Method and apparatus for server based handheld application and database management

Server-based palm-type device and database management system and method

<u>Field of invention:</u>

The present invention is a management system applied between electronic devices to manage the dissemination of application programs and databases, especially a new management system that can selectively distribute application programs and databases from a server computer to Multiple hand-held devices with intermittent connections.

<u>Background of the invention:</u>

Due to the rapid growth of semiconductor, storage, and display technologies, handheld or mobile devices have become increasingly popular. There are many types of handheld devices, such as Palm Pilot, Windows CE, Zaurus, Psion, smart phone, or intelligent pager. Palm-sized devices can be used as personal digital assistants (PDAs) to provide functions such as e-mail, address book, and calendar. Internet free software, such as games, can be downloaded to a handheld device for use at leisure. You can also install business-related applications and databases to improve performance.

In an organized setting, such as in an enterprise, an important issue for managing palm-sized devices is that the distribution control of applications must be installed in the palm-sized devices. For example, an enterprise can develop many different sets of automatic working procedures for palm-sized devices, such as: user account management procedures for the sales department; mechanical operation procedures for factories; and inventory control procedures for warehouses.

If the sales department's devices only receive account management applications, the factory devices only receive cashmere operation applications, and the warehouse devices only receive inventory control applications, this system will be valuable. If the devices belonging to different employees can receive different groups of applications according to the roles of employees, this system is very useful. For example, a managers device will receive a tool for evaluating employee performance, and this tool will not spread to other employees devices. Moreover, the organization can also provide additional application groups, such as tool software, games, and other information databases. Under the user's free selection, these sub-groups of applications can be selected to download to each palm-sized device.

Palm-size devices usually install applications through synchronization between the palm-size device and the personal computer. First, the serial port of the personal computer must be connected to a palm-sized device so that the application can be accessed through the personal computer. Personal computer software can be executed to load locked applications into an "install" directory that can be accessed by synchronization manager software. The synchronization process can be started by pressing a button on a palm-sized device, such as the HotSync button on the PalmPilot. After pressing the button, the synchronization management software, such as the HotSync Manager used by Palm Pilot, will immediately take over the synchronization process on the personal computer. At that time, load the application in the "install" directory and it will be It is downloaded and installed in a palm-sized device.

This software distribution process is an independent system synchronization software between a personal computer and a palm-sized device, and there is no unified software distribution management function. To distribute an application among many handheld devices, the application must first be copied to the personal computers of all handheld device owners. After that, the synchronization process can be executed according to the wishes of each user to install the application from the personal computer to the palm-sized device. Therefore, there is no effective way to determine which palm-sized device has installed the locked application.

Another way to distribute palm-sized device applications in an organization is to use a centrally managed server to manage the user's pool, the palm-sized device's data area, and the application's data area. When installing the application, the palm-sized device must first be connected to the network and directly meet the requirements for installation under the centrally managed server. The responsibility of the server is to confirm the identity of the handheld device and its user, based on the users profile and the purpose of the handheld device, and the pre-configured access control policy (pre-configured access control policy). ) To authorize the installation requirements of the application. Upon request for installation of an authorized application, the server downloads the application to the palm-sized device.

The centrally managed server can update the application status of the handheld device, such as which applications have been installed on the handheld device? Update the status of palm-sized devices and related applications. This application is managed by the centrally managed server. For example, which devices have downloaded this application? And record the downloaded activity on the event logs of this server. The event log downloaded by the server and the status of the application can provide important information for the management of software distribution.

The traditional client-server model assumes that there is a permanent network connection between the user and the server. Therefore, the user's needs and the relative services performed by the server interact more frequently. Whenever the user wants to check the existing applications managed by the server, the user connects to the server, accesses the latest existing application list, and then when the client is still connected to the server, select the required application Program and start downloading the selected application from the server. The user does not have to hold the list of applications and the status of these applications. The list of applications available to the user can be accessed, and the status of each application in the users device is determined in an interactive, real-time query and exchange between the user and the server.

However, the disadvantage of the conventional master-slave model is that the network connection of the handheld device is not permanent. Palm-sized devices are only connected to the network intermittently, and the connection type is generally through a low-bandwidth medium, such as a modem or a serial cable, and the connection time is short. If every palm-sized device can maintain a list of existing applications available from the server, this system has its advantages.

To maintain a list of applications can be achieved in the following ways. Users of handheld devices can just start the software before connecting to the server to select applications based on the list of applications. Therefore, when the user connects to the server, there will be no time-based high-priced interactive application selection process.

Another way is to check and record the status of each application in the application list when the palm-sized device is disconnected. In this way, when the user connects to the server, all information about the state of the application is available. The server does not need to query the user interactively for the status of each application, which can improve the bandwidth and usage time of the connection.

Many handheld devices have built-in synchronization support. You can compare two records with the same ID from the device and the synchronized host, and determine whether to replace the other with the record from one according to the rules of the application. The record at one end, or other actions, such as whether to replicate the two records with a new identification code to the other end.

The application list obtained by the server from the user can directly use the synchronization function provided by the palm-sized device.

<u>The purpose and summary of the invention:</u>

According to the above requirements, the present invention is an application management system and method for a palm-sized device based on a server. In this system, the server is in charge of a group of users, a group of palm-sized devices, and a group of palm-sized device applications, as well as a set of access control schemes to control which user owns which palm-sized device , Can be authorized to download a set of applications.

In the present invention, the user is a palm-sized device that connects to the server intermittently to obtain the application program. When connecting, basically the connection will last for a short time and pass through a low-bandwidth medium, such as a modem or a serial cable. The user's application download requirements, and the server's service to that requirement, must be executed while the user is still connected.

According to the present invention, the application list structure is used to record the status of all applications that are available to users and managed by the server. The status of an application can indicate whether the application is installed in the user, and the next time the user connects to the server, whether the application should be selected to be installed in the user.

When the user connects to the server, the present invention proposes a method so that the server can obtain the application list from the user and download the application according to the status of each application in this list and the latest access control scheme A group of applications in the program list to the user. And according to the latest access control plan, update the user's application list.

According to this, the next time when the user and the server want to synchronize, the user can allow the user to select the application to download, and the user can delete the application installed on the user, so that the application list can be updated. This action can be performed at any time, regardless of whether the user is connected to the network or not.

The following detailed descriptions and drawings of the preferred embodiments of the present invention will enable those skilled in the art to better understand the above-mentioned objects and advantages of the present invention. The same elements are labeled the same when viewed from different perspectives. Reference number, where:

<u>Detailed description of the invention:</u>

Figure 1 shows the overall network architecture of the application management system of the handheld device based on the server of the present invention. The clients 101 and 102 are handheld devices, and the server 107 can be a personal computer, a workstation, a mainframe, or any other device that can store and upload information, both of which are through the Internet. Route lines 103, 104, 106 are connected together. Although the server 107 does not have to be connected to the network 105, the users 101 and 102 are not connected to the network 105 most of the time. However, when the user's application download request is accepted by the server 107, the users 101 and 102 must maintain the connection with the network 105.

The user requests to download the application and the server accepts this request when the user who issued the request is still connected to the network. Palm-sized devices can use a modem to dial to a server that is remotely accessed to the network, or use a serial port to directly connect to a computer that is connected to the Internet, such as PalmPilot cradle, to maintain access to the Internet, such as the Internet. Internet or local area network, connection. In the former case, the user synchronizes directly with the server. In the latter case, the user synchronizes with the server through an intermediate computer that can pass information back and forth between the user and the server.

Figure 2 shows an example of the overall architecture of a handheld device. The palm-sized device can update the application list according to the method of the present invention. The handheld device includes a central processing unit (CPU) 201, a main memory 204, such as volatile random access memory (volatile RAM), and a storage memory 202, such as nonvolatile random access memory (nonvolatile RAM). ), read-only memory (ROM) or floppy disk (disk). Generally speaking, the main memory 204 stores the programs to be executed, the memory 202 stores the contents of the storage system, such as the operating system, currently not running applications, and data, such as address book or notepad applications. For some handheld devices, there is no difference between the main memory 204 and the storage memory 202. These devices can store all the information in RAM or ROM without any disk, and can execute the program directly from the place where the program is stored.

In the present invention, the application list 203 is stored in the storage memory 202. The rules or executable code for updating and managing the application list 203 (executable program code is an application list manager 205. The synchronization client 206 refers to a client function) , Used when a palm-sized device starts to synchronize with a synchronization host. In the present invention, the synchronization host can be a personal computer of a server, a workstation, or a mainframe, etc.

Many handheld devices have built-in support for synchronization users, such as the HotSync Manager Client in Palm Pilot. The main tasks of the synchronization user include: receiving synchronization API requirements from the synchronization host, such as reading, writing, updating, or inserting a piece of data; executing the corresponding system function in the device; receiving an application from the synchronization host; and It is installed in a palm-sized device. In the present invention, the synchronization user is used to transfer the application program list from the user to the server for synchronization, and install the application program from the server in the user.

Figure 3 shows the structure of the application list 301. Each piece of data in the list contains two sets of information, application identification information (ID) 302, 304, 306 and application status information 303, 305, 307. The application identification information is used to identify the application. The application program identification information includes the application program's identification code, name, version, representative design (icon), and so on. Application status information is used to record its latest status. Application status information includes: a flag to indicate whether the application has been installed on the palm-sized device, and another flag to indicate that the application will be Whether it will be selected by the user to distribute it from the server.

Figure 4 shows the architecture of the server personal computer, workstation, mainframe, etc. of the present invention, including a central processing unit (CPU) 401, a main memory 402, such as random access memory (RAM), and storage device 403 . The main memory 402 stores the server logic 409 of the present invention, which can be implemented by computer executable code, and the computer executable code can be loaded from the storage device 403 into the main memory 402. The storage device 403 stores user data area (pool) 404, application data area 405, device data area 406, access control list 407 to control which user and which device can use which application, and log files (log)408 to record computer activities.

The user data area 404, the application data area 405, and the device data area 406 can be implemented in a relational database in the form of forms, or implemented in various types of information in other types of data structures Management systems, such as Lotus Notes, can provide storage space for every information type and feature. Such an information management system can provide retrieval and search functions.

Furthermore, in order to meet the aforementioned application management function of monitoring which application has been installed on which device, the server of the present invention can store and manage the application list of each device in the device data area. The data area can reflect the user application list located in the corresponding device. The access control list 407 is a way to associate each application with the user list and the device list, and the devices in the list can be authorized to download the application. Another way to implement the access control list, sometimes called a capability list, is to associate each user or device with an application authorization list. The application authorization list is a list of applications authorized to be downloaded by the user or device.

Figure 5 shows the method flow of the application list manager 205 (Figure 2) in the user device for modifying the application list 506. After the application manager is started in step 501, the list of applications 506 that can be downloaded by the server is displayed in step 502. In step 503, the user selects the application to be deleted or downloaded. In step 504, if the application to be deleted is selected and the application is still installed, delete it from the user device. If the application program to be downloaded is selected, in step 505, the request for downloading the next time the user synchronizes with the server is proposed. In step 506, the status of all applications is updated and recorded in the application list 506. After that, the program control returns to step 502.

FIG. 6 shows the method flow of the server 409 (FIG. 4) executed by the server of the present invention when processing the user's request for application program distribution or download 505 (FIG. 5). In step 601, the server waits and receives user demand. If the user request is accepted, it means that the user has successfully connected to the server, and the server confirms the user's identity in step 602. The server can use methods such as password encryption or secret sharing of public keys to confirm the user's identity.

After the user's identity is determined, in step 603, the server determines whether the user device has an application list. If the user has a list of applications, in step 605, the server accesses the list. In addition, if the user device does not have an application list, in step 604, the server can generate an authorization to distribute to a specific user and a specific device based on the user ID, the ID of the user device, and the access control list 607 List of apps.

In both cases, in step 606, the application distribution manager is started. The method of application distribution management is as follows:

a. Compare the user application list with the access control list;

b. In the server, execute the user's application list, log file, and update the application list related to the user's device;

and

c. Download to the user device according to the access control list 607 and the management plan:

1. A group of applications selected by the user:

2. A default application that is not available on the user's device; and

3. A set of updated versions of applications owned by users.

After the application distribution manager completes its work, in step 609, the server returns the updated user application list to the user to replace the original version or a new application list. If the user device does not have an application list . In step 608, the connection ends and the control transfers to step 601, the server waits for the next user's demand.

The above-mentioned server can be implemented in a multi-threaded manner. Each time the server receives a user's demand, the server generates a large number of threads to handle the demand, and when the original processing thread continues to wait The needs of other users. When the processing of the newly generated thread is completed, the server terminates the thread. In operating systems that do not support multi-threading, such as some UNIX systems, each independent thread can be Separate process (process) instead.

Figure 7 shows one of the embodiments of the application program distribution manager 606 (Figure 6) of the present invention. In step 701, an application record is read from the user application list. In step 702, it is determined whether there are more records left in the application list.

If there are no remaining records to read, in step 703, the server uses the access control list to determine whether there is a new application to be added to the user application list. If there is no new application to be added, the application dissemination manager procedure ends in step 710. However, if there are new applications to be added, in step 709, the server adds these new applications to the user application list, and then the application dissemination manager process ends in step 710.

In the embodiment of the software distribution manager shown in FIG. 7, the procedure adds a new application program to the application program list according to the access control list 607 (FIG. 6) in step 709. Another embodiment may check each newly added application in the updated application list, and download the application belonging to a predetermined group to the user.

The server can be programmed to save a list of recording times, showing the time when each user issued the application program distribution request last time, and the time when the access control list was last changed. If the access control list has not been changed since the user's last access, this determination step 703 and possible step 709 need not be executed, and the application program distribution manager procedure will end in step 710.

If there are more data to be read, for each data read in the user application list, the server uses the access control list in step 704 to determine whether the recorded application is still available. The authorization is downloaded to the user and the device. This is because the access control scheme can be changed at any time, and the user who originally intends to grant the application may lose the granted rights and may have to be removed from the user application list.

Therefore, if the application in the current record cannot be authorized to the user, in step 705, the server removes the application from the user application list and returns to step 701 to read the next data .

The server can be programmed to save a record time list, showing the time when the user last issued the application dissemination request, and the time when the access control list was last changed. If the access control list has not been changed since the last request of the user, step 704 is not necessary, and the server can directly process step 706 from step 702.

If the application currently read from the record in the application list still has authorization, in step 706, the server continues processing and determines whether the status of the application in the user application list is marked with "download". Marks such as "delete" or "unchanged".

The judgment of "downloading", "deleting", or "unchanging" can be based on the new access control list 607 (Figure 6) or the management plan. For example, the server can download an application to the user device in the following situations: if the application belongs to a predetermined set of applications required by the user, and the user does not already have the application; or, the application is the user device The new version of the old application in, or the application is selected by the user to download and is allowed by the access control list 607 (Figure 6).

If the status is marked as "unchanged", there is no need to do nothing to the application until step 701 to read the next record.

If the status is marked as "download", then in step 707, the application will have the following situations:

a. Download from the server to the user device, or

b. Mark this application as downloaded later, and all records in the list of all user applications have been read, and after all applications are marked as downloaded, the server can download all marked files before disconnection App to the user's device.

In step 708, the server version of the application list related to the user device is updated, and the logs are updated to reflect the current state, and the processing continues to step 701 to read the next record.

If the status is marked as "deleted", the application will be deleted from the user's device. In step 708, the application list and logs of the server version related to the user device are updated to reflect the current status, and in step 701, the process continues to read the following A record.

The above are only the preferred embodiments of the present invention, and have achieved a wide range of practical effects. All the equivalent changes and modifications made in accordance with the scope of the patent application of the present invention are still within the scope of the patent of the present invention.

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the application management system for a server-based handheld device of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the characteristics of the handheld device of the present invention.

Figure 3 is an example of the structure of the application list of the present invention.

Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of the server of the present invention.

Figure 5 is a flowchart of the application list management method of the present invention.

Figure 6 is a flowchart of the server logic of the present invention.

Figure 7 is a flowchart of the application program distribution management method of the present invention.