System and method for delivering external data to a process running on a virtual machine

Abstract

In a computer system including a computer terminal, an operating system installed on said computer terminal, a virtual machine running on the operating system, a server communicatively coupled to the computer terminal and a process including instructions that when executed on a virtual machine define a user interface; a Single Sign On (SSO) system comprising a database of authentication credentials accessible to the computer terminal, and instructions executable on the virtual machine operative to: obtain user interface state data from the process; query the virtual machine to obtain component data related to the user interface state data; and manipulate the component data so as to deliver authentication credentials to the process.

1 .- 14 . (canceled) 
     
     
         15 . A method of logging on to a computer system, comprising:
 determine whether a log-in opportunity is detected by obtaining user interface state data from a process having instructions that define a user interface when executed on a virtual machine; and   upon the log-in opportunity being detected, querying the virtual machine to obtain component data related to the user interface state data and delivering authentication credentials from a database of authentication credentials to the log-in opportunity of the process, wherein attribute data is used to obtain proper authentication credentials from the database.   
     
     
         16 . The method claimed in  claim 15 , wherein the process includes an applet stored at a server of the computer system, the applet including the instructions that define a user interface. 
     
     
         17 . The method claimed in  claim 15 , wherein the computer system further includes a browser installed on a computer workstation that downloads the applet from the server and runs the applet on the virtual machine. 
     
     
         18 . The method claimed in  claim 15 , wherein the process includes an application having the instructions to define a user interface. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein, in order to retrieve correct information, code running within the virtual machine determines a unique identifier for identifying the process running in the virtual machine. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the unique identifier for identifying the process running in the virtual machine is selected from the group consisting of: a class name of a window, a thread group of the window, textual information provided by an accessibility applications program interface (API) about the window, and a title of the window. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the user interface is a graphical user interface (GUI) and the user interface state data indicates creation of a window in the GUI. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein an applications program interface (API) running on the virtual machine is used to obtain the user interface state data. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein the API is an accessibility API employed to hook the virtual machine process. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 23 , wherein the API is an accessibility API, and wherein a name is allocated by the API to a window. 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 24 , wherein the name of the window in an application is retrieved as an Accessible Name. 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the process is either an applet or an application.