Message State Management for Scalable Instant Messaging
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing instant messaging technologies lack effective methods to manage messages, particularly in scenarios where deleted messages need to be displayed while preventing other users from extracting, forwarding, or starting conversations with them, resulting in low scalability.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus that manage message states, allowing deleted messages to exist while preventing operations on them by setting the message state to 'deleted', enabling display in specific applications while maintaining message integrity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the server absolutely deletes the message according to the index carried in the request, then the message is completely removed and cannot be accessed by other users, but other users cannot perform operations such as extracting or forwarding the message or opening conversation on the message, and the scalability is low
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a copy of the message data when deleting a message. The original message is preserved in the database with a deletion flag set, while the user's local client receives notification that the message is deleted. This allows the message to remain accessible to other users who haven't deleted it, while the requesting user experiences it as deleted. This copying approach resolves the contradiction by maintaining message availability for others while achieving deletion效果 for the specific user.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the message is absolutely deleted from the server, then the message cannot be extracted or forwarded by other users, but the need to display deleted messages in specific applications cannot be met
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by setting a deletion flag on the message record in the database rather than physically removing the data. This allows different users to have different perceptions of the same message based on their individual deletion actions. The message remains in the database with modified status attributes, enabling selective visibility and operation permissions for different user groups while maintaining data integrity and flexibility for various application scenarios.
3Quantity of substance
If the server stores all kinds of information published by users, then the information is preserved for future access, but the management of all kinds of information becomes complex and difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the deletion status information from the physical message data structure and stores it as a separate flag or attribute in the database. This separation allows the message content to be preserved and easily accessible while the deletion status is independently managed. The index structure and message data are decoupled, with the index pointing to message data that has its own status metadata, simplifying the management of large volumes of information.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention provides a method and an apparatus for managing message, including: receiving a request to perform a predetermined operation by a first user on a first message, the first message published by a second user and was previously obtained by the first user before the request to perform the predetermined operation, the request comprising information associated with the predetermined operation on the first message; determining status information of the first message based on a first index of the first message; sending the first message to the first user based on the status information.