Automatic transmission of messages and processing of responses
Methods and apparatus, including computer program products, for transmitting a message upon the detection of a predetermined event and performing an action associated with a predetermined option indicated by a received response. Upon detecting a predetermined event in a system, an asynchronous message based upon the detected predetermined event is automatically transmitted to a recipient. The asynchronous message includes a set of predetermined options for responding to the detected predetermined event. Upon receiving a response to the asynchronous message, an action associated with a selected option is performed. A rules set can be used to determine whether to transmit a message upon detecting a predetermined event, the message content, the included set of predetermined options, a recipient to whom the message should be transmitted, and a recipient address.
1 . A computer program product, stored on a machine-readable medium, the computer program product comprising instructions operable to cause data processing apparatus to:
detect a predetermined event in a system;
automatically transmit an asynchronous message based upon the detected predetermined event, wherein the asynchronous message includes a set of predetermined options for responding to the detected predetermined event;
receive a response to the asynchronous message indicating a selected option from the set of predetermined options; and
perform an action associated with the selected option.
2 . The computer program product of claim 1 , wherein the asynchronous message is an e-mail message or a text message.
3 . The computer program product of claim 1 , wherein the instructions are further operable to cause the data processing apparatus to:
identify a rule in a rule set based on the detected predetermined event.
4 . The computer program product of claim 3 , wherein the instructions are further operable to cause the data processing apparatus to:
determine the set of predetermined options to include in the asynchronous message based on the rule.
5 . The computer program product of claim 3 , wherein the instructions are further operable to cause the data processing apparatus to:
determine a recipient to whom the asynchronous message is to be transmitted based on the rule.
6 . The computer program product of claim 5 , wherein there are multiple addresses associated with the recipient, and wherein determining the recipient comprises selecting one or more of the multiple addresses.
7 . The computer program product of claim 3 , wherein the instructions are further operable to cause the data processing apparatus to:
compose the asynchronous message based on the rule.
8 . The computer program product of claim 7 , wherein composing the asynchronous message comprises selecting a predetermined message from a set of predetermined messages.
9 . The computer program product of claim 8 , wherein the set of predetermined messages is associated with the detected predetermined event.
10 . The computer program product of claim 3 , wherein the rule indicates one or more conditions in which to transmit the asynchronous message, and wherein automatically transmitting the asynchronous message occurs only if the conditions are true.
11 . The computer program product of claim 1 , wherein the detected predetermined event is a change in an application configuration.
12 . The computer program product of claim 1 , wherein the detected predetermined event is availability of an application patch.
13 . The computer program product of claim 12 , wherein the set of predetermined options comprises an option to install the application patch and an option not to install the application patch.
14 . The computer program product of claim 1 , wherein the detected predetermined event is a commercial transaction.
15 . A computer-implemented method comprising:
detecting a predetermined event in a system;
automatically transmitting an asynchronous message based upon the detected predetermined event, wherein the asynchronous message includes a set of predetermined options for responding to the detected predetermined event;
receiving a response to the asynchronous message indicating a selected option from the set of predetermined options; and
performing an action associated with the selected option.
16 . An apparatus comprising:
means for detecting a predetermined event in a system;
means for automatically transmitting an asynchronous message based upon the detected predetermined event, wherein the asynchronous message includes a set of predetermined options for responding to the detected predetermined event;
means for receiving a response to the asynchronous message indicating a selected option from the set of predetermined options; and
means for performing an action associated with the selected option.