Method for generating display control information and computer

• US 7,774,692 B2
• Filed: 07/12/2005
• Issued: 08/10/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Hirose, Shinichi, Kitayama, Fumihiko
• Primary Examiner(s): Stork; Kyle R
• Application Number:
  US11/179,723
• Publication Number:
  US 20050246635A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,855 Days
• Field of Search: 715/234, 715/244, 715/254, 715/243, 715/200
• US Class Current: 715/200
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9577 Optimising the visualization of content, e.g. distillation of HTML documents

Abstract

The present invention dynamically generate documents or display control information so as to provide client terminals of various capability with user interface in compliance with each terminal'"'"'s capability. More particularly, the present invention is directed to a method for generating display control information (HTML document, for instance) so as to display in a form adapted to a terminal used by a user, comprises the steps of: receiving a display request from the terminal; in response to the display request, generating a group of data objects concerning the contents of the display, wherein the data objects is independent of the terminal; by using the group of data objects and information about attributes of the terminal, generating a group of view objects for generating the display control information; and by referring to the information about the attributes of the terminal, generating the display control information by the group of view objects.

Claims

1. A method for generating display control information, on a central server, so as to display documents, on a plurality of remote terminals, in forms adapted to the terminals, each of the terminals having a defined set of display specifications, the method comprising the steps of:

maintaining at the central server a database having attributes of each of the terminals;

receiving at the central server a display request from one of the terminals for a first display;

in response to receiving said display request, the central server determining whether said request belongs to an existing session or a new session;

generating on the central server a group of data objects representing contents of a first document to be shown on said one of the terminals, said data objects being independent of the set of display specifications of said one of the terminals, and using said group of data objects and information from said database about an attribute of the one terminal, to generate on the central server a first group of view objects for generating said display control information, said first group of view objects including a root view object and one or more child view objects, and wherein using the data objects to generate the first group of view objects includes using the root view object to generate said one or more child view objects;

the central server referring to said information about said attribute of the one terminal, to generate said display control information by said first group of view objects;

the root view object including a method for creating the child view objects and a method for generating the first document;

the root view object and the children view objects each generating a part of the first document using information about attributes of said one of the terminals, wherein the first group of view objects generate different documents for different ones of the terminals;

receiving at the central server another display request from said one of the terminals for a second document to be displayed on said one of the terminals;

in response to receiving said another display request from said one of the terminals, the central server determining whether or not to generate a new group of data objects; and

if it is determined not to generate said new group of data objects, the central server using one or more of said group of data objects representing contents of the first document and information received in said another request about said one of the terminals, to generate a second group of view objects, different from said first group of view objects, to generate control information to show the second document on said one of the terminals.

2. The method according to claim 1, thither comprising the steps of:

receiving terminal identification information from said one terminal; and

obtaining said information about said attribute of the terminal from said one terminal identification information.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein said data objects retain instruction information used for generating corresponding view objects and generating said display control information by the view objects.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein said information about the attribute of the one terminal includes information about a screen size of said one terminal.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein said display control information is in Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML).

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein said step of generating display control information comprises a step of sequentially generating display control information of responsible parts from a root object of said group of view objects by referring to said information about the attribute of the terminal.

7. The method according to claim 1 for controlling reexecution and/or reauthentication of a page in a history, said method comprising the steps of:

forming a group of page definitions;

incorporating the group of page definitions into instruction information used for generating said display control information;

determining whether reexecution of a page in a history has been performed;

if a page is reexecuted and a cache of a processing state exists, restoring the processing state;

processing an application and storing in a cache a processing state of the computer application at that time;

and according to a result of processing the application, specifying said group of page definitions and clearing a processing state corresponding to an applicable page.

8. The method according to claim 7, further comprising the steps of:

checking whether a page in a history requires authentication and its authentication state;

ensuring authentication when authentication is necessary; and

according to a result of processing an application, modifying an authentication state of a page in a history.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein:

said root object generates display control information for an entire page in the given display; and

said one or more child objects generate display control information for contents of said page.

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

obtaining information about said attributes of said one of the terminals, and entering said information into the database, when said one of the terminals first accesses the central server;

receiving at the central server a further display request from another one of the terminals for another specified display;

in response to receiving said further display request, the central server determining whether or not it is necessary to generate a new group of data objects; and

if it is not necessary to generate said new group of data objects, the central server using one or more of said group of data objects representing contents of the given display, to generate a further group of view objects to generate control information to show the further specified display on said another one of the terminals.

11. A computer for generating display control information so as to display documents on a plurality of remote terminals, in forms adapted to the terminals of each, the terminals having a defined set of display specifications, the computer comprising modules for:

maintaining a database having attributes of the terminals;

in response to receiving a display request from one of the terminals for a first display, determining whether said request belongs to an existing session or a new session;

generating on the computer a group of data objects representing contents of a first document to be shown on said one of the terminals, said data objects being independent of the set of display specifications of said one of the terminals, and using said group of data objects and information from the database about an attribute of said one of the terminals, to generate on the computer a group of view objects for generating said display control information, said group of view objects including a root view object and one or more child view objects, and wherein using the data objects to generate the view objects includes using the root view object to generate said one or more child objects;

the root view object including a method for creating the child view objects and a method for generating the first document;

ordering said root view object to generate the one or more child view objects;

ordering said root view object to generate said display control information;

the root view object and the children view objects each generating a part of the first document using information about attributes of said one of the terminals, wherein the first group of view objects generate different documents for different ones of the terminals;

receiving at the central server another display request from said one of the terminals for a second document to be displayed on said one of the terminals;

in response to receiving said another display request from said one of the terminals, the central server determining whether or not to generate a new group of data objects; and

if it is determined not to generate said new group of data objects, the central server using one or more of said group of data objects representing contents of the first document and information received in said another request about said one of the terminals, to generate a second group of view objects, different from said first group of view objects, to generate control information to show the second document on said one of the terminals.

12. The computer according to claim 11, further comprising a module for deriving said information about the attribute of the terminal from terminal identification information received from said terminal.

13. The computer according to claim 11, wherein said child view object can generate its child object.

14. The computer according to claim 11, wherein said root view object can order said child view object to generate said display control information.

15. The computer according to claim 11, wherein the group of view objects including said root view object and said child view object generate said display control information by referring to said information about the attribute of the terminal.

16. The computer according to claim 11 for controlling reexecution and/or reauthentication of a page in a history, said computer comprising the modules for:

forming a group of page definitions;

incorporating the group of page definitions into instruction information used for generating said display control information;

determining whether reexecution of a page in a history has been performed;

if a page is reexecuted and a cache of a processing state exists of the page, restoring the processing state;

processing a computer application and storing in a cache a processing state of the computer application at that time;

and according to a result of processing an application, specifying said group of page definitions and clearing a processing state corresponding to an applicable page.

17. The computer according to claim 16, further comprising the modules for:

checking whether a page in a history requires authentication and its authentication state;

ensuring authentication when authentication is necessary;

and according to a result of processing an application, modifying an authentication state of a page in a history.

18. A storage medium storing a program for having a computer generate display control information so as to display documents on a plurality of remote terminals, in forms adapted the terminals, each of the terminals having a defined set of display specifications, said program having said computer execute the steps of:

maintaining on the computer a database having attributes of the terminals;

in response to receiving a display request from one of the terminals for a first display, determining whether said request belongs to an existing session or a new session;

generating in the central server a group of data objects representing contents of a first document to be shown on said one of the terminals, said data objects being independent of the set of display specifications of said one of the terminals, and using said group of data objects and information from the database about an attribute of said one of the terminals, to generate on the computer a group of view objects for generating said display control information, said group of view objects including a root view object and one or more child view objects, and wherein using the data objects to generate the view objects includes using the root view object to generate said one or more child objects;

the root view object including a method for creating the child view objects and a method for generating the first document;

ordering said root view object to generate said display control information;

the root view objects and the children view objects each generating a part of the first document using information about attributes of said one of the terminals, wherein the first group of view objects generate different documents for different ones of the terminals;

receiving at the central server another display request from said one of the terminals for a second document to be displayed on said one of the terminals;

in response to receiving said another display request from said one of the terminals, the central server determining whether or not to generate a new group of data objects; and

if it is determined not to generate said new group of data objects, the central server using one or more of said group of data objects representing contents of the first document and information received in said another request about said one of the terminals, to generate a second group of view objects, different from said first group of view objects, to generate control information to show the second document on said one of the terminals.

19. The storage medium according to claim 18 storing a program for having a computer control reexecution and/or reauthentication of a page in a history, said program having said computer execute the steps of:

forming a group of page definitions;

incorporating the group of page definitions into instruction information used for generating said display control information;

determining whether reexecution of a page in a history has been performed;

if a page is reexecuted and a cache of a processing state of the page exists, restoring the processing state;

processing a computer application and storing in a cache a processing state of the computer application at that time; and

according to a result of processing the application, specifying said group of page definitions and clearing a processing state corresponding to an applicable page.