Context platform

Abstract

A network accessible context store holds a plurality of different context items. Each context item includes one or more context-describing values. An arbitration engine resolves conflicting requests to assign different context-describing values to a context item held in the network-accessible context store.

1 . A computing machine, comprising:
 a network-accessible context store holding a plurality of different context items, each context item including one or more context-describing values;   an input for receiving a context-describing value from a context provider via a communication network, the context-describing value assignable to a context item of the network-accessible context store, the context item configured to receive context-describing values from different context providers;   an arbitration engine configured to resolve conflicting requests to assign a context-describing value to a context item held in the network-accessible context store; and   an output for sending a context-describing value from a context item of the network-accessible context store to a context consumer via the communication network.   
     
     
         2 . The computing machine of  claim 1 , where a context item of the plurality of context items includes permissions defining computing systems, users, or processes that have permission to access the context item, and where getting or setting context-describing values for the context item is forbidden to any computing system, user, or process not having permission to access the context item. 
     
     
         3 . The computing machine of  claim 1 , where a context item of the plurality of context items includes a listing of context consumers subscribing to the context item. 
     
     
         4 . The computing machine of  claim 3 , where the context item includes, for each context consumer subscribing to the context item, subscription parameters indicating which alterations to context-describing values are to trigger a callback method. 
     
     
         5 . The computing machine of  claim 4 , where the context item includes, for each subscription parameter, identification of the callback method to be triggered. 
     
     
         6 . The computing machine of  claim 1 , where a context item of the plurality of context items includes a specification of how the context item is related to another context item. 
     
     
         7 . The computing machine of  claim 1 , where a context item includes a friendly name providing a human-readable identification of the context item. 
     
     
         8 . The computing machine of  claim 1 , where a context item includes an indication of a physical location of a sensor of the context provider that last updated a context-describing value of the context item. 
     
     
         9 . The computing machine of  claim 1 , where the context item includes an archival log of previous context-describing values. 
     
     
         10 . The computing machine of  claim 1 , where the network-accessible context store is configured to hold only state information, and where domain interpreters are configured to apply logic for altering context items in the network-accessible context store. 
     
     
         11 . The computing machine of  claim 1 , where the context-describing value is a quantified value of a physical world phenomenon measured by a sensor of the context provider. 
     
     
         12 . The computing machine of  claim 1 , where the context-describing value is derived from a logical operation performed by a logic module of the context provider. 
     
     
         13 . The computing machine of  claim 1 , where the context-describing value is useable by an effector device of the context consumer to alter a quantifiable phenomenon of a physical world. 
     
     
         14 . The computing machine of  claim 1 , where the network-accessible context store is configured to suspend execution between context-describing value inputs and outputs. 
     
     
         15 . The computing machine of  claim 14 , where the network-accessible context store is configured to not consume any processing cycles when suspended. 
     
     
         16 . The computing machine of  claim 1 , where at least one of the plurality of context items is defined differently than any other context item held by the network-accessible context store. 
     
     
         17 . A computing machine, comprising:
 a network-accessible context store holding a plurality of different context items, each context item including one or more context-describing values, and at least one of the plurality of context items defined differently than any other context item held by the network-accessible context store;   an input for receiving a context-describing value from a context provider via a communication network, the context-describing value assignable to a context item of the network-accessible context store, the context item configured to receive context-describing values from different context providers; and   an output for sending a context-describing value from a context item of the network-accessible context store to a context consumer via the communication network.   
     
     
         18 . A computer-executable method of managing context for a plurality of different domain interpreters, the method comprising:
 receiving, at a computing device, a first context-describing value from a context provider via a communication network;   receiving, at the computing device, a second context-describing value from a context provider via the communication network, the second context-describing value conflicting with the first context-describing value;   arbitrating, at the computing device, conflicting requests to assign the first context-describing value and the second context-describing value to a context item held in a network-accessible context store;   assigning, at the computing device, an arbitration-winning context-describing value selected from the first context-describing value and the second context-describing value to the context item; and   responsive to receiving a request from a context consumer, outputting, from the computing device, the arbitration-winning context-describing value of the context item to the context consumer via the communication network.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , where arbitrating conflicting requests includes arbitrating based on prioritization of context provider from which context-describing value is received. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 18 , where arbitrating conflicting requests includes selecting a last received context-describing value.