Method and system for caching role-specific fragments

• US 7,509,393 B2
• Filed: 12/19/2001
• Issued: 03/24/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/19/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Iyengar, Arun K., Challenger, James R. H., Copeland, George P., Agarwalla, Rajesh S., Meduri, Subbarao, Linehan, Mark H.
• Primary Examiner(s): BOUTAH, ALINA A
• Application Number:
  US10/034,724
• Publication Number:
  US 20030191812A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,652 Days
• Field of Search: 709/203, 709/205, 709/212, 709213-219, 709/223, 709/227, 709/206, 709/236, 709/241, 709/225, 709/229, 705/26, 715/760, 715/854, 715/234, 711/118
• US Class Current: 709/217
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9574 of access to content, e.g. by caching
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/025 Coordination of plural reservations, e.g. plural trip segments, transportation combined with accommodation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/288 Distributed intermediate devices, i.e. intermediate devices for interaction with other intermediate devices on the same level
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/568 Storing data temporarily at an intermediate stage, e.g. caching
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]

Abstract

A method, a system, an apparatus, and a computer program product are presented for a fragment caching methodology. After a message is received at a computing device, a fragment in the message body is cached. Cache ID rules from an origin server accompany a fragment to describe a method for forming a unique cache ID for the fragment such that dynamic content can be cached away from an origin server. A cache ID may be based on a URI and/or query parameters and/or cookies that are associated with a fragment. After user authentication, a cookie containing the user'"'"'s role may be used in subsequent requests for role-specific fragments and in the cache identifier for role-specific fragments, thereby allowing requests from other users for role-specific fragments to be resolved in the cache when the users have the same role because these users would also have the same cookie.

Claims

1. A method for processing objects within a data processing system in a network, the method comprising:

receiving at a first computing device a first response message that is provided in response to a first request message, wherein the first response message comprises a fragment and a source identifier for a fragment, wherein the first response message is associated with a first cookie having a cookie value, and wherein the first response message is directed to a first client device;

generating a cache identifier for the fragment based on the source identifier and the cookie value;

storing the fragment in a cache at the first computing device using the cache identifier;

receiving a second request message at the first computing device from a second client device, wherein the second request message contains the source identifier for the fragment, and wherein the second request message is associated with a second cookie having the cookie value; and

in response to receiving the second request message, generating the cache identifier for the fragment based on the source identifier and the cookie value.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

authenticating at a server a first user at the first client device;

in response to authenticating the first user, determining a user category to which the first user belongs;

generating the cookie value to represent the user category; and

sending from the server the first response message and the first cookie.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising:

retrieving the fragment from the cache using the cache identifier;

generating a second response message comprising the fragment and sending the second response message to the second client device;

authenticating at a server a second user at the second client device;

in response to authenticating the second user, determining that the second user belongs to the user category;

generating the cookie value to represent the user category; and

sending from the server a third response message and the second cookie.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

determining the cookie value based on a user category.

5. The method of claim 4 further comprising:

determining the user category based on membership of a user of a client device within a group of users.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the group of users comprises a subset of users in a company, an institution, an association, or an organization.

7. The method of claim 5 wherein the group of users comprises users associated with an employee role.

8. The method of claim 5 wherein the group of users comprises users associated with a consumer category.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the cookie value is encrypted.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the source identifier is formatted as a URI (Uniform Resource Identifier).

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the first response message is an HTTP (Hypertext Transport Protocol) Response message and the first request message is an HTTP Request message.