Method and system for consistent update and retrieval of document in a WWW server

• US 6,510,439 B1
• Filed: 08/06/1999
• Issued: 01/21/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 08/06/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Nokia of America Corporation (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Lucent Technologies, Inc. (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Rangarajan, Sampath, Yajnik, Shalini
• Primary Examiner(s): Breene, John E.
• Assistant Examiner(s): ALI, MOHAMMAD
• Application Number:
  US09/370,340
• Time in Patent Office: 1,264 Days
• Field of Search: 707/9-10, 707/200-203, 707/100-104, 709/224, 709/217, 709/250, 705/34, 705/40, 705/79
• US Class Current: 715/229
• 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 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99952 Coherency, e.g. same view to multiple users

Abstract

A system for providing coherent access to different versions of a group of documents stored in a file system and retrievable over the Internet from an HTTP server includes a state management server which stores registration data indicating the file paths of the documents in each version of the group and a set of index paths used by clients to reference documents in the group. State information identifying the version of said group previously accessed by a client is stored in a cookie which is associated with the domain of the state management server and the path of the group. A client requests a document from the group by issuing a request to an HTTP server including the index path of the desired document. The request and associated cookie, which is automatically transmitted by the client Internet software, is forwarded to the state management server. The state information stored in the cookie is extracted and used to determine which version of the group of documents should be accessed. The index path is then mapped to the file path for the appropriate version of the requested document and the data information is updated to reflect the present access. The mapped file path and cookie are then returned to the HTTP server.

Claims

1. A method for providing coherent access to a group of documents over the Internet, each document having at least one changed segment and each document of the group of documents represents versions of a first document wherein segments have been changed over time, comprising the steps of:

receiving a request from a requester for a document from said group of versions of said document, said request including a document index path and a cookie associated with a domain of a state management server and said group, said cookie further containing state information, the state information having a value field with a first portion indicating a group version number and a second portion indicating a version of said group of documents previously accessed;

extracting said state information from said cookie;

mapping said document index path to a corresponding file path identifying a physical location of a particular version of said document in said group of versions in accordance with versions of the group of documents previously accessed as indicated in said state information; and

returning said file path to the requester.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said state information indicates a previously accessed version of said group, said mapping step comprising the step of mapping said document index path to a corresponding file path in said previously accessed version of said group.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said state information indicates a previously accessed version of said group and includes file access data indicating previously accessed documents in said previously accessed version of said group, said method further comprising the steps of:

modifying said state information in said cookie to include updated file access data indicating an access to said requested document; and

returning said modified cookie to the requestor.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein:

in response to a determination that said requested document does not correspond to a previously accessed document in said previously accessed version of said group, said mapping step comprises the step of mapping said document index path to a corresponding file path identifying a physical location of said requested document in said indicated previously accessed version of said group;

otherwise said mapping step comprises the step of mapping said document index path to a corresponding file path identifying a physical location of said requested document in a most recent version of said group, and said modifying step further comprises the step of modifying said state information to indicate said most recent version of said group.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein said modifying step further comprises the step of setting an expiration time of said cookie equal to a present time plus a predetermined time-out period.

6. A method for providing coherent access to a group of documents over the Internet, each document having at least one changed segment and each document of the group of documents represents versions of a first document wherein segments have been changed over time, comprising the steps of:

receiving a request from a requester for a document from said group of versions of said document, said request including a document index path and lacking a cookie associated with a domain of a state management server and said group

mapping said document index path to a corresponding file path identifying a physical location of a particular version of said document in the most recent version of said group of versions;

generating a cookie associated with the domain of said state management server and said group and including state information having a value field with a first portion indicating a group version number and a second portion indicating a most recent version of said group previously accessed; and

returning said file path and cookie to the requester.

7. A system for providing coherent access to a plurality of versions of a group of documents stored in a file system and retrievable over the Internet from an HTTP server, each document having at least one changed segment and each document of the group of documents represents versions of a first document wherein segments have been changed over time, said system comprising:

a state management server having an Internet domain and including a processor and a memory;

said memory including group registration data comprising;

a group path associated with said group;

an index path set associated with said group and having at least one index path, and

a file path set associated with each said version of said group of documents, each respective file path set including a file path identifying the physical location in said file system of each document in said associated version of said group of documents and being associated with a particular index path in said index path set;

said processor, upon receipt of a request from said HTTP server that includes a requested document index path being configured to;

(a) determine if said request includes a cookie which is associated with said domain, associated with said group path, and contains state information, the state information having a value field with a first portion indicating a group version number and a second portion indicating a version of said group of documents previously accessed;

(b) in response to a positive determination that the request includes the cookie;

(c) map said document index path to a corresponding file path in the file path set associated with a particular version of said document in said group of versions in accordance with versions of the group of documents previously accessed as indicated in said state information; and

(c) return said corresponding file path to said HTTP server.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein said state information indicates a previously accessed version of said group, said processor being configured to map said document index path to a corresponding file path in said previously accessed version of said group.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein said state information indicates a previously accessed version of said group and includes file access data indicating previously accessed documents in said previously accessed version of said group, said processor being further configured to:

modify said state information in said cookie to include updated file access data indicating an access to said requested document; and

return said modified cookie to said HTTP server.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein said processor is further configured to:

determine if said requested document corresponds to a previously accessed document in said previously accessed version of said group;

in response to a negative determination, map said document index path to a corresponding file path in the file path set associated with said indicated previously accessed version of said group; and

in response to a positive determination(a) map said document index path to a corresponding file path in the file path set associated with a most recent version of said group, and (b) modify said state information to indicate said most recent version of said group.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein said processor is further configured to set an expiration time of said cookie equal to a present time plus a predetermined time-out period.

12. The system of claim 7, wherein said processor is further configured to, in response to a negative determination that the request includes the cookie:

(a) generate a cookie associated with the domain of said state management server and said group and including state information indicating a most recent version of said group;

(b) map said document index path to a corresponding file path in the file path set associated with the most recent version of said group of documents; and

(c) return said corresponding file path and cookie to said HTTP server.