Embedded Browser Hosting for Legacy Web App Compatibility
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Solution Overview
Problem
Content developed for specific web browser types and versions often becomes incompatible with newer browsers, necessitating the use of outdated versions, which is inconvenient for users and resource-intensive to manage multiple versions.
Innovation Solution
An integrated approach where a second web browser compatible with incompatible content is invoked within the window of a first browser, using a host browser interface to provide rendering and contextual information to the first browser, allowing seamless display of content across different browser compatibilities without separate windows.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a second web browser is invoked to run incompatible content, then compatibility with web applications is improved, but device complexity increases due to multiple browser instances
Solution Approach 1:
The patent embeds a second web browser instance within the window of a first web browser, allowing the second browser to render incompatible content while the first browser maintains its interface and controls. This nesting approach enables running content for different browser versions without requiring separate standalone browser windows, thus improving compatibility while managing system complexity through hierarchical integration.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a second web browser is invoked in a separate window, then compatibility with web applications is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates due to window switching
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the second browser's rendering capabilities with the first browser's user interface by displaying the second browser's content within the first browser's window. This combination allows users to access incompatible web applications without leaving the first browser environment, eliminating the need to switch between separate windows and maintaining operational convenience while achieving compatibility.
3Ease of operation
If rendering information is shared between browsers, then user experience is improved through seamless display, but device complexity increases due to information integration
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs an intermediary mechanism where the first browser acts as a host that receives and integrates rendering information from the second browser instance. The host browser interface mediates between the embedded second browser and the user, translating and coordinating rendering outputs to achieve seamless display. This intermediary approach manages the complexity of information integration by providing a controlled interface layer between the two browser systems.
Data Source
Figure 1A~1B
Figure 2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
An integrated approach is provided to running web applications with various compatibilities that do not require third-party extensions or sacrifice user experience. When a page of an application incompatible with a first browser is to be executed, an instance of a second browser with which the page is compatible is separately invoked and/or executed without opening a window for that second browser. Instead, the second browser opens a page within the window of the first browser. Moreover, rendering and/or contextual information for a page opened via the second browser is provided to the first browser. Such information is utilized by the first browser to provide a visual experience to the user in which the web page is being hosted by the first browser, even though it is in fact being hosted by the second browser.