Data processing: database and file management or data structures – Database design – Data structure types
Reexamination Certificate
1999-03-16
2002-11-05
Feild, Joseph H. (Department: 2176)
Data processing: database and file management or data structures
Database design
Data structure types
C707S793000, C707S793000, C707S793000, C709S241000, C709S241000, C709S241000, C345S215000, C345S215000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06477550
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to computer networks. More specifically, this invention is related to activating and executing software objects downloaded over a communications network.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The public data networks, commonly known as the Internet and colloquially known as the web, can be used to deliver not only electronic mail messages and web pages, but also software objects from a server computer to client computers connected to the Internet.
The Internet is a collection of interconnected computer networks, in which some computers are configured to function as server computers. Some other computers, which function as client computers, access data and other information available on the server computers. Typically, this access is done by means of a request-response sequence. The client computer sends a request message to the server computer, which responds to the request by sending a response message to the client computer. The client computer can be configured to send such request messages via a software program called a web browser, running on the client computer. If the response message from the server computer is an encoded message, such as a Hyper-Text Markup Language (HTML) encoded message, it can be displayed in a browser window at the client computer if the browser is programmed to interpret the response message.
The description of a preferred embodiment is better understood in the context of the terms web browser, a plug-in and a MIME-type. As mentioned above, a web browser or simply a browser is a program that runs on a user's computer and allows the user to access the vast resources of information available on the Internet. Examples of browsers are those marketed by Netscape Corporation, of Sunnyvale, Calif., and Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash. The browser provides a “window” to the Internet. Typically, a browser provides an area where a user types an address—in a format called Universal Resource Locator (URL)—indicating the source of the information. The browser then sends a message to a web site indicated by the address and requests the web site to send the information in a response message as explained before. When a server computer at the web site responds to the request with a response message that contains a web page, the browser receives the response message, deciphers the message and displays the web page contained in the message on the user's computer.
In general, manufacturers of browser programs provide only a limited number of facilities. There could be a need to provide enhanced functionality of the browser program in order to perform other functions such as display a moving image, play a voice message etc. Browser manufacturers such as Netscape provided users with utility programs known as “helper applications” to perform supplemental functions to enhance their browsers. However, these “helper applications” required the opening of a new window on a user's computer.
A plug-in is a piece of software program that enhances the functionality of a web browser. In general, a plug-in is developed and marketed by companies other than those who manufacture web browsers. Some plug-ins allow other types of communication media to be delivered and displayed on a browser, or they impart animation or dynamic imagery to the contents of the Internet. Examples of vendors of such plug-ins are: Shockwave®, Real Networks®, ISYS™, Adobe® and others. A plug-in program typically includes a content player component analogous to a video cassette player for presenting information from a content file, or for performing other custom actions responsive to the information from a content file. A user typically uses a browser to visit a web site and downloads the plug-in from the web site and installs it. The process of installation of a plug-in typically makes the plug-in accessible to a browser program. Then, the user can play a downloaded content file—which is analogous to a video cassette of a movie—using the Internet and the browser as delivery mechanisms. In contrast to a “helper application,” a plug-in application—if it is installed in a browser, for example, by launching the browser anew—is recognized automatically by the browser and its function is integrated into the main HTML file that is being presented. Thus, the advantage of a plug-in is that it can be integrated into a browser without changing the browser's user interface. For a list of plug-ins available for a Netscape browser, see Browser Plug-Ins, dated 1999, (visited Mar. 2, 1999), <http://home.netscape.com/plugins/index.html>.
MIME stands for Multi-purpose Internet Mail Extension. MIME types specify the type of data contained in a file downloaded by a browser. In order to transmit a file of a particular type of data via a browser, the file type must be supported by a web server that hosts the file. In order for MIME to work properly, the type of the file and its file-name extension must be properly identified. Some commonly used MIME types are as follows:
Content type/Subtype
File extension
text/html
html, htm
text/plain
txt
image/gif
gif
image/jpeg
jpg, jpeg
audio/x-realaudio
ra
audio/midi
midi
audio/x-wav
wav
audio/basic
au
movie/x-quicktime
mov
application/pdf
pdf
application/postscript
ps
MIME types work as follows. When a file with extension or suffix “.htm” or “.html” is identified by a web server, the file is assumed to be of type “html” available in American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) “text” format. The server sends this information to a browser in the response message to the browser. Typically a Common Gateway Interface (CGI) program that outputs the contents of a URL to a browser is encoded as follows in the first line that is output, identifying the message being sent.
Content-type: text/html
Thus, MIME works by attaching a “header” to each message transmitted. The header contains the content type and subtype of the data contained in the message. This allows the server and browser to serve and present each message correctly. It also allows users to create pages that combine messages with different data types; for example, one could create an HTML document that has both image and sound files within it.
A browser that receives such a message understands how to interpret the content and use the appropriate code to decipher the message to present it to a user. Typically, browsers use MIME types to invoke an appropriate plug-in program. For example, suppose a user requests downloading a QuickTime™ movie. The browser receives the movie as a file whose name ends with the suffix or extension “.mov” and whose data is identified as the MIME type for QuickTime™. When the browser receives this file, it notes that the MIME type of QuickTime™, and takes the action appropriate for that MIME type. If the browser is configured to launch a QuickTime™ player—which is available as a plug-in application—every time it receives a file with the QuickTime™ MIME type, the browser will automatically do so every time a user downloads a QuickTime™ movie. For more information on MIME types can be obtained from the web page entitled “MIME Documentation,” dated 1999, (visited Mar. 2, 1999), <http://home.netscape.com/assist/helper_apps/mime.html>.
A web browser can also be used as a vehicle to distribute software objects to a client computer. The details of how this can be achieved are disclosed in a commonly-owned U.S. patent application, Ser. No. 09/208,735, filed Nov. 13, 1998, which describes a method and system for securing, managing and optimizing a computer, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference into the present application. Disclosed therein are ways to download a software object over a communications network and execute the object from a remote location such as a remotely located server computer over the network. It is stated in that application that to achieve the goals stated therein, a preferred embodiment envisions a browser enabled to support delivery of objects that can be remotely executed, as
Balasubramaniam Chandrasekar
Kannan Ravi
Katchapalayam Babu
Sampath Srivats
Feild Joseph H.
Hamaty Christopher J.
Mcafee.com Corporation
Silicon Valley IP Group, LLC
Singh Rachna
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