Ubiqitous visited links

• US 20040083294A1
• Filed: 05/01/2003
• Published: 04/29/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 09/11/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Lewis, Scott M.
• Granted Patent: US 7,359,977 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/228
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/955 using information identifiers, e.g. uniform resource locators [URL]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

Where a user logs on to a web page server, the server can maintain a history of links to web pages hosted by the server to indicate which links are visited by the user. In consequence, a user may log on to the web page server from any web page-enabled device and the server will be able to differentiate for the user links the user has visited from links that have yet to be visited.

Claims

1. A computer program product containing instructions which, when performed by a web page server requiring user log-on, causes said server to:

when a user requests a given web page from said server, for each link in said given web page, compare a web page indicator for said each link with web page indicators stored in a history file for said user and, on a match, modify each said link matched prior to serving up said web page.

2. The computer program product of claim 1 containing instructions which, when performed by said web page server requiring user log-on, further causes said server to:

maintain a plurality of history files of said web page indicators, one history file for each of a plurality of authorized users.

3. The computer program product of claim 2 containing instructions which, when performed by said web page server requiring user log-on, further causes said server to:

when said user requests said given web page, update-said one history file of said user to include a first web page indicator for said given web page.

4. The computer program product of claim 3 containing instructions which, when performed by said web page server requiring user log-on, further causes said server to:

where said first web page indicator for said given web page has been included in at least one of said plurality of history files and content of said given web page is updated by an authorized user, delete said first web page indicator for said given web page from said at least one of said plurality of history files.

5. The computer program product of claim 4 containing instructions which, when performed by said web page server requiring user log-on, further causes said server to:

prior to serving up said given web page, add an indicator to said given web page so that if said given web page is subsequently requested by said user at a client caching of said given web page, said given web page is re-loaded from said server.

6. The computer program product of claim 5 wherein modifying said each link comprises modifying said each link to display in a particular color.

7. The computer program product of claim 5 wherein modifying said each link comprises modifying said link to display in a different font.

8. The computer program product of claim 7 wherein said given web page is coded in hypertext mark-up language (“

html”

), each said web page indicator comprises a universal resource locator (“

URL”

), and modifying said each link comprises adding html code to said each link.

9. A method of operating a server, comprising:

when a user requests a given web page from said server, for each link in said given web page, compare a web page indicator for said each link with web page indicators stored in a history file for said user and, on a match, modify said each link matched prior to serving up said web page.

10. The method of claim 9 further comprising maintaining a plurality of history files of said web page indicators, one history file for each of a plurality of authorized users.

11. The method of claim 10 further comprising:

when said user requests said given web page, updating said one history file of said user to include a first web page indicator for said given web page.

12. The method of claim 11 further comprising:

where said first web page indicator for said given web page has been included in at least one of said plurality of history files and content of said given web page is updated by an authorized user, deleting said first web page indicator for said given web page from said at least one of said plurality of history files.

13. The method of claim 12 further comprising:

prior to serving up said given web page, adding an indicator to said given web page so that if said given web page is subsequently requested by said user at a client caching of said given web page, said given web page is re-loaded from said server.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein modifying said each link comprises modifying said each link to display in a particular color.

15. The method of claim 13 wherein modifying said each link comprises modifying said each link to display in a different font.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein said given web page is coded in hypertext mark-up language (“

html”

), each said web page indicator comprises a universal resource locator (“

URL”

), and modifying said each link comprises adding html code to said each link.

17. A web page server, comprising:

memory storing a user record for each of a plurality of authorized users, each said user record having a history file;

a processor operable to, when an authorized user requests a given web page from said server, for each link in said given web page, compare a web page indicator of said each link with web page indicators stored in said history file for said authorized user and, on a match, modify said each link prior to serving up said web page.

18. The server of claim 17 wherein said processor is further operable to, when said authorized user requests said given web page, update said history file of said authorized user to include a web page indicator for said given web page.

19. The server of claim 18 wherein said processor is further operable to:

where said first web page indicator for said given web page has been included in at least one said history file and content of said given web page is updated by an authorized user, delete said web first page indicator for said given web page from said at least one said history file.

20. The server of claim 19 wherein said processor is further operable to:

prior to serving up said given web page, add an indicator to said given web page so that if said given web page is subsequently requested by said user at a client caching of said given web page, said given web page is re-loaded from said server.

21. The server of claim 20 wherein said processor is further operable to, when modifying said each link, modifying said each link to display in a particular color.

22. The server of claim 20 wherein said processor is further operable to, when modifying said each link, modifying said each link to display in a different font.

23. The server of claim 22 wherein said given web page is coded in hypertext mark-up language (“

html”

), each said web page indicator comprises a universal resource locator (“

URL”

), and wherein said processor is operable to, when modifying said each link, modifying said each link by adding html code to said each link.