Optimized rendering of dynamic content
In a client/server environment, rendering of web-based content is separated into two phases, so as to improve the applicability of HTML response caching. Static portion(s) of a web page are cached and delivered immediately in response to an HTTP request, concurrently with sending a request for a full page and extracting dynamic portion(s) therefrom. Dynamic portion(s) are filled in at the client as they become available. The system and method of the present invention enable optimization of the user experience to occur without requiring any recoding of the original page content.
1. A computer-implemented method for presenting content in a client/server environment, comprising:
at a proxy device communicatively coupled to a client and a server via a communications network, performing the steps of:
intercepting a request from the client for a content item; and
responsive to a template page being available for the intercepted request:
retrieving the template page from a cache of the proxy device, wherein the template page only contains at least one static content element with a placeholder for at least one dynamic content element of the content item, wherein the placeholder is to be rendered as a visible object at the client, and wherein the at least one dynamic content element is identified in the content item using a regular expression;
transmitting only the retrieved template page to the client for display at the client as an initial response to the request;
transmitting a request to a server for the content item requested in the intercepted request;
receiving a response from the server, the response comprising the at least one dynamic content element;
identifying the at least one dynamic content element within the received response;
packaging the at least one dynamic element in a consumable format;
transmitting the at least one dynamic content element to the client for display at the client in the place of the placeholder on the template page;
wherein transmitting the at least one dynamic content element to the client is performed in response to a request from the client for the at least one dynamic content element;
further comprising, responsive to receiving a request from the client for the at least one dynamic content element prior to the dynamic content element being received from the server, responding to the request from the client with an indication that the at least one dynamic content element is not available.
2. A computer-implemented method for presenting content in a client/server environment, comprising:
at a proxy device communicatively coupled to a client and a server via a communications network, performing the steps of:
intercepting a request from the client for a content item; and
responsive to a template page being available for the intercepted request:
retrieving the template page from a cache of the proxy device, wherein the template page only contains at least one static content element with a placeholder for at least one dynamic content element of the content item, wherein the place holder is to be rendered as a visible object at the client, and wherein the at least one dynamic content element is identified in the content item using a regular expression;
transmitting only the retrieved template page to the client for display at the client as an initial response to the request;
transmitting a request to a server for the content item requested in the intercepted request;
receiving a response from the server, the response comprising the at least one dynamic content element;
identifying the at least one dynamic content element within the received response;
packaging the at least one dynamic element in a consumable format;
transmitting the at least one dynamic content element to the client for display at the client in the place of the placeholder on the template page;
wherein transmitting the at least one dynamic content element to the client is performed in response to a request from the client for the at least one dynamic content element;
further comprising, responsive to receiving a request from the client for the at least one dynamic content element prior to the dynamic content element being received from the server:
holding the request open until the dynamic content element is received from the server; and
subsequent to receiving the dynamic content element from the server, transmitting the at least one dynamic content element to the client.