Hypermedia navigation using soft hyperlinks
First Claim
1. A method of resolving a hyperlink, comprising the following steps:
- receiving a hyperlinked document from a remote server, the hyperlinked document containing one or more hyperlinks, at least one of the hyperlinks containing a query formulation;
in response to selection of said at least one of the hyperlinks by a user, reading a query formulation from the selected hyperlink;
querying one or more database servers with the query formulation to locate one or more hyperlink targets that satisfy the query formulation, wherein at least some of the hyperlink targets specify hypermedia documents from servers other than the one or more database servers;
retrieving a hypermedia document specified by one of the located hyperlink targets from a server other than the one or more database servers;
rendering said retrieved hypermedia document.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A hypermedia-based navigation system includes a plurality of information providers and one or more clients. Databases of available hyperlink targets are maintained by the information providers. Each of the databases is searchable by means of one or more query attributes supported by the database and relating to the available hyperlink targets. A hypermedia document might contain a soft hyperlink, consisting of a query formulation specified in terms of query attributes and of values for said query attributes. A client resolves a soft hyperlink by querying at least one of the databases with the query formulation to locate one or more hyperlink targets having attributes and attribute values that satisfy the query formulation. The soft hyperlink can additionally contain executable rules. The client executes these rules prior to submitting the query formulation to the database. Each rule, when it executes, potentially adds search predicates to the original query formulation. Execution of a particular rule is conditioned upon a set of mandatory attributes associated with the rule. The rule will be executed if and only if its mandatory attributes are bound to actual values by the particular client attempting to resolve the soft hyperlink.
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Citations
52 Claims
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1. A method of resolving a hyperlink, comprising the following steps:
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receiving a hyperlinked document from a remote server, the hyperlinked document containing one or more hyperlinks, at least one of the hyperlinks containing a query formulation; in response to selection of said at least one of the hyperlinks by a user, reading a query formulation from the selected hyperlink; querying one or more database servers with the query formulation to locate one or more hyperlink targets that satisfy the query formulation, wherein at least some of the hyperlink targets specify hypermedia documents from servers other than the one or more database servers; retrieving a hypermedia document specified by one of the located hyperlink targets from a server other than the one or more database servers; rendering said retrieved hypermedia document. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method of resolving a hyperlink, comprising the following steps:
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receiving a hyperlinked document from a remote server, the hyperlinked document containing one or more hyperlinks, at least one of the hyperlinks containing a query formulation; in response to selection of said at least one of the hyperlinks by a user, reading the query formulation from the selected hyperlink; maintaining a list of bound attributes on an individual computer; identifying one or more executable link rules that are specified in the selected hyperlink, wherein an identified link rule is associated with a set of mandatory attributes; executing any particular link rule if and only if all of its mandatory attributes are in the list of bound attributes maintained on the individual computer, wherein executing a link rule potentially adds search predicates to the query formulation depending on said bound attributes maintained on the individual computer; querying a database of available hyperlink targets with the query formulation to locate one or more hyperlink targets that satisfy the query formulation. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method of resolving a hyperlink, comprising the following steps:
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receiving a hyperlinked document from a remote server, the hyperlinked document containing one or more hyperlinks, at least one of the hyperlinks containing a query formulation; in response to selection of said at least one of the hyperlinks by a user, reading the query formulation from the selected hyperlink; maintaining a list of bound attributes on an individual computer; maintaining a rule base of executable rules on the individual computer, wherein an executable rule is associated with a set of mandatory attributes, and wherein executing a rule potentially adds search predicates to the query formulation depending on the bound attributes on the individual computer; stepping through the rules of the rule base and executing any rule whose mandatory attributes are in the list of bound attributes maintained on the individual computer; querying a database of available hyperlink targets with the query formulation to locate one or more hyperlink targets that satisfy the query formulation. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A method of specifying a hyperlink, comprising the following steps:
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embedding a query formulation in the hyperlink; embedding one or more executable rules in the hyperlink, wherein an individual executable rule, when executed, performs the following steps; examining a list of attributes on an individual computer; adding a search predicate to the query formulation depending on the values of the attributes. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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33. A computer-readable storage medium containing a hypermedia file, the hypermedia file comprising:
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informational content for rendering to a user; a hyperlink among the informational content that can be activated by the user when the informational content is rendered; the hyperlink including a query formulation that can be submitted to a database for resolution of the hyperlink; wherein the hyperlink further includes; one or more executable rules associated respectively with sets of mandatory attributes; one or more bound attributes for inclusion in a list of bound attributes maintained on an individual computer; the rules being executable to examine the list of bound attributes and to potentially add query predicates to the query formulation depending on said examination of the list of bound attributes. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35, 36, 37)
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38. A hypermedia-based navigation system comprising:
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one or more database servers having databases of available hyperlink targets, each such database being searchable by means of one or more query attributes supported by the database and relating to the available hyperlink targets; an information provider that provides a hypermedia document, the hypermedia document having at least one hyperlink, said hyperlink containing a query formulation that is specified at least partially in terms of query attributes and of values for said query attributes; a client configured to resolve the hyperlink by querying at least one of the databases with the query formulation from the hyperlink to locate one or more hyperlink targets having attributes and attribute values that satisfy the query formulation; wherein at least some of the hyperlink targets specify hypermedia documents from servers other than the one or more database servers. - View Dependent Claims (39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46)
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47. A method of navigating hypermedia documents comprising the following steps:
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displaying at least one soft hyperlink to a user, the soft hyperlink containing a query and one or more link rules; in response to the user activating said soft hyperlink, reading the query and one or more link rules from the soft hyperlink;
executing one or more of the link rules to add one or more search predicates to the query; and
performing the query to locate one or more hypermedia targets, said query being based at least in part upon attributes associated with the user;as a result of the query, displaying hyperlinks to said one or more hypermedia targets. - View Dependent Claims (48, 49, 50, 51, 52)
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Specification