Customizing content provided by a service

• US 20020120684A1
• Filed: 09/05/2001
• Published: 08/29/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 09/06/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Oracle International Corporation (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Oracle International Corporation (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Christfort, Jacob, Chone, Jeremy
• Granted Patent: US 7,089,295 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9577 Optimising the visualization of content, e.g. distillation of HTML documents
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/303 Terminal profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/564 Enhancement of application control based on intercepted application data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/565 Conversion or adaptation of application format or content adding application control or application functional data H04L67/561
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/567 Integrating service provisioning from a plurality of service providers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/568 Storing data temporarily at an intermediate stage, e.g. caching

Abstract

A method and apparatus for providing a network based operating system for mobile clients is disclosed. Services may be developed that can be used to support different client devices with different capabilities. The services provide output with multiple variations based on different devices, and an intermediary selects the variation best suited for the requesting device. An online software development system is provided to allow services to create, edit, test, and deploy applications at an intermediary using only a browser at the client end. Services may also be provided that can be accessed and referred to by other services, thereby facilitating the combining of different services. Services may also store and access data at an intermediary using variables and a mapping of the stored data to the variables. Data stored at the intermediary may be used to allow an end user to return to a previously accessed service.

Claims

1. A method for customizing content provided by a service in response to a request, the method comprising the computer-implemented steps of:

receiving data from said service, wherein the data includes a plurality of output segments;

wherein each output segment of said plurality of output segments is, relative to the other output segments in said plurality of output segments, a mutually exclusive response to at least a portion of said request;

identifying, based on one or more parameters, a particular output segment from said plurality of output segments to include in a reply to said request;

generating said reply to the request, wherein said reply includes said particular output segment; and

sending said reply in response to said request.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein each output segment of said plurality of output segments is associated with one or more conditions, and wherein the step of identifying said particular output segment comprises the computer-implemented steps of:

comparing said one or more parameters to said one or more conditions; and

selecting said particular output segment based on the results of said comparing step.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein each output segment of said plurality of output segments is accompanied by data that specifies said one or more conditions, and wherein the step comparing said one or more parameters to said one or more conditions comprises the computer-implemented step of:

comparing said one or more parameters to said data that specifies said one or more conditions.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein each of said one or more conditions is either satisfied or not satisfied, and wherein the step of comparing said one or more parameters to said one or more conditions further comprises the computer-implemented steps of:

identifying one or more output segments for which said one or more conditions are satisfied; and

selecting said particular output segment from said one or more output segments.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein each output segment of said plurality of output segments is associated with a condition in a hierarchy of conditions, and wherein the step of identifying said particular output segment comprises the computer-implemented step of:

determining said particular output segment based on comparing said one or more parameters to conditions in said hierarchy of conditions.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein each condition has a particular position in said hierarchy of conditions, wherein each condition is either satisfied or not satisfied, and wherein the step of identifying said particular output segment further comprises the computer-implemented steps of:

identifying in said hierarchy of conditions a plurality of conditions that are satisfied and that correspond to one of said plurality of output segments;

selecting, from said plurality of conditions, a particular condition that is at least as low in said hierarchy of conditions as any other of said plurality of conditions in said plurality of conditions; and

identifying said particular output segment based on said particular condition being associated with said particular output segment.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein said hierarchy of conditions is organized based on parent-child relationships, and wherein each child condition corresponds to a subcategory of a category associated with each parent condition.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein said one or more parameters corresponds to a device type associated with a device to which said reply is to be sent.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein said device type corresponds to one model.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein said device type corresponds to a category that includes at least two models.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein said one or more parameters indicates a capability of a device to which said reply is to be sent.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein said one or more parameters indicates a characteristic associated with current environmental conditions.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein said characteristic is a measure of network congestion on a network over which said reply is to be delivered.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein said characteristic is a current time.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of generating said reply comprises the computer-implemented step of:

formatting said particular output segment based on a device type associated with a device to which said reply is to be sent.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein said step of formatting said particular output segment comprises the computer-implemented step of:

applying a style sheet that corresponds to said device type.

19. The computer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein each output segment of said plurality of output segments is associated with one or more conditions, and wherein the instructions for identifying said particular output segment further comprise instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to carry out the steps of:

comparing said one or more parameters to said one or more conditions; and

selecting said particular output segment based on the results of said comparing step.

20. The computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein each output segment of said plurality of output segments is accompanied by data that specifies said one or more conditions, and wherein the instructions for comparing said one or more parameters to said one or more conditions further comprise instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to carry out the step of:

comparing said one or more parameters to said data that specifies said one or more conditions.

21. The computer-readable medium of claim 20, wherein each of said one or more conditions is either satisfied or not satisfied, and wherein the instructions for comparing said one or more parameters to said one or more conditions further comprise instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to carry out the steps of:

identifying one or more output segments for which said one or more conditions are satisfied; and

selecting said particular output segment from said one or more output segments.

22. The computer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein each output segment of said plurality of output segments is associated with a condition in a hierarchy of conditions, and wherein the instructions for identifying said particular output segment further comprise instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to carry out the step of:

determining said particular output segment based on comparing said one or more parameters to conditions in said hierarchy of conditions.

23. The computer-readable medium of claim 22, wherein each condition has a particular position in said hierarchy of conditions, wherein each condition is either satisfied or not satisfied, and wherein the instructions for identifying said particular output segment further comprise instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to carry out the steps of:

identifying in said hierarchy of conditions a plurality of conditions that are satisfied and that correspond to one of said plurality of output segments;

selecting, from said plurality of conditions, a particular condition that is at least as low in said hierarchy of conditions as any other of said plurality of conditions in said plurality of conditions; and

identifying said particular output segment based on said particular condition being associated with said particular output segment.

24. The computer-readable medium of claim 22, wherein said hierarchy of conditions is organized based on parent-child relationships, and wherein each child condition corresponds to a subcategory of a category associated with each parent condition.

25. The computer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein said one or more parameters corresponds to a device type associated with a device to which said reply is to be sent.

26. The computer-readable medium of claim 25, wherein said device type corresponds to one model.

27. The computer-readable medium of claim 25, wherein said device type corresponds to a category that includes at least two models.

28. The computer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein said one or more parameters indicates a capability of a device to which said reply is to be sent.

29. The computer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein said one or more parameters indicates a characteristic associated with current environmental conditions.

30. The computer-readable medium of claim 29, wherein said characteristic is a measure of network congestion on a network over which said reply is to be delivered.

31. The computer-readable medium of claim 29, wherein said characteristic is a current time.

32. The computer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein the instructions for generating said reply further comprise instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to carry out the step of:

formatting said particular output segment based on a device type associated with a device to which said reply is to be sent.

33. The computer-readable medium of claim 32, wherein the instructions for formatting said particular output segment further comprise instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to carry out the step of:

applying a style sheet that corresponds to said device type.

17. A computer-readable medium carrying:

a plurality of alternative output segments, wherein each of said plurality of alternative output segments represents a variation of a set of data, wherein each variation of said set of data satisfies a request that is sent to a service;

a plurality of condition identifiers, wherein one or more of said plurality of condition identifiers are associated with each of said plurality of alternative output segments; and

wherein said one or more of said plurality of condition identifiers associated with each of said plurality of alternative output segments indicates whether to include said each of said plurality of alternative output segments in a response to said request.

18. A computer-readable medium carrying one or more sequences of instructions for customizing content provided by a service in response to a request, wherein execution of the one or more sequences of instructions by one or more processors causes the one or more processors to perform the steps of:

receiving data from said service, wherein the data includes a plurality of output segments;

wherein each output segment of said plurality of output segments is, relative to the other output segments in said plurality of output segments, a mutually exclusive response to at least a portion of said request;

identifying, based on one or more parameters, a particular output segment from said plurality of output segments to include in a reply to said request;

generating said reply to the request, wherein said reply includes said particular output segment; and

sending said reply in response to said request.