Question associated information storage and retrieval architecture using internet gidgets

• US 20020111934A1
• Filed: 10/16/2001
• Published: 08/15/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 10/17/2000
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Narayan, Shankar
• Original Assignee: Narayan, Shankar
• Inventors: Narayan, Shankar
• Application Number:
  US09/981,340
• Publication Number:
  US 20020111934A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/548 Object oriented; Remote method invocation [RMI] non-remote method invocation G06F9/449
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]

Abstract

Approaches are described for improving the storage and retrieval of information. The approaches are based on a questioned based model where, in response to receiving data representing a question, information is retrieved that may answer those questions. Specifically, a question base server stores records, each record representing a question and a location of an information source for that question. The information source may be a file on a web server or a database that resides on a web server. Input representing a question is transmitted by a client to a web server. The web server transforms the input into a form that may be processed by the question base server. The question base server receives the transformed input and selects records that store information sources for the question. A list of selected records is transmitted back to the client.

Claims

1. A method for retrieving information on a computer system, the method comprising the computer implemented steps of:

receiving input representing questions and information sources that are associated with said questions;

generating metadata records that associate said questions with said information sources, wherein each metadata record of said metadata records includes;

question metadata representing a question, and

a location of the information source associated with said question;

storing said metadata records in one or more files on static storage devices of one or more servers connected to a network;

said one or more servers receiving a question input over said network, said question input representing a given question;

said one or more or more servers transforming said question input into transformed input that may be used to look-up metadata records;

said one or more servers selecting a subset of metadata records based on said transformed input and the question metadata of each metadata record of said subset; and

transmitting over said network to a client a list identifying each member of said subset and the location of said each member.