Methods and apparatus for enabling use of web content on various types of devices

• US 8,694,680 B2
• Filed: 03/01/2007
• Issued: 04/08/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/01/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: InfoGin Ltd.
• Original Assignee: InfoGin Ltd.
• Inventors: Wyler, Eran Shmuel, Ilani, Gil, Elrom, Ron, Shefi, Naaman, Ganzi, Jonathan, Briner, Gal
• Primary Examiner(s): Gillis, Brian J
• Application Number:
  US11/713,584
• Publication Number:
  US 20090024719A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,595 Days
• Field of Search: 709/202, 709/218, 709/246, 715/864
• US Class Current: 709/246
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9577 Optimising the visualization of content, e.g. distillation of HTML documents
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols

Abstract

A method system for interactive communication with a web site using a mobile communicator having the following functionalities: receiving, at a server, an http request from a mobile communicator being used by a user, the http request identifying a website and should the mobile communicator not support a client-side script employed by the website, causing the server to emulate the script so as to enable the user to interact with the website.

Claims

1. A method for interactive communication with a web site using a mobile communicator that does not support a client-side script employed by said web site, the method comprising:

receiving, at a server, an hypertext transfer protocol (http) request from said mobile communicator being used by a user, said http request identifying said website; and

causing said server to emulate said client-side script by running said client-side script entirely on said server thereby enabling said user to interact with said website;

said enabling said user to interact comprising;

receiving at least one user input from said mobile communicator; and

based on said at least one user input, emulating at least one additional client-side script by running said at least one additional client-side script entirely on said server; and

wherein, when a user requests an Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) web page from said server, said server retrieves the HTML web page requested from the internet and searches the HTML web page for elements that require client-side script emulation, and

when at least one element that requires client-side script emulation is found, the following takes place on a mobile communicator adapted web page corresponding to said HTML web page requested by said user;

each element respectively indicated as “

one-way”

or “

return”

is replaced by an input tag of a submit type (<

input type=submit . . . >

) having a unique name unless the mobile communicator supports use of an input tag of an image type, in which case an input tag of an image type is employed instead of the input tag of a submit type.

2. A method for interactive communication with a web site using a mobile communicator according to claim 1 and also comprising:

retrieving a user-agent field from said http request, said user-agent field identifying said mobile communicator being used by said user; and

ascertaining whether said mobile communicator being used by said user supports a given computer language or script.

3. A method for interactive communication with a web site using a mobile communicator according to claim 1 and also comprising:

employing a conventional browser of the mobile communicator for communicating with said server.

4. A method for interactive communication with a web site using a mobile communicator according to claim 1 and also comprising:

employing a form submit button to replace script elements not supported by said mobile communicator.

5. A method for interactive communication with a web site using a mobile communicator according to claim 4 and wherein said form submit button appears as a picture which resembles said script element.

6. A method for interactive communication with a web site using a mobile communicator according to claim 1 and wherein said client-side script is JavaScript and said server provides client-side emulation of said JavaScript.

7. A method for interactive communication with a web site using a mobile communicator according to claim 1 and wherein visual appearance of said input tag of a submit type is set to be similar to a visual appearance of an element to which it corresponds.

8. A method for interactive communication with a web site using a mobile communicator according to claim 1 and wherein:

if said element is within an HTML form tag having an action attribute, a value of the action attribute of the HTML form tag is replaced by an Internet Protocol (IP) address of said server; and

if said element is not within an HTML form tag, an HTML form tag is created around said element and the action attribute of the HTML form tag is set to be the IP address of said server.

9. A method for interactive communication with a web site using a mobile communicator according to claim 1 and wherein:

a look-up table is created for the HTML web page requested; and

said look-up table is indexed by the unique names of the input tags of the submit type.

10. A method for interactive communication with a web site using a mobile communicator according to claim 9 and wherein said look-up table contains information including at least one of the following items:

a name of said element to which each input tag corresponds;

an ID attribute of said element;

a type characterizing said element; and

location of the element in the Document Object Model (DOM) of said HTML web page.

11. A method for interactive communication with a web site using a mobile communicator according to claim 10 and wherein an input tag of a “

hidden”

type is added to an HTML form defined by said HTML form tag and the value of said input tag is employed to identify the look-up table.

12. A method for interactive communication with a web site using a mobile communicator according to claim 11 and wherein if said element is a select element, corresponding to a select region, a plurality of option-displaying adapted pages, each containing a limited number of available options, are prepared, each of said available options in said select region appearing on one of the option-displaying adapted pages, each of the available options being a link to said server and containing a value which is employed to identify the look-up table.

13. A method for interactive communication with a web site using a mobile communicator according to claim 12 and wherein when a user clicks on a select region, a corresponding HTML form is submitted to said server which, upon receipt of the HTML form submitted, recognizes the HTML form submitted as a request to display either a general listing of options, if available, or to display a first adapted option-displaying page.

14. A method for interactive communication with a web site using a mobile communicator according to claim 13 and wherein a user selection of an option operates as a HTTP request to said server, which identifies said HTTP request as an emulation request and finds said unique name of said input tag of the submit type and said look up table and identifies a corresponding option element on the DOM based on said unique name and said look-up table.

15. A method for interactive communication with a web site using a mobile communicator according to claim 14 and wherein said corresponding option element is found in the following manner:

said server again requests said HTML web page from the internet and creates a DOM corresponding to said HTML web page and said information found on said look-up table is employed to locate the corresponding option element on the DOM.

16. A method for interactive communication with a web site using a mobile communicator according to claim 15 and wherein an event identified by event attributes of said corresponding option element is triggered by said server, resulting in emulation of a user operating a conventional web browser, producing an adapted page, and said information found on said lookup table is saved in an emulation list associated with the look-up table so that retrieving the look-up table also retrieves the emulation list.

17. A method for interactive communication with a web site using a mobile communicator according to claim 1 and wherein when a user selects an element that has submit button functionality, but is not a select region, an HTTP request is submitted to said server and the server identifies the HTTP request as an emulation request, finds the unique name of the input tag of the submit type and the look up table, and identifies the element that has submit button functionality selected by the user.

18. A method for interactive communication with a web site using a mobile communicator according to claim 17 and wherein said element that has submit button functionality is found in the following manner:

said server again requests said HTML web page from the Internet and creates a DOM corresponding to the HTML web page and said information found on the look-up table is employed to locate the element on the DOM.

19. A system for interactive communication with a web site using a mobile communicator that does not support a client-side script employed by said web site, the system comprising:

a server operative to;

receive an hypertext transfer protocol (http) request from said a mobile communicator being used by a user, said http request identifying said website; and

emulate said client-side script by running said client-side script entirely on said server so as to enable user interaction with said website,

said user interaction comprising;

receiving, at said server, at least one user input from said mobile communicator; and

based on said at least one user input, emulating at least one additional client-side script by running said at least one additional client-side script entirely on said server; and

wherein, when a user requests an Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) web page from said server, said server retrieves the HTML web page requested from the internet and searches the HTML web page for elements that require client-side script emulation, and

when at least one element that requires client-side script emulation is found, the following takes place on a mobile communicator adapted web page corresponding to said HTML web page requested by said user;

each element respectively indicated as “

one-way”

or “

return”

is replaced by an input tag of a submit type (<

input type=submit . . . >

) having a unique name unless the mobile communicator supports use of an input tag of an image type, in which case an input tag of an image type is employed instead of the input tag of a submit type.

20. A system for interactive communication with a web site using a mobile communicator according to claim 19 and wherein said functionalities also comprise:

retrieving a user-agent field from said http request, said user-agent field identifying said mobile communicator being used by said user; and

ascertaining whether said mobile communicator being used by said user supports a given computer language or script.

21. A system for interactive communication with a web site using a mobile communicator according to claim 19 and wherein said functionalities also comprise:

employing a conventional browser of the mobile communicator for communicating with said server.

22. A system for interactive communication with a web site using a mobile communicator according to claim 19 and wherein said functionalities also comprise:

employing a form submit button to replace script elements not supported by said mobile communicator.

23. A system for interactive communication with a web site using a mobile communicator according to claim 22 and wherein said form submit button appears as a picture which resembles said script element.

24. A system for interactive communication with a web site using a mobile communicator according to claim 19 and wherein said client-side script is JavaScript and said server provides client-side emulation of said JavaScript.

25. A system for interactive communication with a web site using a mobile communicator according to claim 19 and wherein visual appearance of said input tag of a submit type is set to be similar to a visual appearance of an element to which it corresponds.

26. A system for interactive communication with a web site using a mobile communicator according to claim 19 and wherein:

if said element is within an HTML form tag having an action attribute, a value of the action attribute of the HTML form tag is replaced by an Internet Protocol (IP) address of said server; and

if said element is not within an HTML form tag, an HTML form tag is created around said element and the action attribute of the HTML form tag is set to be the IP address of said server.

27. A system for interactive communication with a web site using a mobile communicator according to claim 19 and wherein:

a look-up table is created for the HTML web page requested; and

said look-up table is indexed by the unique names of the input tags of the submit type.

28. A system for interactive communication with a web site using a mobile communicator according to claim 27 and wherein said look-up table contains information including at least one of the following items:

a name of said element to which each input tag corresponds;

an ID attribute of said element;

a type characterizing said element; and

location of the element in the Document Object Model (DOM) of said HTML web page.

29. A system for interactive communication with a web site using a mobile communicator according to claim 28 and wherein an input tag of a “

hidden”

type is added to an HTML form defined by said HTML form tag and the value of said input tag is employed to identify the look-up table.

30. A system for interactive communication with a web site using a mobile communicator according to claim 29 and wherein if said element is a select element, corresponding to a select region, a plurality of option-displaying adapted pages, each containing a limited number of available options are prepared, each of said available options in said select region appearing on one of the option-displaying adapted pages, each of the available options being a link to said server and containing a value which is employed to identify the look-up table.

31. A system for interactive communication with a web site using a mobile communicator according to claim 30 and wherein when a user clicks on a select region, a corresponding HTML form is submitted to said server which, upon receipt of the HTML form submitted, recognizes the HTML form submitted as a request to display either a general listing of options, if available, or to display a first adapted option-displaying page.

32. A system for interactive communication with a web site using a mobile communicator according to claim 31 and wherein a user selection of an option operates as a HTTP request to said server, which identifies said HTTP request as an emulation request and finds said unique name of said input tag of the submit type and said look up table and identifies a corresponding option element on the DOM based on said unique name and said look-up table.

33. A system for interactive communication with a web site using a mobile communicator according to claim 32 and wherein said corresponding option element is found in the following manner:

said server again requests said HTML web page from the internet and creates a DOM corresponding to said HTML web page and said information found on said look-up table is employed to locate the corresponding option element on the DOM.

34. A system for interactive communication with a web site using a mobile communicator according to claim 33 and wherein an event identified by event attributes of said corresponding option element is triggered by said server, resulting in emulation of a user operating a conventional web browser, producing an adapted page, and said information found on said lookup table is saved in an emulation list associated with the look-up table so that retrieving the look-up table also retrieves the emulation list.