Hypertext browser assistant

• US 8,316,016 B1
• Filed: 09/26/2011
• Issued: 11/20/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/15/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Hoelzle, Urs, Henzinger, Monika H, Page, Lawrence E
• Primary Examiner(s): ALAM, SHAHID AL
• Application Number:
  US13/244,887
• Time in Patent Office: 421 Days
• Field of Search: 707/723, 707/749, 707/750, 715/200
• US Class Current: 707/723
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/245 Query processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24542 Plan optimisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/332 Query formulation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/954 Navigation, e.g. using categorised browsing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99932 Access augmentation or optimizing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99934 Query formulation, input preparation, or translation

Abstract

A system facilitates a search by a user. The system detects selection of one or more words in a document currently accessed by the user, generates a search query using the selected word(s), and retrieves a document based on the search query. When the document includes one or more links corresponding to a linked document, the system analyzes each of the links, prefetches the linked documents corresponding to a number of the links, and presents the document to the user. The system receives selection of one of the links and retrieves the linked document corresponding to the selected link. The system identifies one or more pieces of information in the retrieved document, determines a link to a related document for each of the identified pieces of information, and provides the determined links with the related document to the user.

Claims

1. A method performed by a client device, the method comprising:

receiving an address of a document by a browser executing on the client device;

obtaining, by the client device, the document from a server device using the address, where the document includes a plurality of links;

parsing, by the client device, the obtained document;

analyzing, by the client device, the parsed document to identify each of the plurality of links in the parsed document;

determining, by the client device, a score for each of the plurality of links; and

performing, by the client device, a domain name service (DNS) lookup for a subset of the plurality of links based on the determined scores before the plurality of links are selected by a user of the client device, where the subset of the plurality of links comprises fewer than all of the plurality of links in the parsed document.

2. The method of claim 1, where the score of at least one of the plurality of links is determined based on at least one of:

a clickthrough rate,

a measure of popularity of a document associated with the at least one of the plurality of links,

an input received before the at least one of the plurality of links is identified, or

a score of a document that links to the document associated with the at least one of the plurality of links.

3. The method of claim 1, where the DNS lookup is performed when the determined scores are above a predetermined threshold.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

prefetching, for each link in the subset of the plurality of links and based on the DNS lookup, a corresponding document.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

receiving an indication of a selection of a link of the plurality of links.

6. The method of claim 5, where the selected link corresponds to a link in the subset of the plurality of links, and where the method further comprises:

retrieving, from the client device, a prefetched document that corresponds to the selected link.

7. The method of claim 5, where the selected link corresponds to a link in the subset of the plurality of links, and where the method further comprises:

retrieving, from a device that is different than the client device, a prefetched document that corresponds to the selected link.

8. A device comprising:

a processor; and

a memory including a plurality of instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to;

receive an address of a document by a browser executing on the device;

obtain the document using the address, where the document includes a plurality of links;

parse the obtained document;

analyze the parsed document to identify each of the plurality of links in the parsed document;

determine a score for each of the plurality of links; and

perform a domain name service (DNS) lookup for a subset of the plurality of links based on the determined scores before the plurality of links are selected by a user of the client device, where the subset of the plurality of links comprises fewer than all of the plurality of links in the parsed document.

9. The device of claim 8, where the score of at least one of the plurality of links is determined based on at least one of:

a clickthrough rate,

a measure of popularity of a document associated with the at least one of the plurality of links,

an input received before the at least one of the plurality of links is identified, or

a score of a document that links to the document associated with the at least one of the plurality of links.

10. The device of claim 8, where the DNS lookup is performed when the determined scores are above a predetermined threshold.

11. The device of claim 8, where the processor is further to:

prefetch, for each link in the subset of the plurality of links and based on the DNS lookup, a corresponding document.

12. The device of claim 11, where the processor is further to:

receive an indication of a selection of a link of the plurality of links.

13. The device of claim 12, where the selected link corresponds to a link in the subset of the plurality of links, and where the processor is further to:

retrieve, from the memory, a prefetched document that corresponds to the selected link.

14. The device of claim 12, where the selected link corresponds to a link in the subset of the plurality of links, and where the processor is further to:

retrieve, from a device that is different than the device, a prefetched document that corresponds to the selected link.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, in a client device, storing computer-executable program instructions which, when executed by a processor, perform a method, the instructions comprising:

one or more instructions to receive an address of a document by a browser executing on the client device;

one or more instructions to obtain the document from a server device using the address, where the document includes a plurality of links;

one or more instructions to parse the obtained document;

one or more instructions to analyze the parsed document to identify each of the plurality of links in the parsed document;

one or more instructions to determine a score for each of the plurality of links; and

one or more instructions to perform a domain name service (DNS) lookup for a subset of the plurality of links based on the determined scores before the plurality of links are selected by a user of the client device, where the subset of the plurality of links comprises fewer than all of the plurality of links in the parsed document.

16. The medium of claim 15, where the score of at least one of the plurality of links is determined based on at least one of:

a clickthrough rate,

a measure of popularity of a document associated with the at least one of the plurality of links,

an input received before the at least one of the plurality of links is identified, or

a score of a document that links to the document associated with the at least one of the plurality of links.

17. The medium of claim 15, where the DNS lookup is performed when the determined scores are above a predetermined threshold.

18. The medium of claim 15, where the instructions further comprise:

one or more instructions to prefetch, for each link in the subset of the plurality of links and based on the DNS lookup, a corresponding document.

19. The medium of claim 18, where the instructions further comprise:

one or more instructions to receive an indication of a selection of a link of the plurality of links.

20. The medium of claim 19, where the instructions further comprise:

one or more instructions to retrieve a prefetched document that corresponds to the selected link from a memory of the client device when the selected link corresponds to a link in the subset of the plurality of links.