SE511368C2 - Procedure, address table and server for creating a link in a web page - Google Patents

Abstract

A method of creating a link in a web page viewed in a browser is disclosed, said link at any time leading to one of a number of possible end points (5a-5e; 105, 106), the method comprising the steps of: providing an address table (9; 109) in or in connection to the host (7; 107) from which the web page is retrieved, said address table providing the addresses of the possible end points (5a-5e; 105, 106) at which the link may point, and when a user clicks on the link, selecting one of the possible end points (5a-5e; 105, 106) from the table (9; 109) and setting up a connection to said end point (5a-5e; 105, 106). An address table (9; 109) and a web server (7; 107) for use with the invention are also disclosed.

Description

15 20 25 511 see 2 darens computer. In this document, the term CGI should be interpreted in the broadest possible way, ie. such as covering all the different methods of creating web pages using scripts.

Both traditional pages and CGI pages can include hyperlinks, or more simply expressed links. When you click on such a link with a mouse button, an HTTP request to a suitable web server is started, which in turn starts up certain actions, e.g. to open another web page. A link can also be used to send e-mail to a specific recipient or to call a network user who has an IP phone connected to, or built into, their computer. If a gateway is used between the networks, a call can of course be connected to a telephone in a telephone network instead.

A link can only lead to a specific web page or, for example, an IP phone or e-mail address. To get in touch with one of a number of terminals, a more visible link is needed.

For example, when calling someone, such as a travel agent, you should preferably connect with the most suitable person available. This can be, for example, the person who has handled your order before, or someone who is a specialist in the user's special requests. If there are no preferences, you should connect with anyone who is not busy.

There is often information that is often used on your various web servers, to distribute the load. For example, a server in the US and one in Europe may contain the same information. The user may wish to connect to the nearest server or the server that has the least load at a given time.

For standard telephone connections, the group of telephones is handled by a private exchange that routes an incoming call to a free connection. As mentioned above, traditional links in a web page can only lead to a specific destination and not select one of several destinations. 10 20 5l11 368 Summary of the connection idea It is an object of the present invention to make it possible to establish an Internet connection to one of a number of possible connections.

It is another object of the invention to achieve visible links in an IP network using a web browser.

It is another purpose to create a link whose end point is determined when you click on the link depending on the time and conditions of the moment.

The above objects are achieved according to the invention with a method for creating a link in a web page displayed in a browser on a computer, which link at any given time leads to one of a number of possible endpoints, which method comprises the steps of - an address table is provided in or adjacent to the host node fi from which the web page is retrieved, which address table provides the addresses of the possible endpoints to which the link can point, and - when a user clicks on the link, one of the possible endpoints is selected from the table and a connection to said endpoint is connected.

An address table that can be accessed from or included in a web server in an IP network, comprising the addresses of at least one host node or terminal in the IP network and a web server comprising such an address table is also described.

The links can be any type of internet links, for example addresses (HTTP addresses), e-mail addresses or IP telephone connections. f The invention offers the following advantages: 10 15 20 25 511368 4 A user can contact the most suitable of a group of people at any given time by telephone or electronic mail, by clicking on a link that is common to the group.

The method can be used without extra equipment by the user and very little extra equipment at all.

Brief Description of the Drawings Figure 1 is a block diagram of a first embodiment of the invention, Figure 2 is a block diagram of a second embodiment of the invention, Figure 3 is a flow chart of the connection of a connection according to the invention; Figure 4 is a diagram of the procedure for selecting an address for the connection according to an embodiment of the invention, Figure 5 is a diagram of the procedure for selecting an address for the connection according to another embodiment of the invention.

Detailed Description of Embodiments Figure 1 shows a first embodiment of the invention. A first computer used by a user ul, and which may be a personal computer, a workstation or a terminal in a computer network or belonging to a mainframe, comprises a web browser. The computer 1 is connected to an IP telephone 3 so that telephone connections can be connected from the computer 1 in a known manner. The IP phone can also be found built into the computer l.

A number of terminals Sa, 5b, 5c, Sd, 5e belong to the same group 5, e.g. an a fi is or a travel agency. When a connection is to be connected from the computer 1 to one of the terminals 5a, 5b, 5c, Sd, Sd, no specific terminal is probably desired. The user may not even know the number of any of the terminals. The travel agency has a website on the Internet, which is located on a web server 7. 10 15 20 5 511 368 Typically, the user ul has opened the travel agency's website in the browser on the computer l.

The website may include a link to the travel agency in which terminals 5a-5e are located.

By clicking on said link, the user can establish a connection to one of the terminals 5a-5e. The tenninal to which connection is to be made can be selected according to different laiteries, which will be discussed in more detail in connection with Figures 4 and 5.

The simplest situation is to select any of the terminals that are vacant at a given time. The terminal to which connection is to be made can therefore vary with time, which presupposes an fl exible link.

According to the invention, such an exemplary link is created by inserting an address table 9 in or adjacent to the web server 7. The address table 9 includes the addresses of all terminals 5a-5e belonging to the group 5, together with information on the status of each connection and possibly other relevant information. when a terminal is to be selected. In the example of the travel agency, each terminal may be associated with e.g. a geographical area and the terminal is selected based on where the user wants to travel.

When the user ul wants to get in touch with the travel agency, he clicks on the telephone link in the website to establish a connection. The link may have the form "http: // host / call (a, b)" where the host is the address of the web server 7, a is the identity of the caller and b is the address of the call center, ie. in the example, the address table of the travel agency, which is located on the web server 7. This starts a CGI program or the like which creates a web page. In this case, the web page includes commands to be executed rather than information to be displayed. The script may include fl your commands, but the important command in this case is the command to connect the call.

As explained above, it can not be determined before clicking on the link which of the terminals 5a-5e the connection is to be connected to. This may be due to the situation at the moment, and / or the subscriber may have a profile that specifies special llll 1.1 10 15 20 lx) UI '511 368 6 interests or requirements. The user profile is preferably stored in or adjacent to the web server or address table. The terminal to which connection is to be made is determined by looking up in the address table 9 which is in or in connection with the web server 7. The exact address can be chosen according to different algorithms as discussed below in connection with fi gur 4 and 5. No standard has they been fi telephone connection commands. A known syntax, used by Microsoft Explorer, is "callto: address" where address is the address to which connection should take place. In the case described here, b is replaced by the URL “http: // host / call (a, b)”, which denotes the travel agency 5 with the address of an individual terminal 5a-5e located at the travel agency.

The address can e.g. be an IP address.

In a preferred embodiment, the web page comprises two commands, namely the last of the three initiating the connection. The first command simply goes back to displaying the previous web page on the browser. In this way, the user still sees the travel agency's website with only a short break. The second command starts the IP phone service if it is not already active, and connects the call.

Instead of connecting the telephone connection, the link may be intended to send e-mail to one of a number of addresses. In this case, the command "mailtozb" is used instead of "callto: b". The address to which the e-mail is to be sent can be selected in a manner similar to that discussed in connection with Figures 4 and 5.

Figure 2 shows another embodiment of the invention. As in 1 giir 1, a computer lOl includes a web browser. A web page, including an apprenticeship, is open to the reader. In this case, the link points to a group of individual sites 105, 106, all of which include the same web page, fi l or the like. In other words, the information to be retrieved by clicking on the link can be found on each site 105, 106. The user of the computer 101 therefore wants the link to point to the fastest site on each site, depending on the current load. Alternatively, the user wants the link to point to the site closest to the computer 101 to minimize the connection cost. Alternatively, if one of the sites is inaccessible for any reason, the user wants the link to point to the site that is currently available. The link must therefore be fl visible.

This is resolved in a manner similar to that described in connection with Figure 1: a web server 107 includes an address table 109, which in turn includes address information and availability and instant load information for each site containing the same information. The link to the site as before, a CG-I program that creates a web page containing commands. As above, the script may include fl your commands, but the important command in this context is the command to open the new site.

As explained above, it is not possible to decide before clicking on the link which of the sites 105, 106 to join. This is determined by looking up the address stack 109 found on the web server 107. As discussed above, the exact address can be selected depending on which is the fastest, or cheapest, or simply which is available.

The browser must be able to handle interactive web pages, or scripts.

Figure 3 shows the steps performed to connect a connection according to the format: Step S31: The user clicks on the link on the web page. An HT TP request is thus sent to the web server.

Step S32: HTTP request is interpreted by the web server, e.g. with a CGI.

Step S33 The CGI program creates a web page containing a script, e.g. a J avaScript, using data from the address register.

Step S34 The HTTP response is sent to the browser.

The browser receives and executes the script. t »rett r Ü Lliili fi ülliinll * i is 10 15 20 25 511 368 s Step S36: The IP phone is started when needed. This is needed if a telephone connection is to be established and the IP telephone is not already active.

Figure 4 shows the terminals for selecting a terminal to connect to according to an embodiment of the invention: Step S41: Has the user been connected to any of the terminals before? If yes, go to step S42, if not, go to step S44.

Step S42: Is a specialist in the desired field available? For example, a specialist in the desired destination. If yes, go to step S43, if not, go to step S45.

Step S43: Select the terminal identified in step S41 or S42.

Step S44: Is the line to the terminal selected in step S43 free? If yes, go to step S46, if no, wait until the line becomes free and go to step S46. in Step S45: Select any available terminal.

Step S46: Connect the connection between the computer 1 and the selected terminal.

Of course, according to another embodiment, the user can avoid waiting for a line to become free in steps S42 and S45. If the line is not free, the procedure continues instead with step S44 or step S47 directly. It may be appropriate to set up a plan for which terminal to connect to, so that calls are not always connected to the same terminal.

Figure 5 shows the lotteries for selecting a host to connect to, in the situation shown in Fig. 2, according to an embodiment of the invention.

Step S51: The host node closest to terminal 101 is selected.

Step S52: Is the selected node up? If yes, go to step S54, if not, go to step S53.

Step S53: Select the next nearest host node. Go to step S52. 511 368 9 Step S54: Is the selected emergency overloaded? If yes, go to step S53, if not, go to step S55.

Step S55: Connect to the selected host node.

As the person skilled in the art easily realizes, this is only one of many possible algorithms for choosing a node to connect to. It is of course possible, e.g. to determine the load of each host node, in this case for nodes 105 and 106 in fi gur 2, and connect the one with the lowest load at the moment.

Claims (15)

a: ll såå - 511 368 10 15 20 25 30 10 Patent claim Method for creating a link in a web page displayed in a web browser on a computer, which link at any given time leads to one of a number of possible endpoints, characterized by the steps of: - an address table is provided in or adjacent to the host node from which the web page is retrieved, which address table provides the addresses of the possible endpoints to which the link can point, - when a user clicks on the link, one of the possible endpoints is selected from the table and a connection is connected to said endpoint . Method according to claim 1, characterized in that a possible end point is selected according to the user's preferences. Method according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that an end point to which the user has previously been connected is selected. j Method according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the end point closest to the user is selected. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the end point which at the moment has the lowest load is selected. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the end point is an IP telephone or an e-mail address. Method according to one of Claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the end point is a host node in the system. 10 15 20 25 30 511 ses 11 Address table (9; 109) characterized in that - it is accessible from or included in, a web server in an IP network; it includes the addresses of at least one host node or terminal (Sa-Se) in the IP network. Address table (9; 109) according to claim 8, characterized in that it comprises IP addresses of terminals in said IP network. Address table (9; 109) according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that it includes information, for each host node or terminal, about the current load on the host node or terminal (Sa-Se, 105, 106). A server (7; 107) in an IP network comprising web pages and / or scripts that can be used to create web pages in a web browser located in a computer (1; 101) connected to said P network, and for receiving HTTP requests from said computer (1; 101), characterized in that it comprises, or has access to, an address table (9; 109) comprising the addresses of at least two host nodes or terminals (5a-5e) in IP - The net. Server (7; 107) according to claim 11, characterized in that it comprises logic for, when a link to an address table is clicked in said computer (1; 101), selecting a suitable host node or terminal (5a-5e; 105 , 106) in the table (9; 109) and send the address of the appropriate host node or terminal (Sa-Se; 105, 106) to the computer (1; 101). Server (7; 107) according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that said address table comprises IP addresses of terminals in said IP network. A server (7; 107) according to claim 11, 12 or 13, characterized in that said address stack comprises information for each of the host nodes or terminals, about the current load for the host node or terminal (Sa-Se, 105, 106). ). i min mil l a; in; .I n. 5111 ses 12 Server (7; 107) according to any one of claims 11-14, characterized in that it comprises user profiles for users who have been connected to the server (7; 107) which specify each user's special requirements or wishes.