1. A method, comprising:
(a) receiving, by a first receiver, one or more messages from a server over a broadcast communications medium, each message comprising associated targeter data attributes;
(b) selecting, by the first receiver, one or more of the messages from the server for storage in a message store of the first receiver device based on the targeter data attributes associated with each message from the server;
(c) receiving, by the first receiver, a message request from a second receiver device over a non-broadcast communications medium; and
(d) in response to the message request, sending, by the first receiver, one or more messages in the message store of the first receiver device to the second receiver device over the non-broadcast communications medium.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first receiver comprises a direct receiver, wherein the direct receiver is a receiver that receives data from the server, wherein the receiving (a) and the selecting (b) comprises:
(a1) receiving, by the direct receiver, the one or more messages from the server over the broadcast communications medium when the direct receiver is within a coverage area of the broadcast communications medium; and
(b1) selecting, by a targeter of the direct receiver, one or more of the messages from the server for storage in the message store of the direct receiver based on the targeter data attributes associated with each message from the server.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein the second receiver comprises a first indirect receiver, wherein the first indirect receiver is a receiver that receives data via another receiver, wherein the receiving (c) and the sending (d) comprises:
(c1) connecting the direct receiver with the first indirect receiver over the non-broadcast communications medium;
(c2) receiving, by a relay agent of the direct receiver, the message request from the first indirect receiver for messages in the message store of the direct receiver over the non-broadcast communications medium; and
(d1) in response to the message request from the first indirect receiver, sending, by the relay agent of the direct receiver, one or more messages in the message store of the direct receiver to the first indirect receiver over the non-broadcast communications medium.
4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:
(e) selecting, by a targeter of the first indirect receiver, one or more of the messages from the direct receiver for storage in a message store of the first indirect receiver based on the target data attributes associated with each message from the direct receiver.
5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:
(f) connecting the first indirect receiver to a second indirect receiver over a second non-broadcast communications medium;
(g) receiving, by a relay agent of the first indirect receiver, a message request from the second indirect receiver for messages in the message store of the first indirect receiver over the second non-broadcast communications medium; and
(h) in response to the message request from the second indirect receiver, sending, by the relay agent of the first indirect receiver, one or more messages in the message store of the first indirect receiver to the second indirect receiver over the second non-broadcast communications medium.
6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:
(i) selecting, by a targeter of the second indirect receiver, one or more of the messages from the first indirect receiver for storage in a message store of the second indirect receiver based on the target data attributes associated with each message from the first indirect receiver.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the broadcast communications medium carries a digital television signal.
8. A computer program product comprising:
a non-transitory computer readable medium comprising computer readable program code embodied therein, the computer readable program code configured to:
(a) receive, by a first receiver, one or more messages from a server over a broadcast communications medium, each message comprising associated targeter data attributes;
(b) select, by the first receiver, one or more of the messages from the server for storage in a message store of the first receiver device based on the targeter data attributes associated with each message from the server;
(c) receive, by the first receiver, a message request from a second receiver device over a non-broadcast communications medium; and
(d) in response to the message request, send, by the first receiver, one or more messages in the message store of the first receiver device to the second receiver device over the non-broadcast communications medium.
9. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein the first receiver comprises a direct receiver, wherein the direct receiver is a receiver that receives data from the server, wherein the computer readable program code configured to receive (a) and to select (b) is further configured to:
(a1) receive, by the direct receiver, the one or more messages from the server over the broadcast communications medium when the direct receiver is within a coverage area of the broadcast communications medium; and
(b1) select, by a targeter of the direct receiver, one or more of the messages from the server for storage in the message store of the direct receiver based on the targeter data attributes associated with each message from the server.
10. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein the second receiver comprises a first indirect receiver, wherein the first indirect receiver is a receiver that receives data via another receiver, wherein the computer readable program code configured to receive (c) and to send (d) are further configured to:
(c1) connect the direct receiver with the first indirect receiver over the non-broadcast communications medium;
(c2) receive, by a relay agent of the direct receiver, the message request from the first indirect receiver for messages in the message store of the direct receiver over the non-broadcast communications medium; and
(d1) in response to the message request from the first indirect receiver, send, by the relay agent of the direct receiver, one or more messages in the message store of the direct receiver to the first indirect receiver over the non-broadcast communications medium.
11. The computer program product of claim 10, wherein the computer readable program code is further configured to:
(e) select, by a targeter of the first indirect receiver, one or more of the messages from the direct receiver for storage in a message store of the first indirect receiver based on the target data attributes associated with each message from the direct receiver.
12. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein the computer readable program code is further configured to:
(f) connect the first indirect receiver to a second indirect receiver over a second non-broadcast communications medium;
(g) receive, by a relay agent of the first indirect receiver, a message request from the second indirect receiver for messages in the message store of the first indirect receiver over the second non-broadcast communications medium; and
(h) in response to the message request from the second indirect receiver, send, by the relay agent of the first indirect receiver, one or more messages in the message store of the first indirect receiver to the second indirect receiver over the second non-broadcast communications medium.
13. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the computer readable program code is further configured to:
(i) select, by a targeter of the second indirect receiver, one or more of the messages from the first indirect receiver for storage in a message store of the second indirect receiver based on the target data attributes associated with each message from the first indirect receiver.
14. A system, comprising:
a first receiver to receive one or more messages from a server over a broadcast communications medium, each message comprising associated targeter data attributes,
wherein the first receiver comprises a message store, wherein the first receiver selects one or more of the messages from the server for storage in the message store of the first receiver based on the targeter data attributes associated with each message from the server; and
a second receiver to send a message request to the first receiver over a non-broadcast communications medium,
wherein in response to the message request, the first receiver sends one or more messages stored in the message store of the first receiver to the second receiver over the non-broadcast communications medium.
15. The system of claim 14, wherein the first receiver comprises a direct receiver, wherein the direct receiver is a receiver that receives data from the server,
wherein the direct receiver receives the one or more messages from the server over the broadcast communications medium when the direct receiver is within a coverage area of the broadcast communications medium; and
wherein the direct receiver comprises a targeter to select one or more of the messages from the server for storage in the message store of the direct receiver based on the targeter data attributes associated with each message from the server.
16. The system of claim 15, wherein the second receiver comprises a first indirect receiver, wherein the first indirect receiver is a receiver that receives data via another receiver,
wherein the direct receiver connects with the first indirect receiver over the non-broadcast communications medium;
wherein the direct receiver comprises a relay agent to receive the message request from the first indirect receiver for messages in the message store of the direct receiver over the non-broadcast communications medium; and
wherein in response to the message request from the first indirect receiver, the relay agent of the direct receiver sends one or more messages in the message store of the direct receiver to the first indirect receiver over the non-broadcast communications medium.
17. The system of claim 16, wherein the first indirect receiver comprises a targeter to select one or more of the messages from the direct receiver for storage in a message store of the first indirect receiver based on the target data attributes associated with each message from the direct receiver.
18. The system of claim 17, further comprising a second indirect receiver, wherein the first indirect receiver is connected to the second indirect receiver over a second non-broadcast communications medium,
wherein the first indirect receiver comprises a relay agent to receive a message request from the second indirect receiver for messages in the message store of the first indirect receiver over the second non-broadcast communications medium, and
wherein in response to the message request from the second indirect receiver, the relay agent of the first indirect receiver sends one or more messages in the message store of the first indirect receiver to the second indirect receiver over the second non-broadcast communications medium.
19. The system of claim 18, wherein the second indirect receiver comprises a targeter to select one or more of the messages from the first indirect receiver for storage in a message store of the second indirect receiver based on the target data attributes associated with each message from the first indirect receiver.
20. A method, comprising:
(a) receiving, by a direct receiver, one or more messages from a server over a broadcast communications medium, each message comprising associated targeter data attributes;
(b) selecting, by the direct receiver, one or more of the messages from the server for storage in a message store of the direct receiver based on the targeter data attributes associated with each message from the server;
(c) connecting the direct receiver with an indirect receiver over the non-broadcast communications medium, wherein the indirect receiver comprises a receiver that receives data via another receiver;
(d) receiving, by the direct receiver, a message request from the indirect receiver for messages in the message store of the direct receiver over a non-broadcast communications medium; and
(e) in response to the message request, sending, by the direct receiver, one or more messages in the message store of the direct receiver to the indirect receiver over the non-broadcast communications medium.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A method of parsing a message containing a plurality of data formats, the method comprising:
identifying the data format of a first component of the message;
responsive to said identification, selecting and invoking a first parser to parse the first component; and
identifying the data format of a second component of the message using said first selected parser and, responsive to said identification, using said first selected parser to select and invoke a second parser for parsing the second message component;
wherein invoking the second parser includes inputting the second component to the second parser, and the method further includes parsing the second component and then returning control to the first selected parser.
2.-8. (canceled)
9. A data processing apparatus for processing a bit stream which may contain a plurality of data formats, the apparatus including a set of selectable parsers, each adapted for analyzing a specific set of one or more data formats, wherein a first parser of said set of parsers includes:
instructions for parsing a first component of a bit stream,
instructions for identifying the data format of a second component of the bit stream;
instructions, responsive to said identification, for selecting another one of said set of parsers and for invoking the selected parser to parse the second component;
wherein said instructions for invoking the selected parser includes instructions for inputting the second component to the selected parser, and
wherein the selected parser returns control to the first parser after parsing the second component.
10. A data processing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the selected parser is adapted to access a format template from a format dictionary corresponding to the format indication.
11. A data processing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the instructions for parsing the first component is adapted to output a name-value pair indicating the format of the second component.
12. A data processing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the instructions for identifying the data format comprises means for analyzing a format field of the second component.