U.S. patent application number 09/788634 was filed with the patent office on 2001-07-19 for declarative message addressing.
Invention is credited to Biliris, Alexandros, Hjahntysson, Gisli, Jagadish, Hosagrahar Visvesvaraya, Jones, Mark Alan, Lee, Dongwon, Mumick, Inderpal Singh, Panagos, Euthimios, Srivastava, Divesh, Vista, Dimitra.
Application Number | 20010009017 09/788634 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 21726673 |
Filed Date | 2001-07-19 |
United States Patent
Application |
20010009017 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Biliris, Alexandros ; et
al. |
July 19, 2001 |
Declarative message addressing
Abstract
A messaging system, and method of operation thereof, which
supports combinations of directory and mailing list addressing
mechanisms. Intended message recipients are specified as
declarative addresses, which may include combinations of directory
and mailing list information. The messaging system includes a
messaging server and an address resolution module. The messaging
server receives a message from a sender system and transmits the
message to the recipient system. The address resolution module,
which is coupled to the messaging server, receives a declarative
address associated with the message, resolves the declarative
address into at least one messaging address and transmits the at
least one messaging address to the messaging server. In one
embodiment, a database system may be coupled to the address
resolution module to allow address resolution based on information
stored in a database. The address resolution module generates a
database query based on the declarative address and transmits the
generated query to a database system. The database system receives
a database query, retrieves at least one messaging address
specified by the query and transmits the retrieved at least one
messaging address to the address resolution module
Inventors: |
Biliris, Alexandros;
(Chatham, NJ) ; Hjahntysson, Gisli; (Gillette,
NJ) ; Jagadish, Hosagrahar Visvesvaraya; (Berkeley
Heights, NJ) ; Jones, Mark Alan; (New Providence,
NJ) ; Lee, Dongwon; (Los Angeles, CA) ;
Mumick, Inderpal Singh; (Berkeley Heights, NJ) ;
Panagos, Euthimios; (New Providence, NJ) ;
Srivastava, Divesh; (Summit, NJ) ; Vista,
Dimitra; (Philadelphia, PA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
MORGAN & FINNEGAN, L.L.P.
345 Park Avenue
New York
NY
10154
US
|
Family ID: |
21726673 |
Appl. No.: |
09/788634 |
Filed: |
February 21, 2001 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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09788634 |
Feb 21, 2001 |
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09007518 |
Jan 15, 1998 |
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6212552 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
709/245 ;
709/206 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04L 51/214
20220501 |
Class at
Publication: |
709/245 ;
709/206 |
International
Class: |
G06F 015/16 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A messaging system comprising: a messaging server, coupled to a
sender system, operable to receive a message from the sender system
and transmit the message to the recipient system; an address
resolution module, coupled to the messaging server, operable to
receive a declarative address associated with the message, resolve
the declarative address into at least one messaging address and
transmit the at least one messaging address to the messaging
server.
2. The messaging system of claim 1, further comprising: a database
system, coupled to the address resolution module, operable to
receive a database query, retrieve at least one messaging address
specified by the query and transmit the retrieved at least one
messaging address; and wherein the address resolution module is
further operable to generate a database query based on the
declarative address, transmit the generated query to a database
system, and receive at least one retrieved messaging address from
the database system.
3. The messaging system of claim 2, wherein the messaging server is
further operable to transmit the message to at least one recipient
system corresponding to the at least one messaging address.
4. The messaging system of claim 3, wherein the declarative address
specifies mailing list information and the at least one messaging
address is retrieved based on the specified mailing list
information.
5. The messaging system of claim 4, wherein the declarative address
further specifies directory information and the at least one
messaging address is retrieved based on the specified directory
information and mailing list information.
6. The messaging system of claim 5, wherein the message is an
e-mail message.
7. The messaging system of claim 5, wherein the message is a
voice-mail message.
8. The messaging system of claim 5, wherein the message is a fax
message.
9. The messaging system of claim 5, wherein the message is a
conference call.
10. The messaging system of claim 5, wherein the message is a
paging message.
11. A method of messaging, comprising the steps of: receiving a
declarative address associated with a message; resolving the
declarative address into at least one messaging address; and
transmitting the message to the at least one messaging address.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein the resolving step comprises
the steps of: generating a database query based on the received
declarative address; and retrieving the at least one messaging
address from a database using the generated database query.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein the declarative address
specifies mailing list information and the retrieving step
comprises the step of: retrieving the at least one messaging
address based on the specified mailing list information.
14. The method of claim 13, wherein the declarative address further
specifies directory information and the retrieving step comprises
the step of: retrieving the at least one messaging address based on
the specified directory information and mailing list
information.
15. The method of claim 14, wherein the message is an e-mail
message.
16. The method of claim 14, wherein the message is a voice-mail
message.
17. The method of claim 14, wherein the message is a fax
message.
18. The method of claim 14, wherein the message is a conference
call.
19. The method of claim 14, wherein the message is a paging
message.
20. A declarative address, for specifying messaging addresses,
comprising: an operand, specifying at least one messaging address
based on a property associated with at least one message recipient
associated with the at least one messaging address, wherein the
property relates to information in a mailing list of message
recipients; and an operator, specifying an operation to be
performed on the at least one messaging address specified by the
operand.
21. The declarative address of claim 20, wherein the property
further relates to information in a directory of message
recipients.
22. A method of defining a mailing list of message recipients,
comprising the steps of: specifying a mailing list identifier;
specifying a declarative address; assigning the declarative address
to the mailing list identifier.
23. The method of claim 22, wherein the declarative address
comprises: an operand specifying at least one messaging address
based on a property associated with at least one message recipient
associated with the at least one messaging address, wherein the
property relates to information in a mailing list of message
recipients; and an operator, specifying an operation to be
performed on the least one messaging address specified by the
operand.
24. The declarative address of claim 23, wherein the property
further relates to information in a directory of message
recipients.
25. A method of messaging, comprising the steps of: receiving a
declarative address specification; generating a declarative address
based on the received declarative address specification and
transmitting the declarative address to an address resolution
module; translating the declarative address into a database query
and transmitting the database query to a database system;
retrieving at least one messaging address from the database system
based on the query and transmitting the at least one messaging
address to the address resolution module; and transmitting the
message to the at least one messaging address.
26. The method of claim 25, wherein the declarative address
specifies mailing list information and the retrieving step
comprises the step of: retrieving the at least one messaging
address based on the specified mailing list information.
27. The method of claim 26, wherein the declarative address further
specifies directory information and the retrieving step comprises
the step of: retrieving the at least one messaging address based on
the specified directory information and mailing list
information.
28. The method of claim 27, wherein the message is an e-mail
message.
29. The method of claim 27, wherein the message is a voice-mail
message.
30. The method of claim 27, wherein the message is a fax
message.
31. The method of claim 27, wherein the message is a conference
call.
32. The method of claim 27, wherein the message is a paging
message.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to specifying, generating and
evaluating messaging addresses in a messaging system
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] When an electronic mail (e-mail) message is sent, the
intended recipients of the message are typically specified by
listing their e-mail identifiers. For example, an e-mail address
might be specified as "login-id@domain-name". Such an address
uniquely identifies the recipient globally.
[0003] However, a need arises to specify the intended recipients of
a message, not by their identities, but rather by properties
associated with the recipients. For example, desired sets of
recipients might be described by the properties: "company employees
interested in databases", "company employees who work in New
Jersey", "company employees interested in databases and who work in
New Jersey", etc. Such property-based addressing is currently
supported by two distinct mechanisms.
[0004] One prior art mechanism that supports property-based
addressing is directory addressing. Use of a directory allows for
the specification of a combination of attribute value pairs to
select an intended set of recipients. The attribute names must be
part of the directory schema. For example, a company e-mail
directory of employees may have attributes indicating the state in
which each employee works and the salary grade or title of each
employee. Prior art systems allow the use of conjunctive
specifications of the form "state=nj:tl=SGD", where "state=nj"
specifies the state of New Jersey, "tl=SGD" specifies a title of
"SGD" and ":" is the conjunction operator. Thus, this specification
would indicate all company employees who work in New Jersey and who
have a title of "SGD". Such a directory based addressing scheme is
described in commonly-owned U.S. patent application Ser. No.
08/581,654 by Mark Jones, which is hereby incorporated by
reference.
[0005] Another prior art mechanism that supports property-based
addressing is mailing lists. Mailing lists are a mechanism for
creating lists of identities of message recipients. Once a mailing
list is defined, a message sender may select a set of intended
recipients without actually knowing the identities of the
recipients. For example, a mailing list designated "codb" may
contain the identities of company employees interested in
databases, and a mailing list "comsg" may contain the identities of
company employees who are interested in messaging.
[0006] Current messaging systems are limited in that they do not
support combinations of directory and mailing list addressing
mechanisms, even though some current messaging systems support each
mechanism separately. For example, it is not currently possible to
specify that the intended recipients of a message are "company
employees whose salary grade is SGD and who are members of the
`codb` mailing list". A related limitation is that current
messaging systems that support the use of mailing lists do not
permit the specification of intended recipients using arbitrary
combinations of individual mailing lists. For example, it is not
currently possible to specify that the intended recipients of a
message are "company employees who are in the intersection of the
mailing lists `codb` and `comsg` ".
[0007] Another limitation of current messaging systems is that
membership in mailing lists must be explicitly enumerated, and
cannot make use of directory information. For example, it is not
currently possible to specify that members of the mailing list
"ha6117" are "company employees whose organization code in the
directory is HA6117000". This may lead to replication of
information and potential inconsistencies in the information
maintained.
[0008] A need arises for a technique which supports combinations of
directory and mailing list addressing mechanisms, provides the
capability to specify intended message recipients using
combinations of mailing list and directory information and does not
require mailing lists to be explicitly enumerated.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0009] The present invention is a messaging system, and method of
operation thereof, which supports combinations of directory and
mailing list addressing mechanisms, provides the capability to
specify intended message recipients using combinations of mailing
list and directory information and does not require mailing lists
to be explicitly enumerated. The present invention allows intended
message recipients to be specified as declarative addresses, which
may include combinations of directory and mailing list
information.
[0010] A messaging system, according to the present invention,
includes a messaging server and an address resolution module. The
messaging server receives a message from a sender system and
transmits the message to the recipient system. The address
resolution module, which is coupled to the messaging server,
receives a declarative address associated with the message,
resolves the declarative address into at least one messaging
address and transmits the at least one messaging address to the
messaging server.
[0011] In one embodiment, a database system may be coupled to the
address resolution module to allow address resolution based on
information stored in a database. The address resolution module
generates a database query based on the declarative address and
transmits the generated query to a database system. The database
system receives a database query, retrieves at least one messaging
address specified by the query and transmits the retrieved at least
one messaging address to the address resolution module.
[0012] The declarative address may specify directory information,
mailing list information, or a combination of directory information
and mailing list information.
[0013] The present invention is operable with electronic message of
all kinds, including, for example, e-mail messages, voice-mail
messages, fax messages, conference calls, and paging messages.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014] The details of the present invention, both as to its
structure and operation, can best be understood by referring to the
accompanying drawings, in which like reference numbers and
designations refer to like elements.
[0015] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a messaging system, according
to the present invention.
[0016] FIG. 2a is a flow diagram of one embodiment of a messaging
process, implemented in the system of FIG. 1.
[0017] FIG. 2b is a flow diagram of another embodiment of a
messaging process, implemented in the system of FIG. 1.
[0018] FIG. 3a is an exemplary screen, which allows a user to
specify an exemplary address, in the system of FIG. 1.
[0019] FIG. 3b is an exemplary screen, which allows a user to
transmit a declarative address for evaluation, in the system of
FIG. 1.
[0020] FIG. 3c is an exemplary screen, which displays the message
addresses resulting from the evaluation of a declarative address,
in the system of FIG. 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0021] The property based message addressing scheme of the present
invention combines the advantages of both the directory and the
mailing list approaches. The present invention allows intended
recipients to be specified as a combination of attribute-value
pairs and membership in individual mailing lists. Further, the
present invention allows membership in mailing lists to make use of
directory information.
[0022] A messaging system 100, according to the present invention,
is shown in FIG. 1. A user desiring to send a message operates
sender system 102, which includes declarative address input and
generation block 104. Sender system 102 is typically a computer
system, such as a personal computer or workstation, but may also be
a minicomputer or mainframe, or a device such as a fax machine,
telephone, etc. The present invention is applicable to any
electronic message type, such as voice messages, FAX messages,
paging messages, conference calls, etc. For clarity, only one
sender system is shown, which is representative of a plurality of
sender systems.
[0023] Declarative address input and generation block 104 is
typically software running on sender system 102. Sender system 102
is communicatively connected to messaging server 106 over a
communication network. The communication network depends on the
implementation and may include any well-known network, such as the
Internet, a private local or wide-area network, the public switched
telephone network, a wireless network, etc.
[0024] Messaging server 106 includes message storage and
transmission block 108. Message storage and transmission block 108
is typically a combination of hardware and software, which receives
messages and stores the received messages. In one embodiment, the
received messages are transmitted to the addressed recipients. In
another embodiment, the received messages are available for access
by the addressed recipients.
[0025] Messaging server 106 is communicatively connected to address
resolution module 110. Address resolution module 110 receives a
declarative address from messaging server 106, resolves the
declarative address into a list of individual e-mail addresses and
sends the address list to messaging server 106, for use in
transmitting or providing access to the messages to the recipients
in the address list. Address resolution module 110 may be separate
from messaging server 106 and database system 114, or it may be
included in either messaging server 106 or database system 114.
Address resolution module 110 may be implemented as software
running on messaging server 106 or database system 114. If address
resolution module 110 is separate, it may be located near messaging
server 106, in which case the communications connection may be, for
example, a direct connection or a local area network. Address
resolution module 110 may be located geographically distant from
messaging server 106 and/or backend database system 114, in which
case the communication connections may be, for example, a wide area
network, the public switched telephone network or the Internet.
Address resolution module 110 is also communicatively connected to
backend database system 114. Backend database system 114 may also
be connected to messaging server 106, but this is not required for
the present invention.
[0026] Messaging server 106 is communicatively connected to
recipient systems 112A-Z using any well-known communication
network. Each recipient system 112A-Z is typically a computer
system, such as a personal computer or workstation, but may also be
a minicomputer or mainframe, or a device such as a fax machine,
telephone, etc. These devices may be communicatively connected to
messaging server 106 by local or wide area networks, the Internet,
the public switched telephone network, wireless telecommunication
networks, etc., as is appropriate for the particular device.
Although, in FIG. 1, system 102 is designated a sender system and
systems 112A-Z are designated recipient systems, these designations
are functional only. In fact, both sender and recipient systems are
typically similar devices and are capable of performing both sender
and recipient functions. Messaging server 106 may operate either as
a store and forward server, or as a store and access server. In a
store and forward server, stored messages are automatically
transmitted to the recipient systems, without additional action by
the recipient systems. In a store and access server, stored
messages are held for the recipient systems, which must take the
action of accessing the stored messages. In a store and access
server, a notification may be automatically sent to the recipient
systems, but action by the recipient systems is required to access
the actual messages.
[0027] Backend database system 114 includes query evaluation block
116 and database 118, which includes directory information 120 and
mailing list information 122. Query evaluation block 116 receives a
query, accesses database 118 to retrieve the information requested
by the query and transmits the retrieved information. Database 118
includes information relating to users of the messaging system.
Directory 120 includes information such as messaging address, name,
location, department, etc. for each messaging system user. Mailing
lists 122 include information identifying those users who are
included in one or more mailing lists. Although directory 120 and
mailing lists 122 are shown as separate blocks, this arrangement is
shown to aid in understanding the functioning of the present
invention. The actual organization of database 118 is dependent
upon the implementation, the selection of which is well within the
knowledge of one skilled in the art. For example, mailing list
block 122 may represent mailing list information separate from
directory 120, or mailing list block 122 may represent mailing list
information within directory 120. As another example, in one
embodiment, database 118 may be organized to accept queries
conforming to the standard Lightweight Directory Access Protocol
(LDAP). Other embodiments are also possible, such as a database
accepting queries in the standard Structured Query Language
(SQL).
[0028] One embodiment of a messaging process 200, according to the
present invention, is shown in FIG. 2a. The process begins with
step 202, in which a user, who desires to send a message to one or
more recipients, inputs the message, which may be an email, voice,
video, fax, paging message, etc., into sender system 102. The user
specifies the recipients of the message by entering specifications
for a declarative address into declarative address input and
generation block 104. The user may enter the declarative address
directly, in which case step 203 is not necessary, and the process
skips to step 204, in which the declarative address is transmitted
to messaging server 106. Alternatively, the user may manipulate a
text-based or graphical user interface to enter relevant
information, in which case, in step 203, block 104 generates the
declarative address from the information entered. Then, in step
204, the declarative address is transmitted to messaging server
106.
[0029] In step 206, address resolution module 110 receives the
declarative address and translates it to a query or set of queries
compatible with backend database system 114. Address resolution
module 110 generates a set of queries that is optimized to improve
performance and decrease loading on database system 114. The number
and content of the queries generated depend on the data access
scheme being used, such as LDAP or SQL, and on additional
annotation information that may be added to the database structure.
Such information is an implementation tradeoff which increases
performance, but also increases cost due to the additional
annotation information which must be stored in the database. The
query or set of queries is transmitted to backend database system
114.
[0030] In step 208, query evaluation block 116 of backend database
system 114 receives the query or set of queries, accesses database
118 to retrieve the information requested by the queries and
transmits the retrieved information to address resolution module
110. Address resolution module 110 then transmits the resolved
addresses to messaging server 106. The retrieved information is a
list of the messaging addresses of all users who satisfy the
selection parameters specified by the declarative address that was
generated by sender system 102. In step 210, messaging server 106
receives the address list and, in one embodiment, transmits the
message to all addresses included in the list. Typically, the list
is not transmitted along with the message, so the contents of the
list is not revealed to the recipients. In another embodiment,
after messaging server 106 receives the address list, it allows the
addressed recipients to access the message. In this embodiment,
messaging server 106 may optionally send a notification that the
message is available to be accessed to the addressed
recipients.
[0031] Another embodiment of a messaging process 250, according to
the present invention, is shown in FIG. 2b. The process begins with
step 252, in which a user specifies the recipients of the message
by entering specifications for a declarative address into
declarative address input and generation block 104. The user may
enter the declarative address directly, in which case step 253 is
not necessary, and the process skips to step 254, in which the
declarative address is transmitted to messaging server 106.
Alternatively, the user may manipulate a text-based or graphical
user interface to enter relevant information, in which case, in
step 253, block 104 generates the declarative address from the
information entered. Then, in step 254, the declarative address is
transmitted to messaging server 106.
[0032] In step 256, address resolution module 110 of messaging
server 106 receives the declarative address, translates it to a
query or set of queries compatible with backend database system 114
and transmits the queries to backend database system 114. In step
258, query evaluation block 116 of backend database system 114
receives the query or set of queries, accesses database 118 to
retrieve the information requested by the queries and transmits the
retrieved information to address resolution module 110. The
retrieved information is a list of the messaging addresses of all
users who satisfy the selection parameters specified by the
declarative address that was generated by sender system 102. In
step 260, messaging server 106 receives the address list and
transmits the list to sender system 102, where the list is
displayed to the user. In step 262, the user enters a message into
sender system 102, the message is received by messaging server 106
and, in one embodiment, the message is transmitted to all addresses
included in the list.
[0033] Declarative addressing is useful to specify an intended set
of recipients based on their properties. There are several types of
information which may be specified in a declarative address:
filters of directory information, mailing lists and/or filters of
mailing lists, and logical combinations thereof.
[0034] Persons have a variety of personal, organizational and
contact attributes associated with them, such as, electronic mail,
name, telephone numbers, addresses, etc. Typically, such
information is stored in the form of a directory. One form of
declarative address is a filter which selects the desired set of
persons from among those in the directory using a combination of
values known for selected attributes. A filter may, for example, be
specified as a parenthesized prefix expression using the logical
operators union (OR, "I"), intersection (AND, "&") and
complementation (NOT, "!"), and operands that are themselves
filters. The union and intersection operators accept one or more
operands, while the complementation operator accepts a single
operand. Operator precedence may be default or may be provided by
parenthesization. Examples of declarative addresses based on
directory information include:
[0035] (mail=user1@xyz.com)
[0036] This address specifies all persons whose e-mail address is
"user1@xyz.com"
[0037] (cn=*abc*)
[0038] This address specifies all persons whose full name contains
the string "abc"
[0039] (&(ou=ha617*)(!(title=*manager*)))
[0040] This address specifies all persons in any organizational
department that begins with the string "ha617" and whose title does
not contain the string "manager".
[0041] Declarative addresses may be specified by giving the name of
the mailing list (also known as a distribution list or mailing
alias) to which the person belongs. Combinations of mailing list
contents may also be specified using the operators described above.
Examples of declarative addresses based on mailing list information
include:
[0042] (& (codb) (comsg))
[0043] This address specifies all persons in the intersection of
the mailing list "codb" (all persons at a particular company who
are interested in databases) and the mailing list "comsg" (all
persons at the company who are interested in messaging).
[0044] (& (projectdb) (!(outsidedb))
[0045] This address specifies all persons in the mailing list
"projectdb" (all persons involved in a particular project) who are
not also included in the mailing list "outsidedb" (all persons
involved with the company who are not company employees).
[0046] Declarative addresses may be specified based on combinations
of information from a directory and one or more mailing lists.
Uniform syntax in specifying each type of information allows such
combinations to be easily specified. Examples of declarative
addresses based on combinations of directory and mailing list
information include:
[0047] (& (project2) (tl=SGD))
[0048] This address all persons in the mailing list "project2"
whose directory entries indicate that their title is "SGD".
[0049] (I(&(project2) (tl=SGD)) (jsmith@xyz.com))
[0050] This address is similar to the previous example, but also
includes the enumerated message address "jsmith@xyz.com", which
shows that enumerated addresses may optionally be included in
declarative addresses.
[0051] A declarative address may be used directly to specify
intended recipients for one or more messages, or a declarative
address may be used to define new mailing lists. A mailing list
definition that uses declarative addressing is termed a declarative
mailing list definition. For example, declarative addresses, such
as those shown above, may be used to define a new mailing list:
[0052] (dbmsg:(& (codb) (comsg)))
[0053] This address specifies a new mailing list "dbmsg" that
includes all persons in the intersection of the mailing list "codb"
(all persons at a particular company interested in databases) and
the mailing list "comsg" (all persons interested in messaging).
[0054] (insidelist:(& (projectdb) (!(outsidedb)))
[0055] This address specifies a new mailing list "insidelist" that
includes all persons in the mailing list "projectdb" (all persons
involved in a particular project) who are not also included in the
mailing list "outsidedb" (all persons involved with the company who
are not company employees).
[0056] (project2:(& (project1) (tl=SGD)))
[0057] This address specifies a new mailing list "project2" that
includes all persons in the mailing list "project1" whose directory
entries indicate that their title is "SGD".
[0058] (project2: (I(&(project1) (tl=SGD))
(jsmith@xyz.com)))
[0059] This address is similar to the previous example, but the
resulting mailing list "project2" also includes the enumerated
message address "jsmith@xyz.com", which shows that enumerated
addresses may optionally be included in declarative mailing list
definitions.
[0060] A mailing list that has been defined using declarative
addressing may itself be used as an operand in a declarative
address, or in a declarative mailing list definition. For
example:
[0061] (project3:(I(project1)(project2)))
[0062] This defines a new mailing list "project3" that includes all
persons in the mailing lists "project1" and "project2". The mailing
list "project3" may itself be used as an operand in a declarative
address, such as:
[0063] (& (project3) (tl=SGD))
[0064] This address specifies all persons in the mailing list
"project3" whose directory entries indicate that their title is
"SGD". Likewise, the mailing list "project3" may be used as an
operand in a declarative mailing list definition, such as:
[0065] (project4:(&(project3) (tl=SGD)))
[0066] This defines a new mailing list "project4" that includes all
persons in the mailing list "project3" whose directory entries
indicate that their title is "SGD".
[0067] The examples shown above are illustrative only and are not
limiting in any way.
[0068] An exemplary screen 300, which allows a user to specify a
declarative address, is shown in FIG. 3a. The user selects
information and condition options in box 302 and the resulting
declarative address specification that has been generated by
declarative address input and generation block of FIG. 1 is
displayed in box 304.
[0069] An exemplary screen 310, which allows a user to transmit a
declarative address for evaluation, is shown in FIG. 3b. The
declarative address to be evaluated is displayed to the user in box
312.
[0070] An exemplary screen 320, which displays the message
addresses resulting from the evaluation of a declarative address,
is shown in FIG. 3c. The list of message addresses is shown in box
322. Although email addresses are shown in this example, any type
of message addresses may be displayed.
[0071] Although specific embodiments of the present invention have
been described, it will be understood by those of skill in the art
that there are other embodiments that are equivalent to the
described embodiments. Accordingly, it is to be understood that the
invention is not to be limited by the specific illustrated
embodiments, but only by the scope of the appended claims.
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