Web server providing html pages embedded with non-HTML views

• US 6,678,738 B2
• Filed: 06/19/1998
• Issued: 01/13/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 06/19/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Estrada, Miguel, Haverstock, Paul, Estrada, Julio
• Primary Examiner(s): Maung, Zarni
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kang, Paul H
• Application Number:
  US09/100,120
• Publication Number:
  US 20010051985A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,034 Days
• Field of Search: 709/203, 709/206, 709/207, 709/217, 709/218, 709/246, 707/513, 707/10
• US Class Current: 709/246
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/955 using information identifiers, e.g. uniform resource locators [URL]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/972 Access to data in other repository systems, e.g. legacy data or dynamic Web page generation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/103 Formatting, i.e. changing of presentation of documents automatic justification G06F40/189; automatic line break hyphenation G06F40/191
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/117 Tagging; Marking up details of markup languages G06F40/143; Designating a block; Setting of attributes style sheets, e.g. eXtensible Stylesheet Language Transformation [XSLT], G06F40/154
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/131 Fragmentation of text files, e.g. creating reusable text-blocks; Linking to fragments, e.g. using XInclude; Namespaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/143 Markup, e.g. Standard Generalized Markup Language [SGML] or Document Type Definition [DTD]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/151 Transformation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/166 Editing, e.g. inserting or deleting
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/186 Templates

Abstract

A system for enabling access to non-HTML objects from a web browser. The system includes a database for storing non-HTML objects. A system user requests a non-HTML object from a database using a web browser. The web browser transmits the request to a server via a HTTP server and module. The server locates and retrieves the document requested. The module translates the document to a format supported by the web browser. The HTTP server communicates the translated object to the web browser over a network. The web browser then presents the translated object to the system user. The system also enables non-HTML documents to be embedded within web pages. The system translates non-HTML documents into HTML documents and provides the non-HTML documents in a format supported by a browser.

Claims

1. A server system enabling a server to embed one or more markup language representations of one or more non-markup language objects in one or more markup language objects, the system comprising:

a server;

one or more databases in communication with the server;

one or more non-markup language objects and at least one first markup language object stored in the one or more databases; and

wherein the server, upon receipt of a request from a markup language enabled browser to access the one or more non-markup language objects;

(i) retrieves the one or more non-markup language objects;

(ii) translates the one or more non-markup language objects from a non-markup language format directly to one or more markup language representations of the one or more non-markup language objects without any intermediate translations;

(iii) embeds the one or more markup language representations in the at least one first markup language object thereby creating at least one second markup language object; and

(iv) transmits the at least one second markup language object to the browser.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more markup language representations of the one or more non-markup language objects are embedded in a web page.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the server comprises:

a markup language server module;

an interface module including a markup language to non-markup language translator; and

a non-markup language database server module.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the markup language server module comprises a HTTP server.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more non-markup language objects requested comprise a database view.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the server translates the database view to a markup language representation of the database view, the markup language representation comprising at least a markup language table tag and markup language formatting tags.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more non-markup language objects requested comprise a form.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more non-markup language objects requested comprise one or more fields.

23. The system of claim 1, further comprising an updating module that dynamically updates the one or more markup language representations embedded in the one or more markup language objects.

24. The system of claim 1, wherein the request causes the one or more non-markup language objects requested to be retrieved from the one or more databases.

9. A server system enabling a server to embed one or more markup language representations of one or more non-markup language objects in one or more markup language objects, the system comprising:

server means;

one or more database means in communication with the server means for storing one or more non-markup language objects and at least one first markup language object; and

wherein the server means, upon receipt of a request from a markup language enabled browser to access the one or more non-markup language objects;

(i) retrieves the one or more non-markup language objects;

(ii) translates the one or more non-markup language objects from a non-markup language form directly to one or more markup language representations of the one or more non-markup language objects without any intermediate translations;

(iii) embeds the one or more markup language representations in the at least one first markup language object thereby creating at least one second markup language object; and

(iv) transmits the at least one second markup language object to the browser.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the one or more markup language representations of the one or more non-markup language objects are embedded in a web page.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the server means comprises:

markup language server means;

interface means including markup language to non-markup language translator means for translating objects between markup languages and non-markup languages; and

non-markup language database server means.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the markup language server means comprises a HTTP server.

13. The system of claim 9, wherein the one or more non-markup language objects requested comprise a database view.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the server means translates the database view to the one or more markup language representations of the database view, the one or more markup language representations comprising at least a markup language table tag and markup language formatting tags.

15. The system of claim 9, wherein the one or more non-markup language objects requested comprise a form.

16. The system of claim 9, wherein the one or more non-markup language objects requested comprise one or more fields.

25. The system of claim 9, further comprising updating means for dynamically updating the one or more markup language representations embedded in the one or more markup language objects.

26. The system of claim 9, wherein the request causes the one or more non-markup language objects requested to be retrieved from the one or more databases.

17. A method for enabling a server to embed one or more markup language representations of one or more non-markup language objects in one or more markup language objects, the method comprising the steps of:

storing one or more non-markup language objects and at least one first markup language object in at least one object store;

receiving a request from a markup language enabled browser at a server to access the one or more non-markup language objects;

retrieving the one or more non-markup language objects;

translating the one or more non-markup language objects from a non-markup language format directly to one or more markup language representations of the one or more non-markup language objects without any intermediate translations;

embedding the one or more markup language representations in the at least one first markup language object thereby creating at least one second markup language object; and

transmitting the at least one second markup language object to the browser.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising the step of including the one or more markup language representations of the one or more non-markup language object in a web page.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising the step of dynamically updating the one or more markup language representations embedded in the one or more markup language objects.

27. The method of claim 17, wherein the request causes the one or more non-markup language objects requested to be retrieved from the one or more databases.

20. An electronic storage medium having code embodied therein for enabling a server to embed one or more markup language representations of one or more non-markup language objects in one or more markup language objects, the medium comprising:

storing code that causes a processor to store one or more non-markup language objects and at least one first markup language in one or more databases;

request receiving code that causes a processor to receive a request from a markup language browser at a server to access the one or more non-markup language objects;

translating code that causes a processor to translate the one or more non-markup language objects from a non-markup language format directly to one or more markup language representations of the one or more non-markup language objects without any intermediate translations; and

embedding code that causes a processor to embed the one or more markup language representations in the one or more first markup language objects thereby creating at least one second markup language object; and

transmitting code that causes a processor to transmit the at least one second markup language object to the browser.

21. The medium of claim 20, wherein the embedding code further comprises translating code that causes a processor to translate the one or more non-markup language objects to a markup language representation of that object.

22. The medium of claim 20, wherein the embedding code causes a processor to embed one or more markup language representations of the one or more non-markup language objects in a webpage.

28. The medium of claim 20, further comprising updating code that causes a processor to dynamically update the one or more markup language representations embedded in the one or more markup language objects.

29. The medium of claim 20, wherein the request causes the one or more non-markup language objects requested to be retrieve from the one or more databases.