Electronic document delivery system employing distributed document object model (DOM) based transcoding

摘要

Several different embodiments of an electronic document delivery system are described including a client machine (e.g., a palmtop/handheld computer or wireless communication device) coupled to a transcoder proxy. The system allows a client machine with limited resources to provide interactive aspects of electronic documents such as Web pages and/or an assistive technology solution for a physically challenged user. The transcoder proxy receives an electronic document including one or more elements and expressed in a first digital format (e.g., HTML or XML). The transcoder proxy assigns a unique identifier to each element, produces an original script including at least a portion of the document expressed in a second digital format (e.g., a scripting language), and provides the original script to the client machine. The transcoder proxy may form a model of the document (e.g., a document object model or DOM), and may use the model to produce the original script. The client machine uses the original script to display or otherwise present the portion of the document. The client machine generates an event in response to user input, associates the event with an element within the original script, and provides the event and the identifier assigned to the element to the transcoder proxy. The transcoder proxy accesses the model using the identifier, uses the model to produce a modification script, and provides the modification script to the client machine. The client machine uses the modification script to modify the displayed or otherwise presented portion of the document.