Method and system for accessing information on a network using message aliasing functions having shadow callback functions

• US 6,061,738 A
• Filed: 10/28/1997
• Issued: 05/09/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 06/27/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: D&I Systems Incorporated
• Original Assignee: D&I Systems Incorporated
• Inventors: Pan, Rong, Osaku, Teizo
• Primary Examiner(s): Maung, Zarni
• Application Number:
  US08/959,371
• Time in Patent Office: 924 Days
• Field of Search: 709/245, 709/219, 709/225, 709/203, 709/227, 709/250
• US Class Current: 709/245
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/29 Geographical information databases

Abstract

The present invention provides methods and systems for accessing a network URL through a pre-assigned simplified network address, correlating to the URL, and for displaying the home page having the URL as its address. These methods and systems provide easier URL and home page access because persons wanting to access the home page need only input the simplified network address, thereby avoiding the need to know and input the URL character string. The simplified network addresses of the present invention include numbers. Methods are provided for selecting numbers for assignment to URLs. The URL and home page access and display methods of the present invention include: assigning a simplified network address such as a number to a URL, storing the URL and number conversion in a network accessible storage system, inputting the assigned number in a network accessible computer, communicating the inputted number to the storage system, converting the number to the URL, retrieving the home page corresponding to the URL and displaying the home page on the computer. Additionally, the invention provides methods for use in message passing operating systems wherein system level messages to specific objects are intercepted, creating an alias message.

Claims

1. A method for accessing network information using simplified network addressing, comprising the steps:

a) providing a platform having network access and accepting inputs for accessing network information, wherein the platform providing step additionally includes providing a message aliasing function comprising;

(i) intercepting operating system level messages sent to predetermined message receivers, the operating system providing an original callback function for each message receiver, (ii) creating a shadow callback function, and for saving, and then replacing, the original callback function with the shadow callback function the first time a message is intercepted for a predetermined message receiver, and (iii) creating and substituting an alias message in place of the intercepted message and for sending the alias message to the intended receiver of the intercepted message;

b) accepting a simplified network address corresponding to a network address of the network information;

c) converting the simplified network address to a URL defining the network address of the information, wherein the conversion is carried out by a network accessible database of correspondence relations, and further including the steps;

(i) providing a network server-based database defining a correspondence relation between simplified network addresses and corresponding URLs, (ii) providing the database server with a search engine for searching the database and accepting a search key, (iii) organizing the database such that a search of the database using the simplified network address as the search key returns the corresponding URL, (iv) receiving the simplified network address, (v) forming a conversion request network access command including a copy of the received simplified network address, the formed command being addressed to the database server, (vi) sending the formed command to the database server, additionally comprising using the message aliasing function to intercept the simplified network address and to replace the simplified network address with the formed command using a copy of the simplified network address, (vii) the database server using the search engine to search the database using the received simplified network address as the search key, and (viii) the database server returning the corresponding URL portion of the matching correspondence relation, via the network, as the result of the conversion, wherein the database conversion is performed by a server-based system which receives the simplified network address as part of an http;

//network address command, locates a matching simplified network address in the database, and returns the corresponding URL;

d) using the URL to form a network access command, and

e) using the formed network access command to access the network information via the platform, wherein a simplified network address is inputted which is then converted to a command selected from the group consisting of http;

//URL/commands and TCP/IP commands, for retrieving the network information.

2. The network access method of claim 1, wherein the message aliasing function further includes means for restoring original callback functions and for disabling the message aliasing system when the aliasing system receives a message to turn itself off.

3. The network access method of claim 1, wherein the alias message creating means includes:

a) means for forming a first URL including a string portion;

b) means for providing the first URL and included string portion to a lookup system;

c) means for receiving from the lookup system a network Uniform Resource Locator corresponding to the string portion and defining a second URL; and

d) means for substituting the second URL as the alias message.

4. The network access method of claim 3, wherein the string portion defines a simplified network address for network information, and the second URL is the network defined Uniform Resource Locator for the network information.

5. The network access method of claim 1, wherein the alias message creating means includes:

a) means for forming a first URL including a string portion;

b) means for providing the first URL and included string portion to a conversion function;

c) means for receiving from the conversion function a network Uniform Resource Locator corresponding to the string portion and defining a second URL; and

d) means for substituting the second URL as the alias message.

6. The network access method of claim 5, wherein the string portion includes a command portion and a parameter portion, and the second URL incorporates a network address for the server, a command corresponding to the command portion, and one or more parameters of the command corresponding to the parameter portion, wherein the server will execute a predefined command using the parameter.

7. The network access method of claim 6, further including the network server returning a result of the execution of the command.