Patent Publication Number: US-10311138-B2

Title: Preventing partial change set deployments in content management systems

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     The present disclosure relates generally to the field of content management, and more particularly to preventing partial change set deployments in content management systems. 
     A content management (hereinafter “CM”) system is software that allows publishing, editing, and modifying content, such as web pages, electronic documents, and electronic media, as well as maintenance from a central interface. A CM system can separate content development, authoring, staging, and production environments. With this separation comes the requirement to support transmitting data between these environments. Syndication is a method by which data is replicated from one content library to another, which may reside on another server. Syndicating changes between remote systems introduce many complex data management issues. Syndicating published changes between systems is a complicated task as all system events are being sent to downstream environments where these changes will be re-played. 
     Typically, changes on the subscriber are applied immediately and errors are tracked and reported back on the syndicator. When errors occur during transport, deployment, or integration phases of the syndication cycle these errors can break portions of the production website, which may remain broken until content items are retried and re-syndicated. Additionally, it may be difficult to rollback the entire syndication cycle as changes are committed upon receipt. 
     SUMMARY 
     Embodiments of the present invention relate to preventing partial change set deployments in content management systems. One or more computer processors determine a content item to retrieve from a repository. The one or more computer processors retrieve the determined content item from the repository. The one or more computer processors add the retrieved content item to a project having a project state. The one or more computer processors determine the project state. The one or more computer processors publish the project. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram illustrating an environment, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is an exemplary depiction of a syndication cycle, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  illustrates a flowchart depicting operational steps of a program function, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  illustrates a flowchart depicting additional operational steps of a program function, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  depicts a block diagram of components of a subscriber computing device, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of the present invention may be embodied as a system, method, or computer program product. Accordingly, aspects of the present invention may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment (including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.), or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may all generally be referred to herein as a “circuit,” “module,” or “system.” Furthermore, aspects of the present invention may take the form of a computer program product embodied in one or more computer-readable medium(s) having computer-readable program code/instructions embodied thereon. 
     Any combination of computer-readable media may be utilized. Computer-readable media may be a computer-readable signal medium or a computer-readable storage medium. A computer-readable storage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of a computer-readable storage medium would include the following: an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (hereinafter “RAM”), a read-only memory (hereinafter “ROM”), an erasable programmable read-only memory (hereinafter “EPROM” or “Flash memory”), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (hereinafter “CD-ROM”), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. In the context of this document, a computer-readable storage medium may be any tangible medium that can contain or store a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. 
     A computer-readable signal medium may include a propagated data signal with computer-readable program code embodied therein, for example, in baseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated signal may take any of a variety of forms, including, but not limited to, electro-magnetic, optical, or any suitable combination thereof. A computer-readable signal medium may be any computer-readable medium that is not a computer-readable storage medium and that can communicate, propagate, or transport a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. 
     Program code embodied on a computer-readable medium may be transmitted using any appropriate medium, including, but not limited to, wireless, wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination of the foregoing. 
     Computer program code for carrying out operations for aspects of the present invention may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including an object-oriented programming language such as Java™, Smalltalk, C++ or the like and conventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C” programming language or similar programming languages. The program code may execute entirely on a user&#39;s computer, partly on the user&#39;s computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user&#39;s computer and partly on a remote computer, or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user&#39;s computer through any type of network, including a local area network (hereinafter “LAN”) or a wide area network (hereinafter “WAN”), or the connection may be made to an external computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider). 
     Aspects of the present invention are described below with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the invention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. 
     These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable medium that can direct a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable medium produce an article of manufacture including instructions which implement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. 
     The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, other programmable apparatus or other devices to produce a computer-implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide processes for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. 
     A content management (hereinafter “CM”) system is software that allows publishing, editing, and modifying content, such as web pages, electronic documents, and electronic media, as well as maintenance from a central interface. A CM system can separate development, authoring, staging, and production environments. With this separation comes the requirement to support transmitting data between these environments. Syndication is the method by which data is replicated from one content library to another, which may reside on another server. Syndicating changes between remote systems introduces many complex data management issues. Syndicating published changes between systems is a complicated task as all system events are being sent to downstream environments where these changes will be re-played. 
     Syndication requires a syndicator and a subscriber. Syndicators are computing devices that indicate which content libraries are to be replicated to subscribers, which are computing devices that receive the data replicated from the libraries specified by the syndicator. In certain embodiments, a computing device can be both a syndicator and subscriber. Embodiments of the present invention seek to control deployment of syndicated content changes using a single data object (hereinafter “project”), wherein all published changes are deployed as drafts on the subscriber. In response to deploying published changes on the system and verifying that the relationships between syndicated content items are in the correct state, the project is published on the subscriber. 
     In other embodiments, multiple syndication projects are prevented from being published concurrently to avoid potential data clashes caused by competing projects that may result in errors and a broken website. In still other embodiments, if errors do occur with a project, the project is left on the subscriber in an unpublished state so that the problem can be diagnosed and instead of needing to redeploy all changes, only the missing data need be requested from the syndicator and incorporated in to the erroneous project; hence, the subscriber system is not impacted. Alternatively, the project can be deleted and all changes included in the syndication are rolled back. 
     Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the Figures.  FIG. 1  is a block diagram illustrating an environment, generally designated  100 , in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. 
     Environment  100  includes syndicator computing device  140  and subscriber computing device  110 , all interconnected over network  130 . Network  130  can be, for example, a local area network (hereinafter “LAN”), a wide area network (hereinafter “WAN”), such as the Internet, or a combination of the two, and can include wired, wireless, or fiber optic connections. In general, network  130  can be any combination of connections and protocols that will support communications between syndicator computing device  140  and subscriber computing device  110 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
     In various embodiments of the present invention, syndicator computing device  140  and subscriber computing device  110  may be a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a netbook computer, a personal computer (hereinafter “PC”), a desktop computer, a personal digital assistant (hereinafter “PDA”), a smart phone, or any programmable electronic device capable of communicating via network  130 . Syndicator computing device  140  is a computing device that can syndicate content items to subscribers, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Syndicator computing device  140  includes content manager  142  and exemplary information repository  144 . 
     Exemplary information repository  144 , which is in communication with content manager  142 , is an information store that includes content item files  146 . Content items include documents, media, web pages, and templates. In certain embodiments, content items included in content item files  146  can have external dependencies on other content items that may or may not exist in content item files  122  (discussed below). Exemplary information repository  144  also includes change set catalogue files  148 , which include current content item changes associated with subscriber computing device  110 . In an embodiment, exemplary information repository  144  is external to syndicator computing device  140  and communicates therewith via network  130 . Content manager  142  is software that facilitates the creation, management, storage, and/or deployment of web content, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. In an embodiment, content manager  142  syndicates content items to content manager  118 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
     Subscriber computing device  110  is a computing device that receives data replicated from repositories specified by syndicators, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Subscriber computing device  110  includes content manager  118 , program function  112 , exemplary information repository  120 , and exemplary information repository  114 . Exemplary information repository  120  includes content item files  122 . Content item files  122  may include content items subscribed from a syndicator, such as syndicator computing device  140 . Content item files  122  may include content items that are in production. 
     Content manager  118  is in communication with exemplary information repository  120  and program function  112 . Content manager  118  is software that facilitates the creation, management, storage, and/or deployment of web content, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. In an embodiment, content manager  118  produces content items, such as content item files  122 . Content manager  118  subscribes content from content managers, such as content manager  142 . Exemplary information repository  114  includes project files  116 . In an embodiment, exemplary information repository  120  is external to subscriber computing device  110  and communicates therewith via network  130 . 
     Project files  116  are data objects that temporarily store syndicated content items that are to be published by content manager  118 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Briefly, project files  116  can be used to isolate a set content item modifications (hereinafter “change set”) syndicated from a remote system, such as syndicator computing device  140 . Hence, if errors occur during the transport, deployment, or integration phases of the syndication cycle (discussed further below), their impact on the live data of subscriber can be reduced in addition to their ability to propagate beyond subscriber computing device  110 . 
     Program function  112  is in communication with content manager  118  and exemplary information repository  114 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Program function  112  can transmit instructions to content manager  118  for servicing. Program function  112  can process information included in change set catalogue files  148 . Program function  112  can isolate syndicated content, such as content syndicated by content manager  142  via network  130 . Program function  112  can validate the state of projects included in project files  116 . Program function  112  may either instruct content manager  112  to apply modifications to content items or program function  112  can apply the modifications to the content items. Program function  112  may require user prior to approval for content item publications by content manager  118 . Program function  112  can instruct content manager  118  to publish change sets included in project files  116 . 
     Concepts discussed in reference to  FIG. 2  will be used to support the discussion of  FIG. 3 .  FIG. 2  is an exemplary depiction of a syndication cycle, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Specifically, syndication cycle  200  reflects the updating of a website hosted by content manager  142 , for example, a website portal that functions as a point of access to information, such as information included in content item files  122 . Syndication cycle  200  includes call response cycle  220  as well as transmissions  210 ,  215  and  225  between syndicator computing device  140  and subscriber computing device  110 . 
     Transmission  210  initiates when program function  112  instructs content manager  118  to notify content manager  142 , via network  130 , that content manager  118  is available to receive syndicated content. In response, content manager  142  can determine the changes associated with the website portal and generate an associated change set catalogue that includes the determined changes. Transmission  215  involves content manager  142  transmitting the generated change set to content manager  118 , via network  130 . Program function  112  stores the transmitted change set catalogue in change set catalogue files  124 . Program function  112  processes the change set catalogue and determines which content items that are included in content item files  146  to instruct content manager  118  to request from content manager  142 . 
     In response to determining which content items to request, program function  112  generates a project within project files  116  that is associated with the request. Call/response cycle  220 , which executes for each determined content item, initiates when content manager  118  transmits, via network  130 , a content item request for a determined content item and concludes when content manager  142  replicates the requested content item to content manager  118 , via network  130 . In certain embodiments, program function  112  provides a manual approval step. For example, a user, such as a content owner, can be allowed to validate that the changes included in the project have been implemented correctly. In other embodiments, program function  112  allows a user, such as a content owner, to preview the project prior to publication. 
     In an embodiment, subsequent to receiving a requested content item, program function  112  can add the content items to project files  116  by determining whether the requested content item is a draft. If the content item is a draft, then project function  112  instructs content manager  118  to store the draft in content item files  122  as is (i.e. without modifications). If the content item is not a draft, program function  112  determines whether the received content item is an update to an existing published content item included in content item files  122 . If the received content item is new, then program function  112  changes the state of the received content item to draft and adds it to the appropriate project included in project files  116 . 
     If the received content item is not new (i.e. it is published content), then program function  112  creates a draft from the associated published content item and updates the draft with the syndicated content item. In addition, program function  112  adds the draft to the appropriate project included in project files  116 . In response to adding all content items associated with the request, program function  112  validates the state of the project and instructs content manager  118  to publish the validated project and transmit notification of the completion of the syndication cycle to content manager  142  (transmission  225 ), via network  130 . 
       FIG. 3  illustrates a flowchart depicting operational steps of program function  112 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Program function  112  transmits “ready” status to syndicator (step  300 ). Program function  112  receives change set catalogue from syndicator (step  305 ). Program function  112  processes the change set catalogue and determines which content items to retrieve and process (step  310 ). Program function  112  determines the changes and generates a project (step  315 ). Program function  112  transmits content item request to syndicator (step  320 ). Program function  112  receives requested content items from syndicator (step  325 ). Program function  112  adds the received content items to the appropriate project (step  330 ). Content items may be added to projects in various ways, an exemplary method is depicted in  FIG. 4  below. If program function  112  determines that there are additional content items in the catalogue (“yes” branch decisional  335 ), then program function  112  returns to step  320 . If program function  112  determines that there are not additional content items in the catalogue (“no” branch decisional  335 ), then program function  112  validates the project state (step  340 ). Program function  112  publishes the validated project (step  345 ). Program function  112  transmits a notification reflective of the completion of the syndication cycle to the syndicator (step  350 ). 
       FIG. 4  illustrates a flowchart depicting additional operational steps of program function  112 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Specifically,  FIG. 4  depicts an exemplary method to add syndicated content to projects. Program function  112  determines whether the received content item is a draft (step  405 ). If program function  112  determines that the received content item is a draft (“yes” branch decisional  405 ), then program function  112  adds the received content item to the repository without further processing (step  410 ). If program function  112  determines that the received content item is NOT a draft (“NO” branch decisional  405 ), then program function  112  determines whether the received content item is an update to an existing published content item (decisional  415 ). 
     If program function  112  determines that the received content item is not an update to an existing published content item (“no” branch decisional  415 ), then program function  112  changes the state of the received content item to draft (step  420 ) and, subsequently, adds the received content item to the project and stores the received content item in the repository (step  430 ). If program function  112  determines that the received content item is an update to an existing published content item (“yes” branch decisional  415 ), then program function  112  generates a draft of the published content item and updates the draft with the syndicated content item (step  425 ) and proceeds to step  430 . 
       FIG. 5  depicts a block diagram of components of subscriber computing device  110  in accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the present invention. It should be appreciated that  FIG. 5  provides only an illustration of one implementation and does not imply any limitations with regard to the environments in which different embodiments may be implemented. Many modifications to the depicted environment may be made. 
     A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium embodiment herein is readable by a computerized device. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium stores instructions executable by the computerized device to perform a method that tests integrated circuit devices to measure a voltage overshoot condition. 
     Subscriber computing device  110  includes communications fabric  502 , which provides communications between computer processor(s)  504 , memory  506 , persistent storage  508 , communications unit  510 , and input/output (hereinafter “I/O”) interface(s)  512 . Communications fabric  502  can be implemented with any architecture designed for passing data and/or control information between processors (such as microprocessors, communications and network processors, etc.), system memory, peripheral devices, and any other hardware components within a system. For example, communications fabric  502  can be implemented with one or more buses. 
     Memory  506  and persistent storage  508  are computer-readable storage media. In this embodiment, memory  506  includes random access memory (RAM)  514  and cache memory  516 . In general, memory  506  can include any suitable volatile or non-volatile computer-readable storage media. 
     Program function  112 , content manager  118 , and exemplary information repositories  120  and  114  are stored in persistent storage  508  for execution and/or access by one or more of the respective computer processor(s)  504  via one or more memories of memory  506 . In this embodiment, persistent storage  508  includes a magnetic hard disk drive. Alternatively, or in addition to a magnetic hard disk drive, persistent storage  508  can include a solid-state hard drive, a semiconductor storage device, a read-only memory (hereinafter “ROM”), an erasable programmable read-only memory (hereinafter “EPROM”), a flash memory, or any other computer-readable storage media that is capable of storing program instructions or digital information. 
     The media used by persistent storage  508  may also be removable. For example, a removable hard drive may be used for persistent storage  508 . Other examples include optical and magnetic disks, thumb drives, and smart cards that are inserted into a drive for transfer onto another computer-readable storage medium that is also part of persistent storage  508 . 
     Communications unit  510 , in these examples, provides for communications with other data processing systems or devices, including resources of syndicator computing device  140  and network  130 . In these examples, communications unit  510  includes one or more network interface cards. Communications unit  510  may provide communications through the use of either or both physical and wireless communications links. Program function  112  and content manager  118  may be downloaded to persistent storage  508  through communications unit  510 . 
     I/O interface(s)  512  allows for input and output of data with other devices that may be connected to subscriber computing device  110 . For example, I/O interface(s)  512  may provide a connection to external devices  518  such as a keyboard, a keypad, a touch screen, and/or some other suitable input device. External devices  518  can also include portable computer-readable storage media such as, for example, thumb drives, portable optical or magnetic disks, and memory cards. Software and data used to practice embodiments of the present invention, e.g., program function  112  and content manager  118 , can be stored on such portable computer-readable storage media and can be loaded onto persistent storage  508  via I/O interface(s)  512 . I/O interface(s)  512  also connects to a display  520 . Display  520  provides a mechanism to display data to a user and may be, for example, a computer monitor. 
     The programs described herein are identified based upon the application for which they are implemented in a specific embodiment of the invention. However, it should be appreciated that any particular program nomenclature herein is used merely for convenience, and thus, the invention should not be limited to use solely in any specific application identified and/or implied by such nomenclature. 
     The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems, methods, and computer program products according to various embodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in the flowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portion of code, which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be noted that, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of the order noted in the Figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.