Data processing: database and file management or data structures – Database design – Data structure types
Reexamination Certificate
1997-12-29
2001-04-10
Alam, Hosain T. (Department: 2771)
Data processing: database and file management or data structures
Database design
Data structure types
C707S793000, C707S793000, C709S206000, C709S218000, C345S215000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06216121
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for accessing information from an electronic post office system and, in preferred embodiments, using HyperText Markup Language (HTML) templates to generate and display post office information.
2. Description of the Related Art
An electronic post office system maintained within a network file server allows multiple computer users linked to the network file server to transmit electronic messages to each other. A message is the basic unit of exchange in the post office system. A message can include file attachments such as text, graphics, sounds, binary files, electronic forms, fax pages or any other data objects. The post office is the central repository for all messages and is typically implemented in a database system in the network file server. The post office has a mail directory, which lists all the people, post offices and gateways for message exchange. Each user maintains an individual mailbox within the post office system, which might include a folder for incoming messages, drafts of text messages not yet sent, a log of sent messages, trash folders for deleted messages, and folders for saved messages. Each user in the post office system has an assigned name which is used to identify and route mail to the user.
FIG. 1
illustrates how client computers
2
a,
2
b
access a post office system
4
within a server computer
6
via a network connection
8
(e.g., LAN, WAN, etc.).
FIG. 2
illustrates how a computer
10
at a remote location can connect to a post office system
20
via a TCP/IP connection
12
and the Internet
14
. The post office system
20
is included in a server
16
which runs a mail protocol
18
. A mail protocol is used to regulate communication between the client computer and the post office system. Protocols which regulate the flow of messages to a post office system via the Internet include the Post Office Protocol version 3 (POP3), the Internet Message Access Protocol version 4 (IMAP4), Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP), the proprietary Lotus cc:Mail Router protocol. etc. Both the client and post office system must use compatible protocols. For instance, software programs such as Netscape Navigator, Eudora Pro, and Microsoft Internet Explorer include the POP3 protocol, thereby allowing a client computer running these programs to access a post office system compatible with POP3.
In prior art electronic post office systems, client computers at remote location must include software compatible with the protocol and the post office system in order to communicate with the post office. If a user at a remote location did not have such special purpose software, then the user would not be able to access the post office. Moreover, in prior art post office systems, post office system software cannot be easily edited to change the presentation of mail box information. Most network administrators would not be able to readily edit the files provided with proprietary post office system software to alter how mail box information is displayed or create new display formats. Such difficulties inhibit network administrators from tailoring the presentation of post office information to the organizational needs.
Many computer application have user interfaces generated with templates coded in the HyperText Markup Language (HTML). HTML is not a computationally complete language as HTML does not include any method for branching, such as loops and conditional statements. This limitation in the HTML language further inhibits network administrators from tailoring user interfaces generated with HTML code to the organizational needs.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
To overcome the limitations in the prior art described above, preferred embodiments of the present invention disclose a system for generating units of information from a database maintained in a server. The server receives a request for units of information transmitted from a client computer over a network. The server then processes the request for information and generates a template. This template includes code in a first computer language that does not allow branching, database access commands to access the requested units of information in the database, and a subtemplate command to generate contents of a subtemplate file into the template. The subtemplate command is written in a second computer language providing branching. The subtemplate file called by the subtemplate command includes code in the first computer language. The server processes the template to generate a processed template. In processing the template, the server processes the subtemplate commands in the template and generates the contents of the subtemplate file into the template. The server further processes the contents of the subtemplate file generated into the template. The server also processes database access commands in the template to access the requested units of information from the database and inserts the accessed units of information into the template. After processing the template, the server transmits the processed template to the client computer.
In further embodiments, the first computer language is the HTML language.
In still further embodiments, the database is an electronic post office system and a mail program processes the template to generate the processed template. The mail program includes a mail protocol program. Further, the requested units of information are messages maintained in the electronic post office system.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a system for accessing a post office system which takes advantage of generally available software, such as HTML, web browsers, instead of relying on proprietary post office system software to connect users with a post office system.
It is still a further object that templates including code in a computer language that does not allow branching, such as the HTML language, include subtemplate commands which call subtemplate files. When these commands are processed, the contents of the subtemplate are generated into the template.
It is a further object, that these subtemplates be used in an electronic post office system to display requested message information to a user. In this way, a system administrator can edit the template to modify the display of information accessed from a database, such as a post office system, by modifying a subtemplate called within the template. The system administrator need only edit the subcomponent subtemplate without altering other sections of the overall template.
It is yet a further object that the commands calling the subtemplates be written in a second computer language which includes branching, such as Perl, C++, Java™, and generate the subtemplates into the template for a series of iterations. Java is a product of Sun Microsystems, Inc. In this way, branching is provided to templates utilizing HTML code, thereby making the HTML language computationally complete.
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Alam Hosain T.
Colbert Ella
International Business Machines - Corporation
Kudirka & Jobse LLP
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