Information navigation system using clusterized information resource topology

• US 5,761,418 A
• Filed: 01/17/1996
• Issued: 06/02/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 01/17/1995
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation
• Inventors: Francis, Paul, Kambayashi, Takashi, Satou, Shinya, Shimizu, Susumu
• Primary Examiner(s): Geckil, Mehmet B.
• Application Number:
  US08/587,511
• Time in Patent Office: 867 Days
• Field of Search: 395/200.03, 395/200.01, 395/200.31, 395/200.33, 395/200.75, 395/200.47
• US Class Current: 709/201
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/10 File systems; File servers

Abstract

An information navigation system based on an information resource topology among information resources in which each information resource is associated with at least one term combination and a set of links, where each term combination specifies a set of terms describing each information resource and each link links information resources with matching term combinations, and for every existing term combination, a set of information resources that contain said every existing term combination form a cluster, where a cluster is defined as a set of information resources for which there exists at least one path between every pair of information resources in said set of information resources such that said at least one path contains only information resources from said set of information resources and a path is defined as a series of information resources connected through links. The information navigation functions including gathering, searching, and topology managing can be realized on this the information resource topology.

Claims

1. A distributed information navigation system, comprising:

information resources which may be stored in different networked computer systems, where said information resources have a distributed information resource topology in which each information resource is associated with at least one term combination and a set of links, where each term combination specifies a set of terms describing each information resource and each link links information resources with matching term combinations, and for every existing term combination, a set of information resources that contain said every existing term combination form a cluster, where a cluster is defined as a set of information resources for which there exists at least one path between every pair of information resources in said set of information resources such that said at least one path contains only information resources from said set of information resources and a path is defined as a series of information resources connected through links; and

information navigation means for navigating through the distributed information resource topology.

2. The information navigation system of claim 1, wherein each cluster is sparsely connected.

3. The information navigation system of claim 1, wherein the information navigation means is provided in each one of multiple networked computer systems.

4. The information navigation system of claim 1, wherein the set of terms describing each information resource are given by any of keywords, title words, and author names related to each information resource.

5. The information navigation system of claim 1, wherein the information resource topology is an approximated information resource topology in which not every cluster contains all of the information resources that contain the term combination associated with the information resources belonging to said every cluster.

6. The information navigation system of claim 1, wherein the information navigation means includes gathering means for gathering all information resources that contain a given term combination when at least one information resource containing said given term combination is known, by successively traversing the links from said at least one information resource containing said given term combination.

7. The information navigation system of claim 6, wherein the gathering means includes:

link servers, each for storing term combinations and links of the information resources, and answering queries about the stored term combinations by listing the links and the information resources associated with those stored term combinations that fully match queried term combinations; and

a gather client for sending queries about a term combination to one link server, and thereby learning fully matching information resources and any additional relevant link servers which can be subsequently queried.

8. The information navigation system of claim 1, wherein the information navigation means includes searching means for searching at least one information resource that contains a given term combination by successively searching clusters with an increasing number of terms matching with said given term combination.

9. The information navigation system of claim 8, wherein when no information resource with the term combination matching with said given term combination is found, the searching means finds a set of information resources that collectively contain as many of term sub-combinations of said given term combination as possible.

10. The information navigation system of claim 8, wherein the searching means includes:

search servers, each for storing term combinations and links of the information resources, and answering queries about the stored term combinations by listing the links and the information resources associated with those stored term combinations that partially match queried term combinations; and

a search client for sending queries about said given term combination to one search server, and thereby learning partially matching information resources and any additional relevant search servers which can be subsequently queried.

11. The information navigation system of claim 1, wherein the information navigation means include topology manager for creating and maintaining the information resource topology.

12. The information navigation system of claim 11, wherein the topology manager includes:

resource addition means for adding a new information resource to the information resource topology, by searching the information resource topology for information resources with term combinations or sub-combinations that match those of the new information resource and issuing link add messages to matching information resources found by the searching.

13. The information navigation system of claim 12, wherein the topology manager further includes:

link addition means for adding links from the new information resource to the matching information resources informed by link add messages from the resource addition means.

14. The information navigation system of claim 11, wherein the topology manager includes:

resource deletion means for deleting an information resource from the information resource topology by issuing link delete messages to those information resources which are linked to the deleted information resource.

15. The information navigation system of claim 14, wherein the topology manager further includes:

link deletion means for deleting links to the deleted information resource informed by link delete messages from the resource deletion means, by re-searching the information resource topology for information resources with term sub-combinations that match those of the deleted information resource.

16. A method of distributed information navigation through information resources, comprising the steps of:

forming a distributed information resource topology among the information resources which may be stored in different networked computer systems, in which each information resource is associated with at least one term combination and a set of links, where each term combination specifies a set of terms describing each information resource and each link links information resources with matching term combinations, and for every existing term combination, a set of information resources that contain said every existing term combination form a cluster, where a cluster is defined as a set of information resources for which there exists at least one path between every pair of information resources in said set of information resources such that said at least one path contains only information resources from said set of information resources and a path is defined as a series of information resources connected through links; and

navigating through the distributed information resource topology.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein at the forming step, the information resource topology with formed with each cluster sparsely connected.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the navigating step is carried out in each one of multiple networked computer systems.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein at the forming step, the set of terms describing each information resource are given by any of keywords, title words, and author names related to each information resource.

20. The method of claim 16, wherein at the forming step, the information resource topology is an approximated information resource topology in which not every cluster contains all of the information resources that contain the term combination associated with the information resources belonging to said every cluster.

21. The method of claim 16, wherein the navigating step realizes a gathering function to gather all information resources that contain a given term combination when at least one information resource containing said given term combination is known, by successively traversing the links from said at least one information resource containing said given term combination.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the navigating step includes the steps of:

operating link servers, each for storing term combinations and links of the information resources, and answering queries about the stored term combinations by listing the links and the information resources associated with those stored term combinations that fully match queried term combinations; and

operating a gather client for sending queries about a term combination to one link server, and thereby learning fully matching information resources and any additional relevant link servers which can be subsequently queried.

23. The method of claim 16, wherein the navigating step realizes a searching function to search at least one information resource that contains a given term combination by successively searching clusters with an increasing number of terms matching with said given term combination.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein when no information resource with the term combination matching with said given term combination is found, the searching function finds a set of information resources that collectively contain as many of term sub-combinations of said given term combination as possible.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein the navigating step includes the steps of:

operating search servers, each for storing term combinations and links of the information resources, and answering queries about the stored term combinations by listing the links and the information resources associated with those stored term combinations that partially match queried term combinations; and

operating a search client for sending queries about said given term combination to one search server, and thereby learning partially matching information resources and any additional relevant search servers which can be subsequently queried.

26. The method of claim 16, wherein the navigating step realizes a topology managing function to manage the information resource topology.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the navigating step includes the step of:

operating resource addition means for adding a new information resource to the information resource topology, by searching the information resource topology for information resources with term combinations or sub-combinations that match those of the new information resource and issuing link add messages to matching information resources found by the searching.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the navigating step further includes the step of:

operating link addition means for adding links from the new information resource to the matching information resources informed by link add messages from the resource addition means.

29. The method of claim 26, wherein the navigating step includes the step of:

operating resource deletion means for deleting an information resource from the information resource topology by issuing link delete messages to those information resources which are linked to the deleted information resource.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein the navigating step further includes the step of:

operating link deletion means for deleting links to the deleted information resource informed by link delete messages from the resource deletion means, by re-searching the information resource topology for information resources with term sub-combinations that match those of the deleted information resource.

31. An article of manufacture, comprising:

a computer usable medium having computer readable program code means embodied therein for causing a computer to function as a distributed information navigation system, the computer readable program means including;

first computer readable program code means for causing the computer to form an information resource topology among information resources which may be stored in different networked computer systems, in which each information resource is associated with at least one term combination and a set of links, where each term combination specifies a set of terms describing each information resource and each link links information resources with matching term combinations, and for every existing term combination, a set of information resources that contain said every existing term combination form a cluster, where a cluster is defined as a set of information resources for which there exists at least one path between every pair of information resources in said set of information resources such that said at least one path contains only information resources from said set of information resources and a path is defined as a series of information resources connected through links; and

second computer readable program code means for causing the computer to navigate through the distributed information resource topology.

32. The article of manufacture of claim 31, wherein the first computer readable program code means forms the information resource topology with each cluster sparsely connected.

33. The article of manufacture of claim 31, wherein the second computer readable program code means is operated in each one of multiple networked computer systems.

34. The article of manufacture of claim 31, wherein the first computer readable program code means forms the information resource topology using the set of terms describing each information resource which are given by any of keywords, title words, and author names related to each information resource.

35. The article of manufacture of claim 31, wherein the first computer readable program code means forms the information resource topology as an approximated information resource topology in which not every cluster contains all of the information resources that contain the term combination associated with the information resources belonging to said every cluster.

36. The article of manufacture of claim 31, wherein the second computer readable program code means realizes a gathering function to gather all information resources that contain a given term combination when at least one information resource containing said given term combination is known, by successively traversing the links from said at least one information resource containing said given term combination.

37. The article of manufacture of claim 36, wherein the second computer readable program code means realizes the gathering function by:

operating link servers, each for storing term combinations and links of the information resources, and answering queries about the stored term combinations by listing the links and the information resources associated with those stored term combinations that fully match queried term combinations; and

operating a gather client for sending queries about a term combination to one link server, and thereby learning fully matching information resources and any additional relevant link servers which can be subsequently queried.

38. The article of manufacture of claim 31, wherein the second computer readable program code means realizes a searching function to search at least one information resource that contains a given term combination by successively searching clusters with an increasing number of terms matching with said given term combination.

39. The article of manufacture of claim 38, wherein when no information resource with the term combination matching with said given term combination is found, the searching function finds a set of information resources that collectively contain as many of term sub-combinations of said given term combination as possible.

40. The article of manufacture of claim 38, wherein the second computer readable program code means realizes the searching function by:

operating search servers, each for storing term combinations and links of the information resources, and answering queries about the stored term combinations by listing the links and the information resources associated with those stored term combinations that partially match queried term combinations; and

operating a search client for sending queries about said given term combination to one search server, and thereby learning partially matching information resources and any additional relevant search servers which can be subsequently queried.

41. The article of manufacture of claim 31, wherein the second computer readable program code means realizes a topology managing function to manage the information resource topology.

42. The article of manufacture of claim 41, wherein the second computer readable program code means realizes the topology managing function by:

operating resource addition means for adding a new information resource to the information resource topology, by searching the information resource topology for information resources with term combinations or sub-combinations that match those of the new information resource and issuing link add messages to matching information resources found by the searching.

43. The article of manufacture of claim 42, wherein the second computer readable program code means realizes the topology managing function by:

operating link addition means for adding links from the new information resource to the matching information resources informed by link add messages from the resource addition means.

44. The article of manufacture of claim 41, wherein the second computer readable program code means realizes the topology managing function by:

operating resource deletion means for deleting an information resource from the information resource topology by issuing link delete messages to those information resources which are linked to the deleted information resource.

45. The article of manufacture of claim 44, wherein the second computer readable program code means realizes the tolopoly managing function by:

operating link deletion means for deleting links to the deleted information resource informed by link delete messages from the resource deletion means, by re-searching the information resource topology for information resources with term sub-combinations that match those of the deleted information resource.

46. An article of manufacture, comprising:

a computer usable medium having computer readable program code means embodied therein for causing a computer to function as a distributed information navigation system for navigating through a distributed information resource topology among information resources which may be stored in different networked computer systems, in which each information resource is associated with at least one term combination and a set of links, where each term combination specifies a set of terms describing each information resource and each link links information resources with matching term combinations, and for every existing term combination, a set of information resources that contain said every existing term combination form a cluster, where a cluster is defined as a set of information resources for which there exists at least one path between every pair of information resources in said set of information resources such that said at least one path contains only information resources from said set of information resources and a path is defined as a series of information resources connected through links, the computer readable program means including;

first computer readable program code means for causing the computer to function as a link server for storing term combinations and links of the information resources, and answering queries about the stored term combinations by listing the links and the information resources associated with those stored term combinations that fully match queried term combinations, so as to realize a gathering function to gather all information resources that contain a given term combination when at least one information resource containing said given term combination is known, by successively traversing the links from said at least one information resource containing said given term combination;

second computer readable program code means for causing the computer to function as a search server for storing term combinations and links of the information resources, and answering queries about the stored term combinations by listing the links and the information resources associated with those stored term combinations that partially match queried term combinations, so as to realize a searching function to search at least one information resource that contains a given term combination by successively searching clusters with an increasing number of terms matching with said given term combination; and

third computer readable program code means for causing the computer to function as a topology manager to manage the distributed information resource topology.

47. The article of manufacture of claim 46, wherein the third computer readable program code means realizes the topology manager which includes a resource addition sub-system for adding a new information resource to the information resource topology, by searching the information resource topology for information resources with term combinations or sub-combinations that match those of the new information resource and issuing link add messages to matching information resources found by the searching.

48. The article of manufacture of claim 47, wherein the third computer readable program code means realizes the topology manager which further includes a link addition sub-system for adding links from the new information resource to the matching information resources informed by link add messages from the resource addition sub-system.

49. The article of manufacture of claim 46, wherein the third computer readable program code means realizes the topology manager which includes a resource deletion sub-system for deleting an information resource from the information resource topology by issuing link delete messages to those information resources which are linked to the deleted information resource.

50. The article of manufacture of claim 49, wherein the third computer readable program code means realizes the tolopoly manager which further includes a link deletion sub-system for deleting links to the deleted information resource informed by link delete messages from the resource deletion sub-system, by re-searching the information resource topology for information resources with term sub-combinations that match those of the deleted information resource.

51. An article of manufacture, comprising:

a computer usable medium having computer readable program code means embodied therein for causing a computer to function as a distributed information navigation system for navigating through a distributed information resource topology among information resources which may be stored in different networked compute systems, in which each information resource is associated with at least one term combination and a set of links, where each term combination specifies a set of terms describing each information resource and each link links information resources with matching term combinations, and for every existing term combination, a set of information resources that contain said every existing term combination form a cluster, where a cluster is defined as a set of information resources for which there exists at least one path between every pair of information resources in said set of information resources such that said at least one path contains only information resources from said set of information resources and a path is defined as a series of information resources connected through links, the computer readable program means including;

first computer readable program code means for causing the computer to function as a gather client for sending queries about a term combination to one link server, and thereby learning fully matching information resources and any additional relevant link servers which can be subsequently queried, so as to realize a gathering function to gather all information resources that contain a given term combination when at least one information resource containing said given term combination is known, by successively traversing the links from said at least one information resource containing said given term combination; and

second computer readable program code means for causing the computer to function as a search client for sending queries about a given term combination to one search server, and thereby learning partially matching information resources and any additional relevant search servers which can be subsequently queried, so as to realize a searching function to search at least one information resource that contains said given term combination by successively searching clusters with an increasing number of terms matching with said given term combination.