Method and System For Transcoding Web Pages

• US 20080288515A1
• Filed: 05/12/2008
• Published: 11/20/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 05/17/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: Stinson, Charles Laurence, Kim, Sang-Heun
• Application Number:
  US12/119,221
• Publication Number:
  US 20080288515A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/100
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9577 Optimising the visualization of content, e.g. distillation of HTML documents
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management

Abstract

Signature schema documents, pre-defined using a query language, provide instructions for application by an engine to transcode web pages of respective web sites. Signature schema instructions identify a web page family for a web page and extract a subset of data from the web page in accordance with its web page family, each family defined by a shared template. The instructions use signatures previously identified for web pages of the same family to distinguish the family from others of the web site and to distinguish the subset of data from other data for the web page family. A gateway server may proxy requests from a client machine (e.g. a wireless communication device) and use the engine to provide transcoded web page responses. Signature schema instructions may be maintained in a repository coupled to the engine. Extracted data may be cached to a database coupled to the engine.

Claims

1. A method of transcoding a web page of a web site, the method comprising:

retrieving a signature schema for the web site, said signature schema comprising one or more instructions to identify a web page family for the web page and extract a subset of data from the web page in accordance with the web page family, said instructions using signatures previously identified within web pages of the same family to distinguish the web page family from other web page families of the web site and the subset of data from other data for the web page family;

obtaining the web page; and

applying the instructions to the web page.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the signature schema comprises instructions to transcode said subset of data to a target format.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the method is performed by a wireless mobile device thereby to transcode web pages for use by the wireless mobile device.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the web site comprises an e-commerce web site and said method comprises transcoding at least some of the web pages of the site to conduct an e-commerce transaction.

5. The method of claim 2 comprising providing a gateway between the web site and a client machine configured to utilize data in the target format, said gateway transcoding web pages of the web site in accordance with the signature schema for the client machine.

6. The method of claim 5 comprising:

proxying a request for the web page from the client machine to obtain the web page; and

responding to the client machine with the subset of data in the target format thereby to provide a transcoded web page.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the client machine comprises a wireless mobile device.

8. The method of claim 1 comprising storing at least one of:

i) the web page or ii) the subset of data and data relationships.

9. The method of claim 8 comprising maintaining a relational database for data stored from the web site.

10. The method of claim 1 comprising maintaining a repository of signature schemas, each schema defined for a particular web site.

11. A system for transcoding a web page of a web site, the system comprising:

at least one computing device comprising a processor and a memory coupled thereto, said memory storing instructions and data for configuring the processor to provide a transcoding engine operable to;

retrieve a signature schema for the web site from a repository, said signature schema comprising one or more schema instructions to identify a web page family for the web page and extract a subset of data from the web page in accordance with the web page family, said schema instructions using signatures previously identified for web pages of the same family to distinguish the web page family from other web page families of the web site and the subset of data from other data for the web page family; and

apply the schema instructions to the web page received from the web site.

12. The system of claim 11 wherein the signature schema comprises instructions to transcode said subset of data to a target format.

13. The system of claim 12 comprising a wireless mobile device configured as a one of the said at least one computing device, thereby to transcode web pages for use by the wireless mobile device.

14. The system of claim 13 wherein the web site comprises an e-commerce web site and said engine of said wireless mobile device transcodes at least some of the web pages from the e-commerce web site for conducting an e-commerce transaction.

15. The system of claim 12 comprising a gateway server between the web site and a client machine configured to utilize data in the target format, said gateway configured as one of said at least one computing device for transcoding web pages of the web site for the client machine in accordance with the signature schema.

16. The system of claim 15 wherein the instructions and data of said gateway server configure the processor of the gateway server to proxy a request for the web page from the client machine to obtain the web page;

and respond to the client machine with a transcoded web page in the target format.

17. The system of claim 15 wherein the client machine is configured to request at least some of the web pages of the web site via the gateway server to receive transcoded web sites.

18. The system of claim 17 wherein the client machine is configured as one of the at least one computing devices, the instructions and data of the client machine configuring its processor to retrieve the signature schema and apply the schema instructions to at least some of the web pages retrieved from the web site.

19. The system of claim 18 wherein the web site comprises an e-commerce web site and the client machine comprises a wireless mobile device, said engine operable to transcode at least some of the web pages for conducting an e-commerce transaction.

20. The system of claim 11 wherein the gateway is configured to store at least one of the web page or the subset of data.

21. The system of claim 20 comprising a relational database maintained to store the subset of data extracted from a web page of the web site.

22. The system of claim 11 comprising a repository for maintaining signature schemas, each schema defined for a particular web site.

23. A computer program product storing computer readable instructions for transcoding web pages of a web site, which instructions when executed by a computer processor configure the processor for:

retrieving a signature schema for the web site, said signature schema comprising instructions to identify a web page family for the web page and extract a subset of data from the web page in accordance with the web page family, said instructions using signatures previously identified for web pages of the same family to distinguish the web page family from other web page families of the web site and the subset of data from other data for the web page family;

obtaining the web page; and

applying the instructions to the web page.

24. A method for transcoding web pages of a web site comprising an e-commerce site for conducting a transaction, the method comprising:

retrieving a signature schema for the web site, said signature schema comprising one or more instructions to identify a web page family for a web page and extract a subset of data from the web page in accordance with the web page family, said instructions using signatures previously identified for web pages of the same family to distinguish the web page family from other web page families of the web site and the subset of data from other data for the web page family, said signature schema further comprising instructions to transcode the subset of data to a target format;

receiving at least one web page from the e-commerce site for conducting the transaction; and

applying the instructions to transcode at least some of the at least one web page to conduct the transaction.

25. The method of claim 24 wherein the method is performed by a wireless mobile device.