Method and apparatus for forming subject (context) map and presenting Internet data according to the subject map

• US 6,169,997 B1
• Filed: 04/29/1998
• Issued: 01/02/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 04/29/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: NCR Voyix Corporation
• Original Assignee: NCR Corporation
• Inventors: Shah, Paresh B., Papierniak, Karen A., Chiang, Luo-Jen, Thaisz, James E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Feild, Joseph H.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Bourque, Robert D
• Application Number:
  US09/067,804
• Time in Patent Office: 979 Days
• Field of Search: 707/1, 707/2, 707/3, 707/501, 707/100
• US Class Current: 715/236
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/30 of unstructured textual data document management systems G06F16/93
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques

Abstract

Currently, a web site stores Internet data indicating file access status for the files that have been accessed in response to requests from web browsers. Unfortunately, the Internet data are kept as a set of separate and non-correlated data records that are chronologically arranged according to the times at which the requests have been received and processed. Consequently, the Internet data are not arranged meaningful to management and business operation. The present invention correlates web page files (HTML, SHTML, DHTML, or CGI files) with subject areas (such as sports, news, entertainment, restaurant, shopping, computing, business, health, family, travel and weather). In this way, the Internet data are presented in a format meaningful to management and business operation.

Claims

1. In using with a set of logs containing data records indicating access status for a plurality of web page files, a method comprising the steps of:

(a) storing a plurality of subject areas for classifying the web page files;

(b) storing a plurality of mapping rules to map the data records into the subject areas;

(c) collecting data records from the logs; and

(d) correlating the data records with the subject areas based on the mapping rules.

2. The method of claim 1, the subject areas including any two or more of following subject areas:

business, education, news, health, computing, travel, weather, entertainment, hobbies, and sports.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

analyzing the data records correlated in step (d) to generate information based on the subject areas; and

generating a report arranging the information in accordance to the subject areas.

4. The method of claim 1, the data records containing Universal Resource Locators (URLs) for linking respective web page files, wherein:

step (b) stores the mapping rules that are able to map the data records into the subject areas based on information contained in the URLs; and

step (e) correlates the data records with the subject areas based on the information contained in the URLs.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein:

step (b) stores mapping rules that are able to map the data records into the subject areas based on parameters for retrieving at least one of the web page files; and

step (e) correlates the data records with the subject areas based on the parameters.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the parameters are provided by users who have accessed at least one of the web page files.

7. The method of claim 5, the data records containing Universal Resource Locators (URLs) for linking respective web page files, and the parameters being contained in the URLs.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

storing a plurality of sub subject areas for each of the context areas;

storing plurality of sub mapping rules to map the data records to the sub subject areas; and

correlating the data records with the subject areas and sub subject areas bases on the mapping rules and sub mapping rules.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein:

step (b) stores mapping rules that are able to map the data records into the subject areas based on one or more key words contained in the web page files; and

step (e) correlates the data records with the subject areas based on the one ore more key words.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein:

step (b) stores mapping rules that are able to map the data records into the subject areas based on one or more tags contained in the web page files; and

step (e) correlates the data records with the subject areas based on the one or more tags.

11. In using with a server containing a plurality of web page files, a method comprising the steps of:

(a) storing a plurality of subject areas for classifying the web page files;

(b) storing a plurality of mapping rules to map the data records into the subject areas;

(c) searching key words from the web page files; and

(d) correlating the data records with the subject areas based on the mapping rules and key words.

12. The method of claim 11, the subject areas including any two or more of following subject areas:

business, education, news, health, computing, travel, weather, entertainment, hobbies, and sports.

13. In using with a server containing a plurality of web page files, a method comprising the steps of:

(a) storing a plurality of subject areas for classifying the web page files;

(b) storing a plurality of mapping rules to map the data records into the subject areas;

(c) searching tags from the web page files; and

(d) correlating the data records with the subject areas based on the mapping rules and tags.

14. The method of claim 13, the subject areas including any two or more of following subject areas:

business, education, news, health, computing, travel, weather, entertainment, hobbies, and sports.