Patent ID: 7765253

Claim:
A method of retrieving information about an identifier from a physical markup language server by generating a request, said method comprising the following steps: a. Providing a format string and an identifier containing characters used for generating the request; b. Generating the request by: i. Selecting a first character from the format string, wherein the first character is used to determine how many characters in the identifier should be mapped to a first character of the request; ii. Selecting a first group of one or more characters from the identifier, wherein the number of characters in the group is based on the value of the first character selected from the format string; iii. Setting the request equal to the first group of characters; iv. Selecting a second character from the format string, wherein the second character is used to determine how many characters in the identifier should be mapped to a second character of the request; v. Selecting a second group of one or more characters from the identifier, wherein the number of characters in the group is based on the value of the second character selected from the format string; vi. Adding the second group of characters to the request; and c. Using the request to obtain information about the identifier from the physical markup language server.