Apparatus for and method of selectively retrieving information and enabling its subsequent display
First Claim
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1. Apparatus comprising:
- retrieval means for retrieving a first set of data from a first predetermined data source, said first set of data including a second set of data;
analyzing means for analyzing semantics, syntax, or position of said second set of data within said first set of data, said analyzing means comprising;
first identifying means for identifying a first candidate for selection as said second set of data using a first method;
second identifying means for identifying a second candidate for selection as said second set of data using a second method different from said first method;
third identifying means for identifying a third candidate for selection as said second set of data using a third method different from said second method and said first method; and
selecting means, responsive to said first, second, and third identifying means, for selecting one of said first, second, and third candidates as said second set of data; and
means for building an agent, said agent comprising instructions based on said analysis of said semantics, syntax, or position of said second set of data, wherein said instructions are to be used by said agent to subsequently retrieve a third set of data from said first predetermined data source and select a fourth set of data included in said third set of data.
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Abstract
A system for reliably retrieving information which may be in any one of several possible formats and for subsequent display of that information in any one of several possible formats. User-defined agents are used to retrieve target data based on a heuristic algorithm and to store the target data in a canonical form, ready for republication in whatever form best suits a particular application. The system is particularly well suited to obtaining information over the internet for display on a desktop system, but it is also well suited for applications having only limited display or computational capabilities.
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Citations
28 Claims
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1. Apparatus comprising:
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retrieval means for retrieving a first set of data from a first predetermined data source, said first set of data including a second set of data; analyzing means for analyzing semantics, syntax, or position of said second set of data within said first set of data, said analyzing means comprising; first identifying means for identifying a first candidate for selection as said second set of data using a first method; second identifying means for identifying a second candidate for selection as said second set of data using a second method different from said first method;
third identifying means for identifying a third candidate for selection as said second set of data using a third method different from said second method and said first method; andselecting means, responsive to said first, second, and third identifying means, for selecting one of said first, second, and third candidates as said second set of data; and means for building an agent, said agent comprising instructions based on said analysis of said semantics, syntax, or position of said second set of data, wherein said instructions are to be used by said agent to subsequently retrieve a third set of data from said first predetermined data source and select a fourth set of data included in said third set of data. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. Apparatus comprising:
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retrieval means for retrieving a first set of data from a first predetermined data source and a second set of data from a second predetermined data source, said first set of data and said second set of data each being in any one of several possible formats; analyzing means for analyzing said first set of data to select, using a first identifying strategy, a second identifying strategy, and a third identifying strategy, a first subset of data included in said first set of data based on a prior analysis of semantics, syntax, or position of said first subset of data included in a previous version of said first set of data, and for analyzing said second set of data to select, using the first identifying strategy, the second identifying strategy, and the third identifying strategy, a second subset of data included in said second set of data based on a prior analysis of semantics, syntax, or position of said second subset of data in a previous version of said second set of data; and means for displaying said first subset of data and said second subset of data on a display device, said means for displaying including means for reformatting said first subset of data and said second subset of data if necessary for display on said display device. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A method comprising the steps of:
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retrieving a first set of data from a predetermined data source, said first set of data including a second set of data; analyzing semantics, syntax, or position of said second set of data within said first set of data; building an agent, said agent comprising instructions based on said step of analyzing semantics, syntax, or position of said second set of data, wherein said instructions are to be used to subsequently retrieve a third set of data from said first predetermined data source and select a fourth set of data included in said third set of data; and assigning a first weighting factor to a first strategy for retrieving said third set of data; assigning a second weighting factor to a second strategy for retrieving said third set of data; assigning a third weighting factor to a third strategy for retrieving said third set of data; determining a first candidate for said third set of data using said first strategy, a second candidate using said second strategy, and a third candidate for said third set of data using said third strategy; and selecting one of said first, second, and third candidates as a result third set of data based on said first, second, and third weighting factors. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28)
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Specification