Web site application development method using object model for managing web-based content
First Claim
1. A method for developing an application for serving a document to a client in a client/server network comprising the following basic steps:
- (a) defining a template for an intended document which specifies aspects of structure and content that the intended document is to have;
(b) defining at least one template extension for the intended document in a hierarchy with the template which specifies other aspects of structure and other content that the intended document is to have, wherein the template extension inherits the structure and content specified in the template;
(c) defining a document which refers to the template hierarchy of said template and said at least one template extension;
(d) defining a plurality of content objects to be incorporated in the intended document and referencing the content objects in the template, template extension, and/or document in order to cause the content objects to be incorporated in any resulting document;
(e) storing the template hierarchy of said template, at least one template extension, document, and content objects in a storage repository; and
(f) generating a resulting document in response to a client request by retrieving the template hierarchy and combining the structure and content inherited from said template and at least one template extension with the document and the content objects referenced therein.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for developing an application for serving a document to a client in a client/server network employs an Object Model which defines templates, extensions, documents, and content objects in a template inheritance model. The Object Model serves a document, such as a webpage of a Web site application, by combining the structure and content inherited from a template and extensions in the template hierarchy. The templates specify the structure of the document and include tags as placeholders for content objects to be incorporated in the document. Extensions descend from either a template or another extension, and can expand upon the number of tags specified in a parent, add additional formatting to the layout, and/or refine the definition of tags that already exist in the inheritance hierarchy. When a document is to be viewed or served, a page server retrieves the template hierarchy and incorporates all tagged content in the structure inherited from the template and its extensions. The Object Model provides a framework for developing Web sites and other applications that is more robust and simpler to manage than the traditional file directory model of conventional Web applications. This framework makes it possible to create complex and highly structured Web applications that are efficient to develop and easier to maintain, and without ever having to write source code.
-
Citations
20 Claims
-
1. A method for developing an application for serving a document to a client in a client/server network comprising the following basic steps:
-
(a) defining a template for an intended document which specifies aspects of structure and content that the intended document is to have;
(b) defining at least one template extension for the intended document in a hierarchy with the template which specifies other aspects of structure and other content that the intended document is to have, wherein the template extension inherits the structure and content specified in the template;
(c) defining a document which refers to the template hierarchy of said template and said at least one template extension;
(d) defining a plurality of content objects to be incorporated in the intended document and referencing the content objects in the template, template extension, and/or document in order to cause the content objects to be incorporated in any resulting document;
(e) storing the template hierarchy of said template, at least one template extension, document, and content objects in a storage repository; and
(f) generating a resulting document in response to a client request by retrieving the template hierarchy and combining the structure and content inherited from said template and at least one template extension with the document and the content objects referenced therein. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
-
-
12. A system for developing an application for serving a document to a client in a client/server network comprising:
-
(a) an object model framework for defining structure and content in a template hierarchy including a master template, at least one template extension, a document, and content objects to be incorporated in any resulting document associated with the template hierarchy, wherein the document inherits structure and content objects defined in a parent template extension, the parent template extension inherits structure and content objects defined in any further template extension, and the furthest of any template extension inherits structure and content objects defined in the master template;
(b) an editor component having a visual interface to enable a user of the system to create and edit a template hierarchy by visually-oriented commands;
(c) a repository for storing data defining the template hierarchy created by the user using the editor component and visual interface; and
(d) a page server for generating a resulting document in response to a client request by retrieving the template hierarchy data from the repository and combining the structure and content objects inherited from said template and at least one template extension with the document and the content objects referenced therein into the resulting document.
-
Specification