Software architecture for a computer telephony system

Abstract

A software architecture for a computer telephony server for simultaneously implementing a plurality of messaging applications is provided. The server includes a processor, a memory and a plurality of slots connected to the processor through a high-speed bus, each of the plurality of slots being adapted to receive an interface card for connecting the server to an external resource. The server further includes a session having a thread of execution on the processor and controlling a subset of the memory and a telephone line resource. The call processing behavior of the session is defined by a first user agent which represent a known user of the server. The first user agent includes a first scenario and a first set of properties. The first scenario includes a plurality of event-application pairs, each pair representing a valid event and a corresponding application that is executed when the valid event is detected. The first set of properties includes fixed properties for customizing standard features of the first user agent and named properties for customizing the behavior of the applications from the first scenario. The first scenario and the first set of properties can be altered during runtime of the server, thereby allowing the call processing behavior of the server to be changed. The software architecture also supports the inheritance of user agent features from a parent user agent to a child user agent such that changes made to the parent user agent are immediately inherited by the child user agent during runtime.