JP2004086841A - Apparatus and method for information processing - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce an operation load needed, for example, to acquire a structural document from WWW (World Wide Web) sites. <P>SOLUTION: An information processing apparatus determines a main area of a predetermined structural document including a plurality of areas. A reader acquires respective areas of the structural document and management information thereof in a time series for a plurality of times. A recorder stores the areas and the management information acquired by the reader. A comparison/inspection part performs a comparison on the areas or the management information acquired by the reader, and inspects whether the areas are updated based on the comparison result. An update frequency calculator calculates predetermined update frequency corresponding information of the areas based on a history of the inspection results of the comparison/inspection. A main area determinater determines the main area from the plurality of areas of the structural document based on the update frequency corresponding information. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and method, and can be applied to, for example, a case where a structured document is obtained from a WWW (World Wide Web) site.
[0002]
[Prior art]
There is a WWW browser as a tool for acquiring and browsing a structured document existing on a WWW site. Generally, in a structured document, the layout of pages of the document, the size of characters, and the like can be flexibly specified. In particular, as shown in FIG. 1, a page is divided into several areas (frames) such as a title (area A), a link to another structured document (area B), a body (area C), and the like. There are many structured documents that are displayed in a browser. In order to obtain necessary information from such a structured document using a WWW browser, a user specifies a URL of a target structured document, and after the document is displayed on the WWW browser, downloads the document. It is necessary to perform an operation such as performing a visual search while scrolling (a manual search) or using a character string search function. For example, suppose that the area C in FIG. 1 is a document required by the user, and if there are many such structured documents, only the information required by the user is automatically extracted from the plurality of structured documents. It is desirable to simplify the work manually by scrapping the document and presenting it to the user in a single document. Such a WWW information extraction system is disclosed in Patent Document 1 below.
[0003]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-10-187753
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the WWW information extraction system described above, it is necessary for the user to manually specify the start position and the end position of the data required by the user in the structured document in advance. For this reason, the operation burden on the user is large to implement a large number of structured documents, which is not practical.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve this problem, according to a first aspect, in an information processing apparatus for determining a main area from a predetermined structured document including a plurality of areas, (1) each area in the structured document Alternatively, a reading unit that acquires the management information of each area a plurality of times in chronological order, (2) a storage unit that stores the area or the management information acquired by the reading unit, and (3) a correspondence that the reading unit acquires. A comparison inspection unit that performs comparison between areas to be compared or management information and checks whether or not each area has been updated based on the comparison result; and (4) a comparison inspection unit based on a history of inspection results by the comparison inspection unit. An update frequency calculating unit that calculates predetermined update frequency correspondence information for each area; and (5) determining a main area from a plurality of areas in the structured document based on the update frequency correspondence information. Main area determination unit The features.
[0006]
Further, in the second invention, in the information processing method for determining a main area from a predetermined structured document including a plurality of areas, (1) the reading unit includes: The management information of each area is acquired a plurality of times in chronological order, (2) the area or management information acquired by the reading unit is stored in the storage unit, and (3) the comparison inspection unit acquires the acquisition information of the reading unit. A comparison is made between the corresponding areas or between the management information, and whether or not each area is updated is checked based on the comparison result. (4) The update frequency is determined based on the history of the check result by the comparison check unit. The calculation unit calculates predetermined update frequency correspondence information for each area, and (5) based on the update frequency correspondence information, the main area determination unit determines a main update frequency from a plurality of areas in the structured document. It is characterized in that a region is determined.
[0007]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
(A) Embodiment
Hereinafter, embodiments of an information processing apparatus and method according to the present invention will be described.
[0008]
(A-1) Configuration of First Embodiment
In the present embodiment, the function of the area processing unit 25 (see FIG. 16) having the function of determining and extracting the main area can be realized by a personal computer or other information processing apparatus having a communication function, and is arranged on the WWW server side. Although this is also possible, the case of arranging it on the communication terminal (client) side will be described here as an example.
[0009]
FIG. 15 shows an overall configuration example of the communication system 10 according to the present embodiment.
[0010]
15, the communication system 10 includes a network 11, a communication terminal 12, and a WWW server 13.
[0011]
The network 11 may be a LAN (local area network) or the like, but is assumed to be the Internet in this case.
[0012]
The WWW server 13 is a server having a function of receiving a request (HTTP request) from the communication terminal 12 and returning a file constituting a WWW page as a response (HTTP response) in response to the request. In many cases, the WWW server 13 includes a database (not shown) for storing WWW pages and the like generated in advance, and a database server for directly managing the database. In general, various network devices such as routers and firewalls and servers such as DNS servers are arranged around the WWW server 13 and the database server to constitute a WWW site.
[0013]
The communication terminal 12 is an information processing device provided with the above-described area processing unit 25, and may be, specifically, a personal computer having a network function. In the configuration of the present embodiment, the communication terminal 12 needs to be equipped with a WWW browser B1 (see FIG. 16) which is a program for browsing a WWW page.
[0014]
FIG. 16 shows an example of the internal configuration of the communication terminal 12.
[0015]
(A-1-1) Internal configuration example of communication terminal
16, the communication terminal 12 includes a communication unit 20, a control unit 21, an operation unit 22, a storage unit 23, a display unit 24, and an area processing unit 25.
[0016]
The communication unit 20 has a function of communicating with the WWW server 13 via the network 11.
[0017]
The control unit 21 is a part corresponding to a central processing unit (CPU) of the communication terminal 12 in terms of hardware, and a part corresponding to an operating system (OS) or the above-described WWW browser B1 in terms of software. It is.
[0018]
The operation unit 22 is a part that is operated by the user U1 of the communication terminal 12 to transmit an instruction to the control unit 21, and includes, for example, a keyboard and a pointing device.
[0019]
The display unit 24 is a part having a display screen such as a liquid crystal display. When the user U1 browses the WWW page, as a result of the WWW browser B1 interpreting and processing the tag of the WWW page, the content of the WWW page is displayed on the display unit 24 and can be browsed by the user U1. At this time, the WWW page displayed on the screen may be DP1 shown in FIG. 1 as an example. In order to display a frame page (frame page) such as DP1, the WWW browser B1 needs to correspond to the frame. The frame does not refer to the content displayed on the screen in each of the areas A to C in FIG. 1, but refers to a frame accommodating the content. The frame page of FIG. 1 is generated based on, for example, the HTML files of FIGS.
[0020]
Normally, one WWW page is composed of one basic HTML file and one or a plurality of various files (image files and the like) as required. A frame page such as DP1 has a smaller number of files. And has a complicated structure.
[0021]
That is, a frame page requires at least an HTML file (frame definition file) that defines the configuration of the entire WWW page (that is, a frame structure) and a plurality of HTML files that are arranged in each frame as contents. In addition, various files (such as image files) linked to each HTML file are added as appropriate.
[0022]
Therefore, even if it is assumed that various files do not exist for simplicity, the frame page DP1 shown in FIG. 1 is the same as the HTML file (frame definition file) shown in FIG. 4B, the HTML file of FIG. 4C arranged in the area B, and the HTML file of FIG. 4D arranged in the area C. Become.
[0023]
A normal WWW page is structured only inside one HTML file, but a frame page is structured not only inside each HTML file but also a plurality of HTMLs contained in one frame page. It is structured between files.
[0024]
In FIG. 1, boundaries L1 and L2 (including scroll bars) between the respective areas A to C are displayed. However, in an actual frame page, the intended In many cases, such a boundary line is not displayed, the background color is completely the same between different regions, or a continuous background pattern that is completely continuous is often displayed. Therefore, whether or not the boundary line is displayed has no relation to the essence of the area division (frame structure).
[0025]
Frame structure, that is, how one frame is divided into a number of frames, and how to set the ratio of the length of the side of each frame (this ratio corresponds to the area of each frame) (display of boundary line) , Non-display) is determined by the description of the frame definition file (for example, DP11).
[0026]
When the user wants to browse the frame page DP1, the user U1 inputs the URL (here, URL11) of the frame definition file DP11 into the WWW browser B1 of the communication terminal 12. Accordingly, at this time, an HTTP request requesting the return of the frame specification file DP11 is transmitted from the communication terminal 12 to the WWW server 13, and the HTTP response includes various HTTP headers (including the entity header) as well as the frame specification as an entity body. File DP11 is returned.
[0027]
When requesting a return of an entity body, that is, a file such as an HTML file or an image file, the HTTP request is a GET request using a GET method.
[0028]
After the frame definition file DP11 is received by the communication terminal 12, the other HTML files DP12 to DP14 are automatically and sequentially generated by the WWW browser B1 based on the description (URL12 to URL14) in the frame definition file DP11. The communication terminal 12 receives each HTTP response corresponding to each HTTP request to be transmitted.
[0029]
Then, as a result of processing and shaping these four HTML files, for example, a screen as shown in FIG. 1 is displayed on the display unit 24.
[0030]
Here, assuming that the URL of the HTML file DP12 is the URL 12, the URL of the HTML file DP 13 is the URL 13, and the URL of the HTML file DP 14 is the URL 14, the URL 12 is “title.html” in the row TG12 of FIG. , URL13 is “menu.html” in row TG13, and URL14 is “main.html” in row TG14.
[0031]
Usually, a plurality of HTML files constituting one frame page are located on the same WWW server (here, 13) as the frame definition file, and are also located in the same folder, so that such a local file without FQDN is included. It can be specified by a URL (here, a URL consisting only of a file name).
[0032]
If necessary, a plurality of HTML files constituting one frame page can be placed on another WWW server. In this case, for example, all or a part of the URLs 12 to 14 is changed to a URL including FQDN. . It should be noted that the URL 11 that specifies the frame definition file DP11 that can be input by the user U1 is, of course, a URL that includes FQDN.
[0033]
The URL 11 can be manually input by the user U1 using the operation unit 22, and can be set in advance by the user U1 using software such as an auto-pilot tool described in Patent Document 1. It can be automatically input at the date and time or time interval.
[0034]
In the case of a frame page having a menu as shown in FIG. 1, the menu file has the contents as shown in FIG. 4C (all of the targets are all main (the frame name of the area C)). When the user U1 selects a hyperlink in the menu, the file to which the hyperlink is linked is displayed in place of the area C.
[0035]
Therefore, in a typical usage, in the case of a frame page having a menu, a plurality of frames in which the contents of other frames (here, regions A and B) are the same and only the contents of the target frame (region C) are replaced. It can be seen that WWW pages exist in multiple layers.
[0036]
The storage unit 23 illustrated in FIG. 16 includes, for example, a volatile storage device such as a RAM (random access memory) or a nonvolatile storage device such as a hard disk.
[0037]
When the communication terminal 12 receives each file (for example, the DP11 or DP12) constituting the WWW page from the WWW server 13, the files are temporarily stored in a cache area secured on the hard disk of the storage unit 23. Is accumulated in
[0038]
The cache area is usually placed under the control of the WWW browser B1, and can be freely accessed from the WWW browser B1.
[0039]
The storage of files in the cache area is maintained as much as possible, but the storage capacity of the cache area has an upper limit. When browsing a new WWW page exceeding this upper limit and accumulating a new file, the file is already stored. For example, by deleting stored files in order from the oldest one, a necessary storage capacity is secured.
[0040]
For example, when the user U1 instructs browsing of the WWW page from the operation unit 22 by inputting a URL or the like, if a file related to the WWW page specified by the URL is stored in the cache area, the WWW browser B1 is connected to the Internet The file is acquired not from the cache area but from the cache area, and the contents of the file are displayed on the display unit 24 on the screen. This suppresses an increase in communication traffic on the network 11 and an increase in load on the WWW server 13 side, and shortens the response time (time from when an instruction is issued to when a WWW page is displayed) as viewed from the user U1. it can.
[0041]
The area processing unit 25 connected to the control unit 21 has a function of determining and extracting a main area. The internal configuration is as shown in FIG. 2, for example.
[0042]
The main area is one area that can be estimated to be most important for the user (here, U1) among a plurality of areas on the WWW page. In the present embodiment, it is basically assumed that the area where the frequency of updating is the highest is the main area. Therefore, for example, in the case of the frame page shown in FIG. 1, any one of the areas A to C that can be estimated to be the most important to the user U1 (highest update frequency) is the main area. . Further, in correspondence with a typical use of a frame page having a menu, the main area may be determined for each of a plurality of frame pages in which only the contents of the target frame (for example, area C) are replaced. .
[0043]
(A-1-2) Internal configuration example of area processing unit
2, the area processing unit 25 includes a reading unit 101, a buffer unit 102, a division unit 103, a division result storage unit 104, an area content comparison unit 105, an update frequency calculation unit 106, an update frequency storage And a determination unit 108.
[0044]
The reading unit 101 is a unit that reads information N10 relating to a frame page of a specified URL (for example, the URL 11) into the buffer unit 102 regularly or irregularly (such as when the user U1 instructs reading). This reading may be performed from the cache area or the like in the storage unit 23, but is usually performed from the WWW server 13 via the Internet 11.
[0045]
In order to enable such reading via the Internet 11, the reading unit 101 functions as a part of the WWW browser B1, cooperates with the WWW browser B1, or an HTTP independent from the WWW browser B1. It is necessary to have a function as a client.
[0046]
The content of the file at the time of reading by the reading unit 101 may be, for example, a compound file SP1 shown in FIG.
[0047]
In FIG. 5, the composite file SP1 is a composite of the contents of the HTML files DP11 to DP14 shown in FIGS. However, the contents of the frame definition file DP11 are divided into four parts PT1 to PT4 and arranged.
[0048]
The WWW server 13 manages that the files DP11 to DP14 are files corresponding to one frame page, and based on the four files DP11 to DP14 when an HTTP request for the frame definition file DP11 is received. If one synthesized file SP1 is generated and returned, a file such as the synthesized file SP1 can be returned as an entity body of one HTTP response. However, the load on the WWW server 13 and the cache system It is disadvantageous in consideration of the affinity with the WWW server 13 and the like, and it is preferable not to perform such processing on the WWW server 13 side.
[0049]
When such processing is not performed on the WWW server 13 side, in order to browse the frame page DP1 shown in FIG. 1, a total of four HTTP requests are transmitted from the communication terminal 12, and in response to the HTTP requests, four times in sequence. Are returned from the WWW server 13, and the entity bodies of the three HTTP responses are the files DP12 to DP14.
[0050]
Therefore, in many cases, a file such as SP1 is obtained only by a process (shaping process) after the communication terminal 12 receives all the files DP11 to DP14.
[0051]
The buffer unit 102 is a unit that temporarily stores the content read by the reading unit 101 and the result processed by the division unit 103. The storage resources for realizing the storage functions such as the buffer unit 102, the division result storage unit 104, and the update frequency storage unit 107 may be secured separately from the storage unit 23. May be secured.
[0052]
The dividing unit 103 is a unit that analyzes the frame page read into the buffer unit 102 to divide the storage contents of the buffer unit 102 into regions based on a document structure specified in advance. However, in the case of a frame page, each area (for example, area A to area C) on the frame page corresponds to a different HTML file, and is divided into another file from the beginning (that is, before performing the shaping process). If a file system capable of performing ordinary file management is installed, division may be omitted. Since file management is usually the role of the OS, the dividing unit 103 only has to repeat the process of requesting the OS to deliver the next file on the buffer unit 102 and receiving a file as a response to the request, for example. .
[0053]
However, due to the relationship between the WWW browser B1 and the interface of the area processing unit 25 (reading unit 101) and the like, the files DP11 to DP14 before the shaping process cannot be received, and only the synthesized file SP1 after the shaping process can be received. If this is not possible, division is required.
[0054]
The division is a process of obtaining three files DP12, DP13, and DP14 shown in FIG. 6 by excluding, for example, the parts PT1 to PT4 from the combined file SP1 shown in FIG.
[0055]
The files (for example, DP12 to DP14) divided by the division unit 103 (received from the OS) are supplied to the division result storage unit 104.
[0056]
The division result storage unit 104 is a part that stores the file N11 supplied last time from the division unit 103. The file N11 supplied last time is stored for comparison with the corresponding file N12 received and stored in the buffer unit 102 this time, so that the correspondence between each file can be known between the previous time and this time. It is natural that it is necessary to memorize in such a form. For example, it is necessary to prevent the HTML file of the previous area C and the HTML file DP14 of the current area C from being confused with another HTML file (for example, the HTML file DP13 of the area B).
[0057]
For this association, for example, the file name of each HTML file (for example, URLs 12 to 14) can be used, and a unique file identifier (area number) assigned to each HTML file in the system can be used. it can.
[0058]
The area content comparison unit 105 compares, for each file, the previously supplied file N11 stored in the division result storage unit 104 and the currently supplied file stored in the buffer unit 102 for each file ( That is, in a portion for detecting the presence or absence of update by comparing the contents (for each region), the update presence / absence information N16 is output as a detection result. Updating refers to adding, deleting, or changing part or all of the contents of a file.
[0059]
The update frequency calculation unit 106 calculates the current update frequency S based on a predetermined formula from the content of the update presence / absence information N16 and the previous update frequency, and outputs update frequency information N17 corresponding to the update frequency S. is there. The calculation of the update frequency S is performed for each file (for each area). The update frequency may be such that its value increases as the file update frequency increases. In the present embodiment, the update frequency decreases as the file update frequency increases.
[0060]
Further, as the above equation, various types of equations can be used. In the present embodiment, the following equation (1) based on exponential averaging is used.
[0061]
S = S ₀ α + P (1-α) (1)
Where S ₀ Is the update frequency up to the previous time, and α is a constant of 0 <α <1, but here α = 0.8. P is a score and has a value of either 100 or 0. As described later, the score P is set to 0 when the update is performed, and is set to 100 when the update is not performed. ₀ Becomes smaller each time an update is performed.
[0062]
In the HTTP response to the GET request, since various HTTP headers are returned in addition to the entity body (file), it is desirable to use information in the HTTP header in the processing of the update frequency calculation unit 106.
[0063]
For example, it is desirable to use update date information and expiration date information included in an entity header that is one of the HTTP headers.
[0064]
The update date information is information indicating the date when the file was updated on the WWW server 13 side.
[0065]
The expiration date information is information for setting an expiration date when a file is cached (in the cache area or the cache server, for example), and is used to maintain the latest content of the file to be provided. The expiration date information is usually set according to the convenience of the WWW server 13, such as the creator of the file (the creator of the WWW page). If the expiration date has passed, the communication terminal 12 (or the cache server interposed between the communication terminal 12 and the WWW server 13) deletes the file from the cache area, even if the storage capacity is sufficient, The original file is obtained from the WWW server (here, 13). Therefore, if the expiration date is set short, there is an advantage that the possibility of providing the user (here, U1) with the latest contents even if frequent updating is performed is increased. Since the advantage of the cache decreases and the load on the WWW server 13 increases, it is usually attempted to set the expiration date as long as possible.
[0066]
For this reason, the expiration date information indicates how often the creator of the WWW page plans to update the file or how often (for example, an electronic bulletin board (CGI bulletin board) For example, it can be regarded as information (update schedule information) indicating whether or not a WWW page in which a file is updated by a third party is expected (however, electronic bulletin boards are generally prohibited from being cached). . Since the creator of the WWW page ordinarily must be familiar with his own schedule and the nature of the WWW page, which cannot be known from the user U1 or the like, the reliability of the expiration date information as the update schedule information is high. It can be said that.
[0067]
There are various methods by which the update frequency calculation unit 106 uses such expiration date information. For example, when calculating the update frequency S, the shorter the expiration date indicated by the expiration date information, the higher the update frequency It is also desirable to apply a weight so that S is changed to a high frequency side.
[0068]
The update frequency storage unit 107 that receives the update frequency information N17 corresponding to the update frequency S from the update frequency calculation unit 106 is a part that stores the update frequency information N17 for each area.
[0069]
The determination unit 108 determines the area whose contents change most frequently as the main area based on the update frequency information N17 stored in the update frequency storage unit 107, extracts the contents of the relevant area from the buffer unit 102, and This is the output part. Although various output destinations of the main area can be considered, for example, the WWW browser B1 may be used. If the WWW browser B1 needs to display the main area on the display unit 24 on the screen, the frame definition file DP11 may be output to the WWW browser B1 together with the main area.
[0070]
On the other hand, FIG. 17 shows an example of the internal configuration of the WWW server 13 that returns an HTTP response in response to the HTTP request.
[0071]
(A-1-3) Example of internal configuration of WWW server
17, the WWW server 13 includes a communication unit 30, a control unit 31, and a storage unit 32.
[0072]
Among them, the communication unit 30 corresponds to the communication unit 20, the control unit 31 corresponds to the control unit 21, and the storage unit 32 corresponds to the storage unit 23.
[0073]
However, the control unit 31 does not include a WWW browser (such as B1) but includes WWW server software.
[0074]
When the WWW server 13 has a database for storing WWW pages or the like generated in advance, a DBMS may be installed in the control unit 31 as necessary.
[0075]
Further, in order to provide the frame page DP1, the storage unit 32 stores at least HTML files DP11 to DP14.
[0076]
Hereinafter, the operation of the present embodiment having the above-described configuration will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 3, 7, and 8.
[0077]
FIG. 3 is a flowchart for updating information such as the update frequency information N17, and includes steps S101 to S104. Similarly, FIG. 7 is a flowchart for determining and outputting the contents of the main area based on the update frequency information N17 and the like, and includes steps S101, S102, and S105.
[0078]
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a process of calculating the update frequency S or a process in the vicinity thereof, and includes steps S151 to S160. The flowchart in FIG. 8 shows the detailed operation of step S103 in FIG.
[0079]
(A-2) Operation of the first embodiment
When the URL is input to the WWW browser B1 by the user U1 operating the operation unit 22 or by a function such as the autopilot tool, the WWW browser B1 transmits an HTTP request (GET request) corresponding to the URL11. Send.
[0080]
However, when the reading unit 101 has a function as an HTTP client independent of the WWW browser B1, it is natural that this input is performed not to the WWW browser B1 but to the reading unit 101.
[0081]
Upon receiving the HTTP request transmitted from the communication terminal 12 via the Internet 11, the WWW server 13 (and the server OS) extracts the frame definition file DP11 specified by the URL 11 from the storage unit 32, and retrieves the frame definition file DP11. An HTTP response including DP11 as an entity body is returned.
[0082]
The other HTML files DP12 to DP14 constituting the frame page DP1 are based on the descriptions (URL12 to URL14) in the frame definition file DP11 after the frame definition file DP11 is received by the communication terminal 12, as described above. Then, since the communication terminal 12 receives the HTTP response in response to each HTTP request automatically transmitted by the WWW browser B1 as an entity body in response to each HTTP request, the reading unit 101 reads these.
[0083]
However, when the composite file SP1 is generated on the WWW server 13, an HTTP response including the composite file SP1 as an entity body is returned.
[0084]
As shown in FIG. 3, the reading unit 101 included in the area processing unit 25 of the communication terminal 12 reads the file (DP11 or SP1) alone and in cooperation with the WWW browser B1 and stores the file in the buffer unit 102. (S101). When reading alone, the entity body of the HTTP response is directly read into the reading unit 101, and when reading in cooperation with the WWW browser B1, the result processed by the WWW browser B1 is sent to the reading unit 101. Will be read.
[0085]
In any case, the file read by the reading unit 101 at this time can be of two types: a frame definition file DP11 shown in FIG. 4A and a combined file SP1 shown in FIG.
[0086]
At this time, when the file read by the reading unit 101 is the composite file SP1, the file is divided (S102). However, when the file is the frame definition file DP11, there is no need to divide the file.
[0087]
However, in the case of the frame definition file DP11, it is necessary to sequentially transmit an HTTP request from the communication terminal 12 in order to acquire the above-described three HTML files DP12 to DP14, and sequentially read the received HTTP file. There is a need.
[0088]
Regardless of whether or not the combined file SP1 is used, each of the HTML files DP12 to DP14 can be identified and associated with the area name in addition to the file name.
[0089]
Here, as an example, an area number 1 is assigned to the HTML file DP12 to be an area 1, an area number 2 is assigned to the HTML file DP13 to an area 2, and an area number 3 is assigned to the HTML file DP14. 3 is assumed.
[0090]
Next, in step S103, the area content comparison unit 105 compares the file read this time (divided as necessary) with the file read last time to detect the presence / absence of an update. The update frequency calculation unit 106 calculates the update frequency S based on the update frequency, and the calculated update frequency S is stored in the update frequency storage unit 107.
[0091]
Then, the contents of the files DP12 to DP14 read (divided) this time are stored in the division result storage unit 104 in such a manner that they are replaced with the previously read files, and are prepared for the next new reading (S104).
[0092]
The processing of steps S101 to S104 is repeated a plurality of times as necessary. If the update is detected only a small number of times (for example, once), the file may have been updated at the same time by chance, so that such a contingency is eliminated and the frequency of the update is truly high. In order to determine whether or not this is the case, it is preferable that the number of repetitions be large, and it is natural that the detection of the presence or absence of update should be performed over a long period of time.
[0093]
If necessary, the expiration date information (update schedule information) can be used to eliminate contingency even when the number of repetitions is relatively short and the period for detecting the presence or absence of update is relatively short. There is.
[0094]
Further, when the number of repetitions is small and the detection period of the presence or absence of update is short, the probability that a file that has been updated recently is selected as a main area increases. If it can be assumed that the most important area for the user U1 is the area that has been updated in the nearest past, the important area is determined even if the number of repetitions is small and the detection period of the update is short. You can choose.
[0095]
In FIG. 8 showing the details of step S103, the files DP12 to DP14 are identified using the area numbers.
[0096]
8, steps S152 to S159 are repeated for each file (for each area number) based on the area numbers assigned to the files DP12 to DP14 stored in the buffer unit 102.
[0097]
Of these, in step S152, the file read last time (previously divided) and the file read this time (divided this time), that is, the file stored in the division result storage unit 104 and the file stored in the buffer unit 102 The files that have been set are compared with each other based on the area number (S153).
[0098]
As a result of the comparison, if the contents are the same, that is, if the file has not been updated, the step S153 branches to the Yes side, and 100 is set as the score P of the equation (1) (S155). The update frequency S is calculated based on () (S157). The update frequency S calculated previously and stored in the update frequency storage unit 107 is calculated based on the update frequency S calculated here. ₀ Is replaced.
[0099]
As a result of the comparison, the content of the area 1 is the same as the previous time, and the previous update frequency S ₀ S ₀ Assuming that = 73, as shown in FIG. 9, the current update frequency S of the area 1 is 78 (≒ 73 × 0.8 + 100 × (1-0.8)) according to the equation (1).
[0100]
Further, the content of the area 2 is the same as the previous time, and the previous update frequency S ₀ S ₀ If = 73, the current update frequency S of the area 1 is also 78.
[0101]
On the other hand, if the result of comparison in step S153 is that the contents are not the same, that is, if the file has been updated, step S153 branches to the No side to check whether the number of divisions is the same (S154). . Since the number of divisions is the number of files other than the frame definition file DP11 constituting the frame page DP1, in this step S154, it is checked whether or not the frame structure (particularly the number of frames) itself has changed. You will be doing.
[0102]
The presence or absence of a change in the frame structure is directly analyzed from the description content of the frame definition file DP11 without checking the number of divisions (for example, the number of character strings “<FRAME src” is counted). By doing so, it is also possible to inspect.
[0103]
Further, as described above, the concept of the frame structure includes not only the number of frames but also the ratio of the length of the side of each frame, and the like, but in step S154, only the number of frames is considered. Therefore, even if the description of the frame definition file DP11 changes and the ratio of the length of the side of each frame changes, the step S154 branches to Yes if the number of frames is the same. Of course, if necessary, the step S154 may be branched to the No side if the description of the frame definition file DP11 changes a little.
[0104]
For example, when any one of the URLs 12 to 14 described in the lines TG12 to TG14 has changed, the content of the same file has not been updated, and the file arranged in the frame has been changed to another file. Therefore, step S154 may be branched to the Yes side.
[0105]
As an example, when a new area such as the area 4 (the area assigned with the area number 4) shown in FIG. 10 appears in the frame page DP1 in which only the three areas of the area 1 to the area 3 existed before. The step S154 branches to No, the update frequency S of the area 4 is set to 0 (S158), and the process proceeds to the step S159. In this case, 0 is the initial value of the update frequency, and the update frequency is reset to the initial value on the assumption that the area to be compared has disappeared because the frame structure itself of the frame page DP1 has changed.
[0106]
If the division number is the same and step S154 branches to the Yes side, the score P is set to 0 in that area (S156), and the process proceeds to step S157.
[0107]
Here, as shown in FIG. 9, in the processing for the area 3, the step S154 branches to the Yes side, and the previous update frequency S ₀ S ₀ Assuming that = 46, the current update frequency S of the area 3 is 37 (≒ 46 × 0.8 + 0 × (1-0.8)) according to the above equation (1).
[0108]
As described above, the update of the update frequency S of each of the areas 1 to 3 stored in the update frequency storage unit 107 is performed one or more times, and the main area is updated based on the update frequency S. If the determination is made and the main area is output, the flowchart shown in FIG.
[0109]
In FIG. 7, the processing of each step denoted by the same reference numerals S101 and S102 as in FIG. 3 is the same as in FIG.
[0110]
Therefore, FIG. 7 differs from FIG. 3 only in step S105.
[0111]
In step S105, the determination unit 108 determines and outputs the main area from the frame page DP1 based on the update frequency S stored in the update frequency storage unit 107 at that time. For example, when the update frequency S of the HTML file DP14 corresponding to the area 3 has a value with the highest update frequency, the HTML file DP14 is selected as a main area and output.
[0112]
If there is a plurality of areas having the same update frequency, if necessary, one main area may be specified based on the expiration date information or the like. If necessary, a plurality of areas are output as the main area, or one area is output as the main area, but the user is notified that there is another area whose update frequency shows the same value as the main area. You may make it transmit to U1.
[0113]
Also, if a plurality of URLs for specifying a frame definition file such as the URL 11 are set in software such as the auto pilot tool in addition to the date and time and the time interval, a large number of frames can be simultaneously processed. Similar processing can be performed on the page. As a result, it is possible to select and output only the main area from many frame pages, and the user U1 can efficiently recognize the main points of many frame pages with little labor and time.
[0114]
In this case, however, the division result storage unit 104 and the update frequency storage unit 107 need to store information by organizing each frame page.
[0115]
Further, in the present embodiment, the user U1 does not need to manually specify the start position and the end position of the data in advance as in Patent Literature 1, so that the operation load on the user U1 can be reduced.
[0116]
In the present embodiment, since the main area can be automatically determined, (i) a notification at the time of updating the designated web page (such as not notifying an update other than the main area, etc.), and (ii) a search (the other than the main area, It is possible to easily construct services and systems such as (not to be searched) and (iii) summarizing (summarizing only main areas).
[0117]
(A-3) Effects of the first embodiment
According to the present embodiment, it is possible to reduce the operation burden on the user (U1) for outputting the main area selected from the frame page. In particular, this is effective when only the main area is selected and output from many frame pages.
[0118]
In addition, since the present embodiment can be basically executed without using natural language processing, the main area can be determined without depending on the description language.
[0119]
Further, in the present embodiment, the analysis of the frame page is performed. However, since only the document structure specified in advance has to be processed, the processing amount is smaller than that of performing all the analysis.
[0120]
(B) Second embodiment
Hereinafter, only the points of the present embodiment that are different from the first embodiment will be described.
[0121]
In the first embodiment, the presence or absence of an update is detected by storing and comparing the contents of the file itself. However, in the present embodiment, a checksum of the contents of the file is used instead of the contents of the file.
[0122]
(B-1) Configuration and Operation of Second Embodiment
The present embodiment is different from the first embodiment only in the internal configuration of the area processing unit 25. Therefore, the configurations shown in FIGS. 15, 16 and 17 can be used as they are in this embodiment. Reference numeral 35 is assigned to the area processing unit of the present embodiment to distinguish it from the area processing unit 25 of the first embodiment.
[0123]
An example of the internal configuration of the area processing unit 35 is as shown in FIG.
[0124]
12, the area processing unit 35 includes a reading unit 101, a buffer unit 102, a division unit 103, an update frequency calculation unit 106, an update frequency storage unit 107, a determination unit 108, and a checksum calculation unit 201. , A checksum storage unit 202, and a checksum comparison unit 203.
[0125]
The functions of the components and signals (information) assigned with the same reference numerals 101 to 103, 106 to 108, N10 to N12, and N17 to N19 as in FIG. 2 are the same as those in the first embodiment. Detailed description is omitted.
[0126]
The checksum storage unit 202 corresponds to the division result storage unit 104, and the checksum comparison unit 203 corresponds to the area contents comparison unit 105.
[0127]
The checksum storage unit 202 stores checksum information N30 indicating a checksum calculated by the checksum calculation unit 201 based on the contents of the file, instead of the contents of the file (the division result). Normally, the size of the checksum is much smaller than the file contents, so that the storage capacity of the checksum storage unit 202 may be smaller than the storage capacity of the division result storage unit 104.
[0128]
Therefore, the checksum comparison unit 203 detects whether each file has been updated by comparing the checksum of the previously read file with the checksum of the currently read file, and determines whether or not each file has been updated. The information N33 is output.
[0129]
The checksum calculation unit 201 also calculates checksum information N31 indicating the checksum of the file read this time, based on the contents of the file read this time and stored in the buffer unit 102.
[0130]
Detecting whether a file has been updated based on the checksum may cause an erroneous detection that the file is actually updated but not updated, but the checksum size (number of bits) , It is possible to suppress the probability of occurrence of such erroneous detection.
[0131]
The flowchart showing the operation of the present embodiment is as shown in FIGS. 7, 13, and 14. Among them, the flowchart of FIG. 7 uses the same one as in the first embodiment in this embodiment.
[0132]
Further, the flowchart of FIG. 13 corresponds to the flowchart of FIG. 3, and the processing content of each step to which the same reference numerals S101 and S102 are assigned is the same as that of the first embodiment, and thus the detailed description thereof will be omitted.
[0133]
In FIG. 13, step S201 corresponds to step S103 in FIG. 3, and step S202 corresponds to step S104 in FIG.
[0134]
Step S201 is different from S103 only in that the presence or absence of an update is detected based on a checksum instead of the contents of a file.
[0135]
In step S202, the checksum of the currently read file is stored in the checksum storage unit 202 in preparation for the next reading of a new file.
[0136]
On the other hand, the flowchart of FIG. 14 corresponds to the flowchart of FIG. 8, and the processing contents of the steps denoted by the same reference numerals S154 to S160 are the same as those of the first embodiment, and thus detailed description thereof will be omitted.
[0137]
Also, as described above, steps S251 to S253 differ from the first embodiment only in that the checksum is used instead of the file contents.
[0138]
(B-3) Effects of the second embodiment
In the present embodiment, an effect equivalent to the effect of the first embodiment can be obtained.
[0139]
In addition, in this embodiment, since the storage capacity of a portion corresponding to the checksum storage unit (202) is smaller than that of the first embodiment, storage resources can be saved.
[0140]
If the size of the checksum is smaller than the size of the file, the processing time may be reduced because the time for reading and writing to a storage resource such as a memory is short.
[0141]
(C) Other embodiments
In the first embodiment, the result of division is stored for comparison with the previous time. However, the read content is stored as it is, and divided before comparison. You may.
[0142]
Although the divided areas are associated with each other in accordance with the order of description of the combined file SP1, information (for example, the URLs 12 to 14) for identifying each area within the frame page is added. As described above, it may be configured to use the information.
[0143]
In the second embodiment, the checksum is used. However, a code corresponding to an error detection method other than the checksum can be used. Further, a value (hash value) obtained by converting the content of the file using a hash function may be used instead of the checksum.
[0144]
In the first and second embodiments, only the case where a GET request (GET method) is used as an HTTP request has been described, but a HEAD request (HEAD method) may be used.
[0145]
The HTTP response to the HEAD request is the same as the HTTP response to the GET request except that no entity body (file) is included. Therefore, even if the communication terminal 12 transmits the HEAD request, the communication terminal 12 can acquire the expiration date information and the update date information included in the entity header from the WWW server 13.
[0146]
In this case, the communication terminal 12 can detect whether or not each file has been updated based on the update date information and the like. Further, according to the HEAD request, a large file body does not need to be handled, so that the load is small on the WWW server 13 side and the communication terminal 12 side, and communication traffic is also small. Further, since the response time is short, high-speed processing can be executed.
[0147]
Further, detection of the presence / absence of the update based on the update date information and detection of the presence / absence of the update by comparing the file body (or the checksum thereof) as described in the first (or second) embodiment are mixed. You may let it. For example, when the user U1 inputs the URL 11 in hope of browsing the frame page, the GET request is used to compare the file bodies, and when the autopilot tool or the like automatically detects the presence or absence of the update, etc. , HEAD request may be used to detect the presence or absence of an update based on update date information.
[0148]
Since various information included in the HTTP header such as the update date information is described based on the management information collected on the WWW server 13, the file management is not properly performed on the WWW server 13 side. May have incorrect information. For example, there is a possibility that the update date of the file is rewritten even though the content is not actually changed, and update date information as if the update was performed is generated.
[0149]
The detection of the presence or absence of an update by comparing the contents of the file body (or its checksum, etc.) is highly reliable in that such errors are not mixed.
[0150]
In the examples of FIGS. 4A to 4D, the top page is a frame page, but it is natural that a page other than the top page may be a frame page.
[0151]
In the case of a frame page, as shown in FIG. 1, a typical example is a configuration in which a menu is placed in a narrow frame such as an area B and contents that change in accordance with the selection of the menu are placed in a wide frame such as an area C. However, it goes without saying that the present invention can be applied to a frame page without a menu.
[0152]
Further, the present invention is applicable to WWW pages other than frame pages, and is also applicable to descriptions in languages other than HTML (such as XML and SGML). This is because, in some sense, a plurality of logically identifiable areas may be included.
[0153]
For example, in the case of a WWW page including a plurality of images (image files), one of the image files may be determined as the main area based on the update frequency of each image file. It is also possible to determine the main area between the basic HTML file and the image (image file) displayed on the WWW page corresponding to the HTML file based on the update frequency. In this case, when an image (image file) is selected as the main area, only the image may be displayed, and when the HTML file is selected, only the HTML file containing no image may be displayed.
[0154]
Also, the area may be identified based on a unit other than the file.
[0155]
Further, the communication protocol used does not necessarily have to be HTTP.
[0156]
In the first and second embodiments, the area processing unit 25 (or 35) is arranged on the communication terminal (client) 12 side, but the function of the area processing unit is arranged on the WWW server 13 side, For example, it can be arranged in a proxy server or the like that can be interposed between the WWW server 13 and the communication terminal 12.
[0157]
In the case where the WWW server 13 is located, it is not always necessary to perform HTTP communication. Therefore, the file management information managed by the server OS of the WWW server 13 is utilized as it is to detect whether or not there is an update. Can be used.
[0158]
In the first and second embodiments, it is assumed that the frame page is published on the WWW server 13, but the present invention is also applicable to a frame page obtained from a recording medium such as a CD-ROM. Is applicable, the target frame page and the like need not necessarily be obtained via a network.
[0159]
Further, as described above, the formula used in the present invention does not need to be limited to the formula (1). For example, it is also possible to use a simple expression in which the value of the update frequency is incremented (or decremented) each time it is detected that the update has been performed.
[0160]
In the above description, the present invention is mainly realized by hardware, but the present invention can also be realized by software.
[0161]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce a user's operation load required to determine a main area from a structured document.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a configuration example of a structured document used in first and second embodiments.
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration example of an area processing unit used in the first embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation at the time of “information update” according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a structured document used for explaining the operation of the first embodiment.
FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a result of reading each file of the structured document shown in FIG. 4;
FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a result obtained by dividing the structured document of FIG. 5;
FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an operation at the time of “outputting contents of main area” according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a method of calculating an update frequency S according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 9 is a specific example of calculation of an update frequency S according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 10 is a specific example of calculation of an update frequency S according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 11 is a flowchart in a case where the operation at the time of “information update” and the operation at the time of “output of contents of main area” of the first embodiment are summarized.
FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration example of an area processing unit according to the second embodiment.
FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating an operation at the time of “information update” according to the second embodiment.
FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a method of calculating an update frequency S according to the second embodiment.
FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the overall configuration of a communication system according to the first and second embodiments.
FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration example of a communication terminal used in the first and second embodiments.
FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration example of a WWW server used in the first and second embodiments.
[Explanation of symbols]
101: reading unit, 102: buffer unit, 103: dividing unit, 104: division result storing unit, 105: area content comparing unit, 106: update frequency calculating unit, 107: update frequency storing unit, 108: determining unit, 201 ... Checksum calculation unit, 202: checksum storage unit, 203: checksum comparison unit.

Claims (8)

In an information processing apparatus for determining a main area from a predetermined structured document including a plurality of areas,
Each area in the structured document or, a plurality of times in time series management information of each area, a reading unit to obtain,
A storage unit that stores the area or management information obtained by the reading unit;
A comparison inspection unit that performs a comparison between corresponding areas or management information obtained by the reading unit, and checks whether or not each area is updated based on the comparison result;
An update frequency calculation unit that calculates predetermined update frequency correspondence information for each region based on a history of the inspection results by the comparison inspection unit;
An information processing apparatus, comprising: a main area determination unit that determines a main area from a plurality of areas in the structured document based on the update frequency correspondence information. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1,
A boundary division unit that divides each region in the structured document based on boundary information indicating a boundary between regions on a screen display,
The information processing apparatus, wherein the reading unit reads the respective areas or management information by cooperating with the boundary division unit. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1,
When each area in the structured document is defined in advance as an inter-area structure indicating a logical structure between the areas, an area management unit that identifies each area using the inter-area structure is provided. ,
The information processing apparatus, wherein the reading unit reads the respective areas or the management information by cooperating with the area management unit. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1,
The comparison inspection unit,
An information processing apparatus, wherein the reading unit checks the presence or absence of an update by comparing a currently acquired area with a previously acquired area corresponding to the area. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1,
The comparison inspection unit,
An information processing apparatus, wherein the reading unit checks the presence or absence of an update by comparing the management information acquired this time with management information acquired last time corresponding to the management information. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1,
The area or the management information, for error detection, comprising a conversion unit to convert to smaller size conversion data,
An information processing apparatus, wherein conversion data output by the conversion unit is stored in the storage unit. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1,
The update frequency calculation unit,
An information processing apparatus for calculating current update frequency correspondence information based on previous update frequency correspondence information and a test result output by the comparison test unit this time. In an information processing method for determining a main area from a predetermined structured document including a plurality of areas,
The reading unit acquires each area in the structured document or the management information of each area plural times in chronological order,
The storage unit stores the area or management information acquired by the reading unit,
A comparison inspection unit performs comparison between corresponding areas obtained by the reading unit or between management information, and checks whether each area is updated based on the comparison result,
Based on the history of inspection results by the comparison inspection unit, the update frequency calculation unit calculates predetermined update frequency correspondence information for each region,
An information processing method, wherein a main area determination unit determines a main area from a plurality of areas in the structured document based on the update frequency correspondence information.

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