JP2005519395A - Information object - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a method of using a processor to generate linked information objects that are formed from content having each type. The processor is connected to the display and the storage device to obtain the information object and assign a unique identifier to the obtained information object according to the information object type. Next, one or more links are defined between the information object and one or more other information objects according to a predetermined rule or an input command from the user. Next, the computer generates link data defining one or more links stored in the storage device.

Description

  The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for generating and processing linked information objects.

  References to prior art in this specification are not an admission that the prior art forms part of normal general knowledge, and do not imply in any way and should be considered as such. not.

  With the recent development of computers and the Internet, the amount of information such as electronic mail that must be processed every day is rapidly increasing. Time to find, organize and manage such information is constantly increasing. This situation is exacerbated because this information is usually contained within different applications, different computers, handheld and mobile devices, servers, networks, etc. Furthermore, it is still very difficult to publish, exchange or share information while maintaining the structure of the information to share. For example, if a file is received by email, it may be necessary to organize the file in an associated folder, rename it, and / or associate it with a particular project, task or group. However, when this is done, in many cases the reasons for the original association, renaming, etc. are forgotten, so it is no longer possible to know where the file was obtained from in any way.

  Several attempts have been made to deal with this problem. Initially, for example, generation using a software application such as Microsoft Word ™ includes information about the author in the properties section. However, this information is typically organized based on registration on the software application. Therefore, if a third party is using the software application, the correct author of the document is not necessarily displayed. In addition, this information cannot be used to create associations such as relationships between documents.

  Certain application software, such as Microsoft Outlook ™, allows emails received using folders to be classified by category. Thus, for example, work can be organized such that email received from a particular client is stored in a particular folder.

  However, because folders can only store email, other related files, such as attachments, must be stored in a separate directory structure. This means that each directory structure tends to be created for different applications. As a result, there is nothing to associate other than the names of directories and folders that associate files with a common source.

  In addition to this, the use of folders and directories is usually a manual process where folders and directories must be manually configured and used. Therefore, the structure used is usually intuitive to the creator of the structure, so that a third party cannot easily understand it.

  Finally, each directory structure typically must be stored individually on the server or each machine. However, for this reason, it is usually not possible to use a common directory structure between different networks and connected networks. This creates other problems when organizing with files contained within.

  Data can be stored as application-centric data that is managed hierarchically by the application that generates it or within a strict tree-like structure. However, this method lacks flexibility.

In a first aspect, the present invention provides a method for generating linked information objects using a processor. The processor is connected to a display and a storage device, and each information object is formed from contents having a respective type. The above method includes: a) obtaining an information object in the processor;
b) assigning a unique identifier to the information object according to the information object type based on the type of content;
c) defining one or more links between an information object and one or more other information objects, wherein the link is i) a predetermined rule;
ii) defined by at least one of input commands from the user,
d) generating link data defining one or more links;
e) including causing the link data to be stored in the storage device.

Usually, getting an information object
a) obtaining a data object containing one or more example content types;
b) determining an example content type from the data object;
c) comparing the content type example with the current information object;
d) If the comparison is unsuccessful, cause the processor to obtain the information object by determining a new information object from the data object accordingly by determining the content type example to be a new information object. Including.

  If a data object contains more than one information object, it is usually included in the data object to define one or more links between the information object and one or more other information objects. Including defining links between information objects.

Defining one or more links between an information object and other information objects usually requires the processor to a) determine the information object type of the information object and the information object type of each of the other information objects according to a predetermined rule. Comparing with
b) causing a successful comparison to perform defining a link between the information object and one of the other information objects.

  Preferably, the predetermined rule specifies for each information object type each condition that needs to be satisfied in order to be able to define links according to other information object types.

  Usually, one of the conditions is that if the content of one of the information objects is formed from part of the content of another information object, each of the first and second information object types To define a link between two information objects having

Defining one or more links between an information object and one or more other information objects usually involves: a) displaying a representation of the information object to the user;
b) using the input to allow the user to select at least two of the information objects;
c) including causing a link between selected information objects to be defined.

The method of displaying the representation to the user typically involves: a) determining the identifier of any information object to be displayed;
b) Arbitrary link between information objects, the link being determined by the determined identifier and link data;
c) Representing the information object
i) generating a representation of each information object based on at least one of the information object type and the information object content;
ii) including generating by generating a representation of the determined link between the information object representations.

  A representation can be formed from any representation. However, preferably the representation is a tree type representation in which the information object representation is arranged by the determined link.

The information object identifier typically further includes an indication of each processing system for which the information object has been determined.
The processor is typically capable of executing information object processing application software that allows a user to process a selected information object type. This method usually involves a) defining a new information object in the processing application,
b) including performing at least one of browsing the contents of the selected information object.

The processor can typically execute display application software capable of displaying information objects.
The processor may further execute control application software adapted to cooperate with display software and one or more processing applications.

This method usually involves the control application a) obtaining a data object,
b) determining the content type of one or more content examples from the data object;
c) controlling the determination of a new information object by causing the information object to be transferred to a processing application capable of processing the determined content type.

This method typically involves the control application a) obtaining a new information object from each processing application,
b) Controlling the determination of the identifier by causing it to generate the identifier according to a predetermined rule and information object type.

This method usually further includes: a) defining links between information objects in the control application;
b) transferring the information object to the display application to display the information object;
c) causing at least one of obtaining processing applications to be able to process different information object types.

This method usually further includes: a) allowing the user to select more than one object type for each processing application;
b) allowing the user to specify the relationship to the link between the selected object types;
c) defining each relationship, each defining a context for a link between specified information object types defined by performing storing the relationship indication as relationship data.

In a second form, the present invention provides a processing system for generating linked information objects. This processing system
a) a display;
b) a storage device;
c) a processor capable of executing the method of the first aspect of the invention.

  In a third aspect, the present invention provides a computer program product for generating linked information objects. The computer program product includes computer-executable code that, when executed on a suitable processing system, causes the processing system to perform the method of the first aspect of the invention.

  The computer program product can be provided as built-in application software, or alternatively can be implemented as a plug-in for current software applications.

In a fourth aspect, the present invention provides a method for processing linked information objects using a processor. The processor is connected to a display, a storage device and an input, each information object is formed from content having a respective type, and the link between information objects is defined by link data stored in the storage device. The method includes: a) generating a representation of a number of information objects to be displayed to a user on a display;
b) allowing the user to select one of the information objects using the input;
c) determining one or more other information objects linked to the selected information object according to the link data;
d) causing the representation of the selected information object and at least the linked information object to be displayed on the display.

This method typically further includes: a) determining the identifier of the selected information object;
b) determining the determined identifier between the selected information object and the linked information object and the link determined by the link data;
c) representation i) generating a representation of each information object based on at least one of information object type and information object content;
ii) generating a representation by generating a representation of the determined link between the information object representations.

The representation can be formed from a tree type representation by an information object representation arranged by the determined link.
The processor can be further adapted to display the contents of the information object displayed on the display in response to a request from the user.

The processor, display, storage device and input typically form part of a processing system. In this case, the processing system can be adapted to connect to one or more other processing systems via a communication network. The method includes having the processor obtain the necessary data from another of the processing systems. The above required data is
a) Information object b) Link data c) At least one of the information object identifiers is included.

The identifier typically includes an instruction of the processing system where the identifier is stored. The method further includes: a) determining a processing system in which the necessary data is stored;
b) including having the necessary data obtained therefrom.

  Link data typically specifies the identifier of each information object linked to each link. The method further includes causing the processor to determine an identifier for the linked information object obtained from the link data.

The processor can be adapted to execute information object processing application software adapted to allow a user to process selected information object types. This method usually involves a) defining a new information object in the processing application,
b) browsing at least one of the contents of the selected information object.

The processor can be adapted to execute display application software that can display information objects.
The processor may also be adapted to execute control application software adapted to cooperate with display software and one or more processing applications.

In this case, this method typically involves the control application a) determining link data representing each link by the identifier of the selected information object;
b) determining the identifier of each linked information object from the link data;
c) controlling the generation of the display of the information object linked to the selected information object by causing the display application to perform a link and identifier indication transfer.

This method also usually a) determines the identifier of the selected information object to the control application,
b) determining whether the selected information object exists in the storage device;
i) If it does not exist,
(1) determining a processing system from which an information object can be obtained;
(2) causing the processing system to obtain an information object from the determined processing system;
ii) if not, obtaining an information object from storage;
c) controlling the display of the content of the selected information object by causing the selected processing application operating to display the content of the application to transfer the information object.

This processing application can also typically define relationships that each define context for links between specified information object types. This method
a) allowing the user to select a relationship type;
b) Controlling the generation of the display so that only the links satisfying the selected relationship are displayed.

This method typically involves the control application a) determining the information object type from each of the above identifiers,
b) determining whether any processing application executable by the processor can process the determined information object type;
c) having the processor perform a corresponding acquisition of a new processing application from one of the other processing systems via the communication system if the comparison is unsuccessful.

The linked information object is generated by the method of the first aspect of the invention.
In a fifth aspect, the present invention provides a processing system for processing linked information objects. The above processing system
a) Display b) Storage device c) Processor capable of executing the method of the invention of the fourth aspect.
including.

  In a sixth aspect, the present invention provides a computer program product for processing linked information objects. The computer program product includes computer executable code that, when executed on a suitable processing system, causes the processing system to perform the method of the fourth aspect of the invention.

  Again, the computer program product can be supplied as built-in application software, or alternatively can be implemented as a plug-in for current software applications.

An example of the present invention is described below with reference to FIG. 1, which shows a system suitable for embodying the present invention.
As shown, the system includes one or more base stations 1 connected to a number of end stations 3 via a communication network 2 and a number of local area networks (LANs) 4 (simplifying the drawing). Only one of them is shown).

  Base station 1 typically includes one or more processing systems 10 connected to a data storage device 11. The data storage device 11 typically includes a database 12 as shown. Further, the database 12A may be provided in a form connected to the LAN 4 as will be described in more detail below. Further, one or more servers 5 can be connected to the communication network 2 and / or the LAN 4 as shown in the figure.

  In use, the user of the end station 3 can access the services provided by the base station 1, and the user can view the details of information objects (IO) stored in the system and interact with them. Can do. An IO is a data piece of each type described in the system in a predetermined manner. Therefore, an IO is any type of content such as an email, an email address, a “word” document, an invoice, or any other data whose content can be defined to have a particular type. Corresponding to

  This function is achieved by allowing the user to share IO between the end station 3, the server 5 and the base station 1 with some predetermined permission. IOs link to each other so that the user can browse related IOs, thereby facilitating navigation between objects.

Furthermore, end station 3 and base station 1 need to be able to communicate so that data such as IO and other details can be transferred between them.
It will therefore be appreciated that the system can be implemented with many different architectures. However, in this example, the communication network 2 is the Internet, and the LAN 4 represents a private LAN such as an internal LAN in a company or the like.

  Thus, the processing system 10 can take any form, but typically includes a processor 20, a memory 21, an input / output (I / O) device 22, and an interface 23, as shown in FIG. They are connected together via a bus 24. An interface 23, which may be a network interface card or the like, is used to connect the processing system to the Internet 2 as well as to the LAN 4.

  Therefore, it will be appreciated that the processing system 10 can be formed from any suitable processing system that runs application software that enables it to provide the necessary services. However, the processing system 10 is typically formed from servers such as network servers, web servers, and the like.

It will therefore be appreciated that the server 5 can have a similar structure.
Similarly, the end station 3 must be able to cooperate with the base station 1 in order to send and receive data including IOs and in particular be able to communicate with the processing system 10. Similarly, communication with the server 5 is also necessary. Therefore, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the end station 3 includes a processor 30, a memory 31, an input / output (I / O) device 32, and an interface 33, Are formed by a processing system connected together via a bus 34. An interface 33, which may be a network interface card or the like, is used to connect the end station 3 to the Internet 2.

  Therefore, the end station 3 can transfer data and in some cases a suitably programmed PC, internet terminal, laptop, which normally runs application software capable of web browsing. It can be formed from any suitable processing system such as a handheld PC.

  If the IO is an e-mail or the like, the processor 30 can operate specialized application software specifically generated to process the defined IO. Alternatively, the processor may run a modified version of current email or other applications such as Microsoft Outlook ™ that have been modified to provide services according to the present invention. Can do. This can be accomplished, for example, by providing a plug-in that allows current application software to achieve the required functionality.

Alternatively, end station 3 can be formed from specialized hardware such as an electronic touch sensitive screen connected to a suitable processor and memory, as will be described in more detail below. Furthermore, the end station 3 can be connected to the Internet 2 or the LAN 4 via a wired or wireless connection. Also, for example, when the system is implemented as a peer-to-peer network, a direct connection can be made between the base station 1 and the end station 3.
(Overview)
As already briefly described, the present invention provides a technique that allows a user to view IOs and associated links by end station 3. A method for achieving this will be briefly described below.

First, I / O in the system must be defined.
As already explained, each IO represents each type of content described in the system in a predetermined manner. Therefore, in order to generate an IO, each content must first be determined and then an appropriate definition must be created.

  The user can generate content through specialized software applications. Alternatively, the content can be determined from data objects such as files, emails, etc. received at the end station. A data object can include several different examples of content, some of which can have different types. Therefore, the purpose of the first process is to analyze data objects for the end station 3 and determine any examples of content contained therein.

  Thus, for example, in the case of email, the email itself is an example of an email type content. Similarly, the sending and receiving e-mail addresses are examples of each e-mail address type content. An email may also include one or more attachments, where each attachment may be an example of a particular type of content.

  After identifying all the different content instances, end station 3 defines each content instance as an IO by assigning each identifier to each content instance. The end station 3 assigns an identifier according to a predetermined criterion. Therefore, the identifier of each IO typically depends on at least the following:

-IO type-Identifier of end station 3 to which an identifier is assigned. Thus, each content example can be defined as each IO having a type of IO that depends on the type of each content. Therefore, for example, the email IO usually corresponds to the email content of the email. Similarly, the email address IO corresponds to each email address in the email.

Thereby, each IO can be uniquely defined, and the IO type and the IO source can be identified.
Once an IO has been defined, it can then be linked to other IOs defined in the system of FIG. These other IOs can be stored on each end station 3 or alternatively can be stored elsewhere on the system. Thus, for example, other IOs can be stored in the database 12, database 12A on the base station 1, or on any one of the other end stations 3, or one of the servers 5. Can also be stored.

The link between IOs can be defined automatically according to predetermined rules and / or manually by the user.
Next, a definition for each defined link is generated. In this case, the link definition is usually stored in one of the base station 1, the database 12, the database 12A, the server 5, or in each end station 3. Stored with the defined IO identifier.

  In use, therefore, the user of the end station 3 can view the IO by the end station 3 itself. This browsing is done by having end station 3 generate a representation of the selected IO along with any other IO linked to it.

  In order to perform the above browsing, the end station 3 can receive an instruction of the IO to browse. The end station 3 then uses each IO's identifier to find the location of the link data defining any associated links. The end station 3 can use the link data to determine the identifier of the linked IO and to determine the link and representation of the IO. This information is then displayed to the user.

  Typically, the procedure of selecting an IO and then viewing any additional IO linked to it is called “pivoting” around the IO. This procedure allows the user to navigate around the linked IO and allows the user to find any desired IO. Once this discovery is made, the contents of the IO can be viewed or modified as necessary.

  Therefore, it can be understood that any type of IO can be linked in a flexible hierarchy independent of the predefined hierarchical structure and independent of the application used to process the IO. right.

  A set of linked IOs is usually called a pivot universe, so that the user can navigate through the IOs contained within the universe with only defined links.

  Usually, the user of the system wants to define his own universe and wants to see the universes that are generally available. In order to allow a user to control access to his own private universe, the user can define access rights to his own universe. Next, each user of the system is provided with each access right according to his own access privileges. Thereby, the user can restrict access to his universe to selected individuals or entities. In this example, only those individuals or entities that have access to the universe can browse or pivot around the IO contained within.

  Thus, for example, a company may wish to keep its own IO secret so that users of systems that are not members of that company or are not authorized clients can view it. Similarly, however, universal access can be granted to selected pivot universes that can implement, for example, a global access book.

  However, typically a common IO links user universes to each other. Thus, for example, the first and second users can each have a respective universe formed from various linked IOs. When the first user receives an email from the second user, the first user's universe is updated to include the email address IO based on the second user's email address can do. However, the second user's universe also includes an email address IO based on the second user's email address.

  Therefore, it will be understood that the system can be determined such that these email addresses IO are the same. Therefore, if the user is pivoting around this common email address IO, the user can view links to the IOs contained in both universes and have the correct access rights. Assume that it was supplied.

  Therefore, unless the universe is designated as private, and as long as it has the corresponding limited access, all users of the system can view the IO contained within it. it can.

This has many advantages, especially when the information available on the system can be browsed freely. Thus, for example, a first user can obtain an email address from a second user's universe if the universe is defined as preferred.
(Detailed explanation)
The operation of the system of FIG. 1 will be described in detail below. In particular, the function of the system of FIG. 1 will be described in more detail with reference to FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the system can be implemented by a number of different technologies. However, in each case, the base station 1 provides a number of services, including an authentication service 40, an identifier service 41, an address mapping service 42, a global object service 43, and a global pivot service 44. To work.

Each end station 3 then operates one or more selected functions as shown in FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C.
In this example, the end station 3 having the functionality shown in FIG. 3A, together with the functionality shown in FIG. 3B representing the client-server application, and the functionality shown in FIG. Can operate in a to-peer network environment.

  For peer-to-peer (p2p) mode operation, the end station 3 activates a pivot service 51 connected to a user interaction manager (UIM) 50. The UIM 50 operates to control the operation of the pivot client manager 52 and the object interaction engine (OIE) manager 53. In use, the UIM 50 connects to the database manager 54 and database 55 as shown, as shown.

  In the case of the client server function shown in FIG. 3B, as shown in the figure, the end station 3 has a pivot service 61, a pivot client manager 62, an OE manager 63, a database Operates the manager 64 and the service manager that implements the database 65. In addition, a client manager 66 that implements a pivot client manager 67 and another OIE manager 68 is connected to the service manager 60.

  Finally, in the case of the web service application function shown in FIG. 3C, the web server application is a web server application including a pivot service 71, an OIE manager 73, a database manager 74, and a database 75. Is installed. In use, the web server application is connected via a web server 79 to a web client 80 such as a web browser.

The function of each of the core services 40, 41, 42, 43, 44 operated by the base station 1 will be roughly described below.
[Authentication service 40]
The authentication service 40 provides an authentication mechanism for system users. As will be described in more detail below, this mechanism allows access to the system to be controlled by registered users, etc., and certain mechanisms can control access restrictions based on user permissions.
[Identifier service 41]
The identifier service 41 can continuously track the unique identifier used by the system, thereby uniquely identifying information, IO, OIE, and service.
[Address mapping service 42]
The address mapping service 42 is connected by the current network and maintains a dynamic map of available applications. This map is updated whenever the application goes online or offline.
[Global Object Service 43]
The global object service 43 is the primary registration and distribution point for authenticated OIEs. This service is therefore used to allow the end station 3 user to download the OIE as needed.
[Global Pivot Service 44]
The global pivot service 44 includes IO and publicly available universe links.
[P2P operation]
The p2p function operates according to the following operation.

• Local storage of IOs • Provision of dynamic address maps • Provision of non-persistent connections and access to locally stored IOs As already explained, the p2p model includes the following components: .

・ P2p pivot service 51
・ P2pUIM50
-P2p database manager 54 (optional)
The function of each of these components operated by the end station 3 with the p2p function will be described below in a general manner.
[P2P pivot service 51]
The pivot service 51 functions as a communication module within the p2p framework. The pivot service 51 handles all communication between the core services 40, 41, 42, 43, 44 of the base station 1 and operates according to any function (ie p2p, client / server or web-server). Process components operated by other end stations 3. This service includes the following operations.

-Identification and authentication-Requests for IO-Requests for link definition-Transfer of OIE [P2P UIM50]
The UIM 50 is an interface presented to the user. The UIM 50 presents the IO and associated links to the user of the end station 3 via a graphic interface. The P2P UIM 50 allows the user to operate IO defined in the system.
The UIM 50 includes the following two components. That is,
・ Pivot Client Manager 52
・ Object Interaction Engine Manager 53
The pivot client manager 52 basically allows the user to select from a list of user interfaces that assists in managing IOs, links and relationships. Therefore, the pivot client manager 52 can be tailored to meet specific requirements, can be distributed through the system, and the user selects the preferred pivot client from those available. be able to.

The OIE manager 53 manages different types of OIEs that can be used for processing different IO types in the system. The OIE related to the IO type is responsible for displaying the contents of the IO to the user of the end station 3.
[P2P database manager 54]
The p2p database manager 54 has the option of creating a new database 55 to allow the database owner to link up his database 55 and to store IO, link data, IO identifiers, etc. Is a component of
[Client-server operation]
The client-server function is for storing data centrally in a persistent server and accessing that data by non-persistent clients. In this model, access to the pivot universe is only done through servers and servers.

This model includes two main components:
Service manager 60 (forming a server)
Client manager 66 (forming the client)
[Service Manager 60]
The service manager 60
It is a permanent service and is permanently connected to the base station 1.

Provide a persistent database 65 for storing IO data.
・ Manage local pivot information.
Handle all communications with non-local services such as base station 1 core services.

  Therefore, the service manager 60 can be implemented as part of the base station 1 itself, or alternatively as a processing system connected to one of the LANs 4, for example. Would be able to understand. Therefore, in the case of a company or the like, the service manager is usually implemented on a central server, and the user of each end station 3 accesses the central server and forwards to the service provided by the base station 1. Get a connection to.

The service manager consists of the following components.
・ Pivot service 61
Pivot client manager 62
・ OIE Manager 63
Database manager 64
[Pivot Service 61]
The pivot service is a communication module within the client-server framework, which handles all communication between the core services 40, 41, 42, 43, 44 of the base station 1, and any of the above functions The other end stations 3 that are operating according to the function process the operating components. This service includes the following operations.

-Identification and authentication-IO request-Link definition request-OIE transfer [OIE manager 63]
This component manages all the OIEs supported by the client / server function.
[Pivot Client Manager 62]
This component manages pivot clients that are available for use with client-server functions.
[Database Manager 64]
The database manager processes all IO data and stores it in the database 65 as needed.
[Client Manager 66]
The client manager 66 is the main interaction interface with the user and usually consists of:

・ Pivot Client Manager 67
Object interaction engine manager 68
The pivot client manager 67 displays IO, links, etc., and allows the user to operate them.

The OIE manager 68 component manages the OIEs available for use within the client server framework.
[Web server operation]
The web server function is deployed on the web server application framework. Therefore, the user interacts with the system via a web browser that each end station 3 executes.

The web server function can be implemented by, for example, JSP / Java servlet technology, and normally operates by the following components.
・ Pivot service 71
・ OIE Manager 73
Database manager 74
JSP / Java servlet-enabled web server 79
Web client / browser 80
[Pivot service 71]
The pivot service is a communication module within the client-server framework, which handles all communication between the core services 40, 41, 42, 43, 44 of the base station 1, and any of the above functions Manipulates components processed by other end stations 3 operating by function. This service includes the following operations.

-Identification and authentication-Request for IO-Request for link definition-Transfer of OIE [OIE manager 73]
This component manages all OIEs supported by the web server function.
[Database Manager 74]
All IO data is processed and the storage device in the database 75 is controlled.
[JSP / Java servlet-enabled web server 79]
This server operates as a web server that provides access to necessary services for the user via a web client or browser 80. Therefore, the web server normally operates as part of the base station 1. However, as another method, for example, the processing system connected to one of the LANs 4 that supply the base station 1 with a forward connection can be operated next.

Therefore, in the case of a company or the like, the web server application 70 and the web server 79 are usually implemented on a central server, and a user of each end station 3 accesses the central server to access the base station 1. Obtain a forward connection to the service provided by.
[Web client / browser 80]
To access data from the web server 79, a web browser is required. This is an interaction platform for users of web server functions.

  It will be appreciated that the functions outlined above, particularly those achieved on the user's end station 3, can be performed by specialized application software. Alternatively, the function provides a software plug-in that acts as an interface to the current application software, for example, so that the current application software can perform the required function. Can be achieved.

  The operation of the system for defining IO by associated links and navigating through the pivot browsing universe is described below with reference to peer-to-peer functionality. However, it will be understood that an equivalent operation can be performed by a client server function or a web server function.

  FIGS. 5A and 5B, described in more detail below, show several examples of graphical displays on the screen presented to a user of one of the end stations 3. In the case of p2p, such display is performed by the UIM 50, but in the case of the client and web server function, such display is performed by the client manager 66 and the web server 80, respectively.

  In FIG. 5A, reference numeral 90 indicates the entire UIM 50. In this case, reference numbers 91A and 91B indicate two pivot client windows. In this example, pivot client window 91A shows a list of IO numbers at 93. When the user pivots around the selected IO 95, the IO linked to it is displayed in the second pivot client window 91B.

  In the case of the example of FIG. 5B, the user is presented with a graphical display of the UIM, generally indicated by reference numeral 90, which allows the contents of the IO to be viewed. In this example, UIM 90 presents the user with two main windows: a pivot client window 91 and an OIE window 92.

  As will be described in more detail below, the pivot client window is used by each pivot client to display an IO representation as shown at 93 and display a link representation at 94 in window 91. Used to do. The selected IO is also displayed at 95.

  Similarly, UIM 50 allows the user to select different OIEs via a selection tab indicated by reference numeral 96. In use, the selected OIE is then presented in the OIE window 92. In this example, the OIE is an e-mail OIE that allows the user to view the contents of the e-mail IO and generate the e-mail IO. This can be accomplished by providing application software that forms the OIE. Alternatively, the OIE can be implemented as a plug-in for current application software. Thus, for example, email OIE can be implemented as a plug-in for current email packages such as Microsoft Outlook. In this case, the user is directed towards the Outlook to create the email IO or displayed in the OIE window 92 by the Outlook.

  In any case, assuming that the email OIE is displayed within the OIE window, the OIE window includes a field generally indicated by reference numeral 97, which provides the user with the ability to define email text. An e-mail option can be entered through the window 98 displayed. Otherwise, the equivalent field or equivalent in Microsoft Outlook is used.

  The procedure for defining the IO will be described below with reference to FIG. The method for making this definition depends on whether the IO is generated directly by one of the OIEs, or whether the IO is received at the end station 3 or extracted from the generated data object. .

  In the latter case, a new data object is received or generated at the user's end station 3 in step 100. Therefore, this new data object may be, for example, an email received via the Internet 2 or alternatively, the user's end-user by email software that does not interact with the UIM 50. It may be an e-mail generated on the station 3.

  In any case, if received, the data object is checked by the UIM 50 in step 110, and the UIM 50 can also determine the type of content contained in the data object. In step 120, the UIM 50 determines whether an OIE that can process the data object is available and specifically determines the type of content determined. Therefore, if one of these can handle each IO type, the UIM 50 queries the OIE manager 53 to check the currently available OIE for decision. Typically, currently available OIEs are stored in the database 55 and stored in the memory 31 of the end station 3, but this is not necessarily so.

  Thus, for example, if the UIM 50 determines that the data object is an email, the UIM 50 queries the OIE manager 53 to determine whether an email OIE exists. If not, the appropriate OIE is downloaded from the base station 1 or another of the end stations 3 via the pivot service 51 as shown in step 130.

  In step 140, if an appropriate OIE is available, the OIE operates to determine the next IO. This is done by having the OIE identify examples of each type of content in the data object. Thus, for example, if the data object is an email, the OIE initially operates to determine an email IO that generally represents the email.

  The OIE then compares the determined IO with a current IO having the same content type. Therefore, the OIE operates to compare the identified email IO with the existing email IO stored in the system. If the same IO already exists, the OIE forwards the determined IO to the UIM 50 at step 170 as determined at step 160. The UIM 50 goes ahead and if there is another IO in the data object at step 190, the link can be defined to the IO at step 180 before going ahead to make a decision. To do.

  However, if it is determined at step 160 that the IO is new, the OIE forwards the new IO to the UIM 50 at step 200 to determine the identifier. In step 210, the UIM 50 determines a unique identifier from the OIE based on the new IO type. The actual format of the identifier may vary depending on the implementation of the system. However, in this example, the identifier is based on a pivot service identifier, an interaction engine identifier, a template identifier, and an object identifier.

  The pivot service identifier is a unique identifier for each pivot service 51 operated by each end station 3. The pivot service identifier is issued by the identifier service 41 and is used to identify each end station 3 that generates the IO.

  The interaction engine identifier is a unique identifier for the associated OIE that generates the IO. Again, this identifier can determine each OIE used to generate the IO.

  Both template identifiers and object identifiers are issued by the OIE. The template identifier represents each type of content associated with the IO, so each identifier is assigned to an email type content. The object identifier itself is a unique number assigned to each IO instance and is therefore used to ensure that the identifier issued to each IO is unique.

  The new IO identifier is then stored in the database at step 220. Usually, the identifier is stored in a database 55 associated with each end station 3. However, since it is optional whether or not the database 55 is used, the identifier can be stored in the memory 31, or alternatively, for example, the database 12 or database in one of the servers 5 It can also be stored in one of the other end stations 3 in the base station 1 such as in 12A.

In any case, the end station 3 operates to store each generated identifier in each database so that the identifiers can be located sequentially.
In the case of an email data object, the data object typically contains a number of IOs. The e-mail data object includes e-mail addresses of a sending side and a receiving side, each of which is an IO. Therefore, in step 180, if an IO is defined and the UIM 50 can define a link to the IO, the processor 30 operates again to determine whether another IO exists. These IOs are then processed in a similar manner.

  It will therefore be appreciated that each email address is used to define each email address IO. Again, once such a definition has been made, each defined IO is compared with the current IO in step 150 so that every time it receives the same email address or the sending email A new IO is not generated each time an address is used.

If all IOs are no longer present, the procedure ends at step 230.
Alternatively, the user can generate IO using each OIE. In this case, for example, if the user enters an email address in one of the email fields 97, the OIE will automatically operate and define this as IO. The OIE then proceeds to step 150 and determines whether the IO is new. The rest of the procedure is almost the same as the above description, so a detailed description is omitted.

  It will be appreciated that the above procedure outlines one possible way to define the IOs in which each IO is processed sequentially. Alternatively, however, this procedure can be performed, for example, in parallel, thereby determining an example for each content type. Each IO is then given an identifier before each IO is processed so that a link can be defined. Other changes can also be made.

An example of how the link can be defined is described below with reference to FIG.
Initially, in step 300, UIM 50 must receive an IO to define a link to any IO. It will be appreciated that this is usually done automatically if the UIM 50 operates to determine an identifier for an IO, as already described in FIG.

In step 510, the UIM 50 determines whether the link is automatically defined.
In order to automatically define a link, some kind of predetermined link rule defined within each OIE that handles each IO type is required. These link rules can be defined by each user and can process the IO in any desired manner. Alternatively, link rules can be defined by the creator of each OIE, and the various IO types can be handled in a predetermined manner.

  Therefore, if the link rules have not yet been defined, or if certain predetermined settings have been set, the UIM 50 proceeds directly to manual link definition in step 390. However, under normal circumstances, the UIM 50 proceeds to step 320 to obtain link rules from each OIE.

Link rules typically specify criteria for automatically linking IOs. This designation usually depends on at least one of the two main following criteria.
The type of each IO. Any given association between IOs. Therefore, in the case of the first criterion, IOs can be linked based only on IOs of a given type. For example, when one of the IOs is an e-mail address or the like, the IO is automatically linked to the address book IO according to a predetermined rule. Thus, all email addresses are automatically linked to the user's address book.

  In contrast, in the case of the second criteria, IOs can be linked if there is another association between IOs. Thus, for example, when data objects such as e-mails are received, any IO contained therein is automatically linked if they are of a predetermined type. Thus, for example, an e-mail IO is automatically linked to any corresponding e-mail address IO at any time. Therefore, there is always a link between the sending or receiving e-mail address and each e-mail. Similarly, any attachment to an email has its respective IO linked to the IO corresponding to the email.

  In step 330, after comparing the selected IO with a predetermined linking rule, the UIM operates to determine whether the IO can be automatically linked to any other IO.

  If so, UIM 50 generates a link definition for each new link at step 350. The information contained in the link definition varies depending on each embodiment of the present invention.

However, in this example, the link definition includes at least:
• A traversal rule that indicates the direction to the link • An inheritance indication that indicates whether the traversal can identify itself to the next pivot using the IO identifier • An owner that is the identifier of the owner who created the link Identifiers • Crossing permission indications indicating which identifiers can traverse the link • Identifiers of IOs located at each end of the link (called source and target identifiers) Crossing rules specify the directionality of the link. Thus, for example, traversal rules can be used to prevent a link from traversing in a particular direction. Thus, for example, this rule can be implemented so that traversal from the second IO to the first IO is prohibited, while traversal from the first IO to the second IO is allowed.

  Further, for example, an email address IO can be defined as a “child” IO associated with a “parent” address book IO. The reason is that each e-mail address is an example of an address in the address book IO. Furthermore, the direction can be implicit. This is because each e-mail address IO can be linked to many different address books IO. Therefore, the identifier of the parent IO can be inherited by the child IO, thereby easily identifying the parent, but this can be provided by an inheritance indication. However, even in such a case, settings can be made so that there is no distinction between IOs and the methods by which these IOs are processed. Therefore, the parent-child relationship is effectively equalized so that each IO is equal to each other IO.

  The link definition is stored as link data in the selected database. Again, as in the case of identifier storage, each database used depends on the presence of the database in the end station 3. In any case, the database used is usually the same as the database for storing the identifier. It will be appreciated that this is done for each link that can be automatically defined.

  Once the link data is stored at step 360, at step 370, the UIM 50 prompts the user to determine whether to manually define additional links. In step 380, if additional links are manually defined, the procedure proceeds to step 390 as described below. If not, the process ends at step 470. From the above description, it can be seen that if the link cannot be automatically defined in step 340, the process proceeds directly to step 390 to determine whether to define the link manually.

  In step 390, the representation of the IO is displayed to the user by the pivot client window 91. The user can then act to define a link between this IO and any other displayed IO. Other displayed IOs typically include selected IOs that are included in the universe where the user adds new IOs. However, any suitable IO can be displayed. The navigation through the IO included in the universe will be described in more detail below with reference to FIG.

  The way to achieve this depends on the implementation of the pivot client. However, this is usually accomplished by allowing the user to select two of the IOs by highlighting the IO, as indicated by the IO selected in step 95, for example. Is done. The user can then request to define a link between the selected IOs. Therefore, at step 400, the UIM 50 determines whether to define a link and, if so, at step 410, the link is passed from the pivot client to the UIM 50.

  In step 420, the UIM 50 operates to determine whether the user is authorized to create a link. This occurs, for example, when only the user has viewing rights and therefore cannot create a link to the selected IO.

  In this case, the UIM 50 obtains permission to create a link by the pivot service 51. In order to obtain this permission, the pivot service 51 queries the authentication service 40 operated by the base station 1. This inquiry requests the authentication service 40 to give the user permission to create a link.

  Once obtained, UIM 50 proceeds to step 440 and generates a link definition representing the link. In step 450, the link definition is stored in the selected database in step 450 before the link is displayed to the user on the pivot client 460 in step 460, as described in more detail below.

  It will be appreciated that the user may be denied permission to create the link. This rejection may occur, for example, when a user is trying to create a link to an IO contained within another user's private universe. In this case, the link may still be defined automatically, but the user cannot manually create another link. It will be appreciated that a similar authorization process can be performed to automatically define the links.

Once one or more links have been defined, the process ends at step 470.
The manner in which IO and link representations can be used to allow the user to navigate the pivot universe is described below with reference to FIG.

  Initially, as shown in step 500, the user is presented with a representation of one or more IOs in the pivot client window 91A shown in FIG. 5A or in the pivot client window 91 shown in FIG. 5B. .

  It will be appreciated that the desired IO indication must be provided to display the initial representation. Typically, the representation is that of an IO within a given universe, so the user can provide an indication of the universe he wishes to view so that, for example, the initial representation can be displayed.

  Furthermore, as already explained, a link can define a parent-child relationship between IOs. This relationship can be used to define the hierarchy to use when browsing the universe. Since a universe typically contains a large number of IOs, the Pivot Client will only display selected parent IOs by default. So, for example, if the universe contains an address book IO and multiple address IOs, the pivot client will display only the address book IO by default, and the user can: In a manner described in more detail, it is possible to navigate to a selected one of the addresses IO.

  Therefore, the user can configure the pivot client to display not only the selected universe but also the selected one of the IOs in the universe when the pivot client is first activated. it can.

  However, such a configuration can only be achieved if an appropriate setting is selected, in any case otherwise the IO is used only to control the display of the normal IO only. It is processed equally regardless of any defined hierarchy.

  In any case, for example, as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, when one or more representations of IO are displayed, the user selects an IO to pivot around, as shown at 95, for example. This selection is made at step 510.

  In step 520, the identifier of the selected IO is used to determine the link definition from the database. Therefore, when selecting an IO for pivoting, UIM 50 determines the identifier of each IO. The identifier is then used to access the link data stored in the selected one of the databases as already described.

  In the example in which the link data and the identifier are stored in the database 55, the link data can be obtained by causing the database manager 54 to query the database 55 using the IO identifier. Since the IO identifier is stored in the link data of each link connected to the IO, the link definition of each link connected to the IO can be determined by obtaining the link data. Once this determination is made, the link definition is transferred to the UIM 50.

  Next, in step 540, the UIM 50 determines the identifier of each IO linked to the IO selected from the link definition. When the UIM 50 determines the identifier of each IO, the UIM 50 causes the pivot client to generate a representation of the IO to display.

  The representation is generated by the pivot client itself based on the selected information. Therefore, in the example of FIGS. 5A and 5B, the representation of each IO is based on the contents of the IO. Alternatively, however, the IO representation can be based on an IO identifier, an IO type, or an indication of predetermined IO content that is generated when the IO is first defined. The representation used typically depends on any settings on each pivot client and each user's end station 3.

  In any case, in step 550, the pivot client determines whether any other information is needed to generate a representation of each IO to be displayed. In step 560, the pivot client determines whether all necessary information has been found.

  If the IO itself is not located on the end station 3, it can be understood that the pivot client only has access to the IO identifier and therefore does not have enough information to generate the representation. right. Therefore, in step 570, the pivot client sends the pivot server one of the other end stations 3, one of the base stations 1, one of the servers 5, or the database 12 depending on the storage location of the IO. , 12A is requested to determine the remaining necessary information.

  As already outlined, the IO storage location can be determined based on the identifier, thereby determining the IO generation location and using this generation location to know the IO's own location. can do. When this determination is complete at step 570, the pivot client proceeds to display a representation of the IO connected by the links defined in the associated link definition. Therefore, in the case of FIG. 5A, the pivot client generates a second pivot window 91B containing the linked IO, as shown. In the case of FIG. 5B, the pivot client displays the IO in the pivot client window 91 by the link shown at 94.

  In the case of FIG. 5A, if the user selects one of the IOs in the pivot client window 91B for pivoting, another pivot client window (not shown) is created. Alternatively, or alternatively, the IO from the pivot client window 91B can be transferred to the pivot client window 91A by the linked IO shown at 91B. In the case of the example of FIG. 5A, the OIE window 92 is not provided, so if the user wants to edit the IO, the user must select an edit option and use a third party plug-in application, etc. For example, each OIE is sent in another application.

  A context can also be defined for a link. The context is defined within the OIE and is defined by the relationship between each IO type. Thus, for example, in the case of electronic mail, it is possible to define a sender address IO indicating the sender's email address and a receiver address IO indicating the receiver's email address.

  In this case, a relationship context can be defined for any receiver or sender IO linked to any email IO. Therefore, each OIE can be made to recognize some form of relationship. The relationship is defined within the OIE and can be defined by a programmer or user. Its purpose is to allow the context to be applied to the link, thereby allowing browsing of the link to be filtered.

An example of a method that can achieve this object will be described below with reference to FIG.
In this example, the linked IO representation is displayed to the user by the pivot client in the usual manner, as shown in step 600.

  In step 610, the user selects an IO and requests to view related relationships. In step 620, the UIM 50 uses the IO identifier to determine the type of the selected IO. In step 630, the UIM 50 determines whether the end station includes an OIE to process each type of IO. If not, one OIE is downloaded by the pivot server 51 from one of the base station 1 or the end station 3 in step 640.

  Next, in step 650, the user selects a relationship defined in the OIE. This relationship typically defines a filter that simply indicates which IO types can form part of the selected relationship. However, as an alternative, the filter can determine a specific IO, not just the IO type. Once this relationship is selected at step 650, the UIM determines at step 660 the IO or IO type associated with each relationship. The UIM then proceeds to link to the selected IO at step 670 and to the specific IO before proceeding to display these determined IO representations on the pivot client server at step 680. Determine IO with type.

  Therefore, instead of showing each IO linked to the selected IO, this ensures that only specific IOs or only IOs with specific IO types that satisfy the defined relationship are displayed. Like that.

  Thus, for example, a user can desire to view an email received from each individual. Therefore, the user selects a sender address IO that represents each individual email address. Simply making such a selection, usually any IO linked to the sender address IO is displayed. Therefore, this selection typically includes not only the associated email IO but also other IOs that are not of interest to the user at this time.

  Therefore, the user selects the relationship “received from”. The "received from" relationship specifies that for the receiving email address IO, the pivot client must display all email type IOs linked to it. Therefore, the pivot client displays a list of email type IOs, which allows the user to view each email IO received from each individual.

  It should be understood that this allows the user to define their own context for the link in the form of each relationship definition. Next, all individuals who can access each universe, including the IO, can view the link. However, the context of the link is only apparent if the individual has each OIE for which the context is defined. If not, the individual knows that the IO has been linked, but does not know what the link means.

FIG. 10 shows a process by which the contents of the IO can be viewed.
In this example, one or more IO representations are displayed to the user in the pivot client window 91 in step 700, as described in FIG. 5B. Next, in step 710, the user selects an IO to view. In step 720, the UIM 50 uses the identifier of the selected IO to determine the IO type.

  The UIM 50 then proceeds to determine if the end station contains an OIE that can handle the determined IO type. If not, in step 740, the appropriate OIE is downloaded by the pivot server. Next, at step 750, the IO is transferred to the OIE and the contents can be displayed at step 760.

  In this case, if the IO represents e-mail, for example, the UIM determines whether the e-mail OIE can be used. If it can be used, for example, as shown in FIG. Then, usually downloaded from one of the end stations 3, the base station 1 or one of the databases 12, 12A, 55 before being properly displayed in the OIE in the field 97 and the window 98 By doing so, the contents of the IO are obtained.

  Therefore, it will be understood that the system allows a user to create an IO, or allows an IO to be defined from a received or generated data object, allowing the current IO to be viewed. I can do it. The IO can then link with other IOs, can browse the IO, and can navigate the universe with the defined links.

  This is especially useful when organizing large amounts of data. So, for example, by using the system described above, every time an email is received, to define an associated IO for the email, any email address or attachment defined within it, This process can be used automatically. When an email IO is automatically linked to each of these IOs, a link is generated between the IO representing the sender and a new email each time an email is received from any sender. Therefore, when a sender IO in the pivot universe is selected, this process allows each email received from each sender to be viewed as a display on the pivot client. Next, the user can select one of the e-mails and can view the contents of the e-mail by the related OIE.

  It will then be appreciated that the above relationship can be used to limit the number of emails displayed. Thus, for example, an email can be received from a sender associated with a number of different topics. Then, if the user selects a relationship, a relationship can be defined for each topic so that only emails from senders related to the related topic are displayed.

In addition to the above functions, a number of additional functions can be implemented.
In particular, as already briefly described, an authentication service 40 is provided. An authentication service can be used to authenticate the identity of a user of the system.

  Therefore, each user of the system is provided with a username and password that is supplied to the base station when the user wants to log on to the system. The user name and password are stored in the database 12 as user data. For example, if a user wants to log on to the system in order to view the universe stored on the base station 1, the user must provide an instruction for each username and password. The authentication service 40 must use the username to access user data stored in the database. The authentication service then compares the received password with the password stored in the user data to verify that the user is a real user of the system.

Once the user is verified, the user can access any commonly available universe.
However, a universe can also be defined as a private universe and can only be accessed by selected individuals or have certain access requirements such as payment of fees. Thus, for example, a company can specify that only employees and / or clients of that company can view IOs in each pivot universe. As another method, the IO included in the universe can be browsed only when based on pay-per-view or the like.

  Therefore, in this case, the access right indicating the access privilege to the restricted universe can be stored with the user data. If the authentication service 40 authenticates a user, the authentication service can also determine the user's access privileges and control the browsing and modification of IOs based on it.

  Thus, for example, the access right can indicate that access is permitted to the selected pivot browsing universe for each user. The authentication service then authorizes the user to access this pivot browsing universe.

  Typically, access to the pivot browsing universe is limited by simply prohibiting the identifier and any link data from being transferred to the end station 3 where the user's username and password do not meet the access requirements.

  In addition to the private universe, the base station 1 also typically stores details of public universes that can be viewed by all individuals. The address mapping service is, for example, for mapping information objects from a private private universe to a public pivot universe as needed.

  It will be understood that the company can request the supply of each universe on the company's LAN4. In this case, each server 5 can implement the function of the base station 1. Alternatively, IO, identifiers, and other data can be stored in the database 12A so that these details cannot be accessed by end stations 3 that are not connected to each LAN 4.

  Therefore, the present invention provides a relationship manager that can use powerful assistance and data publishing functions by automatically forming relationships between information owned by users of the system. This allows the user to view and access data according to these relationships via the pivot concept.

  Therefore, the user can adopt a “point of view” of all the information that he can access. Each information is related to other information and users. Thus, the adoption of an information perspective may be a power mechanism that can traverse the “universe” of related information in some way.

To accomplish this, the system typically includes the following two components:
1. User interaction component-This component provides a front for manipulating information contained within the pivot view system and the mechanism for generating new information.

2. Core service—This service tracks identifiers in the system and can generate unique identifiers for each piece of information contained in the system.
This therefore allows the user to interact with the information through a free-form navigation system (or screen). The user can select any information object in the system, assuming that the user has the right to do so.

  As a result, all authorization relationships with other information are displayed, and the user can select other information objects or edit and manipulate the selected objects if the user is authorized to do so. Can do.

  Those skilled in the art will appreciate that many changes and improvements will be readily apparent. All such changes and modifications that will occur to those skilled in the art should be considered to fall within the spirit and scope of the present invention which has been broadly described.

1 is a schematic diagram of an example of a system for carrying out the present invention. 2 is a schematic diagram of an example of one of the processing systems of FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an example of one of the end stations of FIG. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating the function of FIG. 1. FIG. 5 is a screen shot of several example UIMs in FIG. 5 is a screen shot of several example UIMs of FIG. 2 is a flowchart of an example of a process for defining an information object by the system of FIG. 2 is a flowchart of an example process for linking information objects by the system of FIG. 2 is a flowchart of an example of a process for pivoting an information object with the system of FIG. 2 is a flowchart of an example of a process for displaying relationships by the system of FIG. 2 is a flowchart of an example of a process for browsing the contents of an information object by the system of FIG.

Claims (42)

A method for generating linked information objects formed from content having each type using a processor connected to a display and storage device, comprising:
a) obtaining an information object;
b) assigning a unique identifier to the information object according to the information object type based on the type of content;
c) defining one or more links between the information object and one or more other information objects using at least one of i) a predetermined rule and ii) an input command from the user. ,
d) generating link data defining the one or more links;
e) causing the processor to store the link data in the storage device. Obtaining an information object
a) obtaining a data object containing one or more example content types;
b) determining an example content type from the data object;
c) comparing the content type example with the current information object;
d) causing the processor to obtain an information object by determining a new information object from a data object by determining the example content type to be a new information object if the comparison is not successful. The method according to 1. If the data object includes two or more information objects, defining one or more links between the information object and one or more other information objects may include the data object 3. The method of claim 2, comprising defining links between information objects contained in the. Defining one or more links between the information object and the other information object;
a) comparing the information object type of the information object with the information object type of each other information object according to a predetermined rule;
The method according to claim 1, comprising b) causing the processor to define a link between the information object and one of the other information objects according to a successful comparison. 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the predetermined rule specifies for each information object type each condition that must be satisfied in order for the link to be definable according to other information object types. When one content of the information objects is formed by a part of the content of the other information object, one of the conditions is a link, each of the first and second information objects. 6. The method of claim 5, comprising being defined between two information objects having a type. Defining the one or more links between the information object and one or more other information objects;
a) displaying a representation of the information object to the user;
b) allowing the user to select at least two of the information objects using the input;
The method according to claim 1, comprising: c) causing the processor to define a link between the selected information objects. Displaying an expression to the user
a) determining the identifier of any information object to be displayed;
b) determining all links between the information objects determined by the determined identifier and the link data;
c) a representation of the information object i) generating a representation of each information object based on at least one of the information object type and the information object content;
8. The method of claim 7, comprising: ii) causing the processor to generate by generating a representation of the determined link between the information object representations. 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the representation is formed from a tree type representation with the information object representation being arranged according to the determined link. The method of claim 9, wherein the information object identifier further comprises an indication of each processing system for which the information object has been determined. The processor may execute information object processing application software adapted to process a user selected information object type;
In the processing application,
a) defining a new information object;
11. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising b) causing at least another process of browsing the contents of the selected information object to be performed. The method of claim 11, wherein the processor is capable of executing display application software capable of displaying information objects. The method of claim 12, wherein the processor is capable of executing control application software adapted to cooperate with the display software and one or more of the processing applications. A) obtaining the data object to the control application;
b) determining one or more example content types from the data object;
14. The method of claim 13, comprising: c) controlling the determination of a new information object by causing the information object to be transferred to a processing application capable of processing the determined content type. A) obtaining new information objects from each processing application;
15. The method according to claim 13 or 14, comprising controlling the determination of the identifier by causing b) to generate the identifier according to a predetermined rule and the information object type. A) defining the link between information objects in the control application;
b) transferring the information object to the display application to display the information object;
16. The method of any one of claims 13-15, further comprising: c) obtaining a processing application and performing at least one of allowing different information object types to be processed. the method of. Further comprising defining relationships, each relationship defining a context for a link between specified information object types, each relationship for each processing application a) the user selects more than one object type To be able to
b) allowing the user to specify the relationship to the link between the selected object types;
17. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 16, defined by causing c) to store an indication of the relationship as relationship data. A method for generating linked information objects using a processor, the method substantially as described above. A processing system for generating linked information objects,
a) a display;
b) a storage device;
c) A processing system including a processor capable of executing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 18. A processing system for generating linked information objects, the method substantially as described above. 19. A computer program product for generating linked information objects, wherein when executed on a suitable processing system, said processing system executes the method of any one of claims 1-18. A computer program product comprising computer executable code. A computer program product for generating a linked information object, substantially as described above. A method of processing linked information objects using a processor, wherein the processor is connected to a display, a storage device, and an input, and each information object is formed from content having a respective type. The link between the information objects is defined by link data stored in the storage device and to the processor a) generating a representation of a number of information objects to be displayed to the user on the display ,
b) allowing the user to select one of the information objects using the input;
c) determining one or more other information objects linked to the selected information object according to the link data;
d) A method of generating a representation of the selected information object and the at least linked information object that is displayed on the display. A) determining an identifier of the selected information object;
b) a link between the selected information object and the linked information object, wherein the link is determined according to the determined identifier and the link data;
c) the representation i) generating a representation of each information object based on at least one of the information object type and the information object content;
24. The method of claim 23, further comprising: ii) generating a representation by generating a representation of the determined link between the information object representations. 25. A method according to claim 23 or 24, wherein the representation is formed from a tree type representation with the information object representation being arranged according to the determined link. 26. A method according to any one of claims 23 to 25, wherein the processor is adapted to display the contents of an information object displayed on the display in response to a request from a user. The processor, the display, the storage device, and the input form part of a processing system, and the processing system is connected to one or more other processing systems via a communication network. And the method comprises causing the processor to obtain necessary data from another of the processing systems, wherein the required data is:
27. A method according to any one of claims 23 to 26, comprising a) information object b) link data c) at least one of information object identifiers. The identifier includes an indication of the processing system in which the identifier is stored, and the method includes: a) determining the processing system in which the required data is stored;
28. The method of claim 27, further comprising: b) causing the necessary data to be obtained therefrom. The link data specifies an identifier for each information object linked to each link, and the method causes the processor to determine an identifier for the linked information object obtained from the link data. 29. The method according to any one of claims 23 to 28, further comprising: The processor can execute information object processing application software capable of processing a selected information object by a user, the method comprising: a) defining a new information object in the processing application;
30. A method according to any one of claims 23 to 29, comprising performing at least one of b) viewing the content of the selected information object. 32. The method of claim 30, wherein the processor is capable of executing display application software capable of displaying information objects. 32. The method of claim 31, wherein the processor is capable of executing control application software adapted to cooperate with the display software and one or more of the processing applications. Causing the control application to: a) determine the link data representing each link according to an identifier of the selected information object;
b) determining an identifier of each information object linked from the link data;
33. The method of claim 32, comprising: c) controlling the generation of a display of an information object linked to a selected information object by causing the display application to forward an indication of the link and the identifier. . Let the control application a) determine the identifier of the selected information object;
b) determining whether the selected information object exists in the storage device;
i) If it does not exist,
(1) Determine the processing system from which the information object can be obtained,
(2) causing the processing system to obtain the information object from the determined processing system;
ii) otherwise, obtain the information object from the storage device;
or c) controlling the display of the content of the selected information object by transferring the information object to a selected processing application and operating to display the content of the application. 34. The method according to 33. The processing application may further define relationships, each relationship defining a context for a link between specified information object types, the method comprising:
a) allowing the user to select a relationship type;
35. A method according to claim 33 or 34, comprising: b) controlling the generation of the display such that only links satisfying the selected relationship are displayed. When dependent on claim 27, the method causes the control application to: a) determine the information object type from each identifier;
b) let any processing application executable by the processor determine whether the determined information object type can be processed;
and c) further comprising causing the processor to obtain a new processing application from one of the other processing systems via the communication system if the comparison is unsuccessful. 36. The method according to any one of -35. The method according to claims 23 to 36, wherein the linked information object is generated by the method according to any one of claims 1 to 18. A method of processing linked information objects using a processor, substantially as described above. A processing system for processing linked information objects,
a) a display;
b) a storage device;
c) A processing system including a processor capable of executing the method according to any one of claims 23 to 38. A processing system for processing linked information objects, the method substantially as described above. 39. A computer program product for processing linked information objects, wherein when executed on a suitable processing system, said processing system executes the method of any one of claims 23-38. A computer program product containing computer-executable code. A computer program product for processing linked information objects, substantially as described above.

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