JP2004272871A - Method and system for extracting and distributing data in web contents - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize a method and system for extracting and distributing data in web contents, which can distribute only needed data to a terminal without reworking the existing web contents. <P>SOLUTION: A contents editing device 120 extracts only needed data in the existing web contents, generates an XML (extensible markup language) file with position information and a data type in the web contents of the data and sends the XMl file to a conversion server 130. The conversion server 130 generates a web service and a WSDL file from the XML file. A stub program 151 that is operated by a client is generated on the basis of the WSDL file. When the client issues a data acquisition request through the stub program 151, the web service of the conversion server 130 receives the request, acquires the web contents from the web server on the basis of the XML file, extracts the data and returns the data to the client. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a method and a system for extracting and distributing only necessary data portions in Web contents using Web service technology and editing and distributing unnecessary data so as not to distribute them. It is.

  With the spread of the Internet, Web services are spreading. The Web service is a Web-based application (that is, a software component existing on a network) that can be accessed and used from other software or a Web application using XML and SOAP.

  With reference to FIG. 33, an outline of the Web service will be briefly described. First, in order to use the Web service, it is necessary to pass a service request or a parameter from the client 3301 to the server 3302, or to return a processing result from the server 3302 to the client 3301. In the Web service, the exchange is realized by an XML (extensible markup language) format message on a communication protocol such as HTTP or SMTP. The communication protocol is SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol). That is, the SOAP is a communication protocol that defines a processing rule for a message used in a Web service. WSDL (Web Service Description Language) is an XML format language for describing an interface of a Web service. That is, what data type parameters are passed from the client 3301 to the server 3302? What is the data type returned from server 3302? It is a language for describing etc.

  On the other hand, in order to browse Web content for non-mobile terminals created for PC users, for example, with a mobile phone having a small screen size, the content is created in XML, and the content for non-mobile and mobile terminals is created using XML tags. A method of distinguishing and extracting only necessary information by XSLT (XSL Transformation) is known.

  Further, Japanese Patent Application No. 2002-091776 (identical to the present applicant and not disclosed at the time of filing of the present application) discloses that Web contents for non-mobile terminals created for PC users are intended for mobile terminals such as mobile phones having a small screen size. A technology for re-editing and distributing is described.

  Here, a travel agency service, which is a typical model using a Web service, will be described in comparison with a conventional Web application.

  FIG. 34 shows a travel agency service system using a conventional Web application. The aircraft reservation site 3401, the hotel reservation site 3402, and the rental car reservation site 3403 are all constructed as Web applications. The user of the client 2000 accesses the aircraft reservation site 2001, the hotel reservation site 2002, and the rent-a-car reservation site 2003 through the Web browser, and makes a reservation separately.

  FIG. 35 shows a system of a travel agency service using a Web service. The travel agency web service 3501, the aircraft reservation web service 3502, the hotel reservation web service 3503, and the rental car reservation web service 3504 are all web services. In the system shown in FIG. 35, when the client 3500 inputs the date and time, place, and the like to the travel agency Web service 3501, the service 3501 is changed from the aircraft reservation Web service 3502 to the aircraft, from the hotel reservation Web service 3503 to the hotel and rental car reservation Web service 3504 Can automatically search for each rental car and return the optimal reservation result (such as minimizing the total price).

  As is clear from the comparison, the use of the Web service technology has an advantage in that the computer is left with the part that can be automated, and the burden on the client is reduced. In addition, by providing a new interface called Web service in addition to the conventional browser-based one, expansion of sales channels, creation of new value, and business reform can be expected.

  In order to create such an integrated Web service, it is necessary to acquire only necessary data (data itself, not HTML data) from each Web site, and process the data (it cannot be processed with HTML data). For example, this is a process of acquiring an airplane fee from an aircraft reservation site, a hotel fee from a hotel reservation site, and a rental car fee from a rental car reservation site, and summing up the fees.

  The layout of recent Web contents is becoming more complicated year by year, and the amount of information displayed on one page tends to increase. On the other hand, when accessing the Web content with a browser, even if the desired data is only a part of one page, usually all the data of the page is acquired and displayed. However, in reality, there are cases where only a part of one page is desired data, and in such a case, there is a demand to be able to acquire only that data.

  According to the above-described method of distinguishing non-portable and portable terminal contents using the XML tag, for example, the portable terminal contents can be made only partial data and the data can be extracted by the XSLT. However, it cannot be directly applied to already created Web contents, and needs to be re-created.

  Further, there is a problem in developing a new Web service as shown in FIG. 35 in addition to the original Web application as shown in FIG. The problem is that the program is developed twice, and the number of maintenance steps increases. Furthermore, although algorithms other than screen processing of a Web application are considered to be diversible, not all programs are well separated from screen processing and others. Analysis is required, which takes time.

  The present invention has been made using a Web service in order to solve such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to distribute only necessary data to a terminal without modifying existing Web contents. It is an object of the present invention to realize a method and system for extracting and delivering data in Web contents.

  Also, the present invention provides a method for extracting and distributing necessary data in Web contents according to an instruction of a contents manager, by converting an existing Web application into a Web service without changing the same, and a method for extracting and distributing data in Web contents. The purpose is to realize the system.

  In order to achieve the above object, an invention according to claim 1 is a data extraction and distribution method for extracting and distributing a part of data in existing Web contents existing in a Web server, the method comprising: Acquiring the Web content from the Web server according to the above, extracting data from the acquired Web content based on the contents of a setting file describing the position and data type of the data to be distributed, and distributing the data to the client. And the step of performing.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the method for extracting and distributing data in Web contents according to the first aspect, a step of obtaining and displaying Web contents from the Web server to generate the setting file is displayed. The method further includes a step of receiving designation of an element part to be distributed in the Web content, and a step of generating the setting file in which positional information and a data type of the designated element part to be distributed in the Web content are described. It is characterized.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the method for extracting and distributing data in Web content according to the second aspect, the setting file describes position information and a data type of the specified distribution target element in the Web content. The file is a file in the XML (Extensible Markup Language) format.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the method for extracting and delivering data in Web content according to the third aspect, when a request for a data acquisition request is received from the client, the Web content corresponding to the request is acquired from the Web server. Then, the setting file in the XML format is read, the position information and the data type described in the setting file are obtained, and partial data is extracted and extracted from the Web content based on the position information and the data type. The returned data is returned to the client.

  The invention according to claim 5 is a data extraction / delivery method for extracting and distributing a part of data in existing Web content existing in a Web server, wherein the static content is an element part to be distributed in the Web content. Generating a setting file including static data, and reading the static data from the setting file and distributing the static data to the client in response to a data distribution request from the client.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the method of extracting and distributing data in Web content according to the fifth aspect, a step of obtaining and displaying the Web content from the Web server to generate the setting file is displayed. The method further includes a step of receiving designation of an element part to be distributed in the Web content, and a step of generating the setting file including static data which is the designated element part to be distributed.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the method for extracting and distributing data in Web content according to the sixth aspect, the setting file includes an XML (Extensible Markup) including static data which is the specified element to be distributed. Language) format file.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the method for extracting and delivering data in Web contents according to the seventh aspect, when a request for a data acquisition request is received from the client, the setting file in the XML format is read, and The described static data is obtained, and the obtained data is returned to the client.

  According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the data extraction / delivery method in the Web content according to the third or seventh aspect, based on the contents of the XML format setting file, only the element part in the designated Web content is deleted. The method further includes a step of generating a Web service to be returned to the client and a WSDL (Web Service Description Language) file describing an interface of the Web service.

  According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the method for extracting and distributing data in Web content according to the ninth aspect, based on the WSDL file, a SOAP (Simple Object) operating on the client and communicating between the client and the Web service is provided. Access Protocol) A stub program for exchanging messages is generated.

  According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, in the method of extracting and delivering data in Web content according to the tenth aspect, the client issues a data acquisition request through the stub program.

  The invention according to claim 12 is a data extraction / delivery system that extracts and distributes a part of data in existing Web content existing in a Web server, wherein the data extraction / delivery system receives a data distribution request from a client. Means for acquiring Web contents, and means for extracting data from the acquired Web contents based on the contents of a setting file describing the position and data type of the data to be distributed, and distributing the data to the client. And

  According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, in the data extraction and distribution system for web contents according to the twelfth aspect, a means for acquiring and displaying the Web content from the Web server to generate the setting file is displayed. Further comprising: means for receiving designation of an element part to be distributed in the Web content, and means for generating the setting file in which positional information and a data type of the designated element part to be distributed in the Web content are described. It is characterized.

  According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, in the method for extracting and distributing data in Web content according to the first aspect, the Web server accepts an input from a user at a FORM tag input part for data transmission, and responds to the input. In the case of returning the data, a first step of obtaining and displaying the web content of the input screen including the FORM tag input portion from the web server to generate the setting file; and forming the FORM from the displayed web content. A second step of receiving the specification of the tag input portion, a third step of obtaining and displaying the specified FORM tag input portion, and obtaining a data type of input data to the INPUT tag in the FORM tag input portion A fourth step of inputting appropriate data into the INPUT tag, acquiring Web contents of the result screen from the Web server, and displaying the Web contents. A fifth step of receiving, specifying a distribution target element from the displayed Web contents on the result screen, a seventh step of acquiring and displaying the Web content specified as the distribution target element, and a distribution target An eighth step of acquiring the data type of the Web content designated as the element, the data type of the acquired FORM tag input portion and the input data to the INPUT tag therein, and the Web designated as the distribution target element Generating the configuration file based on the content and its data type.

  The invention according to claim 15 is the data extraction / delivery method in web content according to claim 14, wherein the sixth step is performed for content in which an element group including a plurality of elements is repeated in the web content. A step of designating a parent element of an element to be data to be distributed; a step of designating the number of repetitions of the parent element when the repeated element group is repeated on a parent hierarchy axis; A step of designating an arbitrary number of distribution target elements from a certain element.

  The invention according to claim 16 is the data extraction / delivery method in web content according to claim 14, wherein the sixth step is performed for a content in which an element group including a plurality of elements is repeated in the web content. A step of designating a parent element of the element to be the distribution target data, and, if the repeated element group is repeated on the same hierarchical axis below the parent hierarchical axis, the element repeated on the same hierarchical axis A step of specifying a first element and a last element of a unit to be repeated from the group, a step of specifying the number of repetitions, and an arbitrary number of distribution targets from the group of elements from the first element to the last element. And a step of designating the element of

  The invention according to claim 17 is the data extraction / delivery method in web content according to claim 15 or 16, wherein the sixth step is a method in which, in the web content, an element group including a plurality of elements is repeated. On the other hand, the method includes a step of defining position information of the specified element by using a list of tags on the parent hierarchical axis or the same hierarchical axis for the element specified as the distribution target.

  The invention according to claim 18 is the data extraction / delivery method in web content according to claim 1, wherein the web server presents predetermined information without accepting an input from a user. A first step of obtaining and displaying Web contents from the Web server to generate a file, a second step of receiving designation of an element part to be distributed from the displayed Web contents, and A third step of obtaining and displaying the specified Web content, a fourth step of obtaining the data type of the Web content specified as the distribution target element, and the Web content specified as the distribution target element and its data Generating the configuration file based on a type. And it features.

  The invention according to claim 19 is the method for extracting and delivering data in Web content according to claim 14 or 18, wherein the second step and the sixth step of claim 14 and the second step of claim 18 are performed. Is characterized in that screen elements are selected in units of parts surrounded by tags in existing Web contents.

  According to a twentieth aspect of the present invention, in the method for extracting and delivering data in Web content according to the nineteenth aspect, the second step and the sixth step of the fourteenth aspect and the second step of the eighteenth aspect Is characterized in that, in response to a screen element selection operation, a tag hierarchy of Web content corresponding to the selection operation is obtained, and the hierarchy is recognized as a selected screen element.

  According to a twenty-first aspect of the present invention, in the data extraction / delivery system for web content according to the twelfth or thirteenth aspect, a web browser screen area for displaying web content acquired from the web server on a screen; And displaying the result display screen area displaying the elements of the above, receiving the operation of selecting the distribution target element from the Web browser screen area and inserting it into the result display screen area, and generating the setting file. Features.

  The invention according to claim 22 is the data extraction / delivery system in web content according to claim 12 or 13, wherein a web browser screen area for displaying web content acquired from the web server on a screen, and the web server Displays a FORM tag input screen area for displaying a FORM tag input portion of an input screen provided by the Web server, and a result display screen area for displaying the distribution target element, and the Web server provides from the Web browser screen area. Accepting an operation of selecting a FORM tag input portion in the input screen and inserting it into the FORM tag input screen area, and an operation of selecting the element to be distributed and inserting it into the result display screen area, It is characterized by generating.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to distribute only desired data from Web contents, that is, data to be distributed to a client terminal without changing existing Web contents. In addition, the existing Web application can be converted into a Web service without being changed, and necessary data in the Web content can be extracted and distributed according to an instruction of a content manager. Generation of the setting file for that can be easily performed on the screen.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing a first embodiment of a method for extracting data from Web contents and a distribution system according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, existing Web contents 101 are distributed by a Web server 100. A content manager who intends to use this system accesses the web server 100 via the communication unit 121 and the intranet 110 on the content editing device 120, and includes a web containing data that the user of the client wants to partially obtain. Get the content. Then, the content editing unit 122 generates an XML file describing position information and a data type for specifying where the partial data is located in the Web content, and stores the XML file in the distribution information specification DB 123. The content editing device 120 sends the XML file to the conversion server 130 via the communication unit 121 and the communication unit 131. The conversion server 130 generates a Web service and a WSDL file from the XML file, and stores the former in the converter 132 and the latter in the WSDLDB 134, respectively. The transmitted XML file is stored in the XML DB 135. Since the generated WSDL file describes an interface for calling the generated Web service, for example, the client-side terminal generates a stub program 151 from the WSDL file, and further generates a stub program 151 based on the stub program 151. The client program 150 can be generated. The stub program 151 exchanges actual SOAP messages.

  An actual operation in the system of FIG. 1 will be described. First, the client program 150 (Web service client) sends a SOAP request to the conversion server 130 (Web service server) via the Internet 140. The conversion unit 132 acquires the SOAP request through the communication unit 133. The conversion unit 132 analyzes the SOAP request using an internal Web service, reads an XML file from the XML DB 135, converts the XML file into an HTTP request, and sends the HTTP request to the Web server 100 via the communication unit 131 and the intranet 110. . The Web server 100 returns the Web content corresponding to the HTTP request to the conversion server 130 as an HTTP response. The conversion server 130 acquires the HTML source of the returned Web content. Then, the XML file is read again, and the data to be obtained from the Web content is extracted by referring to the position information and the data type of the data to be obtained within the Web content. Then, a set of the extracted data is embedded as an object in the SOAP response, and is passed to the client program 150 through the communication unit 133 and the Internet 140. The above is the flow of actual data acquisition.

  The client program 150 issues a SOAP request using the stub program (object) 151. That is, when calling the Web service method, the client program 150 only calls the stub program 151 by passing an argument, and the stub program 151 substitutes what SOAP message is actually sent.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a flow of the content editing work of the content manager (that is, a processing procedure of the content editing unit 122 as a program). First, Web contents managed by the Web server 100 are acquired and displayed on an editing screen (Step 200). Next, designation of a distribution element portion (portion to be distributed to the client) in the Web content is accepted on the editing screen (step 201). Next, an XML file describing the position information and the data type (explicitly specified by the content manager) of the element portion to be distributed in the Web content is generated and stored in the distribution information designation DB 123 (step). 202). Next, the XML file is sent to the conversion server 130 (step 203). Thereby, the conversion server 130 creates a Web service and a WSDL file based on the XML file, and stores the Web service in the conversion unit 132 and the WSDL file in the WSDLDB 134, respectively. Further, the XML file is stored in the XML DB 135.

  This is the end of the process for one page. If the client user wants to enter something on a page and partially retrieve data from the resulting page (eg, enter a stock code and get only the stock price), the input page and the result Processing for two pages is performed. The above is the operation of the content manager. Content managers do not need to write code to do this.

  Hereinafter, an actual start example will be described. As an existing Web server 100, consider an EC (electronic commerce) site that sells PCs. The top page of this site is http://www.xxcomputer.com. FIG. 3 shows an example of an input screen, FIG. 4 shows an HTML source thereof, and FIG. 5 shows an example of a result screen.

  In this site, when a client user inputs data such as the manufacturer name and OS from the screen of FIG. 3 displayed on the browser, the data is posted to http://www.XXComputer.com/△△. 5, a PC image, a model name, a price, and other information matching the conditions are displayed. By applying the present invention to this system, a Web service is considered and only a model name and a price are delivered to a user. In this way, only data necessary for the user is distributed. At this time, there is no change in the existing Web site.

  In the following, the “manufacturer name” is XYZ, the “OS” is W (there are other M, U, and others), the “memory” is 128 (there are other 256, 512), and the “attached” is It is assumed that the CD-RW, the FD, and the “application” are input with app, and as a result, the data that the “model name” is ABC and the “price” is 153000 is returned.

  In other words, in this Web service, a user can select a string (manufacturer name), string (OS), int (memory), string [] (check the “attached” checkbox), string (radio of “application”). 4 (see FIG. 4, reference numerals 401 to 405), an object having two elements of string (model name) and int (price) is returned by SOAP.

First, the content editing work will be described.
1. The input screen of FIG. 3 is displayed on the edit screen (step 200).
2. The user designates the part enclosed by the form tags in FIG. 4 (step 201).
3. Similarly, the screen of the result of FIG. 5 is displayed on the edit screen, and the designation of the distribution part is received (steps 200 and 201). Here, it is assumed that the model name and the price are specified.
4. The above 1. ~ 3. The XML file generated from the information obtained in step (1) is stored in the distribution information designation DB 123 (step 202). The contents of the XML file will be described later.
5. The above XML file is sent to the conversion server 130, and a Web service and a WSDL file are generated (step 203). The contents of the WSDL file will be described later.
This is the end of the content editing operation.

  FIG. 6 and FIG. Shows the XML file generated in step (1). It is assumed that the end of the list in FIG. 6 leads to FIG. Hereinafter, the tags used here will be described.

  The service tag 601 describes the service name of this Web service. Here, it is search. A serviceMethod tag 602 describes a method name used in this service. Here, it is searchPC. These service names and method names may be determined by the content manager who edits the content.

  The request tag 603 describes request information (argument, that is, information of a user input parameter) from the user. In the method attribute, whether to access by HTTP GET or POST is described. The url tag 604 describes a URL to post or GET the data (in short, the action attribute of the form tag 411 of the HTML source in FIG. 3). Information related to user input is described in the ReqParam tag (for example, 605). In the type attribute, attribute information (text, radio, checkbox, etc.) used in the input tag of the HTML source is described. When the multi attribute is on, multiple selections can be made (for example, in the case of a checkbox 606). When the multi attribute is off, multiple selections cannot be made (for example, in the case of selecting the OS 607). The input tag (for example, 608) describes information about data input by the user. A data type is described in the type attribute. In the value tag (for example, 609), information of the value attribute of the input tag of the HTML source is described. The name tag (for example, 610) describes the information of the name attribute of the input tag of the HTML source.

  The response tag 701 describes information on data that is sent to the WWW server 100 to make a request. In the object attribute, the object name of the data finally obtained is described. The final object in this example is a composite type of string type (model name) and int type (price). In the ResParam tag (for example, 702), information on data to be fetched is described. The type attribute describes the data type of the element of the object, and the value attribute describes a variable name on the Web service. In the xpath tag (for example, 703), position information (XPath) of data to be fetched is described.

  FIG. 8 and FIG. Shows the WSDL file generated in step (1). It is assumed that the end of the list in FIG. 8 leads to FIG. Hereinafter, the contents of the WSDL file will be briefly described.

  800 describes the data type used here. That is, ArrayOf_xsd_string is a character string (string []) (801), and PCdata is a composite type of string and int (802).

  900 includes arguments (string (manufacturer name), string (OS), int (memory), string [] (attached), string (application)) (901) and return value (string (model name) of the Web service. And information on an object PCdata (902) having an element “int” and “int” (price) as elements. In 910, the order (911) of the arguments is described. 920 describes that this service is bound to SOAP, called by RPC, and the transport protocol is HTTP (921). In 930, a place (931) where this service exists is described.

  The client terminal generates a stub program 151 from the WSDL file of FIGS. 8 and 9, and generates a client program 150 based on the stub program 151.

  FIG. 10 shows a SOAP request issued when the client program 150 calls a Web service. In 1000, data to be transmitted in the request is described. Such a SOAP request is generated by the stub program 151 when the client program 150 calls the stub program 151 by passing arguments (such as data input by the user).

  FIG. 11 shows the contents of the HTTP request when the conversion unit 132 converts the SOAP request of FIG. 10 into an HTTP request. At this time, the Web service in the conversion unit 132 reads the XML files in FIGS. 6 and 7 to acquire information of a name tag (for example, 610), and generates and issues an HTTP request using the acquired data. Reference numeral 1100 denotes a description of POST data generated using the data acquired in this example.

  FIG. 12 shows an HTTP response to the above HTTP request. 1200 describes the HTML source of the screen of the result of FIG. The Web service in the conversion unit 132 reads the XML file (FIGS. 6 and 7) from the XML DB 135, and reads data (here, model name) from the source 1200 in FIG. And get the price). Then, the acquired data is embedded in the SOAP response and returned to the client program 150. As described above, a Web service that performs such processing can be generated from an XML file.

  FIG. 13 shows the contents of the above SOAP response. It can be seen that model name and price data are included in 1300.

  As described above, as a result of the user inputting the maker name, OS, memory, attachment, and application and calling the Web service, the model name and price can be known.

  In the above embodiment, the position of data that is partially extracted from the Web content and returned to the client is described by the xpath tag in the XML file, and when there is an actual request from the client, the position information of the xpath tag is described. Embedded in the SOAP response and returned to the client. This is an example in which data in dynamic Web content is returned to the client. When data returned in response to a request from a client differs for each request (for example, a case where a result corresponding to data input by a user of a client is returned as in the above-described embodiment, or a case where a stock price changes with time, for example, When returning information, etc.), such a dynamic data return method is used.

  On the other hand, if the data returned in response to the request from the client is always the same, a static data return method is used. That is, in the above embodiment, instead of describing the position information with the xpath tag in the XML file, the static data itself to be returned is described in the XML file, and when there is a request from the client, the data is returned. To return. The method of specifying the static data to be returned may be the same as that described with reference to FIG.

  Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, as in the first embodiment, an example will be described in which a specific element portion of Web content is delivered to a terminal as a SOAP message.

  FIG. 14 shows an outline of a system configuration of the second embodiment. The system shown here includes a Web server 1400 having existing Web contents, a setting file creation PC 1401 for creating a setting file describing how Web contents are extracted and converted into a SOAP message, and a setting for saving a setting file. It includes a file DB 1402, a conversion server 1403 that converts Web content into a SOAP message according to the information of the setting file and distributes the message, and a terminal 1405 that is a client that receives the SOAP message through the Internet 1404.

  FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing a procedure for converting Web content on the Web server 1400 into a SOAP message and delivering the SOAP message in the system configuration shown in FIG.

  First, in step 1500, the setting file creation PC 1401 acquires arbitrary Web contents from the Web server 1400 and displays them on the screen. The user performs an operation of selecting (designating) an element to be delivered to the terminal 1405 from the elements constituting the Web content. In step 1501, the setting file creation PC 1401 creates a setting file describing the position information and data type of the selected component in the Web content, and stores the setting file in the setting file DB 1402. In step 1502, the conversion server 1403 refers to the setting file in accordance with the request from the terminal 1405, acquires the Web content from the Web server 1400, and extracts the components described in the setting file from the acquired Web content. , Is converted to a SOAP message and delivered to the terminal 1405.

  Next, the steps in which the setting file creation PC 1401 selects an element in the Web content to create a setting file in steps 1500 and 1501 will be described in more detail. Here, it is assumed that the input screen of the existing Web server 1400 is a screen as shown in FIG. 16A and the search result screen is a screen as shown in FIG. 16B. (E.g., "XML") is entered in the input page of FIG. 16 and a search is performed, and data ("search result" 1600, "title" and "price" 1601) are obtained from the search result page of FIG. The creation of a setting file in this case will be described.

  FIG. 17A shows an initial screen of the setting file creation PC 1401. FIG. 17B shows items displayed when the "file" menu in (1) is clicked on the initial screen of FIG. 17A with a mouse. FIG. 18 is a flowchart when the setting file creation PC 1401 creates a setting file.

  First, when the user selects “create configuration file” from the (1) “file” menu of FIG. 17A (step 1800), the configuration file creation PC 1401 displays a dialog of FIG. Here, the initial information for creating the configuration file is specified.

  Hereinafter, the dialog of FIG. 19 will be described. First, the presence or absence of a FORM tag input portion is specified (1900). If you enter something in the FORM tag and make a page transition (for example, if you enter something on the input page displayed first and instruct it, it will transition to the result screen for it, etc.), it is determined that there is a FORM tag input part Set. In this case, dynamic data will be handled. The case where there is no page is a case where there is no page transition (for example, a case where only predetermined information is presented on the initially displayed page), and static data is handled. In this example, it is assumed that a FORM tag is set as the page transitions.

  Next, a Web service name and a method name to be called by the Web service are specified (1901, 1902). In this example, it is assumed that BookSearch is set as the Web service name and search is set as the method name. The data name returned as the SOAP message is specified as the object name of the return value (1903). In this example, it is assumed that BookResult is set. Finally, the name of the setting file and the name of the directory for saving the file are specified (1904, 1905). This part is not described in the following description, and is omitted.

  Although omitted here, an OK button is displayed in the dialog of FIG. 19, and after the above-described settings, the user clicks the OK button to confirm the settings. The above is the description of the dialog of FIG.

  Returning to the description of the flowchart of FIG. If there is no FORM tag input portion, the process proceeds to step 1801. If there is a FORM tag input portion, the process moves to step 1802. In this example, since the latter is the case, the process proceeds to step 1802. In step 1802, the setting file creation PC 1401 switches the screen of FIG. 17A to the screen of FIG. Assuming that the user inputs http://www.xxBookSearch.co.jp in the (3) URL input field of the screen in FIG. 20A, the setting file creation PC 1401 accesses the URL and (4) The URL book search page is displayed on the Web browser screen (step 1802). Assuming that the user selects the FORM tag portion in the displayed book search page with the mouse and inserts it into the (5) FORM tag input screen, the setting file creation PC 1401 displays the state after the insertion. The screen of FIG. 21 (a) is displayed (step 1803). In the screen of FIG. 21A, reference numeral 2100 denotes the input URL. A book search page is displayed on the Web browser screen 2101, and a FORM tag portion 2103 is selected and inserted into the FORM tag input screen 2102 as indicated by 2104. When the FORM tag is inserted, the screen shown in FIG. 21B is displayed. The user specifies the variable name and data type of the input data on the screen.

  If there is no FORM tag input portion, the setting file creation PC 1401 switches the screen of FIG. 17A to the screen of FIG. 20B in step 1801. On the screen of FIG. 20B, there is no (5) FORM tag input screen of FIG. 20A. In the same manner as described above, (3) a URL is input in the URL input field to display the page on the (4) Web browser screen of FIG. 20B, and thereafter, the process proceeds to step 1806.

  Here, the selection and insertion processing of the FORM tag in step 1803 described above will be described in detail.

  In the book search page displayed on the Web browser screen 2101 in FIG. 21A, when the FORM tag portion is selected with the mouse, the setting file creation PC 1401 highlights the selected portion on the screen (2103). Then, in response to this selection operation, the FORM tag portion 2200 of FIG. 22 is obtained. The selected portion 2103 (2200 in FIG. 22) is inserted into the FORM tag input screen 2102 by dragging and dropping it onto the FORM tag input screen 2102 (2104). At the time of insertion, the dialog of FIG. 21B is displayed. Here, the variable name and data type of the input data are specified. Here, since the title for searching for a book is the input data, the variable name is set to in0 and the data type is specified as String type. The setting file creation PC 1401 holds the inserted selection (2200 in FIG. 22) as data of the FORM tag input screen in a predetermined work area on the memory, and similarly stores the specified variable name and data type. Keep it.

  In the operation of selecting the FORM tag portion with a mouse, clicking on any element in the FORM tag portion on the book search page displayed on the Web browser screen 2101 in FIG. (That is, 2200 in FIG. 22) is selected. For example, just by clicking on a “title:” portion, a search button portion, or the like, the entire 2103 is selected.

  Returning to the description of the flowchart of FIG. After step 1803, when something is input in the title input area (INPUT tag portion) of the book search page displayed on the screen 2101 in FIG. 21A (in this example, it is assumed that “XML” has been input). The setting file PC 1401 sends a request including the input data to the address specified on the page, acquires the response, and makes a screen transition to display the acquired response data (step 1804). FIG. 23A shows a state where a search is performed by inputting “XML” and the screen is changed to a screen of the search result. The search result shown in FIG. 16B is displayed on the screen 2300. However, a context menu 2306 is not displayed at this time. The result display screen 2303 is also blank at this time. The context menu 2306 is displayed by a predetermined operation such as right-clicking the mouse or clicking the mouse while pressing a predetermined key.

  On the screen 2300 of FIG. 23A, the process of selecting the distribution target element and inserting it into the result display screen 2303 is performed (step 1805). Although this process will be described in detail later, it is assumed that the data inserted into the result display screen 2303 is held in a predetermined work area on the memory as data of the result display screen. When the user selects “Save setting file” from the “File” menu in FIG. 23A after the insertion processing is completed, the setting file PC 1401 performs the setting from the data held in the predetermined work area on the memory in steps 1803 and 1805. A file is generated and stored (Step 1806). An actual example of what kind of setting file is specifically generated and stored will be described with reference to FIGS. Thus, the creation of the setting file is completed.

  Here, the process of step 1805 will be described in detail.

  FIG. 24 is a flowchart showing the flow of the selection / insertion processing for an element which is not a repetition element in the processing of step 1805. A repeating element is a part of a dynamic content that has a structure in which a certain type of element is repeated. The number of repetitions and the contents often differ every time they are accessed. For example, in the content displaying the search result for the search keyword “XML” as shown in FIG. 16B, the search result including “publisher”, “title”, and “price” is repeatedly displayed, and the repetition is performed. The number of times and contents differ depending on the search key (in this example, “XML”). Whether or not the selected distribution target element is a repetition element is determined by a user who performs an operation for creating this setting file.

  First, the process of selecting and inserting an element that is not a repeated element will be described. In the screen 2300 of FIG. 23A, for example, the character string of “search result” shown at 2302 is an element that is not a repeated element. The user can perform an operation of selecting an element that is not such a repetitive element from the search results displayed on the screen 2300 as a distribution target element and inserting (drag and drop) it into the result display screen 2303. When such an operation is performed, the setting file creation PC 1401 highlights 2302 the data to be distributed (for example, “search result” 2302) selected by the user in step 2400, and displays the selected portion as a result. A process of inserting the information into the screen 2303 is performed.

  In the selection with the mouse, it is assumed that the minimum element including the coordinates of the mouse pointer 2301 at the time of clicking is selected, and that portion is highlighted 2302. At this time, the dialog shown in FIG. 21B is displayed again, and the variable name and data type of the input data are specified here. Here, it is assumed that the variable name is midashi and the data type is a String type. The setting file creation PC 1401 holds the inserted data as data of the result display screen in a predetermined work area on the memory, and also holds the designated variable name and data type in the same manner.

  FIG. 25 is a flowchart showing the flow of the selection / insertion processing for the repetitive element in the processing of step 1805. The procedure for selecting and inserting the repetition elements 2305 of “title” and “price” from the screen 2300 in FIG. 23A will be specifically described with reference to this flowchart.

  Here, FIG. 26 or FIG. 28 can be considered as the HTML document of the Web content displayed on the screen 2300 in FIG. 16B or FIG. In the HTML document of FIG. 26, a document object tree in which each element is an object is as shown in FIG. 27, and an object including each element to be selected (<DIV> object including “title” and <DIV including “price”) B> objects) are all on the same hierarchical axis (self-sibling axis) and are repeated on that axis. On the other hand, the document object tree of the HTML document in FIG. 28 is as shown in FIG. 29, and the <P> object which is the parent of the object including the selection target element is repeated on the parent hierarchy axis (parent-sibling axis) of the selection target element. Have been.

  Therefore, in step 2500, the setting file creation PC 1401 first selects the parent object of the object including the selection target element (the <DIV> object including the “title” and the <B> object including the “price”). In the examples of FIGS. 26 and 27, the <BODY> object is selected, and in the examples of FIGS. 28 and 29, the first <P> object of the child object of the <BODY> object is selected. This selection process is the same as step 2402 in FIG.

  In operation, the user selects the <BODY> object or the first <P> object of the child object of the <BODY> object from the screen 2300, displays the context menu 2306, and specifies the “parent element”. By doing so, the parent element is selected. Note that, since tags such as <BODY> and <P> are not actually displayed on the screen 2300 in FIG. 23A, the displayed element is selected, and its parent element is searched from the HTML document. Will choose. For example, in the case of the screen of FIG. 23A, the user clicks “Introductory XML” with a mouse to display a context menu 2306 and selects “Parent element”. As a result, the setting file creation PC 1401 analyzes the HTML document of FIG. 26 or FIG. 28, traces the “introductory XML” to the upper hierarchy, and in the example of FIG. 26 and FIG. 27, a <BODY> object. In the example of 29, the first <P> object of the child object of the <BODY> object is found as a parent element, and is selected. It should be noted that a list is displayed such that the tag is also displayed on the screen 2300 in FIG. 23A (the list may be displayed on a screen different from the screen 2300), and the <BODY> object or the <P> object is directly displayed. May be selectable. Alternatively, when an element is selected in subsequent steps 2503 and 2505 without the user performing the operation of selecting the parent element, the parent element is automatically searched from the HTML document and brought into the selected state as described above. It may be.

  Next, in step 2501, it is determined whether the element to be selected is repeated on the parent-sibling axis. This can be determined by the setting file creation PC 1401 analyzing the HTML document of FIG. 26 or 28. In the example of FIG. 26, the process is repeated on the self-sibling axis, and the process moves to step 2503 according to the determination result. In the example of FIG. 28, the processing is repeated on the parent-sibling axis.

  In step 2502, the number of repetitions of the parent element <P> object in the case shown in FIGS. 28 and 29 is specified. The number of repetitions is not the number of repetitions in the content but the number of elements to be delivered to the terminal 1405. When the user selects “number of repetitions” in the context menu 2306 in FIG. 23A, the setting file creation PC 1401 displays FIG. 23B as a dialog for inputting the number of repetitions, and is input in this dialog. The number of repetitions is set as the number of repetitions (here, it is assumed that 3 has been input), and the name input in the object name column is set as the object name of the entire repetition element (here, it is assumed that Book has been input). I do. If "all" is checked, the setting is made so that all the repeating elements displayed on the screen are distributed.

  In step 2503, in the cases as shown in FIGS. 26 and 27, in order to clarify the unit repeated on the self-sibling axis, the start object of one unit is a “start element”, and the end object is a “end element”. ". At this time, it is assumed that only child objects of the parent element <BODY> selected in step 2500 can be selected. This setting is made in the context menu 2306. In the examples of FIGS. 26 and 27, the first <HR> object on the self-sibling axis is set as a start element, and the last <B> object is set as an end element. This means that four objects of <HR> object <A> object <DIV> object <B> object are repeated as one unit in the content.

  In operation, the user finds and selects an object serving as a start element from the screen 2300, displays the context menu 2306, and performs an operation of selecting "start child element", thereby setting the start element. It is something to be done. The same applies to the setting of the end element. Note that, as described above, since no tag is actually displayed on the screen 2300 in FIG. 23A, an element that appears to be the head of the repetition is selected from the displayed elements, and the selected element is displayed in an HTML document. To be set as the start element. For example, in the case of the screen shown in FIG. 23A, the user clicks the horizontal ruled line above “publisher A” with the mouse, displays a context menu 2306, and selects “start child element”. As a result, the setting file creation PC 1401 analyzes the HTML document of FIG. 26 or FIG. 28 and sets the <HR> object corresponding to the ruled line as a start element. Note that a list may be displayed so that a tag is also displayed on the screen 2300 in FIG. 23A (the list may be displayed on a screen different from the screen 2300), and settings may be made on the list. .

  In step 2504, the number of repetitions of the repetition unit set in step 2503 is set. The number of repetitions here has the same meaning as the number of repetitions described in step 2502. The operation of the user and the processing of the setting file creation PC 1401 are the same as those described in step 2502.

  In step 2505, of the elements included in the repeating unit set in the steps up to this point, the element to be distributed to the terminal 1405 is specified. Here, multiple elements can be specified. This designation is performed by selecting “delivery element” in the context menu 2306. The operation of the user and the process of the setting file creation PC 1401 are the same as the method of setting the start element in step 2503. In the example just described, it is assumed that “introductory XML” on the screen 2300 in FIG. 23 and “1000” below it are set as distribution elements. In this case, in the case of the examples of FIGS. 26 and 27, a <DIV> object including “title” and a <B> object including “price” on the self-sibling axis are set as distribution elements. 28 and FIG. 29, among the child objects of the parent element <P> set in step 2500, a <DIV> object containing "title" and a <B> object containing "price" are distributed. It is set as an element.

  When the selection of the distribution element is completed, the setting file creation PC 1401 inserts the element selected in the previous steps into the result display screen 2303 and displays it as the selected element in step 2506 (2307). At the time of insertion, a dialog shown in FIG. 21B is displayed, where a variable name and data type of input data are specified. In this example, for "book name", the variable name is bookTitle, the data type is String type, and for "price", the variable name is bookPrice, and the data type is int type. I do.

  Note that the timing for executing the process of inserting the element selected as the distribution element into the result display screen 2303 is arbitrary. For example, the delivery element selected in step 2505 is displayed in reverse video or displayed in a different color, and when the user drags and drops the selected elements together on the result display screen 2303, step 2506 is executed. May be performed. Further, each time a distribution element is selected in step 2505, the processing of step 2506 may be performed on the distribution element.

  Further, in steps 2500 to 2505, when “reset” in the context menu 2306 is selected, the setting file creation PC 1401 cancels the selection made so far.

  Although the processing in FIG. 25 is described in a flow according to the operation procedure, each processing program that actually performs the processing is in an event-driven format, and an arbitrary element is selected and any one of the context menu 2306 is selected. When one of the items is selected, a processing program corresponding to the item is executed. For example, if “parent element” in the context menu 2306 is selected, the process of step 2500 is performed. If “start child element” is selected, the process of selecting the start element in step 2503 is performed. “Delivery element” is selected. Then, the process of step 2505 is performed (the process of step 2506 for the element is also performed at the same time).

  FIGS. 30 and 31 show examples of setting files created by the setting file creation PC 1401 from the HTML document examples of FIGS. 26 and 28 through the above-described steps, respectively. In step 1806 of FIG. 18, the setting file creation PC 1401 stores the data (the FORM tag input screen 2102 of FIG. 21A or the FORM tag input screen 2102 of FIG. 23A) held in the predetermined work area on the memory in steps 1803 and 1805. The setting file is created based on the data inserted into the result display screen 2303).

  First, a method in which the setting file creation PC 1401 creates the setting file of FIG. 30 for the HTML document of FIG. 26 will be described.

  In FIG. 30, the service tag describes the service name of the Web service. Here, the value specified in 1901 in FIG. 19 is set. The serviceMethod tag describes the method name of the Web service. Here, the value specified in 1902 in FIG. 19 is set. All elements included in the request tag are extracted from the information 2200 of the FORM tag in FIG. The value of the method attribute in the information 2200 of the FORM tag is set in the method attribute, and the value of the action attribute in the information 2200 of the FORM tag is set in the url tag (3000). The information of the INPUT tag included in the information 2200 of the FORM tag is set in the ReqParam tag (3001). The type attribute of the INPUT tag is set in the type attribute of the ReqParam tag. In the type attribute and the data attribute of the input tag, the data type and the variable name specified in the dialog of FIG. In the name tag, the name attribute of the INPUT tag in the information 2200 of the FORM tag is set.

  In the response tag, information on data distributed to the terminal 1405 is described. Specific information of data to be distributed is set in the ResParam tag (3002, 3003). In the type attribute and value attribute of the first ResParam tag, a String type and a variable name called midashi are set. This is the data type and variable name specified in the dialog of FIG. This variable midashi should contain a character string 2304 of “search result”. The xpath tag describes position information of the distribution target data in the Web content.

  In the second ResParam tag in the response tag, information on the repeated element is described (3003). The value specified in the dialog of FIG. 23B in step 2504 is set in the value attribute. In the parent-path tag, a list of tags on the parent-sibling axis is described (3004). The element <BODY> selected as the parent element is particularly marked (symbol \). The path to the parent-sibling axis is described in the ancestor-path tag (3004). In the self-sibling tag, a sequence of tags on the self-sibling axis is described (3004). However, here, the elements are repeated on the self-sibling axis, so the sequence of elements of the repeating unit specified by the start element <HR> and the end element <B> is enclosed in (), and the symbol * indicating repetition is In addition, the number of repetitions is described in the attribute “iteration” (3004). Further, a symbol \ is added to the elements <DIV> and <B> selected as the distribution elements (3004). The data tag describes the data type (type attribute) and variable name of the delivery target element in the repeated element (3003).

  Next, a method in which the setting file creation PC 1401 creates the setting file of FIG. 31 for the HTML document of FIG. 28 will be described. FIG. 31 is the same as FIG. 30 except for 3100 which is a repeated part. Therefore, only the portion 3100 will be described. That is, in the HTML document of FIG. 28, since the element is repeated on the parent-sibling axis, the parent-sibling <P> is enclosed in parentheses and a repetition symbol * is added. Furthermore, the number of repetitions is set in the attribute iteration.

  When a setting file is created using FIG. 20B without a FORM tag input screen, there is no data input from the terminal 1405, and there is no 3001 in FIG. Then, the value input in the URL input field of FIG. 20B is described in the url tag (3000). Also, since there is no repetitive element, there is no 3003 part.

  The configuration file creation PC 1401 stores the configuration file created in this way in the configuration file DB 1402. If such a setting file is prepared, the conversion server 1403 of FIG. 14 issues an HTTP request to the Web server 1400 based on the content of the request tag of the setting file when receiving a SOAP request from the terminal 1405, and An HTTP response can be obtained, predetermined data can be extracted from the HTTP response based on the content of the response tag of the setting file, a SOAP response can be generated, and the SOAP response can be returned to the terminal 1405.

  FIG. 32 shows an example of a SOAP message when the conversion server 1403 extracts Web contents from the Web server 1400 according to the setting files of FIGS. 30 and 31, converts the Web contents into a SOAP message, and distributes the SOAP message to the terminal 1405. It can be seen that the “search result” 3200 and the repeating element 3201 of “title” and “price” are returned to the terminal 1405 as a SOAP message.

  In the above embodiment, the position of data that is partially extracted from the Web content and distributed to the terminal 1405 is described by an xpath tag in the XML file. The data extracted based on the position information is embedded in the SOAP response and returned to the terminal 1405. This is an example in which data in dynamic Web content is returned to the terminal. When data returned in response to a request from the terminal 1405 is different for each request (for example, in a case where a result corresponding to data input by a user of the terminal is returned as in the above-described embodiment, in a case where data is temporally changed, For example, when returning stock price information), such a dynamic data distribution method is used.

  On the other hand, when data returned in response to a request from the terminal 1405 is always the same (in the example, “search result”), a method of returning static data can be used. That is, in the above-described embodiment, instead of describing the position information with the xpath tag in the setting file, the static data to be distributed is described in the setting file, and when there is a request from the terminal 1405, This is a method of returning the data without accessing the server 1400.

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing a first embodiment of a method for extracting data in Web contents and a distribution system according to the present invention. Flow chart showing the flow of content editing work Diagram showing user input screen Diagram showing HTML source of input screen Figure showing the result display screen The figure which shows the content (the 1) of the XML file generated by the content editing work The figure which shows the content (the 2) of the XML file generated by the content editing work Diagram showing the contents (No. 1) of a WSDL file generated as a result of sending the XML file to the conversion server FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the contents (No. 2) of a WSDL file generated as a result of sending the above XML file to the conversion server. Diagram showing the contents of a SOAP request Diagram showing contents of HTTP request Diagram showing contents of HTTP response Diagram showing the contents of the SOAP response Overall configuration diagram showing a second embodiment of a method for extracting data from Web contents and a distribution system according to the present invention Flowchart showing a procedure from data distribution to a terminal from a Web server Diagram showing an example of Web content The figure which shows the example of the initial screen of the setting file creation PC Flowchart showing the procedure for creating a configuration file Diagram showing the dialog used on the configuration file creation PC Figure showing the screen used on the configuration file creation PC The figure which shows the processing part of the terminal input data in the setting file creation PC FIG. 16A shows an HTML document. The figure which shows the processing part of the output data to a terminal in a setting file preparation PC The flowchart figure which shows the designation | designated process of the data for distribution to a terminal Flowchart showing the specification process of the repeating element Diagram showing HTML document of Web content in which constituent elements are repeated on self-sibling axis (the same hierarchical axis of tags) The figure which shows the document object tree which made each element of the HTML document of FIG. 26 an object Diagram showing HTML document of Web content in which components are repeated on parent-sibling axis (parent hierarchy axis of tag) The figure which shows the document object tree which made each element of the HTML document of FIG. 28 an object FIG. 26 is a diagram showing a setting file created by the setting file creation PC from the Web content in FIG. FIG. 28 is a view showing a setting file created by the setting file creation PC from the Web content of FIG. 28; Diagram showing SOAP message delivered to terminal Schematic diagram of Web service Diagram showing an example of a Web application Diagram showing an example of a Web service

Explanation of reference numerals

  100 Web server, 101 Existing content DB, 110 Intranet, 120 Content editing device, 121 Communication unit of content editing device, 122 Content editing unit, 123 Delivery information designation DB, 130 Conversion server, 131 Communication unit in conversion server, 132: conversion unit in conversion server, 133: communication unit in conversion server, 134: XMLDB, 135: WSDLDB, 140: Internet, 150: client program, 151: stub program.

Claims (22)

A data extraction and distribution method for extracting and distributing a part of data in existing Web contents existing in a Web server,
Acquiring Web content from the Web server in response to a data distribution request from a client;
Extracting data from the acquired Web content based on the contents of a setting file describing the position and data type of the data to be distributed, and distributing the data to the client. Delivery method. The method for extracting and delivering data in Web content according to claim 1,
To generate the configuration file,
Obtaining web content from the web server and displaying the web content;
Receiving a designation of an element portion to be distributed in the displayed Web content;
Generating the setting file in which positional information and a data type of a designated distribution target element portion in the Web content are described. The method for extracting and delivering data in Web content. The method for extracting and delivering data in Web content according to claim 2,
The configuration file is an XML (Extensible Markup Language) format file in which positional information and a data type of the specified distribution target element portion in the Web content are described. Method. 4. The method for extracting and delivering data in Web contents according to claim 3,
When there is a request for a data acquisition request from the client, Web content corresponding to the request is acquired from the Web server, the setting file in the XML format is read, and the position information and data type described in the setting file are read. And extracting the partial data from the Web content based on the position information and the data type, and returning the extracted data to the client. A data extraction and distribution method for extracting and distributing a part of data in existing Web contents existing in a Web server,
Generating a configuration file including static data that is an element part to be distributed in the Web content;
Reading out the static data from the configuration file in response to a data distribution request from the client and distributing the static data to the client. The method of extracting and delivering data in Web content according to claim 5,
To generate the configuration file,
Obtaining web content from the web server and displaying the web content;
Receiving a designation of an element portion to be distributed in the displayed Web content;
Generating the configuration file including static data that is a specified distribution target element part. The method for extracting and delivering data in Web content. The method for extracting and delivering data in Web content according to claim 6,
The method for extracting and delivering data in Web content, wherein the setting file is an XML (Extensible Markup Language) format file including static data which is the specified element to be delivered. The method for extracting and delivering data in Web contents according to claim 7,
When receiving a request for a data acquisition request from the client, the client reads the setting file in the XML format, acquires the static data described in the setting file, and returns the acquired data to the client. A method for extracting and delivering data in Web contents. The method for extracting and delivering data in Web content according to claim 3 or 7,
A Web service that returns only the element portion in the specified Web content to the client based on the content of the XML format setting file, a WSDL (Web Service Description Language) file that describes the interface of the Web service, The method for extracting and delivering data in Web content, further comprising the step of generating The method for extracting and delivering data in Web content according to claim 9,
Data extraction from Web content, wherein the stub program operates on the client and exchanges a SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) message between the client and the Web service based on the WSDL file. Delivery method. The method of extracting and delivering data in Web content according to claim 10,
A method for extracting and delivering data in Web contents, wherein the client issues a data acquisition request through the stub program. A data extraction and distribution system for extracting and distributing a part of data in existing Web contents existing in a Web server,
Means for acquiring Web content from the Web server in response to a data distribution request from a client;
Means for extracting data from the acquired Web content based on the contents of a setting file describing the position and data type of the data to be distributed, and distributing the extracted data to the client. Delivery system. The data extraction / delivery system in Web contents according to claim 12,
To generate the configuration file,
Means for acquiring and displaying Web contents from the Web server,
Means for receiving designation of an element portion to be distributed in the displayed Web content;
Means for generating the setting file in which positional information and a data type of a specified distribution target element portion in the Web content are described. A system for extracting and delivering data from Web content. The method for extracting and delivering data in Web content according to claim 1,
In the case where the Web server receives an input from a user in a FORM tag input portion for data transmission and returns data corresponding to the input, in order to generate the setting file,
A first step of acquiring and displaying web content of an input screen including a FORM tag input portion from the web server,
A second step of receiving specification of a FORM tag input portion from the displayed Web content;
A third step of acquiring and displaying the specified FORM tag input portion,
A fourth step of obtaining a data type of input data to an INPUT tag in the FORM tag input portion;
A fifth step of inputting appropriate data to the INPUT tag, acquiring Web contents of a result screen from the Web server, and displaying the Web contents;
A sixth step of receiving designation of a distribution target element from the Web content of the displayed result screen;
A seventh step of acquiring and displaying the Web content designated as the distribution target element;
An eighth step of acquiring the data type of the Web content specified as the distribution target element;
Generating the setting file based on the obtained FORM tag input portion, the data type of the input data to the INPUT tag therein, and the Web content specified as the distribution target element and its data type. A method for extracting and delivering data in Web contents, further comprising: The method of extracting and delivering data in Web content according to claim 14,
The sixth step is:
A step of designating a parent element of an element serving as distribution target data for the content in which an element group including a plurality of elements is repeated in the Web content;
When the repeated element group is repeated on a parent hierarchy axis, a step of specifying the number of repetitions of the parent element;
A step of designating an arbitrary number of elements to be distributed from the elements below the parent element. The method of extracting and delivering data in Web content according to claim 14,
The sixth step is:
A step of designating a parent element of an element serving as distribution target data for the content in which an element group including a plurality of elements is repeated in the Web content;
When the repeated element group is repeated on the same hierarchical axis below the parent hierarchical axis, the first element and the last element of the repeated unit are selected from the element group repeated on the same hierarchical axis. Specifying an element;
Specifying a number of repetitions;
From the group of elements from the first element to the last element, specifying an arbitrary number of elements to be delivered,
A method for extracting and delivering data in Web content, comprising: The method for extracting and delivering data in Web contents according to claim 15 or 16,
The sixth step uses, for the content in which an element group including a plurality of elements is repeated in the Web content, an arrangement of tags on the parent hierarchical axis or the same hierarchical axis for the element designated as a distribution target, A method for extracting and delivering data in Web content, comprising a step of defining position information of the specified element. The method for extracting and delivering data in Web content according to claim 1,
In the case where the Web server presents predetermined information without receiving an input from a user, in order to generate the setting file,
A first step of acquiring and displaying Web content from the Web server;
A second step of receiving designation of an element part to be distributed from the displayed Web content;
A third step of acquiring and displaying the Web content designated as the distribution target element;
A fourth step of acquiring the data type of the Web content designated as the distribution target element;
Generating the setting file based on the Web content designated as the distribution target element and the data type thereof, the method for extracting and distributing data in Web content. The method of extracting and delivering data in Web content according to claim 14 or 18,
The second and sixth steps of the fourteenth aspect and the second step of the eighteenth aspect select a screen element in units of a portion surrounded by tags in existing Web content. A method for extracting and delivering data in Web content. The method for extracting and delivering data in Web content according to claim 19,
The second step and the sixth step of the fourteenth aspect, and the second step of the eighteenth aspect, respond to a selection operation of a screen element and change a tag hierarchy of Web contents corresponding to the selection operation. A method of extracting and recognizing the hierarchy as a selected screen element. The data extraction / delivery system in Web contents according to claim 12 or 13,
On the screen, a Web browser screen area for displaying the Web content acquired from the Web server and a result display screen area for displaying the element to be distributed are displayed, and the element to be distributed is displayed from the Web browser screen area. A method for extracting and distributing data in Web contents, wherein an operation of selecting and inserting the selected file into the result display screen area is received, and the setting file is generated. The data extraction / delivery system in Web contents according to claim 12 or 13,
On the screen, a Web browser screen area for displaying Web contents obtained from the Web server, a FORM tag input screen area for displaying a FORM tag input portion in an input screen provided by the Web server, and the distribution target element Displaying a result display screen area to display a FORM tag input part in an input screen provided by the Web server from the Web browser screen area and inserting the FORM tag input part into the FORM tag input screen area, and the distribution A method for extracting and distributing data in Web content, wherein an operation for selecting a target element and inserting it into the result display screen area is received, and the setting file is generated.

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