CGI response differencing communication system

• US 6,003,087 A
• Filed: 10/03/1997
• Issued: 12/14/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 02/15/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Lindquist, David Bruce, Housel, Barron Cornelius III
• Primary Examiner(s): Maung, Zarni
• Assistant Examiner(s): Najjar, Saleh
• Application Number:
  US08/939,724
• Time in Patent Office: 802 Days
• Field of Search: 395/200.59, 395/200.63, 395/200.3, 395/200.62, 709/229, 709/232, 709/200
• US Class Current: 709/229
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/16 Implementation or adaptation of Internet protocol [IP], of transmission control protocol [TCP] or of user datagram protocol [UDP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/162 involving adaptations of sockets based mechanisms secure socket layer H04L63/168
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

A method, apparatus and computer program product for reducing the data transmitted over a communication link from a first application resident in a first computer and to a second application resident in a second computer wherein the data is transmitted over an external communication link. HTML data in response to specific data in a CGI request is stored in a cache resident in the first computer to create a server base cache entry. HTML data in response to the specific data in the CGI request is also stored in a cache resident in the second computer to create a client base cache entry. CGI requests and specific CGI data is evaluated to determine if a corresponding client base cache entry exists to provide a client base form. CGI requests and specific CGI data are interrogated to determine if a server base cache entry exists to provide a server base form. The data stream corresponding to the response HTML data is intercepted and compared to the server base form to provide difference data. The difference data is then sent to the second computer over the external communication link. The response HTML data is reconstructed from the client/server specific data stream received over the external communication link by combining the client base form with the difference data and provided to the second application. Creation of an extended cache key corresponding to the CGI form and the user input data is also provided.

Claims

1. A method of reducing the data transmitted over a communication link from a first application resident in a first computer and from a second application resident in a second computer wherein the data is transmitted over an external communication link between the first computer and the second computer, the method comprising:

storing HTML data from the first application to be provided to the second application in response to specific data in a CGI request from the second application in a cache resident in the first computer to create a server base cache entry;

storing HTML data to be provided to the second application in response to the specific data in the CGI request from the second application in a cache resident in the second computer to create a client base cache entry;

evaluating CGI requests and specific data associated with the CGI requests from the second application to determine if a client base cache entry corresponding to the evaluated CGI request and specific data exists to provide a client base form;

interrogating CGI requests and specific data associated with the CGI requests from the second application to determine if a server base cache entry corresponding to the interrogated CGI request and specific data exists to provide a server base form;

intercepting the data stream corresponding to the response HTML data from the first application in response to the interrogated CGI request and the specific data from the second application prior to transmission of the response HTML data on the external communication link;

comparing the intercepted response HTML data to the server base form to provide difference data corresponding to the difference between the intercepted response and the server base form;

sending the difference data to the second computer over the external communication link;

acquiring the difference data transmitted over the external communication link sent by the first computer;

reconstructing the response HTML data corresponding to the communication from the first application from the client/server specific data stream received over the external communication link by combining the client base form with the difference data received over the external communication link to create a response data stream corresponding to the intercepted response; and

providing the reconstructed data stream corresponding to the intercepted response HTML data to the second application.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein said step of storing HTML data from the first application to create a server base cache entry and said step of storing HTML data to be provided to the second application to create a client base cache entry, store the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) of the CGI request and the specific data of the CGI request.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein said step of evaluating CGI requests and specific data includes the step of determining if a client base cache entry has a URL and specific data corresponding to the evaluated CGI request;

and

wherein said step of interrogating CGI requests and specific data includes the step of determining if a server base cache entry has a URL and specific data corresponding to the interrogated CGI request.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein said step of evaluating CGI requests and specific data associated with the CGI requests from the second application to determine if a client base cache entry corresponding to the evaluated CGI request and specific data exists to provide a client base form includes the step of selecting as the client base form the client base form with the closest match to the URL and specific data;

and

wherein said step of interrogating CGI requests and specific data associated with the CGI requests from the second application to determine if a server base cache entry corresponding to the interrogated CGI request and specific data exists to provide a server base form includes the step of selecting as the server base form the client base form with the closest match to the URL and specific data.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein said step of storing HTML data from the first application to create a server base cache entry and said step of storing HTML data to be provided to the second application to create a client base cache entry, store such information if the number of client cache entries and server cache entries corresponding to the CGI request is less than a predetermined maximum entry value.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of:

determining if the server base form is identical to the client base form;

wherein said sending step comprises transmitting the server base form and transmitting the difference data to the second computer over the external communication link if said determining step determines that the server base form is not identical to the client base form;

wherein said reconstructing step comprises reconstructing the intercepted response data stream corresponding to the response from the first application by combining the server base form received over the external communication link with the difference data received over the external communication link to create a data stream corresponding to the intercepted response; and

updating the client base form corresponding to the interrogated request by storing the received server base form as the client base cache entry corresponding to the interrogated request.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the first application comprises a web server and the second application comprises a web browser.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the external communication link comprises a wireless communication link.

9. A method of generating a base form for a CGI response differencing communication system, the method comprising:

storing the input elements of a CGI input form;

storing the parameters of a request using the CGI input form;

receiving the response to the request using the CGI input form;

generating an extended cache key from the URL of the CGI request, the input elements of the CGI input form and the parameters of the CGI request using the CGI input form; and

storing as an entry in a cache the response to the request using the extended cache key as a key to the cache entry.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein said step of generating an extended cache key comprises the steps of:

generating an extension to a URL of the CGI request including non-default parameters of the request to provide an extension string; and

appending to the URL of the CGI request the extension string to provide the extended cache key.

11. The method according to claim 10, further comprising the step of excluding from the extension string input parameters having a set of possible values greater than a predefined value.

12. The method according to claim 10, further comprising the step of excluding from the extension string text element values.

13. The method according to claim 9, further comprising the steps of:

generating difference data between an entry in the cache having a first extended cache key and a subsequent response to a CGI request having the same extended cache key; and

transmitting over an external communication link the extended cache key and the difference data.

14. The method according to claim 9, further comprising the step of reconstructing a CGI response from difference data associated with the extended cache key and the cache entry associated with the extended cache key.

15. An apparatus for reducing the data transmitted over a communication link from a first application resident in a first computer and to a second application resident in a second computer wherein the data is transmitted over an external communication link from the first computer to the second computer comprising:

means for storing HTML data from the first application to be provided to the second application in response to specific data in a CGI request from the second application in a cache resident in the first computer to create a server base cache entry;

means for storing HTML data to be provided to the second application in response to the specific data in the CGI request from the second application in a cache resident in the second computer to create a client base cache entry;

means for evaluating CGI requests and specific data associated with the CGI requests from the second application to determine if a client base cache entry corresponding to the evaluated CGI request and specific data exists to provide a client base form;

means for interrogating CGI requests and specific data associated with the CGI requests from the second application to determine if a server base cache entry corresponding to the interrogated CGI request and specific data exists to provide a server base form;

means for intercepting the data stream corresponding to the response HTML data from the first application in response to the interrogated CGI request and the specific data from the second application prior to transmission of the response HTML data on the external communication link;

means for comparing the intercepted response HTML data to the server base form to provide difference data corresponding to the difference between the intercepted response and the server base form;

means for sending the difference data to the second computer over the external communication link;

means for acquiring the difference data transmitted over the external communication link sent by the first computer;

means for reconstructing the response HTML data corresponding to the communication from the first application from the client/server specific data stream received over the external communication link by combining the client base form with the difference data received over the external communication link to create a response data stream corresponding to the intercepted response; and

means for providing the reconstructed data stream corresponding to the intercepted response HTML data to the second application.

16. An apparatus for generating a base form for a CGI response differencing communication system comprising:

means for storing the input elements of a CGI input form;

means for storing the parameters of a request using the CGI input form;

means for receiving the response to the request using the CGI input form;

means for generating an extended cache key from the URL of the CGI request, the input elements of the CGI input form and the parameters of the CGI request using the CGI input form; and

means for storing as an entry in a cache the response to the request using the extended cache key as a key to the cache entry.

17. A computer program product for reducing the data transmitted over a communication link from a first application resident in a first computer and to a second application resident in a second computer wherein the data is transmitted over an external communication link from the first computer to the second computer, the computer program product comprising:

a computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program code means embodied in said medium, said computer-readable program code means comprising;

computer-readable program code means for storing HTML data from the first application to be provided to the second application in response to specific data in a CGI request from the second application in a cache resident in the first computer to create a server base cache entry;

computer-readable program code means for storing HTML data to be provided to the second application in response to the specific data in the CGI request from the second application in a cache resident in the second computer to create a client base cache entry;

computer-readable program code means for evaluating CGI requests and specific data associated with the CGI requests from the second application to determine if a client base cache entry corresponding to the evaluated CGI request and specific data exists to provide a client base form;

computer-readable program code means for interrogating CGI requests and specific data associated with the CGI requests from the second application to determine if a server base cache entry corresponding to the interrogated CGI request and specific data exists to provide a server base form;

computer-readable program code means for intercepting the data stream corresponding to the response HTML data from the first application in response to the interrogated CGI request and the specific data from the second application prior to transmission of the response HTML data on the external communication link;

computer-readable program code means for comparing the intercepted response HTML data to the server base form to provide difference data corresponding to the difference between the intercepted response and the server base form;

computer-readable program code means for sending the difference data to the second computer over the external communication link;

computer-readable program code means for acquiring the difference data transmitted over the external communication link sent by the first computer;

computer-readable program code means for reconstructing the response HTML data corresponding to the communication from the first application from the client/server specific data stream received over the external communication link by combining the client base form with the difference data received over the external communication link to create a response data stream corresponding to the intercepted response; and

computer-readable program code means for providing the reconstructed data stream corresponding to the intercepted response HTML data to the second application.

18. A computer program product for generating a base form for a CGI response differencing communication system, the computer program product comprising:

a computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program code means embodied in said medium, said computer-readable program code means comprising;

computer-readable program code means for storing the input elements of a CGI input form;

computer-readable program code means for storing the parameters of a request using the CGI input form;

computer-readable program code means for receiving the response to the request using the CGI input form;

computer-readable program code means for generating an extended cache key from the URL of the CGI request, the input elements of the CGI input form and the parameters of the CGI request using the CGI input form; and

computer-readable program code means for storing as an entry in a cache the response to the request using the extended cache key as a key to the cache entry.