Network system, server, client terminal, timeout information providing method, timeout information display method, and programs

• US 8,495,222 B2
• Filed: 10/29/2002
• Issued: 07/23/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/05/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kyndryl Incorporated
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Yamamoto, Hiroshi
• Primary Examiner(s): NANO, SARGON N
• Application Number:
  US10/282,421
• Publication Number:
  US 20030088677A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,920 Days
• Field of Search: 709/216, 709/217, 709/219, 709/227, 709/203, 709/228, 709/229
• US Class Current: 709/227
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/142 Managing session states for stateless protocols; Signalling session states; State transitions; Keeping-state mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/75 Indicating network or usage conditions on the user display
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]

Abstract

To prevent unexpected Http session timeouts on the web and enable reliable business processing on the Web, a unit for notifying a user of timeouts of Web and a unit for the user to change timeout intervals in the processing of Web applications such as online shopping. The present invention includes an application system which provides application services via a network and clients which receive the application services via the network, in which the application system sends to the clients a program for generating a window which displays information about timeouts on Web sessions of application services, and the clients display the window based on the program received.

Claims

1. A network system, comprising:

a server which provides application services via a network; and

client terminals which receive said application services via said network, wherein said server sends said client terminals a program for generating a window which displays information about timeouts on Web sessions in said application services, and said client terminals display said window based on said program received, wherein said server acquires, during a Web session, the time remaining before a timeout on the Web session for any given one of said client terminals in response to periodic requests that are independent of any action by a user from the given one of the client terminals and sends the time remaining to the given one of said client terminals.

2. The network system according to claim 1, wherein said server sends a program for entering data about said application services.

3. The network system according to claim 1, wherein said window is configured to accept instructions to extend the time remaining before a timeout by an extended time period provided by the user by specifying an amount of additional time by which the Web session is extended.

4. A server which provides Web applications to a client via a network, comprising:

session object creating means for creating a session object which stores identification information for identifying said client;

window providing means for providing a program of a window which displays timeout information contained in said session object, to said client via said network;

time information acquisition means for acquiring, during a Web session, time information about the time remaining before a timeout from said session object for said client in response to periodic requests from the client that are independent of any action by the user; and

extension instruction receiving means for receiving, via said network, extension instructions given to said window; and

time extension means for extending the time remaining before said timeout contained in said session object by an extended time period provided by the user by specifying an amount of additional time by which the Web session is extended, based on said extension instructions received by said extension instruction receiving means.

5. The server according to claim 4 further comprising updated-time sending means for sending said client the updated time of said timeout resulting from the extension.

6. The server according to claim 4, further comprising:

time information sending means for sending said time information acquired by said time information acquisition means to said client.

7. A server which provides Web applications to a client via a network, comprising:

first means for creating a session object based on client information received from said client and providing to said client a program of a window which displays information about the time remaining before a timeout on the session object;

second means for providing, during a Web session, information about the remaining time displayed in said window to said client in response to periodic requests from the client that are independent of any action by a user; and

third means for providing to said client information about updated remaining time based on a time extension request having an extended time period provided by the user by specifying an amount of additional time by which the Web session is extended from said client.

8. The server according to claim 7, wherein:

said first means prepares cookie information based on said client information and sends the cookie information to said client; and

said second means and said third means identify said session object based on said cookie information received from said client.

9. A client terminal comprising:

initial-screen program receiving means for accessing a URL of a Web server connected to a network and receiving an initial-screen program for displaying an initial screen;

user information sending means for sending said Web server a user name and password entered on said initial screen;

program receiving means for receiving from said Web server a window program which generates a window for providing information about a timeout on a Web session and a data entry program for data entry;

timeout information updating means for periodically requesting, independently of any action by a user, during a Web session, updated information about the timeout from the server; and

display means for displaying a screen for data entry based on said data entry program received and displaying said window based on said window program.

10. The client terminal according to claim 9, further comprising extension instructing means for giving instructions to extend the time remaining before said timeout by an extended time period provided by the user by specifying an amount of additional time by which the Web session is extended based on a window displayed in said display means.

11. The client terminal according to claim 9, wherein said window displayed in said display means is displayed as a pane in a browser screen which displays a screen for said data entry.

12. The client terminal according to claim 9, wherein said window displayed in said display means is displayed in a window separate from the browser which displays the screen for said data entry.

13. A client terminal which receives provision of Web applications from an application server via a network, comprising:

acquisition means for periodically acquiring, independently of any action by a user, during a Web session, time information about timeouts on Web sessions of said Web applications;

display means for displaying the time information acquired by said acquisition means; and

updated-time information acquisition means for acquiring, from said application server, updated time information about the time, extended by an extended time period provided by the user by specifying an amount of additional time by which the Web session is extended with respect to the time information displayed in said display means, wherein said display means displays the updated time information acquired by said updated-time information acquisition means.

14. A timeout information providing method, comprising the steps of:

creating a session object based on client information received via a network;

sending a client a program of a window which displays time information up to a timeout registered in said session object;

acquiring, during a Web session, information about the time remaining before a timeout from said session object in response to periodic requests from the client that are independent of any action by a user; and

sending said remaining-time information to said client.

15. The timeout information providing method according to claim 14, comprising the steps of:

receiving a request from said client to extend the remaining time by an extended time period provided by the user by specifying an amount of additional time by which the Web session is extended;

extending the time remaining before the timeout using said session object; and

sending to said client updated remaining time information about said extended remaining time.

16. The timeout information providing method according to claim 14, wherein said window program sent to said client generates and displays the window as a pane in a browser screen of said client.

17. The timeout information providing method according to claim 14, wherein said window program sent to said client displays said time information in a window separate from the browser screen of said client.

18. A timeout information display method, comprising the steps of:

receiving, independently of any action by a user, a remaining time before a timeout on a Web session, from an application server connected to a network;

displaying said remaining time received from said application server during a Web session;

starting an internal timer; and

updating and displaying the remaining time at each periodic update event of said internal timer.

19. The timeout information display method according to claim 18, comprising the steps of:

receiving an extension request event to extend the remaining time by an extended time period provided by the user by specifying an amount of additional time by which the Web session is extended in relation to the remaining time displayed; and

displaying updated remaining time received from said application server in response to said extension request.

20. A program storage device readable by a machine, the program storage device storing a program of instructions executable by a machine to perform method steps comprising:

creating a session object based on client information received via a network;

sending a client a program of a window which displays time information up to a timeout registered in said session object;

acquiring, during a Web session, time information about the time remaining before a timeout using an Application Program Interface of said session object in response to periodic requests from the client that are independent of any action by a user; and

sending said remaining-time information to said client.

21. The program storage device according to claim 20, wherein the method steps further comprise:

receiving a request from said client to extend the remaining time by an extended time period provided by the user by specifying an amount of additional time by which the Web session is extended;

extending the time remaining before the timeout, based on said extension request, using said session object; and

sending to said client updated remaining time information about said extended remaining time.

22. A program storage device readable by a machine, the program storage device storing a program of instructions executable by a machine to perform method steps comprising:

acquiring, independently of any action by a user, via a network, the time remaining before a timeout on a Web session of an application server;

starting an internal timer and updating and displaying the time remaining at each of a plurality of periodic timer update events;

receiving an extension request event to extend the remaining time by an extended time period provided by the user by specifying an amount of additional time by which the Web session is extended in relation to the remaining time updated and displayed; and

displaying updated remaining time received from said application server via said network in response to said extension request.