Source File Mapping for Dynamic Web Content

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Solution Overview

Problem

In web development, identifying and modifying specific content across multiple source files can be challenging due to the complex nature of web page composition and the dynamic generation of content by web servers, often requiring manual searches or reliance on memory.

Innovation Solution

The integration of metadata within HTML files or separate files that maps content back to its source, allowing developers to associate character positions and location ranges in fetched files with their corresponding source files, enabling precise identification and modification through browser modules and server-side processing.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If web servers dynamically generate content by processing multiple source files and assembling them into single HTML responses, then the web server can produce flexible and dynamic web pages, but the developer cannot easily identify which source file contains specific content when modifications are needed

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedynamic content generationVSAvoidsource file identification
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSDifficulty of detecting and measuring

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces metadata as an intermediary element that bridges the gap between dynamically generated HTML content and its source files. The metadata contains mapping information that links HTML content segments back to their originating source files, allowing developers to trace content without manually searching through multiple source files. This intermediary mapping mechanism resolves the contradiction by maintaining dynamic content generation while enabling easy source identification.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Measurement precision

If a web developer manually searches through multiple source files to find specific content, then the developer can identify the correct file, but the process becomes time-consuming and inefficient

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecontent location accuracyVSAvoidfile search time
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies preliminary action by pre-generating metadata that contains source file mapping information during the HTML content generation process. Instead of requiring developers to search through source files when content needs to be modified, the mapping information is prepared in advance and embedded in the HTML response. This allows developers to immediately locate the correct source file without time-consuming manual searches, thus reducing time loss while maintaining precise content location accuracy.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

3Adaptability or versatility

If web servers assemble multiple source files into single HTML responses, then the web server can create complex web pages from modular components, but the complexity of managing and tracking multiple source files increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveweb page composition flexibilityVSAvoidfile management complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The metadata acts as an intermediary that simplifies file management complexity while preserving composition flexibility. The metadata contains organized mapping information that links HTML content to source files, providing a structured overview of which source files contribute to which parts of the web page. This reduces the complexity of tracking multiple source files while maintaining the ability to assemble complex web pages from modular components.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Data Source

PatentEP2721520B1Selection mapping between fetched files and source files
Publication Date: 2021.08.11 MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING LLC
  • EP2721520B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP2721520B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP2721520B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

An element in a fetched file (a file received from the web server in response to an HTTP request) can be mapped to the source code that generated it and vice versa. When code is compiled at the web server, calls can be executed that emit HTML that includes metadata that maps a snippet of code back to a particular source file and to a particular location in the source file. The HTML can include injected symbols that specify that the information from a particular start position for a particular character length in the HTML comes from a particular start position to a particular end position in the source file.