Method for distributed task fulfillment of web browser requests

• US 5,761,663 A
• Filed: 05/15/1997
• Issued: 06/02/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 06/07/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Lagarde, Konrad Charles, Rogers, Richard Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Lintz, Paul R.
• Application Number:
  US08/856,886
• Time in Patent Office: 383 Days
• Field of Search: 707/1, 707/3, 707/10, 707/101, 395/200.32, 395/200.33
• US Class Current: 709/202
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/972 Access to data in other repository systems, e.g. legacy data or dynamic Web page generation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/917 Text
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/955 Object-oriented
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/959 Network
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching

Abstract

A World Wide Web browser makes requests to web servers on a network which receive and fulfill requests as an agent of the browser client, organizing distributed sub-agents as distributed integration solution (DIS) servers on an intranet network supporting the web server which also has an access agent servers accessible over the Internet. DIS servers execute selected capsule objects which perform programmable functions upon a received command from a web server control program agent for retrieving, from a database gateway coupled to a plurality of database resources upon a single request made from a Hypertext document, requested information from multiple data bases located at different types of databases geograhically dispersed, performing calculations, formatting, and other services prior to reporting to the web browser or to other locations, in a selected format, as in a display, fax, printer, and to customer installations or to TV video subscribers, with account tracking.

Claims

1. A method for distributed task fulfillment of requests of a requesting web based agent with a command file agent tangibly embodying a program set of instructions executable by a supporting machine environment for performing required method steps and fulfilling the request by providing a result, said method steps comprising:

receiving at said command file agent a submit command from a control program agent in preparation for providing said result to pass to said command file agent as a command file variable for use in naming said result which will be created by said command file agent, which result said command file agent will create that result with a unique result name during execution of said command file agent,

processing by said command file agent a series of linked objects according to a specified flow sequence within a distributed data environment specified by said command file agent, including executing functions specified in said command file agent including data retrieval and processing, and

in the process storing the result of said processing as said unique named result during execution of said command file agent.

2. A method for distributed task fulfillment of requests of a requesting web based agent according to claim 1, further comprising:

invoking internetwork routing functions by said command file agent after authorization data is received during execution of a request submitted by said control program agent.

3. A method for distributed task fulfillment of requests of a requesting web based agent according to claim 1, further comprising:

receiving data originated by a web document'"'"'s variables stored by said control program agent prior to creating a uniquely named result.

4. A method for distributed task fulfillment of requests of a requesting web based agent according to claim 1, further comprising:

invoking internetworkting routing functions to query databases where they are located on the network.

5. A method for distributed task fulfillment of requests of a requesting web based agent according to claim 1, further comprising:

invoking internetworking routing functions to query databases where they are located on the network by reaching a destination on the Internet by a link between systems and routing data retrieved from one physical unit to another according to an applicable protocol.

6. A method for distributed task fulfillment of requests of a requesting web based agent according to claim 1, further comprising:

invoking internetworkling routing functions to query databases where they are located on the network by reaching a destination on the Internet by a link between systems and routing data retrieved from one physical unit to another according to an applicable protocol, employing a URL address for Internet locations.

7. A method for distributed task fulfillment of requests of a requesting web based agent according to claim 1,

wherein said control program acts in concert with said command file agent execution in fulfilling requests and any object programs with executable additions which have been created to interact with said control program agent when object icons are identified by a user of a web browser.

8. A method for distributed task fulfillment of requests off a requesting web based agent according to claim 1,

wherein said command file agent performs programmable functions on data which is retrieved from databases.

9. A method for distributed task fulfillment of requests of a requesting web based agent according to claim 1,

wherein said command file agent performs programmable functions on data which is retrieved from databases, and not only does a command file agent get data, it combines, reformats, and updates, the data retrieved.

10. A method for distributed task fulfillment of requests of a requesting web based agent according to claim 1,

wherein said command file agent performs programmable functions on data which is retrieved from databases functioning as a dedicated processor processing data gathered or created during a Web browser request to output the end result to the user under programmable parameters determined by the creator of a command file agent, as may be selected, if desired, by the user as part of the request.

11. A method for distributed task fulfillment of requests of a requesting web based agent according to claim 1,

wherein the user enters inputs as part of his request, either free form or by selection of variables in the menus afforded to the user.

12. A method for distributed task fulfillment of requests of a requesting web based agent according to claim 1, further comprising

responding to a recorded click on a object icon portrayed on a user screen and linking command files represented by said icon to link said object as one of said series of linked objects to perform an indicated specified flow sequence specified by one or more icons.

13. A method for distributed task fulfillment of requests of a requesting web based agent according to claim 1, further comprising

providing functions as by successive execution of a list of commands listed in a command file agent, including any calls to programs written in another language, to perform specific functions that are requested by the user from his initiation session.

14. A method for distributed task fulfillment of requests of a requesting web based agent according to claim 1, further comprising

providing functions as by successive execution of a list of commands listed in a command file agent, including any calls to programs written in another language, to perform specific functions that are requested by the user from his initiation session, and wherein user further qualifies the execution of the command file by providing parameters which are used in the invocation of a command file.

15. A method for distributed task fulfillment of requests of a requesting web based agent according to claim 1, further comprising

providing functions as by successive execution of a list of commands listed in a command file agent, including any calls to programs for SQL queries of a specific database, which are invoked by the command file.

16. A method for distributed task fulfillment of requests of a requesting web based agent according to claim 1, further comprising

wherein a command file agent, represented by a series of linked objects, is supported by an internetwork processor support environment.

17. A method for distributed task fulfillment of requests of a requesting web based agent according to claim 1, further comprising within a decision interpretation system environment an integrated capsule creates a text report file as a result of a make text object.

18. A method for distributed task fulfillment of requests of a requesting web based agent according to claim 1, wherein within a decision interpretation system environment an integrated capsule creates a text report file as an object result file, which object result file is displayed at a web client terminal.

19. A method for distributed task fulfillment of requests of a requesting web based agent according to claim 1, wherein

a multiple data retrieval command file agent (91(a) . . . 91(n)) initiates as a first step multiple queries to different databases which are specified by the parameters of the request.

20. A method for distributed task fulfillment of requests of a requesting web based agent according to claim 1, wherein

a multiple data retrieval command file (91(a) . . . 91(n)) initiates as a first step multiple queries to different databases which are specified by the parameters of the request to initiate multiple queries as SQL search requests with as multiple steps (91(a) . . . 91(n)) executed by a command file agent server with a database gateway to select data from differing base databases located inside an intranet and on the Internet by internetwork routing to at least one other database gateway and its linked databases, and storing the retrieved date data in a buffer declared by the command file.

21. A method for distributed task fulfillment of requests of a requesting web based agent according to claim 1, including

performing additional steps (91(b), 91(c), 91(d), and 91(n)) to retrieve data and store in their command file object buffer data retrieved from other base databases, each returning data back to a command file declared buffer, and in a subsequent linked processing step (92) data from the database queries in the preceding data retrieval steps is joined by joining according to an object command file and stored in a buffer related to this joining object command file.

22. A method for distributed task fulfillment of requests of a requesting web based agent according to claim 1, including

in a subsequent processing step performed by calculation object command file agent (93) on joined data in a joined database result buffer (92) desired calculations are performed on joined data in accordance with the parameters indicated by the request.

23. A method for distributed task fulfillment of requests of a requesting web based agent according to claim 1, including

in accordance with the request parameters text is formatted to space delimited text by a format object command file agent function (94), and storing the results in a buffer associated with a format object command file agent (94).

24. A method for distributed task fulfillment of requests of a requesting web based agent according to claim 1, including

a make text command file agent causes the formatted text to be created as a text file for use via a WWW server (131) permitting said text file to be stored in a file which is accessible to and retrieved and displayed in the form requested an at the location determined by Web browser input parameters to a control program agent.

25. A method for distributed task fulfillment of requests of a requesting web based agent according to claim 1, including

creating a graphical report file.

26. A method for distributed task fulfillment of requests of a requesting web based agent according to claim 1, including

creating a graphical report file utilizing a retrieval object command file agent to retrieve data from one or more databases as specified in the parameters of the request.

27. A method for distributed task fulfillment of requests of a requesting web based agent according to claim 1, including

utilizing a plot object command file agent to plot retrieved data with the results being stored in a buffer.

28. A method for distributed task fulfillment of requests of a requesting web based agent according to claim 1, including

creating a result-to-be-presented file with a bitmap object command file agent a bitmap ready for display in a form and at a location determined by a request from a Web browser (130).

29. A method for distributed task fulfillment of requests of a requesting web based agent according to claim 1,

wherein said command file agent performs programmable functions on data which is retrieved from databases, and not only does a command file agent get data, it combines, reformats, and updates, the data retrieved to create said result as a file.

30. A method for distributed task fulfillment of requests of a requesting web based agent according to claim 1,

wherein said command file agent performs programmable functions on data which is retrieved from databases, and not only does a command file agent get data, it combines, reformats, and updates, the data retrieved to create said result as an object for representing a series of linked objects and is supported by an internetwork processor support environment.

31. A method for distributed task fulfillment of requests of a requesting web based agent according to claim 30,

wherein the user enters inputs as part of his request, either free form or by selection of variables in the menus afforded to the user.

32. A method for distributed task fulfillment of requests of a requesting web based agent according to claim 30, further comprising

responding to a recorded click on a object icon portrayed on a user screen and linking command files represented by said icon to link said object as one of said series of linked objects to perform an indicated specified flow sequence specified by one or more icons.

33. A method for distributed task fulfillment of requests of a requesting web based agent according to claim 30, further comprising

providing functions as by successive execution of a list of commands listed in a command file agent, including any calls to programs written in another language, to perform specific functions that are requested by the user from his initiation session.

34. A method for distributed task fulfillment of requests of a requesting web based agent according to claim 30, further comprising

providing functions as by successive execution of a list of commands listed in a command file agent, including any calls to programs written in another language, to perform specific functions that are requested by the user from his initiation session, and wherein user further qualifies the execution of the command file by providing parameters which are used in the invocation of a command file.