Patent Application
20110320603
For modern computing devices, including traditional personal computers, as well as personal digital assistants, cellular telephones, and the like, network communicational abilities have become ubiquitous. Such ubiquity in network communicational abilities enables modern computing devices to spend an ever increasing amount of time being communicationally coupled to one or more networks of computing devices. Traditionally, resources provided by the computing devices that are communicationally coupled to such networks are identified and accessed by other computing devices with reference to resource identifiers. Resource identifiers are typically comprised of alphanumeric characters that uniquely identify one or more resources accessible via a network. Resource identifiers can often, not only identify a particular resource, but can also comprise programmatic information that can be provided to one or more processes executing on a remote computing device, that is being accessed over a network, to enable that remote computing device to obtain, filter, create or otherwise manipulate one or more resources prior to their transmission across the network.
Traditionally, network resources are accessed over a network via one or more network browser application programs executing on a client computing device that is accessing the resources. Such network browser applications can copy network resources to the computing device on which they are executing, display information presented by such network resources on display devices coupled to the computing devices on which such browsers are executing, provide interactivity with network resources, and other like functionality. For example, web browser application programs that are capable of browsing the ubiquitous World Wide Web (WWW) can display information in accordance with the structure and formatting defined by a web page, can download files and other objects, and can execute computer-executable instructions within the framework of the web browser. Other, non-browser, applications have the capability to act upon resources received from other computing devices over a network, but such other non-browser application programs are typically designed to only accept specific types of data and resources and may not comprise the flexibility of modern network browser application programs. Thus, on a modern computing device, a user may spend a substantial amount of time interacting only with network browser application programs to access resources available from other computing devices over a network.
In one embodiment, resource identifiers can be parsed to obtain parsed information therefrom that can be provided to non-browser application programs to enable the functionality of those application programs to be extended with information associated with network-based resources without requiring a browser application program to obtain such resources.
In another embodiment, resources and content identified by a resource identifier can be obtained and examined for information that can be utilized by a non-browser application program and such information can be provide to the non-browser application program.
In a further embodiment, a remote computing device can provide a customized resource identifier parser to provide for the parsing of resource identifiers whose structure may not be known in advance. Information derived from the parsing performed by such a customized parser can be provided to non-browser application programs. The customized parser can be a downloadable component, or it can be resource that can be accessed over a network
In a still further embodiment, one or more resource identifiers can be provided to a non-browser application program and, upon such a provision, they can be parsed or the resources identified by them can be examined to provide such non-browser application programs with utilizable information beyond the mere characters of the resource identifier. If such attempts fail to identify information utilizable by the non-browser application program to which such resource identifiers were provided, the resource identifiers can be treated in a traditional manner.
In a yet further embodiment, one or more resource identifiers can be provided to a desktop user interface and, upon such a provision, they can be parsed or the resources identified by them can be examined to identify utilizable information beyond the mere characters of the resource identifier. A default application program can then be invoked to handle such indentified utilizable information within the desktop user interface context.
This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.
Additional features and advantages will be made apparent from the following detailed description that proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings.
The following detailed description may be best understood when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, of which
The following description relates to a resource identifier parser that can obtain information, utilizable by non-browser applications programs, either from the alphanumeric characters that comprise a resource identifier, from the information contained on, or associated with, a network resource identified by the resource identifier, or via the utilization of customized parsing capability that can be provided by a service associated with the resources that are identified by the resource identifier. When a resource identifier is provided to non-browser application programs, rather than having the resource identifier merely be treated as text, or a pointer to a resource, the resource identifier parser can be utilized to provide, to the non-browser application program, the utilizable information obtained by the resource identifier parser. If no utilizable information can be obtained, the resource identifier can be treated in a traditional manner. Similarly, if a resource identifier is provided to a desktop user interface, such as is typically generated by an operating system, the resource identifier parser can obtain utilizable information, and a default application program, or other executable component, can be instantiated to handle such information, or additional network-based content associated therewith.
While the below descriptions are directed to the implementation of the resource identifier parser within the context of specific, ubiquitous, resource identifiers, such as Uniform Resource Locators (URLs), and ubiquitous networks, such as the Internet, they are not so limited. In particular, the mechanisms described are both resource identifier and network agnostic and can operate in a manner identical to that described below on any resource identifier and on any network framework or topology. As such, references to URLs, web pages, the Internet, and the like, are meant to be exemplary only and do not indicate any specific limitation of the mechanisms described.
Although not required, the descriptions below will be in the general context of computer-executable instructions, such as program modules, being executed by one or more computing devices. More specifically, the descriptions will reference acts and symbolic representations of operations that are performed by one or more computing devices or peripherals, unless indicated otherwise. As such, it will be understood that such acts and operations, which are at times referred to as being computer-executed, include the manipulation by a processing unit of electrical signals representing data in a structured form. This manipulation transforms the data or maintains it at locations in memory, which reconfigures or otherwise alters the operation of the computing device or peripherals in a manner well understood by those skilled in the art. The data structures, where data is maintained, are physical locations that have particular properties defined by the format of the data.
Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, and the like that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. Moreover, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the computing devices need not be limited to conventional personal computers, and include other computing configurations, including hand-held devices, multi-processor systems, microprocessor based or programmable consumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputers, mainframe computers, and the like. Similarly, the computing devices need not be limited to a stand-alone computing device, as the mechanisms may also be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network. In a distributed computing environment, program modules may be located in both local and remote memory storage devices.
Turning to
The computing device 100 also typically includes computer readable media, which can include any available media that can be accessed by computing device 100 and includes both volatile and nonvolatile media and removable and non-removable media. By way of example, and not limitation, computer readable media may comprise computer storage media and communication media. Computer storage media includes media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data. Computer storage media includes, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be used to store the desired information and which can be accessed by the computing device 100. Communication media typically embodies computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data in a modulated data signal such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism and includes any information delivery media. By way of example, and not limitation, communication media includes wired media such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, RF, infrared and other wireless media. Combinations of the any of the above should also be included within the scope of computer readable media.
The system memory 130 includes computer storage media in the form of volatile and/or nonvolatile memory such as read only memory (ROM) 131 and random access memory (RAM) 132. A basic input/output system 133 (BIOS), containing the basic routines that help to transfer information between elements within computing device 100, such as during start-up, is typically stored in ROM 131. RAM 132 typically contains data and/or program modules that are immediately accessible to and/or presently being operated on by processing unit 120. By way of example, and not limitation,
A resource identifier parser 137, whose operation will be described in detail below, can be a component of the operating system 134 or, alternatively, it can be a separate collection of computer-executable instructions that can be considered as part of the program modules 135. As yet another alternative, components of the operating system 134 and the program modules 135 can operate in concert to perform the functionality attributed below to the resource identifier parser 137. In addition, the program modules 135 can comprise one or more application programs, such as the network browser application program 138, which can be comprised of computer-executable instructions that can be executed by the central processing unit 120 in accordance with mechanisms well known to those skilled in the art. The program modules 135 can also comprise one or more non-browser application programs, such as the non-browser application program 139. Such non-browser application programs can be any application program whose primary function is other than the retrieval and presentation of information obtained from remote networked servers, including, for example, content-creation application programs, such as word processors and spreadsheets, as well as photo-editing application programs, visualization or rendering application programs, and even more limited functionality application programs such as customized weather applications, financial applications and the like.
The computing device 100 may also include other removable/non-removable, volatile/nonvolatile computer storage media. By way of example only,
The drives and their associated computer storage media discussed above and illustrated in
Additionally, the computing device 100 can operate in a networked environment using logical connections to one or more remote computers. For simplicity of illustration, the computing device 100 is shown in
The network 180 can have communicationally coupled to it a server computing device 110 that, although not specifically shown in
In addition, unlike the exemplary computing device 100, the server computing device 110 can comprise content 160 that can comprise data, information, or resources that the server computing device 110 can provide to other computing devices, such as the exemplary computing device 100, over the network 180. For example, the content 160 can comprise information that can be presented in a textual form, photographs, audio recordings, video content, downloadable computer-executable instructions, downloadable computer readable-data, locally-executable computer-executable instructions and other like content.
The server computing device 110 can further comprise a data server application 150 whose computer-executable instructions can be stored on a non-volatile storage of the server computing device and can be executed, in the system memory of the server computing device, by its central processing unit, in the same manner as the computer-executable instructions stored on the hard disk drive 141, and executed in the system memory 130, of the exemplary computing device 100, described in detail above. The data server application 150 can comprise one or more formatted pages of data, such as the data pages 151, 152 and 153 that can present data, such as obtained from the content 160, to an appropriate network browser application program, such as the browser application program 138 executing on the exemplary computing device 100, which can be communicationally coupled to the data server application 150, and can retrieve any one of the data pages 151, 152 at 153, via the network connections 171 and 172 that the exemplary computing device 100, and the server computing device 110, respectively, maintain to the network 180.
In one embodiment, the data pages 151, 152 and 153 can be web pages such as those of the World Wide Web (WWW). In such an embodiment, the data pages 151, 152 and 153 can present data utilizing the structured data presentation techniques of the well-known HyperText Markup Language (HTML). Similarly, the network 180, in such an embodiment, can be the well known Internet, while the browser application 138 can be a web browser application program, and the data server application 150 can be a web server application program. In such an embodiment, the HTML coding employed to define the data pages 151, 152 and 153 can reference, through links, the content 160 such that the data pages 151, 152 and 153 themselves merely comprise the structure and definition of a given web page, while much of the content can remain stored apart from the data pages in the content 160. As will be known by those skilled in the art, the exemplary computing device 100 and, more specifically, the web browser 138 can obtain the information of any one of the data pages 151, 152 and 153 and can present such information, such as via the display device 191, in the form of a hypermedia web page. Resource identifiers in the form of Universal Resource Locators (URLs) can be utilized by the web browser 138 to identify specific ones of the data pages 151, 152 and 153, utilizing techniques well known, and, indeed, ubiquitous, and the art.
Turning to
As will be recognized by those skilled in the art, the user interface 220 illustrates a window-based user interface, such as has become ubiquitous in modern computing devices, whereby information and content is presented to the user through windows, or defined graphical regions, that are under the control of, and visually represent, a particular application program, or other set of executing computer-executable instructions. The exemplary user interface 220 illustrated in
In one embodiment, as illustrated in the system 200 of
The resource identifier 241 shown in the system 200 of
The programmatic information 246 of a resource identifier 241 is typically formatted in a specific manner defined by the domain to which such programmatic information is to be presented. Thus, different domains can, and often do, utilize different formatting for the programmatic information 246, and deciphering the programmatic information can be performed differently depending on the domain identified by the identifying information 245. For example, if the identifying information 245 were to identify a web page, from a specific domain, that provides mapping services, the programmatic information 246 can comprise, in a predetermined order and format, an identification of the coordinates of the map to be displayed, the scale at which such a map is to be displayed, whether or not the map is to display topographic, or satellite information, and other like input that the mapping service provided by the identified web page can utilize to determine what kind of map is to be generated for the resource identifier 241. The exact manner in which the coordinates, scale, and mapping options, for example, are encoded and presented in the programmatic information 246, such as whether they are encoded in ASCII text, whether they are separated by commas, or semicolons, or other like characters, whether they are identified with specific variables, such as through the use of the equals sign, and what order each such element of information is presented in, can be in accordance with the formatting utilized by the domain and expected by whatever computer-executable instructions, or other services, are executing on the server computing device hosting the mapping web page identified by the resource identifier 241.
Traditionally, as will be known by those skilled in the art, the resource identifier 241 can represent a set of data, such as the HTML coding of a web page, or other such set of data appropriate for displaying the data page 151 in the browser window 240. In addition, however, server 260 may provide further services directed to providing data in a machine-readable form, that can be used by non-browser applications. For example, within the context of the ubiquitous WWW, a server hosing a web page can also provide eXtensible Markup Language (XML) data that can be utilized both by browser and non-browser application programs. In one embodiment, the parsing of the resource identifier comprises the retrieval of the identity of the such further resources, which, in turn, can identify yet other data from the content 160, or yet further services. Consequently, the descriptions below are also applicable to instances in which the resource identifier parser 137 can iteratively process succeeding levels of data and information to be able to present, or enable the obtaining of, data that was not present on the original data page, data that can be organized in a different manner than that of the original data page, or data that can be interacted with, such as by uploading, or otherwise providing, new data.
In one embodiment, the resource identifier parser 137 can comprise an understanding of the formatting of the programmatic information 246 associated with the resource identifier 241 of at least some well-known domains on the network 180. As such, the resource identifier parser 137 can parse the resource identifier 241, and extract information from the programmatic information 246 of the resource identifier 241, without having to communicate with a server identified by the resource identifier 241. The resource identifier parser 137 can, thereby, enable non-browser application programs and the operating system to utilize such extracted information and provide associated services and feedback when those non-browser application programs, or the operating system, receive, as input, a resource identifier 241.
Traditionally, providing a resource identifier to a non-browser application program would cause the non-browser application to treat the resource identifier as a textual string or, at most, as a link, or even to simply ignore the resource identifier altogether if the non-browser application was simply not capable of receiving such input. Similarly, providing a resource identifier to an operating system, such as by providing it to the desktop being presented by such operating system, would cause the operating system to create a link file representing the resource identifier, or potentially to invoke a browser application to handle the resource identifier.
However, since the resource identifier parser 137 can parse the resource identifier, such as the resource identifier 241, and extract therefrom information beyond merely the alphanumeric characters of the resource identifier, non-browser application programs and the operating system can provide greater functionality when resource identifiers are provided to them. For purposes of the below description, the term “derivative information” means any of the information that can be extracted from a resource identifier, including information that can be obtained from parsing the programmatic information 246 that can be part of the resource identifier 241, as well as any information that can be obtained from the resource identified by the resource identifier, such as data feeds or other like information. For example, if the non-browser application window 250, shown in the system 200
For example, if the resource identifier 241 was the resource identifier of a web page comprising an auction listing or a classified listing, the programmatic information 246 can comprise the title assigned to such a listing, which can typically be a short description of the item being sold or auctioned, as well as other information such as the end date and time of the auction, or the date and time when the classified listing was first listed. Derivative information, such as this title and date information, can be provided by the resource identifier parser 137 to the spreadsheet, as indicated by the communication 282, and can then be incorporated by the spreadsheet application program in a more meaningful way. For example, the title can be placed into one spreadsheet cell, while the listing date, or expiration time can be placed into another, associated spreadsheet cell. The provision of such derivative information, via the communication 282, by the resource identifier parser 137 to the spreadsheet application can be either in place of the provision of the textual information of the resource identifier 241 itself, or can be in addition to, such that the spreadsheet application can include not only the parsed information provided by the resource identifier parser 137, but could also include the resource identifier 241 itself.
In one embodiment, the derivative information obtained by the resource identifier parser 137 may not all be utilized by the non-browser application program, or the desktop 230. For example, if the resource identifier 241 was the resource identifier of a web page comprising a map, the programmatic information 246 can comprise, as indicated previously, coordinate information, scale information and display specifics, such as whether the displayed map comprises topographic features. The non-browser application that presents the non-browser application window 250 and receives the communication 282 may not, however, be able to utilize all such derivative information. For example, the non-browser application may be a weather application that can simply use the coordinate derivative information to obtain a zip code, or other such geographic identifier, and then present information in accordance with that zip code. Thus, the mere provision of derivative information by the resource identifier parser 137, such as via the communication 282, does not require that the receiving application utilize all, or even any, of such information. In one embodiment, a protocol can be established by which specific application programs can register, or otherwise indicate to the resource identifier parser 137, which types of derivative information such application programs can meaningfully process.
The derivative information obtained by the reference identifier parser 137 can, in one embodiment, be provided to non-browser application programs or the desktop 230 as a rich object that can expose properties and methods which can be accessed and utilized by the non-browser application programs or the desktop. For example, returning to the above examples of map-based data pages, the coordinate information can be exposed as a property, or a method can be exposed that, when invoked, can provide such coordinate information. Other examples, described further below, can comprise continuously updated derivative information, or more complex derivative information, such as that associated with network services that can be associated with the resource identifier. In such cases, the derivative information can be accessed through the calling of exposed methods and through the properties of the one or more objects, which can be exposed by the resource identifier parser 137 and can be changed in accordance with the derivative information obtained by the resource identifier parser.
As another example of obtaining derivative information from a resource identifier, if the resource identifier 241 were dragged onto the desktop area 230, as illustrated in
One advantage to the parsing of a resource identifier is that the resource identifier parser 137 need not rely on any processing, or provision of information, from a remote computing device, such as one whose resources may be identified by the resource identifier. Instead, the above described mechanisms can be performed based only on the information already present in the resource identifier, and the capability of the computer-executable instructions of the resource identifier parser 137 to meaningfully parse such information.
In another embodiment, however, the resource identifier itself may not comprise sufficient information, such as sufficient programmatic information, that can be meaningfully parsed and extracted by the resource identifier parser 137. In such an embodiment, the resource identifier parser 137 can communicate with one or more remote computing devices whose resources are identified by the resource identifier to determine if there is additional information associated with the resource identifier that can be provided to non-browser application programs, or the operating system, as the derivative information.
As shown in the system 200 of
Thus, for example, if the non-browser application program, that presents the non-browser application window 250, is a photo viewing program, the resource identifier parser 137 can obtain information from the data page header 261 that can specify a feed of photographs, such as can be provided by photo-oriented network services, and the photo viewing program can directly receive those photographs and display them in the non-browser application window 250. Returning to the specific embodiment of web pages, there exist, as will be known by those skilled in the art, photo sharing websites where users can subscribe to receive updates when any of their identified colleagues upload new photographs to the website. Information regarding the user, such as the user's name, and, potentially, even an encoded password, can be part of the programmatic information 246 that can be parsed from the resource identifier 241 by the resource identifier parser 137. Utilizing such information, the resource identifier parser 137 can log onto such a photo sharing website as the user identified by the programmatic information 246 of the resource identifier 241 and can obtain, such as from the header 261, information regarding this automated provision of colleagues' photographs. Such information, or even the photographs themselves, can then be provided by the resource identifier parser 137 to the photo viewing application and can be displayed within the non-browser application window 250. Thus, a photo viewing application that could not even understand a resource identifier, can now meaningfully display photographs that can be represented by the resource identifier 241 that can have been provided to the photo viewing application.
As another example, if the resource identifier 241 was provided to the desktop area 230, the header 261 could identify one or more feeds of data, such as those in accordance with known standards, such as the Really Simple Syndication (RSS) standard. The resource identifier parser 137 can obtain such derivative information from the header 261 based upon the identifying information 245 provided by the resource identifier 241. The resource identifier parser 137 can then provide such derivative information to the operating system which can, as an example, launch an RSS feed viewer applet, or widget, to display the data feeds within a small area of the desktop area 230 located close to where the user, for example, dragged and dropped the resource identifier 241, as illustrated by the ghost resource identifier 231 shown in the system 200
Additionally, the parsing of a resource identifier can enable non-browser applications, or applications, widgets or applets invoked by the operating system, to perform data “mashups”. Returning to the above examples of a data feed, if the operating system launched a data feed viewer applet, or widget, as a result of the user dragging the resource identifier 241 to the desktop area 230, as shown by the ghost resource identifier 231, then the provision of a second resource identifier that also identifies a data page whose header comprises a reference to another data feed, the resource identifier parser 137 can provide derivative information comprising that subsequent data feed to the same data feed viewer applet. The data feed viewer applet could then display, not only the data feed associated with the first resource identifier that the user provided to the desktop area 230, but can also display the data feed associated with the subsequent resource identifier. If the data feeds were provided in chronological order, such that the most recent data element received from the data feed was presented at the top, the data feed viewer could intermix the two data feeds such that their data elements were organized according to an aggregate chronological order. In such a manner a “mashup” of the data of the two data feeds could be accomplished.
In yet another embodiment, a server computing device, such as the server computing device 260, can provide a customized parser 237 to parse resource identifiers, such as the resource identifier 241, that identify resources available through the server computing device 260. The customized parser 237 can parse resource identifiers, such as the resource identifier 241 by extracting information from the programmatic information 246 of those resource identifiers, much in the same way as described above with reference to resource identifier parser 137. One difference, however, between the resource identifier parser 137 and the customized parser 237 can be that, because the customized parser 237 is provided by the domain generating the resource identifiers in the first place, the customized parser 237 may be more appropriate for the parsing of resource identifiers that the resource identifier parser 137 may not know how to parse correctly.
To obtain the customized parser 237, the resource identifier parser 137 can utilize the identifying information 245 of the resource identifier 241 to communicationally connect with the data page 151 identified by such identifying information 241. Such a communicational connection can enable the resource identifier parser 137 to learn from the data page 151, such as, for example, from the data page header 261, of the existence of the customized parser 237. In one embodiment, the customized parser 237 can be a downloadable collection of computer-executable instructions that the resource identifier 137 can download to the computing device 210. In such an embodiment, an association between the customized parser 237 and the domain of resource identifiers with which the customized parser 237 is to be utilized can be retained, such as in a registration database of the computing device 210, so that in the future, when the resource identifier parser 137 encounters a resource identifier of a relevant domain, the resource identifier parser 137 can invoke the customized parser 237 to parse such a resource identifier. Alternatively, the customized parser 237 can simply be stored on the computing device 210 and, in the future, when the resource identifier parser 137 encounters a resource identifier, it can merely poll the customized parsers stored on the computing device 210 to determine which, if any, of those customized parsers can parse the resource identifier encountered.
In an alternative embodiment, the customized parser 237, rather than being a downloadable set of computer-executable instructions that are designed to execute on a client computing device, such as the computing device 210, can, instead, be a network service to which a resource identifier can be provided, such as by the resource identifier parser 137, and, in return, parsed information from that resource identifier can be provided. The resource identifier parser 137 can then proceed to provide such a parsed information to non-browser application programs or the operating system, as described previously. In such an alternative embodiment, the data page header 261 can provide information to the resource identifier parser 137 of the existence and location of a network service providing such a customized parser 237, thereby enabling the resource identifier parser 137 to provide the resource identifier, such as the resource identifier 241, to such a service and receive therefrom the parsed information.
While the above mechanisms are applicable to the parsing of any type of resource identifiers, and the obtaining therefrom, in the manner described, of any type of derivative information, in one embodiment the resource identifiers can be resource identifiers of a data page, such as the data page 151, that can be directed to a particular person. For example, as will be known by those skilled in the art, social networking has become increasingly popular and, in such a context, a single data page, such as the data page 151, can cause the display on a browser window, such as the browser window 240, of a myriad of information regarding one particular user, such as, for example, the user's name, age, interests, photos of the user, messages from other users that have “befriended” the user through the social networking service offered by, for example, the server 260, the user's upcoming appointments, documents authored by the user, and other like information. The result can be that, colloquially, the data page 151, and its associated resource identifier 241, become identified with that particular person. They, in essence, come to represent that particular person, at least in a network context.
However, as will also be recognized by those skilled in the art, in such a social networking context, the data that can constitute a particular person, or, more specifically, the network representation of that person, can be dynamic, fluid, and context dependent. For example, the messages provided by that person's social networking friends can continuously change, as can the photos of that person, the documents they authored, and other like content and information. Consequently, in one embodiment, a resource identifier, such as the resource identifier 241, that can identify a data page, such as the data page 151, that can be a particular individual's page, such as in a social networking service provided by the server computing device 260, can be parsed and that particular individual's identifier, within the context of the social networking service, can be obtained. Such an identifier can then be utilized as a key with which to access or obtain other information, such as through services offered by the server computing device 260 hosting the data page 151. Such other services can provide access to the dynamic and fluid information that can comprise that specific person's network profile including, for example, providing access to the messages provided to such a person by that person's social networking friends, the photos uploaded by, for, or on behalf of, that person, the documents authored by that person, and other like dynamic information. In particular, the parsing of a resource identifier identifying a data page associated with a particular person within the context of a social network can provide access to information that does not even exist yet. For example, the parsing of such a resource identifier can provide access to services that will deliver, at a future time, information associated with that particular person that was created at that future time, such as messages from friends, or new photographs. Consequently, the resource identifier parser 137 can enable a resource identifier to become a universal representation of a particular person. As such, depending on the context, the desktop or non-browser applications can retrieve any relevant piece of data associated with the person, provided that the data is made available from the social networking service provided by the server computing device 260 and permitted by relevant access rules to be accessed using that person's identifier that can have been obtained from the resource identifier by the resource identifier parser 137.
Turning to
As indicated previously, for customized parsers, such as can be obtained at step 370, described in detail below, step 320 can comprise either a check of a registration database, wherein the customized parser can be associated with resource identifiers of a specific domain, or, alternatively, a polling of available customized parsers, in turn, to find one that can parse the resource identifier in question. If, at step 320, is determined that the parser is available for the resource identifier provided, processing can proceed with step 330, at which point the provided resource identifier can be parsed, and the resulting parsed information can be provided to either the non-browser application program, or the desktop, depending on whether processing was initiated by step 310, or step 311, respectively. If, however, at step 320, it is determined that a parser is not available for the resource identifier provided, processing can proceed to step 340, at which point an examination of the page identified by the resource identifier can be performed to determine if the identified page identifies, or otherwise comprises any services, such as a data feed or other like services. If, at step 340, it is determined that the page identified by the resource identifier does comprise services, processing can proceed with step 350 at which point information about the services can be retrieved and provided to the application, or desktop, in accordance with whichever was provided the resource identifier. Conversely, if, at step 340, is determined that the page identified by the resource identifier does not comprise any services, processing can proceed to step 360, at which point a determination can be made as to whether the domain of the page identified by the resource identifier offers any sort of customized resource identifier parsers.
If, at step 360, it is determined that the domain of the page identified by the resource identifier does provide a customized parser, processing can proceed with step 370, at which point such a customized parser can be downloaded and installed, if it is offered as a set of downloadable and locally-executable computer-executable instructions, or, alternatively, if the customized parser is provided as a network service, the resource identifier received in steps 310 or 311 can be provided to the network service at step 370. Processing can then return to step 320 and a determination, at step 320, can again be made as to whether a parser is available for the particular resource identifier provided. Since such a parser can have been installed, or located, as a result of step 370, the subsequent determination, at step 320, can result in a finding that an appropriate parser does exist and processing can proceed with step 330, as described above. If, however, is determined, at step 360, that the domain of the page identified by the resource identifier does not provide a customized parser, processing can proceed to step 399, at which point the resource identifier that was provided either step 310, or step 311, can be treated as a resource identifier in a traditional manner, such as by treating it as a hyperlink, a collection of alphanumeric characters, or the like.
Once derivative information from the provided resource identifier has been obtained, further processing can be performed, although not necessarily by the resource identifier parser 137 that was shown in
As can be seen from the above descriptions, mechanisms have been provided for the parsing of resource identifiers to obtain therefrom derivative information that can be more meaningfully processed by non-browser application programs or the operating system. In view of the many possible variations of the subject matter described herein, we claim as our invention all such embodiments as may come within the scope of the following claims and equivalents thereto.
