Abstract:
Architecture that facilitates performance enhancement in message-based computing across a performance-based interface. When a request from a source is transmitted across the interface to a destination, a filter component in communication with the destination dynamically allows only one or more relevant responses from the destination to transition the interface to the source. This mechanism achieves an even tighter filtering of events while at the same time giving developers more flexibility over the events they choose to register, thereby enhancing the performance of message-based computing architectures by reducing unnecessary computation.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD  
       [0001]     This invention is related to software application platforms, and more specifically, interoperability between managed and native environments.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     Technological advances in semiconductor devices continue to spawn larger numbers of portable computing devices that can require small footprint execution environments and application platforms, many of which are resource constrained. In the marketplace, it is competitively critical to have a platform that is a preferment and is as flexible as possible. Interoperability across a native/managed boundary between the managed platform and the native operating system, which provides many of the base services on which the platform relies, has an overhead cost that is expensive to process in rapid succession.  
         [0003]     In GUI (graphical user interface) applications, events need to be trafficked across the native/managed boundary. There are so many events that it becomes a potential performance roadblock. Conventional user interface (UI) systems use a static system that allows the framework to be preferment through filtering of the UI events that are returned to the application. This is important, since the transition from the native code layer to the managed code layer is expensive in terms of at least resources consumed and processor cycles. Thus, minimizing transitions across this boundary has a dramatic effect on application performance. One existing static filtering system forces a developer to make decisions on which events are propagated and which events will not. For those that are not propagated, managed code developers have no way to register or be called back on any of these events, thereby limiting the flexibility of developers on the platform.  
         [0004]     What is needed is a flexible event filtering system that maintains high performance without sacrificing developer flexibility.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0005]     The following presents a simplified summary of the invention in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the invention. This summary is not an extensive overview of the invention. It is not intended to identify key/critical elements of the invention or to delineate the scope of the invention. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of the invention in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.  
         [0006]     The present invention disclosed and claimed herein, in one aspect thereof, comprises a system that facilitates a performance enhancement in message-based computing across a performance-based interface. When a request from a source is transmitted across the interface to a destination, a filter component in communication with the destination dynamically allows only one or more relevant responses from the destination to transition the interface to the source. This mechanism achieves an even tighter filtering of events while at the same time giving developers more flexibility over the events they choose to register, thereby enhancing the performance of message-based computing architectures by reducing unnecessary computation.  
         [0007]     In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system that facilitates a performance enhancement in message-based computing across a performance-based interface between a managed code framework and a native code framework. When the managed code framework generates a request to the native framework, the native code framework receives the request and issues one or more responses thereto. A filter component in communication with the native code framework dynamically allows only one or more relevant responses of the native code framework to transition the interface to the managed code framework. All irrelevant responses are discarded.  
         [0008]     In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system that uses type introspection to allow a developer to dynamically register and un-register events. When the system initializes one or more of its managed objects, it determines if the user has derived their own custom object. If so, the system further determines if the user has modified the handling of messages in the custom object. When modified, the native code framework is notified that messages associated with the modified handling are of interest. The system then forwards only those messages to the managed code framework for the duration of the lifetime of the managed object.  
         [0009]     To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, certain illustrative aspects of the invention are described herein in connection with the following description and the annexed drawings. These aspects are indicative, however, of but a few of the various ways in which the principles of the invention may be employed and the present invention is intended to include all such aspects and their equivalents. Other advantages and novel features of the invention may become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the drawings. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0010]      FIG. 1  illustrates a system that performs event filtering in accordance with the present invention.  
         [0011]      FIG. 2  illustrates a flow chart of process in accordance with the present invention.  
         [0012]      FIG. 3  illustrates a system that performs event filtering in accordance with the present invention.  
         [0013]      FIG. 4  illustrates a flow chart of a process for filtering events in accordance with the present invention.  
         [0014]      FIG. 5  illustrates a flow chart of an alternative process for filtering events in accordance with the present invention.  
         [0015]      FIG. 6  illustrates a block diagram of a dynamic event handling process in accordance with the present invention.  
         [0016]      FIG. 7  illustrates a block diagram of a computer operable to execute the disclosed architecture.  
         [0017]      FIG. 8  illustrates a schematic block diagram of an exemplary computing environment in accordance with the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0018]     The present invention is now described with reference to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals are used to refer to like elements throughout. In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. It may be evident, however, that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to facilitate describing the present invention.  
         [0019]     As used in this application, the terms “component” and “system” are intended to refer to a computer-related entity, either hardware, a combination of hardware and software, software, or software in execution. For example, a component may be, but is not limited to being, a process running on a processor, a processor, an object, an executable, a thread of execution, a program, and/or a computer. By way of illustration, both an application running on a server and the server can be a component. One or more components may reside within a process and/or thread of execution and a component may be localized on one computer and/or distributed between two or more computers.  
         [0020]     As used herein, the term to “infer” or “inference” refer generally to the process of reasoning about or inferring states of the system, environment, and/or user from a set of observations as captured via events and/or data. Inference can be employed to identify a specific context or action, or can generate a probability distribution over states, for example. The inference can be probabilistic—that is, the computation of a probability distribution over states of interest based on a consideration of data and events. Inference can also refer to techniques employed for composing higher-level events from a set of events and/or data. Such inference results in the construction of new events or actions from a set of observed events and/or stored event data, whether or not the events are correlated in close temporal proximity, and whether the events and data come from one or several event and data sources.  
         [0021]     Referring now to  FIG. 1 , there is illustrated a system  100  that performs event filtering in accordance with the present invention. The system  100  includes a performance-based interface  102  that the transmission across degrades system performance in some way by requiring increased system resources to process data moving across the interface  102 . In one implementation, which will be described in detail hereinbelow, the interface  102  is that which exists between managed and native code. In another implementation, the interface  102  is that which exists between a client and a server. Such an interface  102  exists in many other systems, for example, communications systems where a portable communications device sends a signal requesting a response, which response comprises more data than is requested such that the system processing is excessive for what it actually needs to be.  
         [0022]     On either side of the interface  102 , for purposes of this description, are a source component  104  (which can also be a destination) and a destination component  106  (which can also be a source with respect to the destination  104 ). The source component  104  communicates across the interface  102  to the destination  106  via a communications component  108 , and the destination component  106  receives the communication from the source  106  via a communications component  110 . Similarly, a request or signal sent from the destination  106 , now being a source  106 , can require system resources to process the transition of the signal across the interface  102  to the destination  104  (previously the source  104 ). The destination  104  can then attempt to transmit one or more responses back across the interface  102 , the excess of which require excessive system resources.  
         [0023]     In order to minimize the use of excessive system resources for signaling across the interface  102 , the communications components ( 108  and  110 ) only forward requested and necessary information to the sources. That is, when the source  104  sends a request to the destination  106 , the communications component  110  receives and processes the request, forwards the request to the destination  106 , receives the responses from the destination  106 , filters out all unnecessary responses, and forwards only the requested information across the interface  102  to the source  104 . Similarly, where the destination  106  is now a requesting source  106 , the source  106  transmits a request to the destination  104  (previously the source  104 ). The destination  104  responds with excessive amounts of information to the communications component  108 . That is, when the source  106  sends a request to the destination  104 , the communications component  108  receives and processes the request, forwards the request to the destination  104 , receives the responses from the destination  104 , filters out all unnecessary responses, and forwards only the requested information across the interface  102  to the source  106 .  
         [0024]     It is to be appreciated by one skilled in the art that the source  104  may comprise multiple source subcomponents communicating requests through the communications component  110  to multiple (or single) respective destinations, such that the communication component  110  processes and forwards each of the requests to the respective (or single) destinations, receives the responses back from each of the multiple respective (or single) destinations, and forwards only the necessary responses across the interface  102  to the corresponding source  104 .  
         [0025]     Additionally, the communications component  110  may comprise multiple subcomponents, each which handles a different type of request for the source  104  and associated responses from the destination  106  such that excessive responses for each of the requests are prevented from being transmitted across the interface  102  back to the source  104 .  
         [0026]     The system  100  can also employ various artificial intelligence based schemes for carrying out various aspects of the subject invention (although this is not a requirement, as indicated by the dashed lines). For example, a process for determining the number and type of responses to be returned to the source  104  can be facilitated via an automatic classifier system and process. Moreover, where the there are multiple communications subcomponents of the component  110 , the classifier  112  can be employed to perform load balancing, for example, to determine which subcomponent to be used for processing the request and responses back to the source  104 .  
         [0027]     A classifier is a function that maps an input attribute vector, x=(x1, x2, x3, x4, xn), to a confidence that the input belongs to a class, that is, f(x)=confidence(class). Such classification can employ a probabilistic and/or statistical-based analysis (e.g., factoring into the analysis utilities and costs) to prognose or make an inference that a user desires to be automatically performed. In the case of request/response systems, for example, attributes can be request or response, and the classes are categories or areas of interest (e.g., levels of priority).  
         [0028]     A support vector machine (SVM) is an example of a classifier that can be employed. The SVM operates by finding a hypersurface in the space of possible inputs, which hypersurface attempts to split the triggering criteria from the non-triggering events. Intuitively, this makes the classification correct for testing data that is near, but not identical to training data. Other directed and undirected model classification approaches include, e.g., naïve Bayes, Bayesian networks, decision trees, and probabilistic classification models providing different patterns of independence can be employed. Classification as used herein also is inclusive of statistical regression that is utilized to develop models of priority.  
         [0029]     As will be readily appreciated from the subject specification, the subject invention can employ classifiers that are explicitly trained (e.g., via a generic training data) as well as implicitly trained (e.g., via observing user behavior, receiving extrinsic information). For example, SVM&#39;s are configured via a learning or training phase within a classifier constructor and feature selection module. Thus, the classifier(s) may be used to perform a number of functions, including but not limited to automatically determining according to a predetermined criteria what response(s) should be returned for a given request, when the response(s) should be returned based on the state of the interface  102 , what request(s) should be process first, what responses should be processed, what responses should be processed before other responses, and what subcomponents of the communication component  110  should be employed (in a load balancing scenario, for example).  
         [0030]     The classifier  112  can also be used to make determinations based upon the type of computing device in which the performance-based interface is being employed. For example, where the computing device includes a touch screen user interface, but the managed code interprets the request from an input mechanism other than the touch screen, that being an unsupported input mechanism, the classifier  112  can automatically provide substitute event handling. For example, is the managed code issues a request for a mouse, yet no mouse exists, the classifier  112  controls the system  100  to provide the substitute response(s) to the request.  
         [0031]     In another implementation, the system  100  can include a global filter that adds or subtracts messages and response(s) to those messages. That is, even if the managed code requests one or more responses, the system  100  will “know” that for al purposes, the managed code does not want those responses. This can also be facilitated by the classifier  112 .  
         [0032]     Referring now to  FIG. 2 , there is illustrated a flow chart of process in accordance with the present invention. While, for purposes of simplicity of explanation, the one or more methodologies shown herein, e.g., in the form of a flow chart, are shown and described as a series of acts, it is to be understood and appreciated that the present invention is not limited by the order of acts, as some acts may, in accordance with the present invention, occur in a different order and/or concurrently with other acts from that shown and described herein. For example, those skilled in the art will understand and appreciate that a methodology could alternatively be represented as a series of interrelated states or events, such as in a state diagram. Moreover, not all illustrated acts may be required to implement a methodology in accordance with the present invention.  
         [0033]     At  200 , the performance-sensitive interface is received. At  202 , a source transmits a request. At  204 , a destination communications component receives, processes, and forwards the request to the destination. At  206 , the destination processes the request and transmits response information back to the communications component. At  208 , the destination communications component processes the response information to disallow irrelevant response information and allow only the relevant response information to transition across the interface to the source. The process then reaches a Stop block.  
         [0034]     Referring now to  FIG. 3 , there is illustrated a system  300  that performs event filtering in accordance with the present invention. The system  300  includes a performance-based interface  302  between a layer  304  that can comprise at least one of native code and managed code, and a framework  306  that can comprise at least one of native code and managed code. Thus, the performance-based interface  302  can exist cross-process in native code and/or potentially cross-machine over a network (for a non-GUI scenario).  
         [0035]     Such a performance-based interface  302  can exist between the native code layer  304  and managed code framework  306  with respect to a graphical user interface (GUI). A GUI portion of a small footprint execution environment and application platform can consist of two main components: an interface layer written in native code (e.g., between a WINDOWS CE brand graphics/windowing/events system (GWES) and the framework provided to developers) and the framework itself, written in managed code. The transition between the native code layer  304  and the managed code framework  306  is relatively expensive in terms of performance, so the native interface layer only forwards a subset of all messages from the GWES to the managed framework. Traditionally, choosing the subset of messages involved a tradeoff between a minimum number of messages required to make the managed framework useful, and the overhead of forwarding messages of no interest to the user of the framework.  
         [0036]     The system  300  includes a includes a communications filter component  308  (similar to communications components  108  and  110 ) that resides on the native code side of the interface  302  and simultaneously alleviates traditional limitations of selecting a subset of all possible responses of the native code  304  for exposure to the managed framework. Additionally, the communications filter component  308  also addresses performance issues that would arise from attempting to forward all GWES responses by allowing only relevant responses to cross the interface  302  to the managed code  306 , thus conserving system resources an enhancing system performance.  
         [0037]     The system  300  can also include a communications component  310  (although this is not required) as part of the managed framework that can be employed to handle callbacks from the native layer  304  to the managed code  306  to ensure that the request received was that which was sent, and was sent from that managed code  306 . The communications component  310  receives and processes the callback from the native layer  304 , and forwards the callback to the managed code  306 . The managed code  306  responds with information that may contain more than what is needed by the native layer  304 . The component  310  than filters out the excess information and forwards only the relevant or required information across the interface  302  to the native layer  304 .  
         [0038]     The system  300  can also include the classifier  110  to perform a number of functions mentioned previously.  
         [0039]     It is to be appreciated that the present invention is not restricted to GUI classes, but can be employed in many types of non-GUI classes that process events. There is a list of classes in the most any application that want to know about the responses to the request. Any system that uses messages or callbacks can employ the novel architecture. For example, this can include memory systems, timers, network data, and network status information.  
         [0040]     Other small footprint environments that typically run on reduced resources include small devices, e.g., PDAs, cell phones, set-top boxes for TVs, video game units, and automobiles. However, the disclosed invention will also work with larger system computing devices, for example, desktop computer and portable computers.  
         [0041]     Referring now to  FIG. 4 , there is illustrated a flow chart of a process for filtering events in accordance with the present invention. Users of the framework can implicitly indicate interest in particular messages by instantiating a framework object and attaching an event handler to one of its events and two, and deriving a custom object from a framework object and modifying the way the framework object responds to messages. A language runtime provides syntax for attaching and detaching event handlers from events on a framework object. Following is one method by which framework users indicate interest in a message. At  400 , the framework is provided. At  402 , the framework customizes attach and detach processes. At  404 , the framework signals the native interface layer of the status of the attach/detach process, i.e., that an event handler has been attached or detached. At  406 , the native layer tracks the number of attached event handlers. At  408 , the interface layer only forwards the relevant messages to the managed framework when one of more event handlers is attached. The process then reaches a Stop block.  
         [0042]     Framework User Source Code  
         [0043]     Following is sample framework user source code representative of a mouse click event.  
                                                                                                         public class MyForm : Form       {                protected Button myButton;           public MyForm( )           {                myButton = new Button( );           // User implicitly indicates “interest” here           myButton.Click += new                EventHandler(this.myButton_Click);                }           protected virtual void myButton_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)           {                // User acts on event resulting from message           // forwarded to managed code from the native layer.                }                }                      
 
         [0044]     Framework Implementation Source Code  
         [0045]     Following is sample customized source code generated by the framework from the user source code of the above example.  
                                                                                                                                                                                                                   public class Button : Control           {                private event EventHandler m_evtClick;           // Process messages forwarded from native layer           protected void MessageHandler (Message m)           {                switch (m)           {                case MSG_CLICK:                OnClick(EventArgs.Empty);           break;                }                }           // Process event handler attach and detach           public event EventHandler Click           {                add           {                m_evtClick += value;           // Framework notifies native layer of           // attached event handler                }           remove           {                // Framework notifies native layer of           // event handler detach           m_evtClick −= value;                }                }           // Notify attached event handlers of message           protected virtual void OnClick(EventArgs e)           {                if (m_evtClick != null)                m_evtClick(this, e);                }                }                      
 
         [0046]     Referring now to  FIG. 5 , there is illustrated a flow chart of an alternative process for filtering events in accordance with the present invention. The language runtime also includes the capability of type introspection (and in one specific implementation, called reflection), to dynamically inspect the properties, methods and events implemented on a managed object. At  500 , the framework is provided. At  502 , the framework provides managed objects. At  504 , the framework initializes its objects. At  506 , the framework performs reflection. At  508 , a determination is made if the framework user has derived their own custom object. If so, flow is to  510  to determine if the user has modified the handling of messages in the custom object. If it is determined that message handling has been modified, flow is to  512  where the framework object will notify the native interface layer that the message is of interest to the user. At  514 , the native layer forwards messages to the managed framework for the duration of the lifetime of the managed object. The process then reaches a Stop block.  
         [0047]     Note that the present invention is not restricted to a common language runtime, but can be any type introspecting runtime, e.g., JAVA and SMALLTALK. Moreover, the framework can be managed code receiving a message across the interface from managed code, native code receiving a message across the interface from managed code, and native code receiving a message across the interface from native code.  
         [0048]     An advantage of the alternative implementation is that the framework user does not need to use additional function calls or unusual API&#39;s (Application Program Interfaces) to indicate “interest” in particular messages. The framework is able to infer “interest” directly from the user&#39;s implementation of their application or library.  
         [0049]     Framework User Source Code  
         [0050]     Following is sample framework user source code representative of the above reflection process.  
                                                                                           public class MyButton : Button           {                // User implicitly indicates “interest” here           protected virtual override void OnClick(EventArgs e)           {                // User acts on message forwarded from native           // layer.                }                }                      
 
         [0051]     Framework Implementation Source Code  
         [0052]     Following is sample customized source code generated by the framework from the user source code of the above example.  
                                                                                           public class Button : Control           {                public Button( )           {                // Use CLR reflection to determine if user has           // customized message handling on this class.           // If so, notify the native layer to forward           // necessary messages.                }                }                      
 
         [0053]     It is to be appreciated that the present invention could be implemented with other languages or run-times that have equivalent functionality to reflection of the CLR. Additionally, this invention can be implemented with languages that use callbacks for event handlers. The functionality of the native layer to selectively forward messages to the managed framework can be integrated into the operating system directly. The subject invention could also be applied to any message-based architecture where the client is frequently only interested in a subset of the total number of available messages.  
         [0054]     Referring now to  FIG. 6 , there is illustrated a block diagram of a dynamic event handling process  600  in accordance with the present invention. There is provided an application  602  that sends out a request (or message) to the native code, expecting to receive back a response. The request can be related to any type of event that is user generated and/or application generated. The application  602  registers the event at  604 . At  606 , the managed code framework receives the event and notifies an event filter  608  of the registration. The event filter is located across the performance-based interface  102  positioned to intercept and reject responses to the events that are not needed by the application  602 . The event filter  608  than communicates back to the application  602  across the interface  102  that it has received notification of the registered event. The event is then processed through an event loop  610  that includes processing the request associated with the event in accordance with the destination processes (e.g., a native code layer or system operating system), and receiving back a plurality of information associated with responses to the request. The responses are fed back to the event filter  608 , and then filtered for irrelevant responses such that only relevant responses are forwarded from the filter  608  across the interface  102  to the application  602 .  
         [0055]     Once the one or more responses are received and processed by the application  602 , the event can be unregistered, at  612 . The framework receives the unregistered message, at  614 , and notifies the event filter  608  that the event is now unregistered. The filter will then prevent all responses associated with this event from crossing the interface  102 . At this time, the filter  608  can also signal the application that the event has been un-registered; however, this is not necessary.  
         [0056]     Referring now to  FIG. 7 , there is illustrated a block diagram of a computer operable to execute the disclosed architecture. In order to provide additional context for various aspects of the present invention,  FIG. 7  and the following discussion are intended to provide a brief, general description of a suitable computing environment  700  in which the various aspects of the present invention may be implemented. While the invention has been described above in the general context of computer-executable instructions that may run on one or more computers, those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention also may be implemented in combination with other program modules and/or as a combination of hardware and software.  
         [0057]     Generally, program modules include routines, programs, components, data structures, etc., that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. Moreover, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the inventive methods may be practiced with other computer system configurations, including single-processor or multiprocessor computer systems, minicomputers, mainframe computers, as well as personal computers, hand-held computing devices, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, and the like, each of which may be operatively coupled to one or more associated devices.  
         [0058]     The illustrated aspects of the invention may also be practiced in distributed computing environments where certain tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network. In a distributed computing environment, program modules may be located in both local and remote memory storage devices.  
         [0059]     A computer typically includes a variety of computer-readable media. Computer-readable media can be any available media that can be accessed by the computer and includes both volatile and nonvolatile media, removable and non-removable media. By way of example, and not limitation, computer readable media can comprise computer storage media and communication media. Computer storage media includes both volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data. Computer storage media includes, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital video disk (DVD) or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be used to store the desired information and which can be accessed by the computer.  
         [0060]     Communication media typically embodies computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data in a modulated data signal such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism, and includes any information delivery media. The term “modulated data signal” means a signal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode information in the signal. By way of example, and not limitation, communication media includes wired media such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, RF, infrared and other wireless media. Combinations of the any of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.  
         [0061]     With reference again to  FIG. 7 , there is illustrated an exemplary environment  700  for implementing various aspects of the invention that includes a computer  702 , the computer  702  including a processing unit  704 , a system memory  706  and a system bus  708 . The system bus  708  couples system components including, but not limited to, the system memory  706  to the processing unit  704 . The processing unit  704  may be any of various commercially available processors. Dual microprocessors and other multi-processor architectures may also be employed as the processing unit  704 .  
         [0062]     The system bus  708  can be any of several types of bus structure that may further interconnect to a memory bus (with or without a memory controller), a peripheral bus, and a local bus using any of a variety of commercially available bus architectures. The system memory  706  includes read only memory (ROM)  710  and random access memory (RAM)  712 . A basic input/output system (BIOS) is stored in a non-volatile memory  710  such as ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, which BIOS contains the basic routines that help to transfer information between elements within the computer  702 , such as during start-up. The RAM  712  can also include a high-speed RAM such as static RAM for caching data.  
         [0063]     The computer  702  further includes an internal hard disk drive (HDD)  714  (e.g., EIDE, SATA), which internal hard disk drive  714  may also be configured for external use in a suitable chassis (not shown), a magnetic floppy disk drive (FDD)  716 , (e.g., to read from or write to a removable diskette  718 ) and an optical disk drive  720 , (e.g., reading a CD-ROM disk  722  or, to read from or write to other high capacity optical media such as the DVD). The hard disk drive  714 , magnetic disk drive  716  and optical disk drive  720  can be connected to the system bus  708  by a hard disk drive interface  724 , a magnetic disk drive interface  726  and an optical drive interface  728 , respectively. The interface  724  for external drive implementations includes at least one or both of Universal Serial Bus (USB) and IEEE 1394 interface technologies.  
         [0064]     The drives and their associated computer-readable media provide nonvolatile storage of data, data structures, computer-executable instructions, and so forth. For the computer  702 , the drives and media accommodate the storage of any data in a suitable digital format. Although the description of computer-readable media above refers to a HDD, a removable magnetic diskette, and a removable optical media such as a CD or DVD, it should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that other types of media which are readable by a computer, such as zip drives, magnetic cassettes, flash memory cards, cartridges, and the like, may also be used in the exemplary operating environment, and further, that any such media may contain computer-executable instructions for performing the methods of the present invention.  
         [0065]     A number of program modules can be stored in the drives and RAM  712 , including an operating system  730 , one or more application programs  732 , other program modules  734  and program data  736 . All or portions of the operating system, applications, modules, and/or data can also be cached in the RAM  712 .  
         [0066]     It is appreciated that the present invention can be implemented with various commercially available operating systems or combinations of operating systems.  
         [0067]     A user can enter commands and information into the computer  702  through one or more wired/wireless input devices, e.g., a keyboard  738  and a pointing device, such as a mouse  740 . Other input devices (not shown) may include a microphone, an IR remote control, a joystick, a game pad, a stylus pen, touch screen, or the like. These and other input devices are often connected to the processing unit  704  through an input device interface  742  that is coupled to the system bus  708 , but may be connected by other interfaces, such as a parallel port, an IEEE 1394 serial port, a game port, a USB port, an IR interface, etc.  
         [0068]     A monitor  744  or other type of display device is also connected to the system bus  708  via an interface, such as a video adapter  746 . In addition to the monitor  744 , a computer typically includes other peripheral output devices (not shown), such as speakers, printers etc.  
         [0069]     The computer  702  may operate in a networked environment using logical connections via wired and/or wireless communications to one or more remote computers, such as a remote computer(s)  748 . The remote computer(s)  748  may be a workstation, a server computer, a router, a personal computer, portable computer, microprocessor-based entertainment appliance, a peer device or other common network node, and typically includes many or all of the elements described relative to the computer  702 , although, for purposes of brevity, only a memory storage device  750  is illustrated. The logical connections depicted include wired/wireless connectivity to a local area network (LAN)  752  and/or larger networks, e.g., a wide area network (WAN)  754 . Such LAN and WAN networking environments are commonplace in offices, and companies, and facilitate enterprise-wide computer networks, such as intranets, all of which may connect to a global communication network, e.g., the Internet.  
         [0070]     When used in a LAN networking environment, the computer  702  is connected to the local network  752  through a wired and/or wireless communication network interface or adapter  756 . The adaptor  756  may facilitate wired or wireless communication to the LAN  752 , which may also include a wireless access point disposed thereon for communicating with the wireless adaptor  756 . When used in a WAN networking environment, the computer  702  can include a modem  758 , or is connected to a communications server on the LAN, or has other means for establishing communications over the WAN  754 , such as by way of the Internet. The modem  758 , which may be internal or external and a wired or wireless device, is connected to the system bus  708  via the serial port interface  742 . In a networked environment, program modules depicted relative to the computer  702 , or portions thereof, may be stored in the remote memory/storage device  750 . It will be appreciated that the network connections shown are exemplary and other means of establishing a communications link between the computers may be used.  
         [0071]     The computer  702  is operable to communicate with any wireless devices or entities operably disposed in wireless communication, e.g., a printer, scanner, desktop and/or portable computer, portable data assistant, communications satellite, any piece of equipment or location associated with a wirelessly detectable tag (e.g., a kiosk, news stand, restroom), and telephone. This includes at least Wi-Fi and Bluetooth™ wireless technologies. Thus, the communication may be a predefined structure as with conventional network or simply an ad hoc communication between at least two devices.  
         [0072]     Wi-Fi, or Wireless Fidelity, allows connection to the Internet from a couch at home, a bed in a hotel room or a conference room at work, without wires. Wi-Fi is a wireless technology like a cell phone that enables such devices, e.g., computers, to send and receive data indoors and out; anywhere within the range of a base station. Wi-Fi networks use radio technologies called IEEE 802.11 (a, b, g, etc.) to provide secure, reliable, fast wireless connectivity. A Wi-Fi network can be used to connect computers to each other, to the Internet, and to wired networks (which use IEEE 802.3 or Ethernet). Wi-Fi networks operate in the unlicensed 2.4 and 5 GHz radio bands, with an 11 Mbps (802.11b) or 54 Mbps (802.11a) data rate or with products that contain both bands (dual band), so the networks can provide real-world performance similar to the basic 10BaseT wired Ethernet networks used in many offices.  
         [0073]     Referring now to  FIG. 8 , there is illustrated a schematic block diagram of an exemplary computing environment  800  in accordance with the present invention. The system  800  includes one or more client(s)  802 . The client(s)  802  can be hardware and/or software (e.g., threads, processes, computing devices). The client(s)  802  can house cookie(s) and/or associated contextual information by employing the present invention, for example. The system  800  also includes one or more server(s)  804 . The server(s)  804  can also be hardware and/or software (e.g., threads, processes, computing devices). The servers  804  can house threads to perform transformations by employing the present invention, for example. One possible communication between a client  802  and a server  804  may be in the form of a data packet adapted to be transmitted between two or more computer processes. The data packet may include a cookie and/or associated contextual information, for example. The system  800  includes a communication framework  806  (e.g., a global communication network such as the Internet) that can be employed to facilitate communications between the client(s)  802  and the server(s)  804 .  
         [0074]     Communications may be facilitated via a wired (including optical fiber) and/or wireless technology. The client(s)  802  are operably connected to one or more client data store(s)  808  that can be employed to store information local to the client(s)  802  (e.g., cookie(s) and/or associated contextual information). Similarly, the server(s)  804  are operably connected to one or more server data store(s)  810  that can be employed to store information local to the servers  804 .  
         [0075]     What has been described above includes examples of the present invention. It is, of course, not possible to describe every conceivable combination of components or methodologies for purposes of describing the present invention, but one of ordinary skill in the art may recognize that many further combinations and permutations of the present invention are possible. Accordingly, the present invention is intended to embrace all such alterations, modifications and variations that fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Furthermore, to the extent that the term “includes” is used in either the detailed description or the claims, such term is intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising” as “comprising” is interpreted when employed as a transitional word in a claim.