Claims
- 1. A computer-implemented method for identifying metadata about a resource identified by a first identifier, the method comprising:
issuing a request to get a rendition of the resource identified by the first identifier; parsing a response document received in response to the issued request; and if the response document includes an indication that the metadata exists within a resource identified by a second identifier, retrieving the metadata from the other resource identified by the second identifier.
- 2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the response document comprises an XML document and the indication comprises and XML processing instruction.
- 3. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein the identifier comprises a Universal Resource Identifier.
- 4. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein the indication further comprises an attribute identifying an “alternate” relation.
- 5. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein the indication further comprises the second identifier.
- 6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the response document comprises an HTML document and the indication comprises a LINK tag.
- 7. The computer-implemented method of claim 6, wherein the LINK tag further comprises attribute identifying an expected response type of text/xml.
- 8. The computer-implemented method of claim 6, wherein the LINK tag further comprises an attribute identifying an “alternate” relation.
- 9. The computer-implemented method of claim 6, wherein the LINK tag further comprises the second identifier.
- 10. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein retrieving the metadata from the other location occurs automatically and without further user interaction.
- 11. A computer-readable medium encoded with a data structure, comprising a discovery document including metadata about a resource stored at a first location identified by a first identifier, the discovery document being stored at a second location identified by a second identifier, the discovery document further including at least one typed link indicating the existence of further metadata about the resource.
- 12. The computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the typed link indicates the existence of a second discovery document and a location of the second discovery document.
- 13. The computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the typed link indicates a link to a Web-based service.
- 14. The computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein another typed link indicates a link to a description of the Web-based service.
- 15. The computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the typed link indicates a link to an XML schema.
- 16. The computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the identifier comprises a Universal Resource Identifier.
- 17. A computer-readable medium encoded with a data structure, comprising a response document issued in response to a request for a resource, the response document including an indication that a document exists including metadata about the resource.
- 18. The computer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein the response document is an HTML document and the indication comprises a LINK tag.
- 19. The computer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein the response document is an XML document and the indication comprises an XML stylesheet processing instruction.
- 20. A system for communicating data over a network, the system comprising:
a server computer including a resource; a client computer configured to issue a request for the resource and to receive information in response to the request; and a response document based on the resource, generated by the server, and including an indication of the existence of a discovery document, the discovery document including metadata about the resource, wherein the client computer receives the response document including the indication of the discovery document.
- 21. The system of claim 20, wherein the response document comprises an XML document and the indication of the existence of the discovery document comprises an XML stylesheet processing instruction.
- 22. The system of claim 20, wherein the response document comprises an HTML document and the indication of the existence of the discovery document comprises a LINK tag.
REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The present patent application claims priority from copending U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/267,902, entitled Discovery of Web Services, filed on Feb. 9, 2001, and in the names of Erik B. Christensen, Henrik F. Nielsen, Andrew J. Layman, and Gopal Kakivaya.
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60267902 |
Feb 2001 |
US |