Automatic software downloading from a computer network
First Claim
1. A method of automatically downloading software on a local device from one or more computers, the local device and the one or more computers being connected to a computer network, the method comprising:
- encountering an invocation of the software within a web page via an HTML <
OBJECT>
tag, wherein the software comprises an ACTIVEX control and the invocation comprises an identity of the software and a version indication of the software, wherein an additional <
OBJECT>
tag within the web page can be used to invoke a software component other than an ACTIVEX control; and
responsive to encountering an invocation of software, downloading the software from the one or more remote computers according to the identity and version indication, wherein the version indication indicates to obtain a latest version of the software without specifying a particular version.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Methods and systems automatically download computer software components from a computer network like the Internet or an intranet. The methods and systems can be used to provide dynamic or interactive multimedia components in HTML documents with HTML <OBJECT> tags. The HTML <OBJECT> tags can contain parameters including uniform resource locators (URLs) which reference dynamic or interactive multimedia components on remote computers. Network browsers and other applications can obtain computer software components from a computer network like the Internet or an intranet in a uniform, portable, architecture-neutral, robust manner. The computer software components obtained can be used to provide a variety of new multimedia functionality to an application program.
153 Citations
18 Claims
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1. A method of automatically downloading software on a local device from one or more computers, the local device and the one or more computers being connected to a computer network, the method comprising:
-
encountering an invocation of the software within a web page via an HTML <
OBJECT>
tag, wherein the software comprises an ACTIVEX control and the invocation comprises an identity of the software and a version indication of the software, wherein an additional <
OBJECT>
tag within the web page can be used to invoke a software component other than an ACTIVEX control; andresponsive to encountering an invocation of software, downloading the software from the one or more remote computers according to the identity and version indication, wherein the version indication indicates to obtain a latest version of the software without specifying a particular version. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method of invoking software, the method comprising:
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encountering an invocation of the software within a web page via an HTML <
OBJECT>
tag, wherein the software comprises an ACTIVEX control and the invocation comprises an identity of the software and a version indication of the software, wherein an additional <
OBJECT>
tag within the web page can be used to invoke a software component other than an ACTIVEX control, and wherein the version indication indicates to obtain a latest version of the software without specifying a particular version;responsive to encountering the invocation of the software, determining whether there is a version of the software existing on a local device that satisfies the version indication; if there is a version of the software existing on the local device that satisfies the version indication, invoking the version of the software existing on the local device that satisfies the version indication; and if there is not a version of the software existing on the local device that satisfies the version indication, downloading the software from one or more remote computers according to the identity and version indication.
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17. A computer-readable medium comprising instructions containing an invocation of software via an HTML <
- OBJECT>
tag within a web page, comprising;an identity of the software, wherein the software comprises an ACTIVEX control, and wherein an additional <
OBJECT>
tag within the web page can be used to invoke a software component other than an ACTIVEX control; anda version indicator for the software; whereby, when encountered by a local device, the invocation initiates execution of a version of the software according to the version indicator, and, if a version of the software according to the version indicator is not available on the local device, downloading the software to the local device prior to execution, wherein the version indication indicates to obtain a latest version of the software without specifying a particular version. - View Dependent Claims (18)
- OBJECT>
Specification