System and method for facilitating the design of a website

• US 20050028081A1
• Filed: 08/23/2004
• Published: 02/03/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 06/23/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Arcuri, Michael P., Mauceri, Robert, Hajduk, Craig
• Granted Patent: US 7,287,215 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/12 Use of codes for handling textual entities
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/166 Editing, e.g. inserting or deleting
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• 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]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

A system and method for designing web pages that enables web designers to place hyperlinks to web pages independent of any hierarchical relationship between the pages of the website. A link bar element is provided within a description of the website. The link bar element includes a persistent set of links, each link corresponding to one of several content files. One or more of the content files may be a web file. The link bar element is associated with at least one web file by including a link bar name in the at least one web file. In addition, other link bar information is stored in the web file and a description of the website is stored in a description file separate from the at least one web file that is associated with the link bar element. The description file includes an identifier for the link bar node and the one or more links. Based on the link bar element included within the web file, the description file is translated into additional instructions configured to cause a browser to create web links on a corresponding web page. The web links correspond to the one or more links in the link bar element.

Claims

1-36. -36. (Canceled)

37. In a computer system, a method comprising:

providing a link bar element for association with at least two selected web page files of a website, the link bar element including a set of at least two links, each link in the set corresponding to another web page file; and

associating the link bar element with each of the selected web page files, each link in the set of links of the link bar element corresponding to automatically-updatable data so that each link is independent of how the selected web page files are structurally organized as pages of the website.

38. The method of claim 37 wherein associating the link bar element comprises selecting the link bar element from a set of available link bar elements.

39. The method of claim 38 wherein selecting the link bar element comprises referencing the link bar element by a name.

40. The method of claim 37 further comprising, providing a description file for maintaining the automatically-updated data.

41. The method of claim 40 wherein the description file includes an identifier of the link bar element and information designating the web page file to which each link in the set corresponds.

42. The method of claim 37 further comprising, providing one of the selected web page files to a browser for rendering a displayed web page, the browser displaying at least one link on the displayed web page based on the link bar element.

43. The method of claim 42 further comprising, storing the automatically-updated data in a description file, and wherein providing one of the selected web page files comprises, translating the description file based on the link bar element associated with the web page file into additional instructions and sending the additional instructions to the browser, the additional instructions configured to cause the browser to create web links on the corresponding displayed web page.

44. The method of claim 43 wherein the web page file further includes information corresponding to a format for the web links on the corresponding displayed web page.

45. The method of claim 44 wherein the information corresponding to a format is maintained in a web bot.

46. The method of claim 37 further comprising placing another link bar element into the link bar element.

47. At least one computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for performing the method of claim 37.

48. A computer-implemented method for serving web files from a website, comprising:

receiving a request corresponding to a web file;

parsing the web file to identify a link bar element, and based on data associated with the link bar element that is updated to be independent of a hierarchical relationship between the web files at the website, creating a hyperlink to another web file; and

in response to the request, returning data corresponding to the web file including the hyperlink.

49. The computer-implemented method of claim 48, wherein the web file comprises a bot that is associated with the link bar element and causes a web server application to create the hyperlink.

50. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable components, comprising:

a link bar element comprising one or more links, each link corresponding to a content file and automatically updated so as to be independent of any structural organization among a set of content files;

a web file including information related to the link bar element; and

a website file that describes the plurality of content files and describes the link bar element.

51. The computer-readable medium of claim 50 further comprising, associating a link bar name with the link bar element.

52. The computer-readable medium of claim 50 wherein the information within the web file further comprises at least one parameters describing a format for the link.

53. The computer-readable medium of claim 50 wherein at least one of the content files comprises a graphics file.

54. The computer-readable medium if claim 50 wherein at least one of the content files comprises an HTML file.

55. The computer-readable medium of claim 54 wherein a plurality of HTML files are related in a hierarchical website structure having a plurality of parent content files with one or more sibling content files, and the link bar element includes a first link associated with a first sibling content file of a first parent content file and a second link associated with a second sibling content file of a second parent content file.

56. The computer-readable medium if claim 50 wherein at least one of the content files comprises an XML file.

57. In a computer system, a method comprising:

maintaining a page having information about an association of content references therein, the association independent of a hierarchical relationship among the content references;

receiving a request to render the page; and

rendering the page including hyperlinks to content, the hyperlinks corresponding to the content references of the association.