USOO6681371B1 (12) United States Patent (10) Patent No.: US 6,681,371 B1 Devanbu (45) Date of Patent: Jan. 20, 2004 (54) SYSTEMAND METHOD FOR USING (56) References Cited CONTAINER DOCUMENTS AS MULTI-USER DOMAIN CLIENTS U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS (75) Inventor: Premkumar T. Devanbu, Davis, CA 4,933,880 A * 6/1990 Borgendale et al. ........ 71.5/515 5,781,732 A * 7/1998 Adams ....................... 709/205 (US) 5,870.764 A * 2/1999 Lo et al. ..................... 707/203 6,054,985 A * 4/2000 Morgan et al. ............. 345/804 (73) Assignee: AT&T Corp., New York, NY (US) 6,263.379 B1 * 7/2001 Atkinson et al. ........... 709/332 (*) Notice: Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this patent is extended or adjusted under 35 * cited by examiner U.S.C. 154(b) by 0 days. Primary Examiner Hoang-Vu. Antony Nguyen-Ba (21) Appl. No.: 09/469,169 ABSTRACT (22) Filed: Dec. 21, 1999 (57) A multi-user domain is implemented in a compound docu Related U.S. Application Data ment framework to collaboratively modify a compound (60) Provisional application No. 60/113,233, filed on Dec. 21, document in accordance with a concurrency model. A Server 1998. hosts a multi-user domain in which a plurality of clients (51) Int. Cl............................ G06F 15700; G06F 9/44; participate. The multi-user domain includes a compound G06F 9/00 document having a shared container part and at least one (52) U.S. Cl. ........................ 715/515; 717/123; 709/328 shared content part. Each participating client can use its own (58) Field of Search ................................. 717/162-178, part editors to modify the document. Modification informa 717/123; 707/200–201; 709/205, 216, 219, tion is Sent to the Server, which updates the Shared document 235,310, 312,320, 332, 328; 715/500, to other clients in accordance with a concurrency model. 500.1, 502-503, 513,515, 516, 530; 34.5/804, 720, 716, 717, 719, 723, 727, 733 20 Claims, 3 Drawing Sheets 105 MUD SERW ER SHARED locah"CONANERPAR SHARED O CONTENT PAR SERVER 112 pitchPART EDITOR CLENT A CLENT C SHARED SHARED CONTAINERPART CONTAENERPART SHARED SHARED 110 CONTENT PART 110 CONTENT PART PARTE. EDORA 06 PARTE. EDTORC 109 CLIEN B PART EDITOR (GRAPHIC) SHARED CONTAINERPART SHARED 110 CONTENT PART PART EDITOR 107 (TEXT) U.S. Patent Jan. 20, 2004 Sheet 1 of 3 US 6,681,371 B1 U.S. Patent Jan. 20, 2004 Sheet 2 of 3 US 6,681,371 B1 FIG 2 201 CLIENT-SIDE WRAPPER 205 PART EDITOR SERVER-SIDE 2O7 WRAPPER 202 PART 206 EDITOR 209 CLIENT-SIDE WRAPPER PART 208 EDITOR U.S. Patent Jan. 20, 2004 Sheet 3 of 3 US 6,681,371 B1 MUD SERVER SHARED CONTAINER PART SHARED 110 CONTENT PART SERVER 112 PART EDITOR 10 CLIENT A CIENT C SHARED 111 SHARED 111 CONTAINER PART 104 CONTAINER PART cottSHARED ART h9 {E} cottSHARED RT h9 PART EDITOR A - 106 PART EDITOR C - 109 102 CLENT B PART EDITOR - 108 (GRAPHIC) SHARED 11 CONTAINER PART SHARED 110 CONTENT PART PART EDTOR (TEXT) 107 US 6,681,371 B1 1 2 SYSTEMAND METHOD FOR USING compound document paradigm, a document is no longer CONTAINER DOCUMENTS AS MULTI-USER monolithic, but rather a heterogeneous assemblage of dif DOMAIN CLIENTS ferent "parts.” Thus, the example document discussed above includes four different “parts” (the two text parts, the spread CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED sheet part, and the graphic part) or three "part types” (text, APPLICATIONS spreadsheet and graphic). All of these "parts are contained This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional with a “container part.” The container part helps describe the application 60/113,233 filed on Dec. 21, 1998. relationships of the parts that it includes. This represents a redesign of the architecture of, for example, document BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION manipulation Software. Parts that are not container parts are Desktop applications have grown significantly in both called “content parts.” Examples of content parts include a Size and functionality, mostly in response to the demands of text part, a graphic part, a spreadsheet part, etc. users for more features. For example, the Word word Unlike traditional documents, compound documents are processing program manufactured by the MicroSoft Corpo not manipulated by a Single document editor. Rather, each ration of Redmond, Wash., is reputed to include about four 15 part type of the document is handled by a separate, inde million lines of Software code. Software vendors have found pendent "part editor.” For the example document discussed that application development costs, Schedules and quality above, there are three part type editors: one for text, one for control issues escalate in a non-linear fashion (e.g., Spreadsheets and one for graphics. A part editor is Software exponentially) as the size of the application increases. adapted to modify a part of a compound document, and can Much of the same functionality is provided in different include an animation editor, a Video editor, an audio editor, applications. For example, word processors, presentation and a Software development editor. These part editors work Software and spreadsheets all usually include font packages, cooperatively. AS the user moves her cursor from one part of i.e., Software code that controls the presentation of text by the document to another, the appropriate part editor becomes these applications. These applications also all can include active. Different menu bars and buttons can appear that give Spell checkers, table layout Software, illustration Software, 25 the user options for manipulating the part over which the etc. This means that there is redundant code in different cursor lies. Each part editor is an independently created piece of Software. Each editor handles its own interaction Software applications. with the user, printing a part, and Sending representations of Vendors have simplified Software Structures, increased reuse and improved quality by developing interoperable that part to and from persistent storage (e.g., a hard disk) compound document models. A traditional (non-compound) and/or to and from networks. document is a monolithic Structure that is Stored in a Single Part editors offer an important advantage to the user uniform file, and is processed by a single application. The because the graphic editor can be used inside a document, a traditional document can include different elements, Such as presentation, a Source code editor, etc. in the same way, i.e., with the same or substantially the same interface. This is pictures, words, tables, graphs, etc., but every part of the 35 document is composed, changed and saved (e.g., to a hard Superior to traditional Systems where the user must learn to disk) using a single application that is typically purchased use a different interface to do the same thing (e.g., manipu from a Single vendor. late a graphic) in every different application she uses. There can also be many different part editors of the Same type, e.g., For example, a given document includes two pieces of many different graphic editors. The user can advantageously text, a graphic, and a spreadsheet. The entire document is 40 handled by a single application, Such a word processor (Such choose her favorite, and then use it for all documents that as Word) that incorporates the functionality necessary to conform to the compound document model. handle all of the different elements. Typically, a user will cut The compound document model also creates opportuni and paste elements from other applications via a temporary ties for Small independent companies to create and Sell memory area provided by the operating System, Such as the 45 Software for manipulating documents, because the high cost clipboard. For example, a spreadsheet created in a spread of entry into the desktop Software market is lowered because sheet application Such as Quattro Pro, manufactured by the of the Smaller Size of part editors compared to traditional, Borland Corporation, is cut from the Spreadsheet application multi-functional applications. This can increase and pasted into a document being handled by the word competition, Spur innovation and create new options for the processing application. In another example, a drawing can 50 USC. be created using an application Such as the Illustrator A part editor is typically created in the context of a application manufactured by the Adobe Corporation and particular Software framework, Such as OpenDoc, created by clipped out and pasted into a Word document. The drawing the Apple Computer company of Cupertino, Calif. (see can also be stored as a separate file and then inserted into the <http://www... opendoc. com, visited Dec. 19, 1999>, Word document using the Word application. However, it is 55 Object Linking and Embedding (OLE), created by the typically not possible to modify the inserted or pasted Microsoft Corporation, etc. element without leaving the word processor. In Some cases, Compound document frameworks have been intended for it is indeed possible to use the word processing application use on desktopS. Certain known Systems have individual to edit elements created by other applications and inserted parts that can automatically update themselves from remote into a document handled by the word processor. But this 60 network locations. For example, the CyberDog OpenDoc functionality has been added to the word processor at container application (See <http://www.cvberdog.org/, vis considerable expense. Such added functionality is respon ited Dec. 19, 1999>can include a HyperText Transfer Pro Sible for the runaway increase in size, complexity and tocol (HTTP) client that updates itself via client pull or inefficient redundancy in desktop applications, Such as word Server push technology. However, known compound distrib processors. 65 uted document frameworkS Such as CyberDog are disadvan Compound document frameworks are the desktop Soft tageously not network-enabled in a uniform, intuitive and ware industry's attempt to correct this situation.