Data processing: database and file management or data structures – Database design – Data structure types
Reexamination Certificate
1999-02-25
2004-12-21
Wassum, Luke S (Department: 2177)
Data processing: database and file management or data structures
Database design
Data structure types
C707S793000, C707S793000, C707S793000, C715S252000, C715S252000, C709S217000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06834276
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to a data acquisition and perusal system and method for locating, indexing, and accessing information, and more particularly to a data acquisition and perusal system and method for acquiring, creating, manipulating, indexing, and perusing data, and to a method and system for locating and retrieving known or unknown data for the same purposes.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Computers were intended to provide an effective and efficient way for humans to manage, locate, peruse and manipulate data or objects. For example, a first, basic system and method is that demonstrated by modern word processor applications which have some search and text access capabilities; however, as far as is known, they are limited to the current file that is open. Employing this method, the user can request the location of a word in the text. Within an individual file, the computer will then take the user sequentially to each location of that text. Only string searches are allowed. By repeatedly running the search, the user can sequentially move from result to result. While it might be possible to open, many files simultaneously, the available resources and memory make this impractical.
A second, improved system and method enabled by some computer operating systems include applications that allow users to search all available files, accessible by certain software applications, for words or simple phrases. They still require the user to open each of the files of interest in a word processor, viewer or other application referred to in the first system and method to access the data. The search time required is relatively great because the data available has to be sequentially read and compared with the query.
A third system and method used by software applications provides improved search capabilities and is commonly known as a “search/retrieval engine”. Among other things, search/retrieval engines can essentially search and access many thousands of files simultaneously and very quickly by using pre-generated indexes of the data. For example, a user can query an encyclopedia converted to an indexed database, and by the use of highlighted text, quickly determine every place a word or phrase occurs in the text, and have the ability to instantly view those occurrences as desired. These products even take the user sequentially to each incident of highlighted text or “hit.” The computer can then take the user from hit to hit.
Converting a database like an encyclopedia into a format useable by a search/retrieval engine is not simply a matter of converting its volumes into electronic files accessible by the user's computer. For efficient search performance, the contents of the files are logically indexed as to location, frequency, etc. The search functions of the engine actually search the index to determine if the query criteria are met, and then the locations of valid results are passed to the retrieval functions to display them. Without a well-designed index, a computer could take a long time to perform a search for a simple phrase that can otherwise be performed in a fraction of a second. Some search/retrieval engine application vendors allow users to generate indexes for their own files through an indexing utility, and others intend for indexing to be done only by electronic database publishers by use of a separate application designed for that purpose.
Currently, a user desiring to employ the speed of a computer to search for and retrieve data from multiple disparate source files generally has three choices: (1) use the basic first system and method above to open each file in a word processor application and search them individually; (2) use the second system and method above, search each file using an operating system application, and then open each file in the list of results in a word processor application; and (3) obtain an indexed database of the sources along with a search/retrieval engine from an electronic publisher, or create a database usable by a search/retrieval engine.
As far as is known, no application has been devised, however, to adequately deal with the internet and yield the results described in the third system and method above. The internet is a vast and burgeoning source of information concerning nearly every subject. But the internet is comprised of files available in SGML and its derivatives including HTML and XML and other hypertext type formats. A hypertext markup language such as HTML is a structured, yet ambiguous language. In this application, reference is generally made to HTML files and documents, which is the most common format. However, it is understood that this includes the SGML format and its other derivatives, including XML and future modifications, implementations, and standards for use in data files, databases and the internet. As far as is known, having a computer automatically and accurately determine the exact location of text within an HTML type formatted document, object, or file is not accomplished in the prior art. Consequently, there is no known practical method or system whereby a user can efficiently and effectively use a computer's speed to search for and retrieve data from a set of files accessible by the computer and get pinpoint, highlighted display of the designated text. It should be noted that the information desired may be in files, objects, or files that are unknown, and available to the user. In addition to the internet, many enterprises have extensive repositories of information stored in electronic form that may contain information an authorized user may desire and want to locate and access. Even at the lowest level, an individual computer generally contains unknown or forgotten data that the user would find valuable. All of these repositories of information cannot be as efficiently accessed by the current art as is desired.
Using the current art in the third system and method above, users can add electronic bookmarks to enable them to quickly return to any part of any volume of an encyclopedia, referred to in the example above, and they can copy portions for insertion into other documents of their own creation. By use of hypertext links appearing within the database, a user is able to instantly view related data for which he had not searched. The links are generated according to a rationale applied when the database index was prepared. Adding hypertext links usable within a database is generally a more complex process. The links are intended to appear to the user in a color or format distinguishable from other data, and when activated, the computer is directed to display another highlighted portion of the database. By naming the instructions to the computer within links as “pointers” and what they link to as “targets”, the process will be facilitated. A database can theoretically have an unlimited number of identical pointers (even though what the user sees can be different for some or all of them), but any pointer can generally only have one target (a specific area of the database to display), and targets are invisible to the user. Links must be sensitive to the context of the document and context sensitivity requires intelligence. Thus, adding links to a database requires human intervention because current computers inherently lack any intelligence. Although simple linking based upon discernible patterns within text and targeted toward files matching those patterns can easily be done programmatically, human intervention is still required to design and initiate the process. Further, such favorable linking circumstances rarely exist within typical, disparate data and even greater human intervention is required. Consequently, search/retrieval engine vendors essentially leave linking up to the creator of the search engine software or electronic publisher to do manually, and the links are generally not customizable by the user. Thus, the vendors commonly provide technical specifications on how to craft pointer and target codes for the software and how to write programs to link th
Jensen Robert Leland
Smith Daniel Victor
Hanor, P.C. Charles W.
Integrated Data Control, Inc.
Wassum Luke S
LandOfFree
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