Portal replay and foresee

• US 8,352,852 B2
• Filed: 08/14/2009
• Issued: 01/08/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/14/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Red Hat, Inc. (International Business Machines Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Red Hat, Inc. (International Business Machines Corporation)
• Inventors: Heute, Thomas
• Primary Examiner(s): RIES, LAURIE ANNE
• Application Number:
  US12/541,389
• Publication Number:
  US 20110041055A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,243 Days
• Field of Search: 715/229, 715/243, 715/273
• US Class Current: 715/229
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/197 Version control for software G06F8/71

Abstract

Some embodiments of a system and a method to allow users to review prior and future versions of a website have been presented. In one embodiment, a processing module running on a web portal server tracks changes to a website hosted on the web portal server by recording the changes in a content repository of the web portal server. A graphical user interface (GUI) module running on the web portal server may generate user interface control to allow a user to review, depending on rights granted to the user, prior versions of the website and future versions of the website, which may be constructed using the changes tracked.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

tracking, by a processing module running on a web portal server, a plurality of changes to a website hosted on the web portal server by recording the plurality of changes in a content repository in the web portal server;

generating, by a graphical user interface (GUI) module, a user interface control to allow a user to review, depending on a right granted to the user, a plurality of prior versions of the website and a plurality of future versions of the website, wherein the plurality of prior versions of the website and the plurality of future versions of the website are constructed using the plurality of changes;

presenting, in the GUI, a first version of the website in response to a user request; and

in response to the user actuating a portion of the user interface control, selecting, by the processing module, a second version of the website that is sequential to the first version of the website, wherein the second version of the website is selected from one of the plurality of prior versions of the website and the plurality of future versions of the website.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of changes comprise a plurality of changes to the website made in the past and a plurality of changes to the website to be made in the future.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

transmitting the first version of the website in response to a user request, by a network interface running on the web portal server, to a client machine coupled to the web portal server to be rendered by the client machine.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

recording the plurality of changes in the content repository in a storage device within the web portal server along with metadata of the plurality of changes, wherein the metadata comprises, for each of the plurality of changes, who makes a respective change.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

recording the plurality of changes in the content repository in a storage device within the web portal server along with metadata of the plurality of changes, wherein the metadata comprises, for each of the plurality of changes, when a respective change is made.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of changes comprises a change to a layout of the website.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of changes comprises a change to content of the website.

8. An apparatus comprising:

a processing module executable on a web portal server, to record a plurality of changes to a website hosted on the web portal server in a content repository of the web portal server; and

a graphical user interface (GUI) module, to generate a user interface control to allow a user to review a plurality of prior versions of the website and a plurality of future versions of the website, depending on a right granted to the user, and to present a first version of the website in response to a user request,

wherein the processing module is operable to select a second version of the website that is sequential to the first version of the website in response to the user actuating a portion of the user interface control, wherein the second version of the website is selected from one of the plurality of prior versions of the website and the plurality of future versions of the website.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, further comprising:

a storage device to store the content repository, wherein the plurality of changes comprise a plurality of changes to the website made in the past and a plurality of changes to the website to be made in the future.

10. The apparatus of claim 8, further comprising:

a network interface to transmit the first version of the website in response to a user request to a client machine coupled to the web portal server, wherein the first version of the website is to be rendered by the client machine.

11. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein, for each of the plurality of changes, the tracking module is operable to record metadata of a respective change with the change in the content repository, wherein the metadata comprises who makes the respective change.

12. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein, for each of the plurality of changes, the tracking module is operable to record metadata of a respective change with the change in the content repository, wherein the metadata comprises when the respective change is made.

13. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the plurality of changes comprises a change to a layout of the website.

14. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the plurality of changes comprises a change to content of the website.

15. An system comprising the apparatus of claim 8, further comprising:

a client machine coupled to the web portal server via a network, the client machine further comprises a display device to render the first version of the website requested by the user.

16. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium embodying instructions that, when executed by a processor, will cause the processor to perform a method comprising:

tracking, by a processing module running on a web portal server, a plurality of changes to a website hosted on the web portal server by recording the plurality of changes in a content repository in the web portal server;

generating, by a graphical user interface (GUI) module, a user interface control to allow a user to review a plurality of prior versions of the website and a plurality of future versions of the website, wherein the plurality of prior versions of the website and the plurality of future versions of the website are generated depending on a right granted to the user;

presenting, in the GUI, a first version of the website in response to a user request; and

in response to the user actuating a portion of the user interface control, selecting, by the processing module, a second version of the website that is sequential to the first version of the website, wherein the second version of the website is selected from one of the plurality of prior versions of the website and the plurality of future versions of the website.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein the plurality of changes comprise a plurality of changes to the website made in the past and a plurality of changes to the website to be made in the future.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein the method further comprises:

transmitting the first version of the website in response to a user request, by a network interface running on the web portal server, to a client machine coupled to the web portal server to be rendered by the client machine.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 16, further comprising:

recording the plurality of changes in the content repository in a storage device within the web portal server along with metadata of the plurality of changes, wherein the metadata comprises, for each of the plurality of changes, who makes a respective change.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 16, further comprising:

recording the plurality of changes in the content repository in a storage device within the web portal server along with metadata of the plurality of changes, wherein the metadata comprises, for each of the plurality of changes, when a respective change is made.

21. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein the plurality of changes comprises a change to a layout of the website.

22. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein the plurality of changes comprises a change to content of the website.