Method and Apparatus for Defining Data of lnterest
First Claim
1. A method of providing information about a product, the product available for purchase from a plurality of sources, the method comprising:
- receiving a selection of a product category from a predefined set of product categories using information about the product;
accessing a list of extraction parameters for the product category;
receiving a selection of at least one extraction parameter in the list of extraction parameters;
for each of the plurality of sources, creating a corresponding program includingidentifying a corresponding web site, the corresponding web site selling the product andproviding a tool for creating the corresponding program to extract data from the web site using the at least one extraction parameter;
receiving a connection from a client, the connection including a value for the at least one extraction parameter; and
for each of the plurality of sources in the product category, providing product information for the product using the value for the at least one extraction parameter and the corresponding program.
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Abstract
Some embodiments of the invention include tools for extracting data of interest from the world wide web (WWW). The extraction is accomplished using descriptions of data of interest. The descriptions of data of interest can include computer programs comprising a sequence of instructions and extractor patterns. The extractor patterns can be developed interactively using a web browser integrated into the graphical development environment for creating the descriptions of data of interest. The instructions can be selected from a predetermined list of instructions designed for extracting information from the WWW. The descriptions of data of interest can be grouped into categories sharing common query elements. Multiple descriptions of data of interest in the same category can executed simultaneously using the same query. The descriptions of data of interest can be accessed by a client computer using a web browser to initiate a query. In some embodiments, the descriptions of data of interest are used to provide information about products available for sale over the WWW.
30 Citations
22 Claims
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1. A method of providing information about a product, the product available for purchase from a plurality of sources, the method comprising:
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receiving a selection of a product category from a predefined set of product categories using information about the product; accessing a list of extraction parameters for the product category; receiving a selection of at least one extraction parameter in the list of extraction parameters; for each of the plurality of sources, creating a corresponding program including identifying a corresponding web site, the corresponding web site selling the product and providing a tool for creating the corresponding program to extract data from the web site using the at least one extraction parameter; receiving a connection from a client, the connection including a value for the at least one extraction parameter; and for each of the plurality of sources in the product category, providing product information for the product using the value for the at least one extraction parameter and the corresponding program. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. An apparatus for providing information about a product, the product available for purchase from a plurality of sources, the apparatus comprising:
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means for receiving a selection of a product category from a predefined set of product categories using information about the product; means for accessing a list of extraction parameters for the product category; means for receiving a selection of at least one extraction parameter in the list of extraction parameters; means for creating a corresponding program for each of the plurality of sources, the means for creating a corresponding program for each of the plurality of sources including means for identifying a corresponding web site, the corresponding web site selling the product and means for creating the corresponding program to extract data from the web site using the at least one extraction parameter; means for receiving a connection from a client, the connection including a value for the at least one extraction parameter; and means for providing product information for the product from each of the plurality of sources using the value for the at least one extraction parameter and the corresponding program. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
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21. A computer data signal embodied in a carrier wave comprising:
a computer program for developing descriptions of data of interest a set of instructions for developing an extractor pattern interactively in a web page; a set of instructions for receiving a selection of an instruction from a predefined set of instructions for inclusion of the instruction in the description of data of interest; a set of instructions for associating the extractor pattern with the instruction; and a set of instructions for testing the instruction using the extractor pattern and the contents of a buffer;
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22. An apparatus comprising a computer, the computer comprising a processor and a memory, the memory including a plurality of descriptions of data of interest, the processor running a program the program accepting an input and generating an output, the input identifying a subset of the plurality of descriptions of data of interest and a plurality of values for a plurality of extraction parameters, the output including data of interest retrieved from a plurality of web sites corresponding to data of interest matching the plurality of values for the plurality of extraction parameters at each of the plurality of web sites corresponding to the subset of plurality of descriptions of data of interest.
Specification