Patent ID: 7409446
Filing Date: 2008-08-05
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
1. An information provision method utilized by a first information-provision device being included among information-provision devices which are connected to an information display device via a network, the information-provision devices having a function for providing a structuralized document requested from the information display device, wherein the structuralized document has a description referring to other resources, the information provision method including: accepting a request for providing a structuralized document containing a description of a reference to a resource on the network from the information display device or any other information-provision device; reading out the structuralized document, and extracting from the structuralized document the description of the reference to the resource, wherein the description of the reference is contained in the structuralized document and written in a predetermined description format; judging, if the resource is held in the first information-provision device, or is held in a second information-provision device included among the information-provision devices, based on the description of the reference to the resource; reading out the resource if the resource is held in the first information-provision device; requesting and acquiring the resource from the second information-provision device holding the resource, if the resource is not held in the first information-provision device; embedding a referred part of the resource into the structuralized document based on the description of the reference to the resource written in the predetermined description format; transmitting the structuralized document, into which the referred part of the resource is embedded, to the information display device or the information-provision device which sent the request for providing the structuralized document via the network; retrieving a description of a reference to a supplemental resource on the network from within the resource; and carrying out said judging, said reading out, said requesting and acquiring, and said embedding relative to the supplemental resource, if the resource includes the description of the reference to the supplemental resource.