System for creating and maintaining a website

• US 7,404,141 B1
• Filed: 03/31/2000
• Issued: 07/22/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Oracle International Corporation (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Oracle International Corporation (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Deep, Vandana, Thorpe, John, Banker, Nilay, Giljum, Robert, Kramer, Jeanne
• Primary Examiner(s): Hong; Stephen
• Assistant Examiner(s): QUELER, ADAM M
• Application Number:
  US09/540,977
• Time in Patent Office: 3,035 Days
• Field of Search: 715/513, 715/500.1, 715/501.1, 715751-759, 707/1, 709/9
• US Class Current: 715/234
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/958 Organisation or management of web site content, e.g. publishing, maintaining pages or automatic linking

Abstract

A web site creation and maintenance system permits distributed control and centralized management of a web site. The physical implementation of the web site resides on a database maintained by a database administrator. The web site system permits a site administrator to construct the overall structure, design and style of the web site. This allows for a comprehensive design as well as a common look and feel for the web site. The web site system permits content for the web site to originate from multiple content contributors. The publication of content is controlled by content owners. This permits assignment of content control to those persons familiar with the content. The web site system is also a self service web site system for content contributors, content owners, and site administrators. The self service system displays to users one or more panels that contain input fields to permit the users to submit content and web site components for publication on the web site. The user, through use of only a web browser running on the user computer, transmits the parameter to the web site database. In response, the web site is updated at the database in accordance with the parameter.

Claims

1. A machine-implemented method of managing content at a web site, the method comprising:

receiving a first request from a user to create a particular content item in a particular folder associated with the web site;

in response to the first request, inspecting permission data to determine that said user has create-with-approval privileges relative to said particular folder;

in response to determining that said user has create-with-approval privileges relative to said particular folder, adding said particular content item to said particular folder in a not-publicly-visible state;

in response to receiving input that grants approval for the particular item to be created in the particular folder, changing the state of the particular content item to a publicly-visible state;

receiving a second request;

in response to the second request, determining a current state of the particular content item;

if the current state of the particular content item is the publicly-visible state, then responding to the second request by providing a web page that includes said particular content item; and

if the current state of the particular content item is in the not-publicly-visible state, then responding to the second request by providing a web page that does not include said particular content item.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the first request comprises:

receiving the first request to create the particular content item in the particular folder by storing the particular content item in a database in a location that identifies the particular content item resides in the particular folder.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

after the particular content item has been added to said particular folder in a not-publicly-visible state, updating mapping data that indicates a folder-to-content item mapping.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the create-with-approval privilege was granted to the user by a folder owner of the particular folder.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

in response to receiving input from a folder owner, associating a style attribute with the particular folder, wherein the style attribute describes how to display content items that belong to the particular folder; and

displaying the particular content item in accordance with the style attribute.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

in response to determining that said user is a folder owner or has manage-item-privileges relative to said particular folder, adding said particular content item to said particular folder in a publicly-visible state.

7. A machine-readable storage medium carrying one or more sequences of instructions for managing content at a web site, wherein execution of the one or more sequences of instructions by one or more processors causes:

receiving a first request from a user to create a particular content item in a particular folder associated with the web site;

in response to the first request, inspecting permission data to determine that said user has create-with-approval privileges relative to said particular folder;

in response to determining that said user has create-with-approval privileges relative to said particular folder, adding said particular content item to said particular folder in a not-publicly-visible state;

in response to receiving input that grants approval for the particular item to be created in the particular folder, changing the state of the particular content item to a publicly-visible state;

receiving a second request;

in response to the second request, determining a current state of the particular content item;

if the current state of the particular content item is the publicly-visible state, then responding to the second request by providing a web page that includes said particular content item; and

if the current state of the particular content item is in the not-publicly-visible state, then responding to the second request by providing a web page that does not include said particular content item.

8. The machine-readable storage medium of claim 7, wherein receiving the first request comprises:

receiving the first request to create the particular content item in the particular folder by storing the particular content item in a database in a location that identifies the particular content item resides in the particular folder.

9. The machine-readable storage medium of claim 7, wherein execution of the one or more sequences of instructions by the one or more processors further causes:

after the particular content item has been added to said particular folder in a not-publicly-visible state, updating mapping data that indicates a folder-to-content item mapping.

10. The machine-readable storage medium of claim 7, wherein the create-with-approval privilege was granted to the user by a folder owner of the particular folder.

11. The machine-readable storage medium of claim 7, wherein execution of the one or more sequences of instructions by the one or more processors further causes:

in response to receiving input from a folder owner, associating a style attribute with the particular folder, wherein the style attribute describes how to display content items that belong to the particular folder; and

displaying the particular content item in accordance with the style attribute.

12. The machine-readable storage medium of claim 7, wherein execution of the one or more sequences of instructions by the one or more processors further causes:

in response to determining that said user is a folder owner or has manage-item-privileges relative to said particular folder, adding said particular content item to said particular folder in a publicly-visible state.