Base Client Module for Web Application Data Retrieval
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Solution Overview
Problem
Programmers face challenges in obtaining data from web applications in a usable format, as current methods require extensive coding to parse and reformat HTTP responses, making it time-consuming and not easily reusable across different web applications.
Innovation Solution
A base client module facilitates communication between client applications and web applications by receiving requests, interacting with the server module to obtain data in a non-web page format, and reformating it for the client application, simplifying data utilization and reducing the need for extensive coding.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a programmer codes the client application to make queries specific to a particular web application and parses the returned data, then the client application can obtain data in a usable format, but the programming complexity and time consumption increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a base client as an intermediary component between the client application and the web application. This base client handles the complexity of making HTTP requests, parsing HTML/XHTML responses, and extracting data automatically. The client application simply calls high-level methods on the base client without dealing with the underlying parsing complexity, thus resolving the contradiction between ease of data retrieval and programming complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The base client is designed to automatically perform data extraction and formatting tasks without requiring manual programming intervention for each web application. It self-services by implementing generic parsing logic that works across different web applications, eliminating the need for programmers to write custom parsing code for each case and reducing both programming complexity and time consumption.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a programmer codes the client application to parse and reformat returned data, then the data can be utilized by the client application, but the coding is not easily reusable across different web applications
Solution Approach 1:
The base client is designed as a universal component that can interact with multiple different web applications through a standardized interface. It implements multi-functional capabilities to handle various web application responses using the same parsing and extraction logic. This universality allows the base client to be reused across different web applications without requiring additional programming, thereby increasing reusability and reducing time consumption.
3Ease of operation
If web applications return data in HTML or XHTML format, then the data can be displayed in a web browser, but the data is not in a convenient format for client application utilization
Solution Approach 1:
The base client acts as an intermediary that automatically converts HTML/XHTML response data into a convenient format for client application utilization. It implements parsing logic that extracts relevant data from the HTML structure and transforms it into usable formats such as dictionaries, lists, or other data structures that client applications can easily consume, eliminating the need for manual data processing complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
The apparatus includes a base client module and a server module. The base client module receives requests from a client application on a client computer. The base client module calls a resource of a web application. A server module transparently interacts with the logic of the web application to obtain the requested data and sends it back to the base client in a format handled by the base client. The base client can then reformat the data to a client application requested format before passing the data to the client application. This method allows a client application programmer to obtain easily usable data from a web application by using the base client.