Method and apparatus for creating and deploying web sites with dynamic content

• US 7,047,318 B1
• Filed: 04/20/2001
• Issued: 05/16/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 04/20/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ariba Incorporated (SAP SE)
• Original Assignee: Softface, Inc. (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Svedloff, George
• Primary Examiner(s): Etienne, Ario
• Assistant Examiner(s): NANO, SARGON N
• Application Number:
  US09/839,589
• Time in Patent Office: 1,852 Days
• Field of Search: 709/202, 709/205, 709/223, 709/224, 709/225, 709/226, 709/229, 709/238, 709/213, 709/217
• US Class Current: 709/246
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/958 Organisation or management of web site content, e.g. publishing, maintaining pages or automatic linking

Abstract

A system for developing and deploying web pages that have dynamic content is disclosed. First, a graphic artist creates a template HTML file that will provide the visual appearance of a dynamic web page. The template HTML file is embedded with identifier tags that identify locations where dynamic content should be inserted. A programmer then creates a program for manipulating a Document Object Model (DOM) representation of the HTML file to add desired dynamic content. The template HTML file and dynamic content program are then deployed to a special server system that serves the template HTML by executing the associated dynamic content program. When the server system receives a request for the template HTML file, the server first creates a clone of a Document Object Model (DOM) of the template HTML file and executes the dynamic content program to manipulated the DOM representation. The server then transforms the manipulated DOM representation into HTML and delivers the generated HTML to the client system that made the request.

Claims

1. A method of serving web pages from a server, said method comprising:

in response to a request from a client computer system over a network for accessing a Web page, the server retrieving an HTML (hypertext markup language) template associated with the requested Web page;

creating a document object model (DOM) representation based on the HTML template, the DOM representation including a plurality of identifier tags, each identifier tag identifying a section in which content of the identified section is dynamically manipulable;

executing a program associated with the HTML template to manipulate content identified by at least a portion of the plurality of identifier tags within the DOM representation including dynamically adding content to at least one section identified by one of the plurality of identifier tags, wherein the program is deployed with the HTML template to the server without having to compile and link the program with the HTML template;

the program calling a routine to generate a markup language document based on the manipulated DOM representation; and

returning said markup language document to said client computer system over the network.

2. The method of serving web pages as claimed in claim 1 further comprising:

determining the retrieved HTML template is current, wherein the DOM representation is created based on a most current HTML template stored within the server.

3. The method of serving web pages as claimed in claim 2 further comprising:

creating a new version of the HTML template if an existing HTML template is not current.

4. The method of serving web pages as claimed in claim 2 further comprising:

automatically generating a new DOM representation if the HTML template is modified.

5. The method of serving web pages as claimed in claim 1 further comprising:

determining a reference to first content to be added to a first section of the DOM representation identified by a first identifier tag by performing a hash operation between the first identifier with a predetermined hash table; and

populating the first content into the first section identified by the first identifier tag based on the determined reference of the first content.

6. The method of serving web pages as claimed in claim 1 wherein said program comprises Java code compiled without compiling and linking with the HTML template, wherein the program and HTML template are capable of being independently deployed.

7. The method of serving web pages as claimed in claim 1 wherein said program that manipulates an in-memory representation of said requested web page file performs operations including:

automatically generating a new DOM representation when the HTML template is modified; and

generating a clone of the new DOM representation, wherein manipulation of content is performed on the clone without altering the new DOM representation.

8. The method of serving web pages as claimed in claim 1 wherein said program that manipulates the DOM representation performs operations including:

locating an identifier of a dynamic element to change within the DOM representation; and

changing said dynamic element in the DOM of the HTML template.

9. A method of serving web pages from a server, said method comprising:

creating a modified mark-up language file for representing a web page appearance, said modified mark-up language file containing embedded identifier tags for identifying locations for dynamic content;

creating an in-memory representation of the modified mark-up language file, the in-memory representation compatible with a document object model (DOM);

creating interactive program functions for generating dynamic content, said interactive program functions for modifying sections of said in-memory representation of said mark-up language file associated with said identifier tags identifying locations for dynamic content; and

deploying said modified mark-up language file and said interactive program functions to a server system without having to compile and linking the interactive program with the modified mark-up language file, wherein said server system executes said interactive program functions to manipulate said in-memory representation of said mark-up language file to create a manipulated in-memory representation of said mark-up language file, and generates a web page from said manipulated in-memory representation of said mark-up language file.

10. The method of serving web pages as claimed in claim 9 wherein said server system further determines if said modified mark-up language file is current.

11. The method of serving web pages as claimed in claim 10 wherein said server system creates a new in-memory representation of a new version of said modified mark-up language file if said modified mark-up language file is not current.

12. The method of serving web pages as claimed in claim 10 wherein said server system automatically generates a new in-memory representation of said modified mark-up language file when said modified mark-up language file is modified.

13. The method of serving web pages as claimed in claim 9 further comprising:

determining a reference to first content to be added to a first section of the DOM representation identified by a first identifier tag by performing a hash operation between the first identifier with a predetermined harsh table; and

populating the first content into the first section identified by the first identifier tag based on the determined reference of the first content.

14. The method of serving web pages as claimed in claim 9 wherein said interactive program functions comprise Java code.

15. The method of serving web pages as claimed in claim 9 wherein said interactive program functions perform operations including:

automatically generating a new in-memory representation of said modified mark-up language file when said modified mark-up language file is modified; and

generating a clone of said new in-memory representation of said modified mark-up language file.

16. The method of serving web pages as claimed in 9 wherein said interactive program functions perform operations including:

locating an identifier of a dynamic element to change within said in-memory representation of said modified mark-up language file; and

changing said dynamic element in said in-memory representation of said modified mark-up language file.

17. A computer server system for serving web pages, said computer server system comprising:

a processor; and

a memory coupled to the processor for storing instructions, when executed from the memory, cause the processor to perform operations including

in response to a request from a client computer system over a network for accessing a Web page, the server retrieving an HTML (hypertext markup language) template associated with the requested Web page,

creating a document object model (DOM) representation based on the HTML template, the DOM representation including a plurality of identifier tags, each identifier tag identifying a section in which content of the identified section is dynamically manipulable,

executing a program associated with the HTML template to manipulate content identified by at least a portion of the plurality of identifier tags within the DOM representation including dynamically adding content to at least one section identified by one of the plurality of identifier tags, wherein the program is deployed with the HTML template to the server without having to compile and link the program with the HTML template,

the program calling a routine to generate a markup language document based on the manipulated DOM representation, and

returning said markup language document to said client computer system over the network.

18. A machine readable medium having instructions stored therein, when executed, cause a machine to perform a method, the method comprising:

in response to a request from a client computer system over a network for accessing a Web page, the server retrieving an HTML (hypertext markup language) template associated with the requested Web page;

creating a document object model (DOM) representation based on the HTML template, the DOM representation including a plurality of identifier tags, each identifier tag identifying a section in which content of the identified section is dynamically manipulable;

executing a program associated with the HTML template to manipulate content identified by at least a portion of the plurality of identifier tags within the DOM representation including dynamically adding content to at least one section identified by one of the plurality of identifier tags, wherein the program is deployed with the HTML template to the server without having to compile and link the program with the HTML template;

the program calling a routine to generate a markup language document based on the manipulated DOM representation; and

returning said markup language document to said client computer system over the network.

19. The machine readable medium of claim 18, wherein the method further comprises:

determining a reference to first content to be added to a first section of the DOM representation identified by a first identifier tag by performing a hash operation between the first identifier with a predetermined hash table; and

populating the first content into the first section identified by the first identifier tag based on the determined reference of the first content.