Method and arrangement for setting up and updating a user interface for accessing information pages in a data network

• US 7,617,215 B2
• Filed: 04/19/2004
• Issued: 11/10/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 05/08/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Unify GmbH & Co. KG (Atos SE)
• Original Assignee: Siemens AG
• Inventors: Provoost, Bart
• Primary Examiner(s): Pham, Khanh B
• Assistant Examiner(s): Wong, Joseph D
• Application Number:
  US10/530,144
• Publication Number:
  US 20060041531A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,031 Days
• Field of Search: 707/3
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/954 Navigation, e.g. using categorised browsing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/958 Organisation or management of web site content, e.g. publishing, maintaining pages or automatic linking

Abstract

The aim of the invention is to establish and update a user interface allowing a user to access data pages in a data network. Said aim is achieved by the fact that selected data pages are made accessible to the user on the user interface by means of a display element while said data pages are accessed by accessing the respective display element, contents being stored on the data pages. An allocated set of content data, in which characteristics describing the respective content that is stored on the data page are stored, is created for the data pages. In order to determine the selected data pages, a set of user data is created by means of which a searched content is described. The sets of content data are compared with the set of user data regarding the degree of correspondence, and data pages in which the degree of correspondence between the respective set of content data and the set of user data reaches and/or exceeds a predefined threshold value are displayed on the user interface by means of display elements.

Claims

1. A method for setting up and updating a portal page for an end user to access web pages in a data network via the portal page, comprising:

receiving a first request message from a computer of the end user, the request message comprising an address of a web page to be accessed by the end user;

sending a second request message to a web server in order to retrieve the requested web page;

receiving a response message from the web server,

the response message including the requested web page, the requested web page includes an address of a content data record in a non-displayable area of the web page, and

the content data record including information pertaining to the content of the retrieved web page;

accessing the content data record via the received address of the content data record in response to receiving the response message;

storing data fields of the accessed content data record;

receiving from the end user a user data record having features which describe a sought content for determining the web page;

comparing the stored data fields with the received user data record to determine a degree of match;

dynamically generating a portal page including a displayable link to the web page in response to the degree of match at least meeting a previously defined threshold; and

sending the dynamically generated portal page to the computer of the end user in order to be displayed.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the web page is checked cyclically for accessibility, and the link for the web page is excluded from the dynamically generated portal page in response to the page not being accessible.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the comparison is repeated at intervals of time, and wherein the result of the repeated comparison is used to generate the portal page.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the user data record is updated, wherein after the update the comparison is performed again, and the portal page re-generated.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the content data record and the user data record are each a structured document, wherein the web page is associated via including the address of the content data record, and wherein the content data record comprises the address the associated web page.

6. The method as claimed in claim 5, wherein the content data record and the user data record are created in XML format, and wherein the structure of the content data record and of the user data record is respectively stipulated in a description data record.

7. The method as claimed in claim 5, wherein the same respective structure is used for the content data records and for the user data record.

8. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the same respective structure is used for the content data records and for the user data record.

9. The method as claimed in claim 1, the receiving a first request message, the sending a second request message and receiving the response message are repeated for each of a plurality of web pages requested by the end user, wherein a plurality of displayable links associated with the requested web pages are displayed on the portal page.

10. The method as claimed in claim 9, wherein a most requested web page is displayed at a prioritized or prominent position on the portal page.

11. The method as claimed in claim 9, wherein the associated web page for a content data record having the best match with the user data record is displayed at a prioritized or prominent position on the portal page, wherein the web page is associated via including the address of the content data record.

12. The method as claimed in claim 9, wherein the web pages and the content data records are stored on at least one web server, and wherein the content data records are retrieved using data record addresses which are respectively associated therewith.

13. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the non-displayable area of the web page is included in a HTTP header portion of the web page.

14. A system for setting up and updating a portal for an end user to access web pages in a data network via the portal page, comprising:

a web server appliance comprising;

a web page having an address of an associated content data record, and

the associated content data record that describes a content on the respective web page;

a proxy server appliance communicatively coupled to the web server appliance and to a computer of the end user, the proxy server appliance having a storage area for storing a copy of the web page;

a portal server appliance that manages a dynamically generated portal page and communicatively coupled to the web server appliance and to the proxy server appliance, the portal server appliance comprising;

a database that stores data fields of the associated content data record,

a comparison unit that compares the data fields with a user content data record from the end user computer,

wherein the proxy server appliance receives a request for the web page by the end user computer and determines when the web page is stored in the proxy server appliance,

wherein the proxy server appliance retrieves the web page from the web server appliance and subsequently stores the web page in response to the web page not being stored,

wherein the proxy server appliance sends the address of the associated content data record to the portal server appliance in response to retrieving the web page,

wherein the portal server appliance retrieves the associated content data record from the web server appliance and stores the data fields of the retrieved record in the database,

wherein the portal server appliance receives the user data record from the end user computer and the comparison unit compares the user data record with the data fields in the database,

wherein in the portal page is dynamically generated to include a displayable link to the web page when the comparison result at least meets a previously defined minimum.

15. The system as claimed in claim 14, wherein the portal server appliance retrieves the associated content data record in response to information in the associated content record not being stored in the portal server database.

16. The system as claimed in claim 15, wherein the information is deleted in portal server database after a preset expiry time.

17. The system as claimed in claim 14, wherein the web page includes a HTTP header portion and the HTTP header portion includes the address of the associated content data record such that the address of the associated data record is not displayed.