WO2002084524A2

WO2002084524A2 - A method and system for customizing presentation of data sent from a web server

Info

Publication number: WO2002084524A2
Application number: PCT/IL2002/000306
Authority: WO
Inventors: Eyal Levy; Yair Ezry; Ziv Shapira
Original assignee: Namaya Technologies Inc.
Priority date: 2001-04-16
Filing date: 2002-04-15
Publication date: 2002-10-24
Also published as: IL142632A0; WO2002084524A3

Abstract

Method and system for customizing the presentation of data sent from one or more Web Server(s) to a /userClient. A set of Rules is determined for customizing data sent from each Web Server to the Client, according to the Client's preference(s). A Customization Server (CS) that includes a program for modifying data sent from each Web Server to the Client, according to the set of Rule(s), is provided, such that the CS intermediating between each one of the Web Servers and the Client(s). A storage array, such as a Database that is accessible by the CS, is provided for storing and retrieving the set of Rules. Whenever data is forwarded from one or more Web servers to the Client(s) via the CS, the set of Rules is retrieved from the storage means by the CS and applied on the data, resulting in a modified data. The modified data is then forwarded to the Client(s) and presented to him according to his preferences.

Description

A METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR CUSTOMIZING

PRESENTATION OF DATA SENT FROM A WEB SERVER

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to the field of Internet Web applications.

More particularly, the invention relates to a method and system for

providing integration and customization capabilities to users using Web

applications.

Background of the Invention

Almost every application supplier is required to provide customization

capability for its users. Several current solutions comprise customization

features in stand-alone applications and in WEB applications. For

example, Microsoft Word provides the users the option to customize the

menu according to the user's individual requirements. Web portals and

search engines, such as "My Yahoo!" (my.yahoo.com) include features such

as the option of visual changes to the public home page, as well as content-

wise modifications, according to personal preferences. Hence,

customization is important and addressed by both commercial vendors and

generic information service providers.

The same problem arises in the ASPs (Application Service Providers)

market. Application and information service providers realize that the — —

selection of data and the visual requirements are unique to each user,

although the data, the basic business logic and the user interface are

common to most of the requirements. The problem for the ASP is the

inability to cost-effectively provide a master application and at the same

time attend to specific adaptations required by each of its clients.

Modifying the application according to each user's preferences or even

preparing multiple versions of the application requires tremendous effort

from the programming and maintenance points of view.

Due to the unsatisfactory solution to the aforementioned problems, the

ASP either loses clients that cannot compromise their customization

requirements or gets into escalating amount of maintenance and technical

support problems.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a method and a

system for providing customization capability to Internet Web users, in

which the application's version upgrade and maintenance overhead of the

Internet Web is decreased, compared to prior art methods.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a method and a

system for providing customization capability to Web users, in which the

Quality of Service (QoS) of a Web is increased, compared to prior art

methods. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method and a

system for providing customization capability to Web users, in which the

security of transactions carried out trough the Internet Web is increased,

compared to prior art methods.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the

description proceeds.

Summary of the Invention

In one aspect, the present invention is directed to a method for

customizing the presentation of data sent from one or more Web Server(s)

to a /userClient. A set of Rules is determined for customizing data sent

from each Web Server to the Client, according to the Client's preference(s).

A Customization Server (CS) that includes a program for modifying data

sent from each Web Server to the Client, according to the set of Rule(s), is

provided, such that the CS intermediating between each one of the Web

Servers and the Client(s). A storage array, such as a Database that is

accessible by the CS, is provided for storing and retrieving the set of Rules.

Whenever data is forwarded from one or more Web servers to the Client(s)

via the CS, the set of Rules is retrieved from the storage means by the CS

and applied on the data, resulting in a modified data. The modified data is

then forwarded to the Client(s) and presented to him according to his

preferences. The set of Rule(s) may be associated with a plurality of Clients. The

Customization Server (CS) may be utilized also as a proxy server.

Referably, the data sent from the Web Server(s) to the CS is encrypted and

the data sent from the CS to the Client(s) is decrypted.

The Rule(s) may be determined according to a Service Level Agreement

(SLA) between the Client and the owner of the Web Server (s).

In another aspect, data being relevant to one or more Clients is stored in a

local Storage array (e.g., a database), which is linked to the CS. Whenever

a Web page is forwarded from a Web server to the CS, the CS retrieves the

corresponding data from the local Storage array and embeds the retrieved

data into the Web page. After that, the modified Web page is forwarded to

the client.

According to one aspect of the invention, the local Storage array is

replaced by an external Storage array, in which case the data is encrypted

before being stored in the external Storage array, in order to avoid the

data from being abused.

The invention is also directed to a system for customizing the presentation

of data sent from one or more Web Server(s) to a Client, comprising: - A Customization Server (CS), which includes a corresponding program,

for allowing modifying data sent from the Web Server(s) to the Client(s);

and

- A Storage array, such as a Database, which is accessible by the CS, for

storing and retrieving a set of Rule(s) for customizing data sent from a

Web server to the Client.

Optionally, the CS resides within the Web Server.

The system may further comprise:

- a local Storage array that is linked to the CS, for storing data

- associated with the preferences of one or more Clients; and

a program module, for allowing retrieving the data from the local

Storage array and embedding the data into a Web page whenever a Web

page is forwarded from a Web server at the CS.

Optionally, the CS is a 'stand-alone' server, rather than being an integral

part of a Web server.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The above and other characteristics and advantages of the invention will

be better understood through the following illustrative and non-limitative detailed description of preferred embodiments thereof, with reference to

the appended drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 (prior art) schematically illustrates a first Web client/server

scheme;

- Fig. 2 (prior art) schematically illustrates a second Web client/server

scheme;

- Fig. 3 schematically illustrates the data flow from a Web server to

clients, according to one embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 4 schematically illustrates a Web client/server scheme, according

to a preferred embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 5 schematically illustrates a Web client/server scheme, according

to another embodiment of the invention;

- Fig. 6 schematically illustrates a client/server scheme, according to still

another embodiment of the invention; and

- Fig. 7 schematically illustrates the modules of a customization server,

according to still another embodiment of the invention.

Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiments

In order to facilitate the reading of the description that follows, a number

of terms and acronyms employed in the art are defined below:

ASP (Application Service Provider) is an application program being

executed on the server's side, rather than on its client computer. Regarding the Internet, the Web Server operates at the Web site's side,

and its clients are Web browsers at the users' side.

HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) is the set of markup symbols or

codes inserted into a file intended for being displayed on a World Wide

Web browser. page. The markup provides instrucions to the Web browser

as to how to display a Web page's words and images to the user. Each

individual markup code is referred to as an element (also referred as a

"tag"). Some elements come in pairs that indicate when some display effect

should begin and when it should end.

The Internet, or WWW (World Wide Web, or Internet Web), is a

worldwide system of computer networks - a "network of networks" - in

which user that is connected to any of the computers could communicate

with any other computer, if authorized to do so.

VPN (Virtual Private Network) is a private data network that uses the

public telecommunication infrastructure, while maintaining privacy

through the use of a tunneling protocol and security procedures.

Client/server describes the relationship between two computer programs

in which one program (e.g., at the client side), requests a service from

another program (e.g., at the server side), which fulfills the request. In a network, the client/server model provides a convenient way to interconnect

programs that are distributed efficiently across different locations.

A proxy server is a server that acts to intermediate between a

workstation's user and the Internet so that speed, security, administrative

control, and caching service (temporarily storing recently used Web pages)

are assured.

A Web Browser is a software program that allows people to access the

World Wide Web. Internet Explorer (of Microsoft Corporation, U.S. A.) and

Netscape Navigator (of Netscape company, U.S.A.) are the two most

popular Web browsers.

A Web page (document) is a specially formatted document that a user can

view in his Web browser. Common languages for Web pages are HTML,

JavaScript, Vbscript and ASP.

An Application program is a program designed to perform a specific

function directly for the user or, in some cases, for another application

program. Applications use the services of the computer's operating system

and other supporting applications. The formal requests and means of

communicating with other programs that an application program uses is

called the application program interface (API). Storage Array/Database comprises a set of related files that is created

and managed by a system (Database Management System, or DBMS).

Typically, DBMSs can manage any form of data, including text, images,

sound and video.

Quality of Service (QoS) is a requirement of transmission rates, error

rates, and other characteristics that can be measured, improved, and, to

some extent, guaranteed in advance. QoS is of particular concern for the

continuous transmission of high-bandwidth video and multimedia

information. Transmitting this kind of content dependably is difficult in

public networks using ordinary "best effort" protocols.

Regarding the Internet, Web Servers and Internet browsers communicate

according to, e.g., the Client/Server scheme illustrated in Figs. 1 or 2.

Typically, a Web server sends HTML files to the Clients. The user

typically enters data in <FORM> command of HTML files. The Web

Server receives indication about each field or button and its associated

contents that have been entered by the user.

Fig. 1 (prior art) schematically illustrates a common Web client/server

scheme. Web Server 20 provides services to clients 31 to 34 via

Internet/VPN 40. The solid line refers to data sent from Web Server 20 to user(s), and the dotted line refers to data sent from a user to Web Server

20.

Fig. 2 (prior art) schematically illustrates another common Web

client/server scheme. Web Servers 21, 22 and 23 provide services to client

30 via Internet/VPN 40.

Typically, when presenting fields content on HTML page, the number of

the characters of the data is tremendously small in comparison to the

number of characters describing the format of the page. Hence, the

overhead data traffic in a Web client/server scheme is high.

Although clients may share the same data (by utilizing the same storage

array/database), each client has his own preferences. A client may require

certain fields of a record, while another client may require other fields.

Furthermore, each client may have his own preferences regarding the

design of the Web pages displayed by his browser. Hence, the overhead

effort carried out by a Web server may be very high in comparison to the

raw data transferred to its clients.

For example, COMMTOUCH (http://www.commtouch.com) provides e-

mail and messaging services including a supporting application. Since the

company has clients from different countries, and each country has its own language, customization capability is essential. Moreover, as the number

of e-mail options grows, a user may prefer not to see all the available

menus and options, but only the few that suit his .requirements. In order to

handle these requirements, COMMTOUCH must create a variety of

versions of the application such that each client will find the one that suits

his own preferences. This type of solution requires massive maintenance

overhead and introduces great difficulties when upgrading the application.

The solution

Typically, the input of a Web server consists of HTML pages. An HTML

page is actually a textual document that contains directives of the page

design, such as the background, the font and the size of each paragraph or

even a part of a paragraph, location of an image on the page, etc.

Comparing an HTML page with a Word (the Microsoft Word processor)

document may disclose that the overhead of HTML is worthwhile.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, in order to overcome

this problem, an additional server (i.e., Customization Server - CS) is

placed between the Web Server(s) and the clients. The data forwarded

from the Web Server is modified by the CS according to a predetermined

set of rules, and the modified data is then forwarded to the client. Each

client (or a group of clients) may have their own set of rules, which is

stored in a storage array/database, accessible by the CS. A simple rule is, e.g., the background color. One user may prefer light

green color and another user may prefer a white color. A more complex

example of rule may be highlighting certain predefined words. For

example, an enterprise may require that the name of the company be

prominent or replaced with an image comprising the company's logo.

A rule may be associated with a process. For example, the organization

may employ a rule, according to which: "an employee may not order office

utilities in an amount that exceeds 100$ without an approval by the

superior". The CS may be given a rule according to which, for example, the

color of the page changes to red, if the amount typed in the order page

exceeds 100$. The CS can check in real-time the amount that was typed in

the order page of the application and, whenever required, perform the

specified action, if the condition is met.

Fig. 3 schematically illustrates the data flow from Web server to clients,

according to a preferred embodiment of the invention. Raw data is sent

from the Web Server 20 to Customization Server (CS) 10. The raw data

sent from Web Server 20 is converted to corresponding HTML pages 41 at

CS 10, and then sent to the users 81 to 85. User 83 reflects an enterprise

that has two users 84 and 85. The conversion of the raw data to HTML pages is carried out according to

the predefined set of rules, which reflects the various clients' preferences,

which are stored in, e.g., database 50. Typically, each user has his own

preferences. Moreover, if the user's preferences contradict the enterprise's

preferences, it is possible to determine (according to the enterprise's

decision) which preferences will be sustained - the user's rules or the

enterprise's rules.

Fig. 4 schematically illustrates a Web client/server scheme, according to a

preferred embodiment of the invention. CS 10 intermediates between Web

Server 20 and its clients (i.e., 31 to 34). The dashed rectangle denotes that

the CS resides within the periphery of the Web service provider. Of course,

CS 10 may entirely reside in Web server 20.

Fig. 5 schematically illustrates Web client/server scheme, according to

another embodiment of the invention. The CS 10 intermediates between

Web Servers 21 to 23 and client's computer 30. The dashed rectangle

denotes that the CS server resides within the organization periphery. Of

course, CS 10 may entirely reside in client's computer 30.

Being an intermediator medium, i.e., located between the Web Servers and

their clients, CS 10 is configured to communicate uniformly with the Web Server(s), and to modify the data directed to the clients according to the

preferences and requirements of the clients.

Fig. 6 schematically illustrates a client/server scheme, according to

another embodiment of the invention. The preferences of each user 31 to

34, regarding the applications/services provided by Web Servers 21 to 23,

are stored in database 50.

Fig. 7 schematically illustrates the modules of a CS server, according to a

preferred embodiment of the invention. Web Servers 24 to 26 provide

services to clients 35 to 37. CS server 10 comprises several principal

modules, which perform various tasks:

- Customization Engine Module (CEM) - the CEM is the core of the

system, as it controls the generation of the customized output (sent to the

clients from the CS server) according to the customization rule(s)

associated with each client;

- Database Module (DM) - the DM allows storing the customization

parameters (i.e., set of rules) associated with each client/ enterprise

preferences in DB 50. Typically, the customization parameters are

generated by AD ministration Module (ADM) 90.

- ADministration Module (ADM) 90 — this module is controlled by

administrator computer 91, and its task is to translate the client

preferences into customization parameters. - Proprietary Interface Specification Layer (PISL) — the PISL comprises

a set of calls, which allows communication between CS 10 and its client(s)

applications (administration and customization module) via standard

protocols, for example, by utilizing standard markup languages, such as

XML and XML-RPC. The calls define the services that the CS provides to

each client. Being a separate module, the PISL could be easily extended in

order to allow communication with the CS from essentially anywhere on

the Web. This configuration provides increased modularity, better system

integration and future extendibility of functionality.

The CS server is a software module. However, in order to decrease the load

of the Web Servers, the CS may be a computer (with the appropriate

peripherals to be connected to the Internet) that executes the software of

the CS 10.

The client/server schemes described in Figs. 3 to 7 have several

advantages over the prior art methods:

1. Centralized customization server that:

Enables enforcement of customization rules according to specific

customization requirements.

Enables single point of administration.

Enables single point of add on utilities, such as auditing,

monitoring, Service Level Agreement inspection (SLA) — SLA between the ASP and its client(s) can be better monitored by information provided by

the CS server. This SLA agreement defines the parameters that quantify

the level of service the client expects to have, for example, HTTP response

time, system uptime, etc.

2. The new proposed client/server schemes allow encrypting specific data

items/elements and allow the CS server 10 to decrypt them before being

sent to the client(s). The latter two features are implemented under

secured measures, as the module may reside within the organization

network, thus allowing the data to be protected before leaving the

organization to the Web net.

3. The new disclosed client/server schemes allow also integrating data

that is forwarded from other organizational systems (e.g., users

authorization list and data presentations) with the application using the

customization process.

4. Provide each organization/user with the capability to fully customize

the application to specific needs regardless of what the ASP provides, and

5. Allow the ASP to supply full customization capabilities in a separate

layer, which does not affect their base application, user interface and

functionality. Hence, the basic application and the customization process

are separated from each other, thereby allowing ASPs to focus on

developing the core functionality of their services/applications and user

interface, and 6. Enables easy version and update control of the core application versus

customization operations.

7. Due to the fact that the time spent for the maintenance, upgrade and

customization is significantly decreased, more resources become available

for other (routine) operations that are carried out by the ASP. Hence, the

QoS is improved.

While the HTML is mentioned several times in the examples desctribed

hereinabove, other types of files may be delivered from a Web server to its

clients, via the Customization Server (CS), such as XML, DHTML, and so

forth. Furthermore, although the above mentioned examples refer to the

Internet, the above description is not intended to limit the invention to the

Internet or to VPN, as the disclosed method may be implemented in any

type of, e.g., wide area network.

The above examples and description have of course been provided only for

the purpose of illustration, and are not intended to limit the invention in

any way. As will be appreciated by the skilled person, the invention can be

carried out in a great variety of ways, employing more than one technique

from those described above, all without exceeding the scope of the

invention.

Claims

1. A method for customizing the presentation of data sent from one or

more Web Server(s) to a Client, comprising:

a) Determining a set of Rule(s) for customizing data sent from each one of

said Web Server to said Client according to the preference(s) of said Client;

b) Providing a Customization Server (CS), said CS including a program for

modifying data sent from each Web Server to said Client, according to said

set of Rule(s), said CS intermediating between each of said Web Server

and said Client;

c) Providing a Database being accessible by said CS, for storing and

retrieving said set of Rule(s);

d) Upon receiving at said CS data sent from one or more of said Web

Server(s) to said Client:

Retrieving said set of Rule(s) by said CS from said Database;

- Modifying said data according to said set of Rule(s); and

Sending the modified data to said Client(s), wherein said modified

data is presented to said Client according to his prefernces.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the set of Rule(s) is associated

with the preferences of a plurality of Clients.

3. A method according to claim 1, wherein the CS is utilized also as a

proxy server.

4. A method according to claim 1, wherein the data sent from the Web

Server(s) to the CS is encrypted and the data sent from said CS to the

Client is decrypted.

5. A method, according to claim 1, wherein the Rule(s) are determined

according to a Service Level Agreement between the Client and the owner

of the Web Server(s).

6. A method according to claim 1, further comprising:

- Storing data relevant to one or more Clients in a local database that

is linked to said CS;

Whenever a Web page is forwarded from a Web server to said CS,

retrieving corresponding data from said local database and embedding

said data into said Web page.

7. A method according to claim 6, wherein the local database is replaced

by an external database, while encrypting the data before storing said

data in said external database.

8. A system for customizing the presentation of data sent from one or

more Web Server(s) to a Client, comprising:

A Customization Server (CS), said CS including a program for

modifying data sent from said Web Server(s) to said Client; and ~ ™

A Database being accessible by said CS, for storing and retrieving a

set of Rule(s) for customizing data sent from Web server to said Client.

9. A system according to claim 8, wherein the CS resides within the Web

Server.

10. A system according to claim 8, wherein the CS is a 'stand-alone'

server, which is not an integral part of a Web server.

11. A system according to claim 8, wherein the CS comprises at least:

a Customization Engine Module (CEM), for controlling the

generation of the customized output that is forwarded to the clients from

said CS server, according to the customization rule(s) associated with each

client;

- an AD ministration Module (ADM), for translating the client

preferences into customization parameters; and

a Proprietary Interface Specification Layer (PISL), said PISL

comprising a set of calls, for allowing communication between said CS and

its client(s) application(s) via standard communications protocols, said

PISL capable of being extended, thereby allowing communication with

said CS from essentially any point on the Web network.

12. A system according to claim 8, further comprising: ^■ l —

a local database linked to said CS, for storing data associated with

the presentation preferences of one or more Clients;

a program module, for storing/retrieving said data in/from said local

database and embedding said data into said Web page whenever a Web

page is forwarded from Web server to a client via said CS.

13. A method for customizing the presentation of data, substantially as

described and illustrated.

14. A system for customizing the presentation of data, substantially as

described and illustrated.