Method for intelligently resolving entry of an incorrect uniform resource locator (URL)

• US 6,092,100 A
• Filed: 11/21/1997
• Issued: 07/18/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 11/21/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Berstis, Viktors, Himmel, Maria Azua
• Primary Examiner(s): Maung, Zarni
• Application Number:
  US08/976,212
• Time in Patent Office: 970 Days
• Field of Search: 709/200, 709/228, 709/227, 709/203, 707/3, 707/5, 395/605
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9566 URL specific, e.g. using aliases, detecting broken or misspelled links
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/30 Managing network names, e.g. use of aliases or nicknames name-to-address mapping H04L61/45
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/301 Name conversion

Abstract

A Web browser running on a client machine typically includes an address field in which a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) may be entered. The URL identifies a particular server (or file) located at a target Web site. If a given URL is entered incorrectly at the Web client, a fuzzy URL detection scheme automatically performs a fuzzy search that returns a list of URLs that most closely match what was originally entered into the browser address field. The user can then select the correct URL from the list and launch the browser to the desired site, or to a directory or file within that site. If the fuzzy search does not reveal a match, the browser may contact a server dedicated to performing a broader fuzzy search. In another alternative, the browser contacts a Web server and the fuzzy search is implemented at the Web server in order to return a particular file.

Claims

1. A method of intelligently resolving an unrecognized character string entered at an IP client connectable to a plurality of IP servers in a computer network, each of the IP servers having an IP address, comprising the steps of:

responsive to entry of the unrecognized character string at the IP client, performing a fuzzy search of the unrecognized character string against a lexicon of the IP server addresses;

returning a list of IP server addresses that most closely match the unrecognized character string; and

connecting the IP client to an IP server identified by one of the IP server addresses in the list.

2. The method as described in claim 1 wherein the computer network is the Internet, the IP client is an HTTP-complaint Web client having a Web browser, and at least one IP server address is associated with a Uniform Resource Locator (URL).

3. The method as described in claim 1 wherein the lexicon includes a table of entries, each entry comprising a set of one or more of the IP addresses having a given character pair.

4. The method as described in claim 3 wherein the fuzzy search logically ANDs the table of entries with a hashed version of the unrecognized character string.

5. The method as described in claim 1 further including the steps of:

displaying the list of IP server addresses to a user of the IP client; and

prompting the user of the IP client to select a given one of the IP server addresses in the list, wherein the selected IP server address is used in the connecting step.

6. The method as described in claim 1 wherein the fuzzy search is performed at the client.

7. The method as described in claim 1 wherein the fuzzy search is performed at a server in the computer network.

8. The method as described in claim 1 wherein the IP server address is associated with a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI).

9. A method of intelligently resolving a character string entered at a Web client connectable to a plurality of Web servers in a computer network, each of the Web servers associated with a Uniform Resource Locator (URL), comprising the steps of:

responsive to entry of a character string at the Web client, performing a fuzzy search of the character string against a lexicon of the Web server URLs;

returning a list of URLs that most closely match the character string;

displaying the list of URLs to a user of the Web client; and

prompting a user of the Web client to select a given one of the URLs in the list.

10. The method as described in claim 9 further including the step of:

connecting the Web client to Web server identified by the selected URL.

11. The method as described in claim 9 wherein the lexicon includes a table of entries, each entry comprising a set of one or more of the URLs having a given character pair.

12. The method as described in claim 11 wherein the fuzzy search logically ANDs the table of entries with a hashed version of the character string.

13. The method as described in claim 9 wherein the character string is entered in a browser address field of the Web client.

14. A method of resolving a character string entered at a Web client connectable to a plurality of Web servers in a computer network, the Web client having a browser, and each of the Web servers associated with a Uniform Resource Locator (URL), comprising the steps of:

responsive to entry of a character string, performing a fuzzy search of the character string against a first subset of Web server URLs stored at the Web client;

if the character string meets a given criteria, launching the browser to a given Web server; and

if the character string does not meet the given criteria, taking a predetermined action to resolve the character string into a URL.

15. The method as described in claim 14 wherein the predetermined action includes the steps of:

displaying to a user a list of candidate URLs;

prompting the user to select a URL from the list; and

launching the browser to a Web server identified by the selected URL.

16. The method as described in claim 14 wherein the predetermined action includes the steps of:

launching the browser to a server located in the computer network; and

performing a fuzzy search of the character string against a second subset of Web server URLs stored at the server.

17. The method as described in claim 16 further including the steps of:

returning a list of candidate URLs from the server to the client;

displaying the list of candidate URLs;

prompting the user to select a URL from the list; and

launching the browser to a Web server identified by the selected URL.

18. A method of resolving a character string entered at a Web client connectable to a plurality of Web servers in a computer network, the Web client having a browser, and each of the Web servers associated with a Uniform Resource Locator (URL), comprising the steps of:

responsive to entry of a character string, performing a fuzzy search of the character string against a set of Web server URLs stored at the Web client;

if the character string includes a given domain name portion that is recognized as being part of one of the Web server URLs stored at the Web client, launching the browser to the Web server identified by the given domain name; and

taking a predetermined action at the Web server to fully resolve the character string.

19. The method as described in claim 18 wherein the predetermined action includes the steps of:

performing a fuzzy search of a portion of the character string against a set of files stored at the Web server;

returning to the client a file that most closely matches against the portion of the character string.

20. A computer program product in a computer readable medium for use in a Web client for resolving a character string entered at a Web browser running on the Web client, comprising:

means responsive to entry of a character string at the Web client for performing a fuzzy search of the character string against a lexicon of Web server URLs stored at the Web client;

means responsive to the fuzzy search for returning a list of URLs that most closely match the character string; and

means responsive to display of the list of URLs for prompting a user of the Web client to select a given one of the URLs in the list.

21. The computer program product as described in claim 20 wherein the lexicon includes a table of entries, each entry comprising a set of one or more of the URLs having a given character pair.

22. The computer program product as described in claim 21 wherein the fuzzy search logically ANDs the table of entries with a hashed version of the character string to generate the list of URLs.

23. A computer program product in a computer readable medium for use in a Web client for resolving a character string entered at a Web browser running on the Web client, comprising:

means responsive to entry of a character string at the Web client for determining whether the character string includes a domain name portion recognized as being part of one of the Web server URLs stored at the Web client; and

means responsive to the determining means for launching the browser to the Web server identified by the given domain name to facilitate a fuzzy search of a remaining portion of the character string.

24. A computer program product in a computer readable medium for use in a Web server for resolving at least a portion of a character string entered at a Web browser running on a Web client connectable to the Web server, comprising:

means for performing a fuzzy search of the character string portion against a lexicon of files stored at the Web server; and

means responsive to the fuzzy search for returning a file that most closely matches the character string portion.