초록 ▼

A method and system are disclosed for providing continuous, interactive communication among devices on an electronic network ( 110). A permanent, dedicated symmetric connection is provided between a server application and a client device (164). Both client and server can therefore communicate bi-dir

A method and system are disclosed for providing continuous, interactive communication among devices on an electronic network ( 110). A permanent, dedicated symmetric connection is provided between a server application and a client device (164). Both client and server can therefore communicate bi-directionally. Message storage is provided for allowing messages to be stored (166,178) while the client is offline or otherwise unavailable. The method and system is operable with any addressable device (164, 174, 174) on the electronic network. The invention can be used as an alternative to, or in conjunction with, prior art electronic network communication methods. The invention implements an advanced message routing system. A set of base capabilities are built on top of the message routing system. The communication method and system according to the present invention use a graphical user interface to virtually represent the applications that are used to interact with the electronic network. These graphical representations (276) are used to facilitate the transmission and receipt of messages across the electronic network. Applications according to the present invention are grouped into different levels according to their increasing levels of power and specificity. An interface (384, 472) is also provided to iconically represent the underlying interactive connections of the communication system. The present invention provides a one-to-one connection for bi-directionally publishing and receiving messages and a one-to-many connection. This interface enables applications to interact and deliver any type of focused functionality.

대표청구항 ▼

What is claimed is: 1. A method for continuous, interactive communication across an electronic network, comprising the steps of: connecting a first addressable device to the electronic network; displaying on the first addressable device a graphical representation associated with a application; prov

What is claimed is: 1. A method for continuous, interactive communication across an electronic network, comprising the steps of: connecting a first addressable device to the electronic network; displaying on the first addressable device a graphical representation associated with a application; providing a client application module associated with the application that is operable on the first addressable device; providing a server application module associated with the application that is operable on an application provider server coupled to the first addressable device over the electronic network; determining whether the application is one of a first type application that is executed exclusively on the application provider server, a second type application that is executed on the application provider server and utilizes a subset of programming code on the first addressable device, a third type application that is executed on the first addressable device and communicates with programming code on the application provider server, or a fourth type application that is executed exclusively on the first addressable device; implementing the application through message-based communication between the client application module and the server application module, the application type determining the content of the messages comprising the application; and using the graphical representation to permit interaction between the application and the electronic network; displaying a representation of data on the first addressable device; and automatically manipulating the data according to the application by moving the displayed representation of the data onto the graphical representation of the application; wherein the interactive communications between the client application module and the server application module is performed independently of a web browser application. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein moving the displayed representation of the data onto the graphical representation of the application is operable to transmit the data to an address on the electronic network. 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein moving the displayed representation of the data onto the graphical representation of the application is operable to transmit the data to an addressable device represented by the graphical representation. 4. A method for continuous, interactive communication across an electronic network, comprising the steps of: displaying on the first addressable device a graphical representation associated with a application; providing a client application module associated with the application that is operable on the first addressable device; providing a server application module associated with the application that is operable on an application provider server coupled to the first addressable device over the electronic network; determining whether the application is one of a first type application that is executed exclusively on the application provider server, a second type application that is executed on the application provider server and utilizes a subset of programming code on the first addressable device, a third type application that is executed on the first addressable device and communicates with programming code on the application provider server, or a fourth type application that is executed exclusively on the first addressable device; implementing the application through message-based communication between the client application module and the server application module, the application type determining the content of the messages comprising the application; and using the graphical representation to permit interaction between the application and the electronic network; transmitting the graphical representation across the electronic network; providing a bi-directional permanent connection between the first addressable device and at least a second addressable device on the electronic network; displaying on at least one of the first and second addressable devices an iconic representation of the permanent connection; and using the iconic representation to transmit the graphical representation between the first and second addressable devices; wherein the interactive communications between the client application module and the server application module is performed independently of a web browser application. 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the iconic representation is a one-to-one connection for bi-directionally publishing and receiving messages. 6. The method of claim 4, wherein the iconic representation is a one-to-many connection for bi-directionally publishing and receiving messages. 7. A method for continuous, interactive communication across an electronic network, comprising the steps of: connecting a first addressable device to the electronic network; displaying on the first addressable device a graphical representation associated with a application; providing a client application module associated with the application that is operable on the first addressable device; providing a server application module associated with the application that is operable on an application provider server coupled to the first addressable device over the electronic network; determining whether the application is one of a first type application that is executed exclusively on the application provider server, a second type application that is executed on the application provider server and utilizes a subset of programming code on the first addressable device, a third type application that is executed on the first addressable device and communicates with programming code on the application provider server, or a fourth type application that is executed exclusively on the first addressable device; implementing the application through message-based communication between the client application module and the server application module, the application type determining the content of the messages comprising the application; and using the graphical representation to permit interaction between the application and the electronic network; storing, in a message store, a message associated with the application, wherein the message store is at least one non-volatile storage medium accessible to the application provider server; storing a message during an off-line process in a client message store accessible to the first addressable device; wherein the interactive communications between the client application module and the server application module is performed independently of a web browser application. 8. The method of claim 4 further comprising the steps of: selecting a level of bandwidth consumption for data to be transmitted through the permanent, bi-directional connection; transmitting the data in accordance with the selected bandwidth level; storing the transmitted data in a transactionally safe store accessible to the electronic network; and permitting a continuous interaction between the transactionally safe store and an application accessible to a device on the electronic network. 9. The method of claim 8, further comprising the steps of: automatically reconnecting a prematurely terminated connection between the device and the electronic network; and recommencing a data transmission interrupted by the prematurely terminated connection at the point at which the transmission was terminated. 10. A system for communication across an electronic network comprising: a first addressable device connected to the electronic network; a graphical representation module for displaying on the first addressable device a graphical representation associated with an application, wherein the graphical representation is operable to permit continuous, bi-directional interaction between the application and the electronic network, and further wherein the interaction is performed independently of a web browser application; a client application module associated with the application operable on the first addressable device; and a server application module associated with the application operable on an application provider server coupled to the first addressable device over the electronic network; means for determining whether the application is one of a first type application that is executed exclusively on the application provider server, a second type application that is executed on the application provider server and utilizes a subset of programming code on the first addressable device, a third type application that is executed on the first addressable device and communicates with programming code on the application provider server, or a fourth type application that is executed exclusively on the first addressable device; and means for implementing the application through message-based communication between the client application module and the server application module, the application type determining the content of the messages comprising the application; and a transmitting module for transmitting the graphical representation across the electronic network. 11. The system of claim 10, further comprising: means for providing a permanent connection between the first addressable device and at least a second addressable device on the electronic network; means for displaying on at least one of the first and second addressable devices an iconic representation of the permanent connection; and means for using the iconic representation to transmit the graphical representation between the first and second addressable devices. 12. A system for communication across an electronic network comprising: a first addressable device connected to the electronic network; a graphical representation module for displaying on the first addressable device a graphical representation associated with an application, wherein the graphical representation is operable to permit continuous, bi-directional interaction between the application and the electronic network, and further wherein the interaction is performed independently of a web browser application; a client application module associated with the application operable on the first addressable device; and a server application module associated with the application operable on an application provider server coupled to the first addressable device over the electronic network; means for determining whether the application is one of a first type application that is executed exclusively on the application provider server, a second type application that is executed on the application provider server and utilizes a subset of programming code on the first addressable device, a third type application that is executed on the first addressable device and communicates with programming code on the application provider server, or a fourth type application that is executed exclusively on the first addressable device; and means for implementing the application through message-based communication between the client application module and the server application module, the application type determining the content of the messages comprising the application; a bi-directional communications channel through the electronic network for supporting the bi-directional interaction; a first storage module within the bi-directional communications channel for allowing messages to be stored while the first addressable device is offline from the electronic network; an electronic network management system; at least one gateway for connecting the management system to at least one addressable device that is not on the electronic network; a second storage module accessible to the client device for allowing messages to be stored while the first addressable device is offline from the electronic network; a third storage module accessible to the first addressable device for storing application state data; and a user management system for managing system and client configurations.