Generic XML screen scraping

• US 8,484,626 B2
• Filed: 09/28/2007
• Issued: 07/09/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/28/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Kuriakose, Sijo, Nagulu, Sreeramamurthy
• Primary Examiner(s): Dao, Thuy
• Assistant Examiner(s): CHEN, XI DONALD
• Application Number:
  US11/864,647
• Publication Number:
  US 20090089742A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,111 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 717/136
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces

Abstract

A method may include creating an Extensible Markup Language (XML) instruction file based on screen shots of a host system, providing the XML instruction file to a screen scraper program, executing screen scraping operations based on the XML instruction file, and outputting a user interface file based on the screen scraping operations that corresponds to extracted data output from the host system.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

creating, by a processor associated with the computer, an initial Extensible Markup Language (XML) instruction file,

the initial XML instruction file identifying one or more screen images of a plurality of screen images provided by a host system;

executing, by the processor, screen scraping operations based on the initial XML instruction file,

executing the screen scraping operations including;

receiving a first screen image provided by the host system,

determining that the first screen image, provided by the host system, is included in the one or more screen images identified in the initial XML instruction file,

reading first data from the first screen image, provided by the host system, based on determining that the first screen image is included in the one or more screen images identified in the initial XML instruction file,

updating, based on the first data acquired from reading the first screen image, the initial XML instruction file to form an updated XML instruction file that identifies a second screen image of the plurality of screen images provided by the host system,

the initial XML instruction file not identifying the second screen image, and

reading, based on the updated XML instruction file, second data from the second screen image provided by the host system; and

generating, by the processor and based on the first data and the second data from executing the screen scraping operations, a user interface file,

the user interface file being in an format that is compatible with a user device, and

the user interface file enabling the user device to access to the host system.

2. The method of claim 1, where the computer is a client device that differs from the host system.

3. The method of claim 1, where executing the screen scraping operations comprises:

parsing the initial XML instruction file into XML document objects corresponding to the one or more screen images provided by the host system.

4. The method of claim 1, where creating the initial XML instruction file includes:

forming XML tags corresponding to the one or more screen images provided by the host system, and

where executing the screen scraping operations comprises;

utilizing the XML tags to perform the screen scraping operations related to the first screen image.

5. The method of claim 1, where executing the screen scraping operations comprises:

executing screen scraping operations corresponding to at least one of XML conditional statements included in the XML instruction file and XML loop statements included in the XML instruction file.

6. The method of claim 1, where executing the screen scraping operations comprises:

executing the screen scraping operations based on at least one of an IF statement, a WHILE loop, a DO-WHILE loop, a FOR loop, or a SWITCH statement included in the XML instruction file.

7. The method of claim 1, where the user interface includes an XML output file that is executed by the user device to emulate the host system.

8. A non-transitory memory device storing instructions, the instructions comprising:

one or more instructions which, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to establish a connection with a host device;

one or more instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to access an Extensible Markup Language (XML) instruction file associated with the host device,

the XML instruction file identifying one or more screen images provided by the host device;

one or more instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to obtain, based on the XML instruction file, first data associated with a first screen image provided by the host device,

the one or more instructions to obtain the first data including;

one or more instructions to determine that the first screen image is included in the one or more screen images identified in the XML instruction file, and

one or more instructions to read first data from the first screen image based on determining in the first screen image is included the one or more screen images identified in the XML instruction file;

one or more instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to convert the first data read to an XML format;

one or more instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to write the converted first data to the XML instruction file to form an updated XML instruction file,

the updated XML instruction file identifying a second screen image provided by the host device, and

the second screen image not being included in the one or more screen images identified in the XML instruction file prior to the XML instruction file being updated; and

one or more instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor obtain, based on the second screen image being identified in the updated XML instruction file, second data from the second screen image.

9. The memory device of claim 8, further comprising:

one or more instructions to provide, based on at least one of the first data or the second data, a user interface to access a host application of the host device.

10. The memory device of claim 8, where the one or more instructions to obtain the first data further comprise:

one or more instructions to parse the XML instruction file; and

one or more instructions to obtain the first data based on parsing the XML instruction file.

11. The memory device of claim 8, where the one or more instructions to obtain the first data further comprise:

one or more instructions to interpret XML tags included in the XML instruction file; and

one or more instructions to obtain the first data based on instructing the XML tags.

12. The memory device of claim 8, where the one or more instructions to obtain the first data further comprise:

one or more instructions to interpret at least one of;

an XML IF statement associated with the XML instruction file,

an XML WHILE loop statement associated with the XML instruction file,

an XML DO-WHILE loop statement associated with the XML instruction file,

an XML FOR loop associated with the XML instruction file, or

an XML SWITCH statement associated with the XML instruction file; and

one or more instructions to perform a screen scraping operation associated with the first screen image based on interpreting the at least one of the XML IF statement, the XML WHILE loop statement, the XML DO-WHILE loop statement, the XML FOR loop, or the XML SWITCH statement.

13. The memory device of claim 8, where the one or more instructions to obtain the first data further comprise:

one or more instructions to obtain the first data based on at least one of conditional statements contained in the XML instruction file or loop statements contained in the XML instruction file.

14. The memory device of claim 8, where the one or more instructions to obtain the first data comprise:

one or more instructions to verify that the first data is accurate based on an XML tag contained in the XML instruction file.

15. The memory device of claim 8, where the one or more instructions to obtain the first data comprise:

one or more instructions to read from the host device and write to the host device based on, respectively, an XML read tag associated with the XML instruction file and an XML write tag associated with the XML instruction file.

16. The memory device of claim 9, where the instructions further comprise:

one or more instructions to generate, based on the first data and the second data, an XML file associated with the user interface to access the host device.

17. A device comprising:

a memory to store instructions; and

a processor to execute one or more of the instructions to;

establish a session with a host device;

receive, via the session, a plurality of screen images from the host device,

the plurality of screen images including a first screen image and a second screen image;

interpret an Extensible Markup Language (XML) instruction file associated with the host device,

the XML instruction file identifying the first screen image and not identifying the second screen image;

read, based on interpreting the XML instruction file that identifies the first screen image, first data from the first screen image provided by the host device;

update, based on the first data, the XML instruction file to identify the second screen image;

read, based on the updating the XML instruction file to identify the second screen image, second data from the second screen image provided by the host device; and

generate, based on the second data, an output file that is executed to provide a user interface to access the host device.

18. The device of claim 17, where the processor, when reading the first data from the first screen image provided by the host device, further executes one or more of the instructions to:

emulate a keystroke, associated with the screen image, based on an XML command tag included in the XML instruction file.

19. The device of claim 17, where the processor further executes one or more of the instructions to:

execute a debugging procedure of the output file based on an XML status tag associated with the XML instruction file.

20. The device of claim 17, where the processor, when reading the first data from the first screen image provided by the host device, further executes one or more of the instructions to:

execute a read operation and a write operation based on, respectively, an XML read tag included in the XML instruction file and an XML write tag included in the XML instruction file.

21. The device of claim 17, where the processor, when reading the second data from the second screen image, further executes one or more of the instructions to:

execute at least one of a loop or a condition based on, respectively, an XML loop tag included in the XML instruction file or an XML conditional tag included in the XML instruction file.

22. The device of claim 17, where the processor, when generating the output file, further executes one or more of the instructions to:

convert the second data to an XML format; and

assemble the converted second data to form an XML output file.

23. A system, comprising:

a processor to;

execute a screen scraping operation, of a host device, based on an Extensible Markup Language (XML) instruction file provided,

the processor, when executing the screen scraping operation, being to;

read data from a screen image, provided by the host device, based on the screen image being identified in the XML instruction file,

 

the data, read from the screen image, including information associated with another screen image provided by the host device, and

 

the XML instruction file not identifying the other screen image,

update, based on the data read from the screen image, the XML instruction file to identify the other screen image, and

read, based on updating the XML instruction file to identify the other screen image, additional data from the other screen image provided by the host device; and

generate a user interface file based on the data and the addition data,

the user interface file being executed to emulate one or more functions associated with the host device.

24. The system of claim 23, where, when the processor is executing the screen scraping, the processor further is to:

interpret XML tags, associated with the XML instruction file, to perform a corresponding screen scrape operation associated with at least one of;

reading the data from the screen image, or

reading the additional data from the other screen image.