System and method for populating HTML forms using relational database agents

• US 6,950,983 B1
• Filed: 09/07/2000
• Issued: 09/27/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 09/07/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Kyndryl Incorporated (Kyndryl Holdings, Inc.), ServiceNow Incorporated
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Snavely, Amy J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Feild, Joseph
• Assistant Examiner(s): Smith, Peter J.
• Application Number:
  US09/656,967
• Time in Patent Office: 1,846 Days
• Field of Search: 715/505, 715/507, 715/513
• US Class Current: 715/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/95 Retrieval from the web
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/174 Form filling; Merging

Abstract

A hybird Notes/DB2 environment provides a requisition catalog on the Web. Client browsers are connected to a GWA infrastructure including a first network dispatcher and a virtual cluster of Domino.Go servers. The network dispatcher sprays out browser requests among configured .nsf servers in virtual server cluster. Communications from this virtual server cluster are, in turn, dispatched by a second network dispatcher servers in a Domino cluster. External objects, primarily for a GUI, are served in a .dfs and include graphic files, Java files, HTML images and net.data macros. The catalog is built from supplier provided flat files. A front end is provided for business logic and validation, as also is a relation database backend. HTML forms are populated using relational database agents. A role table is used for controlling access both to Notes code and DB2 data. Large amounts of data is quickly transferred using an intermediate agent and window.

Claims

1. Method for generating a web presentation in a hybrid environment, comprising the steps of:

executing a first application in a browser frame set including at least one frame in a window of a first session, with frame spoofing inhibited such that a frame owned by said first session cannot access a frame owned by a second session;

opening a temporary data frame within said first session;

responsive to user command selected in a frame of said first session, opening a second application in a second window owned by said second session;

executing said second application to gather data content from a relational database and open in a third window a first agent owned by said first application together with said data content;

executing said first agent to populate said data content to said temporary data frame and call a second agent;

executing said second agent to write page display hypertext markup language to a browser display in a page display frame of said first session and

to dynamically populate said data content from said temporary data frame to said page display frame.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of using conditional logic to control look of said browser display based upon said data content from said relational database.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step responsive to data read from said relational database and access authority determined by reference to a role table, presenting in selected fields of said browser display straight text or text with hyperlinks.

4. The method of claim 3, said hybrid environment comprising a first database for storing code and tables implementing a web based requisition catalog application and said database comprising a relational database for storing catalog data.

5. The method of claim 4, said role table providing indicia defining a role and access authority level of a web user identifier for a user operating said browser to access said code and data, and further comprising the step of presenting text with hyperlinks to users authorized by said role table to edit said selected fields and otherwise presenting straight text.

6. System for generating a web presentation in a hybrid environment including a first relational database and a second relational database stored on a computer readable medium, comprising:

said first relational database for storing code and tables implementing an application;

said second relational database for storing data referenced by said application;

a browser for displaying in a frame set of a first window owned by a first session executing said application a page of hypertext markup language;

said frame set including a temporary data frame owned by said application;

said browser further for displaying in a frame a second window owned by a second session referencing said second relational database, with spoofing of frames of said second session by said first session being inhibited;

a third window which is not a frame for receiving document content from said second relational database and a first agent owned by said application;

said first agent for writing said document content to said temporary data frame; and

a second agent owned by said application for dynamically populating said document content from said temporary data frame to said page of hypertext markup language.

7. The system of claim 6, further comprising conditional logic for controlling look of said browser display based upon data in said second relational database.

8. The system of claim 6, further comprising code means operable responsive to data read from said relational databases and access authority determined by reference to a role table for presenting in selected fields of said browser display straight text or text with hyperlinks.

9. The system of claim 8, said hybrid environment comprising a first relational database for storing code and tables implementing a web based requisition catalog application and said second relational database comprising a relational database for storing catalog data.

10. The system of claim 9, said role table providing indicia defining a role and access authority level of a web user identifier for a user operating said browser to access said code and data, and said code means further operable for presenting text with hyperlinks to users authorized by said role table to edit said selected fields and otherwise presenting straight text.

11. A program storage device readable by a machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by a machine to perform method steps for generating a web presentation in a hybrid environment, said method steps comprising:

executing a first application in a browser frame set including at least one frame in a window of a first session, with frame spoofing inhibited such that a frame owned by said first session cannot access a frame owned by a second session;

opening a temporary data frame within said first session;

responsive to user command selected in a frame of said first session, opening a second application in a second window owned by said second session;

executing said second application to rather data content from a relational database and open in a third window a first agent owned by said first application together with said data content;

executing said first agent to populate said data content to said temporary data frame and call a second agent;

executing said second agent to write page display hypertext markup language to a browser display in a page display frame of said first session and

to dynamically populate said data content from said temporary data frame to said page display frame.

12. The program storage device of claim 11, said method steps further comprising the step of using conditional logic to control look of said browser display based upon data in said relational database.

13. The program storage device of claim 11, said method steps further comprising the step responsive to data read from said relational database table and access authority determined by reference to a role table, presenting in selected fields of said browser display straight text or text with hyperlinks.

14. The program storage device of claim 13, said hybrid environment comprising a first database for storing code and tables implementing a web based requisition catalog application and said database table comprising a relational database for storing catalog data.

15. The program storage device of claim 14, said role table providing indicia defining a role and access authority level of a web user identifier for a user operating said browser to access said code and data, and said method steps further comprising the step of presenting text with hyperlinks to users authorized by said role table to edit said selected fields and otherwise presenting straight text.

16. A computer program product stored on a computer readable medium for executing method steps for generating a web presentation in a hybrid environment, the steps comprising:

executing a first application in a browser frame set including at least one frame in a window of a first session, with frame spoofing inhibited such that a frame owned by said first session cannot access a frame owned by a second session;

opening a temporary data frame within said first session;

responsive to user command selected in a frame of said first session, opening a second application in a second window owned by said second session;

executing said second application to gather data content from a relational database and open in a third window a first agent owned by said first application together with said data content;

executing said first agent to populate said data content to said temporary data frame and call a second agent;

executing said second agent to write page display hypertext markup language to a browser display in a page display frame of said first session and

to dynamically populate said data content from said temporary data frame to said page display frame.