Patent AT-E400847-T1: [Translated] BIDIRECTIONAL METHOD-TO-METHOD BYTE STREAM PROTOCOL

A client system stores messages (710) and sends the messages to a server system. The messages are included in a request formatted (720) according to a protocol that can traverse a firewall. The server system also stores messages and sends the messages to the client system. The server system waits for a first request and a second request from the client system (740). If the first request has been received and a particular number of messages have accumulated at the server system, then the server system will send a response corresponding to the first request. If the second request is received (740), the server system will send the response (760) corresponding to the first request even if no messages have accumulated. The next time the client system sends a request, the request will include an indication of which messages the client system received from the server system in the last response.