the master application in the master system, if the event is insignificant; and

in response to the master application in the master system determining that the event is insignificant, blocking the adding of the serialized command to the master event queue.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the instructions are further configured for:

determining, at the master application in the master system, if the event is insignificant; and

in response to the master application in the master system determining that the event is insignificant, blocking the converting of the event into the serialized command.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the instructions are further configured for:

initializing a chat registry in the master system, wherein the chat registry registers an identity of authorized users who are authorized to participate in a virtual meeting in which the material is interactively shared between the master system and the registered slave systems.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, further comprising instructions configured for:

receiving at the master chat client a registration notification from a slave chat client of a slave application that is attempting to register with the master application;

on completion of a registration of the slave application, enabling the slave application to perform the following functions at the master application;

(1) downloading a clone (copy) of the master application (2) executing the cloned copy of the master application on the slave device; and

(3) initializing an event queue;

receiving a notification that a slave application is terminating;

responsive to receipt of the notification, updating the master system'"'"'s chat registry to remove/delete the slave application.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein:

the material is one of a master application and a master document; and

when the material is the master application, the event alters a visual state of the master application; and

when the material is a master document that operates under the master application, the event alters a state of the master document, and wherein the executable event command changes a state of a slave document that is running in one of the slave systems, wherein the slave document is a cloned copy of the master document.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the computer-usable medium is a component of a remote server, and wherein the computer executable instructions are deployable to a supervisory computer from the remote server.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the computer executable instructions are capable of being provided by a service provider to a customer on an on-demand basis.