Sending to a central indexing site meta data or signatures from objects on a computer network
First Claim
1. A method of constructing a catalog of object references from objects stored within a network, the network including a plurality of interconnected computers with one computer storing the catalog and being designated a cataloging site and each of the other computers storing a plurality of objects and being designated a source site, the method comprising:
- running on each source site a program which assembles meta data about objects stored on the source site;
transmitting the assembled meta data from each source site to the cataloging site, the assembled meta data being transmitted at a scheduled time that is a function of resource availability on at least one of the source site and the cataloging site; and
processing the transmitted data at the cataloging site to generate a catalog of object references.
18 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A search engine utilizes a bottom-up approach to index the content of a network instead of relying on atop-down approach as used by conventional search engines. The network being indexed may be any network, including the global computer network, Internet, and the world wide web. Instead of using a central site including spidering software to recursively search all linked web pages and generate a search index of the Internet, independent distributed components or agents are located at each web site and report meta data about objects at the web site to the central server. A central catalog of object references is compiled on the central site from the meta data reported from each web site. One or more brochures file may also be created and stored on each web site to provide conceptual or non-keyword data about the site, such as demographics and categorization information. This conceptual information is then utilized in constructing the central catalog so that more accurate search results may be generated for search queries applied to the catalog.
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Citations
26 Claims
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1. A method of constructing a catalog of object references from objects stored within a network, the network including a plurality of interconnected computers with one computer storing the catalog and being designated a cataloging site and each of the other computers storing a plurality of objects and being designated a source site, the method comprising:
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running on each source site a program which assembles meta data about objects stored on the source site;
transmitting the assembled meta data from each source site to the cataloging site, the assembled meta data being transmitted at a scheduled time that is a function of resource availability on at least one of the source site and the cataloging site; and
processing the transmitted data at the cataloging site to generate a catalog of object references. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A method for monitoring objects stored within a network to detect changes in one or more of the objects, the network including a plurality of interconnected computers with one computer assembling the results of monitoring and being designated a central site and each of the other computers storing a plurality of objects and being designated a source site, the method comprising:
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running on each source site a program which processes objects stored on the source site, thereby generating for each processed object a digital signature which reflects data of the object which data consists of contents or meta data;
transmitting the generated signatures from each source site to the central site; and
comparing each transmitted signature at the central site to a previously generated signature for the object from which the signature was derived to determine whether the data of the object has changed. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A computer-readable medium containing a program for generating meta data for objects stored on a source site on a computer network, the network including a plurality of computers being designated respectively as source sites and a computer designated as a cataloging site that stores a catalog of object references to objects stored on the source sites, the program generating the object references by performing:
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assembling meta data about objects stored on the source site; and
transmitting the assembled meta data from the source site to the cataloging site for processing at the cataloging site to generate the catalog of object references, the assembled meta data being transmitted at a scheduled time that is a function of resource availability on at least one of the source site and the cataloging site. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18)
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19. A computer-readable medium containing a program for monitoring objects stored within a network to detect changes in one or more of the objects, the network including a plurality of interconnected computers with one computer assembling the results of monitoring and being designated a central site and each of the other computers storing a plurality of objects and being designated a source site, the program monitoring the objects by performing:
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processing objects stored on the source site, thereby generating for each processed object a digital signature which reflects data of the object which data consists of contents or meta data; and
transmitting the generated signatures from each source site to the central site for comparison of each signature at the central site to a previously generated signature for the object from which the signature was derived to determine whether the data of the object has changed. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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Specification