Methods for initiating activity in intelligent devices connected to an in home digital network using extensible markup language (XML) for information exchange and systems therefor

• US 7,124,356 B1
• Filed: 12/03/1999
• Issued: 10/17/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/03/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Dasgupta, Aninda, Alsafadi, Yasser, Krasinski, Raymond
• Primary Examiner(s): Shah, Sanjiv
• Application Number:
  US09/454,348
• Time in Patent Office: 2,510 Days
• Field of Search: 715/513, 715/514, 715/515, 709/203, 707/100, 707/101, 707/102
• US Class Current: 715/239
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/54 Interprogram communication

Abstract

A method of operating a system including a digital network interconnected intelligent digital devices (IDDS) generating and receiving eXtensible Markup Language (XML) documents containing data and respective Document Type Definitions (DTDs) describing the data content. Preferably, the method includes steps for transmitting a generated XML document from a first IDD to a second IDD, and, when the respective DTD for the generated XML document satisfies a predetermined criteria, operating on the data contained in the XML document at the second IDD. In a first exemplary case, the second IDD maintains a list of trusted DTDs, and the predetermined criteria is equality between the name of the respective DTD and the name of a trusted DTD. Alternatively, the predetermined criteria is satisfied by inclusion of the name of a program residing on the second IDD in the respective DTD. In a second exemplary case, the transmitting step includes transmitting the generated XML document from the first IDD to the second IDD and a third IDD, the operating step includes operating on the data contained in the XML document at the second IDD when the respective DTD for the generated XML document satisfies a first predetermined criteria, and the method further includes the step of operating on the data contained in the XML document at the third IDD when the respective DTD for the generated XML document satisfies a second predetermined criteria. A system composed of IDDs interconnected by an in home digital network (IHDN) or other mechanism, which system can be operated by the method mentioned above, is also described.

Claims

1. A method of operating an intelligent digital device (IDD) receiving an extensible Markup Language (XML) document containing data and respective Document Type Definition (DTD) describing content of said data, comprising:

verifying that a received DTD satisfies a predetermined criterion; and

,

if said criterion is satisfied, operating on said data based on said content, wherein the IDD maintains a list of trusted DTDs, and wherein the predetermined criterion is equality between the name of the received DTD and the name of a trusted DTD.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the predetermined criterion comprises the inclusion of the name of a program residing on the IDD.

3. The method as recited in claim 2, wherein the program comprises an XML-enabled program.

4. The method as recited in claim 2, wherein the program comprises an XML parser.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said received DTD is contained along with said data in said XML document upon reception of said DTD that is to be subject to said verifying.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein said verifying is performed in response to said reception.

7. A method of operating a system including a digital network interconnected intelligent digital devices (IDDs) generating and receiving eXtensible Markup Language (XML) documents containing data and respective Document Type Definitions (DTDs) describing content of said data, comprising:

transmitting a generated XML document from a first IDD to a second IDD; and

when the respective DTD for the generated XML document satisfies a predetermined criterion, operating on said data contained in the XML document at the second IDD based on said content, wherein the second IDD maintains a list of trusted DTDs, and wherein the predetermined criterion is equality between the name of the respective DTD and the name of a trusted DTD.

8. The method as recited in claim 7, wherein the predetermined criterion comprises the inclusion of the name of a program residing on the second IDD.

9. The method as recited in claim 8, wherein the program comprises an XML-enabled program.

10. The method as recited in claim 8, wherein the program comprises an XML processor.

11. The method as recited in claim 7, wherein:

the transmitting step comprises transmitting the generated XML document from the first IDD to the second IDD and a third IDD;

the operating step comprises operating on the data contained in the XML document at the second IDD when the respective DTD for the generated XML document satisfies a first predetermined criterion, and

the method further comprises the step of operating on the data contained in the XML document at the third IDD when the respective DTD for the generated XML document satisfies a second predetermined criterion.

12. The method as recited in claim 11, wherein:

the second IDD maintains a first list of trusted DTDs;

the third IDD maintains a second list of trusted DTDs;

the first predetermined criterion is equality between the name of the respective DTD and the name of a trusted DTD on the first list; and

the second predetermined criterion is equality between the name of the respective DTD and the name of a trusted DTD on the second list.

13. The method as recited in claim 11, wherein the XML document and the respective DTD are transmitted to the second and third IDDs.

14. The method as recited in claim 11, wherein the respective DTD is stored on at least one of the second and third IDDs.

15. The method of claim 7, comprising the steps of:

receiving the transmitted, generated XML document;

determining, upon reception of said transmitted, generated XML document, whether said criterion is satisfied; and

if said determining determines that said criterion is satisfied, performing said operating.

16. A method of operating a system including a digital network of interconnected intelligent digital devices (IDDs) generating and receiving eXtensible Markup Language (XML) documents containing information and respective Document Type Definitions (DTDs), the DTDs respectively describing content of said information, comprising the steps of:

(a) generating an XML document containing data and a reference to a respective DTD at a first IDD responsive to a command from a second IDD;

(b) transmitting the XML document from the first to the second IDD;

(c) when said respective DTD satisfies a predetermined criterion, parsing said data in accordance with a format described in said respective DTD to thereby generate parsed data; and

(d) operating on the parsed data, wherein;

the second IDD stores a list of trusted DTDs associated with respective XML processors;

the predetermined criterion is coincidence between the respective DTD and a trusted DTD on the list; and

the parsing and the operating steps are performed using the one of the XML processors corresponding to the respective DTD.

17. The method as recited in claim 16 wherein:

the second IDD stores a plurality of DTDs and associated XML processors;

the XML document references the respective DTD; and

the parsing and the operating steps are performed using the one of the XML processors corresponding to the respective DTD.

18. A system comprising:

a plurality of intelligent digital devices (IDDs) interconnected to one another, each of the IDDs being capable of one of generating and receiving an eXtensible Markup Language (XML) document containing data and referencing a document type definition (DTD);

wherein;

a first IDD generates the XML document responsive to a command received over an in-house digital network (IHDN);

a second IDD stores N XML processors associated with N named DTDs;

a third IDD stores M XML processors associated with M named DTDs;

the second IDD processes the XML document using one of the N XML processors when the respective DTD corresponds to one of the N named DTDs;

the third IDD processes the XML document using one of the M XML processors when the respective DTD corresponds to one of the M named DTDs; and

N and M are both positive integers.

19. The system as recited in claim 18, wherein at least one of the N named DTDs and at least one of the M named DTDs are identical to the respective DTD, and wherein the one of the N XML processors corresponding to the respective DTD is different than the one of the M XML processors corresponding to the respective DTD.

20. The system as recited in claim 18, wherein the second IDD stores the N named DTDs, and wherein the third IDD stores the M named DTDs.

21. The system as recited in claim 18, wherein the second and third IDDs store lists of trusted DTDs including the associated N and M named DTDs, and wherein the first IDD generates the XML document and the respective DTD responsive to the command received over the IHDN.

22. The system as recited in claim 18, wherein said IDDs are interconnected to one another by an in home digital network (IHDN).

23. The system as recited in claim 18, wherein said IDDs are interconnected to one another via the internet.

24. An intelligent digital device (IDD) for receiving an eXtensible Markup Language (XML) document containing data and a respective Document Type Definition (DTD) describing content of said data, said IDD comprising:

means for verifying that a received DTD satisfies a predetermined criterion; and

,

means for, if said criterion is satisfied, operating on said data based on said content, wherein the IDD maintains a list of trusted DTDs, and wherein the predetermined criterion is equality between the name of the received DTD and the name of a trusted DTD.

25. A digital network of interconnected intelligent digital devices (IDDs) generating and receiving eXtensible Markup Language (XML) documents containing data and respective Document Type Definitions (DTDs) describing content of said data, said network comprising:

first and second IDDs;

means for transmitting a generated XML document from the first IDD to the second IDD; and

means for, when the respective DTD for the generated XML document satisfies a predetermined criterion, operating on said data contained in the XML document at the second IDD based on said content, wherein the IDD maintains a list of trusted DTDs, and wherein the predetermined criterion is equality between the name of the received DTD and the name of a trusted DTD.

26. An article of manufacture comprising a computer-readable medium in which is stored a computer program for operating an intelligent digital device (IDD) for receiving an eXtensible Markup Language (XML) document containing data and a respective Document Type Definition (DTD) describing content of said data, said program comprising:

instructions for verifying that a received DTD satisfies a predetermined criterion; and

,

instructions for, if said criterion is satisfied, operating on said data based on said content, wherein the IDD maintains a list of trusted DTDs, and wherein the predetermined criterion is equality between the name of the received DTD and the name of a trusted DTD.