Method And System For Managing Communication Protocol Data Based On MIME Types

A method for managing communication protocol data in a communication stack of an electronic device, the method comprising:

• providing a MIME type communication layer in a communication stack of an electronic device, wherein the communication stack comprises a plurality of communication layers and is operatively coupled to a network interface for receiving and sending data of a specified MIME type over a network;
• receiving by the MIME type communication layer a data item for association with an element of a specified MIME type, and a communication endpoint identifier associated with a sender of the data item;
• determining by the MIME type communication layer whether the data item is compatible with the element of the specified MIME type;
• generating by the MIME type communication layer content including the data item, the content compatible with the specified MIME type when the data item is determined to be compatible with the element of the specified MIME type;
• and
• providing the content and the communication endpoint identifier to an underlying communication layer of the communication stack.

A system for managing communication protocol data received by and sent from an electronic device, the system comprising:

• means for receiving a protocol frame that includes content in a payload, and an endpoint identifier associated with a recipient of the content;
• means for determining by the MIME type communication layer a MIME type associated with the content;
• means for identifying an element of the determined MIME type by parsing the content of the protocol frame based on the determined MIME type;
• means for determining a data item in the content corresponding to the identifed element of the determined MIME type;
• and
• means for providing the data item to the recipient asociated with the endpoint identifier. wherein the recipient receives the data item without parsing the content of the protocol frame.

A system for managing communication protocol data received by and sent from an electronic device, the system comprising:

• a network interface card configured for receiving and sending data over a network;
• and
• a communication stack component coupled to the network interface card, wherein the communication stack component includes:
• a physical communication layer coupled to the network interface card;
• and
• a MIME type communication layer configured for receiving via the physical communication layer a protocol frame that includes content in a payload, and an endpoint identifier associated with a recipient of the content, wherein the MIME type communication layer includes:
• a content router component configured for determining a MIME type associated with the content of the protocol frame;
• and
• a content controller component associated with the determined MIME type, wherein when the content router determines the MIME type associated with the content of the protocol frame, the content router routes the content to the content controller component associated with the determined MIME type, the content controller component configured for identifying an element of the determined MIME type by parsing the content of the protocol frame according to the determined MIME type, for determining a data item in the content corresponding to the identified element of the determined MIME type, and for providing the data item to the recipient asociated with the endpoint identifier, wherein the recipient receives the data item without parsing the content of the protocol frame.

A computer readable medium containing a computer program, executable by a machine, for managing communication protocol data in a communication stack of an electronic device, the computer program comprising executable instructions for:

• receiving by a MIME type communication layer in a communication stack of an electronic device a protocol frame that includes content in a payload, and an endpoint identifier associated with a recipient of the content;
• determining by the MIME type communication layer a MIME type associated with the content;
• identifying by the MIME type communication layer an element of the determined MIME type by parsing the content of the protocol frame based on the determined MIME type;
• determining by the MIME type communication layer a data item in the content corresponding to the identified element of the determined MIME type;
• and
• providing by the MIME type communication layer the data item to the recipient asociated with the endpoint identifier, wherein the recipient receives the data item without parsing the content of the protocol frame.

A computer readable medium containing a computer program, executable by a machine, for managing communication protocol data in a communication stack of an electronic device, the computer program comprising executable instructions for:

• receiving by a MIME type communication layer in a communication stack of an electronic device a data item for association with an element of a specified MIME type, and a communication endpoint identifier associated with a sender of the data item;
• determining by the MIME type communication layer whether the data item is compatible with the element of the specified MIME type;
• generating by the MIME type communication layer content including the data item, the content compatible with the specified MIME type when the data item is determined to be compatible with the element of the specified MIME type;
• and
• providing the content and the communication endpoint identifier to an underlying communication layer of the communication stack.