Apparatus and method for displaying application output in an HTML document

• US 6,370,552 B1
• Filed: 05/14/1997
• Issued: 04/09/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 05/14/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Citrix Systems, Inc. (Cloud Software Group)
• Original Assignee: Citrix Systems, Inc. (Cloud Software Group)
• Inventors: Bloomfield, Marc A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Herndon, Heather R.
• Assistant Examiner(s): HUYNH, CONG LAC T
• Application Number:
  US08/855,977
• Time in Patent Office: 1,791 Days
• Field of Search: 707/513, 707/501, 707/501.1, 345/335, 345/340, 345/759, 345/803, 395/200.57, 395/200.58, 709/203, 709/217, 709/219
• US Class Current: 715/234
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/549 Remote execution
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/541 via adapters, e.g. between incompatible applications
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/542 Event management; Broadcasting; Multicasting; Notifications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/08 Protocols for interworking; Protocol conversion
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/16 Implementation or adaptation of Internet protocol [IP], of transmission control protocol [TCP] or of user datagram protocol [UDP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/161 Implementation details of TCP/IP or UDP/IP stack architecture; Specification of modified or new header fields
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/165 Combined use of TCP and UDP protocols; selection criteria therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

A method for displaying an executing application in an HTML page includes the steps of receiving an indication that execution of an application should begin, determining the parameters of a window in which the executing application will be displayed, creating a communication channel to the HTML page using the determined window parameters, and displaying the output of the application, which is executing on a server, in the window via the communications channel. A related apparatus includes a parameter handler and a network executive. The parameter handler determines the parameters of the application window and passes the parameters to a network executive. The network executive uses the parameters to begin execution of the desired applications program on a server and causes the output of the program to be displayed in the window.

Claims

1. A method for displaying output, produced by an application executing on a server, in an HTML page, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) transmitting a file to a client, the file representing a page and including a parameter associated with defining a window within the page when a browser application displays the page at the client;

(b) receiving input from the page displayed at the client to signal execution of an application on a server;

(c) creating a communications channel that is independent from the browser application between the window within the page displayed at the client and the application program executing on the server, using the window parameter; and

(d) transmitting output produced by the application executing on the server via the communications channel to the client for displays without intervention by the browser application, in the window within the displayed page.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein step (b) comprises:

(b-a) displaying the page on the client, the page including at least one tag for signaling execution of the application; and

(b-b) invoking execution of the application on the server in response to the selection of the at least one tag by a user.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of accessing the file to determine the parameter of the window in which the executing application will be displayed.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of accessing the file in order to determine a parameter associated with the execution of the application.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein step (c) comprises creating a data pipe that is independent from the browser application between the executing application and the application window in the page.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of receiving input to the application executing on the server over the communication channel, the received input corresponding to input supplied to the window within the displayed page by a user of the client.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the window is a first window and step (c) further comprises the steps of:

defining a second window for receiving the output produced by the application program executing on the server; and

associating the second window with the first window such that the output received by the second window appears in the first window within the displayed page without intervention by the browser application.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the step of associating the second window with the first window comprises using window properties that define the first window to define the second window.

9. An apparatus for displaying output, produced by an application executing on a server, in an HTML page, the apparatus comprising:

a page displayer displaying a page having an application execution window defined therein;

a parameter handler which receives from the page displayer parameters associated with the application execution window within the page; and

a network executive which receives parameters from said parameter handler, causes an application to begin execution on a server, establishes a communication channel that is independent from a browser application between the application execution window and the application executing on the server, using the received parameters, receives output produced by the application through the communication channel, and displays the output in application execution window without intervention by the browser application.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein the parameter handler accesses a file storing the page to determine the parameters associated with the application execution window within the page.

11. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein another parameter received by the network executive from the parameter handler is an identification of the server which hosts the application.

12. An article of manufacture having computer-readable code means for displaying output, produced by an application executing on a server, in an HTML page embodied thereon, the article comprising:

(a) computer readable means for transmitting a file to a client, the file representing a page and including a parameter associated with defining a window within the page when a browser application displays the page at the client;

(b) computer-readable code means for receiving input from the page displayed at the client to signal execution of an application in an HTML page;

(c) computer-readable code means for creating a communications channel that is independent from the browser application between the window within the page displayed on the client and the application program executing on the server, using the window parameter; and

(d) computer-readable code means for transmitting output produced by the application executing on the server via the communications channel to the client for display, without intervention by the browser application, in the window within the displayed page.

13. A method for displaying output, produced by an application executing on a server, in an HTML page, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) receiving input from a first page displayed at a client to signal execution of an application on a server;

(b) determining parameters of a window within the first page in which output produced by the executing application will be displayed;

(c) creating a communications channel that is independent from a browser application between the window within the first page and the executing application on the server, using the determined parameters;

(d) transmitting output produced by the application executing on the server to the client for display in the window via the communications channel without intervention by the browser application;

(e) receiving input from the client to signal display of a second page; and

(f) storing the determined parameters associated with the first page.

14. The method of claim 13 further comprising the steps of:

(g) receiving input from a user to redisplay the first page;

(h) retrieving the stored parameters associated with the first page; and

(i) redisplaying, responsive to the retrieved associated parameters, the first page including the window displaying the executing application.

15. A system for displaying output, produced by an application program executing on a server, in an HTML file comprising:

a server which stores and executes an application program;

a network executive which sends commands to said server to begin execution of the application program, which receives, without intervention by a browser application, output from the application program executing on said server, and which further transmits, without intervention by the browser application the application, program output;

a parameter handler which receives parameters and passes the received parameters, to said network executive; and

a file which includes an application window and window parameters the file providing the window parameters to said parameter handler,

wherein the network executive establishes a communication channel that is independent from the browser application between the application program executing on the server and the application window using the window parameters, by which the application output passes from the application executing on the server to the application window without intervention by the browser application.

16. The system of claim 15 further comprising a tag which, when embedded in said file, causes the application window to be displayed which passes window parameters to said parameter handler.

18. The method of claim 15 wherein the window is a first window and step (c) further comprises the steps of:

defining a second window for receiving the output produced by the application program executing on the server; and

associating the second window with the first window such that the output received by the second window appears in the first window within the displayed page without intervention by the browser application.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the step of associating the second window with the first window comprises using window properties that define the first window to define the second window.

17. A method for displaying output produced by an application program executing on a server in a page displayed on a client, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) displaying a page having a window defined therein, the window being associated with an application program residing on a server;

(b) invoking execution of the application program on the server in response to the displayed page;

(c) creating a communications channel that is independent from the browser application between the window defined in the displayed page and the application program executing on the server in response to invoking execution of the application program; and

(d) receiving output produced by execution of the application program on the server through the communications channel for display, without intervention by the browser application in the window defined within the displayed page.