JPH11212981A - Method for designating retrieval data range - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To allow a user to use a range that is easy to be understood by making the user designate the beginning of a range for the desired retrieval, dividing it with a range indicator and after that, designating the end of the range. SOLUTION: User's requests that seek news are sent to a server 88 by a client application program 92, the server 88 scans and retrieves an unprocessed information source and filtered electronic information is presented to a client process as server response based on the user's requests. A user uses a quantifier notation after a start designation range and inputs a range for the desired retrieval in response to the server response. Thus, the user can use a range that is easily understood and designate retrieval.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates generally to computer systems, and more particularly, to methods and apparatus for manipulating data.

[0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The development of computerized distributed information resources such as the "Internet" allows users to link to servers and networks,
An enormous amount of electronic information that could not be obtained by conventional electronic media can be searched. Such electronic information is increasingly replacing traditional information transmission technologies such as newspapers, magazines, and even television.

[0003] The term "Internet" is an abbreviation for "internetwork" and generally refers to a collection of computer networks that use the TCP / IP protocol suite. TCP / IP is an acronym for "Transfer Control Protocol / Interface Program" and is a software protocol developed by the US Department of Defense for communication between computers.

[0004] Electronic information transmitted between computer networks (eg, the Internet) can be presented to users in hypertext. Hypertext is a metaphor that presents information by linking text, images, audio, and video into a complex, non-sequential web form of associations that allows users to relate to the order in which topics are presented. And "browse" for relevant topics. These links are often established by both the author and the user of the hypertext document.

[0005] For example, a user may select "iron" in an article displayed in a graphical user interface.
Following the hypertext link to the word (iron), the periodic table of chemical elements (linked, for example, by the word "iron") and the use of iron in European Dark Age weapons Get to the reference material on. The term "hypertext" is used to refer to a computer presented document that represents a non-linear rather than a linear conceptual structure, such as a book, movie, or speech.

[0006] Hypertext, especially interactive hypertext in which the user controls the selection items, is a work and learning environment similar to human thinking, ie, the user has one.
Rather than sequentially moving from one topic to the next, it is built around the idea of providing an environment where topics can be related. In other words, hypertext topics are linked so that the user can jump from one subject to another relevant means during information retrieval.

[0007] Networked systems using hypertext rules generally follow a client / server architecture. A "client" is a member of a class or group that uses the services of another unrelated class or group. In the context of a computer network such as the Internet, a client is a process (ie, roughly a process or task) that requests a service provided by another program. The client process utilizes the requested service without having to "know" any real details about the other program or the service itself. In a networked system, a client is typically a computer that accesses shared network resources provided by another computer (ie, a server).

[0008] A "server" is generally a remote computer system that can be accessed via a communication medium such as the Internet. The server scans and retrieves raw (eg, raw) information sources (eg, newswire feeds and newsgroups). Based on such a request by the user, the server presents the filtered electronic information to the user as a server response to the client process. The client processes can be active on the second computer system and can communicate with each other via a communication medium that allows multiple clients to take advantage of the information generation capabilities of the server.

[0009] The client and the server communicate with each other using the functions provided by the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP). The World Wide Web (WWW) or simply "Web" includes all servers that conform to this protocol, and clients can access these servers via a Universal Resource Locator (URL). Internet services can be accessed by specifying a universal resource locator that has two basic components: the protocol to use and the path name of the object. For example, the universal resource locator address "http://www.uspto.gov" (i.e., the "home page" of the United States Patent and Trademark Office) uses a hypertext transfer protocol ("http") and a server pathname ("http"). "Www.uspt
o.gov ").

A unique numerical value (TCP / IP address) is associated with the server name. Within the client, a first process called the "browser" is active, which establishes communication with the server,
Present information to the user. The server itself has a corresponding server that presents information to the client in the form of an HTTP response.
Run the software. The HTTP response corresponds to a "web page" or other server-generated data created in Hypertext Markup Language (HTML).

A "web page" (sometimes called a "page" by some designers) is data written in a hypertext language, has text and graphic images, and is stored in its data file. It can even have multimedia objects, such as associated recordings or moving video clips. Web pages can be displayed as visible objects on a computer system. Visible objects can include one or more components such as spreadsheets, text, hot links, pictures, audio, and video objects. A web page can be constructed by loading one or more separate files into an active directory or file structure, which is then displayed as a visible object in a graphical user interface.

When a client workstation sends a request for a web page to a server, the server first (at least partially) sends the primary hypertext file associated with the web page, and then Load other files associated with the web page sequentially or simultaneously. A given file can be transmitted as several separate fragments using the TCP / IP protocol. The constructed web page is then displayed as a visible object on a workstation monitor. The web page may be "larger" than the physical size of the monitor screen, and the viewing software (i.e., browser) may use a means such as a scroll bar in a graphical user interface to display different portions of the web page. Can be used.

[0013] Most text displayed by web browsers is formatted using standard HTML. An HTML file is a text file that contains both the text to be displayed and markup tags that describe how the web browser should format the text. HTML markup tags support basic text formatting such as paragraph breaks, bullets, tables, graphs, charts, and the like. In addition to these basic text formatting tags, HTML provides tags that define graphical user interface components. HTML is a radio button, check
Known graphical user interface components, such as boxes, scrolling lists of selectable text, and various other such components, can also be used to display on the web browser itself.

One obvious problem facing the Internet is that it is not possible to narrow down the amount of information that the user ultimately wants to see. Specifically, the user is generally interested in only a small portion of the available information, and therefore must use some means to filter the information he or she wants to see. This filtering means generally takes the form of a search engine that allows the user to enter various parameters that the user deems relevant for browsing.

[0015]

The current search engine cannot specify search criteria in a range that is easy for the user to understand and use. Therefore, it would be clearly advantageous to have a method and apparatus that allows a user to specify a search using a user-friendly range. The present invention provides such a method and apparatus.

[0016]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention allows the range of data search / filtering to be specified, while retaining ease of use and clarity.
Specifically, it allows the user to specify the beginning of a range, separate by a range indicator, and then specify the end of the range for the desired search.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION In the following description, numerous specific details, such as specific word and byte lengths, are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without such specific details. In other instances, well-known circuits have been shown in block diagram form in order not to obscure the present invention in unnecessary detail. In most cases, details such as timing considerations have been omitted so long as they are not necessary for a complete understanding of the invention and are within the skill of those in the art.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is illustrated a data processing system 20 in which the present invention can be implemented. The data processing system 20 includes a processor 22, a keyboard 82, and a display device 96. Keyboard 82
Is coupled to the processor 22 by a cable 28. The display device 96 includes a display screen 30 that can be implemented using a cathode ray tube (CRT), a liquid crystal display (LCD), an electrode light emitting panel, and the like. Data processing system 20 also includes a pointing device 84, which may be a track ball, a joy
It can be implemented using a stick, a touch-sensitive tablet or screen, a track path, or a mouse as shown. The pointing device 84 can be used to move a pointer or cursor on the display screen 30. The processor 22 includes a modem 92 and a CD-RO.
It is also coupled to one or more peripheral devices, such as M78, network adapter 90, floppy disk drive 40, etc., each of which may be located internal or external to processor 22. An output device such as a printer 100 may also be coupled to the processor 22.

It should be noted that display 96, keyboard 82, and pointing device 84 can each be implemented using any of several well-known off-the-shelf components, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art. There will be.

Referring now to FIG. 2, there is illustrated a high level block diagram illustrating selected components that may be incorporated into the data processing system 20 of FIG. 1 in accordance with the teachings of the present invention. Data processing system 20 is controlled primarily by computer readable instructions. The computer readable instructions can take the form of software, and the location and access means of such software can be any. Such software can be executed in the central processing unit (CPU) 50 to cause the data processing system 20 to perform work.

The memory devices coupled to the system bus 5 include a random access memory (RAM) 56, a read-only memory (ROM) 58, and a non-volatile memory 60. Such memories include circuitry that allows for the storage and retrieval of information. The ROM stores storage data that cannot be changed. The data stored in RAM can be changed by CPU 50 or other hardware devices. A non-volatile memory is a memory in which data is not lost even when power is cut off. Non-volatile memory includes ROM, EPROM, flash memory,
Battery pack CMOS RAM is included. As shown in FIG. 2, such a battery pack CMOS RAM
Can be used to store configuration information.

An expansion card or board is a circuit board that contains chips and other connecting electronic components that add functions or resources to a computer. Typical expansion cards include memory, disk drive controller 6
6. Add video support, parallel and serial ports, and built-in modem. In laptops, palm tops, and other portable computers, the expansion card typically takes the form of a PC card, a credit card-sized device designed to plug into a slot on the side or back of the computer .
One example of such a slot is a PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association) slot that defines 1, 2, and 3 card slots.
Thus, empty slots 68 can be used to accept various types of expansion cards or PCMCIA cards.

Both disk controller 66 and diskette controller 70 are special purpose integrated circuits and instructions for controlling and reading and writing to and from hard disk drive 72 and floppy disk or diskette 74, respectively. Includes associated circuitry. Such a disk controller handles tasks such as positioning the read / write head, mediating between the drive and CPU 50, and controlling the information transferred to and from memory. Multiple disk drives can be controlled by a single disk controller.

The data processing system 20 includes a CD-RO
A CD-ROM controller 76 for reading data from M78 (compact disk read only memory) can also be incorporated. Such CD-ROMs use laser optics rather than magnetic means for reading data.

A keyboard and mouse controller 80 is provided within data processing system 20 for interfacing with keyboard 82 and pointing device 84. Such a pointing device is typically used to control an on-screen element, such as a cursor, which, when the user presses a mouse button, can take the form of an arrow having a hot spot that specifies the location of the pointer. Will be Other pointing devices include a graphics tablet, stylus, light pin, joystick, puck, trackball,
These include trackpads and pointing devices sold by IBM under the trademark "TrackPoint".

Communication between the processing system 20 and other data processing systems is facilitated by a serial controller 88 and a network adapter 90, both of which are coupled to the system bus 5. Serial controller 88 is used to transmit information one bit at a time between computers or between a computer and peripheral devices over a single line. Serial communication can be synchronous (controlled by some criteria such as a clock) or asynchronous (managed by the exchange of control signals that determine the flow of information). Examples of serial communication standards include an RS-232 interface and an RS-422 interface. As shown, such a serial interface can be used to communicate with the modem 92. A modem is a communication device that allows a computer to send information over a standard telephone line. Modems convert digital computer signals into interlock signals suitable for communication over telephone lines. Data processing system 2 using modem 92
0 can be connected to an online information service such as the information service provided by IBM and Sears under the service mark "PRODIGY".
Such on-line service providers may use modem 92
Software that can be downloaded to the data processing system 20 via the Internet. Modem 92 also allows connection to other software sources such as servers, bulletin boards, the Internet, the World Wide Web, and the like.

Using the network adapter 90,
The data processing system 20 can be connected to a local area network 94. Network 94
Can provide computer users with the means to communicate and transmit software and information electronically. Further, the network 94 may enable distributed processing in which several computers are involved and share the workload and cooperative work when performing one task.

[0028] A display 96 controlled by a display controller 98 is used to display the visual output generated by the data processing system 20. Such visible outputs include text, graphics, moving graphics, video, and the like. The display device 96 has C
RT video display, LCD flat panel display, or gas plasma flat display
It can be implemented using a panel display device or the like.
Display controller 98 includes the electronic components necessary to generate a video signal that is sent to display device 96.

The printer 100 can be coupled to the data processing device 20 via a parallel controller 102. Printer 100 is used to print text and computer generated images on paper or other media such as transparent film. Other types of printers include image setters, plotters, film recorders, and the like.

The parallel controller 102 is used to transmit a plurality of data bits and control bits simultaneously via wiring connected between the system bus 5 and another parallel communication device such as the printer 100. You.

The CPU 50 fetches, decodes, and executes instructions, and transfers information to and from other resources via the system bus 5, which is the main data transmission path of the computer. Such a bus is a data processing system 20.
Between the components within the device and define the medium for data exchange. The system bus 5 interconnects the memory devices 56, 58, and 60, the CPU 50, and other devices as shown in FIG. 2 and enables the exchange of data therebetween.

Referring now to FIG. 3, there is illustrated a client / server architecture according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 3, a user request 91 for news is sent to the server 88 by the client application program 92. Server 88 is a remote computer system accessible via the Internet or other communication network. The client application program 92 can be used with the computer 20 of FIG. 1 and the embodiment of the computer 20 illustrated in FIG.

The server 88 scans and retrieves raw (eg, unprocessed) information sources (eg, newswire feeds and newsgroups) and provides filtered electronic information based on their user requests to client processes. As a server response 93. A client process is active on a first computer system, and a server process is active on a second computer system and communicates with each other via a communication medium, thus providing a distributed function. Enable the client to use the information generation function of the server.

Referring now to FIG. 4, there is illustrated a detailed block diagram of a client / server architecture according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. A client and a server are processes that run in two computer systems, these processes are generated from a high-level programming language (eg, PERL), and are executed at run time on a computer system (eg, a workstation).
, But those skilled in the art will recognize that they can be implemented in a variety of hardware devices, either programmed or dedicated.

[0035] The client 92 and the server 88 communicate with the HTT.
The communication is performed using the function of P. Client 92
The browser 72, which is the first process, is active, establishes communication with the server 88, and presents information to the user. According to preferred embodiments of the present invention, any number of commercially available or published browsers can be used in various embodiments. For example, Netscape ^TM
Browsers, such as, can be used in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention to obtain the functionality defined in HTTP. "Netscape" is a trademark of Netscape, Inc.

The server 88 executes the corresponding server software, and the server software
Present information to the client in the form of HTTP response 9
0 corresponds to a web page represented using HTML or other data generated by server 88. The server 88 provides an HTML 94. Some browsers use a common gateway interface (CG
I) also comprises 96, whereby the client program can instruct the server 88 to start executing a specified program residing in the server 88. This includes a search engine that scans the received information at the server for presentation to the user controlling the client. Using this interface and the HTTP response 90, the server can notify the client of the execution result when the execution is completed. The common gateway interface (CGI) 96 is a means of connecting to a heterogeneous network (ie, a network using a different communication protocol) to allow electronic information to be passed from one network to another network. It is a form. The gateway converts the electronic information into a form corresponding to a protocol used by the second network for transmission and distribution, and transfers the form.

To control the parameters of the execution of this server resident process, the client can instruct the browser to fill out a particular "form". This is done by the "form fill" function provided by some browsers (ie, form 98).
This feature allows the user to specify terms (for example, terms and keywords in articles and articles of the type of interest to the user) through the client application program, and the server to load the application program. Let it work. This feature is built into search engines.

Referring now to FIG. 5, there is illustrated an example of a computer network 80 that can be implemented in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Computer network 80 represents the Internet and can be said to be a well-known computer network based on the client-server model described herein. Of course, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the Internet is not the only distributed computer network that can be used in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention. Other distributed computer networks can also be used to implement computer network 80, such as the so-called "intranet" well known in the computer networking art.

Conceptually, the Internet allows clients 92 (typically personal computer users) to be connected to any private Internet access provider 84 (eg, Internet America) or online service provider 86 (eg, Internet America). America On-Line, P
rodigy, Compuserve, etc.). Each client 92 can execute a browser to access server 88 via an access provider. Each server 88 operates a so-called "web site" that supports files in the form of documents and pages. The network path to server 88 is a universal path with a well-known syntax that defines a collection of networks.
Identified by the resource locator.

Referring now to FIG. 6, a diagram illustrating the filtering function of the preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown. Specifically, it includes a filter criteria input field 702 that allows a user to enter various fields used to filter available information and other information. One skilled in the art will readily recognize that the input field 702 could alternatively correspond to a property tag (eg, last name), so that the user need only enter the criteria for the corresponding field.

When the user has completed entering the criteria, a search execution button 704 is provided to the user to apply the criteria or to notify the user that the user has entered an incorrect format.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a user can use the features of the present invention alone or in combination with all available current search criteria methods (eg, and, or, "", etc.). Unlike conventional search or filtering techniques, the present invention allows a user to easily enter range criteria. Specifically, it is assumed that the user is currently executing an application program having personal data usable for search.
Further assume that the user is only interested in individuals whose surnames begin with alphanumeric characters from "A" to "H".

Prior art techniques when the above range is desired
Is a set of annoying and often confusing user
You must enter a qualifier. For example, the user could be "las
t name "=" A^* or H^*"(Or the corresponding surname property
-If there is a tag "A"^* or H ^*")
There are things you need to do. This type of modifier is confusing
As well as general users
Often contains no basic algebraic rules.

The present invention provides a simple and straightforward means for entering a range qualifier. Specifically, in the example above, the user would simply have "last name" = "A ... H" (or "A ... H" if there is a corresponding surname property tag)
You just need to type It will be readily apparent that the ease with which the range can be understood by the user and the complexity of the algebraic rules of executing which qualifiers and in which order are not added. In the present invention, the user uses a qualifier notation (for example, "...") after the starting specified range (for example, A)
Finally, a range can be entered using the end designation range (eg, H).

Those skilled in the art will also readily appreciate that the above features of the present invention can be combined with current techniques to provide more advanced features to advanced users.

Referring now to FIG. 7, there is illustrated a flowchart illustrating the steps for implementing the function of the search filter of FIG. 6 in accordance with the techniques of the present invention. Execution of the search filter begins at step 800 and proceeds to step 802,
The criteria entered by the user are analyzed using standard techniques well known to those skilled in the art. Thereafter, execution proceeds to step 804.
To determine whether the parsed input is in the correct format. If it is determined in step 804 that the analyzed input is not in the correct format, the user is notified in step 812.

However, if at step 804 the parsed input is in the correct format, execution proceeds to step 806, where it is determined whether there is a range. If, at step 806, it is determined that the user did not specify the scope of the invention, execution proceeds to step 814, where qualified data is collected using standard techniques. Thereafter, execution ends at step 810.

However, if the user has specified a range at step 806, execution proceeds to step 808, where the decoration data is retrieved and returned to the user. Thereafter, execution ends at step 810.

From the above, it will be appreciated that the field of application of the present invention is not intended to be limited to a particular operating environment (eg, the Internet), but rather any environment (eg, a database) in which a user can filter data in some manner. , Queries, etc.).

In summary, the following matters are disclosed regarding the configuration of the present invention.

(1) A method of designating a range of data to be searched, wherein a step of designating a first qualifier indicating the beginning of the range, and a step of designating a single range indicator indicating use of the range. And designating a second qualifier indicating the end of said range. (2) The method according to (1), wherein the single range indicator is at least one dot.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a data processing system capable of implementing the present invention.

2 is a high-level block diagram illustrating selected components that can be incorporated into the data processing system of FIG. 1 in accordance with the teachings of the present invention.

FIG. 3 illustrates a client / server architecture according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a detailed block diagram illustrating a client / server architecture according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 illustrates a computer network that can be implemented in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a filtering function of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating steps for implementing the function of the search filter of FIG. 6 in accordance with the teachings of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 5 System Bus 20 Data Processing System 22 Processor 30 Display Screen 50 Central Processing Unit 56 Random Access Memory 58 Read Only Memory 72 Hard Disk Drive 74 Floppy Disk 78 CD-ROM 82 Keyboard 84 Pointing Device 88 Serial Controller 90 Network Adapter 92 Modem 94 Local Area Network 96 Display Device 98 Display Controller 100 Printer

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A method of designating a range of data to be searched, comprising: designating a first qualifier indicating the beginning of the range; and designating a single range indicator indicating use of the range. A method comprising: specifying a second qualifier indicating the end of said range. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein said single range indicator is at least one dot.