System and process for delivering and rendering scalable web pages

Abstract

A system and process for displaying and redisplaying an HTML document that conforms to the limitations of a viewer's browser. The system comprises a browser, a script, and a document object model (DOM). The script comprises a data structure and an interpretation code. The DOM is a document model representing a Web page's elements, such as text, images, URL links, etc. The process includes using the script to create a document data structure that describes the essential information in the document and using the interpretation code to interpret the data structure in a fashion that allows it to manipulate the DOM for the purpose of rendering the document in the browser. The data structure can be modified and the corresponding HTML can be subsequently regenerated in response to user events so that after initially being created, the document can be updated to reflect changes to the viewer's browser. if the viewer resizes the browser, the page elements can be automatically resized.

Description

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material that is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field

The invention relates generally to the Internet communication technology. More particularly, the invention relates to a system and method for delivering and rendering scalable Web pages.

2. Background of the Invention

Authors of World Wide Web (WWW) documents all share a common and frustrating problem: the viewers of their documents have highly diverse viewing environments—especially with regard to the physical dimensions of the window a document is displayed in. This is problematic, especially if authors desire to produce documents with specific layout requirements. Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), the document format for WWW, provides very little in the way of scalable page elements. Many elements, text in particular, are fixed at specific sizes. When viewed on browsers with a large display resolution, text appears quite small when compared to displays with low resolution. Furthermore, even those elements that support some form of scaling are difficult to control because of the rudimentary manner in which the scaling support is provided. All this makes development of a consistent layout for WWW documents rather difficult.

One way for a document author to combat this problem is through the use of dynamic scripting languages such as JavaScript. These languages provide a way to detect information about a viewer's environment and modify the document accordingly. Unfortunately, the native document object code (DOM) provided by these languages is rather problematic. In the case of Netscape Navigator 4, not all of the page elements are accessible. Many elements are “write-only” or “read-only”, making it impossible to use the native structure as a reliable place to store document information.

Conversely, Internet Explorer (4 & 5) has a DOM that can be, at times, overly complex, making it difficult to constrain the degree to which a document should be modified.

Adding to the WWW author's problem is the fact that the DOMs used by Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer are dramatically different in nature. Supporting both browsers requires the development of different scripts that can interact with the individual DOMs.

What is desired is to develop a browser independent document data structure which enable page authors to freely access and modify all relevant aspects of the document without having to worry about limitations of the browser DOMs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides a system and process for displaying and redisplaying an HTML document that conforms to the limitations of a viewer's browser. The system comprises a browser, a script, and a document object model (DOM).

The script comprises a document data structure and an interpretation code. In the preferred embodiment of this invention, the document data structure is a slide presentation data structure designed for the system. The DOM is a document model representing a Web page's elements, such as text, images, URL links, etc.

Using this system, instead of creating an HTML document, a Web author creates his document that consists of the script. This script, when executed, creates a document data structure that describes the essential information in the document. The interpretation code interprets the data structure in a fashion that allows it to manipulate the DOM for the purpose of rendering the document in the browser.

By having the Web server provide the viewer's browser with a document data structure, instead of an HTML rendition of the document, the HTML for the document can be generated at a time when the browser information needed to create a properly sized document is available, thus allowing all features of the document to be sized accordingly. Furthermore, the data structure can be modified and the corresponding HTML can be subsequently regenerated in response to user events so that after initially being created, the document can be updated to reflect changes to the viewer's browser. For example, if the viewer resizes the browser, the page elements can be automatically resized.

By creating a browser independent data structure, the page author can freely access and modify all relevant aspects of the document without having to worry about limitations of browser DOMs. This browser independence also allows the author to develop a single script for interpreting the structure, rather than the two or more required for interpreting the different browser DOMs.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is block diagram illustrating a system for displaying and redisplaying an HTML document that conforms to the limitations of a viewer's browser; and

FIG. 2 is block diagram showing the hierarchical structure of a document data structure according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to FIG. 1, a system 100 for displaying and redisplaying an HTML document that conforms to the limitations of a viewer's browser comprises a browser 110, a DHTML document object model (DOM) 120 and a script 130.

The browser 110 may be any kind of Web browser that supports a scripting language with some means of modifying the contents of displayed web pages (also known as the browser Document Object Model).

The DHTML DOM 120 is a document model representing a Web page's elements, such as text, images, URL links, and the like.

The script 130 comprises a document data structure 140 and an interpretation code 150. The script is some combination of inline script (script included in the source HTML of a web page document) and script files referenced by the web page document. In the preferred embodiment of this invention, the document data structure 140 is a slide presentation data structure designed for this system. The hierarchical structure of said document data structure 140 is illustrated in FIG. 2 and Tables 1-8.

Using this system, instead of creating an HTML document, a Web author creates his document that consists of the script 130. This script, when executed, creates a document data structure 140 that describes the essential information in the document. The interpretation code 150 interprets the document data structure 140 in a fashion that allows it to manipulate the DHTML DOM 120 for the purpose of rendering the document in the browser.

The process to create a document data structure comprises the steps of:

• 1. Using a web server to respond to a viewer's browser's request for a document;
• 2. Retrieving or creating the content of the document in an appropriate fashion (Examples of this would be reading the document from a file on from a computer hard drive, querying a database for information, or using an algorithm to compute the content);
• 3. Translating the document content into a valid block of script code that, when executed by the viewer's browser, has the result of creating a data structure that can be accessed or manipulated;
• 4. Embedding the script code into the HTML document returned to the client; and
• 5. In the viewer's browser, executing the script block (this is typically automatically done by the browser).

Once the document data structure has been created, it can optionally perform any necessary data validation. This step, while not required, is frequently desirable to further format, validate, or optimize the data structure provided by the web server.

The Step 5 of the above process comprises the sub-steps of:

• • a. Setting the background color;
  • b. Creating a slide layer for presentation;
  • c. Enabling the display of said slide layer;
  • d. Initializing the address of said presentation and said slide;
  • e. Initializing various slide elements inside said slide;
  • f. Setting up the resize handler, and
  • g. Rendering said slide into HTML and displaying said presentation in said browser.

When the slide elements are text entities, the sub-step (e) of the above process comprises of the sub-sub-steps:

• • (aa) Setting up address for said text entities;
  • (ab) Creating a layer for said text entities; and
  • (ac) Enabling the display of said layer.

When said slide elements are image entities, the sub-step (e) comprises the sub-sub-steps:

• • (ba) Setting up address for said image entities;
  • (bb) Creating a layer for said image entities; and
  • (bc) Enabling the display of said layer.

When said slide elements are outline entities, the sub-step (e) comprises the sub-sub-steps:

• • (ca) Setting up address for said outline entities; and
  • (cb) Initializing outline nodes for said outline entities.

The sub-step (g) of the above process comprises sub-sub-steps of:

• • (da) Getting the client screen sizes;
  • (db) Setting the clipping region of said slide layer;
  • (dc) Rendering various slide elements inside said slide; and
  • (de) Flushing the output to said layer.

In the sub-step (g), when slide elements are text entities, the sub-sub-step (dc) comprises of the sub-sub-sub-steps:

• • (a1) Setting layer color and alignment;
  • (a2) Generating the text to be displayed;
  • (a3) Writing the URL start tag;
  • (a4) Writing the style and said text; and
  • (a5) Writing the URL end tag.

In the sub-step (g), when slide elements are image entities, the sub-sub-step (dc) comprises of the sub-sub-sub-steps:

• • (b1) Setting layer background color;
  • (b2) Wring empty content string if slide is editable;
  • (b3) Getting the URL of image source;
  • (b4) Writing the URL start tag;
  • (b5) Rendering said image; and
  • (b6) Writing the URL end tag.

In the sub-step (g), when slide elements are outline entities, the sub-sub-step (dc) comprises of the sub-sub-sub-steps:

• • (c1) Setting up default properties;
  • (c2) Creating and initializing a rendering context;
  • (c3) Setting origin and available width;
  • (c4) Rendering outline nodes with said rendering context; and
  • (c5) Hiding unused layers.

The process to interpret the document data structure comprises the steps of:

• 1. Identifying objects in the document data structure, which is served up by the web server, that need to be rendered in the viewer's browser;
• 2. Locating or creating the elements of the browser DOM that are used for rendering the document;
• 3. Applying any transformations or other changes needed to accommodate the viewer's specific browser configuration to the DOM element or the document data structure;
• 4. Generating HTML needed to render said objects; and
• 5. Applying that HTML into the DOM elements, causing it to be displayed in the browser.

The Step 3 of the above process comprises the sub-steps of:

• • a. Setting the background color;
  • b. Creating a slide layer for presentation;
  • c. Enabling the display of said slide layer;
  • d. Initializing the address of said presentation and said slide;
  • e. Initializing various slide elements inside said slide; and
  • f. Setting up the resize handler.

When the slide elements are text entities, the sub-step (e) of the above process comprises of the sub-sub-steps:

• • (aa) Setting up address for said text entities;
  • (ab) Creating a layer for said text entities; and
  • (ac) Enabling the display of said layer.

When said slide elements are image entities, the sub-step (e) comprises the sub-sub-steps:

• • (ba) Setting up address for said image entities;
  • (bb) Creating a layer for said image entities; and
  • (bc) Enabling the display of said layer.

When said slide elements are outline entities, the sub-step (e) comprises the sub-sub-steps:

• • (ca) Setting up address for said outline entities; and
  • (cb) Initializing outline nodes for said outline entities.

The Step 4 of the above process comprises the sub-steps of:

• • (da) Getting the client screen sizes;
  • (db) Setting the clipping region of said slide layer;
  • (dc) Rendering various slide elements inside said slide; and
  • (de) Flushing the output to said layer.

When slide elements are text entities, the sub-step (dc) under Step 4 comprises of the sub-sub-steps:

• • (a1) Setting layer color and alignment;
  • (a2) Generating the text to be displayed;
  • (a3) Writing the URL start tag;
  • (a4) Writing the style and said text; and
  • (a5) Writing the URL end tag.

When slide elements are image entities, the sub-step (dc) under Step 4 comprises of the sub-sub-steps:

• • (b1) Setting layer background color;
  • (b2) Wring empty content string if slide is editable;
  • (b3) Getting the URL of image source;
  • (b4) Writing the URL start tag;
  • (b5) Rendering said image; and
  • (b6) Writing the URL end tag.

When slide elements are outline entities, the sub-step (dc) under Step 4 comprises of the sub-sub-steps:

• • (c1) Setting up default properties;
  • (c2) Creating and initializing a rendering context;
  • (c3) Setting origin and available width;
  • (c4) Rendering outline nodes with said rendering context, and
  • (c5) Hiding unused layers.

By having the Web server provide the viewer's browser with a document data structure—a data structure that describes a document, instead of an HTML rendition of the document, the HTML for the document can be generated at a time when the browser information needed to create a properly sized document is available, thus allowing all features of the document to be sized accordingly. Furthermore, the data structure can be modified (and the corresponding HTML subsequently regenerated) in response to user events so that after initially being created, the document can be updated to reflect changes to the viewer's browser. For example, if the viewer resizes the browser, the page elements can be automatically resized.

Therefore, by creating a browser independent data structure, the page author can freely access and modify all relevant aspects of the document without having to worry about limitations of browser DOMs. This browser independence also allows the author to develop a single script for interpreting the structure, rather than the two (or more) required for interpreting the different browser DOMs.

A side benefit of this is that author-defined data structure can be optimized to include only the most essential information. This makes them much smaller than the equivalent HTML, which may help transmission times, especially over low bandwidth communication lines.

The document data structure and the interpretation code may be contained in a single file. This makes transport and portability easier, but requires the interpretation code be sent with each document.

The distinction between the document data structure and the interpretation code is essentially one of state vs. behavior. The document data represents the state needed to display a document, with little or no associated behavior.

The interpretation code provides the behavior needed for understanding a document data structure and creating an HTML representation of it. The interpretation code may be separated out from the document data structure code. This is expected to be the more attractive solution since it allows browsers to cache the interpretation code for later use on another, similar document.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram which shows a hierarchical structure of the document data structure 140. The first layer is SXPresentation 200, which is the root object of the presentation data structure. It contains an array of SXSlides which are at the second layer.

SXSlide 210 is an object representing a single slide in a presentation. It contains any number of SXContentEntities 220 which are at the third layer.

SXContentEntity 220 is an abstract representation for one of a number of different types of slide elements. These types include: SXText 230, SXOutline 240 and SXImage 250.

The SXOutline 240 may, in turn, contain other sub-outlines 260.

Each of these entities in the presentation data structure has a variety of properties associated with it, which are described in the following tables.

This system supports a limited token replacement functionality. Table 1 contains (1) the recognized tokens, (2) the scope in which replacement occurs, and (3) the value with which they are replaced.

TABLE 1
Token Replacement
Token	Scope	Value
% SlideNumber %	SlideNumber	The index of the current slide
	(SXText)	(starting with ‘1’).
% SlideCount %	SlideNumber	The total number of slides in
	(SXText)	the presentation.

Additional tokens should use the ‘% TokenName %’ notation.

Token replacement is done using an exact string match method—only text that exactly matches the token, including the surrounding ‘%’ characters will be replaced. However, there is currently no way to escape the ‘%’ character so, for example, there is no way to have the string ‘% SlideNumber %’ appear in a SlideNumber element.

Table 2 through Table 8 list a type for the different properties. This type describes the semantic type of the object, not necessarily the data type, e.g. the zindex property, which is listed as being of type “integer”, is contained in a string data type. The type fields are listed in Table 2.

TABLE 2
Type Fields
string  A value containing any valid alpha-numeric characters.
        In javascript, the ‘/’ and ‘\n’ characters should
        be escaped.
integer An integer value (e.g. (‘1234’ or ‘−1234’)
float   A floating point value (e.g. ‘1.234’ or ‘−1.234’).
        Typically exponential notation is not used (and is not
        guaranteed to be supported).
color   An HTML style color value. This can be a color name,
        but is more often the color code in ‘#RRGGBB’ notation.
array   An ordered collection of objects
hashmap A mapped collection of objects

TABLE 3
SXPresentation
Attribute	Type	Description
currentSlideIndex	Integer	The index of the current slide in the
		presentation.
		This is the true index of the slide
		in the presentation.
isSample	Boolean	This is true for sample presentations
isStyle	Boolean	This is true for style presentations
isTemplate	Boolean	This is true for template presentations
presentationID	Integer	The database id of the presentation
slideCount	Integer	The total number of slides in the
		presentation.
slides	Array	The array of slides that make up the
		presentation.
		Note: This array is not guaranteed to
		be completely populated by all the
		slides in a presentation. Typically it
		will contain only a single object (at
		index 0). The true index of the slide
		can be found in the currentSlideIndex
		property.
slideTitles	Array	An array of strings that contain the
		titles of each slide in the presentation.
		The title of the current slide can be
		found in slideTitles [currentSlideIndex]
type	String	Value:
		com.iamaze.presentation.SXPresentation

TABLE 4
SXSlide
Attribute	Type	Description
contentEntities	Hashmap	The set of SXContentEntities that comprise
		the slide content
effect	String	The type of effect to use when showing the
		slide.
		Values:
		swoosh-left: Slide elements slide in from
		the right
		swoosh-right: Slide elements slide in from
		the left
		swoosh-up: Slide elements slide in from the
		bottom
		swoosh-down: Slide elements slide in from
		the top
		flash: Slide elements “flash” briefly.
		(Currently only the title and outline
		elements exhibit this effect)
		build: Slide elements reveal progressively
		on each mouse click. (Currently only outline
		elements are revealed in this way - one top
		level element per click.)
layoutName	string	The name of the layout this presentation is
		based on.
notes	string	User supplied notes for the slide (Currently
		not used for anything interesting.)
title	string	The title of the slide.
type	string	Value: com.iamaze.presentation.SXSlide

TABLE 5
Abstract SXContentEntity
Attribute	Type	Description
top	string	These values define the rect occupied by
left	string	the entity
width	string
height	string
type	string	The type of the object - this is actually
		the complete java path name of the
		SXPersistentContentEntity subclass that is
		responsible for storing the entity
		Values:
		com.iamaze.presentation.contenttype.SXText
		com.iamaze.presentation.contenttype.SXOutline
		com.iamaze.presentation.contenttype.SXImage
name	string	The name of the element
		Values: The name Background is reserved for
		the background element of the slide.
zIndex	integer	The z-ordering of the layer elements in the
		slide. The Background element is always at
		index 0 (the bottom).

TABLE 6
SXText which inherits all the attributes
of Abstract SXContentEntity
Attribute	Type	Description
fontSize	integer	Font point size
color	color	Text color
backgroundColor	color	Background color
fontFamily	string	Font family
fontWeight	string	Font weight
		Values: bold
align	string	Horizontal alignment
		Values: left, center, right
text	string	Content of the entity
verticalAlign	string	Vertical alignment
		Values: top, middle, bottom
url	string	URL to navigate to when clicked on
		during playback
		Note: If no preceeding ‘/’ or protocol
		(e.g. “http://”, “http://” is
		prepended.)
fontStyle	string	Font style
		Values: italic

TABLE 7
SXOutline Entity which inherits all the attributes of SXText
Attribute	Type	Description
align	string	Ignored in SXOutline entities
verticalAlign	string	Ignored in SXOutline entities
nodeBulletType	string	Type of bullet
		Values: text-symbol, text-letter-lower,
		text-letter-upper, text-number-plain,
		text-number-nested, text-roman-lower,
		text-roman-upper, image
		Note: The image and text-number-nested
		types are deprecated (Uwe, you don't
		need to support these types)
nodeBulletValue	string	The value specifying how the bullet
		should look. This is interpreted
		differently depending on the type
		specified in nodeBulletType, as follows:
		text-symbol: The value is the decimal
		value of the Unicode character to
		display. A null value here is an error.
		text-letter-lower/upper,
		text-number-plain/nested, and
		text-roman-lower/upper: The value is
		the index into the respective sequence.
		The values 0, 1, 2 correspond to the
		following (with subsequent values
		following logically)
		text-letter-lower/upper:
		a, b, c/A, B, C
		text-number-plain/nested:
		1, 2, 3/(deprecated)
		text-roman-lower/upper:
		i, ii, iii/I, II, III
		Note that these are sequential bullets.
		If no value is specified, they will
		automatically use the previous index +
		1. If the bullet is the first bullet
		in the nodes array, it's index defaults
		to 0.
nodes	array	Array of SXOutlines that are the
		children of this outline

TABLE 8
SXImage which inherits all the attributes
of Abstract SXContentEntity
Attribute	Type	Description
align	string	Horizontal alignment
		Values: left, center, right
backgroundColor	color
scale	string	The scaling mode to use when displaying
		the image
		Values:
		fit: The image is scaled to fit exactly
		within the bounds
		width: The image is scaled, retaining
		the aspect ratio, so the width of the
		image fits exactly in the bounds.
		height: The image is scaled, retaining
		the aspect ratio, so the height of the
		image fits exactly in the bounds.
		tile: The image is tiled at it's native
		size to exactly fill the image bounds.
		(The tiling origin is in the upper left
		corner.)
		Note: For width and height scaling, the
		image is not clipped in the event it
		overflows the image bounds.
src	string	The URL of the image to display in this
		entity
url	string	URL to navigate to when clicked on during
		playback
		Note: If no preceeding ‘/’ or protocol
		(e.g. “http://”, “http://” is prepended.)
verticalAlign	string	Vertical alignment
		Values: top, middle, bottom

In this system a SXImage entity that has the name “Background” is treated specially. This content entity describes the background of a slide and is treated in the following ways:

• Its bounds always correspond exactly to the bounds of the slide.
• Its z-index is always set to zero (0).

Table 9 is a fragment of JavaScript illustrating what a document data structure looks like. In this sample, the document is a slide from a presentation document. Table 10 is a JavaScript that interprets the data structure for the slide. Table 11 is a JavaScript that interprets the data structure for an outline. Table 12 is the Java source code used by the web server to convert an arbitrary hashmap (as retrieved from a database) into a JavaScript data structure in the viewer's browser.

It is assumed that the content of a browser's web page is HTML. However, this needs not be true since more advanced browsers are capable of displaying other formats, most noteably, eXtensible Markup Language (XML). Therefore, the process described herein also fits other browser document formats and thus the HTML format is actually not a requirement for the process.

Although the invention is described herein with reference to the preferred embodiment, one skilled in the art will readily appreciate that other applications may be substituted for those set forth herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Accordingly, the invention should only be limited by the Claims included below.

Claims

1. A system, tangibly stored on a computer-readable medium, for delivering and rendering scalable Web pages said system comprising: a browser;a script, which is associated with an interpretation code; anda document object model;wherein said script, when executed, creates a data structure that describes an entire web document created by a page author;wherein said data structure comprises: a root object;wherein said root object comprises an array of slides and each said slide is an object representing a single slide in a presentation; andwherein each said slide comprises a plurality of content entities and each said content entity has a variety of properties;wherein said content entities comprise: a text entity;an outline entity; andan image entity; wherein each said content entity comprises:a plurality of attributes which collectively define the rectangle occupied by each said content entity;an attribute to store each said content entity;an attribute to indicate the name of each said content entity; andan attribute to indicate the z-ordering of the layer entities in said slide; andwherein said interpretation code interprets, said data structure in a fashion that allows said data structure to manipulate said document object model for the purpose of rendering said entire web document to said browser.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein said browser may be any kind of Web browser that supports a scripting language with a means of modifying the contents of the displayed Web pages.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein said data structure can be optimized to include only the essential information of said entire web document.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein said data structure and said interpretation code may be contained in a single file.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein said data structure may be separated out from said interpretation code.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein said root object further comprises: an array of strings that contains the titles of each said slide in said presentation.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein said root object further comprises: a first attribute, which is an index of the current slide in said presentation; a second attribute, which Is true for sample presentations;a third attribute, which is true for style presentations;a fourth attribute, which is true for template presentations;a fifth attribute, which indicates the database ID of said presentation;a sixth attribute, which indicates the total number of slides in said presentation; anda seventh attribute, which indicates the type to which said object belongs.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein each said slide further comprises: a first attribute, which indicates the type of effect to use when showing said slide;a second attribute, which indicates the name of the layout that said presentation is based on;a third attribute, which is a set of user supplied notes for said slide;a fourth attribute, which indicates the title of said slide; anda fifth attribute, which indicates the type to which said slide belongs.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein said first attribute comprises: a first value, which is a set of slide elements to slide in from the right;a second value, which is a set of slide elements to slide in from the left;a third value, which is a set of slide elements to slide in from the bottom;a fourth value, which is a set of slide elements to indicate slide in from the top;a fifth value, which is a set of slide elements to flash briefly; anda sixth value, which is a set of slide elements that reveals progressively on each mouse crick.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein said text entity further comprises: an attribute to define font point size;an attribute to define font style;an attribute to define font family;an attribute to define font weight;an attribute to define text color;an attribute to define background color;an attribute to define horizontal alignment;an attribute to define vertical alignment; andan attribute to define URL to navigate.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein said outline entity inherits all the attributes of said text entity and further comprises: an attribute to define the type of bullet;an attribute to define the value specifying how said bullet should look like; and

12. The system of claim 1, wherein said image entity further comprises: an attribute to define horizontal alignment;an attribute to define background color;an attribute to define the scaling mode to use when displaying said image;an attribute to define URL of the image to display;an attribute to define URL to navigate; andan attribute to define vertical alignment.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein said attribute to define the scaling mode to use when displaying said image comprises: a fit value, with which said image is scaled to fit exactly within the bounds of said slide;a width value, with which said image is scaled, retaining the aspect ratio, so that the width of said image fits exactly in the bounds of said slide;a height value, with which said image is scaled, retaining the aspect ratio, so that the height of said image fits exactly in the bounds of said slide; anda tile value, with which said image is tiled at said image's native size to exactly fill the image bounds.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein said image entity comprises a background element, and wherein said background element always keeps its bounds corresponding to the bounds of said slide.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein said background element always maintains its z-index at zero.

16. A computer-implemented method for delivering and rendering scalable Web pages said method comprises the steps of: creating, by executing a script, a data structure that describes an entire web document;interpreting, by an interpretation code, said data structure in a fashion that allows said data structure to manipulate a document object model for the purpose of rendering said entire web document to a browser;wherein said data structure comprises: a root object;wherein said root object comprises an array of slides and each said slide is an object representing a single slide in a presentation; andwherein each said slide comprises a plurality of content entities and each said content entity has a variety of properties;wherein said content entities comprise: a text entity:an outline entity; andan image entity: wherein each said content entity comprises:a plurality of attributes which collectively define the rectangle occupied by each said content entity;an attribute to store each said content entity;an attribute to indicate the name of each said content entity; andan attribute to indicate the z-ordering of the layer entities in said slide;wherein said entire web document is automatically updated to reflect changes to said browser whenever said browser is resized.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein said data structure can be optimized to include only the essential information of said entire web document.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein said data structure and said interpretation code may be contained in a single file.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein said data structure may be separated out from said interpretation code.