Browser with messaging capability and other persistent connections

• US 7,062,530 B2
• Filed: 05/13/2002
• Issued: 06/13/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 05/11/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP AG (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Scheinkman, Luiz
• Primary Examiner(s): Meky, Moustafa M.
• Application Number:
  US10/145,594
• Publication Number:
  US 20030005129A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,492 Days
• Field of Search: 709200-203, 709217-227
• US Class Current: 709/203
• 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 2209/545 Gui
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/542 Event management; Broadcasting; Multicasting; Notifications

Abstract

In an HTTP client-server system, an HTTP client requests an HTML document containing a persistent display element and using components available to the HTTP client for processing HTML documents, processes the requested HTML document including instantiating an instance of the persistent display element, whereby the persistent display element instance maintains a connection to an event source. When an event is received from the event source over the connection to the persistent display element instance, the received event is processed to form a change of at least a portion of a display of the HTTP client, which is displayed on the display of the HTTP client.

Claims

1. A method of passing messages from a message server to an HTTP client comprising:

sending a request, from the HTTP client to an HTTP server, for an HTML document, wherein the request includes a reference identifying the HTML document and the HTML document includes a persistent connection element;

receiving, at the HTTP server, the request;

responding to the request with HTML code representing the HTML document, wherein the HTML code includes code representing the persistent connection element, wherein the request is sent over a first server sending connection;

closing the first server sending connection;

at the HTTP client, processing the HTML code including the code representing the persistent connection element;

receiving, at the message server, a request to open a second server sending connection to the message server;

holding the second server sending connection open until a message is available at the message server for the HTTP client identified as the sender of the request to open a second server sending connection;

sending the message, once available, over the second server sending connection;

accepting at least one message from the message server over the second server sending connection; and

processing the at least one message at the HTTP client.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the message server and HTTP server are combined into a multi-function server.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein processing the HTML code comprises:

receiving the at least one message;

closing the second server sending connection;

executing instructions to reopen a connection to the message server.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein processing the at least one message at the HTTP client comprises displaying content of the message in a browser window.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one message is a group of messages.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the HTML document is a static HTML page.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the HTML document is a dynamically generated HTML page.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the persistent connection element is an XML document portion.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the persistent connection element is an image element.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the image element is a GIF image element.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the image element is a JPEG image element.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the persistent connection element comprises instructions to poll the message server for the at least one message.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the message server is an alert server.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the message server is an instant messaging server.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein processing the at least one message at the HTTP client comprises displaying received instant messaging information.