Processing HTML to embed sound in a web page

• US 5,903,727 A
• Filed: 06/18/1996
• Issued: 05/11/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 06/18/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Oracle America, Inc. (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Sun Microsystems Incorporated (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Nielsen, Jakob
• Primary Examiner(s): Lall, Parshotam S.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Barot, Bharat
• Application Number:
  US08/665,487
• Time in Patent Office: 1,057 Days
• Field of Search: 395/200.41-200.43, 395/200.46-200.5, 395/356-357, 395/200, 395/200.33
• US Class Current: 709/212
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/986 Document structures and storage, e.g. HTML extensions

Abstract

A method and apparatus that allows a Web page designer to specify that an audio file linked to a Web page should be prefetched before user input is accepted. Web browser software prefetches the audio file if there is enough room in a temporary memory to store the file. The invention also allows a Web page designer to specify the text over which the user must place the cursor to play the audio file. When the temporary memory is full and an audio file needs to be prefetched, the browser deletes files from the temporary memory until there is enough room in the temporary memory for the prefetched audio file. Files are deleted in a least-recently-referenced, first-out order.

Claims

1. A method of processing HTML that describes a Web page, comprising the steps performed by a data processing system, of:

receiving HTML describing the Web page, the HTML describing the Web page including at least one SOUND attribute identifying at least one audio file associated with the Web page that should be prefetched;

reviewing the received HTML to locate the at least one SOUND attribute in the HTML;

prefetching automatically the audio file identified by the at least one SOUND attribute when during the reviewing step the SOUND attribute is located in the HTML; and

storing the prefetched audio file in a memory of the data processing system to allow the audio file to be played immediately upon activation of the audio file by a user.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the storing step includes the step of:

storing a current page number of the Web page in the memory in association with the prefetched audio file.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the memory of the data processing system includes a temporary memory, wherein the storing step includes the step of storing the prefetched audio file in the temporary memory when there is room in the temporary memory for the prefetched audio file.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the memory of the data processing system includes a temporary memory, wherein the storing step includes the step of deleting from the temporary memory a second audio file referenced in a least recently used Web page.

5. A method of displaying a Web page, comprising the steps performed by a data processing system, of:

receiving HTML describing the Web page, the HTML containing a SOUND attribute associated with an audio file identifying the audio file associated with the Web page that should be prefetched;

reviewing the received HTML to locate the SOUND attribute in the HTML;

prefetching automatically the audio file identified by the SOUND attribute in the HTML when during the reviewing step the SOUND attribute is located in the HTML;

storing the prefetched audio file in a memory of the data processing system to allow the audio file to be played immediately upon activation of the audio file by a user;

displaying the Web page in accordance with the HTML;

determining that a user has activated by the audio file by selecting a portion of the displayed Web page, associated with the audio file; and

playing the prefetched audio file stored in the memory.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the storing step includes the step of:

storing a current page number of the Web page in the memory in association with the prefetched audio file.

7. The method of claim 5 wherein the memory of the data processing system includes a temporary memory, and wherein the storing step includes the step of storing the prefetched audio file in the temporary memory when there is room in the temporary memory for the prefetched audio file.

8. The method of claim 5 wherein the memory of the data processing system includes a temporary memory, and wherein the storing step includes the step of deleting from the temporary memory a second audio file referenced in a least recently used Web page.

9. The method of claim 5,

wherein the portion of the displayed Web page is linked to the prefetched audio file;

and

wherein the determining step includes the step of determining that the user has selected the portion of the displayed Web page linked with the audio file.

10. A method of specifying an audio file on a Web page, comprising the steps, performed by a data processing system, of:

determining a location of graphic data associated with the audio file on the Web page;

storing in a memory of the data processing system an HTML element having the format;

space="preserve" listing-type="equation"><

A HREF=url SOUND>

graphic data <

/A>

where the HTML element is stored in the memory in a location associated with the location of the graphic data on the Web page and the format indicates that an audio file associated with the HTML element is to be prefetched automatically when during a review of HTML describing the Web page the HTML element is located in the HTML.

11. A computer program product, comprising:

a computer usable medium having a computer readable program code mechanism embodied therein configured to display a Web page, the computer readable program code mechanism in said program product including;

a computer readable program code mechanism configured to cause a computer to effect receiving HTML describing the Web page, the HTML containing a SOUND attribute associated with an audio file identifying the audio file associated with the Web page that should be prefetched;

a computer readable program code mechanism configured to cause a computer to effect reviewing the received HTML to locate the SOUND attribute in the HTML;

a computer readable program code mechanism configured to cause the computer to effect prefetching automatically the audio file identified by the SOUND attribute in the HTML when during the review performed by the computer the SOUND attribute is located in the HTML; and

a computer readable program code mechanism configured to cause the computer to effect storing the prefetched audio file in a memory of the data processing system to allow the audio file to be played immediately upon activation of the audio file by a user.

12. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein the computer readable program code mechanism in said program product further comprises:

a computer readable program code mechanism configured to cause the computer to effect displaying the Web page in accordance with the HTML;

a computer readable program code mechanism configured to cause the computer to effect determining that a user has selected a portion of the displayed Web page associated with the audio file; and

a computer readable program code mechanism configured to cause the computer to effect playing the prefetched audio file stored in the memory.

13. A computer system that processes HTML describing a Web page, the computer system having a memory, comprising:

an HTML receiving portion that receives the HTML describing the Web page, the HTML describing the Web page including at least one SOUND attribute identifying at least one audio file associated with the Web page that should be prefetched;

a reviewing portion that reviews the received HTML to locate the at least one SOUND attribute in the HTML;

a prefetch portion that prefetches automatically the audio file identified by the at least one SOUND attribute when during the review performed by the reviewing portion the SOUND attribute is located in the HTML; and

a storage portion that stores the prefetched audio file in the memory of the computer system to allow the audio file to be played immediately upon activation of the audio file by the user.

14. The computer system of claim 13, wherein the storage portion includes a portion that stores a current page number of the Web page in the memory in association with the prefetched audio file.

15. The computer system of claim 13,

wherein the memory of the computer system includes a temporary memory, and

wherein the storage portion includes a portion that stores the prefetched audio file in the temporary memory when there is room in the temporary memory for the prefetched audio file.

16. The computer system of claim 13,

wherein the memory of the computer system includes a temporary memory,

wherein the storage portion includes a portion that deletes from the temporary memory a second audio file referenced in a least recently used Web page.

17. A computer readable medium carrying one or more sequences of instructions for processing HTML describing a Web page, wherein execution of the one or more sequences of instructions by one or more processors causes the one or more processors to perform the steps of:

receiving HTML describing the Web page, the HTML describing the Web page including at least one SOUND attribute indicating that at least one audio file associated with the Web page should be prefetched;

reviewing the received HTML to locate the at least one SOUND attribute in the HTML;

prefetching automatically the audio file identified by the at least one sound attribute when during the reviewing step the SOUND attribute is located in the HTML; and

storing the prefetched audio file in a memory of the data processing system to allow the audio file to be played immediately upon activation of the audio file by a user.