METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR WIDGET-CONTAINER HOSTING AND GENERATION

• US 20120227060A1
• Filed: 11/07/2011
• Published: 09/06/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: AddThis, Inc. (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: AddThis, Inc. (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Allen, Stewart O., Cosby, Scott F., Fath, John A., Greene, Dylan J., Keesan, Matthew J., Radfar, Hooman, Reverte, Carlos F., Radfar, Cyrus B.
• Application Number:
  US13/290,192
• Publication Number:
  US 20120227060A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 719/320
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/958 Organisation or management of web site content, e.g. publishing, maintaining pages or automatic linking
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/5017 Task decomposition
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/541 Client-server
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/38 for implementing user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/465 Distributed object oriented systems remote method invocation [RMI] G06F9/548
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5027 the resource being a machine, e.g. CPUs, Servers, Terminals
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/541 via adapters, e.g. between incompatible applications

Abstract

A method includes receiving at least one of a widget or a reference to a widget, where the widget can be at least one of a static data object, a media object, or a software object. At least a portion of a widget container, which is a procedural software framework containing a service module associated with the widget and the widget, is generated. The service module can be a pre-defined function associated with the widget container before the widget container is generated. The widget container can be configured to be executed at a widget-container processing device in response to a reference to the widget container being accessed from a processor-readable vehicle.

Claims

1-23. -23. (canceled)

24. A method, comprising:

receiving at a widget-container host a widget or a reference to the widget;

generating, at a first time, at least a portion of a widget container, the widget container being a procedural software framework including the widget or the reference to the widget and a first service module configured to provide a first service associated with the widget, the widget container configured to be executed at a widget-container processing device in response to a user-initiated request; and

regenerating, at a second time different than the first time, the widget container such that the widget container includes a second service module configured to provide a second service associated with the widget, the second service being different from the first service.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the widget is at least one of a static data object, a media object, or a software object.

26. The method of claim 24, further comprising:

receiving a request for the widget container from the widget-container processing device, the generating being in response to the receiving the request.

27. The method of claim 24, wherein the generating includes compiling the widget container as a discrete portable module.

28. The method of claim 24, wherein the reference to the widget is provided to the widget-container host via a widget-container generation engine, and the first service module is selected via a widget-container generation user-interface associated with the widget-container generation engine.

29. The method of claim 24, wherein the first service module is configured to perform at least one of a metadata searching function, a metadata retrieval function, a polling function, a widget container deployment function, a transaction service function, a widget container tracking function, a referral service function, an advertisement service function, or a directory service function.

30. The method of claim 24, wherein the user-initiated request is a first user initiated request, the regenerating being in response to a second user-initiated request, the method further comprising:

sending an indication of the second user-initiated request to a tracking server.

31. The method of claim 24, wherein the generating is in response to a user-initiated request from a webpage containing a reference to the widget container, the reference to the widget container being an embed tag or an object tag on the webpage that is configured to serve as a link to the widget container.

32. The method of claim 24, wherein the widget container includes a series of instructions configured to be executed by the widget-container processing device to provide an executable environment for the widget.

33. The method of claim 24, further comprising:

selecting, before the generating, the first service module from a library of service modules based on a policy.

34. The method of claim 24, wherein the widget has a content type,

the method further comprising:

selecting, before the generating, the first service module from a library of service modules based the content type.

35. The method of claim 24, wherein the widget container is configured to be executed within a webpage at the widget-container processing device.

36. The method of claim 24, wherein the reference to the widget container is a first reference, the widget container is configured to be executed within a first webpage, the first service module being a placement service module associated with placing a second reference to the widget container in a second webpage.

37. A method, comprising:

receiving at a widget-container host a request for a widget container, the request being defined in response to a first reference to the widget container being accessed via a processor-readable vehicle;

defining the widget container, the widget container being a procedural software framework including a widget or a reference to the widget, the widget container including an identifier indicating that the widget container was derived from a second reference to the widget container; and

sending, from the widget-container host, the widget container to the widget-container processing device.

38. The method of claim 37, wherein the widget is at least one of a static data object, a media object, or a software object.

39. The method of claim 37, wherein the widget container includes a service module configured to generate the identifier in response to a user-initiated request associated with the second reference to the widget container being accessed.

40. The method of claim 37, wherein the sending includes sending the widget container based on a unique widget container identifier included in the request.

41. The method of claim 37, wherein the widget container is configured to be executed at the widget-container processing device.

42. The method of claim 37, wherein,

the reference to the widget is configured such that the widget is served into the widget container from a widget server independent from the widget-container host in response to the reference to the widget being accessed at the widget-container processing device.

43. The method of claim 37, wherein the widget-container processing device is a first widget-container processing device, the defining includes establishing a session between a second widget-container processing device and the widget-container host,

the method further comprising:

associating with the session a global metadata parameter value or a local metadata parameter value; and

modifying the widget container based on the global metadata parameter value or the local metadata parameter value.

44. The method of claim 37, wherein the widget-container processing device is a first widget-container processing device, the defining includes establishing a session between a second widget-container processing device and the widget-container host, the receiving includes receiving at a first time, the sending includes sending at a second time, the second time being after the first time,

the method further comprising:

associating with the session a global metadata parameter value or a local metadata parameter value; and

modifying the widget container based on the global metadata parameter value or the local metadata parameter value at an intermediate time by injecting a segment of data into a specified location of the widget container, the intermediate time being before the second time and after the first time.

45. A non-transitory processor-readable medium storing code representing instructions to be executed by a processor, the code comprising code to cause the processor to:

place a first reference to a widget container in a first processor-readable vehicle;

receive a first user-initiated request for the widget container from a widget-container processing device in response to the first reference being accessed;

send the widget container to the widget-container processing device in response to the first user-initiated request, the widget container including a placement service module;

receive, from the widget-container processing device, a second user-initiated request in response to the placement service module being accessed;

generate, in response to the second user-initiated request a second reference to the widget container and a placement identifier;

place the second reference to the widget container in a second processor-readable vehicle; and

associate the placement identifier with an identifier associated with the first reference.

46. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 45, wherein the widget container includes a widget or a reference to the widget, the widget being at least one of a static data object, a media object, or a software object.

47. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 45, wherein the widget container is a discrete portable module.

48. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 45, wherein the widget container includes a series of instructions configured to be executed by the widget-container processing device to provide an executable environment for a widget.

49. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 45, wherein at least one of the first processor-readable vehicle or the second processor-readable vehicle is a webpage.

50. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 45, wherein the first processor-readable vehicle is a webpage, the first reference being an embed tag or an object tag on the webpage that serves as a link to the widget container.

51. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 45, wherein the code to cause the processor to receive the second user-initiated request includes code to cause the processor to receive the second user-initiated request at a first time, the code to cause the processor to place the second reference including code to cause the processor to place the second reference at a second time, the second time being after the first time,

the processor-readable medium further comprising code to cause the processor to:

modify at an intermediate time the widget container by injecting a segment of data into a specified location of the widget container, the intermediate time being before the second time and after the first time.

52. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 45, wherein the code to cause the processor to receive the second user-initiated request includes code to cause the processor to receive the second user-initiated request at a first time, the code to cause the processor to place the second reference including code to cause the processor to place the second reference at a second time, the second time being after the first time,

the processor-readable medium further comprising code to cause the processor to:

modify at an intermediate time the widget container by injecting a segment of data associated with the first user-initiated request or the second user initiated request into a specified location of the widget container, the intermediate time being before the second time and after the first time.

53. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 45 further comprising code to cause the processor to:

generate, before the placing of the first reference, the widget container and the placement service module.

54. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 45, wherein the first reference is a reference to a first instance of the widget container, the second reference being a reference to a second instance of the widget container,

the processor-readable medium further comprising code to cause the processor to:

generate, before the placing of the first reference, the first instance of the widget container and the placement service module; and

generate, before the placing of the second reference, the second instance of the widget container.