Hot objects with multiple links in web browsers

Details Hot objects with multiple links in web browsers Hot objects with multiple links in web browsers

1998-07-23

2001-01-30

Maung, Zarni (Department: 2758)

Electrical computers and digital processing systems: multicomput

Computer network managing

Network resource allocating

C709S250000, C709S225000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06182140

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a method and means for enabling a user to access, via a network, one of a plurality of resource copies located at plural site addresses and, more particularly, to a browser application that determines which of a plurality of hyperlinks to utilize to access the resource copy.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A hypertext document is one which is linked to other documents via hyperlinks. A hyperlink often appears in a hypertext document as highlighted text. The text is usually a word or phase, describing something for which a user might want further information. When the user activates the hyperlink, typically by clicking on it using a mouse, the screen presentation is changed so as to show the linked document, which typically contains more information on the highlighted word or phrase. Hyperlinks make it easy to follow cross-references between documents.
Hypermedia documents are hypertext documents with multimedia capabilities. The regions on the screen which include active hyperlinks are called hot-links.
Users are generally familiar with the application of hypertext by using a mouse to click on hot-links on computer displays of homepages from the World Wide Web (the “Web”) on the Internet. Data on the Web is located via URLs, i.e., “Uniform Resource Locators.” A URL is used to specify an object on the Internet. It specifies access method and the location of the file(s). Documents on the Web are written in a “markup language” called HTML, i.e., “Hypertext Markup Language”. File formats of data on the Web are specified as MIME formats, i.e., “Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions.”
Examples of file formats on the Web are “.au” (probably the most common audio format), “.html” (HTML files), “.jpg” (JPEG encoded images), “.mid” (Midi music format), “.mpg” (MPEG encoded video), and “.ps” (PostScript files).
Browsers are computer programs that make convenient the viewing and maneuvering of HTML documents on the Web. Presently, the two most popular browsers are Netscape's Navigator and Microsoft's Internet Explorer. They both provide a graphical user interface with standard point-and-click navigation methods and support HTML files.
Java is a programming language designed with the Internet in mind. Browsers which support Java can run Java applets, which are programs that can be downloaded from remote servers and run on the fly, without a-priori compilation or installation.
Hot objects in HTML files are each linked to a unique URL. Often it is desirable to have a hot object be linked to one of a plurality of URLs, the particular one depending upon the state of the Internet at the particular time that a user makes a request. For example, frequently, a user who desires to download a large file is given a choice of several URLs from which to obtain the file. This is accomplished by displaying a Web page which directs the viewer to download a program from one of four public sites (e.g., #1-#4). See
FIG. 1
as a schematic example of such a Web page.
The reason for giving the user this choice is that the file provider expects its servers (those computers which house the URLs) to be very busy, and should one of them be too busy to service the request, the user can try another one. The user selects one and waits for a response. The user does not know if he/she made the best choice for the fastest delivery of the file.
Table 1 below gives the HTML source code for that portion of the web page of
FIG. 1
which contains the heading plus the hotlinks for the four public sources. It can be seen that, except for the machine names (service2, service3, ism and service4) the URLs are identical.
TABLE 1
<CENTER><P><B><FONT SIZE=+1>Download Netscape Navigator
for OS/2 Warp Plug-in Programmer's Toolkit (123K)<BR>
<A HREF=“ftp://service2.boulder.ibm.com/software
etscape/os2plug.
 exe”>Public Site #1</A> ├
<A HREF=“ftp://service3.boulder.ibm.com/software
etscape/os2plug.
 exe”>Public Site #2</A> ├
<A HREF=“ftp://ism.boulder.ibm.com/software
etscape/os2plug.
 exe”>Public Site #3</A> ├
<A HREF=“ftp://service4.boulder.ibm.com/software
etscape/os2plug.
 exe”>Public Site #4</A> ├
</FONT></B></P></CENTER>
While such a Web page does provide the user with the option of choosing from among four public sites, it provides no information regarding the ability of any site to accommodate a user's information request, the delay the user will experience at each site before a response is dispatched, etc., etc. Nor is the system in any way set up to provide automatic and intelligent direction of the user's query to a public site in such a manner as to provide a most rapid response.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a browser with an ability to respond to a user query, by intelligently choosing from among a plurality of public sites which contain data requested by the query.
It is another object of the invention to provide a user with a displayed “hot” object which automatically direct the user's query to one of a plurality of URLs which can respond to the user's query, the choice being made based upon determined criteria.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a user with a displayed “hot” object which automatically direct the user's query to one of a plurality of URLs which can respond to the user's query, the choice being made based upon which URL can deliver a response file fastest.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A computer implemented method enables user access, over a network, to a resource which can be accessed from any one of a plurality of sites. The method initially stores a control data structure which includes (i) a plurality of site addresses where copies of the resource reside and (ii) an entry which enables access to a procedure that defines a criteria for selecting one of the plurality of site addresses from which to access a copy of the resource. Next a Web page is displayed, having a region which indicates the resource. The method then responds to a user's selection of the region, by accessing the control data structure and executing the procedure so as to enable access by the user to the resource in accord with the selection criteria, without requiring further input by the user.


REFERENCES:
patent: 5787254 (2000-01-01), Maddalozzo, Jr. et al.
patent: 6003086 (1999-12-01), Mitsutake et al.
patent: 6006264 (1999-12-01), Colby et al.
patent: 6012087 (2000-01-01), Freivald et al.

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