Patents Assigned to Vignette Corporation
  • Patent number: 7415484
    Abstract: A method and system of managing content at a network site can allow easier use by business users. A higher level of abstraction can be used to allow business users to create their own objects that may reference or contain other objects or records as managed by a content management system. Business users do not have to learn programming code in order to work those objects, which are content types. A graphical user interface (“GUI”) can be used to help the business users to create, modify, and delete content types. The GUI and the ability for business users to the create content types greatly shortens the time between receiving software to operate a network site and launching content at that network site.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 9, 2003
    Date of Patent: August 19, 2008
    Assignee: Vignette Corporation
    Inventors: Michael C. Tulkoff, Jeffrey M. Collins, Mark Scheevel
  • Patent number: 7389320
    Abstract: A system for facilitating marketing dialogues permits multiple instances of multiple scripts to be active at the same time, where each of these dialogues can be at a different place in its script. The dialogues permit interactive communications between the user of the system (such as a marketer) and the user's customers or other participants. Scripts are created using a graphical user interface, in which shapes corresponding to steps in a script are dragged and dropped into a script. Communications can be over a network, by telephone, by mail, or by other means. Overall data from the execution of the scripts can be monitored using another graphical user interface, allowing results and trends to be observed and corrections made to the marketing program. Information regarding the scripts and variables used by the scripts is maintained in a set of tables in one or more databases. A data dictionary provides an interface for data stored in the databases.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 14, 2006
    Date of Patent: June 17, 2008
    Assignee: Vignette Corporation
    Inventors: Brian Reistad, William D. Snapper, Andrew C. Payne, James Campbell
  • Patent number: 7370335
    Abstract: One embodiment of the system of this invention can include software programming stored in a computer readable memory. The software programming can comprise a public API layer further comprising an object model containing generic software objects representing underlying workflow processes and functionality and an adapter layer comprising one or more adapters operable to map the generic software objects of the public API layer with the vendor-specific APIs of underlying workflow engines. The generic object model maintained by the public API layer can, in one embodiment of the present invention, comprise generic software objects corresponding to the reference model developed by the Workflow Management Coalition. In this manner, the public API layer can present an interface based on industry standards.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 31, 2001
    Date of Patent: May 6, 2008
    Assignee: Vignette Corporation
    Inventors: Eric R. White, John D. Dwyer, Christopher A. Hajdu, Claiborne H. Johnson, III, John H. Martin
  • Patent number: 7349942
    Abstract: A file-mapping method and system can better manage the number of items (i.e., files, subdirectories, or a combination of them) within any single directory within a storage medium. The method and system can be used to limit the number of items within the directory, direct content and content components to different directories, and provide an internally recognizable name for the filename. When searching the storage medium, time is not wasted searching what appears to be a seemingly endless list of filenames or subdirectory names within any single directory. A client computer can have requests for content fulfilled quicker, and the network site can reduce the load on hardware or software components. While the method and system can be used for nearly any storage media, the method and system are well suited for cache memories used with web servers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 31, 2002
    Date of Patent: March 25, 2008
    Assignee: Vignette Corporation
    Inventors: Conleth S. O'Connell, Jr., Eric R. White, N. Isaac Rajkumar
  • Patent number: 7349890
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention provide software products and methods of managing content that substantially eliminate or reduce the disadvantages of previously developed content management systems and methods. More particularly, one embodiment of the present invention includes a set of computer instructions stored on a computer readable medium that are executable to associate a rule with a rule condition, determine if the rule is applicable based on the state of the rule condition, receive a user interaction based on a set of content (e.g., web site content) and, if the rule is determined to be applicable, apply the rule to the user interaction. In one embodiment of the present invention, the rule condition can be metadata that is accessible by the computer instructions. The metadata can change dynamically and, consequently, whether or not the rule applies can change dynamically.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 26, 2003
    Date of Patent: March 25, 2008
    Assignee: Vignette Corporation
    Inventors: Heeren Pathak, Jeffrey M. Collins, Crandall Chow, Philip M. Irey, IV
  • Publication number: 20080034133
    Abstract: Embodiments disclosed herein provide a cache management system comprising a cache and a cache manager that can poll cached assets at different frequencies based on their relative activity status and independent of other applications. In one embodiment, the cache manager may maintain one or more lists, each corresponding to a polling layer associated with a particular polling schedule or frequency. Cached assets may be added to or removed from a list or they may be promoted or demoted to a different list, thereby changing their polling frequency. By polling less active files at a lower frequency than more active files, significant system resources can be saved, thereby increasing overall system speed and performance. Additionally, because a cache manager according to embodiments disclosed herein does not require detailed contextual information about the files that it is managing, such a cache manager can be easily implemented with any cache.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 12, 2007
    Publication date: February 7, 2008
    Applicant: Vignette Corporation
    Inventors: David Thomas, Scott Wells
  • Patent number: 7321953
    Abstract: The present invention provides a system and method for optimizing a cache that substantially eliminates reduces the disadvantages of previously developed cache management systems. More particularly, embodiments of the present invention provide a system of optimizing a cache by polling cached assets with a frequency dependent of the relative activity of a cached asset. An embodiment of the method of the system includes the steps of: (i) polling a cached asset according to a first schedule to determine if the cached asset has been active within a first predefined period of time; (ii) if the cached asset has not been active, polling the cached asset according to a second schedule to determine if the cached asset has been inactive for at least a second predefined period of time; (iii) demoting the cached asset to less active status; and (iv) if the cached asset has been inactive for at least within the second predefined period of time, demoting the cached asset to inactive status.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 5, 2004
    Date of Patent: January 22, 2008
    Assignee: Vignette Corporation
    Inventors: David Thomas, Scott Wells
  • Patent number: 7293070
    Abstract: Disclosed are embodiments of a method, system and computer program product for deploying components of a site between systems in a portal framework. In one embodiment, file assets as well as non-file assets of at least one component of a site designated for export are stored as an export file. Non-file assets may be constructed as an extensible markup language fragment, such as an XML fragment, having a predetermined structure. In one embodiment, the site comprises a collection of software objects that can be manipulated by a set of users having assigned privileges defined by permissions associated with each software object in the collection of software objects. The export file is transferred to a remote system such as a web portal. The assets, which are configured to operate on the remote system, are extracted from the export file to a plurality of locations on the remote system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 7, 2002
    Date of Patent: November 6, 2007
    Assignee: Vignette Corporation
    Inventors: Dean Moses, John Petersen, Edith Harbaugh, Miles Chaston, Hans Akesson, David Shue, Sandeep Chauhan, Jean Tessier
  • Patent number: 7278105
    Abstract: Methods and data processing system readable media have been created to graph user clickstream data over a network or at a network site to yield meaningful and visually esthetic information. In one set of embodiments, the method can comprise (i) performing a significance test on data from a network log and generating significance results. The method can also comprise (ii) determining which of network addresses and clicktrails between network addresses meet a traffic flow criterion. The data that meet a significance criterion, traffic criterion, or both can form (iii) graphable addresses and relationships. The method can further comprise (iv) generating statistics about the graphable addresses and relationships. The method can still further comprise (v) generating a graph based on the statistics about the graphable addresses and relationships, and (vi) changing any or all of the traffic flow, significance criterion, and statistics being computed, and regenerating the graph.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 25, 2002
    Date of Patent: October 2, 2007
    Assignee: Vignette Corporation
    Inventor: Brendan J. Kitts
  • Patent number: 7272786
    Abstract: A method or data processing system readable medium can be used for modifying a target document. The data processing system medium or method may use metadata and rendering instructions to modify a target document to make the target document more user-friendly, more informative, or easier to track statistics related to the target document. In modifying the document, the rendering instructions render the metadata elements that can be used in the target document. In some embodiments, different sets of metadata and rendering instructions may be used with the same target document.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 1, 2001
    Date of Patent: September 18, 2007
    Assignee: Vignette Corporation
    Inventor: Sean M. McCullough
  • Patent number: 7266840
    Abstract: Method and system for secure off-line transactions using a security access token for authentication and authorization of transactions. The user requests and receives the token from an application server of a desired service while on-line, logs off, prepares a transaction for entry into the system, and sends a message to the application server. The message contains a transaction object, such as a transaction, a query, an entry, an update, a revision, or the like combined with transaction data and the token previously supplied by the server. The server validates the token and executes the transaction object if the user is authorized for the transaction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 12, 2001
    Date of Patent: September 4, 2007
    Assignee: Vignette Corporation
    Inventor: Thomas Robert Gruber
  • Patent number: 7251687
    Abstract: A method can be used to profile a user using network addresses, category information, and corresponding temporal information when the user requested or received information from those network addresses. A table can be created that includes the user identifier, category information, and temporal information. The user profile can be generated and based at least in part on the user identifier, category information, and at least some of the temporal information. In a specific embodiment, the user identifier, network addresses, and timestamps may be the only source of user information. Embodiments can also include data processing system readable media having code to perform at least part of the methods. The methods and data processing system media can be implemented without having to generate complex code or rely on user provided information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 2001
    Date of Patent: July 31, 2007
    Assignee: Vignette Corporation
    Inventor: Sean M. McCullough
  • Patent number: 7197474
    Abstract: A data processing system-implemented method or data processing system readable medium can be used to model operating parameter(s) for a vendor. Detailed analysis of the impact of prices or other variables, on the demand of each item, is performed. These allow us to prune large numbers of prices or other variables which have little or no impact on a given item. After determining which prices and other variables are significantly related to an item, a more in-depth examination of that small list of variables may be performed. This in-depth examination will result in a set of final weighing factors, quantifying the effect of each on the item. The weighing factors for all other variables can be assigned a value of zero. By limiting the number of non-zero weighing factors, the time needed to generate all the weighing factors for a matrix (or matrices) is reduced.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 10, 2006
    Date of Patent: March 27, 2007
    Assignee: Vignette Corporation
    Inventor: Brendan J. Kitts
  • Patent number: 7194506
    Abstract: A method and system are disclosed for cache management and regeneration of dynamically-generated locale-sensitive content (DGLSC) in one or more server computers within a client-server computer network. One embodiment of the method of this invention can comprise receiving a request for content from a user at a client computer and determining the user's locale preference with, for example, an automatic locale detection algorithm. The requested content can be dynamically generated from a template as DGLSC based on the user locale preference. If the template is a cacheable template, a locale-sensitive filename can be generated for the DGLSC based on the user locale preference. The locale-sensitive filename can be associated with the DGLSC.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2001
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2007
    Assignee: Vignette Corporation
    Inventors: Eric White, Puhong You, Isaac Rajkumar
  • Patent number: 7188216
    Abstract: Systems and methods which provide an extensible caching framework are disclosed. These systems and methods may provide a caching framework which can evaluate individual parameters of a request for a particular piece of content. Modules capable of evaluating individual parameters of an incoming request may be added and removed from this framework. When a request for content is received parameters of the request can be evaluated by the framework and a cache searched for responsive content based upon this evaluation. If responsive content is not found in the cache, responsive content can be generated and stored in the cache along with associated metadata and a signature formed by the caching framework. This signature may aid in locating this content when a request for similar content is next received.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2003
    Date of Patent: March 6, 2007
    Assignee: Vignette Corporation
    Inventors: N. Isaac Rajkumar, Puhong You, David Dean Caldwell, Brett J. Larsen, Jamshid Afshar, Conleth O'Connell
  • Patent number: 7155506
    Abstract: A data processing system-implemented method can be used to better track a user's movements between network addresses. The method can comprise sending a frame identifier and a requested (current) network address at a first time. The method can also comprise finding a record including the frame identifier that has a prior network address and a time prior to the current time. The method can further comprise generating an entry for a table that includes the frame identifier, the current network address, the prior network address, and time. A server computer or a client computer can generate the entry. Improved accountability and improved user profile accuracy can be obtained with the method. A data processing system readable medium can comprise code that includes instructions for carrying out the method.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 2001
    Date of Patent: December 26, 2006
    Assignee: Vignette Corporation
    Inventor: Sean M. McCullough
  • Patent number: 7146369
    Abstract: A method and system are provided for native-byte form handling, one embodiment comprising a method for encoding user-submitted native-byte form data in a client-server computer network. A user, at a client computer, can select a Uniform Resource Locator (“URL”) with his or her web browser for access to a content provider's website. When accessing the content provider's web server, the client computer can transmit client computer specific information to the web server that can be used by the web server to determine the user's locale. The web server can determine the user's (client computer's) locale using, for example, an automatic locale detection algorithm, and forward the user's locale information to a back-end server. The content provider's back-end server can generate a locale-specific form having a pre-populated, uniquely-named field, using, for example, a dynamic page generation program. The locale-specific form can be served to the user's web browser for display to the user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 2004
    Date of Patent: December 5, 2006
    Assignee: Vignette Corporation
    Inventors: Eric White, John Boyd
  • Patent number: 7127486
    Abstract: A system for facilitating marketing dialogues permits multiple instances of multiple scripts to be active at the same time, where each of these dialogues can be at a different place in its script. The dialogues permit interactive communications between the user of the system (such as a marketer) and the user's customers or other participants. Scripts are created using a graphical user interface, in which shapes corresponding to steps in a script are dragged and dropped into a script. Communications can be over a network, by telephone, by mail, or by other means. Overall data from the execution of the scripts can be monitored using another graphical user interface, allowing results and trends to be observed and corrections made to the marketing program. Information regarding the scripts and variables used by the scripts is maintained in a set of tables in one or more databases. A data dictionary provides an interface for data stored in the databases.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 24, 2000
    Date of Patent: October 24, 2006
    Assignee: Vignette Corporation
    Inventors: Brian Reistad, William D. Snapper, Andrew C. Payne, James Campbell
  • Patent number: 7062515
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention provide a system and method for bi-directional synchronization of a cache. One embodiment of the system of this invention includes a software program stored on a computer readable medium. The software program can be executed by a computer processor to run in user space and perform steps that can include receiving a database asset from a database; storing the database asset as a cached file in a cache; determining if the cached file has been modified; and if the cached file has been modified, communicate the cached file directly to the database. In one embodiment of the present invention, the software program can determine if the cached file has been modified through automatic notification from a file management system. Alternatively, the software program can poll a cached file to determine if the cached file has changed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 2001
    Date of Patent: June 13, 2006
    Assignee: Vignette Corporation
    Inventors: David Thomas, Scott Wells
  • Patent number: 7028024
    Abstract: The present invention can include a data processing system-implemented method or a data processing system readable media having software code for carrying out the method. The method can comprise formulating queries, searching for a plurality of information objects, or a combination thereof. In a specific embodiment, an original query with at least one keyword can be automatically expanded to an expanded query that includes at least one keyword that is not in the original query. The expanded query may be used to search for information objects that are relevant to the expanded query.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 20, 2001
    Date of Patent: April 11, 2006
    Assignee: Vignette Corporation
    Inventors: Jefferson M. Kommers, David Freed, Damien Paul Kennedy