Method and apparatus for transmitting locale objects

Abstract

A method, apparatus, and computer instructions for transmitting cultural context information. A document is received from a computer. The document is parsed for a selected indicator. The data processing system is queried to identify cultural context information in response to the selected indicator being present. The identified cultural context information is sent to the computer.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] 1. Technical Field

[0003] The present invention relates generally to an improved data processing system and in particular, to a method and apparatus for processing data. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to a method, apparatus, and computer instructions for transmitting locale objects from a client to a server.

[0004] 2. Description of Related Art

[0005] The Internet, also referred to as an “internetwork”, is a set of computer networks, possibly dissimilar, joined together by means of gateways that handle data transfer and the conversion of messages from a protocol of the sending network to a protocol used by the receiving network. When capitalized, the term “Internet” refers to the collection of networks and gateways that use the TCP/IP suite of protocols.

[0006] The Internet has become a cultural fixture as a source of both information and entertainment. Many businesses are creating Internet sites as an integral part of their marketing efforts, informing consumers of the products or services offered by the business or providing other information seeking to engender brand loyalty. Many federal, state, and local government agencies are also employing Internet sites for informational purposes, particularly agencies which must interact with virtually all segments of society such as the Internal Revenue Service and secretaries of state. Providing informational guides and/or searchable databases of online public records may reduce operating costs. Further, the Internet is becoming increasingly popular as a medium for commercial transactions.

[0007] Currently, the most commonly employed method of transferring data over the Internet is to employ the World Wide Web environment, also called simply “the Web”. Other Internet resources exist for transferring information, such as File Transfer Protocol (FTP) and Gopher, but have not achieved the popularity of the Web. In the Web environment, servers and clients effect data transaction using the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), a known protocol for handling the transfer of various data files (e.g., text, still graphic images, audio, motion video, etc.). The information in various data files is formatted for presentation to a user by a standard page description language, the Hypertext Markup Language (HTML). In addition to basic presentation formatting, HTML allows developers to specify “links” to other Web resources identified by a Uniform Resource Locator (URL). A URL is a special syntax identifier defining a communications path to specific information. Each logical block of information accessible to a client, called a “page” or a “Web page”, is identified by a URL. The URL provides a universal, consistent method for finding and accessing this information, not necessarily for the user, but mostly for the user's Web “browser”. A browser is a program capable of submitting a request for information identified by an identifier, such as, for example, a URL. A user may enter a domain name through a-graphical user-interface (GUI) for the browser to access a source of content. The domain name is automatically converted to the Internet Protocol (IP) address by a domain name system (DNS), which is a service that translates the symbolic name entered by the user into an IP address by looking up the domain name in a database.

[0008] The Internet also is widely used to transfer applications to users using browsers. With respect to commerce on the Web, individual consumers and business use the Web to purchase various goods and services. In offering goods and services, some companies offer goods and services solely on the Web while others use the Web to extend their reach.

[0009] Users exploring the Web have discovered that the content supported by the HTML document format on the Web was too limited. Users desire an ability to access applications and programs, but applications were targeted towards specific types of platforms. As a result, not everyone could access applications or programs. This deficiency has been minimized though the introduction and use of programs known as “applets”, which may be embedded as objects in HTML documents on the Web. Applets are Java programs that may be transparently downloaded into a browser supporting Java along with HTML pages in which they appear. These Java programs are network and platform independent. Applets run the same way regardless of where they originate or what data processing system onto which they are loaded.

[0010] Java servlets and Enterprise Java Beans (EJB) are Java programs that are run on a server. These programs are generally accessed by clients via a Web browser. Typically, when servlets and EJBs generate or format information, the cultural context of a client should be used instead of the local server's cultural context. Cultural context information includes, for example, date/time formatting, time zone, monetary formatting, character encoding, and collation. In this example, collation is linguistically sensitive sorting of text.

[0011] Currently, a Java servlet API attempts to determine the locale of a client by parsing by an accept-language tag of the HTTP request from the Web browser. This context information in these examples includes an identification of the language and country used by the client. Such a parsing of the request is generally ineffective because in many cases the accept-language tag present in the request only provides the language of the client, such as English. Unfortunately, language alone is insufficient to accurately identify the locale of the client. Furthermore, even if the entire locale name is specified in the accept-language tag, the actual contents of the client's locale are never transmitted to the server. For example, if a client is using a non-standard locale, such as English in the United States with European currency, the Java servlet will instantiate the wrong locale, English in the United States using U.S. dollars. Such an assumption by the servlet leads to incorrect formatting of currency data for the client.

[0012] The use of other cultural context information, such as time zone information, in servlets and EJBs also presents significant problems. When a servlet or EJB requests the current time zone or calendar from the servlet engine, the server's time zone and calendar are returned instead of that of the client. Unfortunately, no standard mechanism is present for obtaining the time zone of the client. As a result, attempting to associate a locale to time zone is not possible because countries often span more than one time zone, such as the United States. Therefore, information received from the client for this type of cultural context is needed to identify the correct time zone.

[0013] Currently, the mechanism used for obtaining accurate cultural context information from a client requires sending a form to the client. This form is presented on the browser and requires the user to enter the appropriate cultural context information. Such a system is burdensome because it requires the user to actively enter the needed cultural context information. As a result, it would be advantageous to have an improved method, apparatus, and computer instructions for transmitting cultural context information from a client to a server for use in providing the appropriate formatting of documents.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0014] The present invention provides a method, apparatus, and computer instructions for transmitting cultural context information. A document is received from a computer. The document is parsed for a selected indicator. The data processing system is queried to identify cultural context information in response to the selected indicator being present. The identified cultural context information is sent to the computer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] The novel features believed characteristic of the invention are set forth in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, as well as a preferred mode of use, further objectives and advantages thereof, will best be understood by reference to the following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

[0016] FIG. 1 depicts a pictorial representation of a network of data processing systems in which the present invention may be implemented;

[0017] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a data processing system that may be implemented as a server in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

[0018] FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a data processing system in which the present invention may be implemented;

[0019] FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating components used in transmitting cultural context information in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

[0020] FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) content in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

[0021] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating HTML content with an indicator in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

[0022] FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a document containing cultural context information in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

[0023] FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a process used for automatically obtaining cultural context information from a client in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

[0024] FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a process used for returning cultural context information to a server in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention; and

[0025] FIG. 10 is a flowchart of a process used for automatically obtaining cultural context information at a client in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0026] With reference now to the figures, FIG. 1 depicts a pictorial representation of a network of data processing systems in which the present invention may be implemented. Network data processing system 100 is a network of computers in which the present invention may be implemented. Network data processing system 100 contains a network 102, which is the medium used to provide communications links between various devices and computers connected together within network data processing system 100. Network 102 may include connections, such as wire, wireless communication links, or fiber optic cables.

[0027] In the depicted example, server 104 is connected to network 102 along with storage unit 106. In addition, clients 108, 110, and 112 are connected to network 102. These clients 108, 110, and 112 may be, for example, personal computers or network computers. In the depicted example, server 104 provides data, such as boot files, operating system images, and applications to clients 108-112. Clients 108, 110, and 112 are clients to server 104. Network data processing system 100 may include additional servers, clients, and other devices not shown. In the depicted example, network data processing system 100 is the Internet with network 102 representing a worldwide collection of networks and gateways that use the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) suite of protocols to communicate with one another. At the heart of the Internet is a backbone of high-speed data communication lines between major nodes or host computers, consisting of thousands of commercial, government, educational and other computer systems that route data and messages. Of course, network data processing system 100 also may be implemented as a number of different types of networks, such as for example, an intranet, a local area network (LAN), or a wide area network (WAN). FIG. 1 is intended as an example, and not as an architectural limitation for the present invention.

[0028] Referring to FIG. 2, a block diagram of a data processing system that may be implemented as a server, such as server 104 in FIG. 1, is depicted in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Data processing system 200 may be a symmetric multiprocessor (SMP) system including a plurality of processors 202 and 204 connected to system bus 206. Alternatively, a single processor system may be employed. Also connected to system bus 206 is memory controller/cache 208, which provides an interface to local memory 209. I/O bus bridge 210 is connected to system bus 206 and provides an interface to I/O bus 212. Memory controller/cache 208 and I/O bus bridge 210 may be integrated as depicted.

[0029] Peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus bridge 214 connected to I/O bus 212 provides an interface to PCI local bus 216. A number of modems may be connected to PCI local bus 216. Typical PCI bus implementations will support four PCI expansion slots or add-in connectors. Communications links to clients 108-112 in FIG. 1 may be provided through modem 218 and network adapter 220 connected to PCI local bus 216 through add-in boards.

[0030] Additional PCI bus bridges 222 and 224 provide interfaces for additional PCI local buses 226 and 228, from which additional modems or network adapters may be supported. In this manner, data processing system 200 allows connections to multiple network computers. A memory-mapped graphics adapter 230 and hard disk 232 may also be connected to I/O bus 212 as depicted, either directly or indirectly.

[0031] Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the hardware depicted in FIG. 2 may vary. For example, other peripheral devices, such as optical disk drives and the like, also may be used in addition to or in place of the hardware depicted. The depicted example is not meant to imply architectural limitations with respect to the present invention.

[0032] The data processing system depicted in FIG. 2 may be, for example, an IBM eServer pSeries system, a product of International Business Machines Corporation in Armonk, N.Y., running the Advanced Interactive Executive (AIX) operating system or LINUX operating system.

[0033] With reference now to FIG. 3, a block diagram illustrating a data processing system is depicted in which the present invention may be implemented. Data processing system 300 is an example of a client computer. Data processing system 300 employs a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) local bus architecture. Although the depicted example employs a PCI bus, other bus architectures such as Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP) and Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) may be used. Processor 302 and main memory 304 are connected to PCI local bus 306 through PCI bridge 308. PCI bridge 308 also may include an integrated memory controller and cache memory for processor 302. Additional connections to PCI local bus 306 may be made through direct component interconnection or through add-in boards. In the depicted example, local area network (LAN) adapter 310, SCSI host bus adapter 312, and expansion bus interface 314 are connected to PCI local bus 306 by direct component connection. In contrast, audio adapter 316, graphics adapter 318, and audio/video adapter 319 are connected to PCI local bus 306 by add in boards inserted into expansion slots. Expansion bus interface 314 provides a connection for a keyboard and mouse adapter 320, modem 322, and additional memory 324. Small computer system interface (SCSI) host bus adapter 312 provides a connection for hard disk drive 326, tape drive 328, and CD-ROM drive 330. Typical PCI local bus implementations will support three or four PCI expansion slots or add-in connectors.

[0034] An operating system runs on processor 302 and is used to coordinate and provide control of various components within data processing system 300 in FIG. 3. The operating system may be a commercially available operating system, such as Windows XP, which is available from Microsoft Corporation. An object oriented programming system such as Java may run in conjunction with the operating system and provide calls to the operating system from Java programs or applications executing on data processing system 300. “Java” is a trademark of Sun Microsystems, Inc. Instructions for the operating system, the object-oriented operating system, and applications or programs are located on storage devices, such as hard disk drive 326, and may be loaded into main memory 304 for execution by processor 302.

[0035] Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the hardware in FIG. 3 may vary depending on the implementation. Other internal hardware or peripheral devices, such as flash read-only memory (ROM), equivalent nonvolatile memory, or optical disk drives and the like, may be used in addition to or in place of the hardware depicted in FIG. 3. Also, the processes of the present invention may be applied to a multiprocessor data processing system.

[0036] As another example, data processing system 300 may be a stand-alone system configured to be bootable without relying on some type of network communication interfaces As a further example, data processing system 300 may be a personal digital assistant (PDA) device, which is configured with ROM and/or flash ROM in order to provide non-volatile memory for storing operating system files and/or user-generated data.

[0037] The depicted example in FIG. 3 and above-described examples are not meant to imply architectural limitations. For example, data processing system 300 also may be a notebook computer or hand held computer in addition to taking the form of a PDA. Data processing system 300 also may be a kiosk or a Web appliance.

[0038] The present invention provides a method, apparatus, and computer instructions for transmitting cultural context information from a client to a server. The mechanism of the present invention employs the use of a application, such as a plug-in that is activated whenever a particular indicator is received in a Web page. In these examples, the indicator takes the form of a multi-purpose Internet mail extension (MIME) object type that is included within the Web page. This indicator causes the application or process to query the client for cultural context information. Then, this information is sent to the server. In these examples, the information is sent to a server in the form of a locale object, such as an extensible markup language (XML) document. Further, other types of indicators, such as other types of tags may be used.

[0039] Turning next to FIG. 4, a block diagram illustrating components used in transmitting cultural context information is depicted in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. In this example, client 400 makes a request to server 402 for a Web page through browser 404. Browser 404 may take many forms, such as Microsoft Internet Explorer, which is available from Microsoft Corporation, or Mozilla, which is available from Mozilla.org. In response to this request, server 402 generates Web page 406 from information within Web page database 408. The generation of Web page 406 may occur through the use of Java servlet 410 or Enterprise Java Bean (EJB) 412. Additionally, Web page 406 may be generated using other mechanisms such as a servlet or server process. In these examples, indicator 414 is included within Web page 406 by context server 416. In these examples, context server 416 is a server process that is used to include indicator 414 as well as process return cultural context information for use by other server processes. Web page 406 is received by browser 404 at client 400.

[0040] Upon receiving Web page 406, browser 404 processes the Web page. The presence of indicator 414 causes plug-in 418 to be activated. In these examples, indicator 414 is an object type that takes the form of a multi-purpose Internet mail extension (MIME) type, which is a file identification system based on the MIME encoding system. This MIME type is associated with plug-in 418 and causes plug-in 418 to be activated when the MIME type is detected within Web page 406. In this example, the MIME type is “Websphere-locale”. This MIME type is used to indicate a particular type of server, such as WebSphere. WebSphere applications are available from International Business Machines Corporation.

[0041] Plug-in 418 obtains cultural context information, such as the client's locale and time zone by querying the operating system through native calls, such as APIs 422. In response to using APIs 422, cultural context information 424 is obtained from client 400. As illustrated, locale information may include information, such as, the client language, a geographic location, and a currency type. For example, the client language may be English, the geographic location is the United States, and the currency type is Euro currency.

[0042] With this cultural context information, plug-in 418 returns this information to server 402 by constructing and sending extensible markup language (XML) document 426. This document contains information describing the locale and time zone in this example. XML document 426 is sent to server 402 using a POST command. A POST command is an HTTP command used to send text to a Web server for processing. The POST method is widely implemented in HTML files for sending typed in forms to the server. In these examples, this command is used to transmit the XML document to context server 416. A post command is used in these examples, but other commands, such as a GET command, also may be employed to send the XML document 426 to contact server 416.

[0043] When XML document 426 is received by context server 416, context server 416 may create a session object, such as cultural object 428 for tracking purposes. Cultural object 428 allows for the cultural context information to be recalled for a particular session with client 400. Normally, if EJB 412 or Java servlet 410 requests time zone or calendar information, the information returned is that set for server 402 rather than client 400.

[0044] With the present invention, such a request for cultural context information returns the time zone or calendar information stored in cultural object 428. No changes or modifications are required to server processes to obtain this type of cultural context information for client 400. Session objects are described in the Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE) architecture by Sun Microsystems, Inc. The operating environment in which the server processes execute are modified such that a request for locale information results in session objects, such as cultural object 428 being accessed instead of the locale information for the server.

[0045] Alternatively, instead of maintaining a session object, context server 416 may generate HTML content containing an indicator, such as indicator 414 to retrieve cultural context information from client 400 each time the information is needed. This type of content generation is performed each time Java servlet 410 or EJB 412 instantiates a default locale or time zone object for a client, such as client 400.

[0046] With reference now to FIG. 5, a diagram illustrating hypertext markup language (HTML) content is depicted in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Web page 500 in this example is an HTML document generated by a server process, such as Java servlet 410 or EJB 412 in FIG. 4, using information from Web page database 408 in FIG. 4. This document is processed by a server process, such as context server 416 to include an indicator.

[0047] Turning now to FIG. 6, a diagram illustrating hypertext markup language content with an indicator is depicted in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. As illustrated, Web page 600 is similar to Web page 500 except Web page 600 has been modified to include indicator 602. This indicator takes the form of an object type called “websphere-locale” in Web page 600.

[0048] With reference now to FIG. 7, a diagram illustrating a document containing cultural context information is depicted in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Web page 700 is an example of an XML document, such as XML document 426 in FIG. 4. Web page 700 is generated by a process, such as plug-in 418 in FIG. 4, at a client activated in response to an indicator being present in content received by a browser. This document contains locale information defining the type of currency used by the client. In this example, “u20ac” is a Unicode code point value for the Euro currency symbol.

[0049] In this manner, the present invention provides an improved method, apparatus, and computer instructions for automatically obtaining cultural context information from a client without requiring user input. The mechanism of the present invention employs a process, such as a plug-in, at the client. This plug-in identifies cultural context information from the client when an indicator, such as a MIME type, is identified or present in content received from a server. This information is returned to the server in a document, such as an XML document using a POST command. This cultural context information is then used by processes on the server to provide appropriate formatting of information for the client.

[0050] With reference now to FIG. 8, a flowchart of a process used for automatically obtaining cultural context information from a client is depicted in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The process illustrated in FIG. 8 may be implemented in a server, such as server 402 in FIG. 4.

[0051] The process begins by receiving a request for a Web page (step 800). This request is received from a browser at a client, such as browser 404 in FIG. 4. The Web page is generated (step 802). A special MIME is included in the Web page (step 804). This special MIME type is associated with a plug-in that gathers cultural context information on the client. This indicator is included using a server process, such as context server 416 in FIG. 4. The Web page is then sent to the client (step 806).

[0052] In response, an XML document is received from the client (step 808). As described above, this XML document is received from the client using a POST command. A session object is created from the XML document (step 810) with the process terminating thereafter. This session object is maintained during the session with the client in these examples. Alternatively, these steps in FIG. 8 may be repeated each time cultural context information is needed by a server process if the information is not maintained during the session with the client.

[0053] Turning now to FIG. 9, a flowchart of a process used for returning cultural context information to a server is depicted in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The process illustrated in FIG. 9 may be implemented in a browser, such as browser 404 in FIG. 4.

[0054] The process begins by receiving a Web page (step 900). The Web page is processed (step 902). In processing the Web page, the different HTML lines in the Web page are parsed to determine whether an indicator is present. Specifically, a determination is made as to whether a cultural context MIME type is present (step 904). If a cultural context MIME type is present, a determination is made as to whether a plug-in is present (step 906). The determination in step 906 may be made by examining a set of MIME type associations in which different extensions are associated with different plug-ins.

[0055] If the plug-in for the cultural context MIME type is present, the plug-in is activated (step 908). The description of the processes performed by the plug-in are described in more detail in FIG. 10 below. The Web page is presented (step 910) and the process terminates thereafter.

[0056] With reference again to step 906, if the plug-in is not present, the process proceeds to step 910 as described above. Returning again to step 904, if a cultural context MIME type is absent, the process also proceeds to step 910 as described above.

[0057] With reference now to FIG. 10, a flowchart of a process used for automatically obtaining cultural context information at a client is depicted in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The process illustrated in FIG. 10 may be implemented in a plug-in, such as plug-in 418 in FIG. 4. This process is automatically initiated when an indicator associated with the process is identified in content received from a server.

[0058] The process begins by making calls to the operating system for locale and time zone information (step 1000). In these examples, the calls are API calls for the operating system. These types of API calls are commonly available for use in obtaining locale and time zone information from the operating system environment. For example, these types of calls are described in Microsoft Windows software development kit available from the Microsoft Corporation. Depending on the particular implementation, other types of cultural context information may be obtained through API calls. The locale and time zone information is received from the operating system (step 1002).

[0059] After the cultural context information is obtained, an XML document containing locale and time zone information is generated (step 1004). This XML document is posted to the Web server (step 1006) and the process terminates thereafter.

[0060] Thus, the present invention provides an improved method, apparatus, and computer instructions for automatically obtaining cultural context information from a client for use by a server process. The mechanism of the present invention includes an indicator, such as a MIME type, in the content sent to a client. This indicator results in a process, such as a browser plug-in, to be activated when the content is received by the client. This plug-in queries the client to identify cultural context information.

[0061] The cultural context information is then returned to the server by the plug-in for use in providing formatting of content for the client by server processes. In this manner, cultural context information may be automatically obtained from the client without requiring changes to existing servlets or EJBs to take advantage of this feature. The cultural context information obtained from the client is placed in a location or format for use by the existing servlets or EJBs.

[0062] It is important to note that while the present invention has been described in the context of a fully functioning data processing system, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the processes of the present invention are capable of being distributed in the form of a computer readable medium of instructions and a variety of forms and that the present invention applies equally regardless of the particular type of signal bearing media actually used to carry out the distribution. Examples of computer readable media include recordable-type media, such as a floppy disk, a hard disk drive, a RAM, CD-ROMs, DVD-ROMs, and transmission-type media, such as digital and analog communications links, wired or wireless communications links using transmission forms, such as, for example, radio frequency and light wave transmissions. The computer readable media may take the form of coded formats that are decoded for actual use in a particular data processing system.

[0063] The description of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description, and is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the invention in the form disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. For example, the illustrations show a server and client exchange of accessibility information. This process may be applied to other types of communications, such as peer-to-peer communications between computers. In such a case, a computer may take various forms, such as, for example, a PDA, a cell phone, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a workstation, a kiosk, or a server computer. The embodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention, the practical application, and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.

Claims

1. A method in a data processing system for transmitting cultural context information, the method comprising: receiving a document from a computer; parsing the document for a selected indicator; responsive to the selected indicator being present, querying the data processing system for cultural context information; and sending the cultural context information to the computer.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the cultural context information is sent to the computer in an extensible markup language document.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the querying and sending steps are performed by a plug-in to a browser program in which the plug-in is activated by the selected indicator.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the selected indicator is a particular multi-purpose Internet mail extension.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the cultural context information includes at least one of language, date and time formatting, time zone, monetary formatting, character encoding, and collation.

6. A method in a data processing system for obtaining cultural context information from a computer, the method comprising: sending a Web page to the computer, wherein the Web page includes a selected indictor such that the selected indicator causes the computer to return cultural context information; receiving the cultural context information from the computer; and using the cultural context information with respect to execution of processes relating to the computer.

7. The method of claim 6 further comprising: creating a cultural context information object in association with the computer, wherein the cultural information object is used by the processes in place of cultural context information for the data processing system.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the cultural context information is maintained during a session with the computer.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein the selected indicator is an object type.

10. The method of claim 6, wherein the processes include at least one of a servlet and an enterprise java bean.

11. A data processing system for transmitting cultural context information, the data processing system comprising: a bus system; a communications unit connected to the bus system; a memory connected to the bus system, wherein the memory includes a set of instructions; and a processing unit connected to the bus system, wherein the processing unit executes the set of instructions to receive a document from a computer; parse the document for a selected indicator; query the data processing system for cultural context information in response to the selected indicator being present; and send the cultural context information to the computer.

12. A data processing for obtaining cultural context information from a computer, the data processing system comprising: a bus system; a communications unit connected to the bus system; a memory connected to the bus system, wherein the memory includes a set of instructions; and a processing unit connected to the bus system, wherein the processing unit executes the set of instructions to send a Web page to the computer in which the Web page includes a selected indictor such that the selected indicator causes the computer to return cultural context information; receive the cultural context information from the computer; and use the cultural context information with respect to execution of processes relating to the computer.

13. A data processing system for transmitting cultural context information, the data processing system comprising: receiving means for receiving a document from a computer; parsing means for parsing the document for a selected indicator; querying means, responsive to the selected indicator being present, for querying the data processing system for cultural context information; and sending means for sending the cultural context information to the computer.

14. The data processing system of claim 13, wherein the cultural context information includes at least one of language, date and time formatting, time zone, monetary formatting, character encoding, and collation.

15. A data processing system for obtaining cultural context information from a computer, the data processing system comprising: sending means for sending a Web page to the computer, wherein the Web page includes a selected indictor such that the selected indicator causes the computer to return cultural context information; receiving means for receiving the cultural context information from the computer; and using means for using the cultural context information with respect to execution of processes relating to the computer.

16. The data processing system of claim 15 further comprising: creating means for creating a cultural context information object in association with the computer, wherein the cultural context information object is used by the processes in place of cultural context information for the data processing system.

17. The data processing system of claim 16, wherein the cultural context information is maintained during a session with the computer.

18. The data processing system of claim 16, wherein the processes include at least one of a servlet and an enterprise Java bean.

19. A computer program product in a computer readable medium for transmitting cultural context information, the computer program product comprising: first instructions for receiving a document from a computer; second instructions for parsing the document for a selected indicator; third instructions, responsive to the selected indicator being present, for querying the data processing system for cultural context information; and fourth instructions for sending the cultural context information to the computer.

20. The computer program product of claim 19, wherein the third instructions and the fourth instructions are located in a plug-in to a browser program in which the plug-in is activated by the selected indicator.

21. The computer program product of claim 19, wherein the selected indicator is a particular multi-purpose Internet mail extension.

22. The computer program product of claim 19, wherein the cultural context information includes at least one of language, date and time formatting, time zone, monetary formatting, character encoding, and collation.

23. A computer program product in a computer readable medium for obtaining cultural context information from a computer, the computer program product comprising: first instructions for sending a Web page to the computer, wherein the Web page includes a selected indictor such that the selected indicator causes the computer to return cultural context information; second instructions for receiving the cultural context information from the computer; and third instructions for using the cultural context information with respect to execution of processes relating to the computer.

24. The computer program product of claim 23 further comprising: fourth instructions for creating a cultural context information object in association with the computer, wherein the cultural information object is used by the processes in place of cultural context information for the data processing system.