Distributed hypermedia method and system for automatically invoking external application providing interaction and display of embedded objects within a hypermedia document

• US 20030154261A1
• Filed: 08/09/2002
• Published: 08/14/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 10/17/1994
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Eolas Technologies, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Regents of the University of California (University of California)
• Inventors: Doyle, Michael D., Ang, Cheong S., Martin, David C.
• Granted Patent: US 7,599,985 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/218
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/957 Browsing optimisation, e.g. caching or content distillation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/509 Offload
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/541 Client-server
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/549 Remote execution
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5027 the resource being a machine, e.g. CPUs, Servers, Terminals
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5055 considering software capabilities, i.e. software resources associated or available to the machine
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/547 Remote procedure calls [RPC]; Web services

Abstract

A system allowing a user of a browser program on a computer connected to an open distributed hypermedia system to access and execute an embedded program object. The program object is embedded into a hypermedia document much like data objects. The user may select the program object from the screen. Once selected the program object executes on the user'"'"'s (client) computer or may execute on a remote server or additional remote computers in a distributed processing arrangement. After launching the program object, the user is able to interact with the object as the invention provides for ongoing interprocess communication between the application object (program) and the browser program. One application of the embedded program object allows a user to view large and complex multi-dimensional objects from within the browser'"'"'s window. The user can manipulate a control panel to change the viewpoint used to view the image. The invention allows a program to execute on a remote server or other computers to calculate the viewing transformations and send frame data to the client computer thus providing the user of the client computer with interactive features and allowing the user to have access to greater computing power than may be available at the user'"'"'s client computer.

Claims

1. A computer program product for use in a system having at least one client workstation and one network server coupled to a network environment, wherein said network environment is a distributed hypermedia, environment, wherein said client workstation utilizes a browser to display, on said client workstation, at least a portion of a first hypermedia document received over said network from said server, wherein the portion of said first hypermedia document is displayed within a first browser-controlled window on said client workstation, wherein said first distributed hypermedia document includes an embed text format, located at a first location in said first distributed hypermedia document, that specifies, either directly or indirectly, the location of at least a portion of said object, wherein said portion is external to said first distributed hypermedia document, wherein said object has type information associated with it utilized to identify and locate computer readable program code external to the first distributed hypermedia document, and wherein said embed text format is parsed by said browser to automatically invoke said computer readable program code, the computer program product comprising:

a computer usable medium having computer readable program code physically embodied therein, said computer program product further comprising;

computer readable program code, identified by said type information, for being automatically invoked by the browser application to cause the client workstation to display an object and enable interactive processing of said object within the display area created at said first location within the portion of the first distributed hypermedia document being displayed in the first browser controlled window.

2. A computer program product for use in a system having at least one client workstation and one network server coupled to said network environment, wherein said network environment is a distributed hypermedia environment, the computer program product comprising:

a computer usable medium having computer readable program code physically embodied therein, said computer program product further comprising;

computer readable program code for causing said client workstation to execute a browser application to parse a first distributed hypermedia document to identify text formats included in said distributed hypermedia document and to respond to predetermined text formats to initiate processes specified by said text formats; and

computer readable program code for causing said client workstation to utilize said browser to display, on said client workstation, at least a portion of a first hypermedia document received over said network from said server, wherein the portion of said first hypermedia document is displayed within a first browser-controlled window on said client workstation, wherein said first distributed hypermedia document includes an embed text format, located at a first location in said first distributed hypermedia document, that specifies the location of at least a portion of an object external to the first distributed hypermedia document, wherein said object has type information associated with it utilized to identify and locate an executable application external to the first distributed hypermedia document, and wherein said embed text format is parsed by said browser to automatically invoke said executable application to execute on said client workstation in order to display said object and enable interactive processing of said object within a display area created at said first location within the portion of said first distributed hypermedia document being displayed in said first browser-controlled window.

3. A computer program product for use in a system having at least one client workstation and one network server coupled to said network environment, wherein said network environment is a distributed hypermedia environment, the computer program product comprising:

a computer usable medium having computer readable program code physically embodied therein, said computer program product further comprising;

computer readable program code for causing said client workstation to execute a browser application to parse a first distributed hypermedia document to identify text formats included in said distributed hypermedia document and to respond to predetermined text formats to initiate computer instruction sequences specified by said text formats;

computer readable program code for causing said client workstation to utilize said browser to display, on said client workstation, at least a portion of a first hypermedia document received over said network from said server, wherein the portion of said first hypermedia document is displayed within a first browser-controlled window on said client workstation, wherein said first distributed hypermedia document includes an embed text format, located at a first location in said first distributed hypermedia document, that specifies, either directly or indirectly, the location of at least a portion of an object external to the first distributed hypermedia document, wherein said object has type information associated with it utilized by said browser, or by some other program, to identify and locate a sequence of computer instructions external to the first distributed hypermedia document, and wherein said embed text format is parsed by said browser to automatically invoke said sequence of computer instructions to execute on said client workstation in order to display said object and enable interactive processing of said object within a display area created at said first location within the portion of said first distributed hypermedia document being displayed in said first browser-controlled window.