Abstract: A method for operating an electronic device to configure a subject device, the method comprising steps of: receiving an intent from a subject device, wherein the received intent comprises an action identifier identifying an action the subject device wishes to perform; receiving action data about the received intent from an intent store, wherein the action data comprises an action associated with each action identifier, and at least one constraint associated with the action; and generating invocation data to perform the action, wherein the invocation data comprises the action identifier, and zero or more parameters.

Abstract: Access to a resource controlled by a resource server (6, 8) is provided using a validity token issued by a validation server (4). When a resource request from a user (12) is received at the resource server (6, 8), then the resource server (6, 8) determines if the resource request satisfies a policy. If the resource request satisfies the policy, then access to the resource may be permitted without confirming the validity of the validation token with the validation server (4). Conversely, if the resource request does not satisfy the policy, then validation of the validation token with the validation server (4) is performed before the access requested is permitted.

Abstract: There is provided a method of scanning for a remote device, the method comprising: generating, at a data processing device, a search input; transforming, at the data processing device, the search input to provide a transformed output, wherein the transformed output is representative of the search input; transmitting, a communication comprising the transformed output from the data processing device to the remote device; receiving, at the data processing a device, a communication from the remote device based on the transformed output.

Abstract: There is provided a method of scanning for a remote device, the method comprising: generating, at a data processing device, a search input; transforming, at the data processing device, the search input to provide a transformed output, wherein the transformed output is representative of the search input; transmitting, a communication comprising the transformed output from the data processing device to the remote device; receiving, at the data processing a device, a communication from the remote device based on the transformed output.

Abstract: Access to a resource controlled by a resource server (6, 8) is provided using a validity token issued by a validation server (4). When a resource request from a user (12) is received at the resource server (6, 8), then the resource server (6, 8) determines if the resource request satisfies a policy. If the resource request satisfies the policy, then access to the resource may be permitted without confirming the validity of the validation token with the validation server (4). Conversely, if the resource request does not satisfy the policy, then validation of the validation token with the validation server (4) is performed before the access requested is permitted.

Abstract: A method for operating an electronic device to configure a subject device, the method comprising steps of: receiving an intent from a subject device, wherein the received intent comprises an action identifier identifying an action the subject device wishes to perform; receiving action data about the received intent from an intent store, wherein the action data comprises an action associated with each action identifier, and at least one constraint associated with the action; and generating invocation data to perform the action, wherein the invocation data comprises the action identifier, and zero or more parameters.