Client server interaction for graphical/audio applications

A server comprising:

• a processor arranged to execute a graph of connected nodes that encode a state, a behavior and, a plurality of graphical and/or audio displays of an application, at least some of the nodes being indicated as secret with respect to one or more clients of a plurality of clients;
• an input arranged to receive data from the plurality of clients connected to the server over a communications network, individual ones of the plurality of clients executing a copy of at least part of the graph of connected nodes received from the server such that at least part of at least one of the graphical and/or audio displays is rendered at individual ones of the plurality of clients, a first one of the plurality of clients executing a first part of the graph of connected nodes and a second one of the plurality of clients executing a second part of the graph of connected nodes, the first and second parts being different subsets of the graph of connected nodes;
• the processor arranged to compute update commands arranged to update the copies of the graphs at one or more of the plurality of clients on the basis of changes to the graph of connected nodes at the server which occur as a result of the execution, wherein computing the update commands to be sent to one of the clients comprises skipping nodes of the graph of connected nodes at the server which are secret to the client;
• a communications interface arranged to transmit, several times a second, synchronization packets comprising the update commands to one or more of the plurality of clients over the communications network.

A computer implemented method at a client comprising:

• executing, at a processor of the client, a copy of at least part of a graph of connected nodes that encode a state, a behavior and, a graphical and/or audio display of an application, the copy of at least part of the graph of connected nodes having been received from a server executing the whole graph of connected nodes, the whole graph of connected nodes comprising at least some nodes indicated as secret with respect to the client;
• several times a second, receiving from the server over a communications network, synchronization packets, each packet comprising update commands computed by skipping nodes of the whole graph of connected nodes at the server which are secret to the client;
• executing the update commands to update the copy of the at least part of the graph of connected nodes;
• rendering the graphical and/or audio display of the application at the client on the basis of the updated copy;
• and
• wherein the copy of at least part of the graph of connected nodes executed at the client is a different subset of the graph of connected nodes from another subset of the graph of connected nodes executed at another client of the server.

A client computer comprising:

• a processor arranged to execute a copy of at least part of a graph of connected nodes that encode a state, a behavior and, a graphical and/or audio display of an application, the copy of at least part of the graph of connected nodes having been received from a server executing the whole graph of connected nodes, the whole graph of connected nodes comprising at least some nodes indicated as secret with respect to the client;
• a communications interface arranged to receive, several times a second, from the server, over a communications network, synchronization packets, each packet comprising update commands computed by skipping nodes of the whole graph of connected nodes at the server which are secret to the client;
• the processor arranged to execute the update commands to update the copy of the at least part of the graph of connected nodes;
• the processor arranged to render the graphical and/or audio display of the application at the client on the basis of the updated copy;
• and
• wherein the copy of at least part of the graph of connected nodes executed at the client is a different subset of the graph of connected nodes from another subset of the graph of connected nodes executed at another client of the server.