Remote invocation mechanism for logging
One or more events occurring within a client-side web application are logged at a remote server using a script-based invocation mechanism. The mechanism comprises a client-side script, and associated server-side code. Upon occurrence of an event to be logged, a script object is created on the client and used to pass logged data to the server, which then issues a response to destroy the script object. In this manner, the script object is created and persists in the client only as long as it is needed to log the event.
1. A computer program product in a non-transitory computer readable medium article that stores a program, the program being executable in association with a client to:
receive at the client hypertext markup language (HTML) instructions that comprise a page;
following receipt of the HTML instructions that comprise the page, dynamically create and insert a script object into the HTML of the page, the script object being a set of instructions distinct from the HTML instructions that comprise the page, wherein the script object is not present in the HTML of the page when the page is received in the client but is created and inserted into the HTML at the client;
execute the script object to collect data concerning an event and to forward that data to a server, wherein the data describes one of: a feature, a fault, and a failure; and
upon receipt of a response from the server, destroy the script object by removing the set of instructions of the script object from the HTML of the page.
2. The computer program product as described in claim 1 wherein the response from the server is a delete script that is written into the HTML of the page.
3. The computer program product as described in claim 2 wherein the delete script causes the script object to be deleted from the HTML of the page after a given timeout.
4. The computer program product as described in claim 1 wherein the event is an action associated with a given page object.
5. The computer program product as described in claim 1 wherein the data is forwarded to the server via http.
6. The computer program product as described in claim 1 wherein the script object is a JavaScript object.
7. An article associated with a local computer system, comprising:
computer memory; and
a script stored in the computer memory and adapted to be integrated into an application and executed upon a given occurrence, the application being received at the local computer system, wherein, upon such execution at the local computer system, the script (a) dynamically creates and inserts a script object into hypertext markup language (HTML) associated with the application, the script object being a distinct set of instructions that are not present in the HTML associated with application prior to its receipt at the local computer system and the given occurrence, wherein the script object operates to collect and forward to a server data about the given occurrence, and (b) upon receipt of a response from the server, destroys the script object by removing the distinct set of instructions from the HTML associated with the application.
8. The article as described in claim 7 wherein the server is a tracking server.
9. The article as described in claim 7 wherein the application is a web page having a browser-enabled script, or a Rich Internet Application.