Modifiable universal resource locators (MURLs)
View Patent ↗This invention facilitates the relocation of a hypertext document and objects referenced by hypertext items. The Universal Resource Locators (URLs) in a hypertext document are identified and assessed. A modifiable URL is a URL that is associated with an object that has been relocated, or with an object that will be relocated when the hypertext document is relocated. Each modifiable URL in the document is modified to reflect the relocation of each object, and each object that has not yet been relocated is relocated. If any relocated object is another hypertext document, this other document is similarly processed to identify and update each modifiable URL, each object requiring relocation is relocated, and each relocated hypertext document is subsequently similarly processed.
1. A method for relocating objects comprising the steps of:
parsing a document for a first reference locator that references an object in a first file system;
determining a second reference locator that references a target location in a second file system;
placing a copy of the object at the target location in the second file system; and
replacing the first reference locator in the document with the second reference locator.
2. The method of claim 1 , further including the step of:
removing the object from the first file system.
3. The method of claim 1 , further including the step of:
establishing a communications link with the first file system for receiving the copy of the object.
4. The method of claim 1 , further including the step of:
establishing a communications link with the second file system for communicating the copy of the object.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the object is one of the following:
an audio message, a digital image, a video image, an audio-video recording, and another document.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first file system is associated with one of the following:
a personal computer system, a network computer, and a Web server.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein
the document is a Hypertext Markup Language document, and the first and the second reference locators are Universal Resource Locators.
8. A program containing instructions for execution by a computer, the program comprising:
a parser that parses a document and identifies a first reference to an object;
an address determinator that identifies a second reference;
a data transferrer that receives the object and transfers it to the second reference; and,
a reference replacer that replaces the first reference with the second reference.
9. The program of claim 8 , wherein:
the first reference is to a first memory device of a first computer, and,
the second reference is to a second memory device of a second-computer.
10. The program of claim 8 , wherein
the document is a Hypertext Markup Language document, and the first and the second references are Universal Resource Locators.
11. A web-server comprising:
a memory for storing a plurality of objects, each object of the plurality of objects being identified by a corresponding Universal Resource Locator (URL),
a receiver for receiving a document from a first computer system, the document containing at least one Modifiable Universal Resource Locator (MURL) that identifies a source object at the first computer system,
a data transferrer that receives the source object at the at least one MURL and stores it in a memory at a destination URL, and
a reference replacer that replaces the at least one MURL with the destination URL in a copy of the document.
12. The web-server of claim 11 , further including:
a transmitter for transferring the document and the source object to a second computer system, and
a reference locator for determining at least one remote locator for storing the source object to the second computer system;
wherein the reference replacer replaces the at least one MURL with the at least one remote locator.