Method and Apparatus for Widget-Container Hosting and Generation

• US 20080148283A1
• Filed: 09/29/2006
• Published: 06/19/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Oracle International Corporation (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: AddThis, Inc. (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Reverte, Carlos F., Keesan, Matthew J., Fath, John A., Greene, Dylan J., Cosby, Scott F., Radfar, Hooman, Allen, Stewart O., Radfar, Cyrus B.
• Granted Patent: US 8,056,092 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 719/316
• 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 2209/5017 Task decomposition
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/541 Client-server
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/38 for implementing user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/465 Distributed object oriented systems remote method invocation [RMI] G06F9/548
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5027 the resource being a machine, e.g. CPUs, Servers, Terminals
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/541 via adapters, e.g. between incompatible applications

Abstract

A method includes receiving at least one of a widget or a reference to a widget, where the widget can be at least one of a static data object, a media object, or a software object. At least a portion of a widget container, which is a procedural software framework containing a service module associated with the widget and the widget, is generated. The service module can be a pre-defined function associated with the widget container before the widget container is generated. The widget container can be configured to be executed at a widget-container processing device in response to a reference to the widget container being accessed from a processor-readable vehicle.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving at least one of a widget or a reference to a widget, the widget being at least one of a static data object, a media object, or a software object; and

generating at least a portion of a widget container, the widget container being a procedural software framework containing a service module associated with the widget and the widget, the service module being a pre-defined function associated with the widget container before the widget container is generated, the widget container configured to be executed at a widget-container processing device in response to a reference to the widget container being accessed from a processor-readable vehicle.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the generating includes generating at a widget-container host.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the generating includes generating the widget container when the widget container is served.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the widget container is executed within a framework of the processor-readable vehicle.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving an instruction to include in the widget container the service module from a set of service modules, the set of service modules being defined based on a policy and based on a library of service modules.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the widget has a content type, the service module is selected from a set of service modules, the set being defined based on the content type.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the processor-readable vehicle is a first processor-readable vehicle, the reference to the widget container is a first instance of the reference, the service module is a placement service module used to place a second instance of the reference to the widget container in a second processor-readable vehicle.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the generating includes compiling the widget container as a discrete portable module.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the service module is a first service module, the method further comprising:

receiving an instruction to include a second service module in the widget container; and

regenerating the widget container in response to the instruction, the regenerating includes including the second service module in the widget container.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the generating is performed using a widget-container host, the reference to the widget is provided to the widget-container host via a widget-container generation engine, the service module is selected via a widget-container generation user-interface associated with the widget-container generation engine.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the service module is at least one of a customizable service module or a service module that includes a customizable component integrated into the service module.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

storing in a database a metadata parameter value associated with the widget container.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the service module is configured to perform at least one of a metadata searching function, a metadata retrieval function, a polling function, a widget container deployment function, a transaction service function, a security firewall function, a widget container tracking function, a referral service function, an advertisement service function, or a directory service function.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the processor-readable vehicle is a webpage.

15. A method, comprising:

receiving a request for a widget container from a widget-container processing device, the request being defined in response to a reference to a widget container being accessed from a processor-readable vehicle; and

sending the widget container to the widget-container processing device in response to the request, the widget container being a procedural software framework containing a service module associated with a widget and the widget, the service module being a pre-defined function associated with the widget container before the widget container is generated, the widget being at least one of a static data object, a media object or a software object.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the receiving includes receiving at a first time, the sending includes sending at a second time, the second time is after the first time,

the method further comprising:

modifying at an intermediate time at least one of the widget container, a reference to the widget, or the service module based a segment of data injected into a specified location of the widget container, the intermediate time being before the second time and after the first time.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the receiving includes receiving at a first time, the sending includes sending at a second time, the second time is after the first time,

the method further comprising:

modifying at an intermediate time at least one of the widget container, a reference to the widget, or the service module based on at least one of a global metadata parameter value or a local metadata parameter value associated with the widget container, the intermediate time being before the second time and after the first time.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein the widget is received from a widget server at the widget-container processing device in response to the widget container being executed at the widget-container processing device.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein the sending includes sending from a widget-container host based on a unique widget container identifier included in the request.

20. The method of claim 15, wherein the widget container is executed when received at the widget-container processing device.

21. The method of claim 15, wherein the sending includes sending from a widget-container host, the sending includes establishing a session between the widget-container processing device and the widget-container host,

the method further comprising:

associating with the session at least one of a global metadata parameter value or a local metadata parameter value received during the session; and

modifying at least one of the widget container, the reference to the widget, or the service module based on at least one of the global metadata parameter value or the local metadata parameter value.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the at least one of the global metadata parameter value or the local metadata parameter value is produced using the service module.

23. An apparatus, comprising:

a widget-container host configured to receive at least one of a widget or a reference to a widget, the widget being at least one of a static data object, a media object, or a software object, the widget-container host being configured to send a widget container generated at the widget-container host, the widget container being a procedural software framework containing the widget and a service module associated with the widget, the service module being a pre-defined function associated with the widget container before the widget container is generated, the widget container configured to be executed at a widget-container processing device in response to a reference to the widget container being accessed from a processor-readable vehicle.