Abstract:
The present invention provides a web site editing method, a web site editing system, and a web site editing computer program product enabling both an improvement in efficiency and safety in editing partial sites. A method of editing a web site by using a plurality of editing environments including at least first and second editing environments, the web site being composed of a plurality of web pages and stored in the first editing environment, the method in the first editing environment having: a specification step of accepting that a user specifies a part of the plurality of web pages as a partial site; and a generation step of generating an editing file including a specific file, which corresponds to the web pages included in the partial site, and a common file potentially used for editing the partial site.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     The present invention relates to a web site editing technology, and more particularly to a technology preferable for creating, editing, and updating a web site in a plurality of editing environments.  
       BACKGROUND  
       [0002]     Conventionally, web site editing a creation, and updating has been on the entire web site as a totality. This technique, however, does not consider the case where creating, editing, and updating a web site is performed in a plurality of editing environments. When allowing for a plurality of editing environments the following techniques have been adopted. A first method has been to create individual partial sites by dividing the entire web site and a second method has been to perform distributed development of a web site by using a source server or the like.  
         [0003]     While a file distributed management system is disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2000-57373 and Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2000-66118, these do not teach how to edit a web site in distributed environments without a source server.  
         [0004]     Examples of a situation requiring creating, editing, and updating a web site in a plurality of editing environments are as follows: a company wants to entrust editing or other processing of a subsite of a certain department on the company&#39;s web site to the department concerned; a board of education wants to entrust editing or other processing of a subsite of each school association on the web site of the board of education to the school association concerned; and a school association wants to entrust editing or other processing of a subsite of each class on the web site of the school association to the class concerned. The aforementioned first and second methods, however, cannot always fully satisfy a user&#39;s request.  
         [0005]     In the first method, the files of the entire site are not locally owned in individual editing environments. Therefore, a user cannot use, for example, a link to a subsite of another department or an image used throughout the entire site (for example, a logo image of a company name) in an editing environment of a partial site. On the other hand, in the second method, the files of the entire site are locally owned in individual editing environments. Therefore, a user can easily use a link to a subsite of another department or an image used throughout the entire site. There is, however, a potential for the user to edit or delete the link to the subsite of another department or the image used throughout the entire site by mistake.  
         [0006]     In view of these technical problems, the present invention has been provided. Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a web site editing method, a web site editing system, and a web site editing program enabling both an improvement in efficiency and safety of editing partial sites.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0007]     The present invention is directed to a web site editing method as described below. Specifically, it is an editing method of editing a web site by using a plurality of editing environments including at least first and second editing environments, the web site being composed of a plurality of web pages and stored in the first editing environment, the method in the first editing environment comprising: a specification step of accepting that a user specifies a part of the plurality of web pages as a partial site; and a generation step of generating an editing file including a specific file, which corresponds to the web pages included in the partial site, and a common file potentially used for editing the partial site. Furthermore, it can be an editing method further comprising an export step of exporting the editing file generated in the generation step from the first editing environment to the second editing environment. Still further, it can be an editing method further comprising an editing step of accepting that the user edits the editing file exported in the export step in the second editing environment. Still further, it can be an editing method further comprising a display step of displaying the partial site on the basis of the editing file edited in the editing step in the second editing environment. Furthermore, it can be an editing method further comprising: an import step of importing the editing file edited in the editing step from the second editing environment to the first editing environment; and a rebuilding step of rebuilding the web site on the basis of the editing file imported in the import step in the first editing environment.  
         [0008]     Moreover, the present invention is directed to a web site editing system as described below. Specifically, it is a first editing system for editing a web site, comprising: storage means for storing the web site composed of a plurality of web pages; specification means for accepting that a user specifies a part of the plurality of web pages as a partial site; and generation means for generating an editing file including a specific file, which corresponds to the web pages included in the partial site, and a common file potentially used for editing the partial site. Furthermore, it can be an editing system further comprising export means for exporting the editing file generated by the generation means from the editing system to another editing system. The present invention can also be an (second) editing system for editing a web site, wherein: the web site is composed of a plurality of web pages; a part of the plurality of web pages is considered a partial site; and an editing file includes a specific file corresponding to the web pages included in the partial site and a common file potentially used for editing the partial site, the system comprising: input means for accepting an export of the editing file from another editing system; and editing means for accepting that a user edits the editing file exported by the input means. Moreover, it can be an editing system wherein the editing means accepts that the user edits the specific file and rejects that the user edits the common file. Furthermore, it can be an editing system further comprising display means for displaying the partial site on the basis of the editing file edited by the editing means. Still further, it can be an editing system further comprising import means for importing the editing file edited by the editing means from the editing system to another editing system.  
         [0009]     The present invention is also directed to a web site editing computer program product as described below. Specifically, it is a computer program for causing a computer to function as a first editing system for editing a web site, the computer program causing the computer to perform: a storage function of storing the web site composed of a plurality of web pages; a specification function of accepting that a user specifies a part of the plurality of web pages as a partial site; and a generation function of generating an editing file including a specific file, which corresponds to the web pages included in the partial site, and a common file potentially used for editing the partial site. Furthermore, it can be a program for causing the computer to perform an export function of exporting the editing file generated by the generation function from the editing system to another editing system. Moreover, it can be a computer program for causing a computer to function as an (second) editing system for editing a web site, wherein: the web site is composed of a plurality of web pages; a part of the plurality of web pages is considered a partial site; and an editing file includes a specific file, which corresponds to the web pages included in the partial site, and a common file potentially used for editing the partial site, the program causing the computer to perform: an input function of accepting an export of the editing file from another editing system; and an editing function of accepting that a user edits the editing file exported by the input function. Furthermore, it can be a program wherein the editing function includes accepting that the user edits the specific file and rejecting that the user edits the common file. Still further, it can be a program for causing the computer to perform a display function of displaying the partial site on the basis of the editing file edited by the editing function. Furthermore, it can be a program for causing the computer to perform an import function of importing the editing file edited by the editing function from the editing system to another editing system.  
         [0010]     According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a web site editing method, a web site editing system, and a web site editing computer program product enabling both an improvement in efficiency and safety in editing partial sites. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0011]      FIG. 1  is a schematic view of an editing system according to a first embodiment.  
         [0012]      FIG. 2  is a hardware configuration diagram of each computer system.  
         [0013]      FIG. 3  is a flowchart showing the basic operation of the editing system according to the first embodiment.  
         [0014]      FIG. 4  is a flowchart illustrating step S 1  in  FIG. 3  in more detail.  
         [0015]      FIG. 5  is a flowchart illustrating step S 2  in  FIG. 3  in more detail.  
         [0016]      FIG. 6  is an example of a display screen of the computer system.  
         [0017]      FIG. 7  is an example of a display screen of the computer system.  
         [0018]      FIG. 8  is an example of a display screen of the computer system.  
         [0019]      FIG. 9  is an example of a display screen of the computer system.  
         [0020]      FIG. 10  is an example of a display screen of the computer system.  
         [0021]      FIG. 11  is an example of a display screen of the computer system.  
         [0022]      FIG. 12  is an example of a display screen of the computer system.  
         [0023]      FIG. 13  is an example of a display screen of the computer system.  
         [0024]      FIG. 14  is a schematic view of an editing system according to a second embodiment.  
         [0025]      FIG. 15  is a schematic view of an editing system according to a third embodiment.  
         [0026]      FIG. 16  is a flowchart showing the basic operation of the editing system according to the third embodiment. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0027]     Referring to  FIG. 1 , there is shown a schematic view of a network editing system to which the present invention is applicable. The network editing system comprises an information communication network  100 , first to third computer systems  1  to  3  connected to the network, and a web server  4 . Note here that the information communication network  100  embodies a concept containing the Internet, an intranet, and an extranet. Therefore, first to third users U( 1 ) to U( 3 ) using these computer systems can create, edit, and update a web site in association with each other, across organizations which they belong to or independently of where or when they are working.  
         [0028]     In this embodiment, it is assumed that the user U( 1 ) is a web master of an organization, the user U( 2 ) is a web master of a subordinate organization A belonging to the organization, and the user U( 3 ) is a web master of a subordinate organization B belonging to the organization. A first computer system (a first editing system)  1  provides the user U( 1 ) with a first editing environment C( 1 ) for creating, editing, and updating an entire web site S(C) of the organization. A second computer system (a second editing system)  2  provides the user U( 2 ) with a second editing environment C( 2 ) for editing or otherwise processing a web site (a partial site composed of one or more web pages) S(P 1 ) of the subordinate organization A forming a part of the entire web site S(C). Furthermore, a third computer system (a third editing system)  3  provides the user U( 3 ) with a third editing environment C( 3 ) for editing or otherwise processing a web site (a partial site composed of one or more web pages) S(P 2 ) of the subordinate organization B forming a part of the entire web site S(C). In this embodiment, the computer systems  1  to  3  provide the editing environments C( 1 ) to C( 3 ), respectively, in this manner. The present invention, however, is not limited to this structure, a single computer system can provide a plurality of editing environments (without the information communication network  100 ). For example, the computer system  2  can provide the user U( 2 ) with the second editing environment C( 2 ) and the user U( 3 ) with the third editing environment C( 3 ) on the basis of user authentication performed at their login processing. In addition, the present invention is not limited to three computers and users, but can comprise any number of single or multi-user computers.  
         [0029]     Moreover, in this embodiment, the user U( 1 ) uploads the web site S(C) stored in the first computer system  1  onto the web server  4  via the information communication network  100 , whereby the web site S(C) is widely open to the public.  
         [0030]     Referring to  FIG. 2 , there is shown a schematic view illustrating a preference hardware configuration of each of the computer systems  1  to  3 . Each of the computer systems  1  to  3  comprises: a CPU peripheral section including a CPU  100 , a RAM  120 , and a graphic controller  146  connected to each other via a host controller  110 ; an input/output section having a communication interface  144  connected to the host controller  110  via an input/output controller  140 , a hard disk drive  124 , and a CD-ROM drive  126 ; and a legacy input/output section (flexible disk drive  128  or the like) having a ROM  122  and an input/output chip  142  connected to the input/output controller  140 .  
         [0031]     The host controller  110  connects the RAM  120  to the CPU  100  and the graphic controller  146 , which access the RAM  120  at a high transfer rate. The CPU  100  operates on the basis of a program stored in the ROM  122  and the RAM  120  and controls respective parts. The graphic controller  146  acquires image data generated by the CPU  100  or the like onto a frame buffer provided in the RAM  120  and displays it on a display device  148 . Alternatively, the graphic controller  146  can include a frame buffer for storing the image data generated by the CPU  100  or the like.  
         [0032]     The input/output controller  140  connects the host controller  110  to the communication interface  144 , the hard disk drive  124 , and the CD-ROM drive  126 , which are relatively fast input/output devices. The communication interface  144  communicates with other devices via a network. The hard disk drive  124  stores programs and data used by the computer. The CD-ROM drive  126  reads a program or data from the CD-ROM  130  and provides it to the input/output chip  142  via the RAM  120 .  
         [0033]     Moreover, the input/output controller  140  is connected to the ROM  122 , the input/output chip  142 , or other relatively slow input/output devices (for example, the flexible disk drive  128 ). The ROM  122  stores a boot program executed by the CPU  100  at a startup of the computer or other programs dependent on computer hardware. The flexible disk drive  128  reads a program or data from the flexible disk  132  and provides it to the input/output chip  142  via the RAM  120 . The input/output chip  142  connects the flexible disk drive  128  or other various input/output devices via, for example, a parallel port, a serial port, a keyboard port, a mouse port, or the like.  
         [0034]     Subsequently, a software configuration of the respective computer systems  1  to  3  will be described below. The computer systems are provided with computer programs (an operating system and an application program), which have been stored in a recording medium such as the flexible disk  132 , the CD-ROM  130 , a DVD-ROM, or an IC card or acquired by a user via a network. The programs are read from the recording medium and installed into the computer via the input/output chip  142  or is read from another computer on the network and installed into the computer via the communication interface  144 , and then executed by the computer.  
         [0035]     At this point, a web site editing program is installed as an application program into the computer systems  1  to  3 . While identical web site editing programs are installed into the computer systems  1  to  3  in this embodiment, different web site editing programs can be installed into them. For example, an editing program exclusively for the entire web site can be installed into the computer system  1  and an editing program exclusively for partial web sites can be installed into the computer systems  2  and  3 .  
         [0036]     With the hardware configuration and the software configuration combined with each other, the computer systems  1  to  3  perform the functions described below.  
         [0037]     Referring to  FIG. 3 , there is shown a flowchart illustrating the basic operation of the network editing system according to this embodiment. Referring to  FIG. 4 , there is shown a flowchart illustrating the operation in step S 1  of the flowchart in  FIG. 3  in more detail. Referring to  FIG. 5 , there is shown a flowchart illustrating the operation in step S 2  of the flowchart in  FIG. 3  in more detail. FIGS.  6  to  13  illustrate display screens of the display device  148  of the computer systems  1  to  3 . Hereinafter, the operation of the network editing system according to this embodiment will be described on the basis of these flowcharts and the display screens.  
         [0038]     In step S 1  shown in  FIG. 3 , the user U(l) specifies a partial site S(P) from the entire web site S(C) in the first editing environment C( 1 ), namely the first computer system  1  in this embodiment. In step S 1 , more specifically, with the structure of the entire web site S(C) displayed in the form of a tree structure (step S 11  in  FIG. 4 ), the user U( 1 ) specifies the partial site S(P) by operating a mouse or the like from the entire web site S(C) in the tree structure. In this embodiment, the user U( 1 ) specifies a partial site S(P 1 ) edited in the second editing environment C( 2 ) or the second computer system  2  and a partial site S(P 2 ) edited in the third editing environment C( 3 ) or the third computer system  3 . Since the works and operations in the second editing environment are substantially equivalent to those in the third editing environment C( 3 ), the following description is given regarding the works and operations in the second editing environment C( 2 ) only.  
         [0039]     Referring to  FIG. 6 , there is shown a display screen  148 (S 1 ) of the first computer system  1  in step S. In the center of the display screen  148 (S 1 ), the structure of the entire web site S(C) is displayed in the form of a tree structure. If the user right-clicks (or otherwise signals) on an object (a web page in this case) forming a part of the entire web site S(C), the shown pop-up menu group appears. If the user U( 1 ) selects “Specify as Common File” on the menu group, the object is specified as a common file.  
         [0040]     Referring to  FIG. 7 , there is shown another display screen  148 (S 1 ) of the first computer system  1  in step S 1 . In the lower left corner of the display screen  148 (S 1 ), web materials included in the entire web site S(C) are displayed in the form of files. If the user right-clicks on an object (a GIF file as a web material in this case) forming a part of the entire web site S(C), the shown pop-up menu group appears. If the user U( 1 ) selects “Specify as Common File” on the menu group, the object is specified as a common file.  
         [0041]     In step S 2  shown in  FIG. 3 , the first computer system  1  creates an editing file (a first editing file) for the partial site S(P 1 ). This editing file includes a specific file corresponding to the web page group included in the partial site S(P 1 ) specified in step S 1  and a common file potentially used for editing the partial site S(P 1 ). This common file is related to other web pages (corresponding to the entire web site S(C) and the partial web site S(P 2 )) not included in the partial web site S(P 1 ). More specifically, the common file includes web materials (static images, voice, moving images, scripts, style sheets, and the like) of other web pages and link information indicating link destinations.  
         [0042]     In this step S 2 , more specifically, it is accepted that the user U( 1 ) selects a file to be specified as a common file (step S 21  in  FIG. 5 ), stores the file selected by the user U( 1 ) (step S 22  in  FIG. 5 ), and creates an editing folder of the partial web site S(P 1 ) in a subordinate class of the folder of the entire web site S(C) in the computer system  1  (step S 23  in  FIG. 5 ).  
         [0043]     Referring to  FIG. 8 , there is shown another display screen  148 (S 2 ) of the first computer system  1  in step S 2 . In the center of the display screen  148 (S 2 ), there are displayed the files constituting the entire web site S(C). Folder “SubSiteFolder” containing editing files is created in a subordinate class of the folder “Top Folder” containing the files constituting the entire web site S(C). Furthermore, the folder “SubSiteFolder” contains html files (link information) as common files.  
         [0044]     In step S 3  shown in  FIG. 3 , the first editing file is exported from the first editing environment C( 1 ) to the second editing environment C( 2 ), in other words, from the first computer system  1  to the second computer system  2  (See an arrow ( 1 - a ) in  FIG. 1 ). In this embodiment, the first editing file is exported as an attached file of an e-mail from the first computer system  1  to the second computer system  2 . Exporting an editing file by bypassing the information communication network  100  will be described in a second embodiment.  
         [0045]     In step S 4  shown in  FIG. 3 , the partial web site S(P 1 ) is edited in the second editing environment C( 2 ) or the second computer system  2  (See an arrow ( 1 - b ) in  FIG. 1 ). Specifically, the user U( 2 ) edits a specific file by using and referencing a common file of the editing files. In this regard, while modifying or deleting the specific file is permitted in the second computer system  2 , modifying or deleting the common file is not permitted. For example, if the common file includes link information, it is permitted to paste the link information to the specific file corresponding to the partial web site S(P 1 ), but the link information itself is not permitted to be modified nor deleted.  
         [0046]     Referring to  FIG. 9 , there is shown a display screen  148 (S 4 ) of the second computer system  2  (the third computer system  3 ) in step S 4 . There are displayed files of link information (displayed as “Common Link” here) and web materials (displayed as “Common Material” here) included in the entire web site (displayed as “Parent Site” here) S(C) on the left side of the display screen  148 (S 4 ). Furthermore, link information as common files is displayed in the lower right corner of the display screen  148 (S 4 ) and the partial web site S(P) can be edited by using the link information.  
         [0047]     Referring to  FIG. 10 , there is shown still another display screen  148 (S 4 ) of the second computer system  2  (the third computer system  3 ) in step S 4 . In the center of the display screen  148 (S 4 ), the structure of the partial web site S(P 1 ) is displayed in the form of a tree structure. If the user U( 2 ) right-clicks on an object (in this case, a common file) forming a part of the tree structure, the pop-up menu group appears. Option “Change File Name” on the menu group is grayed out, whereby the user U( 2 ) cannot select it to change the file name of the common file.  
         [0048]     Referring to  FIG. 11 , there is shown still another display screen  148 (S 4 ) of the second computer system  2  (the third computer system  3 ) in step S 4 . In the center of the display screen  148 (S 4 ), common files are displayed in the form of files. If the user U( 2 ) right-clicks on an object (in this case, a web material) forming a part of the common files, the shown pop-up menu group appears. Options “Change File Name” and “Delete File” on the menu group are grayed out, whereby the user U( 2 ) cannot select them to change the file name of the common file or to delete the file.  
         [0049]     In step S 5  shown in  FIG. 3 , the partial web site S(P 1 ) after the completion or in the process of editing is displayed in the second editing environment C( 2 ) or the second computer system  2 . If the common file includes relative path information in the first editing environment C( 1 ) or the first computer system  1  to a web material (for example, a static image) of another web page and meta information of the web material here and the relative path information and the meta information are added to a specific file in editing step S 4 , the web material is displayed on the basis of the meta information in the display step S 5 . For example, the static image is replaced with a dummy image on the display. If the common file includes actual information of a web material of another web page and the actual information is added to the specific file in the editing step S 4 , the web material is displayed on the basis of the actual information in the display step S 5 . For example, a static image is displayed as it is on the basis of the actual information in the second computer system  2 . Furthermore, if the entire web site S(C) is uploaded to the web server  4  on the information communication network  100 , the common file includes absolute path information in the information communication network  100  to a web material (for example, a static image) of another web page, and the absolute path information is added to the specific file in the editing step S 4 , actual information on the web server  4  of the web material is acquired on the basis of the absolute path information and the web material is displayed on the basis of the actual information in the display step S 5 . For example, the static image is displayed as it is on the basis of the actual information in the web server  4 .  
         [0050]     Referring to  FIG. 12 , there is shown a display screen  148 (S 5 ) of the second computer system  2  (the third computer system  3 ) in step S 5 . In the center of the display screen  148 (S 5 ), a partial web site S(P) is displayed. Objects forming a part of the partial web site S(P) (in this case, static images of a notebook computer, a printer, an external hard disk drive, and a mouse as web materials) belong to the second editing environment C( 2 ) as common files and are displayed on the basis of, for example, actual information.  
         [0051]     Referring to  FIG. 13 , there is shown another display screen  148 (S 5 ) of the second computer system  2  (the third computer system  3 ) in step S 5 . In the center of the display screen  148 (S 5 ), a partial web site S(P) is displayed. If the user U( 2 ) right-clicks on an object forming a part of the partial web site S(P), the shown pop-up menu group appears. As shown, also in the display step S 5 , options “change File name” and “Delete File” on the menu group are grayed out, whereby the user U( 2 ) cannot select them to change the file name of a common file or to delete the file.  
         [0052]     In step S 6  shown in  FIG. 3 , the first editing file is imported from the second editing environment C( 2 ) to the first editing environment C( 1 ), in other words, from the second computer system  2  to the first computer system  1  (see an arrow ( 1 - c ) in  FIG. 1 ). In this embodiment, the first editing file is imported as an attached file of an e-mail from the second computer system  2  to the first computer system  1 . Importing an editing file by bypassing the information communication network  100  will be described in a second embodiment.  
         [0053]     In step S 7  shown in  FIG. 3 , an entire web site S(C′) is rebuilt on the basis of the imported partial web sites S(P 1 ′) and S(P 2 ′) in the first editing environment C( 1 ) or the first computer system  1  (See an arrow ( 1 ) in  FIG. 1 ). In step S 8  shown in  FIG. 3 , the rebuilt entire web site S(C′) is uploaded onto the web server  4  via the information communication network  100  (See an arrow ( 2 ) in  FIG. 1 ). As a consequence, the rebuilt entire web site S(C′) is widely opened to the public.  
         [0054]     According to this network editing system, a user can efficiently edit a web site. Specifically, the user can use a common file when editing a partial web site and thus can edit the partial web site by using resources not included in the partial web site. Moreover, according to the network editing system, the user can safely edit the web site. Specifically, the user need not export all files of the entire web site and is inhibited from modifying or deleting common files, whereby there is no possibility that the entire web site loses the transparency or commonality when the partial web site is recombined with the entire web site.  
         [0055]     Referring to  FIG. 14 , there is shown a schematic view of a network editing system according to a second embodiment. In this network editing system, exporting (See step S 3  in  FIG. 3  and the arrow ( 1 - a ) in  FIG. 1 ) and importing (See step S 6  in  FIG. 3  and the arrow ( 1 - c ) in  FIG. 1 ) of an editing file are not carried out via an information communication network  100 , unlike the first embodiment. The same references have been used as in the first embodiment for similar parts and their description is omitted here.  
         [0056]     In this embodiment, both of a first computer system  1  and a second computer system  2  are standalone computer terminals, both of which are not connected to the information communication network  100 . In this embodiment, a generated editing file (step S 2  in  FIG. 3 ) is stored into an information storage medium such as, for example, a CD-R  130  or a USB memory  134 , exported from the first computer system  1  to the second computer system  2  (a third computer system  3 ), and imported from the second computer system (the third computer system  3 ) to the first computer system.  
         [0057]     Referring to  FIG. 15 , there is shown a schematic view of a network editing system according to a third embodiment. In this network editing system, an already edited partial web site S(P′) is uploaded from a second editing environment (a second computer system  2 ) or a third editing environment (a third computer system  3 ) directly to a web server  4 , unlike the first embodiment. The same references have been used as in the first embodiment for similar parts and their description is omitted here.  
         [0058]     Referring to  FIG. 16 , there is shown a flowchart illustrating the basic operation of the network editing system according to the third embodiment. In this network editing system, the edited partial web site S(P′) is uploaded from the second computer system  2  directly to the web site  4  by an information communication network  100 , unlike the first embodiment.  
         [0059]     Although certain preferred embodiments have been shown and described, it will be understood that many changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the scope and intent of the appended claims.