Partial rendering of Web pages

• US 20070143672A1
• Filed: 12/16/2005
• Published: 06/21/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/16/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Calvert, Simon, Kothari, Nikhil, Lipton, Eilon
• Granted Patent: US 7,805,670 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/205
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/957 Browsing optimisation, e.g. caching or content distillation

Abstract

The updating of an original version of a Web page without having to download the entire Web page. After accessing an original version of a Web page, a browser client detects that the accessed original version of the Web page is to be updated. The browser client then requests an updated version of the Web page from a page server computing system. Thereupon, the page server determines that only a portion of the updated version of the Web page is to be downloaded to the browser client, identifies that portion, and sends a response to the browser client that includes at least the portions of the Web page that have changed, but less than all of the Web page. The browser client then partially renders the updated version of the Web page using the portions of the Web page provided in the response.

Claims

1. In a network that includes a browser client computing system and at least one page server computing system that offers at least one Web page, a method for the browser client to update an original version of the Web page without having to download the entire Web page, the method comprising:

an act of accessing an original version of a Web page;

an act of detecting that the accessed original version of the Web page is to be updated;

an act of requesting an updated version of the Web page from a page server computing system;

an act of receiving the updated version of the Web page from the page server computing system in response to the act of requesting the updated version of the Web page, wherein the updated version of the Web page includes at least any components of the Web page that have changed between the original and updated versions of the Web page, but includes less than all of the components of the Web page; and

an act of partially rendering the updated version of the Web page without re-rendering the entire Web page.

2. A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the Web page includes markup language.

3. A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the Web page also includes content that is included in-line with the markup language, but does not include content that is only referred to in the markup language.

4. A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the act of accessing the original version of the Web page comprises:

an act of requesting the original version of the Web page from the page server computing system; and

an act of receiving the original version of the Web page in its entirety from the page server computing system in response to the act of requesting the original version of the Web page.

5. A method in accordance with claim 4, wherein the act of receiving the original version of the Web page includes an act of receiving computer-executable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of the computing system, are configured to facilitate the act of partially rendering the updated version of the Web page.

6. A method in accordance with claim 5, wherein the computer-executable instructions are also structured so as to, when executed by one or more processors of the computing system, facilitate the act of requesting an updated version of the Web page.

7. A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the act of accessing an original version of a Web page is performed by a browser that updates a browser navigation context in response of the act of accessing, and wherein the act of requesting an updated version of the Web page is performed by computer-executable instructions that do not update a browser navigation context in response to the act of requesting the Web page.

8. A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the components of the Web page that have changed are represented in the response using markup language, wherein the act of partially rendering comprise an act of rendering using the markup language.

9. A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the components of the Web page that have changed are represented in the response using script, wherein the act of partially rendering comprise an act of executing the script.

10. A computer program product for use in a network that includes a browser client computing system and at least one page server computing system that offers at least one Web page, the computer program product comprising one or more computer-readable media having thereon computer-executable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of the browser client computing system, cause the browser client computing system to perform the following:

an act of detecting when a browser on the computing system has detected an event that would normally cause the browser to request an updated version of a Web page;

an act of causing the browser to abstain from requesting the updated version of the Web page;

in response to the act of detecting, an act of constructing a request for the updated version of the Web page including an indication that the request for less than all of the updated version of the Web page, but including those portions of the updated version of the Web page that have changed since a previous version of the Web page;

an act of causing the constructed request to be dispatched to the server computing system;

an act of detecting receipt of a response to the constructed request including instructions for partially rendering the updated version of the Web page; and

an act of partially rendering the updated version of the Web page.

11. A computer program product in accordance with claim 10, wherein the instructions for partially rendering include markup language.

12. A computer program product in accordance with claim 11, wherein the instructions for partially rendering include script.

13. A computer program product in accordance with claim 10, wherein the one or more computer-readable media consists of one or more physical storage media.

14. A browser client computing system comprising the computer program product received in claim 10.

15. In a network that includes a browser client computing system and at least one page server computing system that offers at least one Web page, a method for the page server computing system to provide updates of a Web page to the browser client without re-download the entire Web page, the method comprising:

an act of receiving request for an updated version of a Web page from browser client computing system;

an act of determining that only a portion of the updated version of the Web page is to be downloaded to the browser client computing system in response to the request, the portion including at least any components of the Web page that have changed since a prior version of the Web page, but including less than all of the components of the Web page; and

an act of identifying the portion to be included in a response to the request for the updated version; and

an act of sending the response to the browser client computing system, the response including the identified portion of the updated version of the Web page, but including less than all of the components of the Web page.

16. A method in accordance with claim 15, wherein the act of identifying the portion to be included in a response comprises:

an act of identifying default portions that are to be included in the response.

17. A method in accordance with claim 15, wherein the act of identifying the portion to be included in a response comprises:

an act of identifying at least one conditional portion that may be included in the response depending upon the satisfaction of a corresponding set of one or more conditions;

an act of determining for each of the at least one conditional portion whether or not the corresponding set of one or more conditions is satisfied;

an act of including any portions for which the corresponding one or more conditions have been satisfied in the portion to be included in the response; and

an act of excluding any portions for which the corresponding one or more conditions have not been satisfied from the portion to be included in the response.

18. A method in accordance with claim 17, wherein the act of determining for each of the at least one conditional portion whether or not the corresponding set of one or more conditions is satisfied comprises:

an act of associating one or more event triggers with the conditional portion;

an act of determining whether or not the one or more event triggers have fired.

19. A method in accordance with claim 15, wherein the identified portion includes markup language representing instructions for rendering an updated portion of the updated Web page.

20. A method in accordance wit claim 15, wherein the identified portion includes script representing instructions for rendering the updated portion of the updated Web page.