Versatile application configuration for deployable computing environments

• US 9,332,063 B2
• Filed: 10/28/2013
• Issued: 05/03/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/20/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Shukla, Dharma
• Primary Examiner(s): Casanova, Jorge A
• Application Number:
  US14/064,672
• Publication Number:
  US 20140052840A1
• Time in Patent Office: 918 Days
• Field of Search: 707/620, 713/100
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/44505 Configuring for program initiating, e.g. using registry, configuration files
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46

Abstract

Within a computing environment, an application may run in a variety of contexts, e.g., as a natively executable application, as a client-side interpretable application embedded in a web browser, or as a server-side application that communicates with the user through a web interface presented on a device. The application may also access resources of the computing environment stored on multiple devices. The configuration of the application to operate equivalently in these diverse environments may be facilitated by representing the application within an object hierarchy representing the computing environment. The application may be configured to operate on the objects of the object hierarchy regardless of the location of the stored objects, to execute on any device, and to execute upon a standard set of application programming interfaces. The configuration of the application in this manner promotes the versatility of the application in operating equivalently in different programming contexts.

Claims

1. A method of deploying an application that utilizes a resource to a device, the method comprising:

storing an object hierarchy comprising at least two application versions of the application that are respectively adapted for a connectivity context between the application and the resource, wherein the at least two application versions comprise;

a first application version adapted to interact with the resource in a local connectivity context, and

a second application version adapted to interact with the resource in a remote connectivity context;

evaluating a connectivity between the device and the resource to determine the connectivity context of the application with the resource;

identifying a selected portion of the object hierarchy that includes a selected application version of the application that is adapted for the connectivity context between the device and the resource, and that excludes an excluded application version of the application that is not adapted for the connectivity context between the device and the resource; and

synchronizing the selected portion of the object hierarchy that includes the selected application version of the application with the device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the at least two application versions of the application further comprise application versions that are respectively adapted for an execution context selected from an execution context set, comprising;

a local execution context, wherein the application is configured to execute on the device as a native device application;

a web client application execution context, wherein the application is configured to execute on the device within a web browser and to communicate with a second device comprising a web application server; and

a web server application execution context, wherein the application is configured to execute on the device and to communicate with a second device comprising a web application client; and

identifying the selected portion of the object hierarchy further comprises;

determining, within the execution context set, a selected execution context in which the application is to execute on the device; and

identifying a selected portion of the object hierarchy that includes an included application version of the application that is further adapted for the selected execution context of the application on the device, and that excludes an excluded application version of the application that is adapted for a different execution context of the application on the device.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein:

the local execution context of the application is further configured to present to the user a user interface that is consistent with natively executing applications; and

the web client execution context of the application is further configured to present to the user a user interface that is consistent with web applications executing within a web browser.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the application versions of the application further comprise application versions that are respectively adapted for a device trust level selected from a device trust level set, comprising;

a trusted application version that is adapted for execution on a trusted device, and

an untrusted application version that is adapted for execution on an untrusted device; and

identifying the selected portion of the object hierarchy further comprises;

performing a trust determination of the device as one of a trusted device and an untrusted device; and

identifying the selected portion of the object hierarchy including an included application version of the application that is adapted to execute on the device according to the trust determination of the device, and excluding an excluded application version of the application that is not adapted to execute on the device according to the trust determination of the device.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the application versions of the application further comprise application versions that are respectively adapted for a device resource level selected from a device resource level set, comprising;

a full-featured application version that is adapted for execution on resource-rich devices, and

a reduced-feature application version that is adapted for execution on limited-resource devices; and

identifying the selected portion of the object hierarchy further comprises;

performing a resource determination of the device as one of a resource-rich device and a limited-resource device; and

identifying the selected portion of the object hierarchy that includes a selected application version of the application that is adapted to execute according to the resource determination of the device, and that excludes an excluded application version of the application that is not adapted to execute according to the resource determination of the device.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the object hierarchy is authoritatively stored by a computing environment host;

the remote connectivity context involves accessing the objects of the object hierarchy stored on the computing environment host; and

the method further comprises;

configuring the application to access the objects of the object hierarchy further comprises;

configuring the included application version of the application to communicate with the computing environment host to access the object of the object hierarchy stored on the computing environment host.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein:

the computing environment host provides a RESTful interface to the object hierarchy; and

the method further comprises;

configuring the included application version of the application to apply respective actions to the objects of the object hierarchy by issuing a command to the RESTful interface of the computing environment host.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

configuring the application to access the objects of the object hierarchy while obscuring the connectivity context of the application with the computing environment host from the application.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the application versions of the application comprise;

a first application binary that is compatible with a first device architecture and that is not compatible with a second device architecture, and

a second application binary that is compatible with the second device architecture and not the first device architecture; and

identifying the selected portion of the object hierarchy further comprises;

identifying a selected device architecture of the device;

identifying a selected application version of the application binary of the device that is compatible with the selected device architecture of the device; and

identifying the selected portion of the object hierarchy that includes the first application binary for the selected application version of the application, and that excludes an excluded application binary for an excluded application version of the application that is not compatible with the selected device architecture of the device.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein:

respective application versions of the application further comprise a source document of the application; and

synchronizing the selected portion of the object hierarchy with the device further comprises;

transmitting, to the device, the source document of the selected application version of the application to be compiled to generate the application.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein:

respective application versions of the application further comprise a source document of the application; and

synchronizing the selected portion of the object hierarchy with the device further comprises;

selecting the source document for the selected application version;

compiling the source document for the selected application version to generate an application binary that is compatible with execution by the device; and

transmitting the application binary for the selected application version to the device.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein:

respective objects further comprise an object hierarchy address identifying a location of the object within the object hierarchy; and

the method further comprises;

configuring the included application version of the application to access the respective objects according to the object hierarchy address of the object within the object hierarchy.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the application versions of the application further comprise application versions that are respectively adapted for interaction between the device and the resource according to a resource bandwidth, including;

a high-bandwidth application version that is adapted for high-bandwidth access between the device and the resource, and

a low-bandwidth application version that is adapted for low-bandwidth access between the device and the resource, and

identifying the selected portion of the object hierarchy further comprises;

performing a bandwidth determination of bandwidth between the device and the resource; and

identifying the selected portion of the object hierarchy including a selected application version of the application that is adapted to access the resource according to the bandwidth determination of bandwidth between the device and the resource, and excluding an excluded application version of the application that is not adapted to access the resource according to the bandwidth determination of bandwidth between the device and the resource.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the computing environment host further provides a RESTful interface to the object hierarchy; and

the method further comprises;

responsive to a request from the application to apply an action to an object of the object hierarchy, issue a command to the RESTful interface of the computing environment host to apply the action to the object of the object hierarchy.

14. A method of configuring a client device, having a set of device properties, to present a computing environment represented by an object hierarchy hosted by a computing environment host and comprising objects respectfully associated with at least two application versions of an application that interacts with a resource in a connectivity context, wherein respective application versions are adapted for the connectivity context between the application and the resource, including:

a first application version adapted to interact with the resource in a local connectivity context, and

a second application version adapted to interact with the resource in a remote connectivity context,

the method comprising;

synchronizing the object hierarchy stored on the client device with a selected portion of the object hierarchy hosted on the computing environment host, wherein the selected portion includes a selected application version of the application that is adapted for the connectivity context between the client device and the resource, and excludes an excluded application version of the application that is not adapted for the connectivity context between the client device and the resource; and

executing the included application version of the application within the computing environment within the selected portion of the object hierarchy to interact with the resource in the connectivity context.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein:

respective application versions of the application further comprise a source document of the application; and

the method further comprises, responsive to receiving the first object comprising a source document for the included application version;

compiling the source document of the included application version to generate an application binary of the included application version of the application; and

executing the application binary.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein:

the application versions of the application further comprise;

a full-featured application version that is adapted for resource-rich devices, and

a reduced-feature application version that is adapted for limited-resource devices; and

synchronizing the object hierarchy stored on the client device with the selected portion of the object hierarchy hosted on the computing environment host further comprises;

evaluating a resource set of the client device to perform a resource determination of the client device as one of a resource-rich device and a limited-resource device; and

synchronizing, with the computing environment host, the selected portion of the object hierarchy including an included application version of the application that is adapted according to the resource determination of the client device, and excluding an excluded application version of the application that is not adapted according to the resource determination of the client device.

18. A system that deploys an application executable within a computing environment of a computing environment host to a device, the system comprising:

an object hierarchy comprising at least two application versions of the application respectively adapted for a connectivity context between the application and the resource, wherein the at least two application versions comprise;

a first application version adapted to interact with the resource in a local connectivity context, and

a second application version adapted to interact with the resource in a remote connectivity context; and

an application deployer that deploys the application to the device by;

evaluating a connectivity between the device and the resource to determine the connectivity context of the application with the resource;

identifying a selected portion of the object hierarchy that includes a selected application version of the application that is adapted for the connectivity context between the device and the resource, and that excludes an excluded application version of the application that is not adapted for the connectivity context between the device and the resource; and

synchronizing the selected portion of the object hierarchy that includes the selected application version of the application with the device.

19. The server of claim 18, wherein:

the application versions of the application comprise;

a full-featured application version that is adapted for execution on resource-rich devices, and

a reduced-feature application version that is adapted for execution on limited-resource devices; and

the application deployer identifies the selected portion of the object hierarchy by;

performing a resource determination of the device as one of a resource-rich device and a limited-resource device; and

identifying the selected portion of the object hierarchy that includes a selected application version of the application that is adapted to execute according to the resource determination of the device, and that excludes an excluded application version of the application that is not adapted to execute according to the resource determination of the device.

20. The system of claim 18, wherein:

the computing environment host provides a RESTful interface to the object hierarchy; and

the system further comprises;

an application applier that applies respective actions to the objects of the object hierarchy by issuing a command to the RESTful interface of the computing environment host.