Embedded web server

• US 6,456,308 B1
• Filed: 11/17/2000
• Issued: 09/24/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 08/08/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Conexant Systems Incorporated (Synaptics Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Agranat Systems, Inc. (Synaptics Incorporated)
• Inventors: Lawrence, Scott D., Giusti, Kenneth A., Agranat, Ian D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Bayerl, Raymond J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Thai, Cuong T.
• Application Number:
  US09/715,749
• Time in Patent Office: 676 Days
• Field of Search: 345/854, 345/764, 395/500, 707/501.1, 707/513, 707/514, 707/515, 707/901, 709/201, 709/203, 709/501, 709/513
• US Class Current: 715/854
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/31186 TCP-IP internet protocol
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/34038 Web, http, ftp, internet, intranet server
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/986 Document structures and storage, e.g. HTML extensions
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/20 Software design
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/34 Graphical or visual programming
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/38 for implementing user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces

Abstract

An embedded graphical user interface employs a World-Wide-Web communications and display paradigm. The development environment includes an HTML compiler which recognizes and processes a number of unique extensions to HTML. The HTML compiler produces an output which is in the source code language of an application to which the graphical user interface applies. A corresponding run-time environment includes a server which serves the compiled HTML documents to a browser.

Claims

1. A method of providing from a server to a client a graphical user interface having dynamic elements, comprising:

defining elements of the graphical user interface in at least one text document written in a mark-up language and stored with the server;

including at a location in the document a code tag containing a segment of application source code written in a language other than the mark-up language;

serving the text document from the server to the client which interprets the mark-up language but does not interpret the application source code; and

when the location is encountered, serving from the server to the client a sequence of characters derived from a result of, before the step of serving, executing a sequence of instructions represented by the segment of application source code.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

including in the document at least one more code tag containing a segment of application source code.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of defining further comprises:

providing a plurality of documents which collectively define the graphical user interface; and

storing the text document and the plurality of documents as files in a directory tree.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

compiling the directory tree and the files therein into an archive including content sources; and

decompiling a content source back into the text document before the step of serving.

5. A method for developing and prototyping an application software program having a graphic user interface defined by information served from a server program to a client program, the method comprising the steps of:

accessing a file contain the information served, including HTML tags,

encapsulating source code written in a language other than HTML within tags in portions of said file, the source code not served to the client program,

producing a source code module from said file with encapsulated source code

producing source code for a server, and

cross compiling and linking said application, said source code module and said server source code thereby producing executable object code which serves the information defining the graphic user interface, and information which varies as a result of executing the object code.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising the steps of:

running said object code,

executing said compiled encapsulated source code when requested by a viewer, wherein said encapsulated source code is associated with said application.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising the steps of:

converting data returned by execution of said compiled encapsulated code into a form displayable by said viewer.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the data returned by executing said compiled encapsulated code changes over time as a result of changes within the application.

9. A data structure fixed in a computer readable medium, the data structure for use in a computer system including a client and a server in communication with each other, the data structure comprising:

cross-compiled, stored and linked, including therein encapsulated portions containing executable code, written in a language other than HTML, and associated with said application, server code, and application code, wherein said executable code runs and generates data for the server to serve to the client when the HTML file is served thereby providing real time dynamic data associated with said application.

10. A computer software product including a computer-readable medium encoded with a sequence of instructions defining a method comprising:

defining elements of the graphical user interface in at least one text document written in a mark-up language and stored with the server;

including at a location in the document a code tag containing a segment of application source code written in a language other than the mark-up language;

serving the text document from the server to the client which interprets the mark-up language but does not interpret the application source code; and

when the location is encountered, serving from the server to the client a sequence of characters derived from a result of, before the step of serving, executing a sequence of instructions represented by the segment of application source code.

11. The software produce of claim 10, the method defined by the sequence of instructions further comprising:

including in the document at least one more code tag containing a segment of application source code.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the step of defining further comprises:

providing a plurality of documents which collectively define the graphical user interface; and

storing the text document and the plurality of documents as files in a directory tree.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

compiling the directory tree and the files therein into an archive including content sources; and

decompiling a content source back into the text document before the step of serving.