Method, system and program for providing indexed web page contents to a search engine database

• US 6,823,341 B1
• Filed: 12/06/1999
• Issued: 11/23/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 12/06/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Dietz, Timothy Alan
• Primary Examiner(s): Rones, Charles
• Application Number:
  US09/456,076
• Time in Patent Office: 1,814 Days
• Field of Search: 707/100, 709/203, 709/229, 711/118, 382/219, 370/338
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques

Abstract

A method, system and program for providing indexed web page contents to a search engine database. In response to each user request for a web page, user access to the web page is provided from a temporary copy of the web page which is stored on a device which accesses the web page and which is accessible to the user. Indexing data is then automatically recorded at that device from the temporarily stored copy of the accessed web page, wherein the indexing data corresponds to contents of the accessed web page. The indexing data is thereafter transmitted from the device to a remote data storage device which provides a search engine database.

Claims

1. A computer program product, residing on a computer usable medium and having computer usable program means embodied therein, said computer program means comprising:

means for storing a temporary copy of a web page accessed in response to a user request for said web page;

means for automatically recording indexing data from said temporary copy of said web page, wherein said indexing data corresponds to contents of said accessed web page; and

means for transmitting said recorded indexing data to a remote data storage device.

2. The computer program product according to claim 1, further comprising:

means for enabling user access to said web page from said temporary copy of said web page.

3. The computer program product according to claim 1, further comprising:

means for compressing said recorded indexing data into a transmittable format.

4. The program according to claim 1, further comprising:

means for collecting recorded indexing data from a plurality of users at a remote data storage system in response to each user access to a web page.

5. A method for providing indexed file contents to a data storage system, said method comprising the steps of:

providing user access to a data file from a temporary copy of said data file stored on a device which accesses said data file and is accessible to said user, in response to each user request for a data file;

automatically recording indexing data at said device from said temporarily stored copy of said accessed data file, said indexing data corresponding to contents of said accessed data file; and

transmitting said indexing data from said device to a remote data storage system.

6. The method for providing indexed file contents to a data storage system according to claim 5, said method further comprising the step of collecting indexed data file contents from a plurality of users at a remote data storage system in response each user access to a data file.

7. A method for providing indexed web page contents to a search engine database, said method comprising the steps of:

providing user access to a web page from a temporary copy of said web page which is stored on a device which accesses said web page and which is accessible to said user, in response to each user request for a web page;

automatically recording indexing data at said device from said temporarily stored copy of said accessed web page, wherein said indexing data corresponds to contents of said accessed web page; and

transmitting said indexing data from said device to a remote data storage device which provides a search engine database.

8. The method for providing indexed web page contents to a search engine database according to claim 7, said method further comprising the step of incorporating said indexed data into said search engine database, such that previously unknown indexed web page contents are provided to a search engine database in response to a user access to said web page.

9. The method for providing indexed web page contents to a search engine database according to claim 7, said step of providing user access to a web page from said temporary copy of said web page further comprising the steps of:

searching a network through a server, wherein said server requests accesses to said user requested web page;

temporarily storing a copy of said user requested web page at said server, in response to receiving a copy of said web page at said server; and

providing said user access to said temporarily stored copy of said user requested web page.

10. The method for providing indexing web page contents to a search engine database according to claim 7, said step of providing user access to a web page from a temporary copy of said web page further comprising the steps of:

entering a user request for a web page to a browser, wherein said browser is an interface for a user to a network;

requesting said user requested web page from a network by said browser;

temporarily storing a copy of said user requested web page in a volatile storage accessible to said browser, in response to receiving a copy of said web page; and

providing said user access to said temporarily stored copy of said user requested web page through said browser.

11. The method for providing indexed web page contents to a search engine database according to claim 7, said step of providing user access to said web page from a temporary copy of said web page further comprising the step of:

temporarily storing a copy of a user requested web page in a volatile storage of a distributed data processing system, in response to receiving a copy of said web page due to a user request.

12. The method for providing indexed web page contents to a search engine database according to claim 7, said step of providing user access to a web page from a temporary copy of said web page further comprising the step of:

accessing said web page from a network.

13. The method for providing indexed web page contents to a search engine database according to claim 7, said step of automatically recording indexing data at said device from said temporarily stored copy of said accessed web page further comprising the steps of:

determining whether said device has high priority functions to perform;

retrieving said indexing data at said device from said temporarily stored copy of said accessed web page, in response determining that said device does not have high priority functions to perform; and

compressing said retrieved indexing data into a transmittable file format.

14. The method for providing indexed web page contents to a search engine database according to claim 7, said method further comprising the step of:

maintaining a count of a number of times that indexing data for a particular web page is provided to a search engine database.

15. A system for indexing web page contents, said system comprising:

a device that accesses a web page in response to a user request and stores a temporary copy of said accessed web page, wherein said device is accessible to a user;

a memory element within said device wherein indexing data from said temporary copy of said accessed web page is automatically acquired and stored, said indexing data corresponding to contents of said accessed web page; and

a transmitter element that transmits said indexing data from said device to a remote data storage device.

16. The system for indexing web page contents according to claim 15, said system further comprising a collection element that collects said indexing data from a plurality of users at said remote data storage device in response to each user access to a web page.

17. The system for indexing web page contents according to claim 16, said system further comprising an incorporating element that incorporates said collected indexing data into a search engine database.

18. The system for indexing web page contents according to claim 16, said system further comprising a calculation element that calculates the number of times that indexing data for a particular web page is received at said search engine database.

19. A system for providing indexed web page contents to a search engine database, said system comprising:

means for providing user access to said web page from a temporary copy of said web page which is stored on a device which accesses said web page and which is accessible to said user, in response to each user request for a web page;

means for automatically recording indexing data at said device from said temporarily stored copy of said accessed web page, said indexing data corresponding to contents of said accessed web page; and

means for transmitting said indexing data from said device to a remote data storage device which provides a search engine database, wherein said indexed data is incorporated into said search engine database.

20. The system for providing indexed web page contents to a search engine database according to claim 19, further comprising means for incorporating indexed web page contents into said search engine database, such that indexed web page contents are provided to a search engine database in response to a user access to said web page.

21. The system for providing indexed web page contents to a search engine database according to claim 19, said means for providing user access to a web page from a temporary copy of said web page further comprising:

means for searching a network through a server, wherein said server requests accesses to said user requested web page;

means for temporarily storing a copy of said user requested web page at said server, in response to receiving a copy of said web page at said server; and

means for providing said user access to said temporarily stored copy of said user requested web page.

22. The system for providing indexing web page contents to a search engine database according to claim 19, said means for providing user access to a web page from a temporary copy of said web page, further comprising:

means for entering a user request for a web page to a browser, wherein said browser is an interface for a user to a network;

means for requesting said user requested web page from a network by said browser;

means for temporarily storing a copy of said user requested web page in a volatile storage accessible to said browser, in response to receiving a copy of said web page; and

means for providing said user access to said temporarily stored copy of said user requested web page through said browser.

23. The system for providing indexed web page contents to a search engine database according to claim 19, said means for providing user access to a web page from a temporary copy of said web page, further comprising:

means for temporarily storing a copy of a user requested web page in a volatile storage of a distributed data processing system, in response to receiving a copy of said web page due to a user request.

24. The system for providing indexed web page contents to a search engine database according to claim 19, said means for providing user access to said web page from a temporary copy of said web page, further comprising:

means for accessing said web page from a network.

25. The system for providing indexed web page contents to a search engine database according to claim 19, said means for automatically recording indexing data at said device from said temporarily stored copy of said accessed web page, further comprising:

means for determining whether said device has high priority functions to perform; and

means for retrieving said indexing data at said device from said temporarily stored copy of said accessed web page, in response determining that said device does not have high priority functions to perform.

26. A system for providing indexed file contents to a data storage system, said system comprising:

means for providing user access to said data file from a temporary copy of said data file stored on a device which accesses said data file and is accessible to said user, in response to each user request for a data file;

means for automatically recording indexing data at said device from said temporarily stored copy of said accessed data file, said indexing data corresponding to contents of said accessed data file; and

means for transmitting said indexing data from said device to a remote data storage system.

27. The system for providing indexed file contents to a data storage system according to claim 26, said system further comprising means for collecting indexed data file contents from a plurality of users at a remote data storage system in response to each user access to a data file.

28. The system for providing indexed file contents according to claim 26, wherein said remote data storage system comprises a search engine database system.

29. The system for indexing web page contents according to claim 28, said system further comprising a web browser for providing user access to said temporary copy of said accessed web page.