Unified Application Notification Framework

Abstract

Methods and systems for a unified application notification framework are described herein. A server may receive a notification from a service provider. The service provider may be associated with an application executable on a virtual machine. The virtual machine may be part of a virtual environment that includes a user interface. The server may determine an identifier for the received notification. The identifier may indicate the application on the virtual machine associated with the service provider. The server may provide the received notification to the user interface for display to a user. The received notification may be displayed without execution of the application on the virtual machine.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method comprising:
 receiving, by a server, a notification from a service provider associated with an application executable on a virtual machine;   sending, by the server while the application is not executing on the virtual machine, the notification to a client device; and   after sending the notification, causing the application to execute on the virtual machine.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the service provider comprises a backend service that services the application. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the service provider is at least one of a web server, a mail server, an application server, a messaging server, a location server, a content provider, an online streaming service, a social media service, a financial institute, a telecommunications service, an Internet service provider, or a software-as-a-service provider. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising displaying, by the client device, the notification for a user. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises:
 after receiving the notification, causing, by the server, the virtual machine to perform at least one of downloading a file, terminating the application, or launching a related application that is related to the application.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises:
 scheduling the notification to be provided to the client device at a specific time.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises:
 receiving, by the server, a second notification from the service provider;   determining that the second notification does not satisfy a filtering criterion; and   discarding, by the server, the second notification without providing the second notification to the client device.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the filtering criterion comprises at least one of a notification type, a communication channel type, an application type, time, priority, or duplication. 
     
     
         9 . An apparatus comprising:
 one or more processors; and   memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors; cause the one or more processors to:
 receive a notification from a service provider associated with an application executable on a virtual machine; 
 send, while the application is not executing on the virtual machine, the notification to a client device; and 
 after sending the notification, cause the application to execute on the virtual machine. 
   
     
     
         10 . The apparatus of  claim 9 , wherein the service provider comprises a backend service that services the application. 
     
     
         11 . The apparatus of  claim 9 , wherein the service provider is at least one of a web server, a mail server, an application server, a messaging server, a location server, a content provider, an online streaming service, a social media service, a financial institute, a telecommunications service, an Internet service provider, or a software-as-a-service provider. 
     
     
         12 . The apparatus of  claim 9 , wherein the client device is configured to display the notification for a user. 
     
     
         13 . The apparatus of  claim 9 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the apparatus to:
 after receiving the notification, cause the virtual machine to perform at least one of downloading a file, terminating the application, or launching a related application that is related to the application.   
     
     
         14 . The apparatus of  claim 9 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the apparatus to:
 schedule the notification to be provided to the client device at a specific time.   
     
     
         15 . The apparatus of  claim 9 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the apparatus to:
 receive a second notification from the service provider;   determine that the second notification does not satisfy a filtering criterion; and   discard the second notification without providing the second notification to the client device.   
     
     
         16 . The apparatus of  claim 15 , wherein the filtering criterion comprises at least one of a notification type, a communication channel type, an application type, time, priority, or duplication. 
     
     
         17 . A method comprising:
 receiving, by a server, a notification from a notification interceptor of a virtual machine, wherein the notification is associated with an application executable on the virtual machine; and   sending, by the server, the notification to a virtual environment.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the notification interceptor comprises at least one of an application, a program, a service, a background process, or a foreground process. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the notification interceptor is configured to detect an operating system (OS) application programming interface (API) call and send the OS API call to the server.