Class of methods for improving perceived efficiency of end-user interactive access of a large database such as the world-wide web via a communication network such as “The Internet”

• US 6,507,872 B1
• Filed: 06/07/1995
• Issued: 01/14/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 09/25/1992
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: David Michael Geshwind
• Original Assignee: David Michael Geshwind
• Inventors: Geshwind, David Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Coulter, Kenneth R.
• Application Number:
  US08/483,205
• Time in Patent Office: 2,778 Days
• Field of Search: 395/200.66, 370/474, 370/473, 709/236, 709/245
• US Class Current: 709/236
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/16 Implementation or adaptation of Internet protocol [IP], of transmission control protocol [TCP] or of user datagram protocol [UDP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/161 Implementation details of TCP/IP or UDP/IP stack architecture; Specification of modified or new header fields
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/162 involving adaptations of sockets based mechanisms secure socket layer H04L63/168
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/125 the signal segment being a picture element

Abstract

Procedures and systems for speeding up end-user access of large interlinked databases over communication networks such as the internet. Predicting user requests is accomplished by artificially intelligent assistant. These requests are prioritized and augmented protocols are used to download in a weighted interleaved fashion multiple information resources.

Claims

1. An improved method for transmitting a multiplicity of data files from a first transmitting computer to a second receiving computer, via a packet-switching digital communications network, utilizing a communications protocol employing port addresses corresponding to data streams wherein the normal mode of operation is to transmit each data file as a data stream of packets separate from the data streams of other data files, wherein said improvement comprises a transmission where:

a. said multiplicity of data files comprise a multi-level, hierarchical structured, document;

b. for at least two levels, the data files comprising each level are combined with the other data files of that same level to create a composite data structure;

c. the composite data structures for each level are transmitted in level order; and

,

d. said multi-level combined transmission comprises a continuous transmission via a single data stream.

2. A method as in claim 1, wherein said data files comprise HTTP document elements.

3. A method for data communication comprising:

a. communication between an intermediate computer and a network via a standard communications protocol; and

,

b. communication between said intermediate computer and a receiving computer via said improved method of claim 1.

4. The process of claim 1, used in conjunction with a Worldwide Web search engine.

5. The method of claim 1 embodied as an enhanced communications protocol.

6. An enhanced communications protocol standard comprising instructions to carry out the method of claim 1.

7. A computer program comprising instructions to carry out the method of claim 1.

8. A method as in claim 1, comprising in addition the improvement of:

a. transmitting a series of data packets comprising information from a multiplicity of data files, and wherein said data packets are sequenced in a manner such that said information from at least three data files are arranged in an interleaved manner.

9. A method as in claim 1, comprising in addition the improvement of:

a. each of at least three data packets is further divided into at least three sub-packets; and

,

b. in any one of said at least three data packets, each of said sub-packets comprises a section of content from a distinct one of a multiplicity of data files, and at least three of said at least three data packets comprise content from the same data file.

10. A method as in claim 1, comprising in addition the improvement of:

a. individually specifying the amount other than a default amount of transmission bandwidth dedicated to at least one of a multiplicity of data files to be simultaneously transmitted by associating a set of transmission weights to the set of files being simultaneously transmitted;

b. transmitting said multiplicity of data files; and

,

c. individually adjusting the amount of transmission bandwidth dedicated to said at least one of said multiplicity of data files in accordance with said set of transmission weights.

11. A method as in claim 1, wherein said at least two levels of step b. is at least four.

12. An improved method for transmitting a multiplicity of data files from a first transmitting computer to a second receiving computer, via a packet-switching digital communications network, utilizing a communications protocol employing port addresses corresponding to data streams wherein the normal mode of operation is to transmit each data file as a data stream of packets separate from the data streams of other data files, wherein the improvement comprises a transmission, of a single data stream comprising a sequence of data packets, comprising at least the steps of:

a. establishing a data stream connection between said first computer and said second computer;

b. transmitting via said data stream connection a first data file comprising a first series of at least one data packet;

c. maintaining in a open state said data stream connection; and

,

d. transmitting via said data stream connection at least one additional data file each comprising an additional series of at least one data packet.

13. A method as in claim 12, for transmitting at least two data files via a packet-switching digital communications network, wherein the normal mode of operation is to separate each of said data files into a linear sequence of segments and transmitting each of said segments as a data packet in sequential order, wherein said improvement comprises in addition the steps of:

a. organizing each of said at least two data files into at least two groupings, each of said groupings comprising information at a distinct level of detail, the levels of detail in any of said at least two data files not necessarily corresponding to the levels of detail of any other of said at least two data files;

b. transmitting, via said communications protocol, information from each of said at least two data files a first of said groupings comprising information at a first level of detail; and

,

c. subsequently transmitting, via said communications protocol, information from each of at least two said data files a second of said groupings comprising information at a second finer level of detail.

14. A method for receiving multiplicity of data files via a packet-switching digital communications network, transmitted by the method of claim 13 comprising the steps of:

a. receiving at least one data stream comprising a multiplicity of data packets;

b. upon receiving information from a first of said groupings comprising information at a first level of detail, creating a first version of said data files at said first level of detail;

c. making said first version available for display;

d. upon receiving information from a second of said groupings comprising information at a second level of detail, creating a second version of said data files at said second level of detail; and

,

e. making said second version available for display.

15. A method as in claim 14, wherein said data files comprise text data files.

16. A method as in claim 14, wherein said data files comprise HTTP document elements.

17. The process of claim 14, used in conjunction with a Worldwide Web search engine.

18. A method as in claim 13, wherein said data files comprise text data files.

19. The method of claim 13, wherein said data information comprises a computer database.

20. The process of claim 19, used in conjunction with a Worldwide Web search engine.

21. The method of claim 13, wherein said information comprises legal information.

22. A method as in claim 13, wherein said data files comprise HTTP document elements.

23. The process of claim 13, used in conjunction with a Worldwide Web search engine.

24. A method as in claim 13, comprising in addition the improvement of:

a. transmitting a series of data packets comprising information from a multiplicity of data files, and wherein said data packets are sequenced in a manner such that said information from at least three data files are arranged in an interleaved manner.

25. A method as in claim 13, comprising in addition the improvement of:

a. each of at least three data packets is further divided into at least three sub-packets; and

,

b. in any one of said at least three data packets, each of said sub-packets comprises a section of content from a distinct one of a multiplicity of data files, and at least three of said at least three data packets comprise content from the same data file.

26. A method as in claim 13, comprising in addition the improvement of:

a. individually specifying the amount other than a default amount of transmission bandwidth dedicated to at least one of a multiplicity of data files to be simultaneously transmitted by associating a set of transmission weights to the set of files being simultaneously transmitted;

b. transmitting said multiplicity of data files; and

,

c. individually adjusting the amount of transmission bandwidth dedicated to said at least one of said multiplicity of data files in accordance with said set of transmission weights.

27. A method as in claim 12, for transmitting at least one document comprising a multiplicity of data files via a packet-switching digital communications network, wherein the normal mode of operation is to separate each of said data files into a linear sequence of segments and transmitting each of said segments as a data packet in sequential order, wherein said improvement comprises in addition the steps of:

a. organizing said at least one document into at least two groupings, each of said groupings comprising information of a distinct type and at least one of said groupings comprising information derived from more than one of said data files;

b. transmitting, via said communications protocol within a single data stream, information from a first of said groupings comprising information of a first type; and

,

c. subsequently transmitting, via said communications protocol, information from a second of said groupings comprising information of a second type.

28. A method for receiving a multiplicity of documents each comprising at least two data files via a packet-switching digital communications network, transmitted by the method of claim 27 comprising the steps of:

a. receiving at least one data stream comprising a multiplicity of data packets;

b. upon receiving information from a first of said groupings comprising information of a first type, creating a first version of said multiplicity of documents;

c. making said first version available for display;

d. upon receiving information from a second of said groupings comprising information of a second type, creating a second version of said multiplicity of documents; and

,

e. making said second version available for display.

29. A method as in claim 28, wherein said data files comprise HTTP document elements.

30. The process of claim 28, used in conjunction with a Worldwide Web search engine.

31. A method as in claim 27, wherein said data files comprise HTTP document elements.

32. The process of claim 27, used in conjunction with a Worldwide Web search engine.

33. A method as in claim 27, comprising in addition the improvement of:

a. organizing each of at least three data files into at least three groupings, each of said groupings comprising information at distinct progressively finer levels of detail, the levels of detail in any of said at least three data files not necessarily corresponding to the levels of detail of any other of said at least three data files, and where it is required that at least three groupings comprise information from the same file, and at least three groupings contain information from each of at least two files;

b. sequentially transmitting information for at least three levels of progressively finer detail, where each transmission comprises groupings from at least two files, and where the groupings from any one file are ordered in progressively finer levels of detail.

34. A method as in claim 27, comprising in addition the improvement of:

a. transmitting a series of data packets comprising information from a multiplicity of data files, and wherein said data packets are sequenced in a manner such that said information from at least three data files are arranged in an interleaved manner.

35. A method as in claim 27, comprising in addition the improvement of:

a. each of at least three data packets is further divided into at least three sub-packets; and

,

b. in any one of said at least three data packets, each of said sub-packets comprises a section of content from a distinct one of a multiplicity of data files, and at least three of said at least three data packets comprise content from the same data file.

36. A method as in claim 27, comprising in addition the improvement of:

a. individually specifying the amount other than a default amount of transmission bandwidth dedicated to at least one of a multiplicity of data files to be simultaneously transmitted by associating a set of transmission weights to the set of files being simultaneously transmitted;

b. transmitting said multiplicity of data files; and

,

c. individually adjusting the amount of transmission bandwidth dedicated to said at least one of said multiplicity of data files in accordance with said set of transmission weights.

37. A method as in claim 27, wherein said multiplicity of data files is at least four.

38. A method as in claim 27, wherein said at least two groupings in step a. is at least four and, in addition, performing the steps of:

d. subsequently transmitting, via said communications protocol within a single data stream, information from a third of said groupings comprising information of a third type; and

,

e. subsequently transmitting, via said communications protocol, information from a fourth of said groupings comprising information of a fourth type.

39. A method for receiving a data file via a packet-switching digital communications network, transmitted by the method of claim 38 comprising the steps of:

a. receiving at least one data stream comprising a multiplicity of data packets;

b. upon receiving information from a first of said groupings comprising information of a first type, creating a first version of said document;

c. making said first version available for display;

d. upon receiving information from a second of said groupings comprising information of a second type, creating a second version of said document;

e. making said second version available for display;

f. upon receiving information from a third of said groupings comprising information of a third type, creating a third version of said document;

g. making said third version available for display;

h. upon receiving information from a fourth of said groupings comprising information of a fourth type, creating a fourth version of said document; and

,

i. making said fourth version available for display.

76. A method as in claim 12, for providing information to an end user via a digital communications network, wherein said improvement comprises in addition the apparent increase in communication bandwidth, affected by the utilization of portions of the communication channel bandwidth normally unused, by the steps of:

a. providing via said network a first selection of information specified by said end user and requested of said network;

b. performing automated searching of said first selection to locate at least some references to additional selections of network-providable information which can potentially be specified by said end user; and

,

c. providing via said network at least some of said additional selections of network-providable information prior to said end user specifying additional selections.

77. A method as in claim 76, wherein said data files comprise HTTP document elements.

78. The process of claim 76, used in conjunction with a Worldwide Web search engine.

79. The method of claim 76, comprising the additional steps for at least one additional level of:

e. in conjunction with providing at least some of said additional selections of network-obtainable information, conduct further automated searching of said additional selections to locate at least some references to a next-level of additional selections of network-obtainable information which can potentially be specified by said end user;

f. making a choice, from among said references to a next-level of additional selections, of at least one next-level additional selection to request; and

,

g. providing via said network at least some of said next-level additional selections of network-providable information prior to said end user specifying additional selections.

80. The method of claim 79 carried out for at least two iterations.

81. The method of claim 76, comprising the additional steps of:

d. upon the specification of a second selection of information by said end user providing said second selection if not already being provided; and

,

e. if possible, causing a delay in the delivery of other requested information in favor of the information specified in said second selection.

82. The method of claim 76, wherein prior to step c., a choice is made of which of said additional selections of network-obtainable information are to be provided via said network based upon user-specified criteria.

83. The method of claim 76, wherein prior to step c., a choice is made of which of said additional selections of network-obtainable information are to be provided via said network based upon criteria obtained from analysis of a history of prior use of the instant system by said end user.

84. The method of claim 76, wherein prior to step c., a choice is made of which of said additional selections of network-obtainable information are to be provided via said network based upon criteria pertaining to the comparison between the content of at least two documents.

85. The method of claim 76, wherein said information comprises legal information.

86. The method of claim 76, wherein prior to step c., a choice is made of which of said additional selections of network-obtainable information are to be provided via said network based upon the operation of an ‘

Artificial Intelligence’

algorithm.

87. A method as in claim 76, comprising in addition the improvement of:

a. organizing each of at least three data files into at least three groupings, each of said groupings comprising information at distinct progressively finer levels of detail, the levels of detail in any of said at least three data files not necessarily corresponding to the levels of detail of any other of said at least three data files, and where it is required that at least three groupings comprise information from the same file, and at least three groupings contain information from each of at least two files;

b. sequentially transmitting information for at least three levels of progressively finer detail, where each transmission comprises groupings from at least two files, and where the groupings from any one file are ordered in progressively finer levels of detail.

88. A method as in claim 76, comprising in addition the improvement of:

a. transmitting a series of data packets comprising information from a multiplicity of data files, and wherein said data packets are sequenced in a manner such that said information from at least three data files are arranged in an interleaved manner.

89. A method as in claim 76, comprising in addition the improvement of:

a. each of at least three data packets is further divided into at least three sub-packets; and

,

b. in any one of said at least three data packets, each of said sub-packets comprises a section of content from a distinct one of a multiplicity of data files, and at least three of said at least three data packets comprise content from the same data file.

90. A method as in claim 76, comprising in addition the improvement of:

a. individually specifying the amount other than a default amount of transmission bandwidth dedicated to at least one of a multiplicity of data files to be simultaneously transmitted by associating a set of transmission weights to the set of files being simultaneously transmitted;

b. transmitting said multiplicity of data files; and

,

c. individually adjusting the amount of transmission bandwidth dedicated to said at least one of said multiplicity of data files in accordance with said set of transmission weights.

91. A method as in claim 76, comprising in addition the improvement of:

a. preforming this method by the operation of a server computer program operating in conjunction with a companion client computer program.

92. A method as in claim 12, for transmitting a multiplicity of network information resources via a packet-switching digital communications network, utilizing a communications protocol wherein the normal mode of operation is to send a data file from a server in response to a request from a client, the requested file being passed along by one or more intermediary computers on said network as a data stream of packets, and wherein said improvement comprises in addition the steps of:

a. a request being made by a client computer for a network information resource, said request being passed through at least one intermediary computer, said request eventually being received by a server computer;

b. said request being filled by said server computer by the transmission of said network information resource, which transmission is passed through said at least one intermediary computer, said transmission eventually being received by said client computer;

c. the analysis by said intermediary computer of said network information resource to identify references to additional network information resources which can potentially be requested by the operator of said client computer;

d. the requesting, via the network, by the intermediary computer, of at least some of said additional network information resources, prior to such a request actually being placed by said operator of said client computer;

e. the reception and retention by said intermediary computer of at least some of said additional network information resources;

f. the actual request by said operator of said client computer of at least some of said additional network resources; and

,

g. the transmission to said client computer by said intermediary computer of said previously requested and retained copy of at least some of said actually requested additional network information resources.

93. A method as in claim 92, wherein said data files comprise HTTP document elements.

94. The process of claim 92, used in conjunction with a Worldwide Web search engine.

95. The method of claim 92, comprising the additional steps for at least one additional level of:

h. in conjunction with the pass-through by said intermediate computer of at least some of said additional selections of network-obtainable information, conduct further automated searching of said additional selections to locate at least some references to a next-level of additional selections of network-obtainable information which can potentially be specified by said end user;

i. said intermediary computer making a choice, from among said references to a next-level of additional selections, of at least one next-level additional selection to request;

j. the requesting, via said network, by said intermediary computer, of at least some of said next-level additional network information resources, prior to such a request actually being placed by said operator of said client computer;

k. the reception and retention by said intermediary computer of at least some of said next-level additional network information resources;

l. the actual request by said operator of said client computer of at least some of said next-level additional network resources; and

,

m. the transmission to said client computer by said intermediary computer of said previously requested and retained copy of at least some of said actually requested next-level additional network information resources.

96. The method of claim 95 carried out for at least two iterations.

97. The method of claim 92, comprising the additional steps of:

h. upon the specification of a second selection of information by said operator requesting said second selection from the network if not already requested; and

,

i. requesting, if possible, the network to delay the delivery of other requested information in favor of the information specified in said second selection.

98. The method of claim 92, wherein prior to step d., a choice is made of which of said additional selections of network-obtainable information are to be requested via said network based upon user-specified criteria.

99. The method of claim 92, wherein prior to step d., the choice of which of said additional selections of network-obtainable information are to be requested via said network based upon criteria obtained from analysis of a history of prior use of the instant system by said end user.

100. The method of claim 92, wherein prior to step d., a choice is made of which of said additional selections of network-obtainable information are to be requested via said network based upon criteria pertaining to the comparison between the content of at least two documents.

101. The method of claim 92, wherein said information comprises legal information.

102. The method of claim 92, wherein prior to step d., a choice is made of which of said additional selections of network-obtainable information are to be requested via said network based upon the operation of an ‘

Artificial Intelligence’

algorithm.

103. A method as in claim 92, comprising in addition the improvement of:

a. organizing each of at least three data files into at least three groupings, each of said groupings comprising information at distinct progressively finer levels of detail, the levels of detail in any of said at least three data files not necessarily corresponding to the levels of detail of any other of said at least three data files, and where it is required that at least three groupings comprise information from the same file, and at least three groupings contain information from each of at least two files;

b. sequentially transmitting information for at least three levels of progressively finer detail, where each transmission comprises groupings from at least two files, and where the groupings from any one file are ordered in progressively finer levels of detail.

104. A method as in claim 92, comprising in addition the improvement of:

a. transmitting a series of data packets comprising information from a multiplicity of data files, and wherein said data packets are sequenced in a manner such that said information from at least three data files are arranged in an interleaved manner.

105. A method as in claim 92, comprising in addition the improvement of:

a. each of at least three data packets is further divided into at least three sub-packets; and

,

b. in any one of said at least three data packets, each of said sub-packets comprises a section of content from a distinct one of a multiplicity of data files, and at least three of said at least three data packets comprise content from the same data file.

106. A method as in claim 92, comprising in addition the improvement of:

a. individually specifying the amount other than a default amount of transmission bandwidth dedicated to at least one of a multiplicity of data files to be simultaneously transmitted by associating a set of transmission weights to the set of files being simultaneously transmitted;

b. transmitting said multiplicity of data files; and

,

c. individually adjusting the amount of transmission bandwidth dedicated to said at least one of said multiplicity of data files in accordance with said set of transmission weights.

107. A method as in claim 92, comprising in addition the improvement of:

a. preforming this method by the operation of an intermediary computer program operating in conjunction with a companion server computer program.

108. A method as in claim 92, comprising in addition the improvement of:

a. preforming this method by the operation of an intermediary computer program operating in conjunction with a companion client computer program.

109. A method as in claim 92, comprising in addition the improvement of:

a. preforming this method by the operation of an intermediary computer program operating in conjunction with both a companion client computer program and a companion server computer program.

110. A method as in claim 12, for transmitting a multiplicity of data files via a packet-switching digital communications network, utilizing a communications protocol wherein the normal mode of operation is to send a data file from a server in response to a request from a client, the requested file being passed along by one or more intermediary computers on said network as a data stream of packets, and wherein said improvement comprises in addition the steps of:

a. the retention by at least one intermediary computer of at least some data files passed along from a server in response to a first client request;

b. the reception by said intermediary of a second client request for the same data file from the same server; and

,

c. the supplying of said retained copy by said intermediary computer in response to said second client request for the same data file from the same server.

111. A method as in claim 110, wherein the additional steps are performed between steps b. and c. of:

d. the requesting of said server by said intermediary computer, by supplying a date/time said retained data file was obtained, of either;

confirmation that the retained copy was obtained subsequent to the date/time that said server'"'"'s own copy of said data file was last updated;

or, an updated copy of said data file; and

,

e. the updating of said retained copy, if one is returned by said server.

112. A method as in claim 110, wherein the additional steps of:

d. the requesting of said server by said intermediary computer, by supplying a date/time said retained data file was obtained, of either;

confirmation that the retained copy was obtained subsequent to the date/time that said server'"'"'s own copy of said data file was last updated;

or, an updated copy of said data file; and

,

e. the transmission of said updated retained copy, if one is returned by said server.

113. A method as in claim 110, wherein said data files comprise HTTP document elements.

114. The process of claim 110, used in conjunction with a Worldwide Web search engine.

115. A method as in claim 12, for navigating a hyper-media database by an end user using a client computer wherein the improvement comprises the steps of:

a. downloading from said database by said client computer an information resource requested by said end user;

b. repeating for at least one additional level;

analyzing current level information resources for references to next-level information resources and downloading at least the components of those next-level information resources that contain further-next-level references;

c. constructing a viewable multi-level, hyper-media representation of those references for display to the end user of said client computer.

116. A method as in claim 115, wherein said data files comprise HTTP document elements.

117. The process of claim 115, used in conjunction with a Worldwide Web search engine.

118. A method as in claim 115, wherein said at least one additional level of step b. is at least three.

119. A method as in claim 12, wherein said first data file comprises the main text element (HTML file) of a first Worldwide Web page, and said at least one additional data file comprises at least one additional Worldwide Web document element belonging to said first Worldwide Web page and is referenced in said first data file.

120. A method as in claim 12, wherein said first data file comprises the main text element (HTML file) of a first Worldwide Web page, and said at least one additional data file comprises at least one additional main text element (HTML file) of at least one additional Worldwide Web page and is referenced in said first data file.

121. The process of claim 120, used in conjunction with a Worldwide Web search engine.

122. A method as in claim 12, wherein said data files comprise HTTP document elements.

123. A method for data communication comprising:

a. communication between an intermediate computer and a network via a standard communications protocol; and

,

b. communication between said intermediate computer and a receiving computer via said improved method of claim 12.

124. The process of claim 12, used in conjunction with a Worldwide Web search engine.

125. A method as in claim 12, wherein for each of said data files, all data packets of a particular data file are sent before any data packets of a subsequent file are sent.

126. A method as in claim 12, wherein for at least some of said data files, some data packets of a subsequent data file are sent prior to completion of the sending of all of the data packets of a previous file.

127. The method of claim 12, embodied as an enhanced communications protocol.

128. An enhanced communications protocol standard comprising instructions to carry out the method of claim 12.

129. A computer program comprising instructions to carry out the method of claim 12.

130. A method as in claim 12, wherein said at least one additional data file of step d. is at least three.

131. A method as in claim 12, comprising in addition the improvement of:

a. organizing each of at least three data files into at least three groupings, each of said groupings comprising information at distinct progressively finer levels of detail, the levels of detail in any of said at least three data files not necessarily corresponding to the levels of detail of any other of said at least three data files, and where it is required that at least three groupings comprise information from the same file, and at least three groupings contain information from each of at least two files;

b. sequentially transmitting information for at least three levels of progressively finer detail, where each transmission comprises groupings from at least two files, and where the groupings from any one file are ordered in progressively finer levels of detail.

132. A method for receiving a data file via a packet-switching digital communications network, transmitted by the method of claim 131 comprising the steps of:

a. receiving at least one data stream comprising a multiplicity of data packets;

b. upon receiving information from a first of said groupings comprising information at a first level of detail, creating a first version of said data files at said first level of detail;

c. making said first version available for display;

d. upon receiving information from a second of said groupings comprising information at a second level of detail, creating a second version of said data files at said second level of detail;

e. making said second version available for display;

f. upon receiving information from a third of said groupings comprising information at a third level of detail, creating a third version of said data files at said third level of detail; and

,

g. making said third version available for display.

133. A method as in claim 132, comprising, in addition, the steps of:

h. upon receiving information from a fourth of said groupings comprising information at a fourth level of detail, creating a fourth version of said data files at said fourth level of detail; and

,

i. making said fourth version available for display.

134. A method as in claim 12, comprising in addition the improvement of:

a. organizing each of at least two data files into at least four groupings, each of said groupings comprising information at distinct progressively finer levels of detail, the levels of detail in any of said at least two data files not necessarily corresponding to the levels of detail of any other of said at least two data files, and at least four groupings contain information from each of at least two files;

b. sequentially transmitting information for at least four levels of progressively finer detail, where each transmission comprises groupings from at least two files, and where the groupings from any one file are ordered in progressively finer levels of detail.

135. A method as in claim 12, comprising in addition the improvement of:

a. organizing each of at least four data files into at least two groupings, each of said groupings comprising information at distinct progressively finer levels of detail, the levels of detail in any of said at least four data files not necessarily corresponding to the levels of detail of any other of said at least four data files, and at least two groupings contain information from each of at least two files;

b. sequentially transmitting information for at least two levels of progressively finer detail, where each transmission comprises groupings from at least two files, and where the groupings from any one file are ordered in progressively finer levels of detail.

40. A method as in claimed 12, for providing information to an end user via a digital communications network, wherein said improvement comprises in addition the apparent increase in communication bandwidth, affected by the utilization of portions of the communication channel bandwidth normally unused, by the steps of:

a. requesting of said network a first selection of information specified by said end user;

b. upon reception of said first selection of information performing automated searching of said first selection to locate at least some references to additional selections of network-obtainable information which can potentially be specified by said end user;

c. making a choice, from among said references to additional selections, of at least one additional selection to request; and

,

d. requesting of said network at least some of said at least one additional selection of network-obtainable information prior to said end user specifying additional selections.

41. The method of claim 40, comprising the additional steps of:

e. upon the specification of a second selection of information by said end user requesting said second selection if not already requested; and

,

f. requesting, if possible, the network to delay the delivery of other requested information in favor of the information specified in said second selection.

42. The method of claim 40, comprising the additional steps for at least one additional level of:

e. upon reception of at least some of said additional selections of network-obtainable information, conduct further automated searching of said additional selections to locate at least some references to a next-level of additional selections of network-obtainable information which can potentially be specified by said end user;

f. making a choice, from among said references to a next-level of additional selections, of at least one next-level additional selection to request; and

,

g. requesting of said network at least some of said next-level additional selections of network-obtainable information prior to said end user specifying additional selections.

43. The process of claim 42, used in conjunction with a Worldwide Web search engine.

44. The method of claim 42 carried out for at least two iterations.

45. The method of claim 40, wherein in step c., the choice of which of said additional selections of network-obtainable information are to be requested of said network is based upon user-specified criteria.

46. The method of claim 40, wherein in step c., the choice of which of said additional selections of network-obtainable information are to be requested of said network is based upon criteria obtained from a user-profile.

47. The method of claim 40, wherein in step c., the choice of which of said additional selections of network-obtainable information are to be requested of said network is based upon criteria obtained from analysis of a history of prior use of the instant system by said end user.

48. The method of claim 40, wherein in step c., the choice of which of said additional selections of network-obtainable information are to be requested of said network is based upon criteria pertaining to document type.

49. The method of claim 40, wherein in step c., the choice of which of said additional selections of network-obtainable information are to be requested of said network is based upon criteria pertaining to document content.

50. The method of claim 40, wherein in step c., the choice of which of said additional selections of network-obtainable information are to be requested of said network is based upon criteria pertaining to the comparison between the content of at least two documents.

51. The method of claim 40, wherein in step c., the choice of which of said additional selections of network-obtainable information are to be requested of said network comprises for at least some information requesting only portions of said information.

52. The method of claim 40, wherein in step c., the choice of which of said additional selections of network-obtainable information are to be requested of said network is based upon criteria developed by repeating at least once the steps of:

a. running a simulation, or at the first iteration a history, with a current set of parameters, and comparing the documents downloaded in a predictive fashion by the system and documents actually requested by said end user;

b. adjustment of at least one parameter upon which said documents downloaded in a predictive fashion were selected by the system;

c. running a simulation of a predictive downloading session utilizing the adjusted parameters, and comparing the documents downloaded in a predictive fashion by the system and documents actually requested by said end user;

d. comparing system performance utilizing the current and the adjusted sets of parameters; and

,

e. selecting as the new current set of parameters those which result in the better performance as determined in step d.

53. The process of claim 52, used in conjunction with a Worldwide Web search engine.

54. A method as in claim 52, wherein said at least once, of the preamble, is at least three times.

55. A method as in claim 52, wherein said multiplicity of data files, of step c., is at least four.

56. A method as in claim 55, wherein said for at least some packet, of step d., is at least four packets.

57. A method as in claim 52, wherein said for at least some packet, of step d., is at least four packets.

58. The method of claim 40, wherein said data information comprises a computer database.

59. The process of claim 58, used in conjunction with a Worldwide Web search engine.

60. The method of claim 40, wherein said information comprises legal information.

61. A method as in claim 40, wherein said data files comprise HTTP document elements.

62. The method of claim 40, wherein in step c., the choice of which of said additional selections of network-obtainable information are to be requested of said network is based upon the operation of an ‘

Artificial Intelligence’

algorithm.

63. The process of claim 62, used in conjunction with a Worldwide Web search engine.

64. A method as in claim 62, wherein said ‘

Artificial Intelligence’

algorithm at least in part operates by comparing said additional selections with the document currently being accessed by said end user.

65. A method as in claim 62, wherein said ‘

Artificial Intelligence’

algorithm at least in part operates by comparing said additional selections with documents previously accessed by said end user.

66. A method as in claim 65, wherein said documents previously accessed are ranked by the amount of time said end user accessed them.

67. A method as in claim 65, wherein said documents previously accessed are ranked by an end user supplied evaluation.

68. A method as in claim 62, wherein said ‘

Artificial Intelligence’

algorithm at least in part operates by comparing said additional selections with an end user supplied characterization of goals.

69. A method as in claim 62, wherein said ‘

Artificial Intelligence’

algorithm at least in part operates by comparing said additional selections with an end user profile.

70. The process of claim 40, used in conjunction with a Worldwide Web search engine.

71. A method as in claim 40, comprising in addition the improvement of:

a. organizing each of at least three data files into at least three groupings, each of said groupings comprising information at distinct progressively finer levels of detail, the levels of detail in any of said at least three data files not necessarily corresponding to the levels of detail of any other of said at least three data files, and where it is required that at least three groupings comprise information from the same file, and at least three groupings contain information from each of at least two files;

b. sequentially transmitting information for at least three levels of progressively finer detail, where each transmission comprises groupings from at least two files, and where the groupings from any one file are ordered in progressively finer levels of detail.

72. A method as in claim 40, comprising in addition the improvement of:

a. transmitting a series of data packets comprising information from a multiplicity of data files, and wherein said data packets are sequenced in a manner such that said information from at least three data files are arranged in an interleaved manner.

73. A method as in claim 40, comprising in addition the improvement of:

a. each of at least three data packets is further divided into at least three sub-packets; and

,

b. in any one of said at least three data packets, each of said sub-packets comprises a section of content from a distinct one of a multiplicity of data files, and at least three of said at least three data packets comprise content from the same data file.

74. A method as in claim 40, comprising in addition the improvement of:

a. individually specifying the amount other than a default amount of transmission bandwidth dedicated to at least one of a multiplicity of data files to be simultaneously transmitted by associating a set of transmission weights to the set of files being simultaneously transmitted;

b. transmitting said multiplicity of data files; and

,

c. individually adjusting the amount of transmission bandwidth dedicated to said at least one of said multiplicity of data files in accordance with said set of transmission weights.

75. A method as in claim 40, comprising in addition the improvement of:

a. preforming this method by the operation of a client computer program operating in conjunction with a companion server computer program.

136. An improved method for transmitting a multiplicity of data files from a first transmitting computer to a second receiving computer, via a packet-switching digital communications network, utilizing a communication protocol employing port addresses corresponding to data streams, wherein the normal mode of operation is to transmit each data file as a data stream of packets separate from the data streams of other data files, wherein the improvement comprises a transmission, of a single data stream comprising a sequence of data packets, comprising at least the steps of:

a. establishing a data stream connection between said first computer and said second computer;

b. maintaining in a open state said data stream connection; and

,

c. transmitting via said data stream connection a series of data packets comprising information from a multiplicity of data files, and wherein said data packets are sequenced in a manner such that said information from at least two of said multiplicity of data files are arranged in an interspersed manner.

137. A method as in claim 136, comprising in addition the interspersing of the information from at least two of said multiplicity of data files comprising the steps of transmitting:

a. a data packet comprising a first section of content from a first data file;

b. followed by a data packet comprising a first section of content from a second data file; and

,

c. followed by a data packet comprising a section of content subsequent to said first section of content from said first data file.

138. A method as in claim 137, wherein additional information is transmitted which specifies an association between said data packets and said data files.

139. A method for receiving a multiplicity of data files via a packet-switching digital communications network, transmitted by the method of claim 138 comprising the steps of:

a. receiving a data stream comprising a multiplicity of data packets;

b. sorting said data packets into at least two groups of data packets corresponding to at least two of said data files, said sorting being accomplished in accordance with said additional information; and

,

c. re-assembling from said at least two groups of data packets said at least two data files.

140. A method as in claim 139, wherein said at least two groups is at least four, and said at least two of said data files (steps b. and c.) is at least four.

141. A method as in claim 137, wherein said data files comprise HTTP document elements.

142. A method for data communication comprising:

a. communication between an intermediate computer and a network via a standard communications protocol; and

,

b. communication between said intermediate computer and a receiving computer via said improved method of claim 137.

143. The process of claim 137, used in conjunction with a Worldwide Web search engine.

144. A method as in claim 137, comprising in addition the improvement of:

a. individually specifying the amount other than a default amount of transmission bandwidth dedicated to at least one of a multiplicity of data files to be simultaneously transmitted by associating a set of transmission weights to the set of files being simultaneously transmitted;

b. transmitting said multiplicity of data files; and

,

c. individually adjusting the amount of transmission bandwidth dedicated to said at least one of said multiplicity of data files in accordance with said set of transmission weights.

145. A method as in claim 137, comprising, in addition, between step b. and step c. the steps of:

b1. followed by a data packet comprising a first section of content from a third data file; and

,

b2. followed by a data packet comprising a first section of content from a fourth data file.

146. A method as in claim 136, wherein said data files comprise HTTP document elements.

147. A method for data communication comprising:

a. communication between an intermediate computer and a network via a standard communications protocol; and

,

b. communication between said intermediate computer and a receiving computer via said improved method of claim 136.

148. The process of claim 136, used in conjunction with a Worldwide Web search engine.

149. A method as in claim 136, wherein each of said data packets comprises data from only one of said data files.

150. A method as in claim 136, wherein at least some of said data packets comprise data from a multiplicity of said data files.

151. A method as in claim 136, comprising in addition the interspersing of the information from at least two of said multiplicity of data files comprising the steps of transmitting at least one data packet wherein:

a. each of said at least one data packet is further divided into at least two sub-packets;

b. each of said sub-packets comprises a section of content from one of said multiplicity of data files;

c. a first such sub-packet comprises a content section from a first data file; and

,

d. a second such sub-packet comprises a content section from a second data file distinct from said first data file.

152. A method as in claim 151, wherein additional information is transmitted which specifies an association between said data sub-packets and said data files.

153. A method for receiving a multiplicity of data files via a packet-switching digital communications network, transmitted by the method of claim 152 comprising the steps of:

a. receiving a data stream comprising at least one data packet comprising a multiplicity of sub-packets;

b. sorting said sub-packets into at least two groups of sub-packets corresponding to at least two of said data files, said sorting being accomplished in accordance said additional information; and

,

c. re-assembling from said at least two groups of sub-packets said at least two data files.

154. A method as in claim 153, wherein said at least two groups is at least four, and said at least two of said data files (steps b. and c.) is at least four.

155. A method as in claim 153, wherein said at least one data packet of step a. is at least three data packets.

156. A method as in claim 151, wherein said data files comprise HTTP document elements.

157. A method for data communication comprising:

a. communication between an intermediate computer and a network via a standard communications protocol; and

,

b. communication between said intermediate computer and a receiving computer via said improved method of claim 151.

158. The process of claim 151, used in conjunction with a Worldwide Web search engine.

159. A method as in claim 151, comprising in addition the improvement of:

a. organizing each of at least three data files into at least three groupings, each of said groupings comprising information at distinct progressively finer levels of detail, the levels of detail in any of said at least three data files not necessarily corresponding to the levels of detail of any other of said at least three data files, and where it is required that at least three groupings comprise information from the same file, and at least three groupings contain information from each of at least two files;

b. sequentially transmitting information for at least three levels of progressively finer detail, where each transmission comprises groupings from at least two files, and where the groupings from any one file are ordered in progressively finer levels of detail.

160. A method as in claim 151, comprising in addition the improvement of:

a. individually specifying the amount other than a default amount of transmission bandwidth dedicated to at least one of a multiplicity of data files to be simultaneously transmitted by associating a set of transmission weights to the set of files being simultaneously transmitted;

b. transmitting said multiplicity of data files; and

,

c. individually adjusting the amount of transmission bandwidth dedicated to said at least one of said multiplicity of data files in accordance with said set of transmission weights.

161. A method as in claim 151, wherein said at least one data packet recited in the preamble is at least three, and said data packet of step a. is each of said at least three data packets.

162. A method as in claim 151, wherein said at least two sub-packets of step a. is at least four, and the contents of each of said sub-packets in a particular packet are derived from a distinct one of said data files.

163. The method of claim 136 embodied as an enhanced communications protocol.

164. An enhanced communications protocol standard comprising instructions to carry out the method of claim 136.

165. A computer program comprising instructions to carry out the method of claim 136.

166. A method as in claim 136, comprising in addition the improvement of:

a. organizing each of at least three data files into at least three groupings, each of said groupings comprising information at distinct progressively finer levels of detail, the levels of detail in any of said at least three data files not necessarily corresponding to the levels of detail of any other of said at least three data files, and where it is required that at least three groupings comprise information from the same file, and at least three groupings contain information from each of at least two files;

b. sequentially transmitting information for at least three levels of progressively finer detail, where each transmission comprises groupings from at least two files, and where the groupings from any one file are ordered in progressively finer levels of detail.

167. A method as in claim 136, comprising in addition the improvement of:

a. individually specifying the amount other than a default amount of transmission bandwidth dedicated to at least one of a multiplicity of data files to be simultaneously transmitted by associating a set of transmission weights to the set of files being simultaneously transmitted;

b. transmitting said multiplicity of data files; and

,

c. individually adjusting the amount of transmission bandwidth dedicated to said at least one of said multiplicity of data files in accordance with said set of transmission weights.

168. A method as in claim 136, wherein said at least two of said multiplicity of data files of step c. is at least four.

169. A method for transmitting a multiplicity of data files from a first transmitting computer to a second receiving computer, via a packet-switching digital communications network, utilizing a communications protocol wherein the normal mode of operation is to transmit each data file as a data stream of packets separate from the data streams of other data files and to, when transmitting multiple data files simultaneously, transmit each at a bandwidth independent of end user need, and wherein said improvement comprises the steps of:

a. establishing a data stream connection between said first computer and said second computer;

b. maintaining in a open state said data stream connection;

c. transmitting via said data stream connection a series of data packets comprising information from a multiplicity of data files, wherein said data packets are sequenced in a manner such that said information from at least two of said multiplicity of data files are arranged in an interspersed manner;

d. individually specifying the amount other than a default amount of transmission bandwidth dedicated to at least one of said multiplicity of data files to be simultaneously transmitted by associating a set of transmission weights to the set of files being simultaneously transmitted;

e. transmitting said multiplicity of data files; and

,

f. individually adjusting the amount of transmission bandwidth dedicated to said at least one of said multiplicity of data files in accordance with said set of transmission weights.

170. A method as in claim 169, wherein said transmission weights are a function of the sizes of said data files.

171. A method as in claim 169, wherein said transmission weights are a function of the types of said data files.

172. A method as in claim 169, wherein said transmission weights are a function of the ‘

importance specification’

of said data files.

173. A method as in claim 169, wherein said transmission weights are a function of the measures of the probability that each data file will be requested or needed by the end user.

174. A method as in claim 173, wherein said digital communications network is the Internet and said communications protocol is HTTP and said data files are components of Worldwide Web documents.

175. The process of claim 173, used in conjunction with a Worldwide Web search engine.

176. A method as in claim 169, wherein said transmission weights are a function of ‘

priority specifications’

supplied by the end user.

177. A method as in claim 169, wherein said transmission weights are a function of ‘

priority specifications’

supplied by a client system.

178. A method as in claim 169, wherein said transmission weights are dynamically adjusted.

179. A method as in claim 169, wherein said transmission weights are dynamically adjusted in correspondence to a change in which document is being viewed by the end user of a client computer.

180. A method as in claim 169, wherein said amount of transmission bandwidth is adjusted by varying the size of packets sent for individual data files.

181. A method as in claim 169, wherein said amount of transmission bandwidth is adjusted by varying the frequency of packets sent for individual data files.

182. A method as in claim 169, wherein said digital communications network is the Internet and said communications protocol is HTTP and said data files are components of Worldwide Web documents.

183. A method for requesting the transmission of a multiplicity of data files, to be transmitted by the method of claim 169 comprising the step of:

the transmission from a client program of transmission weights associated with information requests.

184. A method as in claim 183, wherein said transmission weights are a function of the measures of the probability that each data file will be requested or needed by the end user.

185. A method as in claim 183, wherein said transmission weights are dynamically adjusted.

186. A method as in claim 183, wherein said transmission weights are dynamically adjusted in correspondence to a change in which document is being viewed by the end user of a client computer.

187. A method for data communication comprising:

a. communication between an intermediate computer and a network via a standard communications protocol; and

,

b. communication between said intermediate computer and a receiving computer via said improved method of claim 169.

188. A method as in claim 169, wherein said transmission weights are a calculated as function of the operation of an ‘

Artificial Intelligence’

algorithm.

189. The process of claim 188, used in conjunction with a Worldwide Web search engine.

190. The process of claim 169, used in conjunction with a Worldwide Web search engine.

191. The method of claim 169 embodied as an enhanced communications protocol.

192. An enhanced communications protocol standard comprising instructions to carry out the method of claim 169.

193. A computer program comprising instructions to carry out the method of claim 169.

194. A method as in claim 169, comprising in addition the improvement of:

a. organizing each of at least three data files into at least three groupings, each of said groupings comprising information at distinct progressively finer levels of detail, the levels of detail in any of said at least three data files not necessarily corresponding to the levels of detail of any other of said at least three data files, and where it is required that at least three groupings comprise information from the same file, and at least three groupings contain information from each of at least two files;

b. sequentially transmitting information for at least three levels of progressively finer detail, where each transmission comprises groupings from at least two files, and where the groupings from any one file are ordered in progressively finer levels of detail.

195. A method as in claim 169, comprising in addition the improvement of:

a. transmitting a series of data packets comprising information from a multiplicity of data files, and wherein said data packets are sequenced in a manner such that said information from at least three data files are arranged in an interleaved manner.

196. A method as in claim 169, comprising in addition the improvement of:

a. each of at least three data packets is further divided into at least three sub-packets; and

,

b. in any one of said at least three data packets, each of said sub-packets comprises a section of content from a distinct one of a multiplicity of data files, and at least three of said at least three data packets comprise content from the same data file.

197. A method as in claim 169, wherein said at least one of said multiplicity of data files in step d., is exactly one.

198. A method as in claim 169, wherein said at least one of said multiplicity of data files in step d., is at least two.

199. A method as in claim 169, wherein said at least one of said multiplicity of data files in step d., is at least four.

200. An improved method for transmitting a multiplicity of data files from a first transmitting computer to a second receiving computer, via a packet-switching digital communications network, utilizing a communications protocol employing port addresses corresponding to data streams, wherein the normal mode of operation is to transmit each data file as a data stream of packets separate from the data streams of other data files, wherein the improvement comprises a transmission, of a single data stream comprising a sequence of data packets, comprising at least the steps of:

a. establishing a data stream connection between said first computer and said second computer;

b. maintaining in a open state said data stream connection;

c. transmitting via said data stream connection a series of data packets comprising information from a multiplicity of data files; and

,

d. for at least some packet switching network packet, insinuating an additional multi-thread packet header into said packet switching packet.

201. A method as in claim 200, wherein said data packets are divided into sub-packets and said multi-thread packet header specifies an association between said data files and said sub-packets.

202. A method as in claim 201, wherein said data files comprise HTTP document elements.

203. A method as in claim 200, wherein said data packets each comprise file content data from at most one of said data files.

204. A method as in claim 203, wherein said data files comprise HTTP document elements.

205. The method of claim 200 embodied as an enhanced communications protocol.

206. An enhanced communications protocol standard comprising instructions to carry out the method of claim 200.

207. A computer program comprising instructions to carry out the method of claim 200.

208. A method as in claim 200, comprising in addition the improvement of:

a. organizing each of at least three data files into at least three groupings, each of said groupings comprising information at distinct progressively finer levels of detail, the levels of detail in any of said at least three data files not necessarily corresponding to the levels of detail of any other of said at least three data files, and where it is required that at least three groupings comprise information from the same file, and at least three groupings contain information from each of at least two files;

b. sequentially transmitting information for at least three levels of progressively finer detail, where each transmission comprises groupings from at least two files, and where the groupings from any one file are ordered in progressively finer levels of detail.

209. A method as in claim 200, comprising in addition the improvement of:

a. each of at least three data packets is further divided into at least three sub-packets; and

,

b. in any one of said at least three data packets, each of said sub-packets comprises a section of content from a distinct one of a multiplicity of data files, and at least three of said at least three data packets comprise content from the same data file.

210. A method as in claim 200, comprising in addition the improvement of:

a. individually specifying the amount other than a default amount of transmission bandwidth dedicated to at least one of a multiplicity of data files to be simultaneously transmitted by associating a set of transmission weights to the set of files being simultaneously transmitted;

b. transmitting said multiplicity of data files; and

,

c. individually adjusting the amount of transmission bandwidth dedicated to said at least one of said multiplicity of data files in accordance with said set of transmission weights.