Bundle administration and management

Aspects of bundle administration and management are described. The use of bundles, as described herein, may be relied upon to assist users with the installation of applications associated with artifacts. In one embodiment, a bundle includes both a manifest and an artifact. A computing device may open the bundle and parse the manifest to identify an application for the artifact. The computing device may evaluate a status of a qualification to the application and if the status meets the qualification, then install the application. Thus, with the combination of the manifest and the artifact in the bundle, it is not necessary that a user search for and identify an application associated with the artifact (e.g., a data or content file), because the computing device may reference the manifest to ascertain the application and, based upon one or more qualifications, for example, install the application automatically for the user.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Benefit is claimed under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d) to Foreign application Ser. No. 6739/CHE/2014 filed in India entitled “BUNDLE ADMINISTRATION AND MANAGEMENT”, on Dec. 30, 2014, by AIRWATCH LLC, which is herein incorporated in its entirety by reference for all purposes

BACKGROUND

In computing devices, certain applications may be relied upon to open, view, and edit data files of various types and/or formats. As examples, a text editor application may he configured to open, view, and edit text files, while an image editor application may be configured to open, view, and edit image files. Generally, different types of data files may be distinguished by different file extensions. Similarly, a computing device may have several different programs installed to open the different types of data files, as directed by a user of the computing device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As described above, in computing devices, certain applications may be relied upon to open, view, and edit data files of various types and/or formats. In some eases, a content file, such as a video file compressed according to a particular compression format, may be stored at a computing device. If the associated video player application is not installed at the computing device, the computing device may not be able to open the video file. Further compounding this problem, a user of the computing device may be completely unfamiliar with which application is designed and configured to open the video file. As such, the user may need to search for the application associated with the extension of the video file (e.g. *.flv, *.mov,*.wmv, *.mp4, *.3gp, etc.), leading to frustration and lost time. Although good practice may dictate that data files are provided with filename extensions that help users identify which applications are associated with the data files, the filename extensions may be incorrectly or improperly provided, corrupted, or otherwise lost. In this case, it may not be possible to easily search for applications associated with data files.

Further, with the adoption of new types of client computing devices and cross-computing-platform solutions, new ways of administering and managing content and applications are needed. For example, it may be necessary to distribute a certain type of document to employees of a company that relies upon an enterprise of various types of computing devices. Among the computing devices, an application configured to view the document may be installed to only a limited number of the devices. As such, it may be necessary for a significant number of employees to not only receive the document, but also to search for and install the associated application before they are able to view the document. The need to search for and install the application may consume a great amount of the employees' time and lead to frustration and calls for assistance.

As another example, it may be necessary to distribute various documents and a test, electronically, to students in a classroom. According to the instructor's lesson plan, the documents should be reviewed, in sequence, before the test is taken. Without a way to manage access to the documents and the test, the students may take the test without reviewing the documents first.

In the context of the examples presented above, the use of bundles, as described herein, may be relied upon to assist with the managed distribution of artifacts and the installation of applications associated with the artifacts, along with the ability to conditionally control access to the artifacts according to various qualifications. As used herein, an artifact may be embodied as or refer to any data file, content file, user profile, computing device profile, license, or other data file (or combinations thereof) which may be opened, edited, viewed, installed, or integrated with a computing device. In one embodiment, a bundle includes both a manifest and an artifact. A computing device may open the bundle and parse the manifest to identify an application for the artifact and a qualification to the application and/or to the artifact. The computing device may evaluate a status of the qualification to the application pursuant to the manifest and, if the status meets the qualification to the application, then install the application on the computing device. The computing device may reference the manifest to identify a pointer to a location from which the application (and/or the artifact) may be downloaded, for example, and then download and install the application. Further, if the manifest defines it, the computing device may also evaluate a status of a qualification to the artifact. If the status meets the qualification to the artifact, then the computing device may permit access to the artifact using the application. Otherwise, the computing device may deny access to the artifact.

Thus, with the combination of a manifest and an artifact in a bundle, among other data structures, it is not necessary that a user search for and identify an application associated with the artifact, because the computing device may reference the manifest to ascertain the application. Further, based upon one or more qualifications, the computing device may install the application automatically for the user, control access to the artifact based on certain conditions, and/or control access to the application based on certain conditions. Additional features of and variations on bundles and computing devices configured to implement bundle schemas using bundles are described in further detail below. In that context, the following paragraphs provide as general description of a representative networked computing environment and its components followed by a discussion of the operation of the same.

FIG. 1illustrates as networked computing environment10for bundle administration and management according to various embodiments described herein. The networked computing environment10includes a computing device110, a network150, an application repository160, an enterprise platform170, and a license server180. The computing device110is representative of one or more computing devices. In various embodiments, the computing device110may be embodied as any computing or processing circuitry, device, or system, including those embodied in the form of a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a personal digital assistant, a wearable computing device, a cellular telephone, a camera, a set-top box, a music or media player, or a tablet computer, among other example computing devices or systems, without limitation. Depending upon its primary purpose or function, the computing device110may include various peripheral devices or components. The peripheral devices may include input or communications devices or modules, such as keyboards, keypads, touch pads, touch screens, microphones, cameras, wireless communications modules (e.g., infra-red, WI-FI, Bluetooth®, etc.), buttons, switches, sensors, etc. The peripheral devices may also include a display, indicator lights, speakers, global navigation satellite system (GNSS) circuitry, accelerometers gyroscopes, etc., depending upon the primary purpose or function of the computing device110.

In other embodiments, the computing device110may be embodied as a computing system including one or more computing devices arranged, for example, in one or more server or computer banks. The computing device110may be located at a single installation site or distributed among different geographic locations. In this context, the computing device110may include a plurality of computing devices that together embody a hosted computing resource, a grid computing resource, and for other distributed computing arrangement. In some cases, the computing device110may be embodied as an elastic computing resource where an allotted capacity of processing, network, storage, or other computing-related resources varies over time. The computing device110may also include or correspond to one or more virtualized server instances that are created in order to execute the functionality described herein. The computing device110may also be embodied, in part, as various logic (e.g., processing circuit or device) and/or functional (e.g., computer-readable instruction) elements that may execute or be executed by the computing device110to direct the computing device110to perform aspects of the embodiments described herein.

As illustrated, the computing device110includes a data store120and an operating environment130. Among other storage areas, the data store120includes a storage area for one or more bundles122and a storage area for one or more data files124. Any one of the bundles122may be distinguished from a data file124because it includes certain data structures in addition to one or more artifacts (e.g., data files, content files, user profiles, computing device profiles, licenses, etc.) and/or, in some cases, one or more applications. In one embodiment, for example, a bundle122includes a manifest as described in further detail below with reference toFIG. 2.

The operating environment130may be configured to execute various programs as directed by a user. Although the execution of applications is described below in the context of the bundles122, the operating environment130may execute various applications beyond those described in connection with the bundles122and other artifacts. The operating environment130includes services132, and the services132include a bundle service engine134. The services132may include any services executing on the computing device110, such as network communications services, update services, monitoring services, event services, logging services, policy services, etc. The bundle service engine134is an example of one of the services132and may be configured to individually administer and manage the bundles122stored in the data store120. More particularly, the handle service engine134may administer and manage the bundles122according to one or more bundle schemas140, where each of the bundle schemas140is defined based on a manifest, including the qualifications142, for example, in one or more of the bundles122.

In one embodiment the bundle service engine134may be configured to parse a manifest of any of the bundles122to identify one or more applications146associated with one or more artifacts148(e.g., data files, content files, user profiles, computing device profiles, licenses, etc.) contained within the bundle122. For example, the bundle service engine134may be configured to install an application146on the computing device110and open an artifact148of the bundle122using the installed application146. In this way, by referencing the manifest in the bundle122, it is not necessary that a user search for and identify the associated application146, as may be the case for certain ones of the data files124for which no associated application is known. Stated differently, the bundle service engine134may be configured to reference the manifest in the bundle122, ascertain the application146as being associated with the artifact148, and automatically install the associated application146on the computing device110so that the artifact148may be opened. In some embodiments, not only does the manifest identify the application146, but the manifest may provide an absolute or relative pointer or resource locator from which the bundle service engine134may obtain a copy of the application146. Thus, for example, the manifest may include a uniform resource locator (URL) that points to a path location in the application repository160for the application146.

As noted above, the bundle service engine134may be configured to administer and manage the bundles122according to one or more bundle schemas140, where each of the bundle schemas140is defined based on the qualifications142in the bundles122. Upon accessing and parsing each of the bundles122, the operating environment130may implement one or more of the bundle schemas140for reference in association with management of the bundles122. Once implemented, the bundle service engine134may manage the installation and operation of the application146and/or the artifact148, for example, according to a bundle schema140. In this case, the bundle service engine134may identify the qualification142and implement the bundle schema140based on the qualification142. The bundle service en sine134may be further configured to evaluate a status of the qualification142pursuant to the bundle schema140and, if the status meets the qualification142, then install the application146on the computing device110. As further described below with reference toFIG. 2, the qualifications142may additionally define conditions for access to the artifacts148or other aspects of the bundles122.

The network150may include the Internet, intranets, extranets, wide area networks (WANs), local area networks (LANs), wired networks, wireless networks, cable networks, satellite networks, other suitable networks, or any combinations thereof. The computing environment110may communicate with other network elements using various protocols such as hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP), simple object access protocol (SOAP), representational state transfer (REST), real-time transport protocol (RTP), real time streaming protocol (RTSP), real time messaging protocol (RTMP), user datagram protocol (UDP), internet protocol (IP), transmission control protocol (TCP), and/or other protocols for communicating data over the network150, without limitation. The network150may include connections to any number and type of network hosts, such as website servers, file servers, cloud computing resources, databases, data stores, or any other network or computing architectures.

The application repository160may be embodied as a computer, computing device, or computing system that operates as a repository (e.g., host) for applications which may be installed at various computing devices including the computing device110. In some embodiments, the application repository160may host data other than applications, such as content files, user profiles, computing device profiles, licenses, or other data files (or combinations thereof) which may be opened, edited, viewed, installed, or integrated with a computing device. The computing device110and the application repository160may communicate data between each other via the network150.

The enterprise platform170may be embodied as a computer, computing device, or computing system that operates as a management enterprise platform fey a company or organization. For example, the enterprise platform170may manage a document, content, license, profile, or other management and/or distribution service for the company or organization. The computing device110and the enterprise platform170may communicate data between each other via the network150. As illustrated, the enterprise platform170includes a bundle repository172and a bundle distribution manager174. Because the enterprise platform170distributes the bundles122, the enterprise platform170may be considered a bundle management server. The bundle repository172operates as a repository (e.g., host) of bundles, including the bundles122, for example, which may be communicated to the computing device110via the network150and stored in the data store120. The bundle distribution manager174may be configured to manage the distribution of bundles to the computing device110, for example.

The license server180may be embodied as a computer, computing device, or computing system that monitors, distributes, and maintains licenses for various applications. The computing device110and the license server180may communicate data between each other via the network150. The computing device110may reference the license server180, as necessary, to determine whether licenses for one or more applications are valid or to obtain a valid license for one or more applications, for example.

Turning toFIG. 2, contents of an example bundle122are illustrated. The bundle122inFIG. 2is provided as a representative example of one of the bundles122inFIG. 1. The bundle122may include a manifest210, one or more applications146, and one or more artifacts148. As illustrated, the manifest210may include a reference identifier212, an administration timeframe214, an administration hierarchy216, one or more pointers218, and one or more qualifications142. The qualifications142may include application qualifications222and artifact qualifications224. The data structures illustrated in the bundle122are provided by way of example and not limitation, and one or more of the data structures may be omitted in certain cases. For example, the administration timeframe214, administration hierarchy216, and/or the applications146may be omitted from the bundle122. As another example, one or both of the application qualifications222and/or the artifact qualifications224may be omitted from the bundle122.

The reference ID212may be embodied as a unique identifier for the bundle122. In some embodiments, the reference ID212may include a bundle version number, version date, etc. Using the reference ID212, the bundle service engine134(FIG. 1) may query the enterprise platform170for an update to the bundle122, as further described below with reference toFIG. 3. The administration timeframe214may be embodied as a data structure including one or more timings or time periods for administration of the bundle122. In this context, the bundle service engine134may administer a bundle schema140for the bundle122during one or more timings or time periods defined by the administration timeframe214. For example, the bundle service engine134may be configured to review the qualifications142in the bundle122during a time period defined by the administration timeframe214and, when the time period expires, delete one or more of the artifacts148, uninstall one or more of the applications146, and/or delete the bundle122. As another example, the bundle service engine134may be configured to install, update, or delete one of the applications146in the bundle122at a certain time defined by the administration timeframe214. In still another example, the bundle service engine134may be configured to determine certain times When one or more of the artifacts148and/or the applications146may be accessed or executed according to the administration timeframe214.

The administration hierarchy216may be embodied as a data structure including a priority or operating hierarchy for administration of the artifacts148and/or the applications146in the bundle122. In this context, the bundle service engine134may identify an order for access to the artifacts148according to the administration hierarchy216. That is, with reference to the administration hierarchy216, the bundle service engine134may identify that a first artifact should be opened and reviewed by a user before a second artifact. Thus, if a teacher distributes several documents to students in a classroom, the teacher may define, through the administration hierarchy216, that a first of the documents is reviewed, entirely or in part, before a second of the documents is reviewed. Similarly, the teacher may define that certain documents are reviewed before an application146is installed or executed. The bundle service engine134may reference both the administration hierarchy216and the qualifications142to determine not only an order in which the artifacts148and/or the applications146should be accessed, but also certain conditions in which they should be accessed.

The pointers218may be embodied as one or more references to the applications146and/or to the artifacts148. Thus, if the bundle122omits the applications146, the bundle service engine134may reference the pointers218to identify one or more of the applications146to open, view, and edit the artifacts148. Thus, based on the content in the bundle122, it is not necessary for a user search for and identify the applications146to access the artifacts148. Instead, the bundle service engine134may reference the pointers218to identify the applications146. Further, the pointers218may also include one or more absolute or relative pointers or resource locators from which the bundle service engine134may obtain a copy of one or more of the applications146to access the artifacts148. A pointer218in the manifest210may include a URL, for example, that points to a location in the application repository160from which a computing device may obtain a copy of an application146. Thus, if the bundle200omits the applications146, one or more of the pointers218may identify certain applications146associated with respective ones of the artifacts148. Similarly, if the bundle122omits the artifacts148, the bundle service engine134may reference the pointers218to identify a network location from which the computing device may obtain a copy of one or more of the artifacts148. The bundle service engine134may also reference the pointers218to obtain copies of the applications146and/or the artifacts148in a sequence defined by the administration hierarchy216and/or the qualifications142.

The qualifications142may be embodied as one or more conditions or qualifications to the artifacts148and/or the applications146. More particularly, the application qualifications222may be embodied as one or more conditions or qualifications to the applications146, and the artifact qualifications224may be embodied as one or more conditions or qualifications to the artifacts148. Among others, the application qualifications222may define operating environment dependencies for the applications146, license dependencies for the applications146, profile dependencies for the applications146, hierarchy dependencies for the applications146etc. For example, the operating environment dependencies may require that certain system software updates have been installed (e.g., patches, bug fixes, etc.), that certain services or applications are being executed (e.g., antivirus software, etc.), or that a certain amount of network bandwidth, memory, or disk space is available. The license dependencies may require that one or more application licenses are verified and valid, the profile dependencies may require that one or more user profiles are available, accurate, and updated, and the hierarchy dependencies may require that a set or suite of applications is installed or installed in a certain order. The bundle service engine134may reference the application qualifications222to determine what conditions, qualifications, or pre-requisites may be associated with the installation of or access to the applications referenced by the pointers218or the applications146, for example.

The artifact qualifications224may define certain operating environment dependencies for the artifacts148, profile dependencies for the artifacts148, pre-requisites for access to the artifacts148, etc. The bundle service engine134may reference the artifact qualifications224to determine what conditions, qualifications, or pre-requisites may be associated with access to the artifacts148. For example, the operating environment dependencies may require that certain system software updates have been installed (e.g., patches, bug fixes, etc.), that certain services or applications are being executed (e.g., antivirus software, etc.), or that a certain amount of network bandwidth, memory, or disk space is available. The profile dependencies may require that one or more user profiles are available, accurate, and updated, and the pre-requisites may require that certain applications are installed, that certain documents have been accessed and/or reviewed, and that certain terms and conditions have been accepted.

Turning toFIGS. 3 and 4, the operation of the bundle service engine134(FIG. 1) in the computing device110is described in further detail by way of various examples.FIG. 3illustrates an example bundle administration and management process300performed by the computing device110inFIG. 1. Although the process300is described below as being performed by the computing device110inFIG. 1, it should be appreciated that the bundle administration and management process300is be performed by other computing devices and/or systems.

Starting at reference numeral302, the process300includes storing one or more of the bundles122. Referring toFIG. 1, the computing device110may receive one or more of the bundles122from the enterprise platform170at reference numeral302, for example, and store the bundles122in the data store120. At reference numeral304, the process300includes opening one or more of the bundles122stored at reference numeral302. In this context, the computing device110may receive an instruction from a user to open one of the bundles122. In turn, the bundle service engine134may identify the instruction to open the bundle122. Based on the instruction, the bundle service engine134may open the bundle122to access and identify the contents of the bundle122. As described above with reference to the example bundle122inFIG. 2, the bundle122may include a manifest210, one or more artifacts148, and one or more applications146, among other data structures.

At reference numeral306, the process300includes parsing the manifest120from the bundle122opened at reference numeral304. Referring toFIG. 2for example context, when parsing the manifest210at reference numeral306, the bundle service engine134may identify one or more of the reference identifier212, the administration timeframe214, the administration hierarchy216, the pointers218, the qualifications to applications222, and/or the qualifications to artifacts224, for example.

At reference numeral308, the process300includes implementing a bundle schema140pursuant to die manifest210parsed at reference numeral306. Here, the bundle service engine134may implement a bundle schema140by performing a series of operations according to the hierarchy, timings, pointers, qualifications, conditions, etc. identified in the manifest file210. The implementation of a bundle schema140at reference numeral308is described in further detail below with reference toFIG. 4.

At reference numeral310, the process300includes querying a bundle management server for an update to the bundle opened at reference numeral304. For example, at reference numeral310, the bundle service engine134may query the enterprise platform170(FIG. 1) to determine whether an updated version of the bundle122opened at reference numeral304exists. When conducting the query, the bundle service engine134may identify the bundle122opened at reference numeral304by its reference identifier212and/or version number. In response, the bundle distribution manager174may determine whether an update to the bundle122exists. If an update does exist, the bundle distribution manager174may forward the updated bundle122to the computing device110. In various embodiments, querying for an update, as performed at reference numeral310, may be performed at other times in the process300. For example, querying for an update may be performed before or after reference numeral304, for example, or at any other suitable point or timing in the process300.

At reference numeral312, the process300includes determining whether an administration timeframe214has expired for the bundle122opened at reference numeral304. In other words, at reference numeral312, the bundle service engine134is configured to check whether the timeframe for administration of the bundle schema140implemented at reference numeral308(see also, e.g.,FIG. 4) has expired. The administration timeframe214may be defined in the manifest210of the bundle122opened at reference numeral304by way of an absolute or relative start time, end time, time period, etc. If the administration timeframe214has expired, then the process300proceeds from reference numeral312to reference numeral314, where the administration of the bundle122opened at reference numeral304is concluded. At reference numeral314, pursuant to the manifest210parsed at reference306, the bundle service engine134may uninstall any applications146installed at reference numeral308and, in some cases, delete the bundle122opened at reference numeral304. As such, at reference numeral314, the bundle service engine134concludes the administration of the bundle122opened at reference numeral304. Alternatively, if the administration timeframe214has not expired, then the process300proceeds from reference numeral312back to reference numeral308for ongoing implementation of the bundle schema140.

With regard to the administration timeframe214, it is noted that a bundle122may, in some embodiments, be limited to administration for a limited period of time. For example, if the administration timeframe214in the bundle122limits administration to no later than Jan. 1, 2015, at 12:00 am, then the bundle service engine134may conclude administration of the bundle122at that time. In this case, the bundle service engine134may deny or refuse access to the bundle122after Jan. 1, 2015, at 12:00 am. In other cases, with reference to the administration timeframe214, the bundle service engine134may begin administration of the bundle122at a certain time period. In still other embodiments the administration timeframe214may define respective timings or timeframes for administration of one or more of the applications146or other applications referenced by the pointers218, and the bundle service engine134may operate accordingly. Additionally or alternatively, the administration timeframe214may define respective timings or timeframes for access to the artifacts148. In other embodiments, however, administration of one or more of the bundles122may not be limited. That is, the administration timeframe214may be omitted from one or more of the bundles122. In this case, a bundle schema140for a bundle122may be implemented by the bundle service engine134without reference to any particular timeframe.

FIG. 4illustrates an expanded view of the process of implementing a bundle schema140(i.e., reference numeral308inFIG. 3). At the outset, it is noted that the process inFIG. 4is implemented for a particular bundle122according to the manifest210in the bundle122. In other words, the manifest210of a bundle122generally defines the manner in which the bundle schema140associated with the bundle122is implemented. In this context, after the bundle service engine134(FIG. 1) parses the manifest210of a bundle122at reference numeral306(FIG. 3), the bundle service engine134is configured to implement a bundle schema140for the bundle122according to the hierarchy, timings, pointers, qualifications, conditions, etc. defined in the manifest file210. An example process of implementing the bundle schema140is outlined inFIG. 4.

At reference numeral402, the process includes evaluating a status of a qualification (e.g., qualification x). At this stage, before a certain application is installed, for example, the bundle service engine134may evaluate or verify one of various qualifications or conditions. Referring toFIG. 2for example context, the bundle122includes application qualifications222as described above. At reference numeral402, the bundle service engine134may evaluate or verify one or more of the application qualifications222before installing certain applications. For example, the bundle service engine134may evaluate or verify a condition of the operating environment130of the computing device110, an operating profile of the computing device110, a license to the computing device110, it condition of a registry entry in the computing device110, a file structure in the computing device110, etc. In other examples, the qualification may be related to conditions on a network environment (e.g., network type, network speed, network address, network geofence, virtual local area network affiliation, etc.), time of day, system resources, user, etc. As illustrated inFIG. 4, the evaluation of the status of respective qualifications (e.g., qualifications x, x+1, x+2, etc.) may occur in a nested fashion. Alternatively, the evaluation of a combination of two or more qualifications may occur at reference numeral402.

At reference numeral404, the process includes determining whether the status of the qualification evaluated at reference numeral402is compliant. Here, the bundle service engine134may compare the status of the operating environment, operating profile, license, registry entry, etc., as evaluated at reference numeral402, with one or more of the application qualifications222(FIG. 2), for example. If the status is not compliant, then the process proceeds to reference numeral406. On the other hand, if the status is compliant, then the process proceeds to reference numeral408.

At reference numeral406, the process includes performing a compliance operation pursuant to the manifest210. For example, as directed by the manifest210(FIG. 2), the bundle service engine134may update or edit one or more operating parameters of the computing device110. For example, the bundle service engine134may perform a compliance operation to update settings of the operating environment130of the computing device110, an operating profile of the computing device110, a condition of a registry entry in the computing device110, a file structure in the computing device110, etc. The compliance operation may include the installation of certain services, licenses, applications or software, etc. In other examples, at reference numeral406, the bundle service engine134may update security or network settings of the computing device110. After reference numeral406, the process proceeds back to reference numeral402for further evaluation.

At reference numeral408, the process includes performing an operation pursuant to the manifest210. For example, the bundle service engine134may install a program or application at reference numeral408. In various embodiments, the application may be contained within the bundle122(e.g., one of the applications146) or obtained (e.g., downloaded) using one of the pointers218in the manifest210as a reference to a location where the application may he obtained. With regard to the pointers218, as described above, the bundle service engine134ma obtain a copy of an application from the application repository160(FIG. 1), for example, using one of the pointers218as a reference to a location where the application may be obtained. In other aspects of the embodiments, the operation performed at reference numeral408may be an operation other than the installation of an application. Depending upon the manifest210, for example, the operation performed at reference numeral408may include obtaining (e.g., downloading) or deleting certain data files, executing certain instructions, reconfiguring operating parameters of the computing device110, etc. After reference numeral408, the process proceeds to reference numeral410.

At reference numeral410, the process includes determining whether there are additional qualifications. Here, it is noted that the manifest210of the bundle122(FIG. 2) may include a series of application qualifications222associated with the installation of various applications or other operations). In this case, When implementing the bundle schema140of the bundle122, the bundle service engine134may evaluate the status of each of the application qualifications222, in turn (or in any combination with each other), depending upon the administration hierarchy216of the manifest210. If the bundle service engine134identifies at reference numeral410that additional qualifications are listed in the manifest240of the bundle122, then the process proceeds back to reference numeral402to evaluate o e or more of the additional qualifications (e.g., qualification x+1). On the other hand, if the bundle service engine134identifies at reference numeral410that no additional qualifications are listed, then the process proceeds to reference numeral412.

At reference numeral412, the process includes evaluating a status of a different type of qualification (e.g., qualification y). Referring again toFIG. 2for example context, before one or more of the artifacts148are opened, the bundle service engine134may evaluate or verify one or more of the artifact qualifications224at reference numeral412. In one embodiment, the bundle service engine134may evaluate or verify one or more of the artifact qualifications224before permitting a user to open or access one or more of the artifacts148. In this context, the bundle service engine134may evaluate or verify a pre-requisite for access to the artifacts148. The pre-requisite may require that a user has previously viewed or accessed one or more other artifacts, completed a task (e.g., watching a video, completing a form, etc.), obtained certain permissions, obtained a license, etc.

At reference numeral414, the process includes determining whether the status of the qualification evaluated at reference numeral412is compliant. Here, the bundle service engine134may compare the status of the pre-requisite evaluated at reference numeral412, with one or more of the artifact qualifications224(FIG. 2). If the status is not compliant, then the process proceeds back to reference numeral412for further evaluation. On the other hand, if the status is compliant, then the process proceeds to reference numeral416.

At reference numeral416, the process includes performing a procedure pursuant to the manifest210. For example, the bundle service engine134may open one or more of the artifacts148to be viewed and/or edited by a user, for example, at reference numeral416. After reference numeral416, the process proceeds to reference numeral410. At reference numeral418, the process includes determining whether there are additional procedures. Here, it is noted that the manifest210of the bundle200(FIG. 2) may direct the bundle service engine134to access one or more of the artifacts230over time under various circumstances, and based on certain conditions or qualifications according to the administration hierarchy216of the manifest210. Thus, to the extent that the manifest210includes additional instructions for the bundle service engine134, the process may proceed back to reference numeral402. If no additional procedures or instructions are identified at reference numeral418, the process proceeds back to reference numeral314ofFIG. 3, to conclude the bundle schema140.

The process flowcharts inFIGS. 3 and 4show examples of the functionality and operation of the components described herein. The components described herein can be embodied in hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software. If embodied in software, each element may represent a module of code or a portion of code that comprises program instructions to implement the specified logical function(s). The program instructions may be embodied in the form of for example, source code that comprises human-readable statements written in a programming language and/or machine code that comprises machine instructions recognizable by a suitable execution system, such as a processor in a computer system or other system. If embodied in hardware, each element may represent a circuit or a number of interconnected circuits that implement the specified logical function(s).

Although the flowcharts show a specific order of execution, it is understood that the order of execution may differ from that which is shown. For example, the order of execution of two or more elements may be switched relative to the order shown. Also, two or more elements shown in succession may be executed concurrently or with partial concurrence. Further, in some embodiments, one or more of the elements shown in the flowcharts may be skipped or omitted. In addition, any number of counters, state variables, warning semaphores, or messages might be added to the logical flow described herein, for purposes of enhanced utility, accounting, performance measurement, troubleshooting, etc. It is understood that all such variations are within the scope of the present disclosure.

The computing device110, application repository160, enterprise platform170, and license server180described inFIG. 1may each include at least one processing circuit. Such a processing circuit may comprise, for example, one or more processors and one or more storage devices that are coupled to a local interface. The local interface may comprise, for example, a data bus with an accompanying address/control bus or any other suitable bus structure. The one or more storage devices for a processing circuit may store data and/or components that are executable by the one or processors of the processing circuit. For example, the operating environment130and/or other components may be stored in one or more storage devices and he executable by one or more processors. Also, a data store, such as the data store120, may be stored in the one or more storage devices.

The bundle service engine134and other components described herein may be embodied in the form of hardware, as software components that are executable by hardware, or as a combination of software and hardware. If embodied as hardware, the components described herein can be implemented as a circuit or state machine that employs any suitable hardware technology. Such hardware technology may include, for example but is not limited to, one or more microprocessors, discrete logic circuits having logic gates for implementing various logic functions upon an application of one or more data signals, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) having appropriate logic gates, programmable logic devices (e.g., field-programmable gate array (FPGAs) and complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs)), etc.

Also, one or more of the components described herein that includes software or program instructions may be embodied in any non-transitory computer-readable medium for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system such as, for example, a processor in a computing or processing system. Such a computer-readable medium may contain, store, and/or maintain the software or program instructions for use by or in connection with the instruction execution system.

The computer-readable medium can comprise a physical media, such as, magnetic, optical, semiconductor, and/or other suitable media. Examples of a suitable computer-readable media include, but are not limited to, solid-state drives, magnetic drives, flash memory, etc. Further, any logic or component described herein may be implemented and structured in as variety of ways. For example, one or more components described herein may be implemented as modules or components of a single application. Further, one or more components described herein may be executed in one computing device or in multiple computing devices. Additionally, it is understood that terms, such as “application,” “service,” “system,” “engine,” “module,” etc., may be interchangeable and are not intended to be limiting unless indicated otherwise.

It is emphasized that the embodiments described above are merely examples of implementations to set forth for a clear understanding of the principles of the disclosure. Many variations and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and principles of the disclosure. All such modifications and variations are intended to be included within the scope of this disclosure herein.