Customized call lists for voip systems using high-level programming

An apparatus for communications over one or more wide-band networks, the apparatus comprising:

• a data communications server configured to interface with remotely-situated client entities using a first programming language that relates to a protocol between the data communications server and data sources, the data communications server configured as a private branch exchange (PBX) that performs communication routing;
• and
• a communication control circuit integrated communicatively with the data communications server, to:
• identify, in response to receipt of an incoming data communications directed to a particular client entity, client-specific sets of control data that further relate to a message exchange protocol between the data communications server and the data sources, wherein the client-specific sets of control data are derived from instructions written in a second programming language, provided from a communication endpoint operated on behalf of the particular client entity, that is compatible with the first programming language, the first and second programming languages to facilitate limited use of the data communications server via a limited set of communications control operations and functions in each of the client-specific sets of control data received over the message exchange protocol;
• and
• control communication routing by the PBX and for the data communications by:
• determining whether to route incoming data communications in response to a comparison of at least one feature of the incoming data communications and the client-specific sets of control data;
• in response to the determination indicating permission to route the incoming data communications, identifying at least one data source that corresponds to a communication property for the incoming data communications, and providing communication control functionality for the incoming data communications using the data source;
• in response to the determination indicating to block the data communications, executing instructions to block the routing of the data communications;
• and
• wherein the client-specific sets of control data include a client-specific list of approved calling numbers from which data communications may be received by the particular client entity, and a client-specific list of blocked calling numbers from which data communications may not be received by the particular client entity, and
• a database server configured to interface with the data communications server and to maintain the client-specific sets of control data, including the list of approved calling numbers and the list of blocked calling numbers for each respective client entity, in a hierarchy in which lower level client entities inherit the list of approved calling numbers and the list of blocked calling numbers from higher level client entities.

A method for use in a data communications system, comprising:

• receiving by a communication control circuit of a data communications server, data communications intended for a particular client entity of a plurality of remotely-situated client entities, the data communications server configured and arranged to interface with the client entities using a first programming language that relates to a message exchange protocol between the data communications server and data sources;
• identifying client-specific sets of control data derived from instructions written in a second programming language, provided from a communication endpoint operated on behalf of the particular client entity, that is compatible with the first programming language, the first and second programming languages to facilitate limited access to and use of the data communications server via a limited set of communications control operations and functions in each of the client-specific sets of control data received over the message exchange protocol, that further relates to the message exchange protocol between the data communications server and the data sources, wherein the client-specific sets of control data include a client-specific whitelist and a client-specific blacklist associated with the particular client entity which respectively define conditions under which data communications may or may not be received by the particular client entity;
• executing the client-specific sets of control data to retrieve data from at least one data source and to determine whether to route incoming data communications;
• implementing one or more data communications functions specified by the client-specific sets of control data as being conditional upon the retrieved data and the determination whether to route the received data communications;
• and
• wherein the limited set of communications control operations and functions in each of the client-specific sets of control data are to allow for programming control to be performed on behalf of remotely-situated client entities.