Method, System, And Data Structure For Providing A General Request/Response Messaging Protocol Using A Presence Protocol

Abstract

A method and system are described for providing a general request/response protocol using a presence protocol. According to an exemplary embodiment, a method is described for using the presence protocol for receiving from a requesting entity a descriptor of a resource associated with a responding entity and a request related to the resource. The descriptor and the request are sent to the responding entity using the presence protocol. Using the presence protocol, a response is received from the responding entity replying to the request. The response is sent to the requesting entity using the presence protocol.

1 . A method for providing a general request/response protocol, the method comprising:
 receiving, by a server from a requesting entity using a publish-subscribe protocol, a descriptor of a resource associated with a responding entity and a request related to the resource;   sending, by the server using the publish-subscribe protocol, the descriptor and the request to the responding entity;   receiving, by the server using the publish-subscribe protocol, a response from the responding entity replying to the request; and   sending, by the server using the publish-subscribe protocol, the response to the requesting entity.   
   
   
       2 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising using, by the server, the publish-subscribe protocol for receiving the descriptor of the resource from the responding entity. 
   
   
       3 . The method of  claim 2  further comprising using, by the server, the publish-subscribe protocol for sending the descriptor of the resource to the requesting entity based on a subscription established for the requesting entity to at least some presence information of the responding entity. 
   
   
       4 . The method of  claim 3  further comprising using, by the server, the publish-subscribe protocol for:
 automatically establishing a subscription for the responding entity to at least some presence information of the requesting entity when the subscription to the presence information of the responding entity is established for the requesting entity;   wherein sending the request to the responding entity is based on the subscription automatically established for the responding entity.   
   
   
       5 . The method of  claim 3  further comprising using, by the server, the publish-subscribe protocol for:
 sending a notification to the responding entity indicating that the subscription to at least some of the presence information of the responding entity is established for the requesting entity;   receiving a subscription request, sent from the responding entity in response to the notification, for a subscription to at least some presence information of the requesting entity; and   establishing the subscription to the presence information of the requesting entity for the responding entity based on the received subscription request;   wherein sending the request to the responding entity is based on the subscription established for the responding entity.   
   
   
       6 . The method of  claim 3  further comprising using, by the server, the publish-subscribe protocol for sending the descriptor of the resource to the requesting entity in response to a fetching or a polling request by the requesting entity for at least some presence information of the responding entity. 
   
   
       7 . The method of  claim 1  wherein sending the request to the responding entity is based on a subscription established for the responding entity to at least some presence information of the requesting entity. 
   
   
       8 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the request is sent by the server to the responding entity using an identifier of the responding entity included in presence information of the requesting entity. 
   
   
       9 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the request is sent by the server to the responding entity in response to a fetching or a polling request by the responding entity for at least some presence information of the requesting entity. 
   
   
       10 . The method of  claim 1  wherein sending the response to the requesting entity is based on a subscription established for the requesting entity to at least some presence information of the responding entity. 
   
   
       11 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the response is sent by the server to the requesting entity using an identifier of the requesting entity included in presence information of the responding entity. 
   
   
       12 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the response is sent by the server to the requesting entity in response to a fetching or a polling request by the requesting entity for at least some presence information of the responding entity. 
   
   
       13 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the request is included in presence information associated with the requesting entity but is not included in presence information associated with the responding entity and the response is included in the presence information associated with the responding entity but is not included in the presence information associated with the requesting entity. 
   
   
       14 . The method of  claim 13  wherein the presence information associated with the responding entity corresponds to presence information of the resource or presence information of an owner of the resource. 
   
   
       15 . The method of  claim 14  wherein when the presence information associated with the responding entity corresponds to presence information of the resource, the presence information of the resource includes a link to the presence information of the owner of the resource. 
   
   
       16 . The method of  claim 13  wherein the presence information associated with the requesting entity corresponds to presence information of a second resource associated with the requesting entity or presence information of an owner of the second resource, the second resource being configured to form the request. 
   
   
       17 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising:
 authenticating, by the server, an identity of each of the requesting and responding entities; and   authorizing, by the server, a receiving by each of the entities of the request or the response prior to sending the request or response to the respective entity.   
   
   
       18 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising:
 providing, by the server, a proxy service configured for sending the request to the responding entity through a firewall associated with the responding entity or for sending the response to the requesting entity through a firewall associated with the requesting entity.   
   
   
       19 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the resource is at least one of a service, an application program, a file, and data associated with the responding entity. 
   
   
       20 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the descriptor is included in the request. 
   
   
       21 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the descriptor is included in each of respective presence protocol commands used in receiving the request from the requesting entity and in sending the request to the responding entity. 
   
   
       22 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising using, by the server, the publish-subscribe protocol for receiving from the responding entity a second descriptor of a second resource associated with a second responding entity and a second request related to the second resource, and for sending the second descriptor and the second request to the second responding entity, wherein the second request is related to the response replying to the request from the requesting entity. 
   
   
       23 . A method for providing a general request/response protocol, the method comprising:
 receiving, by the server from a requesting entity, a descriptor of a resource associated with a responding entity and a request related to the resource;   using, by the server, the descriptor to update the presence information of the responding entity to include the request;   receiving, by the server, the presence information from the responding entity including a response replying to the request; and   sending, by the server, the response to the requesting entity.   
   
   
       24 . A method for providing a general request/response protocol, the method comprising:
 using a publish-subscribe protocol for:
 sending a descriptor of a resource and a request related to the resource to a server; and 
 receiving via the server a response replying to the request. 
   
   
   
       25 . The method of  claim 24  further comprising using the publish-subscribe protocol for receiving the descriptor of the resource from the server. 
   
   
       26 . A computer readable medium containing a data structure for use with a publish-subscribe protocol in providing a general request/response protocol, the data structure comprising:
 a resource data object including an element for storing a descriptor of a resource associated with a responding entity;   a request data object including an element for storing a request from a requesting entity related to the resource; and   a response data object including an element for storing a response from the responding entity replying to the request.   
   
   
       27 . The computer readable medium of  claim 26 , wherein the request data object includes an element for storing the descriptor of the resource associated with the responding entity. 
   
   
       28 . The computer readable medium of  claim 26 , wherein the resource data object includes at least one element for storing information describing requests supported by the resource and information describing responses for replying to the supported requests. 
   
   
       29 . The computer readable medium of  claim 26 , wherein the request data object includes an element for storing an identifier of the responding entity. 
   
   
       30 . The computer readable medium of  claim 26 , wherein the response data object includes an element for storing an identifier of the requesting entity. 
   
   
       31 . The computer readable medium of  claim 26 , wherein the request and the response each include an XML-based message formed in the structure of a SOAP message. 
   
   
       32 . The computer readable medium of  claim 26 , wherein the resource and response data objects are included in a presence tuple associated with the resource or an owner of the resource. 
   
   
       33 . The computer readable medium of  claim 32 , wherein when the resource and response data objects are included in a presence tuple associated with the resource, the presence tuple associated with the resource includes a data object linking the presence tuple associated with the resource to a presence tuple associated with the owner of the resource. 
   
   
       34 . The computer readable medium of  claim 26 , wherein the request data object is included in a presence tuple associated with the resource or a principal associated with the requesting entity. 
   
   
       35 . The computer readable medium of  claim 34 , wherein when the request data object is included in a presence tuple associated with the resource, the presence tuple associated with the resource includes a data object linking the presence tuple associated with the resource to a presence tuple associated with the principal associated with the requesting entity. 
   
   
       36 . A system for providing a general request/response protocol, the system comprising:
 a server configured to receive, store, and distribute information using a publish-subscribe protocol;   a responding device configured to exchange information with the server using the publish-subscribe protocol, the responding device including:
 access to at least one resource; 
 a responding watcher component configured to receive, via the server using the publish-subscribe protocol, a descriptor of the resource and a request related to the resource; and 
 a responding presentity component configured to send, using the publish-subscribe protocol, a response to the server replying to the request; and 
   a requesting device configured to exchange information with the server using the publish-subscribe protocol, the requesting device including:
 a requesting presentity component configured to send the descriptor and the request related to the resource to the server using the publish-subscribe protocol; and 
 a requesting watcher component configured to receive, via the server using the publish-subscribe protocol, the response replying to the request. 
   
   
   
       37 . The system of  claim 36 , wherein the responding presentity component is further configured to send the descriptor of the resource to the server using the publish-subscribe protocol, and the requesting watcher component is further configured to receive the descriptor of the resource from the server using the publish-subscribe protocol. 
   
   
       38 . The system of  claim 37 , wherein the responding device includes a responding user agent component coupled to the resource and the responding presentity and watcher components, the responding user agent component configured to facilitate a sending of the descriptor of the resource by the responding presentity component using the publish-subscribe protocol, a processing by the resource of the request received by the responding watcher component, and a sending of the response by the responding presentity component using the publish-subscribe protocol. 
   
   
       39 . The system of  claim 37 , wherein the requesting device includes a requesting user agent component coupled to the requesting presentity and watcher components, the requesting user agent configured to facilitate a presentation of the descriptor received by the requesting watcher component, a sending of the request by the requesting presentity component, and a presentation of the response received by the requesting watcher component. 
   
   
       40 . The system of  claim 36 , wherein the server includes a proxy service configured to send the request, using the publish-subscribe protocol, to the responding watcher component through a firewall associated with the responding device or to send the response, using the publish-subscribe protocol, to the requesting watcher component through a firewall associated with the requesting device. 
   
   
       41 . The system of  claim 36 , wherein the server includes an account service configured to authenticate an identity of each of the requesting and responding devices and to authorize a receiving by each of the devices of the request or response prior to sending the request or response to the respective device. 
   
   
       42 . The system of  claim 41 , comprising a database coupled to the account service including roster and/or privacy list information used by the account service to authorize the receiving by each of the devices of the request or response. 
   
   
       43 . A computer readable medium containing a computer program for providing a general request/response protocol, the computer program comprising executable instructions for:
 receiving, by a server from a requesting entity using a publish-subscribe protocol, a descriptor of a resource associated with a responding entity and a request related to the resource;   sending, by the server using the publish-subscribe protocol, the descriptor and the request to the responding entity;   receiving, by the server using the publish-subscribe protocol, a response from the responding entity replying to the request; and   sending, by the server using the publish-subscribe protocol, the response to the requesting entity.   
   
   
       44 . The computer readable medium of  claim 43 , wherein the computer program comprises executable instructions for using the publish-subscribe protocol for receiving the descriptor of the resource from the responding entity and for sending the descriptor of the resource to the requesting entity.