METHOD, SYSTEM AND PROGRAM PRODUCTS FOR SHARING STATE INFORMATION ACROSS DOMAINS

• US 20020007317A1
• Filed: 03/30/1998
• Published: 01/17/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 03/30/1998
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: CALLAGHAN, PATRICK JOSEPH, PRITKO, STEVEN M., HOWLAND, MICHAEL JAMES
• Granted Patent: US 7,302,402 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/26
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0633 Lists, e.g. purchase orders, compilation or processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0641 Shopping interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/142 Managing session states for stateless protocols; Signalling session states; State transitions; Keeping-state mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/56 Provisioning of proxy services store-and-forward switching systems in data switching networks H04L12/54
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/568 Storing data temporarily at an intermediate stage, e.g. caching

Abstract

State information is shared across domains. The state information is placed in one or more cookies that are shared across disjoint domains. An intermediary application is used, as one example, to enable the sharing of the state information (e.g., the cookies) across the different domains. The intermediary application is used to add state information to requests received from a client and to responses going to the client. Further, an intermediary application is used to cause a client to save state information for any range of Uniform Resource Locators (URLs), and to cause the client to send any previously stored state information to the intermediary application. Additionally, the intermediary application is used to cause state information previously saved by the client for one range of URLs to be subsequently saved by the client for one or more other range of URLs.

Claims

1. A method of sharing state information, said method comprising:

determining state information to be shared between a first domain and a second domain; and

sharing said state information between said first domain and said second domain, wherein said first domain and said second domain are non-cooperating.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said state information is stored within one or more cookies.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said first domain and said second domain are disjoint domains.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said sharing comprises:

adding state information of said first domain to a request to be sent to said second domain; and

sending said request, including said state information, to said second domain.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein said sharing further comprises receiving, by an intermediary application, said request from a client prior to said adding, and wherein said adding and said sending are performed by said intermediary application.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said sharing comprises:

adding state information of said first domain to a response associated with said second domain; and

sending said response, including said state information, to a client.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein said sharing further comprises saving said state information at said client, wherein said state information is saved for a specified range of Uniform Resource Locators associated with said second domain.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein said sharing is controlled by an intermediary application.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein said state information is representative of at least one of the following:

(a) login credentials to be used when accessing said first domain and said second domain; and

(b) items to be purchased in an on-line virtual shopping mall, wherein said first domain represents a first vendor of said on-line virtual shopping mall and said second domain represents a second vendor of said on-line virtual shopping mall.

10. A method of providing state information, said method comprising:

determining state information to be provided to at least one of a client and a server; and

using an intermediary application to provide said state information to at least one of said client and said server.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein said using comprises:

receiving, by said intermediary application, a request from said client; and

sending a response to said request from said intermediary application to said client, said response including said state information.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein said state information is provided to said client, and wherein said method further comprises saving said state information at said client for any specified range of Uniform Resource Locators.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising forwarding said state information saved at said client to said intermediary application.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising saving said state information for one or more other range of Uniform Resource Locators.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein said using comprises adding said state information to a request for said server.

16. The method of claim 10, wherein said using comprises adding said state information to a response for said client.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising saving, by said client, said state information for a specified range of Uniform Resource Locators.

18. A method of electronic shopping, said method comprising:

selecting a plurality of items to be purchased electronically from a plurality of vendors, said plurality of vendors being represented by a plurality of web sites; and

purchasing said plurality of items on-line via a single check out.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising placing said selected plurality of items in a shared shopping cart, said shared shopping cart being shared between said plurality of web sites.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein said shared shopping cart comprises one or more cookies representing said plurality of items to be purchased.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein said placing is controlled by an intermediary application coupled to said web sites.

22. A system of sharing state information, said system comprising:

means for determining state information to be shared between a first domain and a second domain; and

means for sharing said state information between said first domain and said second domain, wherein said first domain and said second domain are non-cooperating.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein said state information is stored within one or more cookies.

24. The system of claim 22, wherein said means for sharing comprises:

means for adding state information of said first domain to a request to be sent to said second domain; and

means for sending said request, including said state information, to said second domain.

25. The system of claim 24, further comprising an intermediary application adapted to receive said request from a client prior to said adding, and adapted to add said state information to said request and to send said request.

26. The system of claim 22, wherein said means for sharing comprises:

means for adding state information of said first domain to a response associated with said second domain; and

means for sending said response, including said state information, to a client.

27. The system of claim 26, wherein said client is adapted to save said state information for a specified range of Uniform Resource Locators associated with said second domain.

28. The system of claim 22, wherein said means for sharing comprises an intermediary application.

29. The system of claim 22, wherein said state information is representative of at least one of the following:

(a) login credentials to be used when accessing said first domain and said second domain; and

(b) items to be purchased in an on-line virtual shopping mall, wherein said first domain represents a first vendor of said on-line virtual shopping mall and said second domain represents a second vendor of said on-line virtual shopping mall.

30. A system of providing state information, said system comprising:

means for determining state information to be provided to at least one of a client and a server; and

an intermediary application adapted to provide said state information to at least one of said client and said server.

31. The system of claim 30, wherein said intermediary application is further adapted to:

receive a request from said client; and

send a response to said request to said client, said response including said state information.

32. The system of claim 30, wherein said state information is provided to said client, and wherein said client is adapted to save said state information for any specified range of Uniform Resource Locators.

33. The system of claim 32, further comprising means for forwarding said state information saved at said client to said intermediary application.

34. The system of claim 32, further comprising means for saving said state information for one or more other range of Uniform Resource Locators.

35. The system of claim 30, wherein said intermediary application is adapted to add said state information to a request for said server.

36. The system of claim 30, wherein said intermediary application is adapted to add said state information to a response for said client.

37. The system of claim 36, wherein said client is adapted to save said state information for a specified range of Uniform Resource Locators.

38. A system of electronic shopping, said system comprising:

means for selecting a plurality of items to be purchased electronically from a plurality of vendors, said plurality of vendors being represented by a plurality of web sites; and

means for purchasing said plurality of items on-line via a single check out.

39. The system of claim 38, further comprising a shared shopping cart adapted to receive said selected plurality of items, said shared shopping cart being shared between said plurality of web sites.

40. The system of claim 39, wherein said shared shopping cart comprises one or more cookies representing said plurality of items to be purchased.

41. The system of claim 39, further comprising an intermediary application coupled to said plurality of web sites, said intermediary application adapted to associate said selected plurality of items with said shared shopping cart.

42. An article of manufacture, comprising:

at least one computer useable medium having computer readable program code means embodied therein for causing the sharing of state information, the computer readable program code means in said article of manufacture comprising;

computer readable program code means for causing a computer to determine state information to be shared between a first domain and a second domain; and

computer readable program code means for causing a computer to share said state information between said first domain and said second domain, wherein said first domain and said second domain are non-cooperating.

43. The article of manufacture of claim 42, wherein said state information is stored within one or more cookies.

44. The article of manufacture of claim 42, wherein said computer readable program code means for causing a computer to share comprises:

computer readable program code means for causing a computer to add state information of said first domain to a request to be sent to said second domain; and

computer readable program code means for causing a computer to send said request, including said state information, to said second domain.

45. The article of manufacture of claim 42, wherein said computer readable program code means for causing a computer to share comprises:

computer readable program code means for causing a computer to add state information of said first domain to a response associated with said second domain; and

computer readable program code means for causing a computer to send said response, including said state information, to a client.

46. The article of manufacture of claim 45, further comprising computer readable program code means for causing a computer to save said state information at said client, wherein said state information is saved for a specified range of Uniform Resource Locators associated with said second domain.

47. An article of manufacture, comprising:

at least one computer useable medium having computer readable program code means embodied therein for causing the providing of state information, the computer readable program code means in said article of manufacture comprising;

computer readable program code means for causing a computer to determine state information to be provided to at least one of a client and a server; and

computer readable program code means for causing a computer to use an intermediary application to provide said state information to at least one of said client and said server.

48. The article of manufacture of claim 47, wherein said state information is provided to said client, and wherein said article of manufacture further comprises computer readable program code means for causing a computer to save said state information at said client for any specified range of Uniform Resource Locators.

49. The article of manufacture of claim 48, further comprising computer readable program code means for causing a computer to save said state information for one or more other range of Uniform Resource Locators.

50. At least one program storage device readable by a machine, tangibly embodying at least one program of instructions executable by the machine to perform a method of electronic shopping, said method comprising:

selecting a plurality of items to be purchased electronically from a plurality of vendors, said plurality of vendors being represented by a plurality of web sites; and

purchasing said plurality of items on-line via a single check out.