Fast CSS parser engineered for runtime use

• US 9,519,630 B2
• Filed: 06/30/2014
• Issued: 12/13/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Salesforce.com, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Salesforce.com, Inc.
• Inventors: McWilliams, Nathan David
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Quoc A
• Application Number:
  US14/320,198
• Publication Number:
  US 20150378966A1
• Time in Patent Office: 897 Days
• Field of Search: 715234-235, 715/237
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9577 Optimising the visualization of content, e.g. distillation of HTML documents
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/958 Organisation or management of web site content, e.g. publishing, maintaining pages or automatic linking
• 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 40/14 Tree-structured documents parsing G06F40/205; validation G06F40/226
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/154 Tree transformation for tree-structured or markup documents, e.g. XSLT, XSL-FO or stylesheets
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/174 Form filling; Merging
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/183 Tabulation, i.e. one-dimensional positioning
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/186 Templates
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/221 Parsing markup language streams streaming G06F40/149
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/20 Software design
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/30 Creation or generation of source code
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/38 for implementing user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols

Abstract

The technology disclosed relates to systems and methods for providing a CSS parser engineered for runtime usage to improve the maintainability of code that displays data to users. The technology disclosed also improves the performance and consistency of the code that delivers a user'"'"'s experience.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of transforming a cascading style sheet (“

CSS”

) codebase for a website, including;

using a processor, accessing in memory a CSS codebase that includes target tokens in customizable segments to be customized, responsive to an input invoking a module that uses the CSS codebase;

selecting at least one set of customization functions among multiple alternative sets of customization functions that transform the target tokens within the customizable segments of the CSS codebase;

scanning the CSS codebase and locating the customizable segments of the CSS codebase that include the target tokens and at least a block of related key-value pairs, customization of the customizable segments of the CSS codebase being located based at least in part on an attribute of a user;

parsing, at runtime, only the located customizable segments of the CSS codebase to produce segment parse trees based on the parsed customizable segments; and

transforming the target tokens from the segment parse trees according to the selected set of customization functions and outputting a customized codebase to be used with the module invoked by the input.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein a target token of the target tokens is combined with application display type identification information provided by a requesting application and used to select customized data for display according to an application display interface used with the module.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the located customizable segments parsed to produce the segment parse trees include the target token and at least the block of related key-value pairs, the related key-value pairs being delimited within curly brackets { . . . }.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the located customizable segments parsed to produce the segment parse trees include the target token and at least the block of related key-value pairs, the related key-value pairs being delimited between a pair of delimiter characters.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein a customization function of the selected set of customization functions specifies a logo used in a display.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein a customization function of the selected set of customization functions specifies an appearance of a typeface in a display.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein a customization function of the selected set of customization functions specifies a background appearance in a display.

8. A computer-implemented system that transforms a cascading style sheet (“

CSS”

) codebase for a website, including;

a processor and first memory, the first memory holding code that, when executed, causes the processor to;

access in a second memory a CSS codebase that includes target tokens in customizable segments to be customized, responsive to an input invoking a module that uses the CSS codebase;

select at least one set of customization functions among multiple alternative sets of customization functions that transform the target tokens within the customizable segments of the CSS codebase;

scan the CSS codebase and locate the customizable segments of the CSS codebase that include the target tokens and at least a block of related key-value pairs, customization of the customizable segments of the CSS codebase being located based at least in part on an attribute of a user;

parse, at runtime, only the located customizable segments of the CSS codebase to produce segment parse trees based on the parsed customizable segments; and

transform the target tokens from the segment parse trees according to the selected set of customization functions and output a customized codebase to be used with the module invoked by the input.

9. The system of claim 8,

wherein a target token of the target tokens includes an identifier accompanied by parameters that identify an invoked customization function, and

wherein the target token provides a default value if the identified customization function is not defined for the selected set of customization functions.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein a target token of the target tokens is used to select a customized logo used in a display.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein a customization function of the selected set of customization functions specifies a background appearance in a display.

12. The system of claim 8, wherein the selecting of the at least one set of customization functions is responsive, at least in part, to a target token of the target tokens and at least a key-value pair of the block of related key-value pairs.

13. The system of claim 8, wherein the selecting of the at least one set of customization functions is responsive, at least in part, to a target token of the target tokens and at least the block of related key-value pairs, the related key-value pairs being delimited within curly brackets { . . . }.

14. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium impressed with computer program instructions to transform a cascading style sheet (“

CSS”

) codebase for a website, the instructions, when executed on a processor, implement a method comprising;

accessing in a memory a CSS codebase that includes target tokens in customizable segments to be customized, responsive to an input invoking a module that uses the CSS codebase;

selecting at least one set of customization functions among multiple alternative sets of customization functions that transform the target tokens within the customizable segments of the CSS codebase;

scanning the CSS codebase and locating the customizable segments of the CSS codebase that include the target tokens and at least a block of related key-value pairs, customization of the customizable segments of the CSS codebase being located based at least in part on an attribute of a user;

parsing, at runtime, only the located customizable segments of the CSS codebase to produce segment parse trees based on the parsed customizable segments; and

transforming the target tokens from the segment parse trees according to the selected set of customization functions and outputting a customized codebase to be used with the module invoked by the input.

15. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the customizable segments parsed to produce the segment parse trees include the target tokens and at least a key-value pair of the block of related key-value pairs.

16. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the customizable segments parsed to produce the segment parse trees include the target tokens and at least the block of related key-value pairs, the key-value pairs being delimited within curly brackets { . . . }.

17. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the at least one customization function specifies a background appearance in a display.

18. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the selecting of the at least one set of customization functions is responsive, at least in part, to a target token of the target tokens and at least a key-value pair of the block of related key-value pairs.

19. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the selecting of the at least one set of customization functions is responsive, at least in part, to a target token of the target tokens and at least the block of related key-value pairs, the related key-value pairs being delimited within curly brackets { . . . }.