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Description  |
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TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to Web site or page construction and
distribution via an Internet server, and more particularly to an
arrangement for allowing user personalization of a Web site.
BACKGROUND ART
Generally, the dramatic growth in use of the Internet has likewise seen a
dramatic growth in the amount of information which can be distributed from
a Web server to a user. As such, a key factor in optimizing distribution
efficiency is reducing the amount of time required by a server to
construct or generate a particular Web page requested by a user.
In the past, this factor has acted as a barrier to allowing users the
ability to personalize or tailor their individual Web pages with
specialized information because the need for the server to constantly
retrieve the specialized information every time a page was generated
significantly increased server response time. Increased response time adds
cost to the operation of the system, and also taxes limited system
resources.
While caching has been utilized in an attempt to decrease the server
response time, such caching arrangements do not improve efficiency of
distributing personalized or customized Web pages. More specifically, both
caching of the information stored in a database accessed by a server based
on classification or categorization of content, i.e., "object caching,"
and caching of previously constructed pages which are likely to be
distributed again have been employed to improve distribution efficiency.
In both instances, any specialized information added by way of page
personalization would still need to be retrieved from the database each
time the page were distributed to the user. Thus, a need still exists for
improving distribution efficiency and server response time so that a user
can have the option of personalizing individual Web pages.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an
improved method and system for Web page construction and distribution
which allows a user the ability to personalize individual pages.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method and
system for Web page construction and distribution which includes a tag
cache located in a server, and associated tags which can be selectively
embedded into stored pages to allow personalization of individual pages.
In accordance with these and other objects, the present invention provides
a method and system for specifying fragments of HTML text using
specialized tags, holding these fragments in a tag cache, and rapidly
rendering personalized HTML pages using the cached fragments.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a method for
selectively distributing information including personalized Web pages on a
network such as the Internet is characterized by the steps of storing in a
tag cache at least one HTML fragment derived from information stored in a
database as determined from a user's input preference information, and
associating the at least one HTML fragment stored in the tag cache with a
particular tag to be selectively embedded in an HTML document or file
stored in a server. Each tag is subsequently replaced with the associated
HTML fragment(s) during construction of a requested HTML file. In the
preferred embodiment, topic information supplied by the user is used to
form a key through which the content is retrieved from the tag cache. The
method also includes creating tag cache entries as needed from data held
in an object cache or a database.
More specifically, the step of retrieving content from the tag cache can be
performed by forming a hash key from a current user's topic information.
Topic information is composed of data specifying categories and locations
of interest to a particular user. The topic information can be entered as
preferences for a registered user, can be obtained from selections made by
a user during the session, or both.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a system for
constructing and selectively distributing Web pages comprises a server
processor for translating user requests into HTML page requests, and a tag
cache containing a plurality of predetermined HTML fragments stored
therein. A first storage device is provided for storing a plurality of
HTML files, one or more of which are selectively augmented with a
plurality of particular tags each associated with one or more of the
predetermined HTML fragments. A second storage device is provided for
storing user preference information represented as topics. A mapping logic
processor communicates with the first storage device, second storage
device and the tag cache so as to construct an HTML file by substituting
one or more predetermined HTML fragments for each particular tag embedded
in a requested HTML file based on the stored user preference information.
The server processor is further operative to distribute the constructed
HTML files to the user.
The above objects and other objects, features, and advantages of the
present invention are readily apparent from the following detailed
description of the best mode for carrying out the invention when taken in
connection with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the major components of a web server
employing an HTML fragment cache according to the present invention; and
FIG. 2 is a flow diagram representing operation of a system or method
according to the present invention.
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Referring now to FIG. 1, an implementation of a server according to the
present invention is shown. A plurality of users, represented by
references Ul through Un, seek to obtain information from a server,
represented by reference 10. The users are connected to the server via a
communication medium as shown in reference 2. In the preferred embodiment,
the communication medium is the Internet, but such an arrangement is not
to be construed as limiting. In addition, the preferred embodiment
presents information to the user in the form of HTML pages or files.
However, this too is not to be construed as limiting since the present
invention can be used with any information delivery format capable of
supporting embedded tags. Each user may view the HTML pages using a
conventional Internet browser as represented by Bl through Bn.
Considering the server 10 in detail, front-end logic is responsible for
interfacing with users Ul to Un through the communication medium 2. As
represented by block 12, the front-end logic can be implemented as a
standard web server. The front-end logic services the user by returning
requested information in the form of HTML pages. The front-end logic
generally operates to collect session information as shown in block 14.
This information can be obtained, for example, through the use of HTML
forms as is commonly done with web pages.
A page formation mapping process, as shown in reference 24, provides
construction of the HTML pages in accordance with the present invention. A
page cache, represented by block 16, reduces latency by holding HTML pages
that are likely to be used again in the future, as represented by
references 18, 20 and 22. Techniques for the caching of pages is well
known.
A storage medium or device, shown as block 26, is used to hold tag-extended
HTML files. In accordance with the present invention, the tags form an
extension to the HTML language that allow for dynamic substitution of
content for tag values based on stored user preferences and session
information. The storage device may be implemented as a directory system
or as a database.
A tag cache as shown in reference 28 contains HTML fragments that are
substituted for tag values. The tag cache is composed of a plurality of
tag-content pairs as shown in blocks 30 and 32, 34 and 36, 38 and 40, and
42 and 44. In the preferred embodiment, the tag cache is implemented using
a persistent, e.g., disk-based, hash table. However, as will be
appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art, other software or
hardware methods may be used to implement the tag cache.
A tag cache entry mapping, as shown in block 46, is used to map HTML
fragments into the tag. Depending on the type of tag into which the HTML
data will be substituted, the mapping may require content data, topic list
data, or topic-to-content mapping data.
More specifically, HTML fragments mapped into the tag cache are fetched
from an object cache referenced as block 48. The object cache holds
content objects 50, topic list objects 52, and topic-to-content map
objects 54 as well as user information objects shown as block 56. The data
for these objects are maintained in respective databases 58, 60, 62 and
64.
Referring now to FIG. 2, a flow chart illustrates overall operation for
providing selective distribution of information and construction of
customizable pages in accordance with the present invention. The
illustrated steps are not necessarily sequential operations, and may be
implemented using appropriate software, hardware, or a combination of
both. The sequential flow of the steps has been shown for ease of
illustration.
Block 100 of the flow diagram represents a user request for information in
the form of an HTML page. As is well known, this can be a Uniform Resource
Locator (URL) address for Internet servers. Block 102 checks to see if the
page is cached. A page may be cached if it has been previously requested
by some user or if the system anticipates that it may be accessed by a
user. If the page is cached, the page is sent to the user as is shown in
Block 104. Block 106 indicates that the system may then wait for
additional user requests.
If the page is not in the cache, the page must be constructed or generated.
The generation process begins by obtaining the tag-extended HTML file as
shown in block 108. Block 110 shows that the tag-extended file is then
parsed until either a particular tag or the end-of-file is encountered. If
the end-of-file is encountered, as is shown in block 112, a check is made
to determine if the page should be cached as in block 114. If so, block
116 indicates that the page is placed in the page cache. This process can
be implemented using any known algorithm or technique available for
managing a page cache. Flow then passes to block 104 where the page is
sent to the user as previously described.
If, while parsing the file and before the end-of-file is reached, a
particular tag is encountered, the tag is replaced with one or more HTML
fragments associated with the tag. More specifically, a tag in accordance
with the present invention does not constitute a part of the standard HTML
tag library. The tag syntax chosen for the preferred embodiment uses a
special begin symbol and end symbol to mark the particular tag as follows:
<! - - CW> begin symbol
type=typename tag type attribute
. . . additional tag attributes
<CW - - > end symbol
Other symbols could be used to signify a tagged region.
The content of a particular tag includes a set of tag attributes. One tag
attribute determines the tag type. Other tag attributes have text values
that can contain substitution tokens. These tokens are replaced by values
depending on the tag type. Possible token replacements include but are not
limited to content data from a database, URLs for predefined forms, user
session information, and URL attributes and form fields.
If a particular tag is encountered prior to the end-of-file, the tag cache
is checked as is shown in block 118. If the tag is already associated with
contents in the tag cache, the contents are substituted for the tag as in
block 120. A tag key is based on the topic. The topic is a collection of
orthogonal classification variables. For example, the topic variables can
be category and location, such as sports, dining, and theater for
categories, and Denver, Seattle and Detroit for locations. Classification
variables may also be hierarchical, such as by dividing the location by
continent, then by country, then by region, then by state, then by
metropolitan areas. The numbers and types of classification variables and
hierarchical levels can be varied to meet the requirements of the system.
If the tag does not exist in the tag cache, a tag-content pair is
constructed from information in the object cache or databases as shown in
block 122. The use of the object cache shortens database access latency.
The content associated with the current topic is matched with a key formed
from information including relevant topic information, content type, and a
reference to the HTML page. This page reference may be the base file name
or may include all or part of the URL address.
Thus, the present invention provides a system and method for selectively
constructing and distributing personalized HTML pages by storing selected
fragments of HTML text in a tag cache, and rapidly rendering the
personalized HTML pages via special tags embedded in extended HTML files
which allow identification and retrieval of the desired fragments.
Further, while a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been
described, it will be appreciated that actual implementation of the system
architecture is susceptible to modification. For example, the logic blocks
as described in conjunction with FIG. 1 can be implemented in hardware,
software or a combination thereof, and that the blocks could be combined
into larger logical units or further subdivided to conveniently implement
the system.
Thus, while the best mode for carrying out the invention has been described
in detail, those familiar with the art to which this invention relates
will recognize various alternative designs and embodiments for practicing
the invention as defined by the following claims.
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