Patent Application
20070288591
These and other features of this invention will be more readily understood from the following detailed description of the various aspects of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings that depict various embodiments of the invention, in which:
It is noted that the drawings of the invention are not to scale. The drawings are intended to depict only typical aspects of the invention, and therefore should not be considered as limiting the scope of the invention. In the drawings, like numbering represents like elements between the drawings.
As indicated above, the invention provides a method, system, and program product for caching application data in a browser cache. The invention avoids the defects of known methods, such as those described above, by caching application data in a browser cache using multiple hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) requests. In one embodiment, the invention includes caching application data in a browser cache, determining whether the application data has changed since last it was cached and, if so, providing to the browser a uniform resource locator (URL) directed to the changed application data, which may then be obtained by the browser via an HTTP request.
While the example described above involved the transfer and use of application data associated with email and address book applications, it should be recognized that the present invention is applicable to application data of any kind or associated with any type of application.
Once stored in the browser cache, the browser may use the application data cached at step S3B. It is possible, however, that the application data have changed since being cached at step S3B. In known methods, a request would be made from the client side (e.g., the browser) to a server side component (e.g., a server), to determine whether the application data had changed. Typically, this would is done every time the application data, or portions thereof, are accessed. Thus, known methods require frequent client side queries in order to ensure that the most current application data are being used.
The present invention overcomes this difficulty by making a server side determination of whether the application data have changed at step S4. If not (i.e., No at step S4), the browser continues to use the cached application data at step S5. If, on the other hand, it is determined by the server side component that the application data have changed (i.e., Yes at step S4), an updated URL is sent to the browser at step S6, the updated URL being directed toward the changed application data. Once the updated URL is received by the browser, the changed application data are requested via an HTTP request at step S7 and cached in the browser cache at step S8. Steps S4 through S8 are thereafter iteratively looped in order to ensure that only the most recent application data are used by the web-based application.
Methods of the present invention greatly simplify the process of ensuring the use of current application data. For example, URLs directed toward application data may contain a timestamp (e.g., http://server/mailData—06122006084532), which may be easily compared to a timestamp associated with the application data in order to determine whether the URL last transferred to the browser (and therefore the application data last cached in the browser cache) is directed to the most recent application data. Such a URL may be written, for example, using a JAVA™ (Sun Microsystems) server pages (JSP) tag within the webpage. The JSP tag may be delivered to the browser as part of the presentation data. Optionally, the server side component may maintain a log containing the timestamp of the application data most recently transferred to the browser, which is compared to the timestamp of the application data stored on the server. Regardless, it is a server side component that compares timestamps in order to determine whether the application data have changed since last transferred to the browser. Accordingly, rather than the client side component making queries to the server side each time application data are to be used, as in known methods, in the present invention, a client side component need only determine whether the URL is the same as the URL last used to transfer and cache the application data. If so, no communication with the server side is needed and the cached application data may be used (step S5). If, on the other hand, the URL is different than the URL last used to transfer and cache the application data, the client side component (e.g., browser) initiates a new HTTP request (step S7) in order to transfer and cache the changed application data (step S8).
Methods of the present invention, therefore, greatly reduce communications from client side components to server side components with respect to application data transferred therebetween, as compared to known methods. This is particularly advantageous when, as is often the case, the application data are large and relatively static.
Computer system 14 is shown including a processing unit 20, a memory 22, an input/output (I/O) interface 26, and a bus 24. Further, computer system 14 is shown in communication with external devices 28 and a storage system 30. As is known in the art, in general, processing unit 20 executes computer program code, such as application data caching system 40, that is stored in memory 22 and/or storage system 30. While executing computer program code, processing unit 20 can read and/or write data from/to memory 22, storage system 30, and/or I/O interface 26. Bus 24 provides a communication link between each of the components in computer system 14. External devices 28 can comprise any device that enables a user (not shown) to interact with computer system 14 or any device that enables computer system 14 to communicate with one or more other computer systems.
In any event, computer system 14 can comprise any general purpose computing article of manufacture capable of executing computer program code installed by a user (e.g., a personal computer, server, handheld device, etc.). However, it is understood that computer system 14 and application data caching system 40 are only representative of various possible computer systems that may perform the various process steps of the invention. To this extent, in other embodiments, computer system 14 can comprise any specific purpose computing article of manufacture comprising hardware and/or computer program code for performing specific functions, any computing article of manufacture that comprises a combination of specific purpose and general purpose hardware/software, or the like. In each case, the program code and hardware can be created using standard programming and engineering techniques, respectively.
Similarly, computer infrastructure 12 is only illustrative of various types of computer infrastructures for implementing the invention. For example, in one embodiment, computer infrastructure 12 comprises two or more computer systems (e.g., a server cluster) that communicate over any type of wired and/or wireless communications link, such as a network, a shared memory, or the like, to perform the various process steps of the invention. When the communications link comprises a network, the network can comprise any combination of one or more types of networks (e.g., the Internet, a wide area network, a local area network, a virtual private network, etc.). Regardless, communications between the computer systems may utilize any combination of various types of transmission techniques.
As previously mentioned, application data caching system 40 enables computer system 14 to cache application data in a browser cache. To this extent, application data caching system 40 is shown including a URL generating system 42, an HTTP requesting system 44, a caching system 46, and a determining system 48. Operation of each of these systems is discussed above. Application data caching system 40 may further include other system components 50 to provide additional or improved functionality to application data caching system 40. It is understood that some of the various systems shown in
While shown and described herein as a method and system for caching application data in a browser cache, it is understood that the invention further provides various alternative embodiments. For example, in one embodiment, the invention provides a computer-readable medium that includes computer program code to enable a computer infrastructure to cache application data in a browser cache. To this extent, the computer-readable medium includes program code, such as application data caching system 40, that implements each of the various process steps of the invention. It is understood that the term “computer-readable medium” comprises one or more of any type of physical embodiment of the program code. In particular, the computer-readable medium can comprise program code embodied on one or more portable storage articles of manufacture (e.g., a compact disc, a magnetic disk, a tape, etc.), on one or more data storage portions of a computer system, such as memory 22 and/or storage system 30 (e.g., a fixed disk, a read-only memory, a random access memory, a cache memory, etc.), and/or as a data signal traveling over a network (e.g., during a wired/wireless electronic distribution of the program code).
In another embodiment, the invention provides a business method that performs the process steps of the invention on a subscription, advertising, and/or fee basis. That is, a service provider could offer to cache application data in a browser cache as described above. In this case, the service provider can create, maintain, support, etc., a computer infrastructure, such as computer infrastructure 12, that performs the process steps of the invention for one or more customers. In return, the service provider can receive payment from the customer(s) under a subscription and/or fee agreement and/or the service provider can receive payment from the sale of advertising space to one or more third parties.
In still another embodiment, the invention provides a method of generating a system for caching application data in a browser cache. In this case, a computer infrastructure, such as computer infrastructure 12, can be obtained (e.g., created, maintained, having made available to, etc.) and one or more systems for performing the process steps of the invention can be obtained (e.g., created, purchased, used, modified, etc.) and deployed to the computer infrastructure. To this extent, the deployment of each system can comprise one or more of (1) installing program code on a computer system, such as computer system 14, from a computer-readable medium; (2) adding one or more computer systems to the computer infrastructure; and (3) incorporating and/or modifying one or more existing systems of the computer infrastructure, to enable the computer infrastructure to perform the process steps of the invention.
As used herein, it is understood that the terms “program code” and “computer program code” are synonymous and mean any expression, in any language, code or notation, of a set of instructions intended to cause a computer system having an information processing capability to perform a particular function either directly or after either or both of the following: (a) conversion to another language, code or notation; and (b) reproduction in a different material form. To this extent, program code can be embodied as one or more types of program products, such as an application/software program, component software/a library of functions, an operating system, a basic I/O system/driver for a particular computing and/or I/O device, and the like.
The foregoing description of various aspects of the invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed, and obviously, many modifications and variations are possible. Such modifications and variations that may be apparent to a person skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the invention as defined by the accompanying claims.
