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Methods and apparatus for patching software in accordance with instituted patching policiesRelated Patent Categories: Data Processing: Software Development, Installation, And Management, Software Upgrading Or UpdatingMethods and apparatus for patching software in accordance with instituted patching policies description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20070169089, Methods and apparatus for patching software in accordance with instituted patching policies. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention generally concerns software patching, and more particularly concerns methods and apparatus for implementing both software patching policies and a software shell that controls patching activities so that patching occurs in accordance with instituted patching policies. BACKGROUND [0002] Over the past decade or so a paradigm has developed governing how complex software including, for example, operating systems and application suites, will be updated. Typically, an operating system or application suite is released ("goes gold") and is assigned one or both of a new name and a version number. Users of the operating system or application suite then typically find software faults ("bugs"), a number of which always seem to survive pre-release testing. Those responsible for the operating system or application suite then release a series of so-called "patches" which eliminate bugs found in the software. For a particularly complex computer program many such patches may be released. [0003] Patching activity frequently occurs in parallel with identification of new and/or enhanced features desired by users of the operating system or application suite, or that are rendered necessary or even mandatory by technological developments. After enough enhancements are identified, developed and beta-tested, the improved operating system or application suite is released as a new product. So a pattern develops of new release, followed by patching activity, followed by new release, followed by patching activity, . . . etc. [0004] When presented with the availability of a new release, users decide whether new features included in the new software release are needed. If not, the user will not acquire the new release. Often, the situation is more complicated, with potential users holding back until first adopters report their experiences with the new release. If a consensus is reached in a user community that features of the new release outweigh drawbacks of the new release (such as, for example, unnecessary modifications to user interfaces which need to be learned; slowdown in overall performance due to increased code size; or overall "buggy" performance of a heretofore stable program), then those potential users holding back will purchase the new release. [0005] The same concerns are reflected in decisions about whether to adopt new patches as they become available. Most user populations are aware of so-called "horror stories" that accompany the reflexive and unthinking adoption of any and all software patches. For example, an application suite which previously operated in a responsive manner may now function in a less-responsive manner due to a resource-intensive software patch. In other situations, the software patch may result in instability--"crashes"--when code associated with the patch is executed. It is not unusual for some users to have the feeling that they have become unwitting members in a beta testing program for the patch. [0006] Such outcomes are particularly troubling when users realize after-the-fact that the applied patch concerned "improvements" to functionality that they may rarely, or never, use. It is well-known in the art of computer software that particular users will rarely employ all of the functionality of a software system. Rather, the full functionality of a software system is required in order to address a cross-section of needs reflected in a target market. Accordingly, it is often the case that a patch may fix a problem in functionality that is seldom, or never, used by a particular user. [0007] When viewed from the perspective of a large corporation, reflexive and unthinking patching activity may result in numerous inefficiencies when the activities associated with adopting a patch are aggregated across a corporation. A given patch consumes resources in several ways: it may take network bandwidth to download, storage space to store and computational cycles to install. Often more importantly, the time and energy of a system user may be needed to decide whether to install the patch and, if the user decides to do so, to direct installation of the patch. Decisions about the advisability of installing a patch may depend on information which is not in the user's possession, requiring the user to search for the information. The patch, when installed, may reduce the performance of the software system, resulting in many users undoing the patch thereby incurring further inefficiencies. [0008] Thus, those skilled in the art desire improved methods and apparatus for controlling software patching activities. In particular, those skilled in the art desire methods and apparatus for implementing control over patching activities. Further, those skilled in the art desire methods and apparatus for providing software functionality capable of performing software patching activity in accordance with decisions made about when to patch. SUMMARY OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS [0009] A first embodiment of the invention comprises a signal-bearing medium tangibly embodying a program of machine-readable instructions executable by a digital processing apparatus of an electronic device to perform operations for controlling software patching activities, the operations comprising: instituting a software patching policy for controlling patching of software incorporated in the electronic device; and patching software in accordance with the instituted software patching policy [0010] A second embodiment of the invention comprises a signal-bearing medium tangibly embodying a program of machine-readable instructions executable by a digital processing apparatus of an electronic device to perform operations for controlling software patching activities, the operations comprising: implementing a software patch control shell for controlling patching activities associated with software incorporated in the electronic device; instituting a software patching policy to be used by the software patch control shell for controlling software patching activities; and applying the software patching policy as potential software patching opportunities occur. [0011] A third embodiment of the invention comprises a system for managing software patching activity, the system comprising a software patching activity manager, the software patching activity manager comprising: at least one memory to store at least one program of machine-readable instructions, where the at least one program performs operations for instituting and controlling a software patching policy; a network interface for use in communicating over a network with a source of software patches and with electronic devices subject to the software patching policy; at least one processor coupled to the at least one memory and network interface, where the at least one processor performs at least the following operations when the at least one program is executed: creating a software patching policy to be used by the electronic devices; and issuing the software patching policy to the electronic devices through the network interface. [0012] A fourth embodiment of the invention comprises a system for managing software patching activity, the system comprising a software patching activity manager, the software patching activity manager comprising: at least one memory to store at least one program of machine-readable instructions, where the at least one program performs operations for instituting and controlling a software patching policy; a network interface for use in communicating over a network with a source of software patches and with electronic devices subject to the software patching policy; at least one processor coupled to the at least one memory and network interface, where the at least one processor performs at least the following operations when the at least one program is executed: creating a software patching policy to be used by the electronic devices; and issuing the software patching policy to the electronic devices through the network interface. [0013] In conclusion, the foregoing summary of the alternate embodiments is exemplary and non-limiting. For example, one of ordinary skill in the art will understand that one or more aspects or steps from one embodiment can be combined with one or more aspects or steps from another embodiment to create a new embodiment within the scope of the present invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0014] The foregoing and other aspects of these teachings are made more evident in the following Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments, when read in conjunction with the attached Drawing Figures, wherein: [0015] FIG. 1 illustrates the disposition of the elements of a system embodying the subject invention; [0016] FIG. 2A is a schematic illustration of a system operating in accordance with the prior art and FIG. 2B is a schematic illustration of a system operating in accordance with the invention; [0017] FIG. 3 is a flow diagram describing the processing performed by the patch shell; [0018] FIG. 4 depicts a method operating in accordance with the invention; [0019] FIG. 5 depicts another method operating in accordance with the invention; [0020] FIG. 6 depicts a further method operating in accordance with the invention; and Continue reading about Methods and apparatus for patching software in accordance with instituted patching policies... 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