System and method for packing of small objects for efficient delivery over networks

摘要

A method for requesting and processing a plurality of objects includes requesting a plurality of objects from a server, receiving a response message from the server, the response message containing the plurality of objects packed into the response message, and automatically unpacking the plurality of objects contained in the response message. The server includes an object packing module for packing requested objects into the response message. The client includes a plugin program that interacts with a network browser, in which the plugin program includes an unpacking module for unpacking the packed response message from the server. By delivering the plurality of requested objects in a single response message the objects are delivered over a single communication session thereby avoiding setting up and tearing down a plurality of communication sessions and reducing overhead processing. The objects can be thumbnail images forming the results of a search query.

主权项

1. A method of requesting and processing a plurality of objects from a server, comprising:
opening a session with the server; requesting the plurality of objects from the server, wherein the plurality of objects comprise graphical images displayable on a web page by a web browser; receiving a response message from the server, the response message containing the plurality of objects packed into the response message; ending the session with the server after the receiving the response message; automatically unpacking the plurality of the packed objects contained in the response message for displaying on the web page by the web browser; and displaying on the web page, the plurality of the unpacked objects comprising the graphical images in a second order provided in the response message, wherein the second order is different from a first order in which the plurality of the packed objects are unpacked from the response message.