Methods And System For Providing Concurrent Access To A Resource In A Communication Session

1 . A method for providing concurrent access to a resource in a communication session, the method comprising:

receiving a message including a request for a communication session between a first participant represented in a presence service by a first participant tuple and a second participant represented in the presence service by a second participant tuple, the request including a first participant id representing the first participant, a second participant id representing the second participant, and a resource id representing a resource to be concurrently accessed by the first participant and the second participant during the requested communication session;

monitoring a status of the first participant represented by the first participant id and a status of the second participant represented by the second participant id using the presence service;

determining whether the first participant and the second participant are available for a communication session according to the status of the first participant and the second participant

determining whether the resource represented by the resource id is available for concurrent access by the first participant and the second participant; and

establishing a communication session according to the determination and providing concurrent access to the resource represented by the resource ID to the first participant and the second participant during the communication session.

2 . The method of claim 1 wherein the request for a communication session includes time information representing a time period for establishing the communication session.

3 . The method of claim 1 wherein the resource comprises at least one of an object, a service, and a storage location.

4 . The method of claim 1 including generating a reservation tuple in response to receiving a message including a request for a communication session, the reservation tuple including a status field for the first participant, a status field for the second participant and the resource ID.

5 . The method of claim 4 wherein the reservation tuple includes an overall status field representing a combined status of the status of the first participant and the status of the second participant.

6 . The method of claim 5 wherein the overall status represents a combined status of the status of the first participant, the status of the second participant and a status of the resource.

7 . The method of claim 1 wherein monitoring a status of the first participant and a status the second participant includes receiving a notification message from the presence service, the notification message including presence information associated with at least one of the first and second participants.

8 . The method of claim 7 wherein monitoring a status of the first participant and a status the second participant includes updating the status field associated with at least one of the first and second participants included in the reservation tuple in response to receiving the notification message.

9 . The method of claim 1 wherein determining whether the first participant and the second participant are available for a communication session includes subscribing to the first participant tuple and the second participant tuple.

10 . The method of claim 9 wherein determining whether the first participant and the second participant are available for a communication session includes receiving a notification message including a status value representing the status of at least one of the first and second participants.

11 . The method of claim 1 wherein providing concurrent access to the resource includes transmitting a notification message to each of the first and second participants, the notification message including access information for accessing the resource associated with the resource ID.

12 . The method of claim 11 wherein the access information included in the notification message includes a uniform resource identifier for accessing the resource.

13 . The method of claim 1 wherein providing concurrent access to the resource includes transmitting a notification message to each of the first and second participants, the notification message including the resource associated with the resource ID.

14 . The method of claim 1 including receiving the resource associated with the resource ID and storing the resource in a shared storage area for access by the first participant and the second participant during the communication session

15 . The method of claim 1 including receiving a third participant ID during the communication session, the third participant ID representing a third participant and transmitting an invitation to the third participant allowing the third participant to join the communication session.

16 . A system for providing concurrent access to a resource in a communication session, the system comprising:

means for receiving a message including a request for a communication session between a first participant represented in a presence service by a first participant tuple and a second participant represented in the presence service by a second participant tuple, the request including a first participant id representing the first participant, a second participant id representing the second participant, and a resource id representing a resource to be concurrently accessed by the first participant and the second participant during the requested communication session;

means for monitoring a status of the first participant represented by the first participant id and a status of the second participant represented by the second participant id using the presence service;

means for determining whether the first participant and the second participant are available for a communication session according to the status of the first participant and the second participant

means for determining whether the resource represented by the resource id is available for concurrent access by the first participant and the second participant; and

means for establishing a communication session according to the determination and for providing concurrent access to the resource represented by the resource ID to the first participant and the second participant during the communication session.

17 . A system for providing concurrent access to a resource in a communication session, the system comprising:

a reservation service component configured for receiving a message including a request for a communication session between a first participant represented in a presence service by a first participant tuple and a second participant represented in the presence service by a second participant tuple, the request including a first participant id representing the first participant, a second participant id representing the second participant, and a resource id representing a resource to be concurrently accessed by the first participant and the second participant during the requested communication session;

a participant monitor component configured for monitoring a status of the first participant represented by the first participant id and a status of the second participant represented by the second participant id using the presence service and configured for determining whether the first participant and the second participant are available for a communication session according to the status of the first participant and the second participant;

a resource monitor component configured for determining whether the resource represented by the resource id is available for concurrent access by the first participant and the second participant; and

the reservation service component further configured for establishing a communication session according to the determination and providing concurrent access to the resource represented by the resource ID to the first participant and the second participant during the communication session.

18 . The system of claim 17 wherein at least one of the reservation service component and the presence service component is configured for generating a reservation tuple in response to receiving a message including a request for a communication session, the reservation tuple including a status field for the first participant, a status field for the second participant and the resource ID.

19 . The system of claim 18 wherein the reservation tuple includes an overall status field representing a combined status of the status of the first participant and the status of the second participant.

20 . The system of claim 19 wherein the overall status represents a combined status of the status of the first participant, the status of the second participant, and the status of the resource

21 . The system of claim 17 wherein the participant monitor component is configured for receiving a notification message from the presence service, the notification message including presence information associated with at least one of the first and second participants.

22 . The system of claim 21 wherein the reservation service component is configured for updating the status field associated with at least one of the first and second participants included in the reservation tuple in response to receiving the notification message.

23 . The system of claim 17 wherein the participant monitor service component is configured for subscribing to the first participant tuple and the second participant tuple.

24 . The system of claim 17 wherein the reservation service component is configured for transmitting a message to each of the first and second participants, the message including access information for accessing the resource associated with the resource ID.

25 . The system of claim 24 wherein the access information included in the message includes a uniform resource identifier for accessing the resource.

26 . The system of claim 17 wherein the reservation service component is configured for transmitting a message to each of the first and second participants, the notification message including the resource associated with the resource ID.

27 . The system of claim 17 including a shared storage area configured for storing a resource for access by the first participant and the second participant during the communication session.

28 . The system of claim 17 wherein the reservation service component is configured for receiving a third participant ID during the communication session, the third participant ID representing a third participant, and the reservation service component is configured for transmitting an invitation to the third participant allowing the third participant to join the communication session.

29 . A computer readable medium including a computer program, executable by a machine, for providing concurrent access to a resource in a communication session, the computer program comprising executable instructions for:

receiving a message including a request for a communication session between a first participant represented in a presence service by a first participant tuple and a second participant represented in the presence service by a second participant tuple, the request including a first participant id representing the first participant, a second participant id representing the second participant, and a resource id representing a resource to be concurrently accessed by the first participant and the second participant during the requested communication session;

monitoring a status of the first participant represented by the first participant id and a status of the second participant represented by the second participant id using the presence service;

determining whether the first participant and the second participant are available for a communication session according to the status of the first participant and the second participant and whether the resource represented by the resource id is available for concurrent access by the first participant and the second participant;

establishing a communication session according to the determination; and

providing concurrent access to the resource represented by the resource ID to the first participant and the second participant during the communication session.

30 . A method for providing concurrent access to a resource in a communication session, the method comprising:

generating a message including a request for a communication session between a first participant represented in a presence service by a first participant tuple and a second participant represented in the presence service by a second participant tuple, the request including a first participant id representing the first participant, a second participant id representing the second participant, and a resource id representing a resource to be concurrently accessed by the first participant and the second participant during the requested communication session;

receiving a notification message indicating the establishing of the requested communication session in response to determining the first participant and the second participant are available for the communication session according to a monitored status associated with each of the first and second participants; and

joining the communication session, wherein the first participant and the second participant concurrently access the resource.