Method and system for generating values for a request for caching of content items

Abstract

A web browser ( 20 ) at a client ( 12 ) generates a request ( 26 ) for content from an origin server ( 18 ). A cache server ( 16 ) intercepts the request and examines the request to determine whether the request should be transformed. More specifically, the cache server compares transform criteria ( 40 ) to a uniform resource identifier portion ( 28 ) and a header portion ( 30 ) associated with the request. By transforming the request such that information in the header portion is included in the uniform resource identifier portion, the cache server can cache the content associated with the request using the uniform resource identifier portion of the request.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for communicating data, comprising:
 receiving a first request, the first request comprising a first uniform resource identifier and a header portion, the first request requesting a content item as specified by the first uniform resource identifier and the header portion;   comparing the first request to a transform criteria;   generating a second request from the first request in response to at least a portion of the first request matching the transform criteria, the second request consisting of a second uniform resource identifier associated with the content item and different than the first uniform resource identifier.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the second request is generated based on a specific transform associated with the matching portion of the first request, the second request generated by performing an action associated with the specific transform based on the header portion and the first uniform resource identifier of the first request to yield the second uniform resource identifier, the first and second uniform resource identifiers being in a hypertext transport protocol. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 determining whether the content item is stored in a cache based on the second uniform resource identifier; and   retrieving the content item from the cache in response to the content item being cached based on the second uniform resource identifier.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , further comprising:
 sending the first request to an origin server in response to the content item not being cached based on the second uniform resource identifier;   receiving the content item from the origin server;   providing the content item in response to the first request.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , further comprising:
 caching the content item at the cache based on the second uniform resource identifier of the second request.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the second request uniquely identifies the content item that is originally dependent on the header of the first request using only the second uniform resource identifier. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 in response to the first request not matching the transform criteria, determining whether the content item is stored in a cache based on the first uniform resource identifier; and   retrieving the content item from the cache in response to the content item being cached based on the first uniform resource identifier.   
     
     
         8 . A system for communicating data, comprising:
 means for receiving a first request, the first request comprising a first uniform resource identifier and a header portion, the first request requesting a content item as specified by the first uniform resource identifier and the header portion;   means for comparing the first request to a transform criteria;   means for generating a second request from the first request in response to at least a portion of the first request matching the transform criteria, the second request consisting of a second uniform resource identifier associated with the content item and different than the first uniform resource identifier.   
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the second request is generated based on a specific transform associated with the matching portion of the first request, the second request generated by performing an action associated with the specific transform based on the header portion and the first uniform resource identifier of the first request to yield the second uniform resource identifier, the first and second uniform resource identifiers being in a hypertext transport protocol. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 8 , further comprising:
 means for determining whether the content item is stored in a cache based on the second uniform resource identifier; and   means for retrieving the content item from the cache in response to the content item being cached based on the second uniform resource identifier.   
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 10 , further comprising:
 means for sending the first request to an origin server in response to the content item not being cached based on the second uniform resource identifier;   means for receiving the content item from the origin server;   means for providing the content item in response to the first request.   
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 means for transforming the first request to the second request;   means for caching the content item at the cache based on the second uniform resource identifier of the second request.   
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the second request uniquely identifies the content item that is originally dependent on the header of the first request using only the second uniform resource identifier. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 8 , further comprising:
 in response to the first request not matching the transform criteria, means for determining whether the content item is stored in a cache based on the first uniform resource identifier; and   means for retrieving the content item from the cache in response to the content item being cached based on the first uniform resource identifier.   
     
     
         15 . A non-transitory computer readable storage medium including code for communicating data, the code operable to:
 receive a first request, the first request comprising a first uniform resource identifier and a header portion, the first request requesting a content item as specified by the first uniform resource identifier and the header portion;   compare the first request to a transform criteria;   generate a second request from the first request in response to at least a portion of the first request matching the transform criteria, the second request consisting of a second uniform resource identifier associated with the content item and different than the first uniform resource identifier.   
     
     
         16 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of  claim 15 , wherein the second request is generated based on a specific transform associated with the matching portion of the first request, the second request generated by performing an action associated with the specific transform based on the header portion and the first uniform resource identifier of the first request to yield the second uniform resource identifier, the first and second uniform resource identifiers being in a hypertext transport protocol. 
     
     
         17 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of  claim 15 , wherein the code is further operable to:
 determine whether the content item is stored in a cache based on the second uniform resource identifier; and   retrieve the content item from the cache in response to the content item being cached based on the second uniform resource identifier.   
     
     
         18 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of  claim 17 , wherein the code is further operable to:
 send the first request to an origin server in response to the content item not being cached based on the second uniform resource identifier;   receive the content item from the origin server;   provide the content item in response to the first request.   
     
     
         19 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of  claim 18 , wherein the code is further operable to:
 cache the content item at the cache based on the second uniform resource identifier of the second request.   
     
     
         20 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of  claim 15 , wherein the second request uniquely identifies the content item that is originally dependent on the header of the first request using only the second uniform resource identifier. 
     
     
         21 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein the code is further operable to:
 in response to not the first request not matching the transform criteria, determine whether the content item is stored in a cache based on the first uniform resource identifier; and   retrieve the content item from the cache in response to the content item being cached based on the first uniform resource identifier.