US 2003/0217181 A1 · Method and apparatus for enabling synchronizing data in different devices having different capabilities

Abstract

A method and apparatus by which a user of two or more client devices (10 11) each hosting a data store (10c 11c) can have the data stores kept synchronized by a server (12) (in some cases operated as a synchronizing service) in a way acceptable to the user even though at least one of the two data stores (10c) includes a data component (such as a field of a record) that is not in the other data store (11c) (or for which a correspondence from the one data store (10c) to the other data store (11c) in respect to the data component has not yet been set, including possibly a null correspondence). Any such so-called problem field is monitored by a sync field scanner (12g) usually hosted by the server, which alerts the user that a data component is a problem field only when the user first provides a value for the data component. The invention provides that, if possible, the sync field scanner (12g) automatically suggests to the user how to accommodate the problem field that occurs in one data store (10c) but not in the data store (11c).

Claims22

Dependent claims

A method by which a first client data store (10c) hosted by a first client device (10) is synchronized with respect to a second client data store (11c) hosted by a second client device (11) by synchronizing the two client data stores (10c 11c) with respect to a server data store (12c) hosted by a server device (12), the two client data stores (10c 11c) each including various data components, the method characterized by:

forming (23 39) structure information indicative of the structure of the two client data stores (10c 11c) in respect to at least one data component of the first client data store (10c) for which the second client data store (11c) does not have either one corresponding data component or does not have two or more data components that in combination correspond to the at least one data component;
detecting (34) a use of the at least one data component in the first client data store (10c);
and
setting (36) a correspondence of the at least one data component in the first client data store (10c) in respect to the second client data store (11c).

1 more element

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Method and apparatus for enabling synchronizing data in different devices having different capabilities

Life of this patent

Method and apparatus for enabling synchronizing data in different devices having different capabilities

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims22