Method and apparatus for converting a website into a native mobile application

• US 9,448,776 B1
• Filed: 01/07/2016
• Issued: 09/20/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 01/08/2015
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: AppNotch, LLC
• Original Assignee: AppNotch, LLC
• Inventors: Sankaran, Lakshmanan, Bockhorst, Russell Lee, Adriano, Ken Spear
• Primary Examiner(s): Dao, Thuy
• Application Number:
  US14/990,703
• Time in Patent Office: 257 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/957 Browsing optimisation, e.g. caching or content distillation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/972 Access to data in other repository systems, e.g. legacy data or dynamic Web page generation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/76 Adapting program code to run in a different environment; Porting

Abstract

Disclosed herein are a number of embodiments for effective and user-friendly tools that are designed to automatically convert a website into a native app for execution by a mobile computing device such as an Android device or an iOS device. Such tools permit website owners to quickly generate native apps for their websites without the need for any significant programming efforts by app developers.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

a processor automatically converting a website into a native app, wherein the website comprises a plurality of content components and a plurality of links to the content components, wherein the automatically converting step comprises;

a crawler parsing the website to extract (i) a plurality of the content components of the website and (ii) a plurality of the links of the website;

the processor writing a plurality of the extracted content components into a memory as a plurality of files to be locally hosted by the native app;

the processor remapping a plurality of the extracted links so that they link to the locally hosted files rather than the website content components;

the processor generating a manifest data structure for the website to be converted based on the remapped links;

the processor accessing a native app shell data structure in a memory;

the processor compiling the native app from the native app shell data structure, the manifest data structure, and the files to be locally hosted by the native app.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the native app shell data structure comprises a plurality of instructions for execution by a processor of a mobile computing device, wherein the instructions are configured to cause a mobile computing device that executes the native app to:

check the website for changes in the content components or links of the website; and

in response to detecting a change in the content components or links of the website, update the native app to reflect the detected change.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the native app shell data structure comprises a plurality of instructions for execution by a processor of a mobile computing device, wherein the instructions are configured to cause a mobile computing device that executes the native app to:

check a web service for any updates to the website; and

in response to the web service indicating there is an update to the website, receive from the web service an update to the native app corresponding to the update to the website.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the content components of the website comprise a plurality of static content components and at least one dynamic content component;

wherein the writing step comprises the processor writing the static content components into a memory as a plurality of files to be locally hosted by the native app;

wherein the remapping step comprises the processor remapping the links to the static content components so that they link to the locally hosted files rather than the website content components; and

wherein the native app shell data structure comprises a plurality of instructions for execution by a processor of a mobile computing device, wherein the instructions are configured to cause a mobile computing device that executes the native app to respond to a selection via the native app of a link to the at least one dynamic content component by sending a request for the dynamic content component to the website so that the request for the at least one dynamic content component can be served from the website for presentation to a user of the mobile computing device via the native app.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the website comprises a plurality of content components and a plurality of links to the content components, and wherein the manifest data structure comprises a list of files corresponding to the content components and a mapping of links for the listed files.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the native app is an Android native app.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the native app is an iOS native app.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

the processor receiving a specification of the website as an input; and

the processor performing the automatically converting step in response to the received input.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the native app shell data structure comprises a plurality of instructions for execution by a processor of a mobile computing device, wherein the instructions are configured to interface the native app with a peripheral component of the mobile computing device to provide a function for a user of the native app.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the peripheral component comprises at least one member of the group consisting of a camera resident on the mobile computing device, a push notification component resident on the mobile computing device, a GPS receiver resident on the mobile computing device, a microphone resident on the mobile computing device, a Bluetooth component resident on the mobile computing device, a near field communication (NFC) component resident on the mobile computing device, a biometric sensor resident on the mobile computing device, an accelerometer resident on the mobile computing device, a compass resident on the mobile computing device, an altimeter resident on the mobile computing device, and an encryption or decryption circuit resident on the mobile computing device.

11. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

providing a series of GUIs through which a user specifies the website to be converted and metadata for the native app to be generated, and wherein the automatically converting step is performed in response to inputs received through the GUIs.

12. A method comprising:

a processor automatically converting a website into a native app, wherein the website comprises a plurality of content components and a plurality of links to the content components, wherein the automatically converting step comprises;

the processor generating a manifest data structure for the website to be converted;

the processor accessing a native app shell data structure in a memory, wherein the native app shell data structure comprises a plurality of instructions for execution by a processor of a mobile computing device, wherein the instructions are configured to cause a mobile computing device that executes the native app to;

access the website to present a plurality of the content components and a plurality of the links to the content components to a user of the mobile computing device via a user interface of the mobile computing device;

locally cache the presented content components on the mobile computing device independently of any cache configuration specifications that are included within the content components of the website; and

intercept selections of the presented links so that the native app can serve a request corresponding to the intercepted link from the local cache if the content component corresponding to the intercepted link is present in the local cache, and if the request is not to be served from the local cache, the native app causes the mobile computing device to send a request for the content component corresponding to the intercepted link to the website; and

the processor compiling the native app from the native app shell data structure and the manifest data structure.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the native app is an Android native app.

14. The method of claim 12 wherein the native app is an iOS native app.

15. The method of claim 12 further comprising:

the processor receiving a specification of the website as an input; and

the processor performing the automatically converting step in response to the received input.

16. The method of claim 12 wherein the native app shell data structure comprises a plurality of instructions for execution by a processor of a mobile computing device, wherein the instructions are configured to interface the native app with a peripheral component of the mobile computing device to provide a function for a user of the native app.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the peripheral component comprises at least one member of the group consisting of a camera resident on the mobile computing device, a push notification component resident on the mobile computing device, a GPS receiver resident on the mobile computing device, a microphone resident on the mobile computing device, a Bluetooth component resident on the mobile computing device, a near field communication (NFC) component resident on the mobile computing device, a biometric sensor resident on the mobile computing device, an accelerometer resident on the mobile computing device, a compass resident on the mobile computing device, an altimeter resident on the mobile computing device, and an encryption or decryption circuit resident on the mobile computing device.

18. The method of claim 12 wherein the manifest data structure comprises a specification of a URL for the website.

19. The method of claim 12 further comprising:

providing a series of GUIs through which a user specifies the website to be converted and metadata for the native app to be generated, and wherein the automatically converting step is performed in response to inputs received through the GUIs.

20. A computer program product for converting a website into a native app, wherein the website comprises a plurality of content components and a plurality of links to the content components, the computer program product comprising:

a plurality of processor-executable instructions resident on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, and wherein the instructions are configured to cause a computer, upon execution of the instructions, to;

crawl the website to parse the website and extract (i) a plurality of the content components of the website and (ii) a plurality of the links of the website;

write a plurality of the extracted content components into a memory as a plurality of files to be locally hosted by the native app;

remap a plurality of the extracted links so that they link to the locally hosted files rather than the website content components;

generate a manifest data structure for the website based on the remapped links;

access a native app shell data structure in a memory, and

compile the native app from the native shell data structure, the manifest data structure, and the files to be locally hosted by the native app to thereby automatically convert the website into the native app.

21. The computer program product of claim 20 wherein the native app shell data structure comprises a plurality of instructions for execution by a processor of a mobile computing device, wherein the native app shell data structure instructions are configured to cause a mobile computing device that executes the native app to:

check the website for changes in the content components or links of the website; and

in response to detecting a change in the content components or links of the website, update the native app to reflect the detected change.

22. The computer program product of claim 20 wherein the native app shell data structure comprises a plurality of instructions for execution by a processor of a mobile computing device, wherein the native app shell data structure instructions are configured to cause a mobile computing device that executes the native app to:

check a web service for any updates to the website; and

in response to the web service indicating there is an update to the website, receive from the web service an update to the native app corresponding to the update to the website.

23. The computer program product of claim 20 wherein the content components of the website comprise a plurality of static content components and at least one dynamic content component;

wherein the write instructions are configured to cause a computer, upon execution of the write instructions, to write the static content components into a memory as a plurality of files to be locally hosted by the native app;

wherein the remap instructions are configured to cause a computer, upon execution of the write instructions, to remap the links to the static content components so that they link to the locally hosted files rather than the website content components; and

wherein the native app shell data structure comprises a plurality of instructions for execution by a processor of a mobile computing device, wherein the native app shell data structure instructions are configured to cause a mobile computing device that executes the native app to respond to a selection via the native app of a link to the at least one dynamic content component by sending a request for the dynamic content component to the website so that the request for the at least one dynamic content component can be served from the website for presentation to a user of the mobile computing device via the native app.

24. The computer program product of claim 20 wherein the native app shell data structure comprises a plurality of instructions for execution by a processor of a mobile computing device, wherein the native app shell data structure instructions are configured to interface the native app with a peripheral component of the mobile computing device to provide a function for a user of the native app, wherein the peripheral component comprises at least one member of the group consisting of a camera resident on the mobile computing device, a push notification component resident on the mobile computing device, a GPS receiver resident on the mobile computing device, a microphone resident on the mobile computing device, a Bluetooth component resident on the mobile computing device, a near field communication (NFC) component resident on the mobile computing device, a biometric sensor resident on the mobile computing device, an accelerometer resident on the mobile computing device, a compass resident on the mobile computing device, an altimeter resident on the mobile computing device, and an encryption or decryption circuit resident on the mobile computing device.

25. A computer program product for converting a website into a native app, wherein the website comprises a plurality of content components and a plurality of links to the content components, the computer program product comprising:

a plurality of processor-executable instructions resident on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, the instructions configured to cause a computer, upon execution of the instructions, to;

generate a manifest data structure for a website to be converted into a native app;

access a native app shell data structure in a memory, wherein the native app shell data structure comprises a plurality of instructions for execution by a processor of a mobile computing device, wherein the native app shell data structure instructions are configured to cause a mobile computing device that executes the native app to;

access the website to present a plurality of the content components and a plurality of the links to the content components to a user of the mobile computing device via a user interface of the mobile computing device;

locally cache the presented content components on the mobile computing device independently of any cache configuration specifications that are included within the content components of the website; and

intercept selections of the presented links so that the native app can serve a request corresponding to the intercepted link from the local cache if the content component corresponding to the intercepted link is present in the local cache, and if the request is not to be served from the local cache, the native app causes the mobile computing device to send a request for the content component corresponding to the intercepted link to the website; and

compile the native app from the native app shell data structure and the manifest data structure to thereby automatically convert the website into the native app.

26. The computer program product of claim 25 wherein the native app is an Android native app.

27. The computer program product of claim 25 wherein the native app is an iOS native app.

28. The computer program product of claim 25 wherein the native app shell data structure instructions are further configured to cause a mobile computing device that executes the native app to interface the native app with a peripheral component of the mobile computing device to provide a function for a user of the native app.

29. The computer program product of claim 28 wherein the peripheral component comprises at least one member of the group consisting of a camera resident on the mobile computing device, a push notification component resident on the mobile computing device, a GPS receiver resident on the mobile computing device, a microphone resident on the mobile computing device, a Bluetooth component resident on the mobile computing device, a near field communication (NFC) component resident on the mobile computing device, a biometric sensor resident on the mobile computing device, an accelerometer resident on the mobile computing device, a compass resident on the mobile computing device, an altimeter resident on the mobile computing device, and an encryption or decryption circuit resident on the mobile computing device.

30. The computer program product of claim 25 wherein the manifest data structure comprises a specification of a URL for the website.