Non-redundant browsing of a sequencing of web pages

• US 6,151,630 A
• Filed: 05/15/1998
• Issued: 11/21/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 05/15/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Avaya Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Avaya Technology Corporation Miami Lakes FLA US
• Inventors: Williams, Marvin L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Matar, Ahmad F.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Barot, Bharat
• Application Number:
  US09/079,484
• Time in Patent Office: 921 Days
• Field of Search: 709/200, 709/202-203, 709/217-219, 709/227-229, 709/231-233, 707/101-102, 707/500-501, 707/512-514, 707/1, 707/5, 345/340, 345/344, 345/353, 345/356-357
• US Class Current: 709/229
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/957 Browsing optimisation, e.g. caching or content distillation

Abstract

A method, an apparatus, and a computer-readable programmed medium that facilitate browsing through an ordered sequence (108, 109) of World Wide Web pages (107) by automatically skipping over, or bypassing, previously viewed pages whenever the user requests a "Next Page" or a "Previous Page". A page owner creates a sequence by defining for each page in the sequence a page record (200) that specifies the page'"'"'s URL (205), its sequential index value (210), an unviewed flag (220), and optionally page-descriptive information (230). Upon starting a session with a Web server (102), each user is given a copy of all page records. Each time a user requests access to any page by specifying its URL, the unviewed flag of the user'"'"'s copy of that pages record is set to a viewed state. Each time a user requests access to any page by specifying a "Next Page" or a "Previous Page", the user'"'"'s copy of the page records is used to find the first subsequent page or the first previous page, respectively, in the sequence to the page that is presently viewed by the user, whose unviewed flag is in the unviewed state, the state of the flag is changed to the viewed state, and the user is given access to this yet-unviewed page. At the end of each session, the page record copies that correspond to the session are deleted.

Claims

1. A method of browsing through an ordered sequence of a plurality of pages of information, comprising:

receiving a request from a user for a next page in the sequence while the user is accessing an individual page in the sequence; and

in response to the request, skipping over and not giving the user access to previously-accessed pages subsequent in the sequence to the individual page and giving the user access to a first page, subsequent in the sequence to the individual page, that has not yet been accessed by the user.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving a second request from the user for a previous page in the sequence while the user is accessing the individual page; and

in response to the second request, giving the user access to a first page, preceding the individual page in the sequence, that has not yet been accessed by the user.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving a second request from the user for a page in the sequence which page is uniquely identified in the request; and

in response to the second request, giving the user access to the identified page regardless of whether or not the user has already accessed the identified page.

4. The method of claim 2 further comprising:

receiving a third request from the user; and

in response to the third request, reporting to the user how many pages in the sequence have already been accessed by the user and how many pages in the sequence have not yet been accessed by the user.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein:

at least some of the pages in the sequence have corresponding stored descriptions associated therewith, and

the step of reporting further comprises the step of reporting to the user any corresponding stored descriptions associated with the pages in the sequence.

13. An apparatus that performs the method of claims 1 or 2 or 3 or 4 or 5 or 6 or 7 or 8 or 9 or 10 or 11 or 12.

14. A computer-readable medium containing software which, when executed in a computer, causes the computer to perform the steps of claim 1 or 2 or 3 or 4 or 5 or 6 or 7 or 8 or 9 or 10 or 11 or 12.

6. A method of browsing through an ordered sequence of a plurality of pages of information, comprising:

in response to receiving a request from a user to access a next page in the sequence while the user is accessing an individual page in the sequence, determining whether the user has already accessed a second page that is adjacent to the individual page in the sequence;

in response to determining that the user has not yet accessed the second page, giving the user access to the second page;

in response to determining that the user has already accessed the second page, forbearing from giving the user access to the second page and determining whether the user has already accessed a third page, other than the individual page, that is adjacent to the second page in the sequence; and

in response to determining that the user has not yet accessed the third page, giving the user access to the third page.

7. The method of claim 6 further comprising:

in response to determining that the user has already accessed the third page, giving the user access to a first page that follows the third page in the sequence and that has not yet been accessed by the user.

8. A method of browsing through an ordered sequence of a plurality of pages of information, comprising:

for each page in the sequence, creating a page record comprising and identifier of the page, an indicator of a position of the page in the sequence relative to positions of other said pages in the sequence, and an indicator of whether or not the page has been accessed and presently indicating that the page has not been accessed;

in response to the user'"'"'s each request to access a particular page in the sequence by specifying the identifier of the particular page, causing the accessed indicator of the record of the particular page to indicate that the particular page has been accessed, and giving the user access to the particular page;

in response to the user'"'"'s each request to access a next page in the sequence while the user is accessing an individual page in the sequence, using the position indicators of the record of the individual page and of the record of a first page subsequent in the sequence to the individual page to find the first page;

determining from the accessed indicator of the record of the first page whether the first page has been accessed;

in response to determining that the first page has not been accessed, causing the accessed indicator of the record of the first page to indicate that the first page has been accessed, and giving the user access to the first page;

in response to determining that the first page has been accessed, using the position indicators of the record of the first page and of the record of a second page subsequent in the sequence to the first page to find the second page;

determining from the accessed indicator of the record of the second page whether the second page has been accessed; and

in response to determining that the second page has not been accessed, causing the accessed indicator of the record of the second page to indicate that the second page has been accessed, and giving the user access to the first page.

9. The method of claim 8 further comprising:

in response to determining that the second page has been accessed, using the position indicators of the records of the second page and of the records of pages subsequent to the second page in the sequence and the accessed indicators of the records of the pages subsequent to the second page in the sequence to find a third page that is first in the sequence subsequent to the second page to not have already been accessed by the user, and giving the user access to the third page.

10. The method of claim 8 further comprising:

in response to each user'"'"'s initial request to access the sequence, making a copy of the records of all of the pages in the sequence for that user; and

thereafter using that user'"'"'s copies of the records and not the records themselves to respond to that user'"'"'s access requests.

11. A method of browsing through an ordered sequence of a plurality of pages of information, comprising:

receiving a request from a user for a next page in the sequence while the user is accessing an individual page in the sequence; and

in response to the request, skipping over and not giving the user access to previously-unaccessed pages subsequent in the sequence to the individual page and giving the user access to a first page, subsequent in the sequence to the individual page, that has already been accessed by the user.

12. The method of claim 11 further comprising:

receiving a second request from the user for a previous page in the sequence while the user is accessing the individual page; and

in response to the second request, giving the user access to a first page, preceding the individual page in the sequence, that has already been accessed by the user.

15. An apparatus comprising:

a memory for storing a plurality of pages of information that form an ordered sequence of said pages;

a communications facility that communicates with a user to receive user requests to access the pages and to give the user access to the requested pages; and

a processor that responds to receipt of a request from the user for a next page in the sequence while the user is accessing an individual page in the sequence, by skipping over and not giving the user access to previously-accessed pages subsequent in the sequence to the individual page and giving the user access to a first page, subsequent in the sequence to the individual page, that has not yet been accessed by the user.

16. The apparatus of claim 15 wherein:

the processor further responds to receipt of a second request from the user for a previous page in the sequence while the user is accessing the individual page, by giving the user access to a first page, preceding the individual page in the sequence, that has not yet been accessed by the user.

17. The apparatus of claim 16 wherein:

the processor further responds to receipt of a third request from the user for a page in the sequence which page is uniquely identified in the request, by giving the user access to the identified page regardless of whether or not the user has already accessed the identified page.

18. An apparatus comprising:

a memory for storing a plurality of pages of information that form an ordered sequence of said pages;

a communications facility that communicates with a user to receive user requests to access the pages and to give the user access to the requested pages; and

a processor that responds to receipt of a request from the user for a next page in the sequence while the user is accessing an individual page in the sequence, by skipping over and not giving the user access to previously-unaccessed pages subsequent in the sequence to the individual page and giving the user access to a first page, subsequent in the sequence to the individual page, that has already been accessed by the user.

19. The apparatus of claim 18 wherein:

the processor further responds to receipt of a second request from the user for a previous page in the sequence while the user is accessing the individual page, by giving the user access to a first page, preceding the individual page in the sequence, that has already been accessed by the user.