WO2001055915A1 - Object destination representation method and system - Google Patents

Abstract

The subject invention discloses a method for uniform identification of objects, namely an Object Reference Identifier (ORI), which is capable of representing uniformly the media such as homepage, telephone number, facsimile number, specific document, etc. of an object such as company, association, individual, etc. The ORI comprises identifiers such as 'Identification Symbol', 'Object', 'Attributes'. For the identification symbol, signs like '#', '$', '!' which are not generally in use for URL are adopted. The Object, consisted of elements divided by dots, may have a plurality of attributes. The Attributes may represent attributes of the media, or the contents as such, or mere reference to other objects or other attributes. An ORI produced as described above is then converted to the address of each media (URL, telephone number, e-mail address, etc.) at an ORI server, allowing a user to connect to the desired destination using said ORI.

Description

OBJECT DESTINATION REPRESENTATION M ETHOD AN D Sϊ STEM

BACKGROL N D OF TH E 1N\ ENTION

Field of the Im ention

The pi esent inv ention relates generally to a method foi obiect destination repi esentation in pai ticulai to a method for unifonnh identifying object destinations such as homepage addresses telephone numbers facsimile numbers mobile telephone numbers addi ess contents ot an object etc

Background of the Invention λ aπous communication means such as telegraph telephone telex facsimile mobile telephone elect! onic mail instant messenger and the like hav e e eiged along with the developments ot the corresponding technologies In addition theieto the traditional communication means of letter is also widely used today

Howev er since most communication means do not allow the communicating parties to be connected in a one-to-one mannei but connect them v ia an exchange a method for representing a communication partner is requπ ed in oider to uniquely separate the partnei fi om othei s The address in a letter telephone numbei facsimile numbu e mail addi ess the instant messengei ID etc serve this function In paiticulai I0R.L ( L inform Resource Locator) has been mtioduced to separate specific text in a homepage w ith the dev elopment of the Internet

The Internet address system L RL which has been in use so tai is defined bv RFC2 96 and RFC 1718 Based on these documents the URL can be divided into the parts UR1 and L^rRN by the separator and can be repiesented as [LR1] [LR\J

Foi example if a HTTP which is most fiequentlv used in web bio seis is represented as H 11 P w i rcinic net index htm' the URL can be lepiesented as a

) combination of HTTP asLRland //www inteinic net/index html as LRN le it can be repiesented as [site address or server name [ poit numbei]] and [tile name including the dnectoiv] Here the [ poπ number] can be omitted In the same mannei LRl ane- mail address is MAILTO and the UR\ is an e-mail addiess such as uc mas *,

.. ικ i the URL oi which can bt lepiesented as

M AILT^{( )} . bmastcr ft i' πi _____ ]__ t

However such representation method lequnes a sepaiate lepiesentation for each communication means In other words a multiple digits ot f.«uιes are used for telephone oi facsimile an address in the form of alphanumenc ID -, oi ui i name is used for e-mail addiess and a URL is used for texts on the Internet The telephone ) numbei s facsimile numbeis e-mail addiesses etc which aie used to id ntity a

communication partnei is called identifier heieinaftei

As such since each communication means requπes its ov n identitiei the correct identifier of the partner for a specific communication means should be known in order to enable a communication with the partner Foi instance if an e-mail is to be sent to a certain Mi Hong Gildong Mi Hong s e-mail addiess should be a ailable Even it Mr Hong s home telephone number is known it would be ot no use in figuiing out his

e-mail address horn it Furthermore it is even not possible to figure out Mr Hong s office telephone numbei from his home telephone numbei which lattei is ot the same category in the communication means with the former In case of a URL. which is used as an Internet address, a user can go to the homepage of "the Blue House" by inputting the correct URL or bv using a search engine. Howev er, the correct URL of "the Blue House^" is not "www.bluehouse.go.kr^" or "ww^rw.chur.gwadae.go.kr" as many would presume, but rather '"www.cwd.go.kr". From this example it can be seen that remembering or figuring out the correct URL is generally not easv. and using a search engine is cumbersome.

A device for solving these problems is the "Korean domain^". In a Korean domain, a user is allow ed to input in the address windo of a web browser an address in Korean instead of Latin letters, e.g. "the Blue House^" in Korean, to have the corresponding homepage displayed on a monitor screen subsequently.

The methods for supporting such Korean domains include utilizing an application program, connecting to a name server without utilizing an application program, and utilizing a dual language program compatible to English and Korean languages. Utilization of an application program proceeds by inputting a domain name in

Korean into the Internet address input window of an existing web browser in which the application program is installed. The inputted Korean domain name is then transmitted by the application program to a server which transforms the Korean domain name into an IP address, and the application program, upon receiving the IP address corresponding to the inputted Korean domain name from the server, transmits the IP address to the browser to establish a connection to the homepage destined by the Korean domain name.

As to the method of connecting to the name server, the conversion of the TCP/IP DNS configuration of the netw ork into an IP address of the name server using the computer control panel enables establishment of a connection to a desired site even though a Korean domain name is inputted in the domain name input w indow of an existing web browser

In cases where a dual language svstem for English and Koi ean languages is utilized, the compute! i ecognizes the inputted Korean domain name in a manner that the ^~) Korean consonants oi v owels are recognized as the English alphabets on the key board corresponding to the inputted Korean consonants or vowels e g if nav ei in Korean is inputted, the computer recognizes it as the corresponding alphabets on the English keyboard, spdlqj^* and then establish a corresponding connection

But these methods ai e limited in that they can establish connections to 0 homepages alone, and fail to connect to telephone numbei s e-mail addresses etc of the owner of the homepage (organization, corporation, individual etc ) and to those of its members These methods further fail to find identifiers for other communication means from the Korean domain names

Due to these circumstances a personal name card is apt to carrv a full list of the ^") person s identifiers for each of his communication means Previously a listing of the business address telephone number, and facsimile number was sufficient tor a name card in addition to the name and position of the bearer Howev er, recent dev elopments and diversification of communication means are increasing the number of identifiers to be added in a name card, including e-mail address, mobile telephone number instant messenger ID. homepage address, and the like

Further in cases where any identifier has been changed due to e g change of the dwelling and/or job the new identifier needs to be noticed to each parties concerned which procedure is very cumbersome

Moreover it would be convenient if the attributes of the object (they are all called "destination^' heieinafter). such as contents of the ol ect coipoiate legistiation number, resident registration number employee numbei etc aie expiessed consistency with addresses of the communication means WI. I. represent the communication destination of the object (individual oiganization coipoiation etc )

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

\ lepiesentation method capable oi expiessing an object destination consistently should fulfill the following functions First the repiesentation shall not vary by different communication means, in other words a representation for the telephone shall be identical with that for the e-mail In contrast to the current piactice where the form of lepiesentation of a telephone number differs from that of an e-mail address, the new representation method should allow a consistent expression of both Second, an identical representation (addiess) shall not be assigned to two oi more different objects i e a single address shall be assigned to only one peculiai object destination.

Thud, the representation method shall be applicable not only to the existing communication means, but also to new communication means to come in the future,

Fourth the repiesentation method shall allow expanded application

Fifth, the representation method shall be easily recognizable bv users If the expression is made like a secret code it cannot be used widely Furtheimore it is desirable that the representation method is so made that an object^'s communication destination for one communication means allows to easilv obtain that object communication destιnatιon(s) for othei communication means and

Sixth the repiesentation method shall be machine-ieadable Accordingly the piesent invention aims to piovide an object destination representation capable of fulfilling the above functions T the present invention further aims to provide an ob|ect destination representation method which allows to use the same address even in cases when real addresses of the communication means have been changed due to change of dwelling and/or job

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAW INGS

Fig 1 shows an example of the working of the object destination lepresentation method according to the present invention at different level

Fig 2 is a block chart showing the lnnei configuration ot the ORI system in accordance with the pi esent mv ention

Fig 3 show the configuration of an ORI database compπsed m the ORI system of an embodiment of the present invention

Fig 4 shows the configuration of an ORI database compnsed in the ORI system of another embodiment of the present invention Fig 5 shows charts explaining how the data aie connected accoiding to the contents stored in the ORI database in the embodiment descnbed m Fig 3

Fig 6 shows charts explaining how the data aie connected accoidmg to the contents stored in the ORI database in the embodiment described in Fig 4 Figs 7 and 8 aie flow charts illustrating the ORI interpretation algorithms Figs 9 and 10 shows examples of screens displayed when an individual user performs ORI registration

Fig 11 is chart illustrating a network configuration to explain how an Internet user obtains a connection to anothei web site by using ORI

Fig 12 shows an example of the screen displayed when a usei peiforms ORI registration after having connected to the ORI system

Fig 13 shows an example of the screen displayed when a client program for ORI input is effected Fig 14 is a flow chart lllustiat g a connection operation to the Internet after an

ORI has been inputted using an existing URL address form

Fig 15 shows an example illustrating how connection to the real addresses works based on the inputted LRL addresses in the couise of the connection operation to the Internet after an ORI has been inputted using an existing URL address form

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention discloses an olηcct destination lepiesentation method (hereinafter "ORE (Object Reference Identifiei)) which is described in detail below in order to achieve the above objectives

This method allows to express communication means (homepage, telephone number, facsimile number specific contents etc ) of a particular object (corporation organization, individual etc ) consistently in systematic levels as illustrated in Fig 1

For example, an object, University of California Los Angeles is expressed as "#UCLA0 the homepage of University of California Los Angeles as "#UniversityofCaliforniaLosAngeles.Home". the telephone number of University of California Los Angeles as "#UniversityofCaliforniaLosAngeles. Telephone^", etc.

In case an object comprises other objects as its lower members (sub- organization, member, etc.), an hierarchical expression such as "#UniversitvofCaliforniaLosAngeles.DepartmentofComputerEngineering^" mav be used. The communication means of these lower level objects may then be expressed consistently e.g. as

"#UniversityofCal if rniaLos Angel es.DepartmentofComputerEngineering. Telephone^". Further, since "University of California Los Angeles^" is frequently abbreviated to "UCLA", "#UCLA" can be defined to designate

"#UniversιtyofCaliforniaLosAngeles^". In the same way, "#UCLA. Computer Dept^" can be defined to designate

"#UniversityofCaliforniaLos Angeles. DepartmentofComputerEngineering^'", for "Department of Computer Engineering^" is frequently abbreviated to "Computer Dept ^". Since it is not seldom that some individuals share the same name, an addition of nick name prior to the personal name in form of "flash.jackdaniel^" can be used. To place the nick name after the personal name such as "jackdaniel. flash^" is also possible. The ORIs thus expressed are transformed to addresses of their corresponding communication means (URL, telephone number, e-mail address, etc.) by the ORI server. In this way, a user can connect to a desired destination using the ORI.

<Expression of ORl>

An ORI is expressed in the form of [Identification Symbol][Object]. [Attribute]. 1 Identification Symbol

Special symbols which are not generally used in URL such as # S ' and the like can be used as identification symbols In the piesent embodiment the symbol ) -t- is used as the identification symbol

2 Object

An object is expiessed in the form of [Element] [Element] [Element] Here an element means a text string that is not sepaiated bv a dot oi a blank space such as University of California Los Angeles lack Daniel oi Secretariat An Object can be expiessed by only one element as in case of UCLA oi by a multiple of elements each of which sepaiated bv dot(s) as m case of ' UCLA DepartmentofComputerEngineeπng

The ob|ects may be classified into one of three types a dπectory object which is allowed to make lower level objects an atom object which is not

to make lower level objects and a reference object which lepiesents the nickname ot a director_* object or an atom object

21 Directory Object Directory objects are (sets of) related objects including corporations such as

Samsung Electronics Hyundai Automobiles government institutions such as

'Korean Industrial Piopertv Office Mmistiy ot Industry and Resouices educational institutions such as LCL Seoul High School associations such as AmencanBai

Association ' Veterans Association and the like Further, any sub-division or sub- organization of the abov e corporations, institutions, associations, etc. can be a directory object. In such case, the sub-division or sub- organization is expressed in a manner showing the hierarchical relationship to its higher level directory object. for example. "SamsungElectro ics. Secretariat", "USPTO.ExaminationDiv isionø.ComputerDepaitment^". "UCLA.DepartmentofComputerEngineering^", etc.

In this manner, a directory object can make low er level objects by adding element or group of elements representing sub-division, sub-institution, sub- organization, member, etc. as in the examples, "SamsungElectronics. Secretariat^", "ExaminationDivision4.CornputerDepartment^" , "UCLA. President^", etc. Moreover, expressions representing attribute of a directory object may also be added to make new lower level objects, a detailed explanation of which follows belo

2.2 Atom Object Atom object is an object that is not allowed to make a lower level object. An atom object is expressed comprising only one element as in case of ^"J ack Daniel^", or it is expressed in hierarchical manner, comprising a multiple of elements, as in case of "UCLA. Depart mentofComputerScience.JackDaniel".

Further, since it is not seldom that one and the same personal name is shared by different individuals, it is desirable that personal names are expressed to comprise the nickname, such as "cowboy.johnwayne", "singer.johnwayne^", etc. In this manner, persons having the same name can be separated. Here, nicknames identical with any of the directory object name shall not be allowed, in order for separation of the nicknames

from the directory objects An atom object may have attributes, a detailed explaination of w hich follows below

2 3 Reference Object Reference object represents nickname of a directory object or an atom object

For example, since the object. "University of California Los Angeles^" can also be expressed as ^"UCLA^", "UCLA^" can be used as a refei ence object for "UmversityofCaliforniaLosAngeles^" Examples of the same category would be "BarAssociation^" foi the "AmeπcanBarAssociation^" "NatFedBus^" for "NationalFederationOfBusiness^", "DeptEl^" for "DepartmentOfElectπcEngineeπng^",

etc

In case a reference object refers to a directory object, other object mav be added as well for example, since ^"'UCLA" is a reference object to the directory object "UniversityofCaliforniaLosAngeles", it is allowed to add other element or group of elements representing its sub-division, sub-organization, membei, etc to make a new object such as "UCLA DepartmentofComputerEngineeπng^" Furthermoie, to a reference object, attributes may have added to make lower level objects A detailed explanation thereon follow s below

3 Attribute

An attribute added to an object in a lower level produces an attribute output Attributes may be classified according to the natures of their outputs into one of three types, a medium attribute, a contents attribute, and a reference attribute 3 1 Medium

A Medium attnbute has destination address of the information medium for an object such as ' telephone firm introduction etc as its output In other w ords both "#flash jackdaniel Telephone^' and "02- 123-4567" have the destination of the medium telephone (telephone number) as then outputs while both SamsungElectι onιcs Productlnfoi mation and

"http øsamsungelectronics com/kr/products/index html^" hav e the destination of the medium, the Internet (URL) as their outputs

A medium attribute can have for its object identifiei s ot v arious communication means including telephone numbei, URL e-mail address addiess instant messenger ID and the like Since many new identifiers may still come tnggered by dev elopments in

the communication means, the present invention does not limit itself to specific communication media

An output of a medium attribute can be used for connection to a corresponding medium For example a telephone call to the mobile phone of Jack Daniel may be established by inputting "^flash jackdaniel MobilePhone when the mobile phone is online with the Internet

Alternatively it can be so arranged that the output is merely display ed according to the conditions of the device in use For example if a computer is not

equipped with an Internet phone although connected to the Internet the ORI system can display the output "01 1 -987-6543 only upon input of

"#flash jackdaniel MobilePhone" in the URL input window of the web browser

3 2 Contents A Contents attribute being attribute of an object has contents as its output For example the output of ^"#flash lackclaniel Selflntroduction is ^"1 am a healthy 25 years old male citizen of the U S A . hav ing mountain climbing and cinema as hobbies 1 am still single and work as a graphic designei at a v enture business A contents attribute can hav e not onlv a general text fi le but also files in other forms such as HTML as its output

If an ORI hav mg contents as its attribute is inputted the corresponding contents output is display ed to the user For example if ^" flash jackdaniel Selfl nti oduction^" is inputted in the L RL input w indow of the w eb browsei. the contents 1 am a healthy 25 years old male citizen of the Republic of Korea, hav ing mountain cl i mbing and cinema as hobbies 1 am still single and w ork as a graphic designer at a v enture business ^" is display ed on the web brow ser

3 3 Reference A Reference attribute takes other object or attribute of othei ol ect at each object as its output For example, if the attnbute ^"school foi an object "#flash jackdaniel^" is linked to an object ^"Univ ersity of California Los Angeles^" then. "#flash jackdaniel School^" would mean "University of California Los Angeles^" If an object "#flash jackdaniel^" has linked the attnbute "office telephone^" to

"SamsungElectronics DesιgnDιvιsιon3 Telephone^", the output for

"#flash jackdaniel OfficeTelephone^" would be "Tf SamsungElectronics

DesignDivιsion3 Telephone^"

A reference attribute is ti eated in the same w ay as the object it l efei s to In other words in cases w here it refers to a directory object it can hav e low ei lev el objects

1.. or attributes, while in cases where it refers to an atom object . it can have in its lower level only attributes.

For example, in the case of "#flash. jackdaniel. chool^", since the reference attribute "School" of "#flash.jackdaniel" refers to the directory object "University of California Los Angeles^", it can have in its lower level other objects or attributes like "#UniversityOfCaliforniaLos.Angeles", i.e. it can have other object such as "#flash.jackdaniel. School. DepartmentofComputerEngineering^". or other attribute such as "#flash. jackdaniel. School. Home^", which are to be interpreted as

"#Univ ersityofCali torn iaLos Angeles. Depart mentfComputerScience^" and "#UniversityOfCaliforniaLosAngeles.Home", respectively.

Further, in cases where the reference attribute refers to a medium attribute, the output is used for connection to the corresponding medium, while in cases where the reference attribute refers to a contents attribute, the output is display ed the user.

For example, since "#flash.jackdaniel.OffιceTelephone^" refers to a medium attribute, the resulting output is used establish a telephone call to Jack Daniel s office telephone.

The reference attribute differs form the reference object in that the reference object can exist independently and always refers to one object w hile the reference attribute can only have an existence on a level lower than an object, and that it is interpreted differently in accordance with the object it refers to. The reference object "UCLA^" can exist independently like "#UCLA" and refers always to ^"University of California Los Angeles^". In contrast thereto, the reference attribute ^"School^" cannot exist independently like ^"^School^", and may refer to "University of California Los Angeles" or "KoreanlnstituteofScienceandTechnology^", or other institution according to the object it refers to For example if ^"flash jackdaniel^" has designated "I niv ersity of California Los Angeles" as its reference attribute for school, while "rock kimjungho^" has designated "KoreanlnstituteofScienceandTechnology ^" as its reference attribute for school "#flash jackdaniel School^" w ould l epresent "ffUniversitvofCalifoi niaLosAngeles^" w hile =rock kimjungho School w ould represent ^"#KoreanlnstιtuteofScιenceandTechnologv ^"

3 4 Omission of Attribute

Attributes can, if necessary, be omitted, at w hich occasion a default attnbute is assigned or the attribute is determined by its use environments For example, in case where only the object name "#UCLA ComputerDept" is inputted in the URL input window of the w eb browser, it is processed as "#UC L A ComputerDept Home^" and thus, an operation to connect to the homepage of the Computer Department of the UCLA is

conducted Furthermore, if only "#flash jackdaniel^" is inputted in the receiv er column of an e-mail program, this is interpreted as "flash jackdaniel Mail^" and an e-mail is sent to the e-mail address of Jack Daniel

Configuration of the ORI System>

As next, the inner configuration of the ORI system is described below making

reference to Fig 2

The ORI interpretation part 1 10 search an output coπ espondmg to the inputted ORI from the database and outputs it The interpretation algorithm of the ORI interpretation part is explained later

The ORI registration part 120 is responsible for the user interface, the function of which comprises registering new ORls. deleting or changing exixting ORIs. etc A user may register, delete, or renew an ORI in the database through the ORI registration part 1 20.

The DB server 130 administers the database of the ORI system, and the ORI system comprises an object DB 140 and an attribute DB 1 50 at the least. The object DB

140 stores information on the objects, while the attribute DB 1 50 stores information on the attributes assigned to the objects. The table structure of these databases are explained below.

<Database Structure of the ORI System>

In order to process the above ORls. the ORI system is equipped with databases as described in Fig. 3.

The object table 500 stores information on the objects. The object table 500 includes an object ID field 5 10 which separates each object uniquely, and an object name field 520 for storing the corresponding object names. The object names may not

overlap. Thus, object names can be used as a primary key, without using the object IDs.

The object table 500 further comprises an object type field 530 which stores the types of each object, i.e. object type, atom type, or reference type.

Furthermore, the object table 500 comprises a default attribute/reference object ID field 540 for storing default attribute IDs which are assigned in cases where no attribute is added to a directory object or an atom object, or for storing object I Ds of the

corresponding objects in case of a reference object, respectively.

It is desirable that a passwords field 550 is provided in order to ensure that only those who are authorized to refer to or correct the information on an object, may access

10 the conesponding object information

Moieover each obiect has an attnbute field 560 foi stonng IDs of the attnbutes assigned to that object The attribute IDs assigned to each object aie stored in the attribute field 560 and the information on each attnbute finds a sepai te storage in the attribute table 600 It is also possible that the attribute names aie stoied together with the attnbute IDs for com enience of the seaich

The attnbute table 600 compiises an attnbute ID field 60¹ which identifies

uniquely each attribute an attribute name field 620 for storing the corresponding attribute names an attribute type field 630 for storing information as to whether the attribute is a contents attribute oi a reference attribute an attribute sub-type field 640 which stoies the type ot the attnbute output i e whethei the attnbute outputs a telephone numbei a URL a HTML text an e-mail addiess or a text file and an attribute output field 650 for storing the attribute output of the conesponding attnbute

In the following an exemplary explanation as to how the abo.c databases are used in connection to the ORI is given making ieference to Fig i

In Fig 5 the double-lined frames 501 502 503 504 lepiesent object lecords while the single-lined frames 601 602 603 604 repiesent attnbute lecords

The numeral 501 which is a directoiy object lecord foi LCLΛ has the attribute ID 53023100 le home as its default attribute Thus upon input of '#UCLA it is interpreted as #UCLA Home and the conesponding attnbute output is fetched from the Home attribute record 601 and then outputted

In addition #UCLA has as its attnbute Telephone as well Thus upon input of #UCLA Telephone it is checked whether the attnbute field in the object record of "UCLA' comprises ' Telephone and then the attribute output 02-962-0114 is fetched from the "Telephone^" attribute record 602, and then outputted.

Since "#UCLA^" is a directory object, it can hav e other elements in its lower level so that they could be formed to new objects. Fig. 5 shows the record 502 for a lower directory object, "#UCLA.AlumniAssociation0 which is formed by combining "Alumni.Association^" with ^"UCLA^",

Since ^"#UCLA.AlumniAssociation" has "Home" as its default attribute, "#UCLA.AlumniAssociation^" fetches the URL, ^"hu /vv w u ucla-aluniiii. com^" from the attribute record 603.

Since ^"#UC LA. Alumni.Association^" further has "President^" 604 as its attribute, and the attribute "President^", in turn, has the atom object 504. "flash. jackdaniel^" as its reference attribute, "#UCLA.AlumniAssociation. President^" has the same object as

"#flash.jackdaniel^". Accordingly, the default attribute output "øflash.jackdaniel^" is outputted.

Fig. 5 comprises also the attribute record 503, "#UCLA. Alumni.Association^". Since "#UCLAAlumniAssociation" refers to "#UCLA. Alumni.Association^" as its reference object, the output of "#UCLAAlumniAssociation^" results in the default output of "0UCL.A. Alumni .Association^", thus the output value of

"#UCLAAlumniAssociation. President^" shall be "#flash.jackdanier.

Fig. 4 shows the database structure in another embodiment of the present invention. The database st cture in Fig. 4 differs from that in Fig. 3 in that the connection between the object table and the attribute table occurs in the object ID field 660 of the attribute table 600. and not in the attribute field 560 of the object table 500.

Fig. 6 shows exemplary how the database structure as described in fig. 4 is used

in connection with the ORI As shown in Fig 6 since the object ID field 660 stores the links of the attributes to their corresponding objects in the attnbute table 601 604 the connection of an attribute to its object is made by this field

In other words, since the object ID field of the attnbute Home stores the object ID "53023 1 ' which represents ' #UCLA in the ORI 0UCL A Home , it can be known that the attribute, "Home" 601 is an attribute of the ob|ect UCL A 501

In Fig 6 in difference to Fig 5 the object 5 4 to w hich the l efei ence attribute 604, "President refei s w hich latter is, in tui n an attnbute ot the object "#UCLA Alumni Association is expi essed using the ORI name flash jackdaniel^" This expression is advantageous in that, it allows in seai ching foi an object i efen ed to by a reference attribute (here, ^'flash jackdaniel^") in an ORI intei pt etation algorithm (an explanation thereon follows) to fetch the contents of the corresponding object and thus to retrieve the corresponding object, even in cases where the object ID of the object "flash jackdaniel" has been changed for any reason

<ORl Parsing Algorithm

ORI parsing algorithm in the ORI system is explained below making reference to Figs 7 and 8 The possible combinations of the elements in ORI are as follow s

Combination 1 : director} object alone (e g ? UCLA #PTO ExamιnatιonDιv ιsιon4 ComputerDept) -> output of the default attnbute of the corresponding object (e g URL of the UCLA^' s homepage is outputted),

Combination 2: atom object alone (e g #flash jackdaniel #UCLA DepartmentofComputerEngineeπng jamesdean) - output of the default attribute of the corresponding object (e g URL of Jack Daniel^'s homepage is outputted)

Combination 3: reference object is included ( e g

#UCLA ComputerDept telephone) -> re-interpreted after hav ing been transformed into an object name to w hich the reference object refei s (to be transformed into e g "#UCL A ComputerDept telephone ^' and then re-interpreted)

Combination 4: director} object + attribute (e g =LCL A telephone, #UCLA ComputerDept JuniorClass StudentSpeaker) -> if the attribute is not a reference attribute, the attribute value of the con esponding object is outputted (e g the telephone number of UCLA is outputted), if the attribute is a reference attribute transformation into an object name referred to by the reference attribute and then re-interpreted (the expression is transformed into e g " #UCL A Computei Dept JuniorClass jackdaniel^' and then re-interpreted, and

Combination 5: atom object + attribute ( e g

#flash jackdaniel MobileTelephone #flash jackdaniel department element4) - ^> if the attribute is not a reference attnbute the attribute value of the con esponding object is outputted (e g jackdaniel s telephone number is outputted) if the attnbute is a reference attribute transformation into an object name referred to by the reference attribute, and then re-mterpreted (the expi ession is transfoi med into e g "#UCL A ComputerDept Element4^", and then re-interpreted

It is to notice here that the same ORI can hav e different combinations of elements based on the diffei ent l egistration I e in the forms of object alone or object -+- attribute For example "UCLA ComputerDept can be registered as a separate reference object or "ComputerDept" can also be registered as a reference object of the directoiv object UCLA Although the registeied databases have difteient locations according to ditfeient legistiation methods which leads to difteient internal piocessing methods the final outcome to be obtained remains the same

Aftei input ot the ORI the ORI system extiacts the elements (step SI 00) Foi example upon input of #LCL A DepartmentofC omputeiEngmeenng home LCLA is extracted as the fust element 'DepartmentofComputerEngineeπng as the second element and home as the thud element

The first of these thiee elements is set for the token (step S 110) Then it is checked hethei the token exists as an object name in the object DB (step SI 20) Since an entry into step SI 20 is possible not only when the first element is set for the token (eg 'UCLA ) but also when it is set toi the token in combination with other elements (eg L CLA DepartmentofC omputeiEngineeπng

"flash jackdaniel ) various combinations of elements that can be set for the token are explained below

1 In case an object name identical with the toke exist in the DB It such an object name exists the piocessing is diveisified aecording to the type of the object Although Fig 7 illustrates a case where a checking as to whethei the object is a reference object (step SI 30) precedes a checking as to whethei the object is an atom object (step SI 40) the sequence of the checking has not special meaning What is important here is that the objects are processed difteientlv in accordance with their types

1 1 In case the object is a leterence object This is the case where an object name identical with the token exists and the object is a reference object in the cases the token is eg UCLA' , "'UCL \ Depaitmentof Computei Engineering etc Since the expiession shall be transformed into an object name teferred to by the refeience object and then re- interpreted, the procedure goes to step S135 m oidei to set the refeience value as the token and then leturns to step SI 20

Foi example if the inputted ORI is "#UCLA element2 element! the token is

"UCLA^' Since the reference object ^CICLA lefeis to

"#UnιversιtyofClaιfornιaLosAngeles", the token is tiansfoπned to "UniveisitvofClaiforniaLos Angeles and the piocess leturns to step SI 20 Heie the elements 2 and 3 remain as extracted to be used in the subsequent step of inteipietation

If the inputted ORI is "#UCLA ComputerDept element3^" , since the token at step S130 is "UCL A ComputerDept^" and the reference object, "#UCLA ComputerDept^' refers to '#UCLA DepartmentofComputei Engineering^' the token is transformed to 'UCL A DepartmentofComputei Engmeenng and leturns to step SI 20 Heie element 3 remains as it was extracted to be used in the subsequent step of interpretation

The above combination 3 is processed in this mannei

12 In case the object is an atom object

This is the case wheie an object name identical with the token exists and the object is an atom object in the cases the token is eg flash jackdaniel^", "UCLA Depaitmentof ComputerEngineeπng jackdaniel^' , etc

An atom object cannot have a lower level object, but may have attributes Thus it is checked at step S I 50 whether any low er lev el element has not been pi ocessed

If no unprocessed lower level element exists which means that the case falls within the category' of the above combination 2 the default attribute output of the corresponding object is outputted (step S 1 5 ] ) If there exists any unpi ocessed lower lev el element w hich means that the object has the next element as its attribute it is checked w hethei the unpi ocessed next element exists as an attribute of the con esponding atom object (step S 1 52)

If the above element does not exist as an attnbute of the atom object this means that the ORI is incorrect In this case an eπ oi message is t eleased and the interpretation is terminated (step S 1 59)

If the abov e element exists as an attribute of the atom object it is checked whether the attribute is a reference attribute and if not the corresponding attribute output is outputted (step S 1 54)

If the abov e element is a reference attribute of an object a new ORI is produced using the output of the attribute and the remaining elements (step S I 55) and the new

ORI is interpreted at step S I 00 For example if the attnbute Department of the object "falsh jackdaniel^" l efei s to UCL A DepartmentofComputei Engineering

"#flash jackdaniel Department Element4 is transformed at step S 1 55 to "#UCLA DepartmentofComputerEngineermg Element4" bv combining the object "UCLA DepartmentofComputerEngineermg" to which the attnbute Department refers and the remaining element Εlement4^" The new ORI thus transtoi med is then

interpreted anew from step S 100

1 3 In case the object is a directory object

2 . This is the case where an object name identical with the token exists and the object is a directory object in the cases the token is eg LCLA ' PTO ExaminationDiv ιsιon4 etc

Since a directory object can have lower level ob|ects or attributes it is checked at step SI 60 whether any unprocessed element exists

If no unpiocessed lowei level element exists which means that the case falls withm the category of the above combination 1 the default attnbute output of the corresponding object is outputted (step SI 61 )

If there exists any unprocessed lower level element this means that othei lower level objects could be pioduced bv other elements Thus it is re-checked whether any object exists by adding the lower level elements Therefoie if theie exists any unprocessed lower level element, a new token is set by adding the next element to the existing token (step SI 62) and then the procedure is lepeated from step SI 20

For example if the inputted ORI is "#PTO ExaminationDiv ιsιon4 ComputeiDept and the token is PTO there exist the unprocessed lower level elements (ExaminationDiv ιsιon4 C mputerDept) Thus a new token PTO ExaιτnnatιonDιvιsιon4 is set and the pioceduie iepeats anew from step

S120

2 In case an ol ect name identical with the token does not exist in the DB

The cases where an object name identical with the token does not exist fall within any one of the following three categories I where the token consists of a directory object + attnbute 2 where the token is a part of an atom object (e g flash in "flash jackdaniel ) and 3 wheie the ORI is lncoπect

21 Fust it is checked whethei a dnectory object is being piocessed (step S200) as shown in Fig 8 If a diiectoiv object is being piocessed the lemaini ι elements of the token must be attnbutes Ae ϋidingh the le mmg elements aie sepaiated and set as attribute tokens (step S210) For example if the existing token is UCL A DepartmentofComputei Engmeei g Telephone the token will be

UCL A DepartmentofC omputei Engineering and the attiibuu tokui will be "Telephone

As next it is checked whethei the attnbute conesponding to the attnbute token exists in the object database corresponding to the token exempted ^"ø the last element (step S220) In othei words it is checked in the above example whethei the attribute corresponding to Telephone does exist the object database

"UCL A DepartmentofComputerEngineeπng

This is the case where an object name identical with the token exists and the

object is an atom object in the cases the token is eg flash jackdaniel 'UCLA Depaitmentof C omputei Engmeeimg jackdaniel etc

It the attribute does not exist this means that the ORI is lncoπect In this case an error message is leleased (step S290)

It the attnbute exists it is checked whethei the attnbute is a lefeience attnbute (step S230) and if not the corresponding attribute value is outputted (stepS2τl) If the attribute is a reference attnbute a new ORI is pioduces bv using the value to which the reference attribute refers to and the lemaining element (step S232) and then the new ORI is interpieted from step SI 00 on Foi example if StudentSpeaker which is an attribute of the object

"UCLA DapartmentofComputerEngineeπng JunioiC lass lefeis to flash jackdaniel the ORI

"#UCL A. DepartinentofCoinputerEngineering. JuniorClass. Student Speaker. Elements^" is transformed at step S232 to "#flash. jackdaniel. Element5^" by combining the object "flash. jackdaniel^" to w hich the attribute ^"StudentSpeaker^" refers, and the remaining element "Elements^" This transformed, new ORI is then interpreted ane fron step S l OO on.

If no directory object is being processed, it is checked whether the next element exists (step S240).

If the next element is existent, the object can be an atom object such as "'#flash.jackdaniel^" which is a combination of a nickname and a personal name. In such case, a new token is produced by combining the existing token and the next element, and then the ORI interpretation is repeated from step I 20 on ( step S250). For example, if the existing token is "flash^" and the next element is "jackdaniel^", the token is transformed to "flash.jackdaniel^". and the procedure is repeated from step S I 0 on.

<ORl Registration -

In order to use the ORI. the users such as corporation, individual, etc. need to register their names at the ORI system. Figs. 9 and 10 illustrate screen displays for an ORI registration of an individual. In Fig. 9. the user registers not only his personal name, but also his nickname.

Registration of the nickname is required for a better separation of the indiv iduals, for it is not unusual that different individuals share the same personal name

If a user inputs his personal name and nickname, the ORI system searches the object table 500 of the ORI database, to check whether an identical object name exists. If such an object name exists, the user is requested to input a new nickname

If an identical object name does not exist a screen as il lusti ated in Fig 10 is displayed whereupon the user inputs the identifiei s (homepage URL e-mail address wire-telephone numbei mobile telephone numbei ) for the basic media (e g homepage e-mail, wire-telephone, and mobile telephone in Fig 1 0) Although homepage e-mai l wire-telephone, and mobile telephone are listed as the basic media in Fig 1 0 it is also possible that additional media such as home telephone office telephone office facsimile etc ai e included

Further, the user can input not mei ely the identifiers foi the basic media presented but also attributes he chooses In Fig 1 0 the user can input an attnbute in the input window, 'othei s Inputting a multiple of attributes is possible by additional clicking of the input button

Here, it is also possible that the user inputs the ty pe of the attribute for a

classification thereof Furthermore, correction of information already entei ed is al so possible If the address and/or telephone number has been changed due to a change of l esidence and/or job, the information stoi ed in the ORI system needs simplv to be updated It is desirable that passwords are set at the time of ORI registration to prev ent any unauthorized changes of the stored information

Since the registration procedure for corporations or organizations is similar, a separate explain is omitted Howev er since corporations or organizations are allowed for registration as directory' objects thev can hav e othei objects at then low er lev el For example, the UCLA has sub-organizations such as department of computei engineering, office of academic l ecords library etc Thus not onlv L CL A^" but also "#UCLA Department ofComputerEngineering^", "&UCLA Officeof Academi c. Records^" "#UCLA Library^", etc can be registered as separate objects

"-Examples of the ORI Use ^>

Typical cases where the ORI are used are described below

1 Web Browsing

ORI can be used as an address for w eb page In practice, how ev er. URL is used as the address of a web page For this reason, an address stored as ORI needs to be transformed to the corresponding URL before it is sent

For such transformation of an ORI to a URL, the user can use the following three methods; inputting an ORI after accessing the ORI system, using a client program installed in the user^'s computer, and using a conventional URL address form Each of these methods is explained in detail below making reference to Figs 1 1 and 1 2

1 1 Inputting an ORI after accessing the ORI system

If a user 300 connects to the ORI system 1 00 by using a w eb brow ser, a screen as illustrated in fig 12 is displayed The user 300 inputs the ORI of the desired site in the ORI input window 10 and then clicks the ""connect^" button, whereupon the ORI system 100 checks whether a URL address corresponding to the inputted ORI is stored in the ORI database

If there is such a URL address, the ORI system 100 re-directs the w eb browser of the user to the corresponding URL address If such a URL does not exist, an error message is released 12 Using a Client Piogram

In order to use a client program the usei y eithei use a sepaiate window equipped with an ORI input window oi the existing I Rl input Aindow oi a web browser

In case a sepaiate input window is used a sepaiate window 11 as shown in Fig 13 is displayed upon execution of the client piogiam If the usei inputs the desned ORI in the ORI input window 1 of this window 11 the client piogram sends it to the ORI system 100 The ORI system 100 searches foi a I RL conesponding to the leceived ORI and sends the search result to the client piogram The client piogiam while executing the web browser, transmits the received URL to the web biowsei to enable the web browser to connect to the L RL

In case an existing URL input window of the of the web browsei is used, the client piogiam sends an inputted infoimation that it classifies as an ORI to the ORI system 100 and fetches a URL corresponding theieto and then tiansmits this information to the web bio ser

An ORI comprises an identification symbol in its font pan ( ~ in the above examples) The symbol "= since it is not used in the URL address system enables easy distinction of an ORI from a URL address Detailed ways of implementing this

method differ accoiding to web browsers

In the Internet Exploier, an address input which is not I Rl letnevable can automatically be piocessed bv the COM (Common Object Model) obiects iegistered at the registry (HKEY-CLRRENT-USERExplorerSearchPlooks) In such case any address commencing with = is transformed bv COM to an otdinarv I'RI bv addition

yn of a URL-compatible gateway servei name at its font part and can then be use in the browser Since the installed client progiam is automatically executed without lequirmg any additional operation when the web browsei is dnv en the usei can not feel any inconvenience in this connection To explain in moie details

(1) A COM object type (DLL oi EXE) client is installed

(2) The client is legisteied at the Windo s legistiy

(3) The web bio sei is dm en

(4) The web browser automatically loads the COM object registeied at the Window legistiy

(5) If a non-URL text is inputted in the address input window of the web browser the above iegisteied COM ob|ect is called It an oidinarv URL is inputted the piocess proceeds to step (7) descnbed below without calling the COM object (6) If a I Rl commencing with ^J is inputted the COM obje.t makes an addition ot the LRL of the ORI gateway servei in tiont of the ORI iecombmes it to a LRL and then leturns it to the web biowsei (7) The web browsei establishes a connection to the destined location through the returned URL

13 Using an Existing URL Address Form

Fig 14 illustrates the flow of opeiations in connecting to the Internet thiυugh an ORI input using an existing URL addiess form

A user who is a legistered membei dnves the web browsei bv using a device capable of Internet connection such as computer. PD.A. etc ( step S300). and inputs URL of the ORI svstem 1 0 and the Internet name assigned to the URL of the site to be accessed in the URL input window of the w eb brow ser in the follow ing manner(S3 10): [Protocol] ://[URL of the ORI service site]/[#lnternet name] E g. , htip "one αge tc "C ocacoia. httpø/onepage.toøΛYhiteHouse Letter

As such, if a user inputs a URL including an ORI. the ORI interpretation part 1 10 of the ORI system 1 00 checks whether the inputted URL includes the set identification symbol "#^" (step S320) If the Internet name does not include the identification symbol "~^". a message requesting input of the identification symbol is outputted (step S330) Alternatively, it is also possible that a general w eb page is outputted in case of an ordinary URL

On the other hand, if the inputted ORI includes the identification symbol ^"'#^". the data following the symbol "'#^" is treated as the ORI of the site to be connected to and then, based thereon, the database is retrieved to find the corresponding attribute value (step S350)

If the Internet name is not stored in the database, a message showing nonregistration of the Internet name is displayed (S360)

In contrast, if the Internet name combined to the identification symbol ^"=?^'" is stored in the ORI database, the inputted URL is transformed in accordance w ith the stored attribute value corresponding to the Internet name (step S370). and operations are made based on the transformed attribute value (step S380)

For example if the inputted Internet name is ^"Samsung Electronics^", a search in the ORI database is conducted. "Samsung Electronics^" is transformed to the corresponding URL, "http://www.samsung.co.kr^", and then transmitted to a Internet connection dev ice whereupon the Internet connection dev ice establishes a connection to the web serv er of Samsung Electronics

Further, if an Internet name is referred to by a different nickname input of the different Internet names y ield the same result which con esponds to the identical attribute of the Internet name

Fig 1 5 show s an example illustrating how the Internet name l efeπ ed to is transformed in case where Internet names referred to bv one or moi e different names correspond in l espect to one Internet name

Bv using the Internet name reference as described abov e not only the Internet names registered by the site administrator, but also the names and the outputs of the attributes that are set at the lower lev el individually by the registering member or the administrator can be designated Thus use of this Internet name refei ence c..n enhance the speed and accui acv of an Internet search

2 Electronic Mail

A web service or a mail program is used for utilizing the electron]., mail In order to use a web serv ice, the web mail service must support the ORI I e upon input of an ORI (e g #flash lackdamel), which represents the e-mail address in the e-mail address input window of the web mail service, the web mail serv er transmits it to the

ORI system 100 and fetches the corresponding e-mai l address (e g hikπτi (JOPep μe co ki ) and then use it as the e-mail address

In case of a usei connecting to the Internet using the abov e-mentioned client program upon input of the ORI which represents the e-mail address in the ORI input window, the client program transmits it to the ORI system 100 and fetches the

8 corresponding e-mail address, and then turns the e-mai l address ov ei . either as it accesses the web serv er or as it executes the external mai l program, as per the presetting of the user In case an external program is used, the address can be transformed to URL form (e g r.αilte ;.:Kιm ø pnepai,,' n kr ) and then be turned ov er to the web browser so that the mail program can be driv en

3 Telephone

In case of utilizing an Internet phone, the Internet phone -.oftw i e should be supporting the ORI. i e if a user inputs the ORI in the called partv telephone number input window, the Internet phone software transmits it to the ORI system 1 00 and fetches the genuine telephone number, and then makes a telephone call to that number

In case of a mobile telephone, the ORI system must be connected to the mobile telephone network, or the mobile telephone must be capable to access the Internet

In case the ORI system is online w ith the mobile telephone netw ork, upon input of the ORI (e.g #flash jackdaniel HomeTelephone ) w hich repi esents the telephone

number of the called party in the mobile phone, the inputted ORI is transmitted by the mobile telephone network to the ORI system The ORI system transforms receiv ed ORI to the corresponding telephone number and transmits it to the mobile telephone exchange, and then the exchange makes a telephone call to the transmitted telephone number. Alternatively, it is also possible that the mobile telephone males a call to the corresponding telephone number, upon transmission of the corresponding telephone number from the ORI system

In case an Internet compatible mobile telephone is used, upon input of the ORI which represents the telephone number of the called party after a connection to the ORI

8) system via the Internet has been established, the corresponding telephone number is fetched from the ORI system, and then a telephone call is made to that telephone number.

Although the abov e description of the present invention has been made in the light of the above examples of the embodiments of the inv ention, the present i nv ention is not limited thereto Instead, the scope of the rights of the present inv ention should be determined by the claims as attached herein below and the specification, allowing to cover various modifications and adjustments without departing the spirit of the invention, as those skilled in the art would understand.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The present inv ention prov ides an object destination representation system, which allows a uniform representation of an object destination regardless of its location, and further allows to easily find addresses of other media from a giv en address, thus resulting in enhanced user convenience.

Further, since one ORI is assigned uniquely to one object destination, it can be used to various media uniformly.

Further, the present object representation system is capable of expansion because it allows to encompass new media to come in the future by adding the attribute names, and thus, a given expression can be used almost permanently.

Further, since the object destination representation system in accordance with the present invention has an easily recognizable characteristic, it can be easily recognized and remembered by the public, and allows to presume related addresses of other communication media from a given address for one communication medium of an object vv ith ease

Further, since the above representation method as exemplified abov e allows an algorithmic interpretation by a machine, it allow s computeuzation of the expi essions

Finally even in cases w here the addi ess and/oi the telephone numbei of a user has been changed due to the change of his i esidence and oi |ob the usei needs only to change the corresponding information in the ORI system without changing the ORI itself, and thus making the efforts in notifying of the addi essøelephone number changes unnecessary

Claims

W hat is claimed is:

1 An object destination l epresentation sy stem compi ismg an object database including an olηect name field tot stυi ing an ouiect name comprised of one or more elements each separated by a dot an object ty pe field for storing a type of the object represented by the object name a default attribute field for storing default attribute I D which is assigned to the object name w hen it appeal s alone and an attribute field for storing IDs of the attributes assignable to the object name an attribute database including an ID field for storing an attribute ID an attribute name field for storing the name of the attribute, an attribute ty pe field representing a type of the attribute and an attribute output field foi storing contents to be outputted for the attribute a database server for administrating the databases, an ORI registration part which enables usei to t egister new ORIs change the information of existing ORIs, or delete existing ORls and an ORI mtei pi etatiυn part fetching h orn said object databa and said attribute database an attnbute output assigned to an object destination expression comprised of a symbol representing the start of the expi ession and one oi more elements each separated by a dot which follow the symbol

2 An object destination representation sy stem compnsing an object database including an object name field for storing an object name comprised of one or more elements each separated bv a dot an object ty pe field for storing a type of the object represented by the object name and a default attribute field for storing default attribute ID which is assigned to the object name when it appears alone an attribute database including an ID field foi storing an attnbute ID an attnbute name field for storing the name ot the attnbute an attnbute type field representing a type of the attribute an attnbute output field toi stonng contents to be outputted foi the attnbute and an object field foi stonng information on the object to which the attnbute belongs a database server tor administrating the databases an ORI legistiation part which enables useis to iegistei new ORls change the information of existing ORls or delete existing ORls and an ORI interpietation part fetching from said object database and said attribute database an attribute output assigned to an ob|ect destination expiession comprised of a symbol lepresenting the start of the expression and one oi more elements each sepaiated bv a dot which follow the symbol

3 The object destination lepresentation system as set forth m claim 1 oi 2 wheiein said objects may be classified into one of thiee types a diiectory object which is allowed to make lower level objects by adding element names to the object name an atomic element which are not allowed to make lower le el objects bv adding element names and a reference object iepresentmg the nickname ot a diiectory object or an atomic object and wherein said attributes may be classified into one of thiet types a medium attribute having a destination addiess of the intonnation medium toi an object a contents attribute having contents for an object and a lefeitnee attribute having a name or an attribute of anothei object to which it refeis

4 The object destination lepresentation system as set forth in claim 3 wherein the name of an atomic object which repiesents a peison is composed of a nickname of the peison and a name ot the peison as sepaiated bv a dot iollowmg the nickname

5 The object destination representation system as set forth in claim 4 wherein attributes belonging to the medium attribute include telephone numbei s electionic mail addiesses URLs addiesses messengei IDs and facsimile numbei s

6 The object destination representation system as set forth in claim 1 or 2 wherein said ORI inteipietation part in case when an object name identical with said object destination expiession exists in said object database fetches a default attribute ID stored in the default attribute field which is assigned to said object name and outputs the attribute output corresponding to the attribute ID stored in said attnbute database

7 An ob|ect destination expiession cυmpiising a special chaiactei lepiesenting the start of the expiession an object name repieseπtmg an object following the special chaiactei and composed of a plurality of elements each separated by a dot and an attribute name representing the attribute of an object following the object name and separated by a dot

8 An object destination expression compnsing a special chaiacter representing the start of the expiession an object name lepiesenting an obiect following the special chaiactei and composed of a pluialitv ot elements each sepaiated bv a dot and an optional attnbute name lepiesenting the attnbute of an object following the object name and separated bv a dot wheiein the expiession represents the default attnbute assigned to the object name when the attribute name is omitted in the expression

9 The object destination expression as set forth in claim 7 oi 8 wherein said objects may be classified into one of thiee types a diiectoiv object which is allowed to make lower level objects by adding element names to the object name an atomic element which is not allowed to make lowei level objects bv adding element names, and a reference object representing the nickname of a directory object or an atomic object, and wherein said attnbutes may be classified into one of thiee types a medium attnbute having a destination address of the mtoi mation medium foi an object a contents attribute having contents for an object and a refeience attribute having a name or an attribute of anothei object

10 The object destination expiession as set forth in claim 9 wherein the name of an atomic object which lepresents a person is composed of a nickname of the person and a name of the person as separated by a dot following the nickname