Data processing: software development – installation – and managem – Software program development tool – Translation of code
Reexamination Certificate
1998-06-30
2001-05-08
Haftz, Tariq R. (Department: 2762)
Data processing: software development, installation, and managem
Software program development tool
Translation of code
C348S042000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06230319
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
2. The Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to the field of computer software. More particularly, the present invention relates to upgrading software in a processing system over a network.
3. The Prior State of the Art
The number of homes and businesses using personal computers has increased substantially in recent years, and along with this increase has come an explosion in the use of the Internet, and particularly the World-Wide Web (“the Web”). The Web is a collection of formatted hypertext pages located on numerous computers around the world that are logically connected by the Internet. Although “the Web” has in the past been a source of primarily scientific and technical information, it is now a valuable resource for information relating to almost any subject, including business, entertainment, travel, and education, to name just a few. Advances in network technology, and especially in software such as “Web browsers” (software applications which provide a user interface to the Web), have made the Web accessible to a large segment of the population. However, despite the growth in the development and use of the Web, many people are still unable to take advantage of this important resource.
Access to the Web has been limited to people who have access to a personal computer. Yet some people cannot afford the cost of even a relatively inexpensive personal computer, while others are unable or unwilling to learn the basic computer skills that are required to access the Web. Furthermore, Web browsers in the prior art generally do not provide the degree of user-friendliness desired by some people who lack computer experience, and many computer novices do not have the patience to learn how to use the software. Some people, for example, dislike an interface which requires them to identify hypertext objects and use the point-and-click technique to browse through Web pages.
Most people, however, feel quite comfortable using a remote control to operate a television set. Therefore, it would be desirable to allow a person to access the World-Wide Web without the use of a personal computer. In particular, it would be desirable for a person to be able to access and navigate through Web pages using an ordinary television set and a remote control. It would further be desirable to have a user interface by which a person can use a remote control to navigate between hypertext objects on a Web page with minimal effort or thought, so that a person feels more as if he or she is simply changing television channels rather than utilizing a complex computer network.
In addition to deficiencies in user interfaces, another problem commonly associated with Web browsing is communications latency. People commonly experience long, frustrating delays when browsing the Web. There are many possible causes for latency, such as heavy communications traffic on the Internet, slow response of remote servers, or the need to download very large files, as in the case of many images or audio files. Therefore, what is needed is a means for reducing such latency to eliminate some of the frustration which typically has been associated with Web browsing.
Another problem encountered by computer users in general is that software applications tend to become outdated quickly. Accordingly, software suppliers periodically produce upgrades, which are often distributed in the same way that the original software was distributed, such as on magnetic or optical disks or other similar storage devices. However, the distribution of software upgrades on storage media such as these has disadvantages. For example, it is inconvenient and sometimes annoying for the user to have to repeatedly install software upgrades, which can be a time-consuming process. Further, a user may not be aware that an upgrade is available or necessary, or he may forget to obtain or install the upgrade. The failure to install an upgrade or a delay in installing an upgrade can be detrimental, since the upgrade may add valuable new features to the software or remedy a bug (error) in the software. Therefore, what is needed is a technique for allowing a software upgrade to be automatically provided over a network in a manner which requires little or no effort on the part of the user.
SUMMARY AND OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
A method of updating information stored in a client processing system coupled to communicate with a server processing system over a network is provided. Information that has been transmitted onto the network from the server processing system is downloaded from the network. The downloaded information is then written into a flash memory in the client processing system to update existing information that is stored in the flash memory.
Another aspect of the present invention is a method of reducing latency experienced by a client processing system when accessing the World Wide Web. The client processing system is coupled to a server processing system and includes a processor and a read-only memory (ROM). The client processing system is programmed with computer program instructions for allowing a user of the processing system to browse the World Wide Web. In the method, a first set of data associated with at least one Web resource is stored in the ROM in the client processing system. In response to a request by the client processing system to access a Web resource, data associated with the Web resource is provided to the client processing system, excluding any data represented in the first set.
Yet another aspect of the present invention is a method of allocating memory in a processing system including a processor, a mask ROM, and a flash memory. The processing system further has a memory map which specifies the allocation of the processing system's memory resources. In the method, a first memory space of the memory map is assigned to the mask ROM. A second memory space of the memory map is assigned to the flash memory, such that the first memory space and the second memory space are adjacent in the memory map.
Still another aspect of the present invention is a processing system which is capable of being coupled to a second processing system over a network. The processing system comprises means for causing information that has been transmitted from the second processing system to be downloaded to the first processing system. The information can be represented as a plurality of subsets. The processing system further includes memory means for storing the information, detection means for detecting an interruption in the downloading process, and sustaining means for sustaining operation of the processing system for a predetermined time interval following the interruption. The processing system further includes storing means for causing the information to be written into the memory means. The storing means is also for causing a progress indication to be stored in the memory means. The progress indication identifies which of the subsets of the information have been written into the memory means so far The storing means is also for allowing a next one of the subsets to be written into the memory means after a given one of the subsets has been written into the memory means, only if an interruption in downloading has not been detected by the detection means.
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p
Britt, Jr. Joe F.
Goldman Phillip Y.
Leak Bruce A.
McFadden Andrew T.
Haftz Tariq R.
Nguyen-Ba Hoang-Vu Anthony
WebTV Networks Inc.
Workman & Nydegger & Seeley
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