Method and apparatus for generating and modifying multiple instances of an element of a web site

• US 6,601,057 B1
• Filed: 10/30/2000
• Issued: 07/29/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 11/05/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Decentrix, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Decentrix, Inc.
• Inventors: Neilson, Paul, Char, Hanson, Shing, David, Horner, Peter, Underwood, Mark, Slaney, Darren, Evesson, Gary, Underwood, John
• Primary Examiner(s): Feild, Joseph H.
• Assistant Examiner(s): DESAI, RACHNA SINGH
• Application Number:
  US09/702,356
• Time in Patent Office: 1,002 Days
• Field of Search: 707/1, 707/530, 707/517
• US Class Current: 715/207
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/958 Organisation or management of web site content, e.g. publishing, maintaining pages or automatic linking
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/10 Text processing natural language analysis G06F40/20; semantic analysis G06F40/30; processing or translation of natural language G06F40/40
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/915 Image
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/957 Multidimensional
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing

Abstract

A technique for modifying a web site generated in accordance with received data entry by: determining at least one characteristic of at least one web site dimension of the web site based on the data entry; generating a multi-dimensional description of the web site based on the determined characteristics; retrieving web site data according to the generated multi-dimensional description of the web site; generating the web site based upon the generated multi-dimensional description of the web site and the retrieved web site data; receiving modification data modifying at least one of the determined characteristics; and regenerating the description of the web site based upon the modified characteristics.

Claims

1. A system for generating web site component data, comprising:

a registry storage for storing web site component data including data defining at least one interface for each of one or more-web site components; and

an instance data storage coupled to said registry storage, said instance data storage storing instance data defining one or more instances of said one or more web site components as presented in one or more web pages, wherein

each of said one or more instances of said-one or more web site components for said one or more web pages are determined based at least in part upon one or more determined characteristics of said one or more web pages in accordance with a pseudo-random algorithm.

2. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said at least one interface includes at least one of a runtime interface, a preview interface, an edit interface, a property page interface, a runtime event interface, a preview event interface, and an edit event interface.

3. The system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the runtime interface includes presenting an instance of the respective web site component in the one or more web pages.

4. The system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the preview interface includes presenting an instance of the respective web site component in a preview of the one or more web pages.

5. The system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the edit interface includes presenting an instance of the respective web site component in editable form in the one or more web pages.

6. The system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the property page interface includes receiving configuration data for defining an instance of the respective web site component.

7. The system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the runtime event interface includes receiving input data for modifying a component image of an instance of the respective web site component presented in the one or more web pages.

8. The system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the preview event interface includes receiving input data for modifying a component image of an instance of the respective web site component presented in a preview of the one or more web pages.

9. The system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the edit event interface includes receiving input data for editing an instance of the respective web site component in the one or more web pages.

10. The system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising an edit engine for presenting said at least one interface to a system for creating a web site.

11. The system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a runtime engine for presenting said at least one interface to a system for presenting said one or more web pages.

12. A system for generating web site component data, comprising:

a registry storage for storing web site component data including data defining at least one interface for each of one or more web site components;

an instance data storage coupled to said registry storage, said instance data storage storing instance data defining one or more instances of said one or more web site components as presented in one or more web pages;

an input for receiving data entry; and

a multi-purpose computing device coupled to said registry storage, said instance data storage, and said input, said multi-purpose computing device adapted to perform the steps of;

determining one or more characteristics for each of one or more web site dimensions in response to the data entry, each of said one or more characteristics being determined based at least in part upon one or more of said determined characteristics in accordance with a pseudo-random algorithm;

generating a description of the web site based upon the one or more determined characteristics for each of the one or more web site dimensions;

retrieving web site data in accordance with the generated description of the web site;

generating one or more pages of the web site based upon the description of the web site and the retrieved web site data; and

presenting the generated web site, wherein

the retrieved web site data includes the web site component data for at least one designated web site component designated by the generated description of the web site.

13. The system as claimed in claim 12, wherein the at least one designated web site component is presented in a plurality of portions of the web site.

14. The system as claimed in claim 13, wherein the multi-purpose computing device is further adapted to perform the step of modifying the instance data for the at least one designated web site component presented in one of the plurality of portions of the web site.

15. The system as claimed in claim 13, wherein the multi-purpose computing device is further adapted to perform the step of modifying the instance data for the at least one designated web site component thereby modifying the presentation of the at least one designated web site component in one of the plurality of portions of the web site.

16. The system as claimed in claim 12, wherein the at least one designated web site component is presented in a plurality of pages of the web site.

17. The system as claimed in claim 16, wherein the multi-purpose computing device is adapted to further perform the step of modifying the instance data for the at least one designated web site component presented in the plurality of pages of the web site.

18. The system as claimed in claim 16, wherein the multi-purpose computing device is further adapted to perform the step of modifying the instance data for the at least one designated web site component thereby modifying the presentation of the at least one designated web site component in one of the plurality of pages of the web site.

19. The system as claimed in claim 12, wherein the multi-purpose computing device is further adapted to perform the step of generating instance data for the at least one designated web site component.

20. The system as claimed in claim 19, wherein the multi-purpose computing device is further adapted to perform the step of storing the generated instance data in the instance data storage.

21. The system as claimed in claim 19, wherein the multipurpose computing device generates the instance data based upon the one or more characteristics for the one or more web site dimensions.

22. A system for generating web site component data, comprising:

a registry storage for storing web site component data including data defining at least one interface for each of one or more web site components;

an instance data storage coupled to said registry storage, said instance data storage storing instance data defining one or more instances of said one or more web site components as presented in one or more web pages; and

a multi-purpose computing device coupled to said registry storage and said instance data storage, said multi-purpose computing device adapted to perform the steps of;

determining one or more characteristics for each of one or more web site dimensions, each of said one or more characteristics being determined based at least in part upon one or more of said determined characteristics in accordance with a pseudo-random algorithm;

generating a description of the web site based upon the one or more determined characteristics for each of the one or more web site dimensions, at least one of the characteristics designating at least one web site component to be included in one or more portions of the description of the web site;

retrieving web site data in accordance with the generated description of the web site;

generating one or more pages of the web site based upon the description of the web site and the retrieved web site data; and

presenting the generated web site; and

an input for receiving modification data modifying the at least one of the characteristics, wherein

the retrieved web site data includes the web site component data for the at least one designated web site component, and

the multi-purpose computing device is adapted to further perform the step of modifying the instance data for the at least one designated web site component based upon the modified characteristics.

23. A system for generating web site component data, comprising:

a registry storage for storing web site component data including data defining at least one interface for each of one or more web site components;

an instance data storage coupled to said registry storage, said instance data storage storing in stance data defining one or more instances of said one or more web site components as presented in one or more web pages; and

a characteristic data storage coupled to said instance data storage, said characteristic data storage storing characteristic data defining one or more characteristics for one or more web site dimensions, wherein

each of said one or more characteristics for one or more web site dimensions is determined based at least in part upon one or more of said determined characteristics in accordance with a pseudo-random algorithm, and

the instance data is generated based upon the characteristic data.

24. A method of generating web site component data, comprising the steps of:

storing web site component data including data defining at least one interface for each of one or more web site components; and

storing instance data defining one or more instances of said one or more web site components as presented in one or more web pages, wherein

each of said one or more instances of said one or more web site components for said one or more web pages are determined based at least in part upon one or more determined characteristics of said one or more web pages in accordance with a pseudo-random algorithm.

25. The method as claimed in claim 24, wherein said at least one interface includes at least one of a runtime interface, a preview interface, an edit interface, a property page interface, a runtime event interface, a preview event interface, and an edit event interface.

26. The method as claimed in claim 25, wherein the runtime interface includes presenting an instance of the respective web site component in the one or more web pages.

27. The method as claimed in claim 25, wherein the preview interface includes presenting an instance of the respective web site component in a preview of the one or more web pages.

28. The method as claimed in claim 25, wherein the edit interface includes presenting an instance of the respective web site component in editable form in the one or more web pages.

29. The method as claimed in claim 25, wherein the property page interface includes receiving configuration data for defining an instance of the respective web site component.

30. The method as claimed in claim 25, wherein the runtime event interface includes receiving input data for modifying a component image of an instance of the respective web site component presented in the one or more web pages.

31. The method as claimed in claim 25, wherein the preview event interface includes receiving input data for modifying a component image of an instance of the respective web site component presented in a preview of the one or more web pages.

32. The method as claimed in claim 25, wherein the edit event interface includes receiving input data for editing an instance of the respective web site component in the one or more web pages.

33. The method as claimed in claim 24, further comprising the step of presenting said at least one interface to a process of creating a web site.

34. The method as claimed in claim 24, further comprising the step of presenting said at least one interface to a process of presenting said one or more web pages.

35. A method of generating web site component data, comprising the steps of:

storing web site component data including data defining at least one interface for each of one or more web site components;

storing instance data defining one or more instances of said one or more web site components as presented in one or more web pages;

receiving data entry;

determining one or more characteristics for each of one or more web site dimensions in response to the data entry, each of said one or more characteristics being determined based at least in part upon one or more of said determined characteristics in accordance with a pseudo-random algorithm;

generating a description of the web site based upon the one or more determined characteristics for each of the one or more web site dimensions;

retrieving web site data in accordance with the generated description of the web site;

generating one or more pages of the web site based upon the description of the web site and the retrieved web site data; and

presenting the generated web site;

wherein

the retrieved web site data includes the web site component data for at least one designated web site component designated by the generated description of the web site.

36. The method as claimed in claim 35, wherein the at least one designated web site component is presented in a plurality of portions of the web site.

37. The method as claimed in claim 36, further comprising the step of modifying the instance data for the at least one designated web site component presented in one of the plurality of portions of the web site.

38. The method as claimed in claim 36, further comprising the step of modifying the instance data for the at least one designated web site component thereby modifying the presentation of the at least one designated web site component in one of the plurality of portions of the web site.

39. The method as claimed in claim 35, wherein the at least one designated web site component is presented in a plurality of pages of the web site.

40. The method as claimed in claim 39, further comprising the step of modifying the instance data for the at least one designated web site component presented in the plurality of pages of the web site.

41. The method as claimed in claim 39, further comprising the step of modifying the instance data for the at least one designated web site component thereby modifying the presentation of the at least one designated web site component in one of the plurality of pages of the web site.

42. The method as claimed in claim 35, further comprising the step of generating instance data for the at least one designated web site component.

43. The method as claimed in claim 42, further comprising the step of storing the generated instance data in the instance data storage.

44. The method as claimed in claim 42, wherein the instance data is generated based upon the one or more characteristics for the one or more web site dimensions.

45. A method for generating web site component data, comprising the steps of:

storing web site component data including data defining at least one interface for each of one or more web site components;

storing instance data defining one or more instances of said one or more web site components as presented in one or more web pages;

determining one or more characteristics for each of one or more web site dimensions, each of said one or more characteristics being determined based at least in part upon one or more of said determined characteristics in accordance with a pseudo-random algorithm;

generating a description of the web site based upon the one or more determined characteristics for each of the one or more web site dimensions, at least one of the characteristics designating at least one web site component to be included in one or more portions of the description of the web site;

retrieving web site data in accordance with the generated description of the web site;

generating one or more pages of the web site based upon the description of the web site and the retrieved web site data;

presenting the generated web site;

receiving modification data modifying the at least one of the characteristics; and

modifying the instance data for the at least one designated web site component based upon the modified characteristics, wherein

the retrieved web site data includes the web site component data for the at least one designated web site component.

46. A method for generating web site component data, comprising the steps of:

storing web site component data including data defining at least one interface for each of one or more web site components;

storing instance data defining one or more instances of said one or more web site components as presented in one or more web pages; and

storing characteristic data defining one or more characteristics for one or more web site dimensions, wherein

each of said one or more characteristics for one or more web site dimensions is determined based at least in part upon one or more of said determined characteristics in accordance with a pseudo-random algorithm, and

the instance data is generated based upon the characteristic data.

47. A system for generating web site component data, comprising:

means for storing web site component data including data defining at least one interface for each of one or more web site components; and

means for storing instance data defining one or more instances of said one or more web site components as presented in one or more web pages, wherein

each of said one or more instances of said one or more web site components for said one or more web pages are determined based at least in part upon one or more determined characteristics of said one or more web pages in accordance with a pseudo-random algorithm.

48. A system for generating web site component data, comprising:

means for storing web site component data including data defining at least one interface for each of one or more web site components;

means for storing instance data defining one or more instances of said one or more web site components as presented in one or more web pages;

means for receiving data entry;

means for determining one or more characteristics for each of one or more web site dimensions in response to the data entry, each of said one or more characteristics being determined based at least in part upon one or more of said determined characteristics in accordance with a pseudo-random algorithm;

means for generating a description of the web site based upon the one or more determined characteristics for each of the one or more web site dimensions;

means for retrieving web site data in accordance with the generated description of the web site;

means for generating one or more pages of the web site based upon the description of the web site and the retrieved web site data; and

means for presenting the generated web site, wherein

the retrieved web site data includes the web site component data for at least one designated web site component designated by the generated description of the web site.

49. A system for generating web site component data, comprising:

means for storing web site component data including data defining at least one interface for each of one or more web site components;

means for storing instance data defining one or more instances of said one or more web site components as presented in one or more web pages;

means for determining each of one or more web site dimensions, each of said one or more characteristics being determined based at least in part upon one or more of said determined characteristics in accordance with a pseudo-random algorithm;

means for generating a description of the web site based upon the one or more determined characteristics for each of the one or more web site dimensions, at least one of the characteristics designating at least one web site component to be included in one or more portions of the description of the web site;

means for retrieving web site data in accordance with the generated description of the web site;

means for generating one or more pages of the web site based upon the description of the web site and the retrieved web site data;

means for presenting the generated web site;

means for receiving modification data modifying the at least one of the characteristics; and

means for modifying the instance data for the at least one designated web site component based upon the modified characteristics, wherein

the retrieved web site data includes the web site component data for the at least one designated web site component.

50. A system for generating web site component data, comprising:

means for storing web site component data including data defining at least one interface for each of one or more web site components;

means for storing instance data defining one or more instances of said one or more web site components as presented in one or more web pages; and

means for storing characteristic data defining one or more characteristics for one or more web site dimensions, wherein

each of said one or more characteristics for one or more web site dimensions is determined based at least in part upon one or more of said determined characteristics in accordance with a pseudo-random algorithm, and

the instance data is generated based upon the characteristic data.