Computer telephone integration over a network
View Patent ↗A softphone telephony application is provided within a browser using a visible frame to provide event notifications and allow a user to issue commands and a hidden frame which receive asynchronous event notifications as a dynamic HTML stream. Outgoing control commands are implemented as web service behaviours. In this way, all of the functionality required to control a CTI application on a server and to receive event notifications from the CTI application can be provided using standard browser technology and without requiring the installation of any dedicated software or the provision of non-standard communication channels.
1. A method of providing an interface over a network between a client computer and a server for controlling telephony equipment, comprising the steps of:
a) sending over the network to the client computer a first section of code including software elements which when loaded in web browser software enable a user of the client computer to issue commands to the server; and
b) formulating a second section of code as an open-ended stream of code which includes event notifications generated dynamically by the server in response to said telephony equipment, wherein at least some of the event notifications in the second section of code are adapted to update in the browser software one or more software elements received in the first section of code;
c) sending over the network to the client computer said second section of code as a trickled stream of data which is encoded to be progressively and incrementally loaded by said web browser software; and
d) sending over the network a third section of code, said third section of code including a web services description of web services available on said server which enable remote control of the telephony equipment,
whereby the first section of code provides a browser-based interface suitable for transmitting user generated events, the second section of code provides a mechanism for updating the browser with notifications of events provided by the telephony equipment, and whereby the software elements from the first section of code operate in conjunction with the web services description from the third section of code to enable the generation of appropriate commands to access the web services offered by the server, and thereby to control the telephony equipment.
2. A method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the first and second sections of code are provided as first and second frames within a single web page.
3. A method as claimed in claim 2 , wherein the second frame is encoded for interpretation as a hidden frame.
4. A method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the second section of code is generated as an open-ended stream of code which continues to be generated by the server in response to new events notified by the telephony equipment while the communication with the client computer remains open.
5. A method as claimed in claim 4 , wherein the second section of code is provided as dynamic mark-up language code in the form of a series of discrete components which encode discrete software elements for interpretation by the browser software.
6. A method as claimed in claim 5 , wherein the discrete software elements are Java or JavaScript elements.
7. A method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the first and second sections of code are transmitted as first and second frames in a web page, and the third section of code is transmitted each time said web page is requested.
8. A method as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising monitoring said network for commands from the client to operate the web services.
9. A method as claimed in claim 8 , further comprising translating commands received from the client to operating commands for the telephony equipment.
10. A method as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising the steps of monitoring a first communications session including said first and second sections of code between the client computer and the server, and of monitoring a second communications session between the telephony equipment and a remote item of telephony equipment, whereby events occurring in the first and second communications sessions are synchronised with one another.
11. A method as claimed in claim 10 , wherein the first communications session is controlled by a session manager which is in communication with a web server and the second communications session is controlled by a computer telephone integration manager which is in communication with said telephony equipment, the session manager passing commands received from the client computer to the computer telephone integration manager, and passing event notifications received from the computer telephone integration manager to the web server.
12. A method of receiving an interface over a network from a server for controlling telephony equipment, comprising the steps of:
a) receiving over the network a first section of code including software elements which when loaded in web browser software enable a user of the browser software to issue commands to the server;
b) receiving over the network a second section of code as an open-ended stream which includes event notifications generated dynamically by the server in response to said telephony equipment, wherein at least some of the event notifications in the second section of code are adapted to update in the browser software one or more software elements received in the first section of code, wherein said second section of code is received as a trickled stream of data which is encoded to be progressively and incrementally loaded by said web browser software; and
c) receiving over the network a third section of code, said third section of code including a web services description of web services available on said server which enable remote control of the telephony equipment,
whereby the first section of code provides a browser-based interface suitable for transmitting user generated events, the second section of code provides a mechanism for updating the browser with notifications of events provided by the telephony equipment, and whereby the software elements from the first section of code operate in conjunction with the web services description from the third section of code to enable the generation of appropriate commands to access the web services offered by the server, and thereby to control the telephony equipment.
13. A method as claimed in claim 12 , wherein the first and second sections of code are received as first and second frames within a single web page.
14. A method as claimed in claim 13 , wherein the second frame is interpreted within the browser as a hidden frame.
15. A method as claimed in claim 12 , wherein the second section of code is received as an open-ended stream of code which continues to be generated by the server in response to new events notified by the telephony equipment while the communication with the browser software remains open.
16. A method as claimed in claim 15 , wherein the second section of code is received as dynamic mark-up language code in the form of a series of discrete components which encode discrete software elements for interpretation by the browser software.
17. A method as claimed in claim 16 , wherein the discrete software elements are Java or JavaScript elements.
18. A method as claimed in claim 12 , further comprising sending to the server commands to operate the web services in response to user actions in the browser.
19. Apparatus for providing an interface over a network between a client computer and a server for controlling telephony equipment, comprising:
a) memory;
b) a first code generator for generating a first section of code including software elements which when loaded in web browser software enable a user of the client computer to issue communications control commands to the server;
c) a second code generator for generating a second section of code as an open-ended stream, said second code generator being in direct or indirect communication with said telephony equipment and being configured to generate event notifications in response thereto, wherein at least some of the event notifications in the second section of code are adapted to update in the browser software one or more software elements received in the first section of code, said second code generator being configured to transmit said second section of code as a trickled stream of data which is encoded to be progressively and incrementally loaded by said web browser software; and
d) a third code generator for generating a third section of code, said third section of code including a web services description of web services available on said server which enable remote control of the telephony equipment,
whereby the first section of code provides a browser-based interface suitable for transmitting user generated events, the second section of code provides a mechanism for updating the browser with notifications of events provided by the telephony equipment, and whereby the software elements from the first section of code operate in conjunction with the web services description from the third section of code to enable the generation of appropriate commands to access the web services offered by the server, and thereby to control the telephony equipment.
20. A computer including a memory storing a web page, and a processor executing web browser software which displays said web page, wherein said web page comprises at least two frames, wherein one of said frames is a hidden frame generated as an open-ended stream of dynamically generated code encoded to be progressively and incrementally transmitted to a client as a trickled stream of data in response to event notifications from a computer telephone integration application and the other of said frames is a visible frame adapted to be modified within a browser in response to particular events received in the open-ended stream of dynamically generated code and including web page elements enabling a user to issue commands to said computer telephone integration application, whereby the open-ended stream of dynamically generated code includes a section of code which includes a web services description of web services available to said user which enables remote control of the computer telephone integration application, whereby the open-ended stream of dynamically generated code operates to enable the generation of appropriate commands to access the web services available to said user, and thereby to control the computer telephone integration application.
21. A computer network including a client and a server connected across the network, wherein:
the server comprises:
a) a first code generator for generating a first section of code including software elements which when loaded in web browser software enable a user of the client computer to issue communications commands to the server;
b) a second code generator for generating a second section of code as an open-ended stream, said second code generator being in direct or indirect communication with said telephony equipment and being configured to generate event notifications in response thereto, wherein at least some of the event notifications in the second section of code are adapted to update in the browser software one or more software elements received in the first section of code, said second code generator being configured to transmit said second section of code as a trickled stream of data which is encoded to be progressively and incrementally loaded by said web browser software; and
c) a third code generator for generating a third section of code, said third section of code including a web services description of web services available on said server which enable remote control of the telephony equipment,
the client comprises:
a memory storing a web page, and a processor executing web browser software which displays said web page, wherein said web page comprises at least two frames, wherein one of said frames is a hidden frame generated from said second section of code, and the other of said frames is a visible frame generated from said first section of code,
whereby the first section of code provides a browser-based interface suitable for transmitting user generated events, the second section of code provides a mechanism for updating the browser with notifications of events provided by the telephony equipment, and whereby the software elements from the first section of code operate in conjunction with the web services description from the third section of code to enable the generation of appropriate commands to access the web services offered by the server, and thereby to control the telephony equipment.
22. A computer program product comprising a computer storage medium encoded with instructions which, when executed on a server having control of telephony equipment, are effective to cause the server to:
a) send over the network to the client computer a first section of code including software elements which when loaded in web browser software enable a user of the client computer to issue commands to the server;
b) formulate a second section of code as an open-ended stream which includes event notifications generated dynamically by the server in response to said telephony equipment, wherein at least some of the event notifications in the second section of code are adapted to update in the browser software one or more software elements received in the first section of code;
c) send over the network to the client computer said second section of code as a trickled stream of data which is encoded to be progressively and incrementally loaded by said web browser software; and
d) send over the network to the client computer a third code generator which includes a web services description of web services available on said server which enable remote control of the telephony equipment,
whereby the first section of code provides a browser-based interface suitable for transmitting user generated events, the second section of code provides a mechanism for updating the browser with notifications of events provided by the telephony equipment, and whereby the software elements from the first section of code operate in conjunction with the web services description from the third section of code to enable the generation of appropriate commands to access the web services offered by the server, and thereby to control the telephony equipment.
23. A computer program product comprising a computer storage medium encoded with instructions which, when executed on a computer connected to a network are effective to cause the computer to:
a) receive over the network a first section of code including software elements which when loaded in web browser software enable a user of the browser software to issue commands to the server;
b) receive over the network a second section of code as an open-ended stream which includes event notifications generated dynamically by the server in response to said telephony equipment, wherein at least some of the event notifications in the second section of code are adapted to update in the browser software one or more software elements received in the first section of code, wherein said second section of code is received as a trickled stream of data which is encoded to be progressively and incrementally loaded by said web browser software; and
c) send over the network a third code generator which includes a web services description of web services available on said server which enable remote control of the telephony equipment,
whereby the first section of code provides a browser-based interface suitable for transmitting user generated events, the second section of code provides a mechanism for updating the browser with notifications of events provided by the telephony equipment, and whereby the software elements from the first section of code operate in conjunction with the web services description from the third section of code to enable the generation of appropriate commands to access the web services offered by the server, and thereby to control the telephony equipment.