Data processing: database and file management or data structures – Database design – Data structure types
Utility Patent
1998-04-29
2001-01-02
Feild, Joseph H. (Department: 2776)
Data processing: database and file management or data structures
Database design
Data structure types
Utility Patent
active
06169997
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to a method and apparatus for presenting Internet data in a format meaningful to management and business operation.
With the development in information technology and networking infrastructure, more and more business transactions are being conducted electronically over the Internet. Using the Internet to conduct business transactions are now getting so popular that it is currently well know as electronic commerce (or Internet commerce) by the industries and public. It is fair to predict that electronic commerce is having an enormous impact on the way businesses will be conducted and managed in the future. Thus, there is a great interest in studying and understanding consumers' behavior and decision process in electronic commerce environment.
Traditionally, business transactions have been conducted at business premises, and there exist methods and techniques to study consumers behavior and decision process for traditional business environment. For example, a retailer can display its goods in store shelves arranged in accordance with the changes of the four seasons. By observing consumers' reactions to the arrangement, the retailer can adjust the layout of the shelves to facilitate sales of its goods.
In electronic commerce environment, a retailer or service provider typically displays information about its goods or services in a web site (which includes at least one server) via the Internet. Specifically, the server for the web site stores the information in a set of web page files, such as HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) files. In addition to containing text content, an HTML file may also contain links to other type files, such as graphic or audio files, for displaying pictures and icons and playing audio message. An HTML file may further contain links to other web page files. The other type files can be also stored on the server. By using a web browser, a customer (or a potential customer) can remotely navigate through the web site, gaining the information about the goods and services, or ordering selected goods or services. Unfortunately, unlike in traditional business environment, there is no reliable method in electronic commerce environment at the present time to measure the effectiveness of the layout of a web site. This is due to the difficulties in observing consumers' behavior and analyzing consumers' decision process over the Internet.
Historically, the Internet was designed as an open structure in which the main purpose is to exchange information freely without restriction. To obtain a web page file (such as an HTML file) from a web site, a web browser first sends a request to the server for that web site. Upon receiving the request, the server retrieves the HTML file requested and send it to the web browser. Upon receiving the HTML file, the web browser displays the HTML file as a web page. If the HTML file also contains links to other type files (such as graphic or audio files), the browser subsequently sends requests to the server for these files. Upon receiving the requests, the server retrievers these files and send them to the web browser. Upon receiving theses files, the browser displays pictures and icons on the web page, or executes an application to play audio files embedded in the web page. If the HTML file further contains a link to another HTML file, upon clicking (or activating) the link, the browser sends a further request to the server for the HTML file. Upon receiving the further request, the server retrievers the HTML files and sends it to the web browser. It should be noticed that browsers interact with web sites in a stateless fashion. On the Internet, a particular web site can be accessed by thousands of browsers in a random fashion. While a browser is sending a sequence of requests to a web site, it does not maintain a constant connection to that web site between any two consecutive requests. To a server, it has no control over the sequences of requests; a subsequent request may not have any logical relationship with the previous one; a sequence of requests may come from different web browsers; a request may be generated from a link embedded in an HTML file. Consequently, it is difficult to consecutively observe customers' activities and behavior in electronic commerce environment over the Internet.
Current technology provides mechanisms to record access status data (or Internet data) for web page and other type files while a sequence of requests are being received and processed by a server. However, the current technology does not provide mechanisms to organize and present Internet data in accordance with subject areas (such as business, education, news, . . . ), because Internet data are kept as a set of separate and non-correlated data records that are chronologically arranged according to the times at which the requests were received and processed.
Therefore, there is a need for a method and apparatus to present Internet data in a format meaningful to management and business operation.
There is another need for a method and apparatus to define rules to map web page files to subject areas that are meaningful to management and business operation.
There is yet another need for a method and apparatus to present Internet data in accordance with the subject areas.
The present invention meets these needs.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a novel method and associated apparatus for processing Internet data.
Currently, a web site is able to store Internet data indicating file access status for the files that have been accessed in response to requests from web browsers. Unfortunately, the Internet data are kept as a set of separate and non-correlated data records that are chronologically arranged according to the times at which the requests have been received and processed. Typically, a web page is associated with a web page file, which can further embed other type files. However, the data records indicating access status for a web page file and other type files embedded in the web page file can be scattered among multiple data records. Consequently, the Internet data are not arranged meaningful to management and business operation.
The present invention presents the Internet data into a format meaningful to management and business operation. More specifically, the present invention can correlate the data records for web page files with subject areas, such as business, education, news, health, computing, travel, weather, entertainment, hobbies, and sports, in accordance with a set of mapping rules. The mapping rules can be defined or modified by users via a user interface.
In a broad aspect, the invention provides a method used with a set of logs containing data records indicating access status for a plurality of web page files. The method comprises the steps of:
(a) storing a plurality of subject areas for classifying the web page files;
(b) storing a plurality of mapping rules to map the data records into the subject areas;
(c) collecting data records from the logs; and
(d) correlating the data records with the subject areas based on the mapping rules.
These and other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description and accompanying drawings.
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Chiang Luo-Jen
Papierniak Karen A.
Shah Paresh B.
Thaisz James E.
Bourque Robert D
Feild Joseph H.
NCR Corporation
Tuo Ying
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