Patent ID: 7895337

Claim:
A method of generating an Internet application interface for display to a user in a web browser, the method comprising the steps of: retrieving by a server an interface definition defining a primary display region of the Internet application interface and a secondary display region of the Internet application interface, and further defining a set of content types the secondary display region is permitted to display; in response to a request from the web browser of a client for a primary content to be displayed in the primary display region, retrieving with the server from a data source the primary content to be displayed in the primary display region, wherein the primary content is determined by executing a first query on the data source; identifying with the server a plurality of content parameters in the primary content, wherein each content parameter comprises markup data and a content value, the markup data identifying the content parameter and the content value representing a secondary content related to the primary content, the markup data further comprises a content type associated with the secondary content; identifying with the server a first content parameter of the plurality of content parameters in the primary content the first content parameter having a content parameter type that matches at least one of the set of content types the secondary display region is permitted to display; retrieving with the server a secondary content using the content value associated with the first content parameter, wherein the secondary content is determined by executing a second query on the data source, wherein a search term of the second query is based on the content value associated with the first content parameter; causing with the server the located secondary content to be displayed through the secondary display region, the located secondary content replacing at least a portion of any previous displayed secondary content in the secondary display region; generating with the server interface data for the Internet application interface based on the primary content and the secondary content wherein the Internet application interface comprises a web portal, wherein the web portal is customized for the client based on the interface definition, and wherein the interface definition is provided to the server by a user of the client; providing the interface data from the server to the web browser of the client; identifying with the server an other content parameter in the secondary content, retrieving with the server tertiary content using the other content parameter, and including by the server the tertiary content in a tertiary region of the Internet application interface, wherein the tertiary regions and tertiary content are responsive to a part of the secondary content in manners analogous to the relation of the primary and secondary content.