Method for flexible, safe, robust, and efficient generation and serving of multi-source world-wide web content pages

• US 20040153964A1
• Filed: 02/04/2003
• Published: 08/05/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 02/04/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AOL LLC (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Inventors: Toomey, Christopher Newell
• Granted Patent: US 7,447,747 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/501.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/958 Organisation or management of web site content, e.g. publishing, maintaining pages or automatic linking

Abstract

The invention provides a method for flexibly, safely, robustly, and efficiently serving user interface pages composed of foreign content supplied by a third-party as well as local content supplied by the first party by allowing the cobrander to serve cobranded page templates. The cobrandee server retrieves the cobranded page templates from cobrander server and inserts the cobrandee contents into the cobranded page templates to generate cobranded Web content pages.

Claims

1. A system for generating cobranded Web pages, comprising:

a cobrandee server which provides cobrandable cobrandee contents; and

a cobrander server which provides cobranding cobrander contents;

wherein said cobrander server controls the overall page structure and layout of said cobranded Web content pages.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein said cobrander server provides context-sensitive contents in said cobranded Web content pages.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein said cobrander server controls aspects of visual rendering of said cobrandable contents of said cobrandee server.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein said cobrandee server inspects the content of said cobrander server and rejects it if said cobranding contents of said cobrander server is not allowable.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein said cobrandee server efficiently and robustly generates said completed cobranded pages.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein said cobrandee server delivers said completed cobranded pages to end users.

7. A method for providing cobranded Web pages to an end user;

said method comprising;

said end user requesting a cobranded Web content page from a cobrandee server which provides cobrandable cobrandee contents;

said cobrandee server requesting a cobranded page template from a cobrander server which provides cobranding cobrander contents;

said cobrander server generating said cobranded page template and returning said cobranded page template to said cobrandee server;

said cobrandee server receiving said cobranded page template and checking that said cobranded page template does not violate any of a plurality of rules for allowable content;

said cobrandee server inserting said cobrandable contents into said cobranded page template to generate said cobranded Web content page; and

said cobrandee server returning said cobranded Web content page to said end user.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein said cobrandee server sending a context of said request of said end user to said cobrander server.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein said cobranded page template is specific to said context of said request of said end user.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein said cobranded page template comprises special tags to specify locations where said cobrandable contents of said cobrandee server are to be inserted.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein said cobrander server supplies configuration parameters to said cobrandee server to control the visual effects of said cobrandable contents of said cobrandee server.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein said cobrandee server renders said cobrandable contents according to said configuration parameters.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein said cobrandee server provides a default page template for said cobrander server.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein said cobrandee server uses said default page template when said cobrander server fails to return said cobranded Web page template.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein said cobrandee server uses said default page template when said cobranded Web page template returned from said cobrander server violates any of said plurality of rules for allowable content.

16. A method for providing cobranded Web pages to an end user, comprising the steps of:

said end user requesting a cobranded Web content page from a cobrandee server which provides cobrandable cobrandee contents;

said cobrandee server obtaining a cobranded page template for a cobrander server which provides cobranding cobrander contents;

said cobrandee server inserting said cobrandable contents into said cobranded page template to generate said cobranded Web content page; and

said cobrandee server returning said cobranded Web content page to said end user.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein said step of obtaining said cobranded page template further comprises the steps of:

checking whether said cobranded page template exists in a memory cache, matches a context of said request of said end user, and is unexpired; and

retrieving said cobranded page template from said page template cache if said cobranded page template exists, matches said context of said request of said end user and is unexpired.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein said step of obtaining said cobranded page template further comprises the sub-steps of:

said cobrandee server requesting said cobranded page template from a cobrander server which provides cobranding content when said cobranded page template does not exit in said page template cache, or does not match said context of said request of said end user, or said cobranded page template has expired;

said cobrander server generating said cobranded page template and returning said cobranded page template to said cobrandee server;

said cobrandee server receiving said cobranded page template and checking that said cobranded page template does not violate any of a plurality of rules for allowable content;

said cobrandee server evaluating heuristics to determine whether said cobranded page template needs to be stored in said page template cache; and

storing said cobranded template to said page template cache if said cobranded page template needs to be stored.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein said cobrandee server sends said context of said request of said end user to said cobrander server.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein said cobranded page template is specific to said context of said request of said end user.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein said cobranded page template comprises special tags to specify locations where said cobrandable contents of said cobrandee server are to be inserted.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein said cobrander server supplies configuration parameters to said cobrandee server to control the visual effects of said cobrandable contents of said cobrandee server.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein said cobrandee server renders said cobrandable contents according to said configuration parameters.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein said cobrandee server provides a default page template for said cobrander server.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein said cobrandee server uses said default page template when said cobrander server fails to return said cobranded Web page template.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein said cobrandee server uses said default page template when said cobranded Web page templates returned from said cobrander server violates any of said plurality of rules for allowable content.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein said cobrander server supplies a timeout value to said cobrandee server to control when said cobranded page template will expire after being stored in said page template cache.

28. A system for generating cobranded Web pages, comprising:

a cobrandee server which provides cobrandable cobrandee contents; and

a cobrander server which provides cobranding cobrander contents;

wherein said cobrandee further comprising;

a retrieving module to retrieve a cobranded page template from said cobrander server;

a validating module to check that said cobranded page template does not violate any of a plurality of rules for allowable content; and

a generating means to generate said cobranded Web content page by inserting said cobrandable contents to said cobranded page template;

and wherein said cobrander server further comprising a template generating module to generate said cobranded page template.

29. The system of claim 28, wherein said cobrandee server sends said context of said request of said end user to said cobrander server.

30. The system of claim 29, wherein said cobranded page template is specific to said context of said request of said end user.

31. The system of claim 30, wherein said cobranded page template comprises special tags to specify locations where said cobrandable contents of said cobrandee server are to be inserted.

32. The system of claim 31, wherein said cobrander server supplies configuration parameters to said cobrandee server to control the visual effects of said cobrandable contents of said cobrandee server.

33. The system of claim 32, wherein said cobrandee server renders said cobrandable contents according to said configuration parameters.

34. The system of claim 33, wherein said cobrandee server provides a default page template for said cobrander server.

35. The system of claim 34, wherein said cobrandee server uses said default page template when said cobrander server fails to return said cobranded Web page template.

36. The system of claim 35, wherein said cobrandee server uses said default page template when said cobranded Web page templates returned from said cobrander server violates any of said plurality of rules for allowable content.

37. The system of claim 36, wherein said cobrander server supplies a timeout value to said cobrandee server to control when said cobranded page template will expire after being stored in said page template cache.