Updating data-consuming entities

• US 9,253,536 B2
• Filed: 03/18/2009
• Issued: 02/02/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/18/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Pettit, Bradley R., Surpatanu, Nicolae
• Primary Examiner(s): Pulliam, Christyann
• Assistant Examiner(s): HOLLAND, SHERYL L
• Application Number:
  US12/406,816
• Publication Number:
  US 20100241669A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,512 Days
• Field of Search: 707/782, 707/999.201
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/70 of video data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26291 for providing content or additional data updates, e.g. updating software modules, stored at the client deployment, distribution, installation, update of software G06F8/65; error detection or correction during software upgrading G06F11/1433; arrangements for updating broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/25
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/431 Generation of visual interfaces for content selection or interaction; Content or additional data rendering
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4438 Window management, e.g. event handling following interaction with the user interface
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6547 comprising parameters, e.g. for client setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8173 End-user applications, e.g. Web browser, game

Abstract

This document describes tools capable of updating data-consuming entities. These tools allow a developer of an application to use data binding to update data-consuming entities without the need to write custom code.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

deploying an application and an external entity on a computing device, the application comprising one or more data-consuming entities and an indirect data-source module;

declaring a data-location path to a data location on a web service that contains data the one or more data-consuming entities may consume and recording the data-location path in the indirect data-source module;

binding the one or more data-consuming entities to the indirect data-source module using a markup language;

registering the data-location path with the external entity, the external entity being external to the application, located on the same computing device on which the application is deployed, and capable of managing data from one or more data locations on the web service;

monitoring, by the external entity, the data at the data location specified by the data-location path and the data consumed by the one or more data-consuming entities;

notifying the application, by the external entity, that the data at the data location specified by the data-location path has changed relative to the data consumed by the one or more data-consuming entities; and

updating the one or more data-consuming entities with the data from the data location.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the data-location path is an internal property of the indirect data-source module.

3. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising communicating a request from the application to the external entity for the data that was changed.

4. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising receiving the data that was changed from the external entity.

5. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the data-location path is a Uniform Resource Identifier.

6. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the notification by the external entity indicates that the data location has changed, and wherein the method further comprises updating the data-location path recorded in the indirect data-source module and registered with the external entity when updating the one or more data-consuming entities with the data that was changed.

7. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the data-consuming entity is a video display object and the data is video content.

8. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising communicating a request from the indirect data-source module to the external entity for the data that was changed.

9. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the data location is remote from the computing device.

10. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein updating the one or more data-consuming entities further comprises updating the data-location path recorded in the indirect data-source module and registering the updated data-location path with the external entity.

11. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the data-location path is pre-defined by a developer of the application.

12. The method as recited in claim 1, the indirect data-source module further comprising a data buffer, the data buffer configured to receive the changed data.

13. The method as recited in claim 1, the indirect data-source module further comprising a data-provider module, the data-provider module configured to inform the data-consuming entities of the changed data and to update the data-consuming entities.

14. A system comprising:

one or more processors; and

one or more tangible computer-readable media having stored thereon computer-executable instructions that are executable by the one or more processors to perform operations including;

deploying an application and an external entity on a computing device, the application comprising one or more data-consuming entities and an indirect data-source module;

declaring a data-location path to a data location on a web service that contains data the one or more data-consuming entities may consume and recording the data-location path in the indirect data-source module;

binding the one or more data-consuming entities to the indirect data-source module using a markup language;

registering the data-location path with the external entity, the external entity being external to the application, located on the same computing device on which the application is deployed, and capable of managing data from one or more data locations on the web service;

monitoring, by the external entity, the data at the data location specified by the data-location path and the data consumed by the one or more data-consuming entities;

notifying the application, by the external entity, that the data at the data location specified by the data-location path has changed relative to the data consumed by the one or more data-consuming entities; and

updating the one or more data-consuming entities with the data from the data location.

15. The system as recited in claim 14, wherein the application is a web application, the one or more data-consuming entities are audio or visual display objects, and the changed data is audio or video content.

16. The system as recited in claim 14, wherein the data-location path is a URL.

17. The system as recited in claim 14, wherein the data-location path is pre-defined by a developer of the application.

18. The system as recited in claim 14, the operations further comprising receiving, by the indirect data-source module, the data that has changed into a data buffer.

19. The system as recited in claim 14, the indirect data-source module further comprising a data-provider module, the data-provider module configured to inform the data-consuming entities of the changed data and update the data-consuming entities.