JP2001331356A - Method, device for processing information and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for enabling a user to freely transfer within history of pages referred to in the past and for enabling prompt page reference. SOLUTION: In reference of information by unit of page via an external network or a local network, caches of page information are managed by linking them, and the linked caches are displayed in a tree form by a request of the user. When a desired page in a displayed cache tree is selected by the user, the selected page is displayed. Namely, this information processing device is constituted so that the user can come and go in the caches, by directly specifying a page to which the user desires to return, based on the created cache tree.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information processing method and apparatus for referencing pages such as a browser, and a storage medium. More specifically, the present invention relates to an information processing method and apparatus for managing information referred to via a network and referring to a page, and a storage medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when an Internet browser or the like is used, "back" or "forward" displayed on a screen is used.
By pressing a button such as this, the cached pages can be displayed, and these caches are easily managed.

[0003]

However, in the above-described conventional page management and reference methods, it is possible to move only to the page referred to immediately before, or to move the page only as it is traced. In general, the above management method only manages to the extent that cache information is simply stored on a disk, a list thereof is displayed, and a user is allowed to select a cache. For this reason, there is a problem that the user cannot easily specify a page to be viewed among the pages that have already been referenced and cached.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to make it possible to easily designate a desired page among cached pages referenced and cached in the past. It is to enable quick page reference.

[0005]

An information processing method according to one aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object includes, for example, the following steps. That is, an information processing method for referring to page information, comprising: a management step of managing cache page information indicating the content of a cached page and link information indicating a link relationship between the cached pages; A link information display step of displaying a link relationship between the cached pages managed in the management step based on the information; and a desired cached page specified in the display by the link information display step. A designation step; and a cache information display step of acquiring cache page information of the page designated in the designation step and displaying the contents of the designated page.

An information processing apparatus according to another aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object has, for example, the following configuration. That is, an information processing apparatus that refers to page information, wherein the management unit manages cache page information indicating the content of a cached page and link information indicating a link relationship between the cached pages, Link information display means for displaying a link relationship between cached pages managed by the management means based on information, and a desired cached page to be designated in display by the link information display means And a cache information display unit that acquires cache page information of the page specified by the specification unit and displays the content of the specified page.

[0007]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an information processing apparatus according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 1, 11 is C
It is a PU and manages the entire information processing apparatus. 1
Reference numeral 2 denotes a main memory, which is read and written by an instruction from the CPU 11. Reference numeral 13 denotes a printer, which prints information stored in the main memory 12 or the like according to an instruction from the CPU 11. Reference numeral 14 denotes a hard disk, which is a CPU 1
It is read and written by the instruction from 1. Reference numeral 15 denotes a network adapter for connection to an external network (not shown), which is an entrance to various networks such as LAN, WAN, and WWW. A browser or the like that accesses and displays information obtained through the network is stored in the external storage device 14, read out by a command from the CPU 11, written into the main memory 12,
It operates in the CPU 11.

In this embodiment, a user accesses information on a network using a browser or the like, and repeatedly accesses information linked to the information, thereby forming a page link between the accessed pages. The accessed information is stored in the cache, and a tree of the cache corresponding to the page link (hereinafter referred to as a cache tree) is formed. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a cache tree created by following a page link.

In FIG. 2, each rectangle represents one cache. The cache tree 21 represents connections of all caches linked to a certain cache in a tree format. The top of the cache tree in FIG. 2 corresponds to a page (hereinafter referred to as A) that the user first visited by starting up a browser or the like. Thereafter, each time the user follows the link B → C → D..., The caches are linked to each other, and a cache tree is constructed.

FIG. 3A shows the structure of information related to each cache (hereinafter referred to as cache information) and information related to the cache linked thereto, and FIG. 3B shows the contents of next [n] described in FIG. FIG.

The cache information 31 includes a before_ptr 32 which is a pointer to cache information relating to the cache immediately before the currently accessed cache (hereinafter, referred to as the immediately preceding cache information), and the cache table 3.
Next_ptr 33 which is a pointer to the second data, data_ptr 34 which is a pointer to the cache data body (which means the cached page data itself), title_ptr 35 which is the page title information, and UR of this page
Url_str 36 that stores the L character string is included. Url
The URL character string of the cached page set in _str 36 is used for page search.

The before_ptr 32 stores a pointer to the immediately preceding cache information. If the cache corresponding to the cache information 31 is the top of the cache tree 21, 0 is set in before_ptr32.

The next_ptr 33 has a cache table 32.
The pointer to is set. Here, the cache table 32 is a table having a predetermined number of cache_ptr 37. In the present embodiment, up to 31 pointers to the next cache (cache_ptr3
7) can be stored. The cache_ptr 37 stores a pointer to the next lower cache referenced from a certain cache (or page). The number of caches one level below is not the same for all caches. Therefore, the number of elements in the cache table 32 varies depending on the number of caches referred to. Therefore, when the elements of the cache table 32 become full, a memory for the next cache table 32 is secured, and a link to the memory is allocated to the cache table 3.
2 as the last element. In this way, the link can be registered as much as the memory allows. In the present embodiment (the example of FIG. 3), the extended cache table pointer is stored in the next (31) which is the 32nd pointer of the cache table 32.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a cache tree, and FIG. 5 is a diagram showing cache tree information 41 representing a connection when the corresponding cache information 31 is linked to each other. is there. In this example, a page B and a page D are linked below the page A, and a page C is linked below the page B.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the current position and the head in the cache tree. Cache tree information 41
When moving between caches using, you need to manage the location information of the cache where you are currently. A global variable is used for the management, and this is set as cur_ptr51. The cur_ptr 51 holds a pointer to cache information corresponding to the currently displayed page.

Further, information for pointing to the head of the cache tree is managed by using a global variable to quickly find the head of the cache tree. This is top_pt
Let it be r52. The top_ptr 52 always holds a pointer to the cache information 31 created first. These two pointers are initialized to 0 when the browser or the like is activated.

FIG. 7 is a view showing a window display when a "return" or "forward" button is pressed on a browser or the like. Reference numeral 71 in the figure denotes a cache tree display window, and AAA, BBB, CCC, and the like are page titles.

Although the window display method and handling of various buttons depend on various OSs or window managers, they will not be described in detail in this embodiment.
Roughly, it is displayed as follows. When a button such as "return" is pressed, a cache tree display window 71 is displayed. In the window, the entire cache tree is displayed with the cache pointed to by top_ptr 52 (here, AAA) at the top. After the display, if the user selects any one of the figures indicating the cache displayed in the tree in the window, the window is closed and the page corresponding to the cache represented by the figure is displayed. . Thereafter, the data pointing to the selected cache is written to the cur_ptr 51 and updated.

To find the position in the cache tree of the page corresponding to the currently displayed cache,
The display mode is changed in the cache tree display window 71 based on cur_ptr51. In FIG. 7, “EEE” is selected and displayed, and “EEE” is displayed in the cache tree.
The display color of "E" is changed. FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating the initialization process of the cache information 31 according to the present embodiment. This process is always started when a page is opened.

In step S01, top_ptr 52 is checked. If this is 0, it is determined that the page has not been opened even once after the activation of the browser or the like.
If top_ptr52 is not 0, the process proceeds to step S10.
Call the cache information registration process described later. After this step, the cache information initialization processing ends. If it is determined in step S01 that the page has not been opened yet, the process proceeds to step S02 and proceeds to step S02.
Thus, the memory required for storing the cache information is secured. Then, from step S03 to step S08
Thus, new cache information is formed.

In step S03, the global variable top_
The ptr 52 is initialized with a pointer to the memory secured in step S02. The memory pointed by the global variable top_ptr 52 becomes the head of the entire cache tree information. In step S04, before_ptr32 in the cache information located at the top of the cache tree information
Is initialized. Since this cache information is the head of the entire cache tree information, there is no previous cache information. Therefore, this cache information is set to 0.

In step S05, next_ptr33 is initialized to 0. This is because the next page has not been referred to yet. In step S06, a pointer to the page data body (cache data body of the page) is set in data_ptr34. In step S07, title_
The title character string of this page is set in ptr35.
This character string is described in the page data body. In step S08, the URL of this page is set in url_str36. In step S09, the global variable cur_ptr51 is changed to the global variable top_ptr52.
Initialize with The reason for this initialization is that when a page is first opened, the cache of the page is the top cache. With the above processing, the cache information initialization processing ends.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the flow of the cache information registration process. This process is called from the cache information initialization process of FIG. Hereinafter, each processing step S21 to step S28 will be described.

In step S21, a cache search process is called. By this cache search process,
The cache tree information is searched for a cache corresponding to the URL to be opened. The cache search process will be described later. Also, as an argument when calling cache search processing, top_ptr
52 and the URL of the page to be searched.

In step S22, the return value of the cache search information called in step S21 is checked. If a cache corresponding to the URL to be opened is found in the cache tree information, the process proceeds to step S28, and a pointer to the found cache information is set in cur_ptr51. Next, the process proceeds to step S27 to perform a page display process for displaying the found page. After this process, the cache registration process ends, and the process returns.

If it is determined in step S22 that there is no cache corresponding to the URL to be found in the cache tree, the process proceeds to steps S23 to S26.

In step S23, a memory area for storing new cache information is secured. In step S24, a current cache connection process for performing a process of connecting a memory for storing the new cache information to the cache information pointed to by the cur_ptr 51 is called. This current cache connection process will be described later with reference to the flowchart of FIG. By this processing, a memory area for storing the new cache information is connected below the cache information pointed by cur_ptr51.

Subsequently, in step S25, a new cache setting process for performing a process of initializing the connected memory is called. Prepare for this new cache setting process 1
This will be described later with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In this process, the cache information of the newly opened page is stored in the connected memory and registered in the cache tree information. In step S26, the newly registered cache information is set as the current cache information, and cur_ptr 51 is set so as to point to the new current cache information.
Thereafter, in step S27, the searched page is displayed, and the cache information registration processing ends.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the cache search process. This process is called recursively in step S37. With this recursive call, all cache pages in the cache tree can be examined. The arguments at the time of the first call of this processing are the pointer to the cache information at the head of the cache tree and the URL character string of the page to be searched (at the time of recursive call, the pointer to the next cache information and the search URL character string of the page to be executed). Hereinafter, each process from step S31 to step S46 will be described.

In step S31, a local variable n used in this processing is initialized to 0. In step S32, the local variable next used in this processing is initialized to 0. In step S33, it is checked whether the URL passed as an argument is the same as the url_str 36 of the cache information. If the cache information is the same, it is determined that the cache information is the cache of the URL being searched, and a pointer pointing to this cache information is returned in step S43, and the processing is terminated.

If it is determined in step S33 that the cache information is different, it is determined in step S34 whether the cache information includes a cache table. This judgment is next_ptr3
This is performed depending on whether 3 is 0 or not. In the case of 0, it means that no cache information is connected below this cache information, so that "None" is returned in step S44, and the process ends.

If it is determined in step S34 that next_ptr 33 is not 0, that is, if it is determined that there is lower-level cache information, the local variable next is initialized with next_ptr 33 to point to the cache table in step S35. In step S36, cache_ptr3 of next [n] of the cache table pointed by next
Check the contents of 7. If the content of the cache_ptr 37 of next [n] is 0, it is determined that there is no more cache information registered, and in step S44, "none" is returned and the process ends. However, if the content of cache_ptr of next [n] is not 0, the process proceeds to step S37.

In step S37, the cache search process is recursively called to check whether or not there is a cache of the URL to be sought below the cache information pointed to by the cache_ptr 37. The arguments at that time are next [n] and the URL.

In step S38, it is determined whether or not there is a pointer to the cache information from the result of the cache search process recursively called in step S37. If the pointer to the cache information has returned, it is determined that the cache of the URL being searched has been found, and this pointer is returned in step S45, and the process ends. Conversely, if the pointer to the cache information is "none",
After the cache information pointed to by the cache_ptr 37, it can be determined that there is no URL to be searched. for that reason,
In step S39, the local variable n is incremented by one, and in the cache search, ne specified by the next n
Use cache_ptr, which is the content of xt [n].

In step S40, the end of the cache table is checked. If n has not reached 31, the process returns to step S36, and the cache information search process is continuously performed. On the other hand, if n has reached 31, the local variable n is initialized to 0 in step S41, and next [31] is checked in step S42 to determine whether the page table has been extended. If the content of next [n] is 0, since the page table has not been extended, the process moves to step S44, and returns "none" to end the process. If the contents of next [n] are other than 0, since the table has been extended, next is initialized to next [31] in step S46 to point to the next cache table, and the flow proceeds to step S36.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the current cache connection process called in step S24. The argument of this processing is a pointer to the cache information memory area to be newly registered. Hereinafter, each processing step S51 to step S62 will be described.

In step S51, the cache information indicated by cur_ptr is changed. In step S52, the memory area of the cache information secured in step S23 of the cache information registration process shown in FIG. 9 is cleared to 0.

In step S53, next_ptr of the cache information to be changed (cache information pointed by cur_ptr) is checked. If next_ptr is 0, it is determined that a cache table has not yet been created for this cache information. In this case, in step S60, a memory for storing the cache table cleared to 0 is secured, and the pointer is stored in the next_ptr.
Set to. Then, in step S61, the local variable n is cleared to 0, and in step S62, a pointer to the cache information memory area passed as an argument is set. With this step, the current cache connection process ends. On the other hand, in step S53, next_ptr is 0
If it is determined that it is not, the processing from step S54 to step S59 is performed.

In step S54, a vacant place in the cache table 32 pointed by the next_ptr 33 ("0 place" in the cache table (see FIG. 5))
And set its index to a local variable n. In step S55, it is checked whether there is any vacant place as a result of the search performed in step S54. If there is a vacancy, the process proceeds to step S62, where the pointer of the cache information passed as the argument is set to the position indexed by the variable n in the cache table, and the process ends. If there is no room,
Proceed to step S56.

In steps S56 to S59,
Perform table expansion processing when there is no free space in the cache table. In step S56, a memory area for the cache table to be expanded is secured. In step S57, a pointer to the memory secured in step S56 is set at the end (next [31]) of the cache table specified by next_ptr33. As a result, the cache table pointed by the next_ptr 33 is linked with the memory secured in step S56.

In step S58, the memory for the new cache table secured in step S56 is initialized with 0. Thereafter, in step S59, a pointer to the cache information first passed as an argument is set in the initialized memory area, and the process ends. Thus, a new cache table is formed.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the new cache setting process called in step S25.
The argument of this processing is a pointer to the newly registered cache information. Hereinafter, each processing step S71 to step S75 will be described.

For setting the cache information in steps S71 to S75, the contents of the cache information pointed by the argument of this processing are used. In step S71, cur__before_ptr of the newly registered cache information is
Set ptr. In other words, a pointer to the cache information (specified by cur_ptr) of the parent linking this is set to the newly registered cache information. In step S72, next_ptr of the newly registered cache information is cleared to 0. Step S73
Now, the pointer to the page data body loaded from the network etc. by the download process is
Set to data_ptr. Since the downloading process is known, the description thereof is omitted here. In step S74, a page title extracted from the downloaded data is set in title_ptr35. In step S75, the URL of the downloaded page is set in url_str36. With the above processing, the new cache setting processing ends.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a cache tree display selection process. This process is activated when the user presses a “back” or “forward” button.
Hereinafter, each process from step S81 to step S84 will be described.

In step S81, the relationship between caches is displayed in a window in a tree format as shown in FIG. 7 based on the cache tree information. Note that the display method is different depending on various OSs, and therefore, the content is not specified here. However, the display is made so that the user can follow the tree from the top cache information pointed to by top_ptr 52. Note that a page title or the like may be displayed in the displayed window. This is because the user can easily understand which cache information the user is currently in and what the cache tree looks like.

In step S82, the cache information displayed in the window in step S81 is selected by the user using a mouse or a keyboard.

In step S83, a pointer to the cache information selected by the user in step S82 is set in cur_ptr.

Step S84 is a process for displaying the page contents based on the cache information selected by the user in step S82.

As described above, according to this embodiment, information relating to the cache of the page referred to by the user is created each time a new page is opened, and is managed by being linked to each other. Then, the relationship between the mutually linked cache information is displayed in a format such as a tree. Here, in the display in the tree format, as described with reference to FIG. 7, the relationship between the cache information is displayed in a tree starting with the page opened first. When the user designates a desired page in the tree of cache information displayed in this way, the cache information of the designated page is obtained and the page is displayed. Therefore, the user can directly specify the page to which he / she wants to return based on the cache tree, and can freely move back and forth in the cache. For this reason, according to the present embodiment, the efficiency of page reference can be improved.

Although the above embodiment has been described with reference to a tree reference type cache reference such as an HTML document using the Internet or the like, the present invention can be applied to data structured by page links or the like. Is possible. In particular, the present invention can be applied to data such as the following (1) or (2). (1) Data such as a help file in which a part of a document in the help file is linked to another document. (2) Data of an encyclopedia or the like recorded on a CD-ROM or the like in a format in which a description is linked to another page.

Further, an object of the present invention is to provide a storage medium (or a recording medium) recording software program codes for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or an apparatus, and to provide a computer (a computer) of the system or the apparatus. Or a CPU or MPU) reads out and executes the program code stored in the storage medium,
Needless to say, this is achieved. In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium implements the functions of the above-described embodiment, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention.
In addition, by the computer executing the readout program code, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized, but also based on the instructions of the program code,
The operating system (OS) running on the computer performs part or all of the actual processing,
It goes without saying that a case where the function of the above-described embodiment is realized by the processing is also included.

Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written into a memory provided in a function expansion card inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, based on the instruction of the program code, It goes without saying that a CPU or the like provided in the function expansion card or the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the processing realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments.

When the present invention is applied to the storage medium, the storage medium stores program codes corresponding to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 8 to 13 described above.

[0055]

As described above, according to the present invention,
It is possible to easily specify a desired page among the pages that have been referenced and cached in the past, and it is possible to quickly refer to the page.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a connection of cache information;

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating each element in cache information.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a cache tree.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing pointer connections between pieces of cache information corresponding to the cache tree shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing global variables indicating a current position and a head position in cache tree information.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a cache selection window by a user.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing cache information initialization processing.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a cache registration process.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a cache search process.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a current cache connection process.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a new cache setting process.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a cache tree display selection process.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) G06F 17/30 340 G06F 17/30 340B

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. An information processing method for referring to page information, comprising: a management step of managing cache page information representing the content of a cached page and link information representing a link relationship between the cached pages. A link information display step of displaying a link relationship between cached pages managed in the management step based on the link information; and a desired cached page in the display by the link information display step. And a cache information display step of acquiring cache page information of the page specified in the specifying step and displaying the contents of the specified page. 2. The information processing method according to claim 1, wherein the displaying step displays the mutual relationship of the cached pages in a tree format based on the link information. 3. The information processing method according to claim 1, wherein displaying in the displaying step includes displaying a page title of the cached page. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein in the specifying step, a desired page among the cached pages displayed in the link information displaying step is specified by a mouse or a keyboard. The information processing method described. 5. The information processing method according to claim 1, wherein the managing step manages page information acquired via a network. 6. An information processing apparatus for referring to page information, comprising: management means for managing cache page information indicating the content of a cached page and link information indicating a link relationship between the cached pages. A link information display unit that displays a link relationship between cached pages managed by the management unit based on the link information; and a desired cached page displayed by the link information display unit. And a cache information display unit that acquires cache page information of the page specified by the specification unit and displays the content of the specified page. 7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the display unit displays a mutual relationship between the cached pages in a tree format based on the link information. 8. The information processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the display by the display unit includes display of a page title of the cached page. 9. The method according to claim 6, wherein the designation unit designates a desired page among the cached pages displayed by the link information display unit using a mouse or a keyboard. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1. 10. The information processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the management unit manages page information acquired via a network. 11. A storage medium for storing a control program for causing a computer to execute the information processing method according to claim 1.