Web content customization via adaptation Web services

• US 7,114,160 B2
• Filed: 04/17/2002
• Issued: 09/26/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 04/17/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SBC Technology Resources, Inc. (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: SBC Technology Resources, Inc. (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Suryanarayana, Lalitha, Gorti, Sreenivasa Rao
• Primary Examiner(s): Cao, Chun
• Assistant Examiner(s): Cribbs, Malcolm
• Application Number:
  US10/125,069
• Publication Number:
  US 20030200283A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,623 Days
• Field of Search: 709/203, 709/217, 709/218, 709/219, 709/223, 709/224, 709/226, 709/227, 709/228, 709/229, 709/236, 709/246, 705/1, 705/5, 719/313, 719/315, 719/316
• US Class Current: 719/315
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9577 Optimising the visualization of content, e.g. distillation of HTML documents
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/303 Terminal profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/565 Conversion or adaptation of application format or content adding application control or application functional data H04L67/561
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

A user agent in a Web access device transmits an HTTP request for Web content to an origin server. The request contains a set of capabilities of the Web access device. A content authoring mechanism and adaptation determination service on the origin server process the request to determine what transformation is required to make the requested content fit the capabilities of the Web access device. The adaptation determination service invokes a niche transformation service that performs, in response to the content and the capabilities, the necessary transformation. The transformed Web content is transmitted to the user agent.

Claims

1. A method for customization of Web content via adaptation Web Services, the method comprising:

receiving a request for Web content from a Web access device, the request for Web content comprising a plurality of capabilities of the Web access device, the capabilities of the Web access device comprising physical capabilities, network capabilities, and software capabilities;

generating the Web content in response to the Web content request;

determining customization requirement of the Web content in response to the Web content and the capabilities of the Web access device;

transmitting an indication of the Web content with the capabilities to a niche transformation service that has been chosen in response to the determination of the customization required;

receiving an indication of a modified version of the Web content from the niche transformation service, the modified version generated in response to the Web content and the capabilities; and

transmitting the modified version of the Web content to the Web access device.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the indication of the Web content and the indication of the modified Web content comprise the Web content.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the indication of the Web content and the indication of the modified Web content comprise a universal resource locator of the Web content.

4. The method of claim 1 and further including:

receiving capabilities of the Web access device with the request for Web content;

transmitting the capabilities of the Web access device to the niche transformation service with the indication of the Web content; and

receiving the indication of the modified Web content that has been modified in response to the Web content and the capabilities of the Web access device.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the request for Web content comprises a HyperText Transfer Protocol request.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of transmitting the indication of the Web content to the niche transformation service comprises a Simple Object Access Protocol-compliant instruction.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the request for the Web content is received from the Web access device over a wireless link.

8. The method of claim 1 and further including transmitting personally identifiable information regarding a user of the Web access device to the Web Services.

9. The method of claim 1 and further including:

maintaining, only on a computer server, personally identifiable information regarding a user of the Web access device.

10. In a computer server, a method for customization of Web content via adaptation Web Services, the method comprising:

receiving a request for Web content from a user agent resident in a Web access device, the request for Web content comprising capabilities of the Web access device, the capabilities of the Web access device comprising software capabilities, network capabilities, and physical capabilities of the Web access device, and associated execution environment;

invoking a Web Service, in response to the request for Web content and the capabilities of the Web access device, to determine how the requested Web content is to be customized;

mapping the capabilities of the Web access device to characteristics of the requested Web content;

invoking a niche transformation service in response to the mapping of the capabilities of the Web access device;

receiving an indication of modified Web content from the niche transformation service, the modified Web content being modified in response to the capabilities of the Web access device; and

transmitting modified Web content to the user agent.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the request for Web content comprises a Hypertext Transfer Protocol request and the step of transmitting the modified Web content comprises a Hypertext Transfer Protocol transmission.

12. The method of claim 10 wherein the step of receiving the indication of the modified Web content comprises a Simple Object Access Protocol-compliant instruction.

13. The method of claim 10 and further including:

transmitting personally identifiable information regarding a user of the Web access device to the Web Services.

14. The method of claim 10 and further including the step of

maintaining, only on the computer server, personally identifiable information regarding a user of the Web access device.

15. A system for customizing Web content comprising:

an origin server comprising;

Web content authoring means having a capability to determine how Web content is to be customized in response to a received Web content request from a Web access device, the Web content request comprising a plurality of characteristics of the Web access device, the capabilities of the Web access device comprising physical capabilities, network capabilities, and software capabilities; and

an adaptation determination service, coupled to the Web content authoring means, having a capability to interpret the characteristics of the Web access device, map the characteristics to the requested content, and make a determination regarding a type of transformation required in response to the characteristics and the content; and

a niche transformation service that has a capability of performing the type of transformation determined by the adaptation determination service, the niche transformation service generating modified Web content in response to the type of transformation and transmitting the modified Web content to the origin server.

16. The system of claim 15 and further including

a user agent, resident in the Web access device, having a capability for initiating, to the origin server, a hypertext transfer protocol request for Web content.

17. The system of claim 15 and further including

a plurality of niche transformation services coupled to the origin server, each niche transformation service having a particular transformation capability different from the other niche transformation services of the plurality of niche transformation services.

18. The system of claim 15 wherein communication between the Web content authoring means and the adaptation determination service is by simple object access protocol-compliant instructions.

19. The system of claim 15 wherein communication between the origin server and the niche transformation service is by simple object access protocol-compliant instructions.

20. The system of claim 15 wherein a user'"'"'s personally identifiable information is stored only on the origin server.

21. The system of claim 15 wherein the Web access device is a wireless communication device and communication between the Web access device and the origin server is over a wireless link.

22. The system of claim 15 wherein the niche transformation service further comprises a capability of invoking a sub-niche transformation service that performs a transformation required by the niche transformation service.