Computer devices and methods that provide a common user interface for software applications accessed through the World Wide Web.

摘要

The present invention provides the ability to easily access a number of different application programs on the WWW through a common user interface. By providing standard procedures, routines, tools, and software "hooks" to access software applications on the World Wide Web, software developers can focus on the functionality of the application program and easily use HTML. It can provide a GUI interface for application programs. HTML is a known language that can be used by almost all computer systems on the market. In addition, HTML is a fairly well-controlled and standardized language, so that features of new software applications can be added if they are developed and supported by HTML. In addition, since HTML is a widely adopted non-proprietary technology, the present invention can provide a public path to a large market even for small software developers. In addition, the present invention allows software developers to adopt standard access protocols, allowing developers to provide support for any computer system capable of using an HTML aware browser. The common user interface of the present invention ultimately overcomes the limitations present in existing solutions by providing a standardized solution that is easy to implement for user interface, authentication / security and web transaction support.