(PICTURE)(PICTURE) (PICTURE)Europäis hes Patentamt
(1 9) (PICTURE) European Patent Offi_e
(PICTURE) Offi_e euroPéen des brevets (1 1 ) E _ O _92 493 B_
(1 2) EUROPEAN PATENT _PECl FICATlON
(45) Date of pUbliCation and mention (51 ) Int CI.6_. _O6F _ _J3O, _O6F _ _/6O
of the grant of the patent_.
11 _O8_1999 BUlletin 1999l32 (86) InternationaI appIication number_.
PCTIUS95l147O1
(21 ) Application number_. 959399O2.3 (87) International publication number_.
(PICTURE)(22) Date of filing_. O8.11 .1995 wo g6l155o5 (23.o5.1gg6 _azette 1gg6l23)
(54) AN ONLINE _ERVICE DEVELOPMENT TOOL WITH FEE _ETTING CAPABILITIE_
HERSTELLUNGSHILFE FüR ONLINE-Dl ENSTE MIT G EBüH RENFESTSTELLUNG
OUTIL DE DEVELOPPEMENT DE SERVICES EN LIGN E A FONCTlONS D'ETABLISSEMENT DE
(PICTURE)(PICTURE)
TAXATlON
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__ Note.. w._th._n n._ne months from the pubI._Cat._on of the ment._on of the grant of the European patent, any person may g._ve
o nOtiCe tO the EUrOpean Patent OffiCe Of OppOSitiOn tO the EUrOpean patent granted. NOtiCe Of OppOSitiOn Shall be filed in
ii a written reasoned statement. It shall not be deemed to have been filed until the opposition fee has been paid. (Art.
w (PICTURE)99(1 ) European Patent Convention). Printed by Jouve, 75OO1 PARIS (FR)
EP O 792 493 B1
Des_ription
(PICTURE)FIELD F THE INVENTION
5 [OOO1] The present invention relates to the field of online computer services. In particular, the present invention
discloses a software tool for setting fees in an online service, as part of a visually oriented tool for creating online
SerVICeS.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1O (PICTURE)
[OOO2] With the increasing popularity of computer communications, many companies are becoming interested in
advertising and supporting their products using an online computer service that can be accessed by customers. How-
ever, creating a large online computer service is an extensive task. To develop a sophisticated online service, such as
America Online_, CompuServe_, Genie_, or Prodigy_, a company must have a large mainframe computer and cus-
15 tomized software. Developing the customized software requires a competent programming staff and a good deal of
time. Most companies do not have the resources required to develop such systems, and thus cannot easily develop
and maintain an online presence.
[OOO3] One way a company can contact millions of potential customers is to use the global Internet. The global
Internet is a network of computer networks that links together millions of computer systems using the well defined TCP/
2O l P protocol.
[OOO4] A new method of distributing and viewing information known as the World-Wide Web has recently become
very popular on the global Internet. The World-Wide Web is a collection of servers connected tothe Internet that provide
multi-media information to users that request the information. The users access the information using client programs
called ''browsers'' to display the multi-media information.
25 [OOO5] World-Wide Web servers store multi-media information in a document format known as HyperText Markup
Language (HTML). The World-Wide Web servers distribute the HTML formatted documents using a specific commu-
nication protocol known as the HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP).
[OOO6] To access the multi-media information available on World-Wide Web servers, a user runs a client browser
program that accesses the HTML formatted documents stored on the HTTP servers connected to the global Internet.
3O The client browser program retrieves the formatted information and provides the information in an appropriate manner
to the user. For example, the client browser program displays graphical image information as images on the user's
graphical display screen; plays video information as video animation on the user's graphical display screen; displays
text information as text on the user's screen; and plays sound samples using the speakers on the user's computer
system. ''Mosaic'', one popular client browser program, is widely available to the users of the global Internet.
35 [OOO7] For a company that wishes to develop an online presence, creating a World-Wide Web Server would provide
a feature rich online service available to customers and clients. A World-Wide Web Server can store images, text,
animation, and sounds that provide information about the company. Furthermore, World-Wide Web Servers can be
implemented on relatively simple computer systems, including personal computers.
[OOO8] Most World-Wide Web Servers are coupled to the global Internet. By deploying a World-Wide Web Server
4O on the global Internet a company would create online service that is accessible to the millions of global Internet users.
[OOO9] Alternatively, a company can deploy a HTTP server that is available to customers through dial-up phone
service. A dial-up HTTP server would be accessible to customers and clients that do not have Internet access. Thus,
by creating a simple HTTP server, any organization or corporation can create an online presence.
[OO1 O] However, quickly creating the HTML formatted documents required for a World-Wide Web Server is not a
45 trivial task. Moreover, the standard HTTP server software, without any additional programming, is very limited. For
example, without custom extensions, an HTTP server cannot accommodate complex transactions between a user and
the HTTP server or integrate a database system into an online service. Although it is possible to write custom extensions
to the HTTP server software using a conventional programming language, such custom extensions are difficult to write
except by experienced programmers. Thus, to be able to quickly deploy full-featured HTTP servers, it would be desir-
5O able to have a development tool usable by non-programmers that allows a developer to quickly and easily create a
full-featured online service based upon the HTTP and HTML standards.
[OO11] Many programming development tools are known in the art. These programming development tools range
from tools which are developed and marketed as general purpose programming development tools to sophisticated
special purpose development tools for developing specific types of applications.
55 [OO12] For example, the Information Exchange Facility (l EF) general development tool, which is available from Texas
Instruments, is used by professional programmers to develop application programs. Essentially, l EF provides a facility
that allows a programmer to write ''pseudo code'' and l EF generates an intermediate source code program in a high
Ievel programming language (such as COBOL or C code) based on the ''pseudo code''. IEF is an example of what will
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be referred to herein as a ''general purpose development tool'' because it allows development of programs for essentially
any purpose or application dependent on the input provided by the programmer.
[OO13] In contrast to general purpose software development tools, many application programs themselves provide
special purpose ''development tool'' capability. An example is the ParadoxTM database program available from Borland
5 International of Scotts Valley, California. The ParadoxTM database allows end users to develop sophisticated database
applications which would have been developed by professional programmers afewyears ago. The ParadoxTM database
is but one example of a special purpose development tool.
[OO14] Another example of a special purpose development tool, perhaps more pertinent to the present invention, is
the Application Development Environment of Lotus NotesTM which is available from Lotus Development Corporation
1O of Cambridge, Massachusetts. The Application Development Environment of Lotus Notes provides features which are
said to allow for rapid development of workgroup applications such as sharing of documents between users over a
network. Generally, Lotus Notes and, thus, its Application Development Environment, is directed at sharing of docu-
ments among persons in an authorized work group. For example, a Lotus Notes application can be envisioned which
would allowfor sharing of key patent applications among patent examiners in a particular art group at the United States
15 Patent Office.
[OO15] The Lotus Notes Application Development Environment provides for such features as (i) application design
templates which are said to allow sophisticated applications to be built by customizing pre-built applications such as
document libraries, form-based approval systems, project tracking applications and status reporting systems; (ii) se-
curity; (iii) database access; and (iv) discussion groups. However, while these features are useful, the Lotus Notes
2O Application Development Environment, as well as Lotus Notes itself, has its shortcomings as admitted to by even Lotus
Development Corporation itself_.
Lotus Notes was not intended to be used as a transaction-processing front-end to an operational database sys-
tem. Operational systems are those which support transactions that are essential to the operation of an organization.
25 Examples of these systems would be traditional order entry...
(PICTURE) October, 1 993, pg. 1 1
[OO16] It has been recognized by the present invention that many of these functions neglected by Lotus Notes are
very important when developing publicly accessible online systems. Specifically, the ability to perform commercial
transactions that involve order enty systems would allow an online system to sell goods and services to computer
3O users. It is now recognized by the present invention that many functions such as traditional order enty systems and
the like will someday be carried out over computer networks by allowing a customer to place orders for goods and
services directly with an online service. By way of example, even today, food orders can be placed with restaurants
over computer networks; videos can be reserved at the local video store; and banking transactions can be carried out
simply by logging onto a computer network.
35 [OO17] Four different types of commercial transactions might commonly occur in a commercial online service. First,
a user may be charged for the right to access all or parts of a useful publicly accessible online system. Second, the
online service may pay the userfor performing some type of action such as winning a contest or completing a marketing
survey. Third, an online service may charge a content provider for placing certain information on the online service.
For example, a content provider can be charged for placing an advertisement on the online service. Finally, a content
4O provider can be paid by the online service for providing information that users may wish to access. That be can be
provided on a for-fee basis. Conversely, an online service provider may wish to pay third party content providers for
placing useful material on the online service.
[OO18] Thus, when creating a publicly accessible online system, it is desirable to include the ability to define fee
structures for accessing parts of the online system and/or ordering other goods or services. However, creating a so-
45 phisticated commercial online service with such features usually requires specialized programming.
[OO19] The ability to set fees to be paid by the user for an amount of data accessed, the time spent ''logged on'' to
the online service, or the purchase of particular merchandise is one example of distinction from Lotus Notes. Lotus
Notes is not only admitted (by even Lotus Development Corporation) as lacking transaction oriented capability as may
be required by such applications, but it also does not provide the metering functions to keep track of the information
5O necessary to assign such fees as is required by these applications. As such, the video store, restaurant or bank (by
way of example) is left with the need to employ professional programmers for their individual applications.
[OO2O] Thus, it has been discovered that there exists a need to create online system development tools that include
features, functions and capabilities to support commercial online services such as the aforementioned fee setting
function.
55 [OO21] These and other aspects of the present invention will be described in greater detail with reference to the below
detailed description and the accompanying figures.
[OO22] A computer system for realising an online service is known from US-A-5 2O4 897, EP-A-O 483 576 and l BM
Technical Disclosure Bulletin, Vol. 37 No. 6B, June 1 994, New York, US, pages 451 -46O. These documents teach the
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provision of a fee specification for billing a user accessing objects on the online server. However, the systems taught
in these documents are complex and hard to use for non-skilled computer operators and are time consuming to develop
into practical systems. An advanced development tool allowing easy generation of fee specifications and objects is
hitherto unknown from the prior art.
5 (PICTURE)SUMMARY AND OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
[OO23] It is an object of the invention as claimed to provide a fee setting tool that allows a developer to assign easily
a system of fees, or a fee structure, for an online service. This object is achieved by providing an editor for editing fee
1O specifications associated with portions of an online service, such as documents and scripts, herein called document
objects. The fee setting tool preferably uses a well-defined scripting language that allows for the definition of complex
fee arrangements. The fee structure can be used to levy fees against both users and providers on an online service
by use of a fee specification that associates a fee with an entity and a document object, and an event occurring in
connection with the document object. For example, a user can be levied fees for logging on to an online service,
15 performing a search, or downloading information. The fee is calculated, using a search as an example, using the fee
defined for the searched document, in view of the user searching and the fact that a search is the action performed.
Third party content providers can be levied fees for submitting advertisements, or executing a transaction with a user,
or maintaining information content on a computer for a given period of time. The fee is calculated, using advertisement
submission as an example, using the fee defined for a new document, in view of the provider of the advertisement and
2O the fact that document uploading is the action pe_ormed. Similarly, the fee setting tool also allows the online service
developer to assign a payment system whereby users or providers can be paid for certain actions using the same fee
specifications and by allowing both negative and positive values for fee computations and by assigning one type as
payment and the other type as debit. For example, a user may be paid when filling out a marketing questionnaire or
when winning a contest. A provider may be paid when that content provider supplies information to a user of the online
25 service. The fee setting tool preferably provides a visual editing interface that uses a template to define the fee spec-
ification and a list to maintain fee specifications.
[OO24] According to a first aspect, the invention provides a system for specifying fees for an entity associated with
an online service, comprising_.
3O (a) means associated with an object of the online service for defining at least one of a plurality of triggering actions
for a fee_,
(b) means associated with a triggering action for defining a fee specification for the entity;
(c) means for editing a plurality of fee specifications for the entity; and
(d) means for storing the plurality of fee specifications using the editing means, characterised in that the editing
35 means comprises_.
(e) means for displaying a visual representation of the fee specification having user-modifiable portions, wherein
a user-modifiable portion is provided for entry of an indication of an object of the online service, an indication of a
triggering action in connection with the object, and a fee specification; and
(f) means for receiving user input to edit the fee specification using the visual representation and for storing edited
4O fee specifications.
[OO25] Accordingly, one aspect of the invention is an editorfor allowing editing fee specifications for an online service.
The editor allows a developer to define a triggering event, an object of the online service and a fee computation asso-
ciated with the triggering action and the object. Preferably the fee specification is edited using a visual user interface
45 using a template for a fee specification. The fee specification also may identify an individual against whom the fee may
be levied to allow for fees to be applied and defined generally for all individuals, including providers and users.
[OO26] Another object of the invention is to provide a structure that easily and simply defines a fee structure for an
online service. To achieve this object, a record called a fee specification is used which identifies a document object, a
triggering event for that object which invokes a fee, an individual against whom the fee is levied and a fee computation.
5O The fee computation, as described above, is preferably defined using a well defined scripting language.
[OO27] Accordingly, one aspect of the invention is a mechanism for specifying fees for an online service, including
1 ) means, associated with a document object of the online service, for defining a triggering event for a fee and 2)
means, associated with the triggering event, for defining a formula for computation of the fee. An indication of an
individual against whom the fee is to be levied is also preferably provided. An editor is provided for editing a plurality
55 of such fee specifications.
[OO28] Additionally, it is an object of the invention to provide a fee calculation mechanism which processes fee spec-
ifications in response to actions on document objects to determine the fee associated with the action. Since fee spec-
ifications are maintained in a listfor each online service, the specification list is searched upon occurrence of atriggering
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event to identify the fee associated with the triggering event, the individual against whom the fee is levied and the
document object in relation to which the event occurred. The result ofthis search is afeeformula which is then computed
to define the fee, either a payment or a debit. The fee calculation mechanism is part of the server which makes the
online service available.
5 [OO29] Accordingly, another aspect of the invention is a mechanism for determining a fee for an online service. This
mechanism detects an event associated with an object of the online service. In response to detection of the event, a
fee specification for the event and the associated object is then identified. The fee specification is then used to define
the fee. This aspect of the invention is used in combination with a fee specification. This fee specification associates
an object of the online service with a triggering event and a fee computation which defines the fee for the object and
1O event. An editor allows for editing a plurality of such fee specifications.
[OO3O] It is another object of the present invention to provide a fast, user-friendly method of designing and deploying
a distributed online service. In particular, it is an object ofthe present invention to allowa developerto create customized
HTTP server software, such as scripts, and accompanying HTML documents for deployment on a World-Wide Web
server. This object is achieved by providing a visual editor that allows a developer to easily create the subservices that
15 constitute the online service. These subservices generally include scripts and documents which are designed to meet
a specific need. A variety of templates of suitable scripts and documents are provided for a variety of typical kinds of
online services. For example, such subservices may include a Hyperdocument/Commerce subservice for displaying
hyperdocuments and performing electronic transactions, a Classified Advertisement subservice for implementing elec-
tronic classified advertisements, a Reference subservice for implementing online reference works, a Director Lookup
2O subservice for implementing online searchable directories of information, a Bulletin Board subse_ice for providing a
means for allowing users to post and view messages, a Document Retrieval subserviceto provide a means for retrieving
documents, an Electronic Publishing subservice that provides electronic editions of newspapers or magazines that
may be downloaded, and Meta-Service subservice that provides access to other external online services.
[OO31] Accordingly, another aspect of the present invention is a computer system for designing online services. The
25 system includes an editing module for manipulating a collection of documents as a se_ice. This editing module pref-
erably contains a number of sets of templates of scripts and documents which can be used to generate an online
service quickly. A viewing module allows for display of summary views of the service.
[OO32] Another aspect of the invention is a computer system for editing an online service that includes a first editing
module that has editing functions for visually editing relationships between document objects of a service. For example,
3O a hyperlink editor with a link view, which is a graphical display of document objects and hypertext links between them,
may be provided. A second editing module is used to allow editing of particular document objects. Such a system is
provided with the fee setting tool of this invention and the associated fee specifications.
[OO33] In any of the foregoing aspects of the invention fees may be triggered by a defined user action, such as access
by said user to one of said visual objects on said online system, or submittal of an object for inclusion in said data store
35 of said online service, or a traverse of a hyperlink, or connection to an online service. Fees may also be triggered by
passage of a defined amount of time.
[OO34] Additionally, in any of the foregoing aspects of the invention, a fee specification particularly may have a first
field specifying a fee action that triggers said fee. Another field defines the fee computation. An optional field is a field
specifying an entity to whom the fee is directed. A field specifying an object associated with said fee event allows
4O different objects within an online service to have different fees. A script may be used to specify the fee computation.
The script preferably has at least one fee setting script primitive, but may have more. By allowing both negative and
positive fee values and credit and debit system can be implemented. For example, if a fee is positive, a fee is charged
to the entity, and if a fee is negative, a payment is made to the entity. A script editor is preferably used to edit scripts
specifying fee computations.
45 [OO35] The foregoing aspects of the invention are particularly useful in the World-Wide Web of the global Internet
for use in generating HTML documents and scripts.
(PICTURE)BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
5O [OO36] The objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed
description of the preferred embodiment of the invention with references to the following drawings.
[OO37] Figure 1 illustrates a blockdiagram overviewof an online service that is implemented with the Molisa platform.
[OO38] Figure 2 lists the general steps for an electronic commerce transaction with an online service.
[OO39] Figure 3a illustrates how the Online Designer is used to create an online service.
55 [OO4O] Figure 3b illustrates how a hyperdocument is edited using the Online Designer.
[OO41] Figure 4 lists the available subservice design programs.
[OO42] Figure 5 illustrates a hyperlinkfrom a Reference subservice to an order form in a HyperdocumenUCommerce
subservice. 5
EP O 792 493 B1
[OO43] Figure 6 illustrates a hyperlink from a Directoy Lookup subservice to an rental form in a HyperdocumenU
Commerce subservice.
[OO44] Figure 7 illustrates the set of Utility Subtools in the Online Designer development tool.
[OO45] Figure 8 illustrates a block diagram example of an online service.
5 [OO46] Figure 9 illustrates a service gallery containing online services that may be edited.
[OO47] Figure 1 O illustrates a Connectivity View of the online service of Figure 8.
[OO48] Figure 1 1 illustrates a WYSIWYG view of a hypermedia document.
[OO49] Figure 1 2 illustrates a screen display of the Hyperdocument Designer Script View.
[OO5O] Figure 1 3 illustrates a hyperlink view of a hyperdocument.
1O [OO51] Figure 1 4 illustrates a block diagram of the views supported by the Hyperdocument Designer.
[OO52] Figure 1 5 illustrates a screen display of a hypermedia document.
[OO53] Figure 1 6 illustrates a screen display of a hypermedia document used to order a product.
[OO54] Figure 1 7 lists the different views provided by the Lookup Designer subtool.
[OO55] Figure 1 8 illustrates a submit form in the Form View of the Lookup Designer subtool.
15 [OO56] Figure 1 9 illustrates a view form in the Form View of the Lookup Designer subtool.
[OO57] Figure 2O illustrates a query form in the Form View of the Lookup Designer subtool.
[OO58] Figure 21 a illustrates a first screen display of the Script Editor.
[OO59] Figure 21 b illustrates a second screen display of the Script Editor.
[OO6O] Figure 22 illustrates an SQL query between an online subservice and an SQL database.
2O [OO61] Figure 23 illustrates a screen display of the Fee Setting subtool.
[OO62] Figure 24 illustrates a screen display of the Fee Specifier editor sub tool.
(PICTURE)NOTATION AND NOMENCLATURE
25 [OO63] The detailed descriptions which follow are presented largely in terms of algorithms and symbolic representa-
tions of operations within a computer system. These algorithmic descriptions and representations are the means used
by those skilled in the data processing arts to convey the substance of their work most effectively to others skilled in
the art.
[OO64] Generally, and within the context of this application, an algorithm is conceived to be a self-consistent sequence
3O of steps leading to a desired result. These steps are those requiring physical manipulations of physical quantities.
Usually, though not necessarily, these quantities take the form of electrical or magnetic signals capable of being stored,
transferred, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated. It proves convenient at times, principally for reasons of
common usage, to refer to these signals as bits, values, elements, symbols, characters, terms, numbers, or the like.
It should be borne in mind, however, that all of these and similar terms are to be associated with the appropriate physical
35 quantities and are merely convenient labels applied to these quantities.
[OO65] Further, the manipulations performed are often referred to in terms, such as adding or comparing, which are
commonly associated with mental operations performed by a human operator. No such capability of a human operator
is necessay, or desirable in most cases, in any of the operations described herein which form part of the present
invention; the operations are machine operations. Useful machines for performing the operations of the present inven-
4O tion include general purpose digital computers or other similar devices. In all cases, a distinction is maintained between
the method of operations in operating a computer and the method of computation itself. The present invention relates
to method steps for operating a computer in processing electrical or other physical signals (e.g. , mechanical, chemical)
to generate other desired physical signals.
[OO66] The present invention also relates to apparatus for performing these operations. This apparatus may be spe-
45 cially constructed for the required purposes, or it may comprise a general purpose computer as selectively activated
or reconfigured by a computer program stored in the computer. The algorithms presented herein are not inherently
related to a particular computer or other apparatus. In particular, various general purpose machines may be used with
programs written in accordance with the teachings herein, or it may prove more convenient to construct more special-
ized apparatus to perform the required method steps. The required structure for a variety of these machines will appear
5O from the following description.
(PICTURE)DETAI LED DESCRIP ION OF AN EMBODI MENT OF THE PRESENT I NVENTION
[OO67] Methods and apparatus for implementing a development tool for creating online services are disclosed. In
55 the following description, for purposes of explanation, specific nomenclature is set fo_h to provide a thorough under-
standing of the present invention. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that these specific details are
not required to practice the present invention. For example, the present invention is disclosed with specific reference
to the HyperText Markup Language (HTML) and the HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP). However, the teachings of
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the present invention can easily be used with other hypertext document formats and other transport protocols.
(PICTURE)Ov rview
5 [OO68] The present invention provides a visually oriented software development tool for the design, construction and
modification of online computer services. The development tool of the present invention allows a user to create online
services using existing information sources such as databases, files, and applications that are external to the online
service itself. An online computer service created with the development tool can offer the following options_.
1O _ Search, view and edit information
_ Download, print or file information
_ Enable the information for commerce
_ Control access to the information
15 [OO69] Examples of types of online services that can be built with development tool of the present invention include
document viewing services, electronic commerce services, directoy lookup services, classified advertisement servic-
es, reference services, electronic bulletin board systems, document retrieval services, electronic publishing services,
an electronic service store for purchasing online services, and a global service-of-services that is used to locate and
connect to other online services. To create commercial online services, the development tool of the present invention
2O includes a sophisticated fee setting tool that levies of pays fees to users and content providers underdefined conditions.
[OO7O] The online service development tool of the present invention is one part of a comprehensive architected
platform for deploying distributed online services. The online services created with the development tool of the present
invention utilize standardized Application Program Interfaces (APl's) for communication between the various compo-
nents. The overall platform architecture is referred to as the Modular Online Information Services Architecture, or
25 Molisa. Molisa includes client software, server software, administrative software for recording and analyzing online
service usage, and the online service development tool described in this document. The software components of the
Molisa platform are hardware independent, and thus can be implemented on several different computer architectures.
[OO71] The invention's design characteristics are described here in the context of its preferred embodiment, a de-
velopment tool for the Molisa online services platform. The Molisa platform leverages existing HyperText Transfer
3O Protocol (HTTP) based World-Wide Web servers, and Mosaic and other HTTP client browsers (with software exten-
sions), on the global Internet. However, the design principles of the present invention are largely applicable to online
services in other settings, including non-architected centralized online services, other decentralized online services,
and services in which the client and server software reside on a single machine (such as CD-ROM based information
services).
35 [OO72] The Application Program Interfaces that define communication between the client software and server soft-
ware are largely independent of the underlying transport protocol. For example, the development tool of the present
invention does not require that the client and server computers communicate using HTTP or the underlying TCP/l P
protocol. Any suitable transport protocol, across Local Area Networks (LAN's), Wide Area Networks (WAN's), dial-up
or leased telephone lines, etc., may be used between the client hardware and the server hardware.
4O [OO73] Figure 1 illustrates a block diagram overview of an online service being used by three users that is imple-
mented with the Molisa platform. A server hardware platform 1 OO comprises a general purpose computer system
coupled to a communications network 15O. The HTTP server software 1 O1 and HTTP extension software 1 O3 run on
the server hardware platform 1 OO. The HTTP server software 1 O1 drives the online service using information stored
within the service repository 1 O7. The HTTP extension software 1 O3 provides additional functionality for the online
45 service that is not available in standard HTTP server software. For example, the HTTP extension software 1 O3 might
access a back end database.
[OO74] An online service development tool 1 O9 is used to create the data structures, documents, and scripts that are
stored in the server service repository 1 O7 and supply the HTTP extension software 1 O3. The HTTP server software
1 O1 accesses the data structures, documents, and scripts stored in the service repository 1 O7 to implement an online
5O service. Software for the development tool 1 O9 is usually located on a development computer system that is coupled
to the server system across a communications network 15O as illustrated in Figure 1 . Alternatively, software for the
development tool 1 O9 may run on the actual server computer system.
[OO75] Each user accesses an online service created with the development tool 1 O9 using compatible client software.
In Figure 1 , three client hardware platforms_. Windows_ platform 16O, Macintosh_platform 17O, and UNIX_/X-Windows
55 platform 18O are illustrated. Each different client hardware platform must have a copy of client browser software that
is compatible with the HTTP server software 1 O1 and the information stored within the service repository 1 O7. Each
client hardware platform may also have a local service repository. The local service repositoy at each client hardware
platform contains information that is available locally to the user of the specific client hardware platform. The local
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service repository can also act as a cache to store information retrieved from the main service repository 1 O7.
[OO76] The communications network 1 5O couples the users running client software with the online service server
software running on the server hardware. In the present embodiment, the communications network 1 5O is a packet
switched network implemented using TCP/l P protocol. However, the communications network 1 5O could simply be the
5 existing telephone network.
[OO77] Using the Molisa platform as illustrated in Figure 1 , small and large service providers can run an online service
using existing heterogeneous computer equipment and existing data in its original native form and location. Since the
Molisa platform uses standardized well-defined Application Program Interfaces (APl's), third parties can develop en-
hancements, extensions, or replacements for the client software, the server software, the metering software, or the
1O online service development tool software.
[OO78] Furthermore, the online service development tool software of the present invention is divided into several
different subtools that each have well defined subtool Application Program Interfaces (APl's). By having well defined
subtool APl's, third parties may create improved subtools to replace the original subtools. Alternatively, new subtools
can be added to the development tool software to handle unforeseen development.
15 (PICTURE)EIe_tr ni_ Commer_e
[OO79] The Molisa platform places a particular emphasis on commerce-enabling any information source that is elec-
tronically accessible. The Molisa platform uses the general steps illustrated in Figure 2 for electronic commerce in an
2O online service. lnitially, the se_ice user views general online information about goods or services that are external to
the service, as stated in step 21 O. This is usually done using a hypermedia document that contains images and text
describing the goods and services. Next, the user initiates an electronic transaction to download, price, purchase, rent,
reserve, etc. the online hyperdocument itself or the goods/services that the hypermedia document information de-
scribes, as stated in step 22O. In response to the user's action, the online service processes the electronic transaction
25 initiated by the user, as stated in step 23O. Using a Fee Computation defined in the Computation Language of the
present invention, the online service may charge or pay a user or content provider as stated in step 24O. Finally, the
user views the results of the electronic transaction, by viewing the downloaded information, or by viewing a confirmation
of the electronic transaction involving goods or services, as stated in step 25O.
[OO8O] In the transaction model of Figure 2, the notion of ''transaction'' can take several forms, and the development
3O tool invention supports each of the following_.
_ ReaI-time eIectronic transaction_. A transaction can debit a user's account, check and subtract from inventory, mark
(PICTURE)an item s reserved, reference up-to-date online information, etc. , all by immediately accessing the electronic
databases that contain the relevant data. The invention supports such real-time transactions with a Script Language
35 that provides direct access to any electronic databases that are accessible from the server.
_ ReaI-time manuaI transaction_. For manual systems (e.g. , a clerk checks inventory by looking in the back room,
(PICTURE)and the responds to the user in real-time), or electronic systems that are not accessible from the server computer,
human intervention might be required to complete a transaction. The invention supports these transactions with
4O Script Language primitives that allow for real-time cooperative activity between users and a representative of the
online service provider.
_ (PICTURE) In certain cases, an online service may wish to queue a series of transactions for
Iater batch processing. For example, an online service could queue all the transactions for a particular day and
45 transmit all the transactions for that day during the night to save on long-distance telephone charges when dialing-
up a remote computer. Alternatively, an online service may wish to issue a transaction against a computer that
provides only electronic mail access. To support these delayed electronic transactions, the invention includes Script
Language primitives that_. (1 ) perform file input/output (to queue transaction requests), and (2) send/receive elec-
tronic mail to automatic agents on other computers.
5O _ (PICTURE) Some online services can require manual transactions that do not occur in real-time.
For example, an online service run by an antique dealer can allow users to submit bids for items advertised on
the service, and the antique dealer can consider all received bids at the end of the business day. To support these
transactions, the invention's Script Language includes primitives that can submit and receive electronic mail be-
55 tween the user and a representative of the service provider.
[OO81] The use of examples will best illustrate how the development tool can be used to commerce-enable existing
sources of electronic information. For example, the development tool can convert the digital source information used
8
EP O 792 493 B1
to create a printed catalog into a commerce enabled online service. The created online service displays the contents
of the catalog on a user's display screen. A user can check the available stock and place an order for any item in the
catalog. Also, for example, the development tool can convert a list of classified advertisements into an online service
where advertised goods may be electronically reserved with a deposit or purchased outright. To update the electronic
5 list of classified advertisements, users may electronically submit new advertisements to the online service for a set fee.
[OO82] Another type of online service the development tool can create is a service that selects specific items from a
collection of netwsfeeds. based on a user's previously registered interests, and assembles a customized electronic
newspaper for which the user is charged a fee. Payment for any transaction with any online service can be handled
using secure, authenticated electronic transaction techniques as is well known in the art. Alternatively, other methods
1O of payment such as credit card payment, electronic funds transfer, or external payment mechanisms (e.g., mailing a
check) can be used.
[OO83] To create online systems that are prepared for commerce, the online system development tool includes a Fee
Setter for assigning fees and a sophisticated Script Language for creating scripts that control commerce transactions.
The online system development tool of the invention embodiment is referred to as the Online Designer. The Online
15 Designer is a visual editing system that allows a developer to create online services using graphical screen displays
and cursor control device such as a mouse. The Online Designer is composed of several distinct, cooperating, visually
compatible subtools. Although some of the Online Designer subtools are implemented as separate programs, all of
the Online Designer subtools appear to the user as an integral part of the Online Designer, and are described here as
such.
2O [OO84] The Online Designer online system development tool can be used to create sophisticated, yet easy-to-use
online services. Some of the features of an online service designed using the Online Designer development tool include_.
_ (PICTURE)(PICTURE)(PICTURE)(PICTURE) Hypermedia documents present text, images, video, and/or sound to a user
of the online service. Hypermedia documents may function as on-screen input forms by including visual objects
25 for user input_. text fields, checkboxes, option buttons, command buttons, and drop-down list boxes. ln the present
embodiment, the hypermedia document format supported by Online Designer is the HyperText Markup Language
(HTML). HTML is the HyperText format supported by HTTP servers comprising the World-Wide Web (WWW) on
the global Internet.
3O _ (PICTURE)(PICTURE) Portable documents preserve the exact printed appearance of a document (fonts,
illustrations, etc.), and can be viewed on different hardware and software platforms. A portable document can be
generated by any software application that supports printing. A specially designed print driver converts the printer
commands into the portable document format. Examples of portable document formats include Acrobat_ by Adobe
of Mountain View, California and WordPerfect_ Envoy by WordPerfect Corporation of Orem, Utah. The portable
35 document may be viewed on a workstation display screen as part of an online service. Collectively, hypermedia
documents and portable documents are referred to in this document as ''hyperdocuments.''
_ (PICTURE) Hyperlinks are visual buttons, images, or highlighted text that are associated with other
documents, images, sound clips, video clips, or other online services. To move to the associated object, a user
4O selects a ''hotspot'' with a cursor control device or chooses the hyperlink with the computer keyboard. Hyperlinks
appear within hyperdocuments.
_ (PICTURE) Allows for quick search through large collections of online documents.
The user can specify the search criteria using an appropriately designed hypermedia input form.
45 _ (PICTURE) A user may search through documents by specifying various document attributes such
as the date of the last update, the size of the document, the size of the fee for downloading the document, etc.
_ (PICTURE) Allows data or programs to be downloaded from the online service to the local
5O client computer system. Downloaded data or programs can later be executed, viewed, printed, or filed at the local
client system.
_ (PICTURE)_. Service-to-Service Protocol is a communication pro-
tocol whereby different online services can communicate information. Using the Service-to-Service protocol of the
55 present invention, an online service can_. (1 ) transfer control to another online service; (2) act on behalf of the user
to query or update another online service; (3) automatically update another online service without user initiation;
(4) appear to be seamlessly part of another online service; (5) keep a record of how many times users traverse to
another online service; (6) pass along automatic user registration data to another online service; (7) automatically
9
EP O 792 493 B1
register a new online service with a service-of-services or ''yellow pages'' service; (8) checkwhether another server
is running a particular online service or type of service; and (9) exchange usage and metering information, for
aggregation and later analysis.
5 _ (PICTURE) The Online Designer supports two different types of scripts_.
Event Scripts and Function Scripts. An Event Script is associated with a particular event for a particular visual
object in the online service. For example, there could be an Event Script associated with a ''Mouse Down'' event
for a ''Search'' button on a ''ListingQueryForm'' hypermedia document in an electronic ''white pages'' service. The
event script associated with the mouse-down event would specify how to convert the user input fields on the
1O ''ListingQueryForm'' form into a quey for the text search/retrieval engine on the server. In general, there can be
several Event Scripts associated with a single visual object, potentially one script for each type of event that is
defined for that visual object. A Function Script contains a single named function (subroutine) that can be shared
and invoked by multiple other scripts in the same service.
15 _ (PICTURE) These capabilities are achieved using inter-application com-
munication techniques such as Windows DDE, Windows OLE, OpenDoc, keystroke stuffing, terminal emulation,
command-line invocation, batch file invocation, and the like. For example, an online service can compute the
quantity discount for a catalog item by automatically launching a spreadsheet program, plugging the item number
and quantity into certain prearranged spreadsheet cells, invoking a spreadsheet macro to compute the discount,
2O and obtaining the item price from a prearranged result cell. Other examples include launching and controlling
applications for payroll, inventory, purchasing, and Manufacturing Resources Planning (MRP).
_ (PICTURE)(PICTURE) Structured Query Language (SQL), Open Database
Connectivity (ODBC), and other published and proprietary data access methods can be used to access real time
25 data sources. For example, a catalog shopping online service can check the available stock on a certain merchan-
dise item by issuing an appropriate SQL query to the inventory database. The inventory database would return
the information to the online service software such that the online service could provide the information to the user
or perform an electronic transaction.
3O _ (PICTURE) Equipment such as heating/ventilation/air-conditioning systems,
security systems, and lighting can be accessed and controlled.
_ (PICTURE) The service's content and structure can be replicated to other online services
on-demand or on an automatic, regularly scheduled basis.
35 _ (PICTURE) This can include the number of users who access the
service, the duration of each user's connection time, the number of times that a certain part of the service is
accessed, the number of times that a user was ''referred'' to this service by hyperlinking from another service, etc.
This data can be used to levy fees for users, advertisers, or information providers, or to tune the service itself.
4O _ (PICTURE) The available information on an online service can be controlled utilizing pass-
words, encyption, and assigning specific access rights to specific users.
_ (PICTURE) Support of real-time cooperative activity between two or more users, or between
45 users and a representative of the online service provider. For example, a multi-person game between users, or a
user entering an online query and receiving a real-time response from a service representative.
_ (PICTURE)(PICTURE) Allowing a user or service operator to capture an image to be displayed as part of
an online service (for example, a logo for a ''vellow pages'' directoy listing, or a photograph to accompany an
5O online classified advertisement), by faxing an image directly to the server, sending an image to the server using
electronic mail, or scanning an image at the client workstation and electronically transmitting the image to the
server. If a user does not have access to facsimile or scanning equipment, the user may physically send or deliver
the photograph or graphic to a service operator, who will electronically capture the image on behalf of the user
and transmit the image to the online service server.
55 _ (PICTURE) Allows a userto download entire online services (the structure and/or content),
usually for a fee. The user can then deploy those services on the user's own computer equipment.
1 O
(PICTURE)(PICTURE)
EP O 792 493 B1
_ (PICTURE)_. Allows a user to access a service-of-services which will search
and connect to other online services.
5 (PICTURE)
[OO85] Using the Online Designer, a user (referred to here as the online service ''developer'') can develop one or
more online services using a graphical editor. Each online service consists of one or more types of ''subservices.'' Each
subservice is a server program for handling a particular type of online service user interaction. Each subservice program
has an associated database that stores the information that can be provided to the user and a set of scripts for handling
1O events.
[OO86] Figures 3a and 3b illustrate how the Online Designer is used to create a set of subservices that comprise an
online service. First, at step 31 O user decides if another subservice should be created or edited, if not, then the online
service is complete. When creating a new subservice, the developer may retrieve an existing sample subservice to
start from as stated at step 31 5. At steps 32O and 325, the developer loads in an existing subservice document. If no
15 document (database) exists for the new subservice, the developer can import an existing document. If the developer
wants to preserve the printed appearance of the existing document, the Portable Document Converter is used as stated
at step 335, otherwise the Hypermedia Document Converter is used at step 337. The developer then edits the sub-
service by editing the associated document (database) at step 34O.
[OO87] Figure 3b illustrates, in detail, how a document can be edited using the Online Designer. The Hypermedia
2O Editor is used to modify the appearance of the document at step 342. The Hypermedia Editor cannot be used if the
document is a portable document. Any inline images can be edited using third party image design tools such as paint
programs at step 344. The interactive elements of a subservice are edited by creating input forms with the Hypermedia
Editor at step 346, and creating event scripts that process the input using the script editor at step 347.
[OO88] Referring back to Figure 3a, the hyperlinks within a document and to other online services or subservices
25 can be created and edited using the Hyperlink Editor at step 351 . Finally, the developer can save the created subservice
for the online service at step 362.
[OO89] The Online Designer includes specific Designer Subtools for designing each different type of subservice. In
general, an online service may include more than one subservice of the same type or of different types. The following
nine types of subservices are examples of subservices supported by the Online Designer_. HyperdocumenUCommerce,
3O Directoy Lookup, Classified Advertisement, Reference, Bulletin Board, Document Retrieval, Electronic Publishing,
and Meta-Service. Additional types of subservices can be added later.
[OO9O] Figure 4 illustrates a block diagram of all the subservice designer tools of the Online Designer. More sub-
service design tools can be added in the future. As illustrated in Figure 4, the Lookup Designer 41 4 is used to design
Directoy Lookup subservices, Classified Advertisement subservices, and Reference subservices since these three
35 types of subservices share many similarities.
[OO91] Referring to Figure 4, the Hyperdocument Designer 41 2 is used to design Hyperdocument/Commerce sub-
4O services. A HyperdocumenUCommerce subservice displays hypermedia information to a user of an online service. A
Hyperdocument/Commerce subservice can optionally allow a user to purchase goods or services described by the
displayed hypermedia information. Hyperlinks and full-text searches allow the user to move through the different hy-
perdocuments that comprise a Hyperdocument/Commerce subservice.
[OO92] An example of a Hyperdocument/Commerce subservice is an electronic shopping system, where the user
45 views an online catalog of goods or se_ices and potentially submits an electronic order for goods. The user's electronic
order is processed by an event script associated with the Hyperdocument/ Commerce subservice. The Hyperdocument/
Commerce subservice can also be used to display online documentation or help.
5O (PICTURE)(PICTURE)
[OO93] Referring to Figure 4, the Lookup Designer 41 4 is used to design Directory Lookup subservices. A Directoy
Lookup subservice provides an online, searchable directory of information. For example, a Directoy Lookup subservice
can store a directory of persons, companies, or other entities. Each entry in the directoy can list a name, an address,
and any other related information; essentially, an online implementation of telephone ''white pages'' listings. Alterna-
55 tively, the entries in a directory can be hyperdocuments that include company descriptions and adve_isements, and
can be arranged in categories, much like conventional telephone book ''yellow pages'' listings. In either case, entries
are searchable by name, by category, or using full-text search techniques with user-specified keywords.
[OO94] Each directoy entry can optionally provide hyperlinks to other entries. Furthermore, each entry can contain
EP O 792 493 B1
a hyperlink to a dedicated online service that provides additional information about the entry. Using the directory sub-
service, qualified users can submit new entries, which immediately become available for retrieval in subsequent search-
es of the directoy subservice by other users.
5 (PICTURE)Classified Adve_isement Subse_ice
[OO95] Referring to Figure 4, the Lookup Designer 41 4 is also used to design Classified Advertisement subservices.
A Classified Advertisement subservice implements an online version of classified advertisements. Users can search
existing classified advertisement listings. Classified advertisement submissions are searchable by category, geograph-
1O ical area, the name of the submitter, or using full-text search techniques with user-specified keywords. Furthermore,
end users can submit new classified advertisement listings of their own. The online service can charge a fee for sub-
mitting a new classified advertisement.
Reference Subservice
15 (PICTURE)
[OO96] Referring to Figure 4, the Lookup Designer 41 4 is also used to design Reference subservices. A Reference
subservice implements an online reference work, such as a dictionary, thesaurus, or encyclopedia. A user can search
the contents of a Reference subservice by the name of the enty, or using full-text search techniques with user-specified
keywords. The online service provider controls the content of a Reference subservice. However, the online service
2O allows the user to submit additional personal entries that are seamlessly integrated into the subservice, but are only
seen by that user. These personal entries can be stored within the service repositoy of the client hardware system.
(PICTURE)BuIIetin Board Subservice
25 [OO97] Referring to Figure 4, the Bulletin Board Designer 41 6 is used to design Bulletin Board subservices. A Bulletin
Board subservice provides a means for allowing users to post and view messages about a particular topic. Users may
read and search through the existing messages. A user may reply to an existing message, or reply to a reply, thus
creating a ''conversation thread'' from an original message.
[OO98] The messages are divided into different sections. Messages within a given section conform to a submission
3O form designed for that section by the online service developer. The submission form can contain various data fields
that are specific to that message section, in addition to a text input area on the form for typing the message to be
posted. The developer also specifies which message data fields should appear in the summary view for each bulletin
board section. The summary view lists the relevant header information for the messages in that section.
35 (PICTURE)Document Retrieval Subservice
[OO99] Referring to Figure 4, the Retrieval Designer 41 8 is used to design Document Retrieval subservices. A doc-
ument Retrieval subservice provides a means for users to retrieve documents and other files such as word processing
documents, spreadsheets, text files, databases, images, sound files, video files, executables, etc. Users can find such
4O documents using full-text search techniques with user-specified keywords, forthose document types that can be viewed
as text. Users can also find documents by category and subcategory, when hierarchical browsing is supported by the
online service. A document Retrieval service can be used to provide searchable access to a large corpus of text, to
make files on a file server available to geographically remote offices within a company, or to provide software updates
to customers.
45 (PICTURE)
[O1 OO] Referring to Figure 4, the Publishing Designer 42O is used to design electronic Publishing subservices. An
Electronic Publishing subservice provides a user with an electronic edition of a newspaper or magazine that the user
5O may download to the user's local client hardware. An Electronic Publishing subse_ice can create a customized daily
newspaper, that provides only news stories that match certain criteria provided previously by the user. Downloaded
material may take the form of static documents, or hypermedia documents with images, sound, video, and hyperlinks
to move through the hypermedia document.
55 (PICTURE)Meta-Se_ice Subse_ice
[O1 O1] Referring to Figure 4, the Meta-Service Designer 422 is used to design Meta-Service subservices. A Meta-
Service subservice provides a service-of-services that is designed specifically to help a user find another online service.
1 2
(PICTURE)(PICTURE)
EP O 792 493 B1
Using the Meta-Service subservice, a user can look for another online service, using keyword searches, categories,
alphabetic listings, etc. An online service listing can include a description of the online service, the categories to which
the online service belongs, and a visual icon for the online service. Once the user finds a desired online service, the
meta-service provides a direct connection to the online service. A Meta-Service subservice can itself lead to other
5 meta-service subservices, in a hierarchical or network fashion.
[O1 O2] In a common use for the invention, a HyperdocumenUCommerce subservice will be combined with other
1O subservices to commerce-enable those other subse_ices.
[O1 O3] For example, an online service that includes a Reference subservice that allows the user to peruse the current
Books In Print can also include a Hyperdocument/Commerce subservice to enable books to be reserved or purchased.
This is illustrated in Figure 5, in which a Reference subservice containing book descriptions has a particular book
reference with a hyperlink. When viewing a particular book entry in the Reference subservice, the user clicks a button
15 on that book enty to transfer directly to the HyperdocumenUCommerce subservice. The HyperdocumenU Commerce
subservice will be invoked to display an on-screen order form so the end user can buy the book. The user types the
necessary ordering information into the order form and transmits the information. The Hyperdocument/ Commerce
subservice contains a script for processing the information entered on the on-screen order form.
[O1 O4] A second electronic commerce example is provided with reference to Figure 6. Figure 6 illustrates an auto-
2O mobile rental agent's use of the Online Designer to create and deploy an online se_ice that includes a Directory Lookup
subservice that displays information about the available cars to rent. If a user selects a particular car from the Directory
Lookup subservice, then the online service transfers control to a HyperdocumenUCommerce subservice that displays
an automobile rental form to the user. To rent the car, the user fills in the on-screen form. The information entered into
the on-screen form is processed by a script in the subservice electronically transmitted to the automobile rental agency.
25 [O1 O5] The Online Designer makes a distinction between the ''framework'', the ''structure'', and the ''content'' of an
online service. The ''framework'' is the architected online services platform Molisa for which Online Designer develops
online services. The Molisa framework provides the domain independent infrastructure and includes the Online De-
signer, the subservice programs created with the Online Designer, the documents created with the Online Designer
for use by the subservices, and the client software used to access the online service created with the Online Designer.
3O [O1 O6] The ''structure'' of an online service is composed of those portions of the service that define its behavior.
Classified advertisement classifications, a bulletin board submission form, and hyperlink attributes are examples of
the components that comprise the structure of an online service. The structure includes the selected subservices and
how the selected subservices are connected together.
[O1 O7] The ''content'' of an online service is the information that the each of the subservices delivers to users. Some
35 of the content of an online service can be static, provided by the developer when the online service is designed; and
some of the content can be dynamic, provided by the developer or other users at run-time without requiring further
online service design work. Examples of static content includes the Screen displays for different regions of an online
service. Examples of dynamic content includes bulletin board messages written by users and classified advertisements
submitted by users.
4O [O1 O8] Hyperdocuments are sometimes part of the structure of an online service, and sometimes part of the content.
For the purposes of Online Designer, a hyperdocument is considered part of the service's structure if it is in a Hyper-
document/Commerce subservice, or if it is a form. Otherwise, the hyperdocument is considered a part of the service's
content if the hyperdocument is displayed in any other type of subservice.
[O1 O9] Using the Online Designer, a developer can create ''templates'' for the structure and/or content of an online
45 service, in addition to developing entire online services. A ''structure template'' is a pa_ially developed online service
structure, whose development can be easily completed by developers who provide the missing details to create a fully
functional and customized online service. Similarly, a ''content template'' is a partially developed content module for
an online service. Templates can be separately packaged and provided to other developers to expedite the development
of online services using Online Designer.
5O [O1 1 O] The structure and content of an online service are stored in the Service Repository. The Service Repository
is a database system that is potentially distributed between the client workstation and one or more servers, depending
on the design of the particular online service. When the data is distributed, it still appears to the developer and user
as a seamless whole. Each Online Designer subtool stores the data for its subservice in the Service Repository, and
the various Utility Subtools access data from the repositoy for a single subservice or multiple subservices.
55 [O1 1 1] The Online Designer includes replication support for the Service Repositoy itself. This is useful in cases
where the developer's workstation does not have full-time direct access to the Service Repositoy for a certain online
service. For example, this can occur if the service was originally, developed by another person. In such cases, Online
Designer can replicate the components of the online service from the server where the service resides down to the
1 3
(PICTURE)(PICTURE)(PICTURE)(PICTURE)
EP O 792 493 B1
developer's workstation, and then replicate the components back to the server when the modifications are complete.
[O1 1 2] There can also be more than one developer who regularly maintains an online service. In such cases, it
becomes important to prevent multiple developers from modifying the same part of the service simultaneously, because
one developer's work will overwrite another when the changes are replicated back to the server. To address this issue,
5 Online Designer supports version control techniques, as known in the art, allowing a developer to ''check out'' a service
component for modification. When checked-out, the component may be viewed but not modified by any other developer
until the component is later ''checked-in'' by the developer who checked it out.
1O (PICTURE)
[O1 1 3] The Online Designer tool provides the organizational structure for developing online services. It also provides
access to the various subtools that allow the developer to design the details of online services. Online Designer includes
specific Designer Subtools for each type of subservice. The various Utility Sub tools are accessible directly from the
Online Designer tool, as well as from those Designer Subtools that apply.
15 [O1 1 4] Figure 7 illustrates a block diagram of the Utility Subtools. The list of Utility Subtools that support Online
Designer and the Designer Sub tools include a Hypermedia Editor 71 1 , a Portable Document Editor 71 2, a Hyperlink
Editor 71 4, a Hypermedia Document Converter 71 6, a Document Harvester 71 8, a Script Editor 72O, a Fee Setter 722,
a Replicator 724, a Metering Tool 726, a Repository Browser 728, a Debugger 73O, and a Help Editor 732. A description
of each utility subtool is hereby provided.
2O (PICTURE)(PICTURE)
[O1 1 5] The Hypermedia Editor 71 1 is a What-You-See-ls-What-You-Get (WYSIWYG) visual editor for creating and
editing hypermedia documents. The Hypermedia Editor 71 1 can edit text, visual elements, sound elements, user-input
25 objects, and hotspots for hyperlinks within hypermedia documents. Figure 3b illustrates how the Hypermedia Editor
71 1 can be used to lay out user input forms for the various types of subservices that require user input. In the described
embodiment, the Hypermedia Editor is used to create and modify documents in the HyperText Markup Language
(HTML) format. However, any other hypermedia format can also be supported.
3O (PICTURE)Po_able Document Editor
[O1 1 6] The Portable Document Editor 71 2 is a visual editor for adding hyperlink button hotspots to portable docu-
ments. Since portable documents preserve the exact printed appearance of a page, the portable document format is
inherently less flexible for on-screen viewing than the format of a hypermedia documents. Thus, only hyperlink buttons
35 can be added to portable documents. For situations where video, sound, or user input are required, the online service
developer should use a hypermedia document instead of a portable document.
4O [O1 1 7] The Hyperlink Editor 71 4 is a tool that displays and manipulates hyperlinks within an online service. The
Hyperlink Editor is described in greater detail in a dedicated subsection, below.
45 [O1 1 8] The Hypermedia Document Converter 71 6 is a Conversion tool that translates documents from various doc-
ument file formats into a hypermedia document format supported by the Online Designer. For example, the Hypermedia
Document Converter can convert various word processor files into HTML files. Once a document is in a hypermedia
document format such as HTML, the hypermedia document format can be edited with the Hypermedia Editor 71 1 .
5O (PICTURE)Po_able Document Converter
[O1 1 9] The Portable Document Converter is a conversion tool that translates documents from various document file
formats into the portable document format supported by the Online Designer. For example, the Portable Document
Converter may translate a Postscript_ file into a portable document format supported by the Online Designer.
55 (PICTURE)Docu ent Harvester
[O1 2O] The Document Harvester 71 8 is a visual tool for specifying which files, directories, and volumes should be
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EP O 792 493 B1
indexed for full-text search and retrieval. The Document Harvester displays the file/directory/volume entities in a graph-
ical tree structure such that a developer can specify pa,icular entities for indexing using a cursor control device. In a
similar fashion, the developer can specify which specific users or groups of users have the right to access which entities.
5 (PICTURE)
[O1 21] The Script Editor 72O is a visual editor for creating and editing the Event Scripts and Function Scripts of an
online service. The Script Editor is described in greater detail a dedicated subsection, below. To facilitate quick devel-
opment of an online system, many sample scripts for many application domains are provided with the Online Designer.
1O Fee Se,,er
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1 5
(PICTURE)
EP O 792 493 B1
[O129] Figure 8 illustrates a blockdiagram example of an online service that can be created with the Online Designer.
The online service illustrated in Figure 8 will be used as the basis for a series of examples throughout this document.
5 [O13O] The online service structure of Figure 8 initially shows the user an introductory page for the company. From
the introductory page, a user can go to a company personnel directoy, a catalog of products made by the company,
a list of tips and tricks for using the company's products, a company, newsletter, and a listing of corporate information.
The example online service illustrated in Figure 8 can be used as a template for any company that wants to quickly
create an online service for its customers.
1O [O131] When the Online Designer is initially invoked, it displays the Service Gallery, which shows all existing online
services that are available for modification. Figure 9 illustrates how the Service Galley appears to a developer. Each
online service is represented by an icon, with the name of the online service displayed beneath. From this screen
display, the developer can cut, copy, paste, and delete entire online services.
[O132] To ''open'' an existing online service, the developer double-clicks with the mouse on the icon for the desired
15 online service. This action opens a Se_ice Window, which displays the components of that se_ice. There are four
''views'' for a Service Window_. Connectivity View, Script View, Link View, and Fee View. The initial view for a Service
Window is the Connectivity View. To switch between the views, the developer chooses the appropriate pull-down menu
item or clicks on the appropriate button on a Service Window toolbar.
[O133] The Connectivity View of the Service Windowfor an online service displays all of the subservices, data sourc-
2O es, and content corpuses that comprise the online service. The Connectivity View also illustrates hyperlinks to other
external online services to which this online service connects. For example, Figure 1 O illustrates a Connectivity View
forthe online service of Figure 8. As illustrated in Figure 1 O, each subservice is displayed with the name of the element
subservice beneath.
[O134] From the Connectivity View, the developer can cut, copy, paste, and delete entire subservices. The developer
25 can change the data sources (SQL databases, ODBC databases, CD ROM databases, server-based files, data on the
Iocal client workstation, etc.) for each subservice; change which content corpuses the service uses within those data
sources; and change the hyperlink connections to other online services, including access to all features of the inven-
tion's Service-to-Service Protocol. For data sources, the developer can specify and modify the necessay logon infor-
mation and other parameters necessary for accessing the data.
3O [O135] From the Connectivity View, the developer can double-click on a subservice icon to edit that subservice.
Double-clicking on a subservice icon invokes the design tool forthat particulartype of subservice. For example, double-
clicking on the Hyperdocument/Commerce subservice icon for the Company Introduction Page invokes the Hyper-
document Designer tool.
[O136] Figure 1 3 illustrates how the internal structure of the hyperdocument for the Company Introduction Page may
35 appear. As illustrated in Figure 13, the Hyperdocument Designer tool provides access to the hypermedia documents
that comprise the Company Introduction Page Hyperdocument subservice.
[O137] Double-clicking on a hypermedia document (shown in Figure 13) invokes the Hypermedia Editor. Figure 11
illustrates a Hypermedia Editor view of the Company Introduction Page. The Hypermedia Editor is a What-You-See-
Is-What-You-Get (WYSIWYG) editor that displays a hypermedia document as the hypermedia document will appear
4O to an end user. The developer can edit the hypermedia document until the developer is satisfied with its appearance.
[O138] The Script View of an online service displays a list of all the scripts in that service. Figure 12 illustrates a
Script View for the online catalog. Each script has a descriptor. The descriptor for an Event Script consists of the name
of the event, the name of the visual object to which it applies, the name of the document containing that visual object,
and the name of the subservice containing that document. The descriptor for a Function Script is simply the name of
45 the function
[O139] The developer can invoke the Script Editor to view and modify a script by double-clicking on that script's
descriptor in the Script View. Alternatively, the developer can access an Event Script by double clicking on the visual
object associated with the script from within the appropriate Designer Subtool. Function Scripts, on the other hand,
can only be accessed from the Script View.
5O [O14O] When the developer chooses the Link View of an online service, the Hyperlink Editor is invoked to view and
modify the hyperlinks between the subservices of the online service. For hyperlinks between individual documents and
files, see the Link View of the Hyperdocument Designer, below. For hyperlinks between whole services, see the Con-
nectivity View of the Online Designer, above.
[O141] The Fee View of an online service provides access to the Fee Setter subtool. When invoked from the Con-
55 nectivity View, the Fee Setter subtool allows the developer to specify the cost (if any) of accessing the service as a
whole. To specify fees for individual documents or parts of a service, the developer invokes the Fee Setter subtool
from the individual Designer Subtools such as the Hyperdocument Designer Subtool.
[O142] At any time while running the Online Designer, the developer may access the Replicator tool to specify rep-
16
(PICTURE)(PICTURE)
EP O 792 493 B1
lication behavior among services and subservices. The Metering Tool can be accessed to specify service and sub-
service metering characteristics, and the Repositoy Browser can be used to view and manipulate the contents of the
Service Repository. In addition. the developer may invoke the Debugger to run and debug an online service or a single
subservice.
5 (PICTURE)
[O143] Each of the Designer Subtools is used to develop a particular type of subservice within an online service. The
most important and original Designer Subtools are_. (1 ) the Hyperdocument Designer, for subservices that consist of
1O linked hypermedia and portable documents; and (2) the Lookup Designer, for Directory Lookup, Classified Advertise-
ment, and Reference subservices. This section describes these two Designer subtools in detail.
15 [O144] The Hyperdocument Designer 412 subtool is used to design Hyperdocument/Commerce subservices. Spe-
cifically, any subservice that displays hyperdocuments and supports hyperlinks between hyperdocuments is designed
using the Hyperdocument Designer subtool. A typical online service will require these features to some degree, so
most online services include at least one Hyperdocument/Commerce subservice.
[O145] When the developer double-clicks on a Hyperdocument/Commerce subservice icon from the Connectivity
2O View of the Service Window for an online se_ice, the Hyperdocument Designer is automatically invoked. Hyperdocu-
ment Designer supports four differentviews_. Document View, Script View, Link View, and Fee View. Figure 14 illustrates
a block diagram of the different views supported Hyperdocument Designer. To switch between views, the developer
chooses the appropriate menu item or clicks on the appropriate button on the Hyperdocument Designer toolbar
[O146] Initially, Hyperdocument Designer displays the Document View, which shows one icon for each of the hyper-
25 documents that comprise the subse_ice. An example of a hyperdocument being viewed with the document view is
illustrated in Figure 13. Beneath each icon is the name of the document. The document icons are visually shown in
the arrangement laid out by the developer. The developer may rearrange the document icons in the Document View
using drag-and-drop mouse techniques, and the icon arrangement is preserved between sessions with Online Design-
er. The icon arrangement in the Document View is for developer convenience only, and has no bearing on the behavior
3O of the hyperlinks that define the order in which the user sees documents. Double-clicking on a hypermedia document
icon or portable document icon invokes the Hypermedia Editor or Portable Document Editor, respectively, to view and
modify that document.
[O147] From the Document View, the developer may invoke the Hypermedia Document Converter or Portable Doc-
ument Converter from the Hyperdocument Designer menus or toolbar. These two Converter tools translate preexisting
35 documents from various file formats into the Online Designer's standard hypermedia document format or portable
document format. After translating a document, the developer assigns a name and icon to the new hyperdocument,
and repositions the new icon within the Document View as desired. The developer may then edit the hyperdocument
to add visual objects using the Hypermedia Editor. The developer can connect the new hyperdocument using the
hyperlink editor to edit hyperlinks that integrate the document into the subservice.
4O [O148] The Script View, Link View, and Fee View of the Hyperdocument Designer are analogous to the same views
in the Online Designer tool itself. The Script View provides access to the Event Scripts and Function Scripts that pertain
to the particular Hyperdocument/Commerce subservice. When the developer chooses the Hyperdocument Designer's
Link View, the Hyperlink Editor is invoked toview and modifythe hyperlinks between all documents and files associated
with the subservice. The Fee View of the Hyperdocument Designer invokes the Fee Setter subtool to specify fees for