JP2004094928A - Web page synchronous browsing method and system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a Web server allowing synchronous browsing of the same Web page among a plurality of client computers. <P>SOLUTION: When any of the client computers requests, to the client computer having accessed to this Web server, Web information different from Web information being currently browsed, the Web server obtains the Web information related the request by taking care of the request of the client computer, and transmits it to all the client computers in the course of accessing. By virtue of this structure, the Web page can synchronously be browsed among the plurality of client computers. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a system and method for synchronously browsing Web pages.
[0002]
[Prior art]
There is a Web page synchronous browsing system in which a plurality of client computers browse the same Web page while sharing it in real time. Usually, when accessing the Internet using a Web browser, this is basically realized by a client / server system. In other words, even though it appears that an unspecified number of client computers are simultaneously accessing one Web server, each relationship is established by a one-to-one correspondence between the server and the client computer. There is no communication between the computers. On the other hand, the Web page synchronous browsing system enables a plurality of client computers to communicate with each other while sharing the same Web page. Several prior arts are known for a method in which a plurality of client computers browse the same Web page while sharing the same Web page in real time. For example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 9-254997, there is a method in which software for realizing a sharing system is installed in advance in all client computers. Also, as in Japanese Patent Application No. 11-13394, a Web application server having a mechanism for managing communication between client computers is installed separately from a normal Web server, and further, sharing of Web pages is realized. Is automatically downloaded from a Web server to a Web browser of each client computer. In the program operated on the client side in this way, a simple program relating to instructions and procedures to be processed by a computer is directly described in HTML, and a client-side script to be executed on the Web browser or a Web browser by pasting the HTML to the HTML. There are a plug-in, a helper application, and the like that operate in cooperation with an applet or a Web browser executed on the above.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In these prior arts, a program for realizing sharing of a Web server is installed in a computer in advance from software existing outside as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 9-254997, or disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 11-13394. As described above, although there is a difference between the automatic installation format from the server and the client computer, they are common in that the client computer has a program other than the existing Web browser. However, these programs executed on the client computer side are various as described above, and each program is often developed independently for each company. Therefore, whether or not each program can be used depends on the type of the Web browser installed on the computer used by each client and the type of the OS that executes the Web browser, and the computers that can be used are limited. . Also, when downloading and using the necessary programs, if the data size is large, it takes time to download, and the traffic on the network line will inevitably increase, so the download may not be possible depending on the network line situation There is.
[0004]
The above-described problem can be a significant obstacle for the system in which a plurality of computers communicate with each other while sharing a Web page in real time. This is because it is impossible to make members of a group of clients formed randomly each time to use the same OS and the same Web browser. In addition, if any of the clients constituting a group formed to participate in real-time communication fails to download a program from a Web server via a network line and drops out of the group, synchronous communication is performed at that time. Is not satisfied. In order to prevent this, if software is distributed in advance and installed on each computer in advance, it is necessary to communicate in real time while being remote. It will be overturned for the purpose.
[0005]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and provides a system and a method for performing synchronized browsing of Web pages without preparing programs and software other than an existing Web browser on each client side. The purpose is to provide.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-described problem, the inventor has all the programs and processing systems that enable synchronized browsing of Web pages among a plurality of client computers on the server side. The specific configuration will be described later. It should be noted that the definition of terms used in the description of the invention according to any one of the claims is applied to the description of the invention according to the other claims to the extent possible in nature.
[0007]
(Characteristics of the invention described in claim 1)
A web page synchronous browsing system according to the first aspect is a system including a server and a plurality of client computers. The system updates the first information relating to the first URL possessed by the Web server to the client computer that has accessed, and checks the change in the URL and requests transmission of the information relating to the changed URL if the URL has changed. Means for transmitting together with the checking means, and when any one of the client computers accessed requests second information relating to a second URL different from the first URL, the Web server transmits the second information to the client computer. To obtain or generate the second information on the same server or from another server, and analyze the obtained or generated second information while the client computer accesses the first information. Conversion means for converting to a state capable of Means for transmitting the converted second information to all accessing client computers that have requested the transfer of the second information as information relating to the changed URL, based on the new check means, The browser of the client computer is configured to be able to activate the received update checking means. In addition, regarding the time of conversion by the conversion unit, the acquired second information is temporarily stored in a storage medium such as a ROM or a hard disk included in the Web server, and a request from the client computer based on the update check unit is stored. After the conversion, the conversion may be performed and transmitted, or the converted second information may be transmitted and stored and then transmitted in response to a request from the client.
[0008]
(Characteristics of the invention described in claim 2)
A Web server according to a second aspect of the present invention is a server for synchronously browsing the Web page among the plurality of client computers. The web server is configured to transmit the first information relating to the first URL of the web server to the client computer that has accessed the server together with the update check unit; When the client computer requests the second information related to the second URL different from the first URL, the Web server acts on behalf of the client computer and stores the second information in the same server or another server. Converting means for converting the second information acquired or generated from the first information to a state in which the client computer can analyze the first information while accessing the first information; and the converting means. Converts the converted second information into the changed URL Means for transmitting to all client computers in the access which has been a transfer request as the information relating, characterized by having a.
[0009]
(Characteristics of the invention described in claim 3)
A medium including the program according to the invention described in claim 3 is a medium including a program for synchronously browsing the Web page between the Web server and the plurality of client computers. The medium including the program includes a client computer that has accessed the first information relating to the first URL possessed by the Web server, checking a change in the URL, and if there is a URL change, the information of the information relating to the changed URL. A function of transmitting together with an update check function of requesting transmission, and when any client computer requests the second information related to the second URL different from the first URL, among all the client computers that have accessed, A function for the Web server to acquire or generate the second information on behalf of the client computer from the same server or from another server; and a function for the client computer to acquire or generate the second information. Analysis can be performed while accessing one piece of information And a function of transmitting the second information converted by the conversion function to all the accessing client computers that have requested the transfer as information relating to the changed URL. And the browser of the client computer is configured by a function capable of activating the received update check function. The medium including the program includes an external storage medium such as a CD-ROM, a DVD, an MO, or a floppy (registered trademark) disk, in addition to an auxiliary storage device such as a memory or a hard disk in the Web server.
[0010]
(Characteristics of the invention described in claim 4)
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a web page synchronous browsing method for performing a synchronous browsing of the web page between the web server and the plurality of client computers. The web page synchronous browsing method includes: transmitting the first information relating to the first URL of the web server to the accessing client computer together with the update checking means; and transmitting the first information to the client computer. The checking means checks the change in the URL, and if there is a change in the URL, requesting transmission of information on the URL after the change; and, among all the client computers that have accessed, any one of the client computers When the Web server requests the second information related to the different second URL, the Web server acts on behalf of the client computer to acquire or generate the second information from the same server or from another server; , The acquired or generated second information A conversion step of converting the first information into a state in which it can be analyzed while accessing the first information; and all of the accesses during the access requested to be transferred as information relating to the changed URL based on the update check step. And transmitting the second information converted by the conversion step to the client computer of the above (1), wherein the browser of the client computer activates the received update check unit.
[0011]
According to the Web page synchronous browsing system (Claim 1), the Web server (Claim 2) and the medium (Claim 3) or the method (Claim 4) including the program, the means necessary for the synchronous browsing of the Web page is provided. By providing all of them on the Web server side, synchronous browsing between a plurality of client computers becomes possible, so that the client computers only need to have an existing Web browser. That is, it is possible to maintain temporal synchronization without overlooking a URL change by the update check unit activated on the Web server side. In addition, the conversion unit activated on the Web server side enables the transmission of the second information via the Web server related to the first URL, so that the first URL accessed by the client computer can be transmitted to the first URL. It can be prevented from moving from a Web server based on another URL to another Web server based on another URL, and the connection of the client computer within the same Web server can be maintained. Further, as soon as all of the accessing client computers detect a URL change by the update checking unit, the transmitting unit started on the Web server side connects the second information to the first information while being connected to the first information. Can be browsed while maintaining temporal synchronization and connection to the same Web server. By means of all of the means activated on the Web server side, synchronous browsing of Web pages can be performed. Further, as described above, the client computer only needs to have an existing Web browser, and it is not necessary to install any new program when participating in the Web page synchronous browsing system. You may newly join the page synchronization browsing system.
[0012]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the overall configuration of the Web page synchronous browsing system. FIG. 2 is an operation flow of a program in the Web server. FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a window of a Web browser of the client computer. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a process between the Web server and the client for synchronously browsing the Web pages.
[0013]
(Structure of Web page synchronized browsing system)
Reference numeral 1 shown in FIG. 1 indicates the overall configuration of the Web page synchronous browsing system. The Web page synchronized browsing system 1 includes a Web page synchronized browsing system server (hereinafter, referred to as a “synchronized browsing server”) 2, a client computer 13, a client computer 15, and another Web server 19. The synchronous browsing server 2 includes an HTML file 3, various CGI programs 7, and a database 9. CGI is an abbreviation of Common Gateway Interface, and is a mechanism for allowing a Web server that has received a request from a Web browser to start a corresponding program and return an execution result of the program to the Web browser. The HTML file 3 includes a description of a link to a CGI program indicated by reference numeral 5. The client computers 13 and 15 have a standard Web browser 17. The synchronous browsing server 2 transmits the HTML file 3 in response to a Web information transfer request 20 related to the URL specified by the Web browser 17 provided in the client computer 13 or 15 (reference numeral 21). The client computer 13 or 15 analyzes the HTML file 3 transmitted from the synchronous browsing server 2 using the on-board Web browser 17 and displays it on the screen 18 of the client computer 13 or 15 if necessary. Furthermore, since the analyzed HTML file 3 contains a description 5 of links to URLs of various CGI programs, a request is made to activate the CGI program 7 relating to the URLs. The various CGI programs 7 that have received the activation request from the Web browser 17 perform the processing 11 corresponding to the instructions and procedures written in each program. The corresponding process 11 is, for example, searching the database 9 built in the synchronous browsing server 2 or another Web server 19 existing on the Internet 23 based on the inquiry information from the client computer 13 or 15, and searching results. Is transmitted to the Web browser 17 of the client computer 13 or 15. The detailed configuration of the various CGI programs 7 will be described in the following sections. Note that a plurality of HTML files 3 and CGI programs 7 may exist in the synchronous browsing server 2. In addition, the program corresponding on the Web server side may be, for example, server side scripting other than the CGI program 7. Server-side scripting is a technology for directly incorporating a CGI function into an HTML file of a Web server. Furthermore, the program itself that enables synchronous browsing may be installed in an OS (operating system) provided in the Web server in advance. Further, a program that enables synchronous browsing may be held as application software, and may be installed on a necessary Web server or may be provided as standard equipment in the Web server. Further, in the database 9, data and a shared URL in which an identification ID code and a URL history of each client computer described in the following sections are associated are registered. The database 9 does not necessarily need to be built in the synchronous viewing server 2 as in the above embodiment. A dedicated database server that performs the database function may be separately provided, and the processing may be performed in cooperation with the Web server. Further, various programs to be started in the synchronous browsing server 2 are stored as files on a hard disk in the computer, temporarily stored in a memory, or a CD-ROM, DVD, or MO Alternatively, it is stored in an external storage medium such as a floppy (registered trademark) disk. Further, the number of client computers is not limited to two as in the above embodiment, and a plurality of client computers may access one synchronous browsing server 2. Further, the number of separate Web servers 19 to be searched and information obtained in response to a request from the client computer is not limited to one, and a plurality of Web servers 19 may exist.
[0014]
(Operation flow of various CGI programs)
Next, based on FIGS. 2 and 3, the details of the operating principle of various CGI programs 7 in the synchronous viewing server 2 shown in FIG. 1 will be described. FIG. 2 shows an operation flow of various CGI programs 7 for realizing the Web page synchronous browsing system. The CGI program 7 includes an entry receiving unit 27, an update check unit 31, an input form display unit 35, a history display unit 37, another Web information acquisition unit 41, and a shared URL information display unit 45. The function of each CGI will be described step by step in the following sections.
[0015]
The entry receiving unit 27 is a CGI that is first called when the client computer 13 or 15 accesses the synchronous browsing server 2. The entry receiving means 27 has two functions. The first is to assign an identification ID to each client computer that has accessed. Second, an HTML file including links to a plurality of CGI programs is output simultaneously. First, in step S211, the client computer 13 or 15 uses the standard Web browser 17 to specify the URL of the synchronous browsing server 2 and makes a Web information transfer request. As a result, the synchronous browsing server 2 transmits an HTML file including a link to the room reception unit 27, and the web browser 17 analyzes the result as inroom. cgi29 URL, the synchronized browsing server 2 receives the inroom. An activation request for cgi 29 is made. Generally, the extension. When a command statement including cgi is described in the HTML file, the extension .. An activation request is issued to the CGI program on the Web server side related to the URL including cgi, and the CGI program is activated on the Web server side. Here, inroom. When the activation request for the cgi 29 is made, the entry acceptance unit 27 starts the activation, and in step S213, the identification ID of each client computer that has accessed is issued and written in the database 9. Next, in step S215, the four HTML files divided by the frame are called from within the synchronous browsing server 2 and transmitted to the Web browser 17 at the same time. The frame is a function of dividing one Web page into a plurality of frames. The HTML file divided by the frame and transmitted to the Web browser 17 includes, in addition to the normal homepage display screen 49, links of the update check unit 31, the input form display unit, and the history display unit 39, respectively. There are three HTML files.
[0016]
One of the HTML files transmitted by the entry receiving unit 27 is an HTML file including a link to the update checking unit 31. The function of the update checking means 31 is to check at predetermined intervals whether the URL shared by a plurality of client computers accessing the synchronized browsing server 2 has changed. It is to instruct to display the Web information based on the latest URL later. The URL sharing method will be described in the following section. For convenience of explanation, the URL of the synchronized browsing server 2 is www. aaa. co. jp. First, as a result of the Web browser 17 analyzing an HTML file including a link to the update check means 31, the updatetech. cgi33, there is an URL containing updatetech. An activation request for the cgi 33 is made. As a result, the update check means 31 starts to start, and in step S241, accesses the database 9 and reads the registered shared URL. In the next step S243, a comparison is made between the current URL of the client computer 13 or 15 requesting activation of the update check means 31 and the shared URL. In step S245, the current URL is compared with the shared URL. If the result is the same, in step S247, a tag for requesting activation of the update check unit 31 after 5 seconds <metahttp-equiv = “refresh” content = ” 5: url = http: //www.aaa.co.jp/cgi-bin/updatetech.cgi? User_id = OO & last = OOOO "> transmits an HTML file to the Web browser 17. The tag is defined by a meta tag indicating an attribute of information such as a document author and a table of contents. The update check means 31 as a CGI has a description that the identification ID of the client computer and the last update time are passed from the database 9 as arguments. If the result of the comparison between the current URL and the shared URL is different at step S245, an HTML file including an instruction to activate the shared URL information display unit 45 is transmitted to the web browser 17 at step S249. At the same time, in step S247, an HTML file in which a command sentence requesting activation of the update check unit 31 is described after 5 seconds is transmitted to the Web browser 17. That is, step S247 is performed with or without a URL change. In step S249, a program that newly transmits an instruction to activate the shared URL information display unit 45 is included in the HTML file that requests activation of the update check unit 31 after 5 seconds without transmitting the two types of HTML files. It may be set and transmitted collectively in one HTML file. Also, the time interval at which the update check means 31 is requested to start can be set to any length of time by writing an arbitrary number in the content = ";" portion of the tag. By such an operation of the update check means 31, the changed Web information is kept synchronized with all the other clients while the browsing Web information is changed by any of the accessing client computers. It becomes possible to share.
[0017]
The second HTML file transmitted by the entry receiving unit 27 is the input form display unit 35. The function of the input form display means 35 is to display a URL input form for the accessing client computer to enter another URL to be moved from the current shared URL. Further, in order to associate the URL of the client computer to which the URL has been input with the URL and manage the URL in the database 9, the identification ID is written in an HTML file for displaying the URL input form. First, as a result of the Web browser 17 analyzing an HTML file including a link to the input form display means 35, input. Since there is a URL including cgi37, input. An activation request for cgi 37 is made. As a result, the input form display means 35 starts to be activated, and in step S231, a URL input form including the identification ID is displayed.
[0018]
The third HTML file transmitted by the entry receiving unit 27 is the history display unit 39. The function of the history display means 39 is to call the history of the shared URL and display a form for displaying the history. First, as a result of analyzing the HTML file including the link to the history display unit 39 by the Web browser 17, history. Since there is a URL including the cgi40, the history. A request for starting the cgi 40 is made. As a result, the history display means 39 starts up, and in step S221, accesses the database 9 and calls the history of the registered past and current shared URL. Next, in step S223, a form for displaying the history as a pull-down menu is displayed.
[0019]
Next, how the above four HTML files transmitted to the Web browser 17 by the room receiving unit 27 are displayed on the display screen 18 of the client computer 13 or 15 will be described with reference to FIG. In the Web browser window 51, each HTML divided by the frame of the entrance receiving unit 27 is displayed. The Web browser window 51 includes a home page display screen 49, a URL input form display screen 53, a history display form display screen 59, and an HTML file (update check means link file) 65 including a link to the update check means 31. Has become. Among them, the HTML file (update check means link file) 65 including the link to the update check means 31 is hidden by setting the frame width to zero, so that it can be seen from the display screen 18 of the client computer. There is no mechanism. The URL input form display screen 53 includes a URL input field 55 and a transmission button 57 for transmitting the input URL to the synchronized viewing server 2. The history display form display screen 59 includes a URL history display field 61 displayed as a pull-down menu, and a scroll button 63 for scrolling the pull-down menu up and down.
[0020]
Next, the CGI program in the case where the client inputs or transmits a URL to each input form generated in the Web browser window 51 shown in FIG. The operation flow will be described with reference to FIG.
[0021]
First, the client inputs a URL in the URL input field 55 shown in FIG. This corresponds to step S250 shown in FIG. The Web browser 17 obtains the getURL. A request for starting the cgi 43 is made to the synchronous viewing server 2. As a result, the separate Web information acquisition unit 41 starts to start. First, a URL is obtained as an argument in step S251. Next, in step S253, another Web server 19 is searched based on the obtained URL to obtain Web information of another Web server 19 (hereinafter, referred to as "another Web information"). In step S255, conversion is performed so that the acquired separate Web information is displayed on the synchronized browsing server 2. In step S257, the current shared URL registered in the database 9 is rewritten and updated with the latest URL. As a result, all the clients other than the client accessing the synchronized browsing server 2 later detect the URL change by the update checking unit 31 and request display of the Web information relating to the updated latest URL. Will be. Then, in step S259, the converted different Web information is displayed on the homepage screen 49. Instead of inputting a URL in the URL input field 55 shown in FIG. 3, a link destination is specified and displayed in advance on the homepage screen 49 shown in FIG. By clicking, a start request for the separate Web information acquisition unit 41 can be made.
[0022]
Normally, the setting for a client computer to acquire Web information of another Web server linked to one Web server is, for example, to set the URL of another Web server to www. bbb. co. jp, <a href=“http://www.bbb.co.jp”> www. bbb. co. jp <// a>, which is described by a tag for setting a link. In this case, the Web browser itself analyzes the tag and issues a transfer request for another Web information based on the URL specified in the tag. Then, the connection with another linked Web server is started, and the connection with one of the linked Web servers is released. Therefore, in order to share a change in Web information based on a normal link among a plurality of client computers, a special program for detecting a change in Web information is installed in all client computers that intend to share the same Web information. You need to do it.
[0023]
Therefore, in the synchronous browsing server 2 according to the present invention, a tag for setting a link is set to <a href = “http://www.aaa.co.jp/cgi-bin/getURL.cgi?user_id=○ ＆& url = http% 3a% 2f% 2fww% 2ebbb% 2eco% 2ejp ″> www. bbb. co. jp <// a>. In other words, the description of the link portion is changed from a normal <a href=“URL of link destination”> to <a href=“URL of synchronous browsing server+getURL.cgi+identification ID+URL of link destination”>. As a result, instead of directly requesting another Web server 19 to transfer the Web information, the client computer 13 or 15 delivers the identification ID and the designated URL to the synchronous browsing server 2 as arguments, and the separate Web information acquisition unit 41 Will be requested. The synchronous browsing server 2 activates the separate Web information acquisition means 41 based on the request, and acquires the different Web information on behalf of the client computer 13 or 15. Then, the separate Web information is displayed via the synchronized browsing server 2. As a result, the client computers 13 and 15 can share the Web information while preventing the connection from the synchronous viewing server 2 from being released.
[0024]
Next, the client selects an arbitrary URL from the history of the shared URL displayed in the URL history display field 61 shown in FIG. 3 by scrolling the scroll button 63 of the pull-down format up and down. This corresponds to step S260 shown in FIG. By the click operation of the client, the web browser 17 displays the showURL. A request for starting cgi47 is made to the synchronous browsing server 2. As a result, the shared URL information display means 45 starts to start. First, a URL is acquired as an argument in step S261. In step S263, the Web information related to the URL converted by the separate Web information obtaining unit 41 is obtained from the file of the storage destination. In step S265, the acquired Web information related to the URL is displayed on the homepage screen 49. As described above, if the result of the comparison between the current URL and the shared URL is different in step S245 according to the update check unit 31, an instruction to start the shared URL information display unit 45 is included in step S249. The HTML file is transmitted to the Web browser 17. Therefore, even in step S249 related to the update check unit 31, the Web browser 17 issues a request to start the shared URL information display unit 45. In this case as well, after steps S261 and S263, in step S265, the Web information relating to the changed shared URL is displayed on the homepage screen 49. By the functions of the various CGI programs described above, a Web page synchronous browsing system can be realized only by providing an existing Web browser on the client computer side.
[0025]
Referring to FIG. 4, a process for synchronously browsing Web pages according to the method of the present invention will be described with reference to a flowchart. First, in step S411, a transfer request of the Web information of the synchronous viewing server 71 based on the URL (1) is made from the client PC 69. In step S413, similarly to step S411, a transfer request of the Web information of the synchronous browsing server 71 based on the URL (1) is made from another client PC 73. In steps S415 and S417, Web information is transmitted from the synchronous viewing server 71 in response to a request from each of the client PCs 69 and 73. Thereafter, in step S419, a transfer request for Web information based on the URL (2) is made from the client PC 69 to the synchronous viewing server 71. In step S421, the synchronized viewing server 71 compares the currently shared URL with the URL for which a new request has been made. However, since the currently shared URL is empty, it is considered that the URL has changed. As a result, in step S423, the synchronized viewing server 71 activates a program for acquiring a new URL. In step S425, a transfer request of Web information is made to another Web server 75 related to URL (2). In step S427, in response to a request from the synchronous browsing server 71, the different Web server 75 transmits Web information related to the URL (2) (hereinafter, referred to as “another Web information”) to the synchronous browsing server 71. . In step S429, the synchronous browsing server 71 activates a program that converts the acquired different Web information into a state that can be displayed on the synchronous browsing server 71. In step S431, the separate Web information related to the converted URL (2) is transmitted to the client PC 69. In step S433, the separate Web information related to the converted URL (2) is stored on the synchronized browsing server 71. The order of the conversion work in step S429 and the storage work in step S433 can be interchanged. Then, in step S435, the process waits until there is a request from the client PC 69 or 73 to start the update check program. Then, since there is a request to start the update check program from the client PC 73, in step S439, separate Web information related to the converted URL (2) is transmitted. In step S441, since a request to transfer Web information related to the URL (3) has been received from the client PC 73, the processing from step S421 is repeated again. Synchronous browsing of Web pages is performed between a plurality of client computers while repeating the above processing procedure.
[0026]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, by providing the server side with all the programs that enable synchronized browsing of Web pages between a plurality of client computers, an OS or the like that occurs when a client computer has a program for synchronized browsing is provided. Synchronous browsing is prevented from failing due to differences in browser types or download difficulties due to network line congestion, and the client computer can perform synchronous browsing only by having an existing Web browser.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the overall configuration of a Web page synchronous browsing system.
FIG. 2 is an operation flow of a program in a Web server.
FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a window of a Web browser of a client computer.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a process between a Web server and a client for synchronously browsing Web pages.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Web page synchronous browsing system
2 Synchronous browsing system server
3 HTML files
5 Link description to CGI program
7 Various CGI programs
9 Database
11 Correspondence processing
13 Client computer
15 Client computer
17 Web browser
18 Display screen
19 Separate Web server
20 HTML file transfer request
21 HTML file transmission
23 Internet
24 External storage media
27 Entry acceptance means
29 inroom. cgi
31 Update check means
33 updatetech. cgi
35 Input form display means
37 input. cgi
39 History display means
40 history. cgi
41 Different Web Display Means
43 getURL. cgi
45 Shared URL information display means
47 showURL. cgi
49 Homepage display screen
51 Web browser window
53 URL input form display screen
55 URL input field
57 Submit button
59 History display form display screen
61 URL history display field
63 scroll button
65 Update check means link file
69 Client PC
71 Synchronous browsing system server
73 Client PC
75 Separate Web Server

Claims (4)

A web page synchronized browsing system including a web server and a plurality of client computers,
Means for transmitting, by the web server, first information relating to the first URL of the web server to an accessing client computer together with an update check means for requesting transmission of the information relating to the changed URL based on the URL change; and
When any of the client computers that have accessed the client requests second information related to a second URL different from the first URL, the Web server substitutes the client computer for the second information. Converting means for obtaining or generating the second information, and converting the obtained or generated second information into a state in which all the client computers can analyze the first information, and the second information converted by the converting means Means for transmitting to all of the accessing client computers that have requested transfer as information relating to the URL after the change,
The browser of the client computer is configured to be able to start the received update check means,
A synchronized Web page browsing system. A Web server for synchronously browsing Web pages between a plurality of client computers,
Means for transmitting the first information relating to the first URL possessed by the Web server to the client computer which has accessed, together with the update check means; and
When any one of the client computers that have accessed the client requests the second information relating to the second URL different from the first URL, the Web server acts on behalf of the client computer and performs the second Conversion means for acquiring or generating the second information, and converting the acquired or generated second information into a state in which all the client computers can analyze the first information, and the second information converted by the conversion means. Means for transmitting the information to all of the accessing client computers that have requested transfer as information relating to the URL after the change.
A Web server characterized by the above-mentioned. A medium including a program for synchronously browsing a Web page between a Web server and a plurality of client computers,
A function of transmitting the first information relating to the first URL possessed by the Web server to the accessing client computer together with an update check function for requesting transmission of information relating to the changed URL based on the URL change, and,
When any one of the client computers that have accessed the client requests the second information relating to the second URL different from the first URL, the Web server acts on behalf of the client computer and performs the second A conversion function of acquiring or generating the second information, and converting the acquired or generated second information into a state in which all of the client computers can analyze the first information; A function of transmitting the information to all of the accessing client computers that have requested the transfer as information relating to the URL after the change,
The browser of the client computer is configured by a function capable of activating the received update check function.
A medium including a program characterized by the above-mentioned. A method for synchronously browsing a Web page between a Web server and a plurality of client computers,
A step in which the Web server transmits the first information relating to the first URL of the Web server to the client computer that has accessed the server together with the update check unit; and
When any one of the client computers that have accessed the client requests the second information relating to the second URL different from the first URL, the Web server acts on behalf of the client computer and performs the second Acquiring or generating the second information, and converting the acquired or generated second information into a state in which all the client computers can analyze the first information, and converting the second information converted by the conversion unit. Transmitting the information to all of the accessing client computers that have requested the transfer as information relating to the changed URL,
Launching the received update checking means by the browser of the client computer,
A synchronized Web page browsing method.

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