PAGE RENDERING FOR DYNAMIC WEB PAGES

• US 20110055314A1
• Filed: 09/02/2009
• Published: 03/03/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/02/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Inventors: Rosenstein, Justin, Jiang, Changhao
• Granted Patent: US 8,868,637 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/957 Browsing optimisation, e.g. caching or content distillation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/289 Intermediate processing functionally located close to the data consumer application, e.g. in same machine, in same home or in same sub-network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/564 Enhancement of application control based on intercepted application data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/5651 Reducing the amount or size of exchanged application data

Abstract

In one embodiment, in response to the detection of an event initiated in connection with a first structured document rendered by a first client application executing on a host, the event related to a target structured document, a method includes receiving, by executable code segment embedded in with the first structured document and executing within the context of the first client application, a first request for resources, related to the target structured document, generated by the first client application; formulating and transmitting, by the executable code segment, a second request related to the target structured document to a remote server; accessing, by the executable code segment, one or more resources related to the target structured document; and rendering, by the executable code segment, content rendered by the first client application based at least in part on the one or more accessed resources.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

in response to the detection of an event initiated in connection with a first structured document rendered by a first client application executing on a host, the event related to a target structured document;

receiving, by executable code segment embedded in with the first structured document and executing within the context of the first client application, a first request for resources, related to the target structured document, generated by the first client application;

formulating and transmitting, by the executable code segment, a second request related to the target structured document to a remote server;

accessing, by the executable code segment, one or more resources related to the target structured document; and

rendering, by the executable code segment, content rendered by the first client application based at least in part on the one or more accessed resources.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

simulating, by the executable code segment, a page transition in a client window of the first client application.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein simulating a page transition comprises one or more of:

causing the first client application to generate or modify a cursor in the client window to indicate a transition;

causing the first client application to generate or modify an icon in the client window to indicate a transition;

causing the first client application to generate or update a status bar in the client window to indicate a transition; and

causing the first client application to generate a blank screen in the client window.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

extracting a target Uniform Resource Locator (URL) for the target structured document.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein:

when the event corresponds to the clicking of a link rendered or embedded within the first structured document, extracting the target URL comprises;

examining one or more link attributes associated with the link; and

extracting the target URL from the one or more link attributes; and

when the event corresponds to the clicking of a back or forward button of the first client application rendering the first structured document, extracting the target URL comprises;

examining a data store of a history manager executing within the context of the first client application; and

extracting the target URL from the data store.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the second request comprises the target URL.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the second request to the remote server comprises transmitting an asynchronous request to the remote server, wherein the asynchronous request is an XMLHttpRequest (XHR) or JSON request.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the second request to the remote server comprises embedding an inline frame (iframe) into the first structured document, wherein the iframe transmits the second request as an iframe request to the remote server.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a response to the second request, the response comprising the one or more resources associated with the target structured document; and

wherein rendering, by the executable code segment, the content rendered by the first client application based on the one or more accessed resources comprises rendering cached content comprising content shared between the target structured document and the first structured document with the one or more resources associated with the target structured document.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising the first client application forcing a full load of the target structured document after every n intercepted requests, wherein n is a predetermined integer number.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

transmitting, by the first client application, a request for the first structured document;

receiving one or more responses in response to the request for the first structured document, the one or more responses comprising;

one or more first resources enabling the first client application to render the first structured document at the host; and

the executable code segment embedded within the one or more first resources; and

downloading the executable code segment by the first client application, wherein the executable code segment begins executing, automatically, after being downloaded.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

attaching, by the executable code segment, first handlers to one or more links within the first structured document;

attaching, by the executable code segment, second handlers to the back and forward buttons rendered in a first client window rendering the first structured document; and

registering the second handlers with a history manager executing in the context of the first client application;

wherein receiving, by the executable code segment, a first request for resources, related to the target structured document, generated by the first client application in response to the detection of an event comprises;

in response to the detection of an event, informing, by the corresponding handler, the executable code segment of the event.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

inserting, by the executable code segment, an iframe within a frame of the first structured document.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein:

the iframe comprises an HTML page having a query string, the query string comprising identifying information corresponding to the target structured document including a source attribute that includes the target URL.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving, by executable code segment loaded in with the first structured document and executing within the context of the first client application, a first request for resources, related to the target structured document, generated by the first client application comprises intercepting the first request for resources generated by the first client application before execution and transmission of the first request to the remote server.

16. One or more computer-readable tangible storage media encoding software that is operable when executed to:

in response to the detection of an event initiated in connection with a first structured document rendered by a first client application executing on a host, the event associated with a target structured document;

receive a first request for resources, associated with the target structured document, generated by the first client application;

formulate and transmit a second request related to the target structured document to a remote server;

access one or more resources related to the target structured document; and

render content rendered by the first client application based at least in part on the one or more accessed resources.

17. The media of claim 16, wherein the software is further operable when executed to:

simulate a page transition in a client window of the first client application.

18. The media of claim 16, wherein the software is further operable when executed to:

extract a target Uniform Resource Locator (URL) for the target structured document.

19. The media of claim 18, wherein:

when the event corresponds to the clicking of a link rendered or embedded within the first structured document, in order to extract the target URL, the software is operable when executed to;

examine one or more link attributes associated with the link; and

extract the target URL from the one or more link attributes; and

when the event corresponds to the clicking of a back or forward button of the first client application rendering the first structured document, in order to extract the target URL, the software is operable when executed to;

examine a data store of a history manager executing within the context of the first client application; and

extract the target URL from the data store.

20. The media of claim 16, wherein the software operable when executed to transmit the second request to the remote server comprises software operable when executed to transmit an asynchronous request to the remote server, wherein the asynchronous request is an XMLHttpRequest (XHR), iframe, or JSON request.

21. The media of claim 16, wherein the software is further operable when executed to:

receive a response to the second request, the response comprising the one or more resources associated with the target structured document; and

wherein the software operable when executed to render content rendered by the first client application based on the one or more accessed resources comprises software operable when executed to render cached content comprising content shared between the target structured document and the first structured document with the one or more resources associated with the target structured document.

22. The media of claim 16, wherein the software is further operable when executed to force a full load of the target structured document by the first client application after every n intercepted requests, wherein n is a predetermined integer number.

23. The media of claim 16, wherein the software is further operable when executed to:

attach first handlers to one or more links within the first structured document;

attach second handlers to the back and forward buttons rendered in a first client window rendering the first structured document; and

register the second handlers with a history manager executing in the context of the first client application.

24. The media of claim 16, wherein the software operable to receive a first request for resources, related to the target structured document, generated by the first client application comprises software operable to intercept the first request for resources generated by the first client application before execution and transmission of the first request to the remote server.

25. An apparatus comprising

a memory;

one or more processors;

logic encoded in one or more storage media for execution and when executed operable to cause the one or more processors to;

receive a request for a first structured document from a first client application corresponding to a remote host; and

transmit a response to the remote host, wherein the response includes the first structured document, wherein the first structured document comprises an executable code segment or an embedded reference to the executable code segment, the executable code segment executable within the context of the first structured document and the first client application, and comprising machine-readable instructions operative, when executed, to cause a processor to;

in response to the detection of an event initiated in connection with the first structured document rendered by the first client application executing on a host, the event associated with a target structured document;

receive a first request for resources, associated with the target structured document, generated by the first client application;

formulate and transmit a second request related to the target structured document to a remote server;

access one or more resources related to the target structured document; and

render content rendered by the first client application based at least in part on the one or more accessed resources.

26. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the logic is further operable to receive the second request, wherein the second request comprises an asynchronous request to the remote server, and wherein the asynchronous request is an XMLHttpRequest (XHR), inline frame request, or JSON request.

27. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the logic is further operable to transmit to the remote host a response to the second request that comprises one or more resources corresponding to the target structured document;

wherein the machine-readable instructions operative, when executed, to cause a processor to render the content rendered by the first client application based on the one or more accessed resources comprise machine-readable instructions operative, when executed, to cause the processor to render cached content comprising content shared between the target structured document and the first structured document with the one or more resources corresponding to the target structured document.