Method and system for the international support of internet web pages

• US 6,324,500 B1
• Filed: 11/14/1997
• Issued: 11/27/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 11/14/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Nuance Communications, Inc. (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Dodson, John Paul, Amro, Hatim Yousef
• Primary Examiner(s): EDOUARD, PATRICK NESTOR
• Application Number:
  US08/971,017
• Time in Patent Office: 1,474 Days
• Field of Search: 704/8, 704/1, 704/9, 707/535, 707/536, 707/542, 382/185, 382/329, 382/330, 382/331, 345/171, 345/141, 345/467, 389/259
• US Class Current: 704/8
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9577 Optimising the visualization of content, e.g. distillation of HTML documents
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/109 Font handling; Temporal or kinetic typography
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/328 in the presentation layer [OSI layer 6]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

A method and system in a computer network for the dynamic conversion of foreign language data transferred from a remote network site to a local network site into data supportive of the foreign language data, such that the data supportive of the foreign language data may be displayed at the local network site. Initially, the foreign language data at the remote network site is scanned, and individual foreign language characters are associated with the foreign language data. Next, each individual foreign language character associated with the foreign language data is mapped to a position in a table of characters capable of being transferred as data to another network site. The table and the mapping information are then transferred as data to the local network site. The characters contained in the table are subsequently automatically converted at the local network site into foreign language data. Finally, the foreign language data is displayed at the local network site.

Claims

1. A method in a collaborative data processing system for enabling a client to display text from a server in a non-native font, said method comprising:

receiving, at a server utilizing a first character set, a message from a client utilizing a second character set, said message requesting data to be displayed within said client;

in response to receipt of said message, identifying characters from said first character set that are contained in said data, and building a font table that includes character images for said identified characters;

transmitting said font table and said data, including said identified characters, to said client, such that said client accepts said font table as a supplemental character set; and

processes said identified characters as text, utilizing said character images from said font table to display said identified characters.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein:

said step of building said font table comprises adding bit-maps of characters from a first language to said font table; and

said second character set includes characters from a second language.

3. A method according to claim 2, wherein:

said server is a Web server; and

said method further comprises;

receiving said data and said font table at said client;

loading said font table into a Web browser executing in said client; and

displaying said identified characters as text within said Web browser.

4. A method according to claim 2, further comprising:

building a sequence table that lists said identified characters and includes one or more sequence indexes for at least one of said identified characters; and

wherein;

said step of transmitting said data and said font table to said client comprises transmitting said sequence table to said client.

5. A server in a collaborative data processing environment with facilities for enabling a client to display text from the server in a non-native font, said server comprising:

a first character set that is utilized by said server;

in input facility that receives a message from a client utilizing a second character set, said message requesting data to be displayed within said client;

a font table builder that responds to receipt of said message by identifying any characters from said first character set that are contained in said data and building a font table that includes character images for said identified characters; and

an output facility that transmits said font table and said data, including said characters, to said client, such that said client accepts said font table as a supplemental character set and processes said identified characters as text, utilizing said character images from said font table to display said identified characters.

6. A server according to claim 5, wherein:

said character images in said font table are bit-maps of characters from a first language; and

said second character set includes characters from a second language.

7. A server according to claim 6, wherein said server is a Web server.

8. A server according to claim 6, further comprising:

a sequence table builder which builds a sequence table that lists said identified characters and includes one or more sequence indexes for at least one of said identified characters; and

wherein;

said output facility transmits at least part of said data to said client within said sequence table.

9. A program product with facilities for enabling text from a server to be displayed by a client in a non-native font, said program product comprising:

in input facility that receives, at a server utilizing a first character set, a message from a client utilizing a second character set, said message requesting data to be displayed within said client;

a font table builder that responds to receipt of said message by identifying any characters from said first character set that are contained in said data and building a font table that includes character images for said identified characters;

an output facility that transmits said font table and said data, including said identified characters, to said client, such that said client accepts said font table as a supplemental character set and processes said identified characters as text, utilizing said character images from said font table to display said identified characters; and

a computer usable medium encoding said input facility, said font table builder, and said output facility.

10. A program product according to claim 9, wherein:

said character images in said font table are bit-maps of characters from a first language; and

said second character set includes characters from a second language.

11. A program product according to claim 10, wherein:

said computer usable medium further encodes a sequence table builder which builds a sequence table that lists said identified characters and includes one or more sequence indexes for at least one of said identified characters; and

said output facility transmits at least part of said data to said client within said sequence table.