Abstract:
The invention is a software module configured for handling failure information from a large base of clients. The invention is configured for a four-stage network conversation between a client and a server. In the first stage, the module collects failure information and creates a string address. The string address is sent to the server, where the string address is compared to predefined string addresses. In the second stage, the client creates a record query with the failure information for the server. The record query is sent to the server and compared to predefined failure records. In the third stage, the client transfers additional failure information to the server, and the server acknowledges information transfer. In the fourth stage, the client sends a confirmation message to the server. When necessary, a predefined string address corresponding to the particular failure information is created on the server for subsequent reference by a stage one network conversation.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     This invention relates generally to the field of software and, more particularly, to gathering and receiving a large number of failure reports about an application program module from a large number of users, and even more particularly, to a conversation between the user&#39;s computer and a repository for reporting the failures. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     When a computer program is being developed, developers sometimes find errors in the computer program. Errors, commonly referred to as “bugs”, can cause a computer executing the computer program to fail or “crash”. If a computer program is publicly released with one or more errors, the time and costs associated with fixing the errors or “bugs” after release is extremely expensive. In order to fix these errors, developers must locate. the errors. In early stages of development, developers may want to prioritize the work in fixing the errors. Therefore, a frequency count can be made of the errors to track the number of times a particular error is encountered. There is a need for a system and method to track and count errors in a computer program while the program is being developed. 
     Generally, when a computer program is publicly released, users experience a high rate of problems during the first few weeks after public release. In many cases, users will contact the program manufacturer for technical assistance in resolving the problem. During this time, the program manufacturer experiences numerous user technical assistance queries. Technical assistance queries are very expensive and time consuming for users and for the program manufacturer. 
     Client-server networks can handle user queries for information as an alternative to technical assistance personnel. Typically, a server connects to one or more clients. One or more users interact with the clients to exchange queries for information. The server executes a computer program such as a database to handle consumers&#39; queries for information. When one or more clients contact the server for information, a query for each client is processed by the computer program executing on the server. However, this type of query processing is also very time consuming and expensive. 
     When a large number of clients query the server for information, the server may become overloaded when too many queries are requested of the server. Server operation may become extremely slow or sometimes the server may “crash” due to sheer number of queries. Slow server operation and downtime for the server becomes extremely time consuming, expensive, and very frustrating for users. 
     Thus, there is a need in the art for an improved method and system for handling the location of errors or “bugs” in a computer program during program development. 
     There is a further need for an improved method and system for handling technical assistance queries from a large number of users after program release. 
     There is yet a further need for an improved method and system for handling error queries from a large number of clients. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention meets the needs described above in a system and method for handling reporting of failures of a computer program. The present invention is able to quickly and efficiently handle reporting of failures from a large number of users. 
     A preferred embodiment of the present invention is included in the “OFFICE” suite of application program modules, also manufactured, distributed, and sold by Microsoft Corporation. The invention can also be used in conjunction with the “INTERNET EXPLORER” web browser application program module, manufactured, distributed, and sold by Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash. When a program module experiences a failure, failure information is reported to a repository by a failure reporting executable. 
     A failure may be a crash of the program module or a set-up failure during installation of the program module. Additionally, the failure may be a problem encountered during in-house testing of the program module. Once detected, program failures may be reported directly to a repository, such as a server operated by the manufacturer of the program that failed. The repository may also be a local file server operated by the corporation. For example, the corporate file server repository may be used to store the failures encountered by users in a corporate environment until these failures may be reported to the software manufacturer&#39;s server. 
     The present invention provides a network conversation between a failure reporting executable and a server that permits the handling of a large number of failure reports quickly and efficiently. In one stage of the network conversation, a relatively lightweight communication is used to rapidly determine whether a particular failure has been previously encountered. If a particular failure has been previously encountered, the server returns information relating to the particular failure, otherwise the next stage of the network conversation is initiated. In the next stage of the network conversation, a more complex communication is used to determine whether a particular failure has been encountered and what action should be taken. Typically, a request for additional failure information is sent from the server to the failure reporting executable. During the next stage of the network conversation, the additional failure information is collected by the failure reporting executable and sent to the server. In the last stage of the network conversation, the failure reporting executable informs the server that the information has been sent. 
     More particularly described, when program failures are reported to the repository, a four stage network conversation is implemented to handle the expected scale and volume of failure reports. In stage one, a failure reporting executable creates a static HTML string address with failure information. The failure reporting executable determines whether the string address matches a predefined string address at the repository. In response to determining that the string address matches a predefined string address at the repository, the repository sends file content (located at the matching string address) to the failure reporting executable. If no matching string address is found, stage two of the network conversation is initiated. 
     Stage two of the network conversation begins when the failure reporting executable creates an active server page (ASP) record query with failure information. The failure reporting executable accesses the repository to search a set of predefined failure records, such as SQL server records, and the repository determines whether the record query matches a predefined failure record. In response to determining that the record query does not match a predefined failure record, the repository starts a preset counter for tracking needed additional failure information requests. The repository then creates a failure record with failure information corresponding to the record query, and sends a request for additional failure information to the failure reporting executable. 
     In response to determining that the record query matches a failure record, the repository determines whether the preset counter is greater than zero. In response to determining that the preset counter is greater than zero, the repository sends a request for additional failure information to the application program module. Stage two of the network conversation ends when the request for additional failure information is sent to the failure reporting executable. Stage three of the network conversation is initiated when the failure reporting executable sends the additional failure information to the repository. Stage four of the network conversation is initiated when the failure reporting executable informs the repository of the successful transfer of additional failure information from the failure reporting executable to the repository. The repository then decrements the preset counter, and determines whether the preset counter is greater than zero. In response to determining the preset counter is zero, the repository creates a static HTML string address corresponding to the record query. In response to determining that preset counter is greater than zero, the repository ends stage four of the network conversation. 
    
    
     That the invention accomplishes the advantages described above will become apparent from the following detailed description of the exemplary embodiments and the appended drawings and claims. 
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a personal computer system that provides the operating environment for the exemplary embodiments of the invention. 
     FIG. 2 shows a component block diagram of an exemplary system for handling a program failure. 
     FIG. 3 is a logic flow diagram illustrating an exemplary method for stage one of a network conversation for handling failure reports. 
     FIG. 4 is a logic flow diagram illustrating an exemplary method for stage two of a network conversation for handling failure reports. 
     FIG. 5 is a logic flow diagram illustrating an exemplary method for stage three and stage four of a network conversation for handling failure reports. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS 
     Before explaining how the invention is implemented, it will be helpful to define several terms. The term “bug” as used herein and in the claims that follow means a problem or error in execution of a computer program. The term “crash” as used herein and in the claims that follow means a situation that interrupts execution of an application program. The term “failure” as used herein and in the claims the follow means an error, a bug, or other type of situation that interrupts execution of an application program. The term “bucket” as used herein and in the claims that follow means a predefined selection of information. For example, a “bucket” can include information that identifies each unique bug or error, such as a unique identification number, a module name, a version number, an instruction pointer (EIP), and a report count. 
     Exemplary Operating Environment 
     FIG.  1  and the following discussion are intended to provide a brief, general description of a suitable computing environment in which the invention may be implemented. While the invention will be described in the general context of an application program that runs on an operating system in conjunction with a personal computer, those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention also may be implemented in combination with other program modules. 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 invention may be practiced with other computer system configurations, including hand-held devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, minicomputers, mainframe computers, and the like. The invention may also be practiced in distributed computing environments where 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. 
     With reference to FIG. 1, an exemplary system for implementing the invention includes a conventional personal computer  20 , including a processing unit  21 , a system memory  22 , and a system bus  23  that couples the system memory to the processing unit  21 . The system memory  22  includes read only memory (ROM)  24  and random access memory (RAM)  25 . A basic input/output system  26  (BIOS), containing the basic routines that help to transfer information between elements within the personal computer  20 , such as during start-up, is stored in ROM  24 . 
     The personal computer  20  further includes a hard disk drive  27 , a magnetic disk drive  28 , e.g., to read from or write to a removable disk  29 , and an optical disk drive  30 , e.g., for reading a CD-ROM disk  31  or to read from or write to other optical media. The hard disk drive  27 , magnetic disk drive  28 , and optical disk drive  30  are connected to the system bus  23  by a hard disk drive interface  32 , a magnetic disk drive interface  33 , and an optical drive interface  34 , respectively. The drives and their associated computer-readable media provide nonvolatile storage for the personal computer  20 . Although the description of computer-readable media above refers to a hard disk, a removable magnetic disk and a CD-ROM disk, it should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that other types of media that are readable by a computer, such as magnetic cassettes, flash memory cards, digital video disks, Bernoulli cartridges, and the like, may also be used in the exemplary operating environment. 
     A number of program modules may be stored in the drives and RAM  25 , including an operating system  35 , one or more application programs  36 , other program modules  37 , program data  38 , and other application programs  39 . 
     A user may enter commands and information into the personal computer  20  through a keyboard  40  and pointing device, such as a mouse  42 . Other input devices (not shown) may include a microphone, joystick, game pad, satellite dish, scanner, or the like. These and other input devices are often connected to the processing unit  21  through a serial port interface  46  that is coupled to the system bus, but may be connected by other interfaces, such as a game port or a universal serial bus (USB). A monitor  47  or other type of display device is also connected to the system bus  23  via an interface, such as a video adapter  48 . In addition to the monitor, personal computers typically include other peripheral output devices (not shown), such as speakers or printers. 
     The personal computer  20  may operate in a networked environment using logical connections to one or more remote computers, such as a remote computer  49 . The remote computer  49  may be a server, a router, a peer device or other common network node, and typically includes many or all of the elements described relative to the personal computer  20 , although only a memory storage device  50  has been illustrated in FIG.  1 . The logical connections depicted in FIG. 1 include a local area network (LAN)  51  and a wide area network (WAN)  52 . Such networking environments are commonplace in offices, enterprise-wide computer networks, intranets and the Internet. 
     When used in a LAN networking environment, the personal computer  20  is connected to the LAN  51  through a network interface  53 . When used in a WAN networking environment, the personal computer  20  typically includes a modem  54  or other means for establishing communications over the WAN  52 , such as the Internet. The modem  54 , which may be internal or external, is connected to the system bus  23  via the serial port interface  46 . In a networked environment, program modules depicted relative to the personal computer  20 , or portions thereof, may be stored in the remote memory storage device. 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. 
     Exemplary embodiments of the present invention are incorporated into the “OFFICE” web browser application program manufactured and sold by Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash., for use with personal computer systems such as the illustrative personal computer  20 . The invention may be deployed within, or in connection with, the “OFFICE” suite of application programs including, among others, a “WORD” electronic word processing program. It will be appreciated that the principles of the invention are not limited to Internet browser, word processing, electronic spreadsheets or other software programs, but could equivalently be applied to any computer-implemented system that involves the use of computer application programs. 
     FIG. 2 illustrates a component block diagram of an exemplary system  200  for handling failure information from a client in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention will be described. The system  200  can also be configured for handling a number of failures from a large user base. For a general discussion of gathering and reporting failures of application program modules, see “Method and System for Reporting a Program Failure”, copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/571,629, filed on May 17, 2000, commonly assigned and herein incorporated by reference. 
     The system  200  comprises an application program module  205 . For example, application program module  205  may be the “WORD” word processor program module, marketed by Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash. and included in the “OFFICE”  37  (FIG. 1) suite of program modules. 
     The system  200  further comprises an executable program  210  running inside of application program module  205 . For example, in the “WORD” word processor program module, the executable program may be “WinWord.exe”. An executable program is a program that can be run and typically means a compiled program translated into machine code in a format that can be loaded into memory and run by a computer&#39;s processor. The lines of code in executable program  210  are illustrated as dashed lines in FIG.  2 . 
     The system  200  further comprises a module  215  being executed by the executable program  210  inside the application program module  205  at the time of the failure. For example, the module  215  may be a dynamic-link library such as “mso.dll”. The lines of code in module  215  are illustrated as dashed lines in FIG.  2 . 
     The system  200  also comprises an exception filter  220 . Exception filters are well-known in the art and may be registered by program modules when the operating system  35  is started. When a failure (an exception) occurs, the exception filter  220  code is executed. For example, suppose a failure occurs while executable program  210  is executing instructions running module  215  at location  225 . If executable program  210  has registered exception filter  220  with the operating system, then the exception filter  220  is executed when executable program  210  encounters an exception. 
     In the system  200 , exception filter  220  executes a failure reporting executable  230 . The failure reporting executable  230  is an executable program comprising all of the instructions needed to communicate between the application program module  205  and a repository  235 . The communications between the failure reporting executable  230 , the application program module  205  and the repository  235  are illustrated as arrows in FIG.  2 . The failure reporting executable  230  is preferably separate from the application program module  205  because of the possible instability of the application program module (having experienced a failure). 
     The repository  235  is typically a remote server operated by the manufacturer or marketer of the application program module  205 . For example, if the application program module is the “WORD” word processor program module, then the server may be operated by Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash. If the repository  235  is a remote server, then the failure reporting executable  230  may communicate with it via conventional means, such as by using a web browser to connect to the server via the Internet. In one embodiment, the repository can be an IIS server running active server pages (ASP) and further connected to an SQL server. Those skilled in the art will be familiar with the capabilities and operations of an IIS server and an SQL server. 
     In some environments, such as the corporate environment, the repository  235  may be operated locally at the corporation. For example, a corporation may not allow their employees to have Internet access or a corporation may not want their employees reporting failures directly to an outside software manufacturer (potentially divulging sensitive corporate information). In those instances, the repository  235  may be a local server. If the repository is a local corporate repository, a system administrator at the corporation will typically be tasked with periodically uploading relevant information to the software manufacturer so that the software manufacturer may correct the failures being experienced by the corporation. 
     Having described the system  200  for handling a program failure in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, an exemplary method  300  will be described in reference to FIG.  3 . 
     FIG. 3 shows a logic flow diagram illustrating a routine  300  for stage one of a network conversation for handling one or more failure reports from a failure reporting executable  230  to a repository  235 . In step  302 , the routine  300  begins. Step  302  is followed by step  304 , in which the failure reporting executable  230  receives failure information from an application  205 . The application  205  utilizes conventional exception handling methods so that the failure reporting executable  230  receives failure information from the application  205 . Failure information can include an application program name, an application version number, a module name, a module version number, and an offset into the module of the failing instruction&#39;s instruction pointer (EIP). 
     Step  304  is followed by step  306 , in which the failure reporting executable  230  creates a stage one universal resource locator (URL) using the failure information. When the failure reporting executable  230  receives failure information, the failure reporting executable  230  creates a string address of a static hypertext markup language (HTML) file that includes the failure information for the type of failure being reported. For instance, if a program exception is being reported, the following static HTML URL might be constructed by the failure reporting executable  230 : 
     http://officewatson.officeupdate.microsoft.com/Stage/One/winword.exe/10.0.2310.1/mso.dll/10.0.2312.1/0 bcd1234.htm 
     where failure information such as “winword.exe” designates an application program, “10.0.2310.1” designates the application program&#39;s version number, “mso.dll” designates a module, “10.0.2312.1” designates the module&#39;s version number, and “0bcd1234” designates an offset into the module of the failing instruction&#39;s instruction pointer (EIP). Other types of information identifying the failure can also be included in the static HTML URL. 
     Failure information entered into a string address format, such as a static hypertext markup language (HTML) file, is a relatively lightweight communication format that can be gathered and handled by the repository  235  in a relatively short amount of time. The string address format provides for rapid transmission and comparison of the failure information. 
     Step  306  is followed by decision block  308 , in which the failure reporting executable  230  determines whether the stage one URL exists at the repository  235 . Typically, the failure reporting executable  230  initiates execution of an associated communications application program  39 , such as “INTERNET EXPLORER” web browser application program, to locate the URL at the repository  235 . The failure reporting executable  230  connects to the repository  235 , and determines whether the stage one URL exists at a specific directory of the repository  235 . For example, the failure reporting executable  230  can initiate a Hypertext Transmission Protocol “GET” command of a static hypertext markup language (HTML) file in a particular directory of the repository  235  with the file name generated from the failure information. The failure reporting executable  230  sends the request to the repository  235  to attempt to collect the contents of the particular static HTML file at the repository  235 . If the failure reporting executable  230  determines that a corresponding stage one URL exists, then the “YES” branch of decision block  308  is followed to step  310 . 
     In step  310 , the repository  235  sends a file to the failure reporting executable  230  corresponding to the particular failure information contained in the stage one URL. Typically, the repository  235  can respond to the failure information by providing the contents of the requested file, or otherwise directing the failure reporting executable  230  to a location where additional information can be found. For example, when the repository sends the contents of the requested file to the failure reporting executable  230 , the repository also sends a message to the failure reporting executable  230  such as “thank you for your submission” providing feedback to a user that the failure information was received. 
     Step  310  is followed by step  312 , in which “static hit counting” is performed by the repository  235 . “Static hit counting” is a commonly known capability of an IIS server. Static hit counting provides a frequency count of stage one URL hits. Thus, someone monitoring the repository  235  can determine which failures are being experienced most frequently by users by checking the static hit counting. These frequently experienced failures may then be corrected by the software manufacturer. 
     It should also be understood that the main purposed of stage one is to quickly determine whether the repository  235  needs more information regarding a failure. If the URL exists at decision block  308 , then the repository  235  does not need more information (such as when thousands of users have experienced and reported this failure previously). If the URL does not exist, then more information regarding the failure may be needed. 
     Step  312  is followed by end block  314 , in which the routine  300  ends. Typically, when the file contents of a requested stage one URL are returned to the failure reporting executable  230 , the network conversation is terminated and the routine  300  ends. 
     Referring back to decision block  308 , if the failure reporting executable  320  determines that no matching stage one URL is present at the repository  235 , then the “NO” branch is followed to block  316 . 
     Block  316  leads to stage two of the network conversation which is illustrated on FIG. 4 as routine  400 . 
     FIG. 4 illustrates a logic flow diagram illustrating an exemplary method  400  for stage two of a network conversation for handling one or more failure reports from a failure reporting executable  230  to a repository  235 . In block  402 , the routine  400  continues from block  316  of FIG.  3 . 
     Block  402  is followed by step  404  in which the failure reporting executable  320  creates a stage two URL using the failure information. Typically, the failure reporting executable  320  constructs a request string from the same failure used in the stage one URL, but instead of creating the URL of a static HTML page as in stage one of the network conversation, the failure reporting executable  320  creates a URL of an active server page (ASP) with the information provided as query string arguments to the URL. For example, the failure reporting executable  320  can construct a request string such as: 
     http://officewatson.officeupdate.microsoft.com/stagetwo.asp?AppName=winword.exe&amp;AppVersion=10.0.2310.1&amp;ModuleName=mso.dll&amp;ModuleVersion=10.0.2312.1&amp;Offset=0bcd1234 
     Step  404  is followed by step  406  in which the failure reporting executable  230  connects to the repository  235  using the stage two URL. Using the stage two URL, the failure reporting executable  320  requests the URL of an ASP on the repository  235  with the information provided as a query string arguments to the URL. Typically, the ASP page on the repository will be an ASP page on a server dedicated to handling stage two requests. 
     Step  406  is followed by decision block  408  in which the repository executes the ASP code specified by the URL to determine whether an SQL record exists to correspond with the error parameters specified in the stage two URL. Typically, the ASP will find SQL records for failures identified by particular failure information for failures that have been previously reported to the repository  235 . If the ASP code finds no SQL records to match the error parameters of the stage two URL, then the “NO” branch is followed to step  410 . 
     In step  410 , the repository  235  creates a record to match the stage two URL. Typically, the repository  235  creates an ASP corresponding to the failure information of the stage two URL. The ASP is stored at the repository  235  for subsequent access or other stage two queries. 
     Step  410  is followed by step  412 , in which a data wanted counter starts. The data wanted counter indicates the number of file downloads needed for a particular failure. Typically, the data wanted counter counts down from a predetermined number to zero. The data wanted counter can be a conventional counter associated with the repository. 
     Step  412  is followed by step  414 , in which the repository  235  sends a request for a file to the failure reporting executable  230 . The repository  235  requests this file to obtain more detailed failure information from the application  205 . The requested file can be a cabinet (CAB) file. The CAB file may comprise a minidump, a registry query, a list of files to gather from the user&#39;s system, a list of file versions to gather from the user&#39;s system, a list of WMI Query Results to gather, a request for active documents in use by the application module at the time of the failure, or other information describing the failure of the application  205 . For a set-up failure, the CAB file may also comprise set-up logs. In addition to a file request or request for additional failure information, the repository  235  also provides upload information to the failure reporting executable for completing stage three and four of the network conversation. 
     The upload information can include a URL to upload a file request to, a URL used to notify the server that the upload was successful, or any other information needed to complete stage three and stage four of the network conversation. By providing server information at this step, the system  200  gains flexibility by permitting one or more servers to handle failure reporting information uploads, and by permitting server architecture to be changed with minimal disruption of the system  200 . For example, rather than hard-wiring the failure reporting executable  230  with upload information, the present invention, in one embodiment, provides this upload information to the failure reporting executable  230 . The upload information may be changed at the repository  235 , such as when certain servers are becoming overloaded. 
     Step  414  is followed by block  416 , in which stage three of the failure handling routine begins as shown in FIG.  5 . 
     Referring back to decision block  408 , if an ASP (such as the one created at step  410 ) matches the stage two URL, then the “YES” branch is followed to decision block  418 . In decision block  418 , the repository  235  determines whether the data wanted counter for the failure entry is greater than zero. When the counter reaches zero, then no further file downloads are needed for a particular failure. However, if the counter is greater than zero then additional file downloads are still needed. If the counter is zero, then the “NO” branch is followed to the end block  420  where the routine  400  ends. 
     If the counter is greater than zero, then the “YES” branch is followed to step  422 , in which the repository  235  sends a request for a file to the failure reporting executable  230 . The repository  235  requests this file to obtain more detailed failure information from the application  205 . A file can be a cabinet (CAB) file. The CAB file may comprise a minidump, a registry query, a list of files to gather from the user&#39;s system, a list of file versions to gather from the user&#39;s system, a list of WMI Query Results to gather, a request for active documents in use by the application module at the time of the failure, or other information describing the failure of the application  205 . For a set-up failure, the CAB file may comprise set-up logs. 
     Step  422  is followed by block  416 , in which stage three of the failure handling routine begins as shown in FIG.  5 . 
     FIG. 5 illustrates a logic flow diagram illustrating an exemplary method  500  for stage three and stage four of a network conversation for handling one or more failure reports from a failure reporting executable  230  to a repository  235 . In block  502 , the routine  500  continues from block  416  of FIG.  4 . 
     Block  502  is followed by step  504 , in which the failure reporting executable  230  sends the requested CAB file to the repository  235 . Typically, if the repository  235  determines that additional information regarding the failure is needed in stage two, then the failure reporting executable  230  receives a request for the CAB file containing this additional information from the repository  235  via the application program  39 . In response to the request, the failure reporting executable  230  sends additional failure information to the repository  235  during stage three. The additional failure information can include a cabinet file containing all the requested data relating to a failure, problem, or error in execution of the application  205 . The failure reporting executable  230  sends this cabinet file by a Hypertext Transfer Protocol “PUT” request to the URL provided by the repository  235  in the response of stage two. The cabinet file is provided in the body of the “PUT” request. 
     Step  504  is followed by step  506  in which the repository  235  receives the file from the failure reporting executable  230  into the specified upload directory. When the repository receives the file, the repository  235  acknowledges the successful completion of the “PUT” request by sending an appropriate message to the failure reporting executable  230 . 
     Step  506  is followed by step  508 , in which the failure reporting executable  230  informs the repository  235  of the successful transfer of additional failure information from the failure reporting executable  230  to the repository  235  using the URL provided in the response to stage two. Typically, the failure reporting executable  230  provides the repository  235  with a message containing the location of the file with the additional failure information. This message can serve as the acknowledgement from the failure reporting executable  230  to the repository  235  that the file has been successfully transferred. 
     Step  508  is followed by step  510 , in which the repository decrements the data wanted counter for the failure entry. The data wanted counter is decremented by a single unit after acknowledgement of a successful file transfer is sent by the failure reporting executable  230  to the repository  235 . 
     Step  510  is followed by decision block  512 , in which the repository  235  determines whether the data wanted counter is greater than zero. If the counter is greater than zero, then the “YES” branch is followed to step  514 . Typically, when the counter is greater than zero, then additional failure information for a particular failure is still needed by the repository  235 , and subsequent file uploads to the repository  235  for a particular failure will be permitted. 
     In step  514 , the repository  235  transfers the additional failure information file from the upload directory to an archive directory. This is a security measure to preserve data integrity. 
     Step  514  is followed by end block  516  in which the routine  500  ends. 
     Referring back to decision block  512 , if the counter is zero, then the “NO” branch is followed to step  518 . In step  518 , the repository creates a corresponding stage one URL for the particular failure identified by the stage two URL. Typically, when the counter is zero, then no more additional failure information for a particular failure is needed by the system  200 , and subsequent file uploads to the repository  235  for the particular failure will not be permitted. Thus, when another user encounters that failure and attempts to report the failure to the repository  235 , the network conversation will end at stage one because at decision block  308 , it will be determined that a stage one URL does exist. This provides a quick and efficient conversation between the repository  235  and the failure reporting executable  230 . 
     Step  518  is followed by end block  516  in which the routine  500  ends. 
     It should be understood that the foregoing relates only to the exemplary embodiments of the present invention, and that numerous changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the following claims.