Claims
- 1. A method of electronically publishing information to a plurality of on-line information services from a plurality of geographically remote sites by way of a central location, comprising the steps of, for each of said plurality of sites:
- establishing a first database portion at the central location and a second database portion at the site, where the second database portion is a substantial replica of the first database portion;
- changing the second database portion at the site;
- reporting changes in the second database portion to the central location;
- updating the first database portion to reflect changes to the second database portion reported to the central location; and
- from the central location, publishing at least a part of the first database portion to plurality of on-line information service, each on-line service providing for the electronic retrieval of information in a predetermined on-line format by any of a large number of geographically remote service users;
- wherein the first database portion of a site is published to one on-line information service in one-line format and the first database portion of a site is published to another different on-line information service in a different on-line format.
- 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first database portion and the second database portion each comprise a plurality of information items.
- 3. The method of claim 2, comprising the further step of:
- at the site, designating an information item to be published to at least one particular information service;
- wherein said publishing step comprises producing and appending to the information item a service information item specific to that particular information service, and publishing the information item to that particular information service.
- 4. The method of claim 3, wherein said designating step comprises designating the information item to be published to a plurality of information services, and said publishing step comprises producing and appending to the item a plurality of service information items each specific to a particular one of the information services, and publishing the information item to each of the particular information services.
- 5. The method of claim 4, wherein at least some of the plurality of information services are based on different computing platforms.
- 6. The method of claim 4, wherein publishing the information item to each of the particular information services comprises the steps of, for each particular information service:
- retrieving from the first database portion the information item and the service information item specific to that particular information service;
- inputting the information item and the service information item specific to that particular information service to a program entity specific to that particular information service;
- using the program entity specific to that particular information service to produce output information compatible with that particular information service; and
- electronically transmitting the output information to that particular information service.
- 7. The method of claim 2, wherein, at each of the plurality of sites and at the central location, multiple program entities, including information items, are allowed to subscribe to changes to any information item, comprising the further steps of, at each of the plurality of sites and at the central location:
- registering a plurality of program entities as subscribing to changes to a particular information item;
- changing the particular information item; and
- broadcasting to each program entity registered as subscribing to changes to the information item a notice describing changes to the information item.
- 8. The method of claim 7, comprising the further steps of:
- sending a synchronization notice from one of the sites to the central location a notice describing changes to an information item changed at the one site.
- 9. The method of claim 8, wherein each program entity and each information item is identified by a identifier, comprising the further steps of:
- at the central location, sending the synchronization notice to a program entity having a same identifier as the information item changed at the site, wherein the program entity is a corresponding information item corresponding to the information item changed; and
- changing the corresponding information item to reflect changes to the information item changed at the one site.
- 10. The method of claim 9, comprising file further step of:
- at the central location, broadcasting, to each program entity registered as subscribing to changes to the corresponding information item, a notice describing changes to the information item.
- 11. The method of claim 10, wherein each program entity includes a first program segment governing how that program entity will respond to notices, other than said synchronization notice, of changes to an information item to which the program entity has subscribed, comprising the further steps of:
- receiving at each program entity registered as subscribing to changes to the information item the notice describing changes to the information item; and
- at each program entity registered as subscribing to changes to the information item, responding to the notice describing changes to the information item in a manner prescribed by the first program segment included within that program entity.
- 12. The method of claim 11, wherein each program entity includes second program segment governing how that program entity will respond to said synchronization notice, comprising the further steps of:
- receiving the synchronization notice at a program entity having a same identifier as the information item changed at the one site; and
- responding to the synchronization notice in a manner prescribed by the second program segment included within that program entity.
- 13. The method of claim 7, wherein program entities am allowed to cancel subscriptions to changes to any information item, comprising the further step of:
- deleting registration of a program entity that previously subscribed to changes to a particular information item but later cancelled its subscription to changes to the information item.
- 14. The method of claim 13, comprising the further step of deleting an information item from the first database portion.
- 15. The method of claim 14, wherein an information item is deleted only after any previous subscriptions to changes in that information item have been cancelled.
Parent Case Info
This application is a continuation, of Application Ser. No. 08/315,915, filed Sep. 30, 1994, now abandoned.
US Referenced Citations (11)
Continuations (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
315915 |
Sep 1994 |
|