Abstract: A system and method comprising, sharing information between a plurality of participants in a collaboration; and exposing a set of functions that enable a participant in the plurality of participants to share the information, the set of functions comprising: first functions to facilitate establishing a context in which to interact with the plurality of participants; and second functions to facilitate storing and retrieving values from a shared state, wherein the shared state is accessible within the context.

Abstract: A system and method can support a federated portal using a producer web application on a web server and a plurality of consumer web applications. The producer web application is a container web application that hosts a plurality of portlet applications that are deployed and maintained separately. Each consumer web application is adapted to collect and present available portlet applications hosted on the producer web application and offer them as a unified portal to end users. Upon receiving a request from a consumer web application, said producer web application can map the consumer web application to one particular role in a role set which includes a plurality of roles, check for portlet applications that are available based on the particular role, and response to the consumer web application with a message that describes the available portlet applications hosted in the producer web application.

Abstract: A system and method comprising, sharing information between a plurality of participants in a collaboration; and exposing a set of functions that enable a participant in the plurality of participants to share the information, the set of functions comprising: first functions to facilitate establishing a context in which to interact with the plurality of participants; and second functions to facilitate storing and retrieving values from a shared state, wherein the shared state is accessible within the context.

Abstract: A method for responding to a request, comprising accepting the request, mapping the request to a control tree wherein the control tree is a logical representation of a graphical user interface (GUI) and wherein the control tree includes a set of controls which are related hierarchically to one another, advancing the control tree through at least one lifecycle stage based on the request, wherein the control tree includes at least one portlet control that represents at least one portlet, providing the request to a portlet container that contains the at least one portlet, and aggregating the output of each of the at least one portlets and providing the output to the GUI.

Abstract: A system and method can support a federated portal using a producer web application on a web server and a plurality of consumer web applications. The producer web application is a container web application that hosts a plurality of portlet applications that are deployed and maintained separately. Each consumer web application is adapted to collect and present available portlet applications hosted on the producer web application and offer them as a unified portal to end users. Upon receiving a request from a consumer web application, said producer web application can map the consumer web application to one particular role in a role set which includes a plurality of roles, check for portlet applications that are available based on the particular role, and response to the consumer web application with a message that describes the available portlet applications hosted in the producer web application.

Abstract: A system to support consumer entitlement that allows Producer web applications to decide which portlets to be offered to Consumer web applications can comprise: a role set which includes a plurality of roles; a Consumer web application adapted to interact with end users; and a Producer web application with a set of portlets operable to be combined in a unified portal for end users. The Producer web application operates to: define a property set that allows end users to input values for the property set; map the Consumer web application to one particular role in the role set; and check for portlets that are available among the set of portlets based on the particular role.

Abstract: A method for rendering a portal graphical user interface (GUI), comprising providing for the representation of a GUI desktop, a GUI look and feel, and a GUI book as a set of controls wherein the controls can be organized in a logical hierarchy, traversing the representation, wherein the traversing comprises associating a theme with a first control in the set of controls, rendering the first control according to the theme, rendering any descendents of the first control according to the theme, wherein any descendents of the first control can override the theme, and wherein one of the set of controls can communicate with another of the set of controls.

Abstract: A system and method for providing a request to a portlet wherein the portlet can render itself in a graphical user interface (GUI), comprising mapping the request to a control tree wherein the control tree is a logical representation of the GUI and wherein the control tree includes a set of controls which are related hierarchically to one another, advancing the control tree through at least one life cycle stage based on the request, wherein the control tree includes a portlet control that represents the portlet, and providing the request to a portlet container, wherein the providing can be performed by the portlet control.

Abstract: A mobile communication system uses a runtime environment program which can communicate with a server. Applications are used with their own corresponding application data store. The application data store is persistent even when the applications are not running. The runtime environment program can obtain data from the server to update the application data store. The application can use the application data store. Messages can be cached at the mobile device and the server to allow for possible downtimes in the communication in the mobile unit and the server.

Abstract: A community enables user membership in a distributed collaborative computing environment. The members can have access to a repository of resources. Dynamic notifications between client and server can be provided. A member can be logged onto a client which pings the server computer through no interaction of the user. A notifications manager located on the server can retrieve updates available for the member in response to each ping. The notifications manager can look up any changes to the resources that the member has subscribed to. The server can subsequently notify the client of the available updates. The client's user interface can be updated to reflect the relevant changes. A dynamic and granular interaction between the server and the client can be enabled instead of updating the entire portal page. Each ping can carry an id of the member and community, which the server can use to determine the relevant updates.

Abstract: A system to support consumer entitlement that allows Producer web applications to decide which portlets to be offered to Consumer web applications can comprise: a role set which includes a plurality of roles; a Consumer web application adapted to interact with end users; and a Producer web application with a set of portlets operable to be combined in a unified portal for end users. The Producer web application operates to: define a property set that allows end users to input values for the property set; map the Consumer web application to one particular role in the role set; and check for portlets that are available among the set of portlets based on the particular role.

Abstract: A mobile communication system uses a runtime environment program which can communicate with a server. Applications are used with their own corresponding application data store. The application data store is persistent even when the applications are not running. The runtime environment program can obtain data from the server to update the application data store. The application can use the application data store. Messages can be cached at the mobile device and the server to allow for possible downtimes in the communication in the mobile unit and the server.