Patent ID: 7080385

Claim:
In a computer-based publish/subscribe system having a subscriber application that has previously subscribed to receive a particular type of message, a computer-implemented method for establishing a certified messaging session between a publisher application and the subscriber application, the computer-implemented method comprising: receiving, at the publisher application, a certified messaging subscription request, said certified messaging subscription request including a subscriber name identifying the subscriber application and a subject name associated with and identifying the particular type of message for which the certified messaging session is to be established; responsive to receiving the certified messaging subscription request, establishing the certified messaging session with the subscriber application by adding the subscriber name to a message ledger at the publisher application, and communicating an acknowledgment message to the subscriber application, the acknowledgment message to acknowledge the establishment of the certified messaging session; attempting to deliver a certified message of the particular type in accordance with the certified messaging session by assigning a sequence number to the certified message, communicating the certified message from the publisher application to the subscriber application, recording a delivery attempt of the certified message in the ledger, and retaining the certified message in the ledger at least until the publisher application has received a confirmation message from the subscriber application, the confirmation message confirming receipt of the certified message at the subscriber application; and communicating a confirmation request from the publisher application to the subscriber application if the publisher application has not received a confirmation message from the subscriber application within a predetermined period of time after attempting to deliver the certified message identified by the assigned sequence number, the confirmation request requesting that the subscriber application acknowledge receipt of the certified message identified by the assigned sequence number.