Abstract: Aspects of the technology described herein provide a more efficient user interface by providing coupons that are tailored to a specific user's interests. The coupons may be provided by a personal assistant or some other application running on a user's computing device. A goal of the technology described herein is to provide relevant coupons when the user can and actually wants to use them. The coupons are designed for goods or services the user intends to purchase.

Abstract: Aspects of the technology described herein provide a more efficient user interface by providing coupons that are tailored to a specific user's interests. The coupons may be provided by a personal assistant or some other application running on a user's computing device. A goal of the technology described herein is to provide relevant coupons when the user can and actually wants to use them. The coupons are designed for goods or services the user intends to purchase.

Abstract: A code generator tool capable of creating command shell commands at compile time or runtime from a schema such as an XSD schema is provided. The code generator generates classes to represent data defined by a schema and the command shell generation code may use knowledge of the classes to generate appropriate command shell classes to manipulate the data. Plug-ins may be inserted following optimization of a model of classes generated by the code generation tool. The plug-ins can modify the model, insert their own code, or disable code generation and generate their own code from the model.

Abstract: A platform for manipulating data associated with defining, deploying, and administering distributed server systems utilizes a structured data model with a flexible replication mechanism, a set of schemas, and an object model to manipulate system topology, configuration (settings), and policies. A scoping mechanism for characteristics of the settings, policies, and resolution is provided in addition to the data model along with an authorization mechanism for single and multi-tenant environments.

Abstract: Automatic and reliable deployment of system topology to computing devices within an enhanced communication system is provided. Specific roles and features associated with individual devices such as servers are defined in a centrally managed topology document, which is replicated to devices to be configured along with one or more modules for performing local configuration. Upon deployment, the module(s) determine a local device configuration, a desired configuration for the device, and update the device's configuration installing and activating roles and features assigned to the device by the topology document. Feedback regarding the results of the configuration is provided to a central management store such that administration can monitor status of devices within the system. Modifications to the assigned roles and prerequisites for supporting those roles are made dynamically through the same mechanism as system topology changes.

Abstract: Techniques to allow applications to propagate information to the other instances of the applications running on downstream servers are provided. An indicator, such as a token, tag, etc., is placed within or added to a message that is flowing through the distributed environment to signify that a process has been performed on the message. For example, when an instance of an application running on a server receives a message, the application instance can examine the indicator contained in the message and take appropriate action. If the application instance decides to process the message, the application instance can include an indicator in the message to signify that the application instance processed the message. The presence of the indicator signifies that the message has been processed by an upstream instance of the same application.

Abstract: Automatic and reliable deployment of system topology to computing devices within an enhanced communication system is provided. Specific roles and features associated with individual devices such as servers are defined in a centrally managed topology document, which is replicated to devices to be configured along with one or more modules for performing local configuration. Upon deployment, the module(s) determine a local device configuration, a desired configuration for the device, and update the device's configuration installing and activating roles and features assigned to the device by the topology document. Feedback regarding the results of the configuration is provided to a central management store such that administration can monitor status of devices within the system. Modifications to the assigned roles and prerequisites for supporting those roles are made dynamically through the same mechanism as system topology changes.

Abstract: Automatic and reliable deployment of system topology to computing devices within an enhanced communication system is provided. Specific roles and features associated with individual devices such as servers are defined in a centrally managed topology document, which is replicated to devices to be configured along with one or more modules for performing local configuration. Upon deployment, the module(s) determine a local device configuration, a desired configuration for the device, and update the device's configuration installing and activating roles and features assigned to the device by the topology document. Feedback regarding the results of the configuration is provided to a central management store such that administration can monitor status of devices within the system. Modifications to the assigned roles and prerequisites for supporting those roles are made dynamically through the same mechanism as system topology changes.

Abstract: A framework for using metadata to describe user interface elements and for interactions of the user interface elements with an end user and/or with data source(s) that store configuration data. The metadata can be used to generate a settings UI and code that manages the UI such as gathering user input, handling UI events, validating collected data, handling errors and warnings, managing interactions between different UI controls, and the like. A computer-implemented system that facilitates a settings user interface can include a code generation component that employs the stored metadata to automatically generate the settings UI and code that manages the UI. The code generation component provides the generated code to a data source component that interacts with the data source(s). The settings UI is displayed to an end user via a user interface component.

Abstract: Systems and methods that facilitate deployment of server applications via employing a deployment system that declaratively defines deployment actions. Such system is extensible to enable user customization, and includes a deployment document that declaratively defines deployment terms. The deployment document can further describe what the tasks accomplish, and also what tasks are to be forwarded to the task handler at execution time.

Abstract: Techniques to allow applications to propagate information to the other instances of the applications running on downstream servers are provided. An indicator, such as a token, tag, etc., is placed within or added to a message that is flowing through the distributed environment to signify that a process has been performed on the message. For example, when an instance of an application running on a server receives a message, the application instance can examine the indicator contained in the message and take appropriate action. If the application instance decides to process the message, the application instance can include an indicator in the message to signify that the application instance processed the message. The presence of the indicator signifies that the message has been processed by an upstream instance of the same application.

Abstract: A platform for manipulating data associated with defining, deploying, and administering distributed server systems utilizes a structured data model with a flexible replication mechanism, a set of schemas, and an object model to manipulate system topology, configuration (settings), and policies. A scoping mechanism for characteristics of the settings, policies, and resolution is provided in addition to the data model along with an authorization mechanism for single and multi-tenant environments.

Abstract: Automatic and reliable deployment of system topology to computing devices within an enhanced communication system is provided. Specific roles and features associated with individual devices such as servers are defined in a centrally managed topology document, which is replicated to devices to be configured along with one or more modules for performing local configuration. Upon deployment, the module(s) determine a local device configuration, a desired configuration for the device, and update the device's configuration installing and activating roles and features assigned to the device by the topology document. Feedback regarding the results of the configuration is provided to a central management store such that administration can monitor status of devices within the system. Modifications to the assigned roles and prerequisites for supporting those roles are made dynamically through the same mechanism as system topology changes.

Abstract: A code generator tool capable of creating command shell commands at compile time or runtime from a schema such as an XSD schema is provided. The code generator generates classes to represent data defined by a schema and the command shell generation code may use knowledge of the classes to generate appropriate command shell classes to manipulate the data. Plug-ins may be inserted following optimization of a model of classes generated by the code generation tool. The plug-ins can modify the model, insert their own code, or disable code generation and generate their own code from the model.

Abstract: Techniques to allow applications to propagate information to the other instances of the applications running on downstream servers are provided. An indicator, such as a token, tag, etc., is placed within or added to a message that is flowing through the distributed environment to signify that a process has been performed on the message. For example, when an instance of an application running on a server receives a message, the application instance can examine the indicator contained in the message and take appropriate action. If the application instance decides to process the message, the application instance can include an indicator in the message to signify that the application instance processed the message. The presence of the indicator signifies that the message has been processed by an upstream instance of the same application.

Abstract: A task infrastructure that allows for the decoupling of the task launch code from the task client code and from the task execution code is provided. The task infrastructure allows the relationship between the task display and launch logic and the task client logic to be defined in a declarative manner, allowing for the segregation of the task display and launch logic from the task client logic. The task infrastructure comprises a manifest that contains a specification of the relationship between the task display and launch logic and the task client logic. The manifest may also define which task clients expose which tasks, the context under which each task is displayed, the arguments that the task needs in order to start execution, the task description to display, and the method in which the task can be launched. At run-time, a task client can read the manifest and decide which task or tasks to expose to an end user under a current context.

Abstract: A framework for declarative expression of data processing is provided. The framework allows for data to be represented by its metadata in a declarative manner, allowing for the generation of code at, for example, build time. The declarative representation of the metadata facilitates the separation of the data (e.g., the raw data that is stored in a data store and that is available using, for example, a data store adapter) from the code (e.g., the code that is executed for the manipulation and validation of data) and the view (e.g., the form that the data is shown to a user, for example, through a UI).

Abstract: Extensible architecture for template-baser user setting management by creating logical groupings of per-user settings using different template types. A manageable way to assign templates to sets of users based on different criteria is provided. Templates can be defined in a declarative format (e.g., XML), which declarative format is developed such that various user interface (UI) pieces, third-party applications, and different client types can easily understand the templates. Extensibility of the architecture is supported for defining the templates such that external third-party application writers can make use of the provided infrastructure to add to existing templates or create new template types, and to seamlessly integrate into the existing infrastructure. Additionally, the per-user settings within the templates can be enforced on the server side, including the enforcement of future settings and template types.

Abstract: Systems and methods that facilitate deployment of server applications via employing a deployment system that declaratively defines deployment actions. Such system is extensible to enable user customization, and includes a deployment document that declaratively defines deployment terms. The deployment document can further describe what the tasks accomplish, and also what tasks are to be forwarded to the task handler at execution time.

Abstract: A framework for using metadata to describe user interface elements and for interactions of the user interface elements with an end user and/or with data source(s) that store configuration data. The metadata can be used to generate a settings UI and code that manages the UI such as gathering user input, handling UI events, validating collected data, handling errors and warnings, managing interactions between different UI controls, and the like. A computer-implemented system that facilitates a settings user interface can include a code generation component that employs the stored metadata to automatically generate the settings UI and code that manages the UI. The code generation component provides the generated code to a data source component that interacts with the data source(s). The settings UI is displayed to an end user via a user interface component.