Persistant client state in a hypertext transfer protocol based client-server system

• US 6,134,592 A
• Filed: 08/27/1997
• Issued: 10/17/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 10/06/1995
• Status: Expired

• Current Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Netscape Communications Corporation (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Inventors: Montulli, Lou
• Primary Examiner(s): Rinehart, Mark H.
• Application Number:
  US08/918,977
• Time in Patent Office: 1,147 Days
• Field of Search: 709/229, 709/228, 709/227, 709/225, 709/218, 709/217, 709/303, 345/335, 705/26, 705/27, 705/40, 713/201, 713/202
• US Class Current: 709/229
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/957 Browsing optimisation, e.g. caching or content distillation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0603 Catalogue ordering
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0633 Lists, e.g. purchase orders, compilation or processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0641 Shopping interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/142 Managing session states for stateless protocols; Signalling session states; State transitions; Keeping-state mechanisms

Abstract

A method and apparatus for transferring state information between a server computer system and a client computer system. In one embodiment of the method, an http client requests a file, such as an HTML document, on an http server, and the http server transmits the file to the http client. In addition, the http server transmits a state object, which describes certain state information, to the http client. The http client stores the state object, and will typically send the state object back to the http server when making later requests for files on the http server. In a typical embodiment, the state object includes a domain attribute which specifies a domain or network address, and the state object is transmitted from the http client to a server only when the http client makes an http request to the server and the server is within the domain. In one embodiment, the apparatus includes a processor and memory and a computer readable medium which stores program instructions. In the case of the client system, the instructions specify operations such as receiving and storing the state information; in the case of the server system, the instructions specify operations such as sending the state information to a client system.

Claims

1. A method for subscribing to an on-line information service, said method comprising the steps of:

requesting a first information service from an http server; and

transmitting a state object from a client computer system to said http server, said state object being stored on said client system and specifying user information to said http server.

2. A method as in claim 1 wherein said state object specifies user identification information and billing information.

3. A method as in claim 1 further comprising:

requesting a second information service from said http server or an alternative http server;

transmitting said object to said http server or said alternative http server.

4. A method as in claim 3 wherein a user of said on-line information service browses from said first information service to said second information service without having to enter user information.

5. A method of claim 3 wherein said user information comprises subscription information required by a first publisher of said first information service.

6. A method as in claim 5 wherein said user information comprises subscription information required by a second publisher of said second information service.