Subclass 3	Subclass 4	Subclass 5
Query formulation, input preparation, or translation

System, method and article of manufacture for a user programmable diary interface link

6892196

Abstract

A system, method and article of manufacture are provided for integrating a personalizable diary with an information page having a link to the diary. The information page is first displayed. Upon selection of the link to the diary by a user, the diary is displayed. User input for adding entries in the diary is received and selection of the entries for display on the information page is also allowed.

Claims

1. A method for allowing user selection of search filtering criteria prior to an initial search on a network, which comprises:

(a) displaying a query field for entering a search query;

(b) receiving the search query entered in the query field;

(c) presenting a plurality of selection criteria applicable during a search on the network, wherein the plurality of selection criteria comprise at least one of a type of network, a network location, an information source, a user profile, and a time range;

(d) allowing selection of at least one of the plurality of selection criteria

(e) searching for information on the network relating to the search query;

(f) generating a filtered result by excluding portions of the information based on the selected criteria;

(g) outputting the filtered result of the searching; and

(h) repeating the search of the search query at periodic intervals and comparing the filtered results of repeated searches to determine whether new information is available.

2. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the plurality of selection criteria are pre-selected by the user and presented as default criteria for subsequent searches.

3. A method as recited in claim 1, further comprising outputting the filtered result of the search after each interval.

4. A method as recited in claim 3, further comprising:

notifying a user that new information is available based on the comparison.

5. A method as recited in claim 4, further comprising allowing the user to delete portions of the filtered results.

6. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the filtered result is output on a personalized information page on the network.

7. A method as recited in claim 6, wherein repeating the search at periodic intervals uses said plurality of selection criteria.

8. A method as recited in claim 7, further comprising:

notifying a user when said new information is available based on the comparison.

9. A method as recited in claim 8, further comprising: allowing the user to delete portions of the filtered results.

10. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein said plurality of selection criteria includes a time range, and said filtered result consists of information having an age within the selected time range.

11. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein said information source includes a company, a publication, a newsgroup, a database, e-mail correspondence, and a user specified URL.

12. A method as recited in claim 11, wherein said information source is further limited by geographic location.

13. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein said type of network includes a local area network, an intranet, and the World Wide Web/Internet.

14. A computer program embodied on a computer readable medium for allowing user selection of search filtering criteria prior to an initial search on a network, which comprises:

(a) code for displaying a query field for entering a search query;

(b) code for receiving the search query entered in the query field;

(c) code for presenting a plurality of selection criteria applicable during a search on the network, wherein the plurality of selection criteria comprise at least one of a type of network, a network location, an information source, a user profile, and a time range;

(d) code for allowing selection of at least one of the plurality of selection criteria;

(e) code for searching for information on the network relating to the search query;

(f) code for generating a filtered result by excluding portions of the information based on the selected criteria;

(g) code for outputting the filtered result of the searching; and

(h) code for repeating the search of the search query at periodic intervals and comparing the filtered results of repeated searches to determine whether new information is available.

15. A computer program embodied on a computer readable medium as recited in claim 14, wherein the plurality of selection criteria are pre-selected by the user and presented as default criteria for subsequent searches.

16. A computer program embodied on a computer readable medium as recited in claim 14, further comprising code for outputting the filtered result of the search after each interval.

17. A computer program embodied on a computer readable medium as recited in claim 16, further comprising:

code for notifying a user that new information is available based on the comparison.

18. A computer program embodied on a computer readable medium as recited in claim 17, further comprising code for allowing the user to delete portions of the filtered results.

19. A computer program embodied on a computer readable medium as recited in claim 14, wherein the filtered result is output on a personalized information page on the network.

20. A computer program embodied on a computer readable medium as recited in claim 19, wherein the code for repeating the search at periodic intervals uses said plurality of selection criteria.

21. A computer program embodied on a computer readable medium as recited in claim 20, further comprising:

code for notifying a user when said new information is available based on the comparison.

22. A computer program embodied on a computer readable medium as recited in claim 21, further comprising: code for allowing the user to delete portions of the filtered results.

23. A computer program embodied on a computer readable medium as recited in claim 14, wherein said plurality of selection criteria includes a time range, and said filtered result consists of information having an age within the selected time range.

24. A computer program embodied on a computer readable medium as recited in claim 14, wherein said information source includes a company, a publication, a newsgroup, a database, e-mail correspondence, and a user specified URL.

25. A computer program embodied on a computer readable medium as recited in claim 24, wherein said information source is further limited by geographic location.

26. A computer program embodied on a computer readable medium as recited in claim 14, wherein said type of network includes a local area network, an intranet, and the World Wide Web/Internet.

27. A system embodied on a computer readable medium for allowing user selection of search filtering criteria prior to an initial search on a network, which comprises:

(a) logic that displays a query field for entering a search query;

(b) logic that receives the search query entered in the query field;

(c) logic that presents a plurality of selection criteria applicable during a search on the network, wherein the plurality of selection criteria comprise at least one of a type of network, a network location, an information source, a user profile, and a time range;

(d) logic that allows selection of at least one of the plurality of selection criteria;

(e) logic that searches for information on the network relating to the search query;

(f) logic that generates a filtered result by excluding portions of the information based on the selected criteria;

(g) logic that outputs the filtered result of the searching; and

(h) logic that repeats the search of the search query at periodic intervals and compares the filtered results of repeated searches to determine whether new information is available.

28. A system as recited in claim 27, wherein the plurality of selection criteria are pre-selected by the user and presented as default criteria for subsequent searches.

29. A system as recited in claim 27, further comprising logic that outputs the filtered result of the search after each interval.

30. A system as recited in claim 29, further comprising:

logic that notifies a user that new information is available based on the comparison.

31. A system as recited in claim 30, further comprising logic that allows the user to delete portions of the filtered results.

32. A system as recited in claim 27, wherein the filtered result is output on a personalized information page on the network.

33. A system as recited in claim 32, wherein the logic that repeats the search at periodic intervals uses said plurality of selection criteria.

34. A system as recited in claim 33, further comprising:

logic that notifies a user when said new information is available based on the comparison.

35. A system as recited in claim 34, further comprising: logic that allows the user to delete portions of the filtered results.

36. A system as recited in claim 27, wherein said plurality of selection criteria includes a time range, and said filtered result consists of information having an age within the selected time range.

37. A system as recited in claim 27, wherein said information source includes a company, a publication, a newsgroup, a database, e-mail correspondence, and a user specified URL.

38. A system as recited in claim 37, wherein said information source is further limited by geographic location.

39. A system as recited in claim 27, wherein said type of network includes a local area network, an intranet, and the World Wide Web/Internet.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to agent based systems and more particularly to a system that integrates a personalizable diary with an information page having a link to the diary.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Agent based technology has become increasingly important for use with applications designed to interact with a user for performing various computer based tasks in foreground and background modes. Agent software comprises computer programs that are set on behalf of users to perform routine, tedious and time-consuming tasks. To be useful to an individual user, an agent must be personalized to the individual user's goals, habits and preferences. Thus, there exists a substantial requirement for the agent to efficiently and effectively acquire user-specific knowledge from the user and utilize it to perform tasks on behalf of the user.

The concept of agency, or the user of agents, is well established. An agent is a person authorized by another person, typically referred to as a principal, to act on behalf of the principal. In this manner the principal empowers the agent to perform any of the tasks that the principal is unwilling or unable to perform. For example, an insurance agent may handle all of the insurance requirements for a principal, or a talent agent may act on behalf of a performer to arrange concert dates.

With the advent of the computer, a new domain for employing agents has arrived. Significant advances in the realm of expert systems enable computer programs to act on behalf of computer users to perform routine, tedious and other time-consuming tasks. These computer programs are referred to as "software agents."

Moreover, there has been a recent proliferation of computer and communication networks. These networks permit a user to access vast amounts of information and services without, essentially, any geographical boundaries. Thus, a software agent has a rich environment to perform a large number of tasks on behalf of a user. For example, it is now possible for an agent to make an airline reservation, purchase the ticket, and have the ticket delivered directly to a user. Similarly, an agent could scan the Internet and obtain information ranging from the latest sports or news to a particular graduate thesis in applied physics. Current solutions fail to apply agent technology to existing calendar technology to provide targeted acquisition of background information for a user's upcoming events.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A system, method and article of manufacture are provided for integrating a personalizable diary with an information page having a link to the diary. The information page is first displayed. Upon selection of the link to the diary by a user, the diary is displayed. User input for adding entries in the diary is received and selection of the entries for display on the information page is also allowed.

In one aspect of the present invention, the entries in the diary may include one or more of an appointment, a work schedule, a reminder, and a personal note. In another aspect of the present invention, the information displayed on the information page may be selected based on a schedule of the user. Additionally, the schedule of the user may be determined based on the entries in the diary.

In an embodiment of the present invention, representations of the selected entries may be shown on the information page. Each of the representations of the selected entries shown on the information page is linked to the associated entry in the diary. In a further embodiment of the present invention, a user may be allowed to authorize external sources to add entries to the diary.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will be better understood when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of one possible hardware implementation by which the present invention may be carried out;

FIG. 2 shows a flowchart for a process for reducing an amount of unnecessary information presented to a user in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 illustrates a frame displaying a customizable information page in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates a Knowledge Map (Theory of Business) in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary word processor document that is displayed upon selection of an item entitled "Competitor Data" which displays a document source type icon in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 illustrates an intranet source report in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention that is displayed upon selection of an item entitled "Re-formulated diesel and alternative fuels" which displays a intranet source type icon;

FIG. 7 illustrates an Internet source report in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention that is displayed upon selection of an item entitled "Mercedes-Benz Electric Car" which displays an Internet/WWW source type icon;

FIG. 8 shows a flowchart for a process for integrating a personalizable diary with an information page having a link to the diary in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 illustrates an illustrative email frame that is displayed upon selection of an email link displayed in the Urgent email category in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention

FIG. 10 shows a flowchart for a process for presenting search results in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 shows a flowchart for a process for removing irrelevant information from a search result in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12 shows a flowchart for a process for expiring a page on a network in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 13 illustrates a frame displaying an illustrative basic topic subscription page in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 14 illustrates an illustrative frame displaying an advanced subscription page in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 15 shows a flowchart of a process for allowing selection of filtering criteria during a search utilizing a network in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 16 shows a flowchart for a process for limiting sources in which a search is conducted utilizing a network in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 17 shows a flowchart for a process for performing periodic searching based on selected parameters and further limited by filters in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 18 illustrates a frame displaying an illustrative advanced search page in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary system architecture in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 20 is a flowchart of the system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 21 is a flowchart of a parsing unit of the system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 22 is a flowchart for pattern matching in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 23 is a flowchart for a search unit in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 24 is a flowchart for overall system processing in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 25 is a flowchart of topic processing in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 26 is a flowchart of meeting record processing in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 27 is a block diagram of process flow of a pocket bargain finder in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 28 is a block diagram depicting the logic associated with creating a customized content web page in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 29 is flowchart depicting the logic associated with creating a customized content web page in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 30 is a flowchart depicting the detailed logic associated with retrieving user-centric content in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 31 is a data model of a user profile in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 32 is a persona data model in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 33 is an intention data model in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 34 is a flowchart of the processing for generating an agent's current statistics in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 35 is a flowchart of the logic that determines the personalized product rating for a user in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 36 is a flowchart of the logic for accessing the centrally stored profile in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 37 is a flowchart of the interaction logic between a user and the integrator for a particular supplier in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 38 is a flowchart of the agent processing for generating a verbal summary in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 39 illustrates a display login in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 40 illustrates a managing daily logistics display in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 41 illustrates a user main display in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 42 illustrates an agent interaction display in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 43 is a block diagram of an active knowledge management system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 44 is a block diagram of a back end server in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 45 is a block diagram of a magic wall in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention includes the following aspects:

Private Web Page: Presentation on a personalised web page of the user's "big picture", prioritised "pushed" information (email, news, and schedule).
Profile-Driven Filtering: Information filtered based on user's profile of interests. Users personalise by subscribing to specific topics and can provide their own filtering parameters for each topic. Topics humanly defined based on user community critical "knowledge map".
Awareness Filtering and Prioritization: Timely delivery of pertinent information performed by awareness software agents watching the user's schedule.
Contextual Awareness: Support for limited contextual understanding of the user community to facilitate interpretation of diaries, email, etc. For example, software agents can interpret acronyms and informal names.
Content agents deliver Community Tuned High Quality Content: Targeted topics to the business priorities of the pilot community. One or two fundamental sources of topic streams may be chosen out of the following: Internet, Intranet, and operational systems. A further source of topics may be user's email.
Time saving Through "Push", Flexibility through "Pull": "pushes" relevant information to users where possible to save time but also let users "pull" information by providing general search capabilities on all topics. This feature may rest on the existence of a search engine for INTRANET or the outside topic stream.
Users can "Save": A simple means (such as copy and paste via browser) for users to save useful items on their PC

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of one possible hardware implementation by which the present invention may be carried out. As shown, the present invention may be practiced in the context of a personal computer such as an IBM compatible personal computer, Apple Macintosh computer or UNIX based workstation.

A representative hardware environment is depicted in FIG. 1, which illustrates a typical hardware configuration of a workstation in accordance with one embodiment having a central processing unit 110, such as a microprocessor, and a number of other units interconnected via a system bus 112. The workstation shown in FIG. 1 includes a Random Access Memory (RAM) 114, Read Only Memory (ROM) 116, an I/O adapter 118 for connecting peripheral devices such as disk storage units 120 to the bus 112, a user interface adapter 122 for connecting a keyboard 124, a mouse 126, a speaker 128, a microphone 132 and/or other user interface devices such as a touch screen (not shown) to the bus 112, communication adapter 134 for connecting the workstation to a communication network 135 (e.g., a data processing network) and a display adapter 136 for connecting the bus 112 to a display device 138.

The workstation typically has resident thereon an operating system such as the Microsoft Windows NT or Windows/95 Operating System (OS), the IBM OS/2 operating system, the MAC OS, or UNIX operating system. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention may also be implemented on other platforms and operating systems.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention is written using JAVA, C, and the C++ language and utilizes object oriented programming methodology. Object oriented programming (OOP) has become increasingly used to develop complex applications. As OOP moves toward the mainstream of software design and development, various software solutions require adaptation to make use of the benefits of OOP.

OOP is a process of developing computer software using objects, including the steps of analyzing the problem, designing the system, and constructing the program. An object is a software package that contains both data and a collection of related structures and procedures. Since it contains both data and a collection of structures and procedures, it can be visualized as a self-sufficient component that does not require other additional structures, procedures or data to perform its specific task. OOP, therefore, views a computer program as a collection of largely autonomous components, called objects, each of which is responsible for a specific task. This concept of packaging data, structures, and procedures together in one component or module is called encapsulation.

In general, OOP components are reusable software modules which present an interface that conforms to an object model and which are accessed at run-time through a component integration architecture. A component integration architecture is a set of architecture mechanisms which allow software modules in different process spaces to utilize each others capabilities or functions. This is generally done by assuming a common component object model on which to build the architecture. It is worthwhile to differentiate between an object and a class of objects at this point. An object is a single instance of the class of objects, which is often just called a class. A class of objects can be viewed as a blueprint, from which many objects can be formed.

OOP allows the programmer to create an object that is a part of another object. For example, the object representing a piston engine is said to have a composition-relationship with the object representing a piston. In reality, a piston engine comprises a piston, valves and many other components; the fact that a piston is an element of a piston engine can be logically and semantically represented in OOP by two objects.

OOP also allows creation of an object that "depends from" another object. If there are two objects, one representing a piston engine and the other representing a piston engine wherein the piston is made of ceramic, then the relationship between the two objects is not that of composition. A ceramic piston engine does not make up a piston engine. Rather it is merely one kind of piston engine that has one more limitation than the piston engine; its piston is made of ceramic. In this case, the object representing the ceramic piston engine is called a derived object, and it inherits all of the aspects of the object representing the piston engine and adds further limitation or detail to it. The object representing the ceramic piston engine "depends from" the object representing the piston engine. The relationship between these objects is called inheritance.

When the object or class representing the ceramic piston engine inherits all of the aspects of the objects representing the piston engine, it inherits the thermal characteristics of a standard piston defined in the piston engine class. However, the ceramic piston engine object overrides these ceramic specific thermal characteristics, which are typically different from those associated with a metal piston. It skips over the original and uses new functions related to ceramic pistons. Different kinds of piston engines have different characteristics, but may have the same underlying functions associated with it (e.g., how many pistons in the engine, ignition sequences, lubrication, etc.). To access each of these functions in any piston engine object, a programmer would call the same functions with the same names, but each type of piston engine may have different/overriding implementations of functions behind the same name. This ability to hide different implementations of a function behind the same name is called polymorphism and it greatly simplifies communication among objects.

With the concepts of composition-relationship, encapsulation, inheritance and polymorphism, an object can represent just about anything in the real world. In fact, our logical perception of the reality is the only limit on determining the kinds of things that can become objects in object-oriented software. Some typical categories are as follows:

Objects can represent physical objects, such as automobiles in a traffic-flow simulation, electrical components in a circuit-design program, countries in an economics model, or aircraft in an air-traffic-control system.
Objects can represent elements of the computer-user environment such as windows, menus or graphics objects.
An object can represent an inventory, such as a personnel file or a table of the latitudes and longitudes of cities.
An object can represent user-defined data types such as time, angles, and complex numbers, or points on the plane.

With this enormous capability of an object to represent just about any logically separable matters, OOP allows the software developer to design and implement a computer program that is a model of some aspects of reality, whether that reality is a physical entity, a process, a system, or a composition of matter. Since the object can represent anything, the software developer can create an object which can be used as a component in a larger software project in the future.

If 90% of a new OOP software program consists of proven, existing components made from preexisting reusable objects, then only the remaining 10% of the new software project has to be written and tested from scratch. Since 90% already came from an inventory of extensively tested reusable objects, the potential domain from which an error could originate is 10% of the program. As a result, OOP enables software developers to build objects out of other, previously built objects.

This process closely resembles complex machinery being built out of assemblies and sub-assemblies. OOP technology, therefore, makes software engineering more like hardware engineering in that software is built from existing components, which are available to the developer as objects. All this adds up to an improved quality of the software as well as an increased speed of its development.

Programming languages are beginning to fully support the OOP principles, such as encapsulation, inheritance, polymorphism, and composition-relationship. With the advent of the C++ language, many commercial software developers have embraced OOP. C++ is an OOP language that offers a fast, machine-executable code. Furthermore, C++ is suitable for both commercial-application and systems-programming projects. For now, C++ appears to be the most popular choice among many OOP programmers, but there is a host of other OOP languages, such as Smalltalk, Common Lisp Object System (CLOS), and Eiffel. Additionally, OOP capabilities are being added to more traditional popular computer programming languages such as Pascal.

The benefits of object classes can be summarized, as follows:

Objects and their corresponding classes break down complex programming problems into many smaller, simpler problems.
Encapsulation enforces data abstraction through the organization of data into small, independent objects that can communicate with each other. Encapsulation protects the data in an object from accidental damage, but allows other objects to interact with that data by calling the object's member functions and structures.
Subclassing and inheritance make it possible to extend and modify objects through deriving new kinds of objects from the standard classes available in the system. Thus, new capabilities are created without having to start from scratch.
Polymorphism and multiple inheritance make it possible for different programmers to mix and match characteristics of many different classes and create specialized objects that can still work with related objects in predictable ways.
Class hierarchies and containment hierarchies provide a flexible mechanism for modeling real-world objects and the relationships among them.
Libraries of reusable classes are useful in many situations, but they also have some limitations. For example:
Complexity. In a complex system, the class hierarchies for related classes can become extremely confusing, with many dozens or even hundreds of classes.
Flow of control. A program written with the aid of class libraries is still responsible for the flow of control (i.e., it must control the interactions among all the objects created from a particular library). The programmer has to decide which functions to call at what times for which kinds of objects.
Duplication of effort. Although class libraries allow programmers to use and reuse many small pieces of code, each programmer puts those pieces together in a different way. Two different programmers can use the same set of class libraries to write two programs that do exactly the same thing but whose internal structure (i.e., design) may be quite different, depending on hundreds of small decisions each programmer makes along the way. Inevitably, similar pieces of code end up doing similar things in slightly different ways and do not work as well together as they should.

Class libraries are very flexible. As programs grow more complex, more programmers are forced to reinvent basic solutions to basic problems over and over again. A relatively new extension of the class library concept is to have a framework of class libraries. This framework is more complex and consists of significant collections of collaborating classes that capture both the small scale patterns and major mechanisms that implement the common requirements and design in a specific application domain. They were first developed to free application programmers from the chores involved in displaying menus, windows, dialog boxes, and other standard user interface elements for personal computers.

Frameworks also represent a change in the way programmers think about the interaction between the code they write and code written by others. In the early days of procedural programming, the programmer called libraries provided by the operating system to perform certain tasks, but basically the program executed down the page from start to finish, and the programmer was solely responsible for the flow of control. This was appropriate for printing out paychecks, calculating a mathematical table, or solving other problems with a program that executed in just one way.

The development of graphical user interfaces began to turn this procedural programming arrangement inside out. These interfaces allow the user, rather than program logic, to drive the program and decide when certain actions should be performed. Today, most personal computer software accomplishes this by means of an event loop which monitors the mouse, keyboard, and other sources of external events and calls the appropriate parts of the programmer's code according to actions that the user performs. The programmer no longer determines the order in which events occur. Instead, a program is divided into separate pieces that are called at unpredictable times and in an unpredictable order. By relinquishing control in this way to users, the developer creates a program that is much easier to use. Nevertheless, individual pieces of the program written by the developer still call libraries provided by the operating system to accomplish certain tasks, and the programmer must still determine the flow of control within each piece after it's called by the event loop. Application code still "sits on top of the system.

Even event loop programs require programmers to write a lot of code that should not need to be written separately for every application. The concept of an application framework carries the event loop concept further. Instead of dealing with all the nuts and bolts of constructing basic menus, windows, and dialog boxes and then making these things all work together, programmers using application frameworks start with working application code and basic user interface elements in place. Subsequently, they build from there by replacing some of the generic capabilities of the framework with the specific capabilities of the intended application.

Application frameworks reduce the total amount of code that a programmer has to write from scratch. However, because the framework is really a generic application that displays windows, supports copy and paste, and so on, the programmer can also relinquish control to a greater degree than event loop programs permit. The framework code takes care of almost all event handling and flow of control, and the programmer's code is called only when the framework needs it (e.g., to create or manipulate a proprietary data structure).

A programmer writing a framework program not only relinquishes control to the user (as is also true for event loop programs), but also relinquishes the detailed flow of control within the program to the framework. This approach allows the creation of more complex systems that work together in interesting ways, as opposed to isolated programs, having custom code, being created over and over again for similar problems.

Thus, as is explained above, a framework basically is a collection of cooperating classes that make up a reusable design solution for a given problem domain. It typically includes objects that provide default behavior (e.g., for menus and windows), and programmers use it by inheriting some of that default behavior and overriding other behavior so that the framework calls application code at the appropriate times.

There are three main differences between frameworks and class libraries:

Behavior versus protocol. Class libraries are essentially collections of behaviors that one can call when one wants those individual behaviors in a program. A framework, on the other hand, provides not only behavior but also the protocol or set of rules that govern the ways in which behaviors can be combined, including rules for what a programmer is supposed to provide versus what the framework provides.
Call versus override. With a class library, the code the programmer instantiates objects and calls their member functions. It's possible to instantiate and call objects in the same way with a framework (i.e., to treat the framework as a class library), but to take full advantage of a framework's reusable design, a programmer typically writes code that overrides and is called by the framework. The framework manages the flow of control among its objects. Writing a program involves dividing responsibilities among the various pieces of software that are called by the framework rather than specifying how the different pieces should work together.
Implementation versus design. With class libraries, programmers reuse only implementations, whereas with frameworks, they reuse design. A framework embodies the way a family of related programs or pieces of software work. It represents a generic design solution that can be adapted to a variety of specific problems in a given domain. For example, a single framework can embody the way a user interface works, even though two different user interfaces created with the same framework might solve quite different interface problems.

Thus, through the development of frameworks for solutions to various problems and programming tasks, significant reductions in the design and development effort for software can be achieved. A preferred embodiment of the invention utilizes HyperText Markup Language (HTML) to implement documents on the Internet together with a general-purpose secure communication protocol for a transport medium between the client and the Newco. HTTP or other protocols could be readily substituted for HTML without undue experimentation. Information on these products is available in T. Berners-Lee, D. Connoly, "RFC 1866: Hypertext Markup Language—2.0" (November 1995); and R. Fielding, H, Frystyk, T. Berners-Lee, J. Gettys and J. C. Mogul, "Hypertext Transfer Protocol—HTTP/1.1: HTTP Working Group Internet Draft" (May 2, 1996). HTML is a simple data format used to create hypertext documents that are portable from one platform to another. HTML documents are SGML documents with generic semantics that are appropriate for representing information from a wide range of domains. HTML has been in use by the World-Wide Web global information initiative since 1990. HTML is an application of ISO Standard 8879; 1986 Information Processing Text and Office Systems; Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML).

To date, Web development tools have been limited in their ability to create dynamic Web applications which span from client to server and interoperate with existing computing resources. Until recently, HTML has been the dominant technology used in development of Web-based solutions. However, HTML has proven to be inadequate in the following areas:

Poor performance;
Restricted user interface capabilities;
Can only produce static Web pages;
Lack of interoperability with existing applications and data; and
Inability to scale.

Sun Microsystems's Java language solves many of the client-side problems by:

Improving performance on the client side;
Enabling the creation of dynamic, real-time Web applications; and
Providing the ability to create a wide variety of user interface components.

With Java, developers can create robust User Interface (UI) components. Custom "widgets" (e.g., real-time stock tickers, animated icons, etc.) can be created, and client-side performance is improved. Unlike HTML, Java supports the notion of client-side validation, offloading appropriate processing onto the client for improved performance. Dynamic, real-time Web pages can be created. Using the above-mentioned custom UI components, dynamic Web pages can also be created.

Sun's Java language has emerged as an industry-recognized language for "programming the Internet." Sun defines Java as: "a simple, object-oriented, distributed, interpreted, robust, secure, architecture-neutral, portable, high-performance, multithreaded, dynamic, buzzword-compliant, general-purpose programming language. Java supports programming for the Internet in the form of platform-independent Java applets." Java applets are small, specialized applications that comply with Sun's Java Application Programming Interface (API) allowing developers to add "interactive content" to Web documents (e.g., simple animations, page adornments, basic games, etc.). Applets execute within a Java-compatible browser (e.g., Netscape Navigator) by copying code from the server to client. From a language standpoint, Java's core feature set is based on C++. Sun's Java literature states that Java is basically, "C++ with extensions from Objective C for more dynamic method resolution."

Another technology that provides similar function to JAVA is provided by Microsoft and ActiveX Technologies, to give developers and Web designers wherewithal to build dynamic content for the Internet and personal computers. ActiveX includes tools for developing animation, 3-D virtual reality, video and other multimedia content. The tools use Internet standards, work on multiple platforms, and are being supported by over 100 companies. The group's building blocks are called ActiveX Controls, small, fast components that enable developers to embed parts of software in hypertext markup language (HTML) pages. ActiveX Controls work with a variety of programming languages including Microsoft Visual C++, Borland Delphi, Microsoft Visual Basic programming system and, in the future, Microsoft's development tool for Java, code named "Jakarta." ActiveX Technologies also includes ActiveX Server Framework, allowing developers to create server applications. One of ordinary skill in the art readily recognizes that ActiveX could be substituted for JAVA without undue experimentation to practice the invention.

Information Page

Business-Centric Graphical User Interface Design:

FIG. 2 shows a flowchart for a process 200 for reducing an amount of unnecessary information presented to a user in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. In operations 202 and 204, an information page is displayed with links to email messages listed on the information page. Also shown on the information page is a schedule of the user in operation 206. Links to filtered search results are also presented in operation 208.

In an embodiment of the present invention, employer-specific information may be pushed for display on the information page. Optionally, the employer-specific information may be selected based on the schedule of the user. In another embodiment of the present invention, the user may be allowed to set filtering parameters for filtering the search results.

In one aspect of the present invention, the search results may be filtered based on a profile of the user. In a further aspect of the present invention, the search results may be filtered based on business priorities of a community to which the user is associated.

FIG. 3 illustrates a frame displaying a customizable information page 300 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. This page may be divided into the two main content areas: a news area 302, and a diary and email area 304. The information page displays the integration of a variety of information streams from many locations information organized into topics ego-centric information layers from user to outside world.

FIG. 4 illustrates a Knowledge Map (Theory of Business) in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

With an egocentric design, the integration of personal streams of information (email, diary) with external information (e.g., Intranet or Internet based news) gives a user their personal big picture across all their concerns. The information page also may serve as an Internet Portal. The present invention allows focusing of users individuals around the business of an organization by integrating company specific streams of information (e.g., company intranet, email, news and databases). The present invention may help users in many business value aspects including:

Business Automation: This Technological System represents automated support of concerns articulated through Knowledge Map and Theory of Business).
Focus on Business Priorities: information is organised so as to users on core business objectives (i.e., via Theory of Business and Knowledge Map).
The Big Picture: All relevant, filtered, information is summarised through one individually customised screen.
Reduced Info glut: The opportunity of the information age is increased knowledge and nimbleness, the dilemma is information overload. Combining the benefits above allow users to achieve strategic focus on their priorities without being overwhelmed (e.g., shepherding fuels implies detecting threats and opportunities in that marketplace).
More Time: Less time is spent in searching, collecting and organising information, and reading irrelevant information.
Scrolling News Bar:

The scrolling news bar 306 includes a scrolling area where text messages are scrolled across a portion of the information page. In one embodiment of the present invention, this scrolling news bar 306 may be located at the top of the news area 302.

Topic Separators:

In the news area 302, one or more topic separators 308 may be displayed. The topic separators may be labelled with individual topic names 310. A "change" button 312 may be displayed in each topic separator to access a link (upon selection thereof) to allow users to personalise the filters for that particular topic. In an illustrative embodiment of the present invention, exemplary topics that may be displayed include: Competitors, OEMs, Fuel Industry News, Fuels Marketing (OBMF), and Legislation.

Item Titles:

Item titles 314 are hypertext links. When selected they navigate the browser to the original source on the Internet, the World Wide Web (WWW), a companies internal intranet, or they launch an external application to display a document. In an exemplary embodiment, if the user is using IE4.0, an Office document will be displayed within the browser. Adjacent an item title, an item abstract 316 may be displayed to provide a user with more information about the item title. As another option, the item's author 318 may be displayed adjacent the item title to indicate the author of the particular item.

Source Type Icons:

Before each title, a small icon may be displayed representing the source type of an item. In an illustrative embodiment, source type icons (and their corresponding source types) include: an icon for indicating an external web page source type 320, an icon for indicating an email source type 322, an icon for indicating a INTRANET page source type 324, and even an icon for indicating a document source type 326 (e.g. a MS Word document)

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary word processor document 500 (in this case a MS Word Document Word Document) in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention that is displayed upon selection of an item entitled "Competitor Data" which displays a document source type icon 326. This type of item comprises information from a shared team space (in this illustrative case, a shared file server).

FIG. 6 illustrates an intranet source report 600 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention that is displayed upon selection of an item entitled "Re-formulated diesel and alternative fuels" which displays a intranet source type icon 324. This type of item comprises information available utilizing the intranet

FIG. 7 illustrates an Internet source report 700 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention that is displayed upon selection of an item entitled "Mercedes-Benz Electric Car" which displays an Internet/WWW source type icon 320. This type of item comprises external information available utilizing the Internet/WWW such as in this case, an example of OEM, auto manufacturer, Mercedes-Benz New Electric Car information updated on a website controlled by Mercedes-Benz.

Basic Search:

A search field 328 for entering searches queries may be displayed in the information page, preferably in the diary and email area 304. In the search field, a users may enter a Boolean query to search the Internet (including the entire WWW) and an intranet, or to only search selected internal and external sources utilizing a network. In the preferred embodiment, the search field 328 may be located at the top of the diary and email area 304.

MyDiary—User Programmable Diary Interface Link:

FIG. 8 shows a flowchart for a process 800 for integrating a personalizable diary with an information page having a link to the diary in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The information page is first displayed in operation 802. Upon selection of the link to the diary by a user, the diary is displayed in operation 804. In operation 806, user input for adding entries in the diary is received and selection of the entries for display on the information page is also allowed in operation 808.

In one aspect of the present invention, the entries in the diary may include one or more of an appointment, a work schedule, a reminder, and a personal note. In another aspect of the present invention, the information displayed on the information page may be selected based on a schedule of the user. Additionally, the schedule of the user may be determined based on the entries in the diary.

In an embodiment of the present invention, representations of the selected entries may be shown on the information page. Each of the representations of the selected entries shown on the information page is linked to the associated entry in the diary. In a further embodiment of the present invention, a user may be allowed to authorize external sources to add entries to the diary.

Displayed in the diary and email area 304 is a section called "MyDiary" 330 which displays a user's appointments 332 for the day. As an option, this section may display additional day's appointments (e.g. "Tomorrow's" appointment). The displayed appointments 332 may also include a selectable link for displaying a frame associated with the appointment and providing additional information about the associated appointment.

Also displayed in the diary and email area 304 are selectable links to display email messages 334 upon selection thereof. In an illustrative embodiment, the displayed email links may be divided into different categories such as, for example, Urgent emails 336 and BFI emails 338. In an ideal illustrative embodiment, the Urgent emails may be located above the MyDiary section while the BFI emails may be located above the MyDiary section. Upon selection of an email link, an email frame with the email message associated with the selected is displayed on top of the information page. FIG. 9 illustrates an illustrative email frame 900 that is displayed upon selection of an email link displayed in the Urgent email category in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. With the email features displayed in the information page 300, a user's user existing email application is integrated with the information page 300.

Basic Topic Subscription

Customizable Organized Search Result Presentation:

FIG. 10 shows a flowchart for a process 1000 for presenting search results in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. An information page is displayed in operation 1002. The information page includes a section for displaying search results. In operation 1004, customization of this section which displays the search results is allowed by one or more of: grouping the search results by topic, grouping of the search results by source, and allowing user-selected positioning of the search results on the information page. User-selected filtering of the search results is also permitted in operation 1006. The filtered search results are then displayed in operation 1008 in the section for displaying the search results.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the permitting of user-selected filtering of the search results may also include the displaying of a query field for entering a search query, the receiving of the search query entered in the query field, the presenting a plurality of filters applicable during a search, the allowing of the selection of at least one of the filters, the searching for information relating to the search query, the excluding of portions of the information based on the selected filters to generate a result, and also the outputting of the result of the searching. In another embodiment of the present invention, links may also be listed to email messages on the information page. In a further embodiment of the present invention, a schedule of the user may also be shown on the information page.

In one aspect of the present invention, the user-selected filtering may be based on one or more of a geographic area, a type of product, a company, and a time range. In an additional aspect of the present invention, limiting of sources in which the information is searched may also be allowed.

Editor for Maintaining Relevancy of Stored Search Results:

FIG. 11 shows a flowchart for a process 1100 for removing irrelevant information from a search result in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. In operation 1102, results of one or more searches are stored. Periodically, searches are conducted for updating the stored results of the search in operation 1104. Upon an update being available, a notification is generated in operation 1106 for notifying a user that an update is available. The stored results are filtered for removing information from the stored results in operation 1108 and the user is allowed to delete portions of information of the stored results in operation 1110.

In one aspect of the present invention, the updates to the stored results may include changes in one or more of an intranet site, an Internet site, a correspondence, and a database. In another aspect of the present invention, the filtering may be based on a user-defined parameter. In a further aspect of the present invention, the entire process may repeated at predetermined intervals.

In an embodiment of the present invention, reports may be generated to report that portions of information have been stored for more than a predetermined amount of time. In an additional embodiment of the present invention, information removed from the results may be stored in a database for allowing restoration of the removed information.

Perishable Web Page Expirable Upon Tolling of User Defined Time Parameters:

FIG. 12 shows a flowchart for a process 1200 for expiring a page on a network in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. One or more user-defined time parameters are received in operation 1202 for determining when the page expires. Subsequently, upon a determination of tolling of the time parameter in operation 1204, the page is expired in operation 1206.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the page may also be updated upon expiration of the page. In another embodiment of the present invention, the time parameter may be reset and the determining of when the time tolls and subsequent expiring of the page may be repeated.

In an aspect of the present invention, the time parameter may be a period of time. In a further aspect of the present invention, the time parameter may toll upon occurrence of an event.

Displayed in the information page 300 is a selectable Customize MyPage link 340. Upon selection of the Customize MyPage link 340, a basic topic subscription page 1300 is displayed. FIG. 13 illustrates a frame displaying an illustrative basic topic subscription page 1300 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The basic topic subscription page 1300 allows a user to be in control of what topics the user wishes to see via subscription.

Displayed in the basic topic subscription page 1300 are a plurality of topic category bars or separators 1302, for various categories of topic such as Competition and OEM's for example. Under each topic category bar may be displayed one or more topic subcategory bars 1304. For example, under the Competition category bar, there may be displayed a Oil Competition subcategory bar and a Hypermarket Competition subcategory bar. Displayed in each category and subcategory bar may be a selectable checkmark box 1306, 1308 that upon selection by a user allows the display of information relating to the particular topic category or subcategory.

One or more topics 1310 are displayed under each subcategory (or category if no subcategory is associated with the particular category). Each topic 1310 may include a link to access recent news relating to the associated topic. For example, the topic Mobil may include a link to access recent news relating to the Mobile Corporation via the network. Adjacent to each topic is an associated selectable check box 1312 for permitting a user to select a particular topic related to the check box. In use, a user selects a topic's check box to select the topic. Selection of a previously check-marked check box de-selects the particular topic.

In an illustrative embodiment of the present invention, a selectable buttons may be displayed on the basic topic subscription page 1300 including an add button 1314, a remove button 1316, and a prioritize button 1318. In this illustrative embodiment, upon selection of the add button 1314, those topics which are check-marked are added to a list of topics for which information is retrieved utilizing the network and displayed to the user via the information page 300. In this illustrative embodiment, upon selection of the remove button 1316, those topics which are check-marked are removed from the list of topics for which information is retrieved utilizing the network and displayed to the user via the information page 300.

Also displayed in the basic topic subscription page 1300 is a selectable Advanced Topic Subscription link 1320. Upon selection of Advanced Topic Subscription link 1320, an advanced subscription: create topic page 1400 is displayed. FIG. 14 illustrates an illustrative frame displaying an advanced subscription page 1400 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The Advanced Topic Subscription: create topic page 1400 permits a user to create new user-defined topics to subscribe to (i.e., to receive information relating to the user-defined topic on the information page 300.

The user may enter a topic name (for example: EU Legislation) for the user-defined topic in a topic name text field 1402. Users may also define their own search patterns by entering a particular search query (such as "emissions AND fuel") in a Search Pattern text field 1404.

The user may also select from a plurality of filter and source choices 1406, 1408 displayed in the advanced subscription: create topic page 1400 to limit and control what type and where information on the particular user-defined topic is retrieved.

Some illustrative examples of filters by which retrieved information relating to the user-defined topic may be limited by include: (1) a zones filter 1410 for filtering retrieved information by particular zones such as Europe, East and South; (2) a date filter 1412 for filtering retrieved information by a particular date such as the present date; (3) a product filter 1414 for filtering retrieved information by particular products; and (4) a company filter 1416 for filtering retrieved information by particular companies.

Some illustrative examples of sources from which retrieval of information relating to the user-defined topic may limited to include: (1) by source type 1418 for limiting the retrieval of information relating to the user-defined topic by particular predetermined source types such as the Internet/World Wide Web, an intranet, and email; (2) by specific sources 1420 for limiting the retrieval of information relating to the user-defined topic to specific predetermined sources such as, for example the Financial Times and Oil News Today; (3) by source topics 1422 for limiting the retrieval of information relating to the user-defined topic to specific predetermined topics such as, for example the legislation, NGF, and Shell; and (4) by a custom source 1424 for limiting the retrieval of information relating to the user-defined topic to a user-customized source.

A field 1426 is displayed for each filter and source choices for permitting the user to select filters and sources for the particular choice. Adjacent each field is a check box field 1428 that the user may select to have the selected filters and sources applied for retrieving information relating to the user-defined topic.

In the Custom Source choice 1424, a field is displayed for permitting the user to enter a custom source such as the URL (e.g., http://www.eurunion.org/legislat/) of a particular site on the network from which the user wishes information to be retrieved. Adjacent the Custom Source choice may be a browse link 1430 for permitting the user to browse various sites on the network in order to select the custom source.

Once the user has entered all of the necessary information and selected the desired filters and sources for the information on the user-defined topic, the user may then select the Save button 1432 displayed on the advanced subscription: create topic page 1400 to save the user-defined topic and permit retrieval of information relating to the user-defined top utilizing the network.

Advanced Search

Graphical User Interface Search Filter Generator:

FIG. 15 shows a flowchart of a process 1500 for allowing selection of filtering criteria during a search utilizing a network in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. A query field is displayed for entering a search query in operation 1502. The search query entered in the query field is received in operation 1504 and a plurality of filters are presented applicable during a search utilizing the network in operation 1506. Selection of one or more of the filters is allowed and information relating to the search query is searched utilizing the network in operations 1508 and 1510. In operation 1512, portions of the information are excluded based on the selected filters to generate a result which is then outputted in operation 1514.

In an aspect of the present invention, the filters may be grouped by type and may also include limiting a source of the information to one or more of a local area network, a wide area network, correspondence, and a database. In another aspect of the present invention, the filters may be pre-selected by the user and presented as default sources for following searches. In a further aspect of the present invention, the filters may be based on one or more of a geographic location, a type of product, a company, and a time range.

In an embodiment of the present invention, information relating to the search query may be searched at periodic intervals and so that the results of these searches may be output after each interval. In another embodiment of the present invention, the limiting of sources in which the information is searched may also be allowed.

Search Source Selection Filter:

FIG. 16 shows a flowchart for a process 1600 for limiting sources in which a search is conducted utilizing a network in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. A query field is displayed for entering a search query in operation 1602. Upon receiving the search query entered in the query field in operation 1604, a plurality of sources are presented to be potentially searched utilizing the network in operation 1606. A user is allowed to select one or more of the sources to be potentially searched in operation 1608. In operation 1610, information relating to the search query in the selected sources is searched utilizing the network and the result of the search is subsequently outputted in operation 1512.

In an aspect of the present invention, the sources may be grouped by type and include one or more of a local area network, a wide area network, correspondence, and a database. In another aspect of the present invention, the sources may be pre-selected by the user and presented as default sources for later-performed searches. As another option, the sources may be grouped by topic.

In an embodiment of the present invention, information relating to the search query may be searched for at periodic intervals with results from the periodic searches being outputted after each interval. In a further embodiment of the present invention, selection of a time frame by a user may be allowed so that searching for information relating to the search query has an age at a source within the selected time frame.

User Programmable Autonomous Periodic Search:

FIG. 17 shows a flowchart for a process 1700 for performing periodic searching based on selected parameters and further limited by filters in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. After receipt and storage of a search query in operation 1702, information relating to the search query is searched for in selected sources on a network to create a result in operation 1704. One or more filters are selected in operation 1706 and applied to exclude information from the result in operation 1708 in order to reduce the amount of information in the result. The result of the searching is subsequently outputted in operation 1710. In operation 1712, application of the filters in order to reduce the amount of information in the result and outputting of the results are repeated at periodic intervals using the search query and the filter.

In an embodiment of the present invention, a user may also be notified that new information is available from the searching. In an aspect of the present invention, the result of the searching may be output on a personalized information page on a network. In another aspect of the present invention, the filter may be based on one or more of a geographic area, a type of product, a company, and a time range. In a further aspect of the present invention, the filter may be based on a profile of the user. As another option, the filters may include limiting sources of the information in which the information is searched.

Upon selection of an Advanced Search link 342 displayed in the information page 300 adjacent the search field 328, an advanced search page 1800 is displayed. FIG. 18 illustrates a frame displaying an illustrative advanced search page 1800 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. From the advanced search page, users may define their own search patterns and user filters for searches executed utilizing the network.

Displayed in the advanced search page 1800 is a search pattern text field 1802 into which a user may enter a search query (for example: "diesel OR AGO"). The user may also select from a plurality of filter and source choices 1804, 1806 displayed in the advanced search topic page 1800 to limit and control what type and where information is searched for utilizing the network. In one embodiment of the present invention, the filter and source choices of the advanced search page may be the same as the filter and source choices of the advanced subscription: create topic page 1300.

Some illustrative examples of filters by which searches relating to the user-defined query may be limited by include: (1) a zones filter for filtering information retrieved by the search by particular zones such as Europe, East and South; (2) a date filter for filtering information retrieved by the search by a particular date such as the present date, the present week, and the present month; (3) a product filter for filtering information retrieved by the search by particular products; and (4) a company filter for filtering information retrieved by the search by particular companies.

Some illustrative examples of sources from which a search for information may be limited displayed in the source choice of the advanced search page include: (1) by source type for limiting the search to retrieve information relating to the user-defined query by particular predetermined source types such as the Internet/World Wide Web, an intranet, and email; (2) by specific sources for limiting the search to retrieve information relating to the user-defined query to specific predetermined sources such as, for example the Financial Times and Oil News Today; (3) by source topics for limiting the search to retrieve information relating to the user-defined query to specific predetermined topics such as, for example the legislation, NGF, and Shell; and (4) by a custom source for limiting the search to retrieve information relating to the user-defined query to a user-customized source.

A non-exhaustive list of illustrative source types includes:

Exchange public folders via the Intranet
Outlook Contacts
Tasks
Newsgroups
Co-ordination with existing Shell Research and Information groups
Other group databases

A field 1808 is displayed for each filter and source choices for permitting the user to select filters and sources for the particular choice. Adjacent each field is a check box field 1810 that the user may select to have the selected filters and sources applied to the search. Also, in the Custom Source choice, a field is displayed for permitting the user to enter a custom source such as the URL (e.g., http://www.eurunion.org/legislat/) of a particular site on the network from which the user wishes to search for information relating to the user's query. Adjacent the Custom Source choice may be a browse link for permitting the user to browse various sites on the network in order to select the custom source.

Once the user has entered all of the necessary information and selected the desired filters and sources for the information on the user-defined topic, the user may then select the Save button 1832 displayed on the advanced subscription: create topic page 1800 to save the user-defined topic and permit retrieval of information relating to the user-defined top utilizing the network.

To execute an advanced search for the user-defined query, a user selects a Search button 1812, which, upon selection thereof, executes the advanced search for the user-defined query limited by the selected filters and source.

System Architecture

FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary system architecture in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, a BackgroundFinder (BF) is implemented as an agent responsible for preparing an individual for an upcoming meeting by helping him/her retrieve relevant information about the meeting from various sources. BF receives input text in character form indicative of the target meeting. The input text is generated in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention by a calendar program that includes the time of the meeting. As the time of the meeting approaches, the calendar program is queried to obtain the text of the target event and that information is utilized as input to the agent. Then, the agent parses the input meeting text to extract its various components such as title, body, participants, location, time etc. The system also performs pattern matching to identify particular meeting fields in a meeting text. This information is utilized to query various sources of information on the web and obtain relevant stories about the current meeting to send back to the calendaring system. For example, if an individual has a meeting with Netscape and Microsoft to talk about their disputes, and would obtain this initial information from the calendaring system. It will then parse out the text to realize that the companies in the meeting are "Netscape" and "Microsoft" and the topic is "disputes." Then, the system queries the web for relevant information concerning the topic. Thus, in accordance with an objective of the invention, the system updates the calendaring system and eventually the user with the best information it can gather to prepare the user for the target meeting. In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the information is stored in a file that is obtained via selection from a link imbedded in the calendar system.

Program Organization:

A computer program in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention is organized in five distinct modules: BF.Main, BF.Parse, Background Finder.Error, BF.PatternMatching and BF.Search. There is also a firmMain which provides a user interface used only for debugging purposes. The executable programs in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention never execute with the user interface and should only return to the calendaring system through Microsoft's Winsock control. An embodiment of the system executes in two different modes which can be specified under the command line sent to it by the calendaring system. When the system runs in simple mode, it executes a keyword query to submit to external search engines. When executed in complex mode, the system performs pattern matching before it forms a query to be sent to a search engine.

Data Structures:

The system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention utilizes three user defined structures:

1. TMeetingRecord;

2. TPatternElement; and

3. TPatternRecord.

The user-defined structure, tMeetingRecord, is used to store all the pertinent information concerning a single meeting. This info includes userID, an original description of the meeting, the extracted list of keywords from the title and body of meeting etc. It is important to note that only one meeting record is created per instance of the system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. This is because each time the system is spawned to service an upcoming meeting, it is assigned a task to retrieve information for only one meeting. Therefore, the meeting record created corresponds to the current meeting examined. ParseMeetingText populates this meeting record and it is then passed around to provide information about the meeting to other functions.

If GoPatternMatch can bind any values to a particular meeting field, the corresponding entries in the meeting record is also updated. The structure of tMeetingRecord with each field described in parentheses is provided below in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

Public Type tMeetingRecord

sUserID As String (user id given by Munin)
sTitleOrig As String (original non stop listed title we need to keep around to send back to Munin)
sTitleKW As String (stoplisted title with only keywords)
sBodyKW As String (stoplisted body with only keywords)
sCompany( ) As String (companies identified in title or body through pattern matching)
sTopic( ) As String (topics identified in title or body through pattern matching)
sPeople( ) As String (people identified in title or body through pattern matching)
sWhen( ) As String (time identified in title or body through pattern matching)
sWhere( ) As String (location identified in title or body through pattern matching)
sLocation As String (location as passed in by Munin)
sTime As String (time as passed in by Munin)
sParticipants( ) As String (all participants engaged as passed in by Munin)
sMeetingText As String (the original meeting text w/o userid)

End Type

There are two other structures which are created to hold each individual pattern utilized in pattern matching. The record tAPatternRecord is an array containing all the components/elements of a pattern. The type tAPatternElement is an array of strings which represent an element in a pattern. Because there may be many "substitutes" for each element, we need an array of strings to keep track of what all the substitutes are. The structures of tAPatternElement and tAPatternRecord are presented below in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

Public Type tAPatternElement

elementArray( ) As String

End Type

Public Type tAPatternRecord

patternArray( ) As tAPatternElement

End Type
User Defined Constants:

Many constants are defined in each declaration section of the program which may need to be updated periodically as part of the process of maintaining the system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The constants are accessible to allow dynamic configuration of the system to occur as updates for maintaining the code.

Included in the following tables are lists of constants from each module which I thought are most likely to be modified from time to time. However, there are also other constants used in the code not included in the following list. It does not mean that these non-included constants will never be changed. It means that they will change much less frequently.

For the Main Module (BF.Main): CONSTANT PRESET VALUE USE

MSGTOMUNIN_TYPE 6 Define the message number used to identify messages between BF and Munin IP_ADDRESS_MUNIN ″10.2.100.48″ Define the IP address of the machine in which Munin and BF are running on so they can transfer data through UDP. PORT_MUNIN 7777 Define the remote port in which we are operating on. TIMEOUT_AV 60 Define constants for setting time out in inet controls TIMEOUT_NP 60 Define constants for setting time out in inet controls CMD_SEPARATOR ″\″ Define delimiter to tell which part of Munin's command represents the beginning of our input meeting text OUTPARAM_SEPARATOR ″::″ Define delimiter for separating out different portions of the output. The separator is for delimiting the msg type, the user id, the meeting title and the beginning of the actual stories retrieved.

For the Search Module (BF.Search):

CONSTANT CURRENT VALUE USE PAST_NDAYS 5 Define number of days you want to look back for AltaVista articles. Doesn't really matter now because we aren't really doing a news search in alta vista. We want all info. CONNECTOR_AV_URL ″+AND+″ Define how to connect keywords. We want all our keywords in the string so for now use AND. If you want to do an OR or something, just change connector. CONNECTOR_NP_URL ″+AND+″ Define how to connect keywords. We want all our keywords in the string so for now use AND. If you want to do an OR or something, just change connector. NUM_NP_STORIES 3 Define the number of stories to return back to Munin from NewsPage. NUM_AV_STORIES 3 Define the number of stories to return back to Munin from AltaVista.

For the Parse Module (BF.Parse):

CONSTANT CURRENT VALUE USE PORTION_SEPARATOR ″::″ Define the separator between different portions of the meeting text sent in by Munin. For example in ″09::Meet with Chad::aboutlife::Chad | Denise::::::″ ″::″ is the separator between different parts of the meeting text. PARTICIPANT_SEPARATOR ″|″ Define the separator between each participant in the participant list portion of the original meeting text. Refer to example above.

For Pattern Matching Module (BFPatternMatch): There are no constants in this module which require frequent updates.

General Process Flow:

The best way to depict the process flow and the coordination of functions between each other is with the five flowcharts illustrated in FIGS. 20 to 24. FIG. 20 depicts the overall process flow in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Processing commences at the top of the chart at function block 2000 which launches when the program starts. Once the application is started, the command line is parsed to remove the appropriate meeting text to initiate the target of the background find operation in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention as shown in function block 2010. A global stop list is generated after the target is determined as shown in function block 2020. Then, all the patterns that are utilized for matching operations are generated as illustrated in function block 2030. Then, by tracing through the chart, function block 2000 invokes GoBF 2040 which is responsible for logical processing associated with wrapping the correct search query information for the particular target search engine. For example, function block 2040 flows to function block 2050 and it then calls GoPatternMatch as shown in function block 2060. To see the process flow of GoPatternMatch, we swap to the diagram titled "Process Flow for BF's Pattern Matching Unit."

One key thing to notice is that functions depicted at the same level of the chart are called by in sequential order from left to right (or top to bottom) by their common parent function. For example, Main 2000 calls ProcessCommandLine 2010, then CreateStopListist 2020, then CreatePatterns 2030, then GoBackgroundFinder 2040. FIGS. 21 to 24 detail the logic for the entire program, the parsing unit, the pattern matching unit and the search unit respectively. FIG. 24 details the logic determinative of data flow of key information through BackgroundFinder, and shows the functions that are responsible for creating or processing such information. PS Detailed Search Architecture under the Basic Search/Simple Query Mode

Search ALTA VISTA (Function block 2070 of FIG. 20):

The Alta Vista search engine utilizes the identifies and returns general information about topics related to the current meeting as shown in function block 270 of FIG. 2. The system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention takes all the keywords from the title portion of the original meeting text and constructs an advanced query to send to Alta Vista. The keywords are logically combined together in the query. The results are also ranked based on the same set of keywords. One of ordinary skill in the art will readily comprehend that a date restriction or publisher criteria could be facilitated on the articles we want to retrieve. A set of top ranking stories are returned to the calendaring system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

NewsPage (Function Block 2075 of FIG. 20):

The NewsPage search system is responsible for giving us the latest news topics related to a target meeting. The system takes all of the keywords from the title portion of the original meeting text and constructs a query to send to the NewsPage search engine. The keywords are logically combined together in the query. Only articles published recently are retrieved. The NewsPage search system provides a date restriction criteria that is settable by a user according to the user's preference. The top ranking stories are returned to the calendaring system.

FIG. 21 is a user profile data model in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Processing commences at function block 2100 which is responsible for invoking the program from the main module. Then, at function block 2110, a wrapper function is invoked to prepare for the keyword extraction processing in function block 2120. After the keywords are extracted, then processing flows to function block 2130 to determine if the delimiters are properly positioned. Then, at function block 2140, the number of words in a particular string is calculated and the delimiters for the particular field are and a particular field from the meeting text is retrieved at function block 2150. Then, at function block 2180, the delimiters of the string are again checked to assure they are placed appropriately. Finally, at function block 2160, the extraction of each word from the title and body of the message is performed a word at a time utilizing the logic in function block 2162 which finds the next closest word delimiter in the input phrase, function block 2164 which strips unnecessary materials from a word and function block 2166 which determines if a word is on the stop list and returns an error if the word is on the stop list.

Pattern Matching:

Limitations associated with a simple searching method include:

1. Because it relies on a stop list of unwanted words in order to extract from the meeting text a set of keywords, it is limited by how comprehensive the stop list is. Instead of trying to figure out what parts of the meeting text we should throw away, we should focus on what parts of the meeting text we want.

2. A simple search method in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention only uses the keywords from a meeting title to form queries to send to Alta Vista and NewsPage. This ignores an alternative source of information for the query, the body of the meeting notice. We cannot include the keywords from the meeting body to form our queries because this often results in queries which are too long and so complex that we often obtain no meaningful results.

There is no way for us to tell what each keyword represents. For example, we may extract "Andy" and "Grove" as two keywords. However, a simplistic search has no way knowing that "Andy Grove" is in fact a person's name. Imagine the possibilities if we could somehow intelligently guess that "Andy Grove" is a person's name. We can find out if he is an Andersen person and if so what kind of projects he's been on before etc. etc.

In summary, by relying solely on a stop list to parse out unnecessary words, we suffer from "information overload".
Pattern Matching Overcomes These Limitations:

Here's how the pattern matching system can address each of the corresponding issues above in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

1. By doing pattern matching, we match up only parts of the meeting text that we want and extract those parts.

2. By performing pattern matching on the meeting body and extracting only the parts from the meeting body that we want. Our meeting body will not go to complete waste then.

3. Pattern matching is based on a set of templates that we specify, allowing us to identify people names, company names etc from a meeting text.

4. In summary, with pattern matching, we no longer suffer from information overload. Of course, the big problem is how well our pattern matching works. If we rely exclusively on artificial intelligence processing, we do not have a 100% hit rate. We are able to identify about 20% of all company names presented to us.
Patterns:

A pattern in the context of an embodiment of the present invention is a template specifying the structure of a phrase we are looking for in a meeting text. The patterns supported by an embodiment of the present invention are selected because they are templates of phrases which have a high probability of appearing in someone's meeting text. For example, when entering a meeting in a calendar, many would write something such as "Meet with Bob Dutton from Stanford University text Tuesday." A common pattern would then be something like the word "with" followed by a person's name (in this example it is Bob Dutton) followed by the word "from" and ending with an organization's name (in this case, it is Stanford University).

Pattern Matching Terminology:

Terminology associated with pattern matching includes:

Pattern: a pattern is a template specifying the structure of a phrase we want to bind the meeting text to. It contains sub units.
Element: a pattern can contain many sub-units. These subunits are called elements. For example, in the pattern "with $PEOPLE$ from $COMPANY$", "with" "$PEOPLE$" "from" "$COMPANY$" are all elements.
Placeholder: a placeholder is a special kind of element in which we want to bind a value to. Using the above example, "$PEOPLE$" is a placeholder.
Indicator: an indicator is another kind of element which we want to find in a meeting text but no value needs to bind to it. There may be often more than one indicator we are looking for in a certain pattern. That is why an indicator is not an "atomic" type.
Substitute: substitutes are a set of indicators which are all synonyms of each other. Finding any one of them in the input is good.

There may be five fields which are identified for each meeting:

Company ($COMPANY$)
People ($PEOPLE$)
Location ($LOCATION$)
Time ($TIME$)
Topic ($TOPIC_UPPER$) or ($TOPIC_ALL$)

In parentheses are the illustrative placeholders used in the code as representation of the corresponding meeting fields.

Each placeholder may have the following meaning:

$COMPANY$: binds a string of capitalized words (e.g., Meet with Joe Carter of <Andersen Consulting>)
$PEOPLE$: binds series of string of two capitalized words potentially connected by "," "and" or "&" (e.g., Meet with <Joe Carter> of Andersen Consulting, Meet with <Joe Carter and Luke Hughes> of Andersen Consulting)
$LOCATION$: binds a string of capitalized words (e.g., Meet Susan at <Palo Alto Square>)
$TIME$: binds a string containing the format #:## (e.g., Dinner at <6:30 pm>)
$TOPIC_UPPER$: binds a string of capitalized words for our topic (e.g., <Stanford Engineering Recruiting> Meeting to talk about new hires).
$TOPIC_ALL$: binds a string of words without really caring if it's capitalized or not. (e.g., Meet to talk about <ubiquitous computing>)

The following table represents patterns supported by BF. Each pattern belongs to a pattern group. All patterns within a pattern group share a similar format and they only differ from each other in terms of what indicators are used as substitutes. Note that the patterns which are grayed out are also commented in the code. BF has the capability to support these patterns but we decided that matching these patterns is not essential at this point.

PAT PAT RP # PATTERN EXAMPLE

1 a $PEOPLE$ of $COMPANY$ Paul Maritz of Microsoft b $PEOPLE$ from $COMPANY$ Bill Gates, Paul Allen and Paul Maritz from Microsoft 2 a $TOPIC_$UPPER$ meeting Push Technology Meeting b $TOPIC_$UPPER$ mtg Push Technology Mtg c $TOPIC_$UPPER$ demo Push Technology demo d $TOPIC_$UPPER$ interview Push Technology interview e $TOPIC_$UPPER$ presentation Push Technology presentation f $TOPIC_$UPPER$ visit Push Technology visit g $TOPIC_$UPPER$ briefing Push Technology briefing h $TOPIC_$UPPER$ discussion Push Technology discussion i $TOPIC_$UPPER$ workshop Push Technology workshop j $TOPIC_$UPPER$ prep Push Technology prep k $TOPIC_$UPPER$ review Push Technology review l $TOPIC_$UPPER$ lunch Push Technology lunch m $TOPIC_$UPPER$ project Push Technology project n $TOPIC_$UPPER$ projects Push Technology projects 3 a $COMPANY$ corporation Intel Corporation b $COMPANY$ corp. IBM Corp. c $COMPANY$ systems Cisco Systems d $COMPANY$ limited IMB limited e $COMPANY$ ltd IBM ltd 4 a about $TOPIC_ALL$ About intelligent agents technology b discuss $TOPIC_ALL$ Discuss intelligent agents technology c show $TOPIC_ALL$ Show the client our intelligent agents technology d re: $TOPIC_ALL$ re: intelligent agents technology e review $TOPIC_ALL$ Review intelligent agents technology f agenda The agenda is as follows: clean up clean up clean up g agenda: $TOPIC_ALL$ Agenda: demo client intelligent agents technology. demo ecommerce. 5 a w/$PEOPLE$ of $COMPANY$ Meet w/Joe Carter of Andersen Consulting b w/$PEOPLE$ of $COMPANY$ Meet w/Joe Carter of Andersen Consulting 6 a w/$COMPANY$ per $PEOPLE$ Talk w/Intel per Jason Foster 7 a

At $TIME$ at 3:00 pm b Around $TIME$ Around 3:00 pm 8 a At $LOCATION$ At LuLu's resturant b In $LOCATION$ in Santa Clara 9 a Per $PEOPLE$ per Susan Butler 10 a call w/$PEOPLE$ Conf call w/John Smith B call with $PEOPLE$ Conf call with John Smith 11 A prep for $TOPIC_ALL$ Prep for London meeting B preparation for $TOPIC_ALL$ Preparation for London meeting

FIG. 22 is a detailed flowchart of pattern matching in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Processing commences at function block 2200 where the main program invokes the pattern matching application and passes control to function block 2210 to commence the pattern match processing. Then, at function block 2220, the wrapper function loops through to process each pattern which includes determining if a part of the text string can be bound to a pattern as shown in function block 2230. Then, at function block 2240, various placeholders are bound to values if they exist, and in function block 2241, a list of names separated by punctuation are bound, and at function block 2242 a full name is processed by finding two capitalized words as a full name and grabbing the next letter after a space after a word to determine if it is capitalized. Then, at function block 2243, time is parsed out of the string in an appropriate manner and the next word after a blank space in function block 2244. Then, at function block 2245, the continuous phrases of capitalized words such as company, topic or location are bound and in function block 2246, the next word after the blank is obtained for further processing in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Following the match meeting field processing, function block 2250 is utilized to locate an indicator which is the head of a pattern, the next word after the blank is obtained as shown in function block 2252 and the word is checked to determine if the word is an indicator as shown in function block 2254. Then, at function block 2260, the string is parsed to locate an indicator which is not at the end of the pattern and the next word after unnecessary white space such as that following a line feed or a carriage return is processed as shown in function block 2262 and the word is analyzed to determine if it is an indicator as shown in function block 2264. Then, in function block 2270, the temporary record is reset to the null set to prepare it for processing the next string and at function block 2280, the meeting record is updated and at function block 2282 a check is performed to determine if an entry is already made to the meeting record before parsing the meeting record again.

Using the Identified Meeting Fields:

Now that we have identified fields within the meeting text which we consider important, there are quite a few things we can do with it. One of the most important applications of pattern matching is of course to improve the query we construct which eventually gets submitted to Alta Vista and News Page. There are also a lot of other options and enhancements which exploit the results of pattern matching that we can add to BF. These other options will be described in the next section. The goal of this section is to give the reader a good sense of how the results obtained from pattern matching can be used to help us obtain better search results.

FIG. 23 shows a flowchart of the detailed processing for preparing a query and obtaining information from the Internet in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Processing commences at function block 2300 and immediately flows to function block 2310 to process the wrapper functionality to prepare for an Internet search utilizing a web search engine. If the search is to utilize the Alta Vista search engine, then at function block 2330, the system takes information from the meeting record and forms a query in function blocks 2340 to 2360 for submittal to the search engine. If the search is to utilize the NewsPage search engine, then at function block 2320, the system takes information from the meeting record and forms a query in function blocks 2321 to 2328.

Alta Vista Search Engine:

A strength of the Alta Vista search engine is that it provides enhanced flexibility. Using its advance query method, one can construct all sorts of Boolean queries and rank the search however you want. However, one of the biggest drawbacks with Alta Vista is that it is not very good at handling a large query and is likely to give back irrelevant results. If we can identify the topic and the company within a meeting text, we can form a pretty short but comprehensive query which will hopefully yield better results. We also want to focus on the topics found. It may not be of much merit to the user to find out info about a company especially if the user already knows the company well and has had numerous meetings with them. It's the topics they want to research on.

News Page Search Engine:

A strength of the News Page search engine is that it does a great job searching for the most recent news if you are able to give it a valid company name. Therefore when we submit a query to the news page web site, we send whatever company name we can identify and only if we cannot find one do we use the topics found to form a query. If neither one is found, then no search is performed. The algorithm utilized to form the query to submit to Alta Vista is illustrated in FIG. 25. The algorithm that we will use to form the query to submit to News Page is illustrated in FIG. 26.

The following table describes in detail each function in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The order in which functions appear mimics the process flow as closely as possible. When there are situations in which a function is called several times, this function will be listed after the first function which calls it and its description is not duplicated after every subsequent function which calls it.

Procedure Name Type Called By Description Main Public Sub None This is the main function where the program first launches. (13F.Main) It initializes BF with the appropriate parameters (e.g. Internet time-out, stoplist . . .) and calls GoBF to launch the main part of the program. ProcessCommandLine Private Sub Main This function parses the command line. (BF.Main) It assumes that the delimiter indicating the beginning of input from Munin is stored in the constant CMD_SEPARATOR. CreateStopList Private Function Main This function sets up a stop list for future use to (BF.Main) parse out unwanted words from the meeting text. There are commas on each side of each word to enable straight checking. CreatePatterns Public Sub Main This procedure is called once when BF is first initialized to (BF.Pattern Match) create all the potential patterns that portions of the meeting text can bind to. A pattern can contain however many elements as needed. There are two types of elements. The first type of elements are indicators. These are real words which delimit the potential of a meeting field (e.g. company) to follow. Most of these indicators are stop words as expected because stop words are words usually common to all meeting text so it makes sense they form patterns. The second type of elements are special strings which represent placeholders. A placeholder is always in the form of $*$ where * can be either PEOPLE, COMPANY, TOPIC_UPPER, TIME, LOCATION or TOPIC_ALL. A pattern can begin with either one of the two types of elements and can be however long, involving however any number/type of elements. This procedure dynamically creates a new pattern record for each pattern in the table and it also dynamically creates new tAPatternElements for each element within a pattern. In addition, there is the concept of being able to substitute indicators within a pattern. For example, the pattern $PEOPLE$ of $COMPANY$ is similar to the pattern $PEOPLE$ from $COMPANY$. ″from″ is a substitute for ″of″. Our structure should be able to express such a need

for substitution. GoBF Public Sub Main This is a wrapper proceduror that calls both the parsing (BF.Main) and the searching subroutines of the BF. It is also responsible for sending data back to Munin. ParseMeetingText Public Function GoBackGroundFinder This function takes the initial meeting text and identifies (BF.Parse) the userID of the record as well as other parts of the meeting text including the title, body, participant list, location and time. In addition, we call a helper function ProcessStopList to eliminate all the unwanted words from the original meeting title and meeting body so that only keywords are left. The information parsed out is stored in the MeetingRecord structure. Note that this function does no error checking and for the most time assumes that the meeting text string is correctly formatted by Munin. The important variable is thisMeeting Record is the temp holder for all info regarding current meeting. It's eventually returned to caller. FormatDelimitation Private ParseMeetingText, There are 4 ways in which the delimiters can be placed. (BF.Parse) DetermineNumWords, We take care of all these cases by reducing them GetAWordFromString down to Case 4 in which there are no delimiters around but only between fields in a string (e.g. A::B::C) DetermineNumWords Public Function ParseMeetingText, This functions determines how many words there are in (BF.Parse) ProcessStopList a string (stInEvalString) The function assumes that each word is separated by a designated separator as specified in stSeparator. The return type is an integer that indicates how many words have been found assuming each word in the string is separated by stSeparator. This function is always used along with GetAWordFromString and should be called before calling GetAWordFromString. GetAWordFromString Public Function ParseMeetingText, This function extracts the ith word of the string (BF.Parse) ProcessStopList (stInEvalString) assuming that each word in the string is separated by a designated separator contained in the variable stSeparator. In most cases, use this function with DetermineNumWords. The function returns the wanted word. This function checks to make sure that iInWordNum is within bounds so that i is not greater than the total number of words in string or less than/equal to zero. If it is out of bounds, we return empty string to indicate we can't get anything. We try to make sure this

doesn't happen by calling DetermineNumWords first. ParseAndCleanPhrase Private Function ParseMeetingText This function first grabs the word and send it to (BF.Parse) CleanWord in order strip the stuff that nobody wants. There are things in parseWord that will kill the word, so we will need a method of looping through the body and rejecting words without killing the whole function i guess keep CleanWord and check a return value ok, now I have a word so I need to send it down the parse chain. This chain goes ParseCleanPhrase -> CleanWord -> EvaluateWord. If the word gets through the entire chain without being killed, it will be added at the end to our keyword string. first would be the function that checks for ″/″ as a delimiter and extracts the parts of that. This I will call ″StitchFace″ (Denise is more normal and calls it GetAwordFromString) if this finds words, then each of these will be sent, in turn, down the chain. If these get through the entire chain without being added or killed then they will be added rather than tossed. FindMin Private Function ParseAndCleanPhrase This function takes in 6 input values and evaluates to see (BF.Parse) what the minimum non zero value is. It first creates an array as a holder so that we can sort the five input values in ascending order. Thus the minimum value will be the first non zero value element of the array. If we go through entire array without finding a non zero value, we know that there is an error and we exit the function. CleanWord Private Function ParseAndCleanPhrase This function tries to clean up a word in a meeting text. (BF.Parse) It first of all determines if the string is of a valid length. It then passes it through a series of tests to see it is clean and when needed, it will edit the word and strip unnecessary characters off of it. Such tests includes getting rid of file extensions, non chars, numbers etc. EvaluateWord Private Function ParseAndCleanPhrase This function tests to see if this word is in the stop list so (BF.Parse) it can determine whether to eliminate the word from the original meeting text. If a word is not in the stoplist, it should stay around as a keyword and this function exits beautifully with no errors. However, if the words is a stopword, an error must be returned. We must properly delimit the input test string so we don't accidentally retrieve sub strings. GoPatternMatch

Public Sub GoBF This procedure is called when our QueryMethod is set (BF.PatternMatch) to complex query meaning we do want to do all the pattern matching stuff. It's a simple wrapper function which initializes some arrays and then invokes pattern matching on the title and the body. MatchPatterns Public Sub GoPattern Match This procedure loops through every pattern in the pattern (BF.PatternMatch) table and tries to identify different fields within a meeting text specified by sInEvalString. For debugging purposes it also tries to tabulate how many times a certain pattern was triggered and stores it in gTabulateMatches to see whichp pattern fired the most. gTabulateMatches is stored as a global because we want to be able to run a batch file of 40 or 50 test strings and still be able to know how often a pattern was triggered. MatchAPattern Private Function MatchPatterns This function goes through each element in the current (BF.PatternMatch) pattern. It first evaluates to determine whether element is a placeholder or an indicator. If it is a placeholder, then it will try to bind the placeholder with some value. If it is an indicator, then we try to locate it. There is a trick however. Depending on whether we are at current element is the head of the pattern or not we want to take different actions. If we are at the head, we want to look for the indicator or the placeholder. If we can't find it, then we know that the current pattern doesn't exist and we quit. However, if it is not the head, then we continue looking, because there may still be a head somewhere. We retry in this case. MatchMeetingField Private Function MatchAPattern This function uses a big switch statement to first (BF.PatternMatch) determine what kind of placeholder we are talking about and depending on what type of placeholder, we have specific requirements and different binding criteria as specified in the subsequent functions called such as BindNames, BindTime etc. If binding is successful we add it to our guessing record. BindNames Private Function MatchMeetingField In this function, we try to match names to the (BF.PatternMatch) corresponding placeholder $PEOPLE$. Names are defined as any consecutive two words which are capitalized. We also what to retrieve a series of names which are connected by and, or & so we look until we don't see any of these 3 separators anymore. Note that we don't want to bind single word names because it

is probably too general anyway so we don't want to produce broad but irrelevant results. This function calls BindAFullName which binds one name so in a since BindNames collects all the results from BindAFullName BindAFullName Private Function BindNames This function tries to bind a full name. If the $PEOPLE$ (BF.PatternMatch) placeholder is not tbe head of the pattern, we know that it has to come right at the beginning of the test string because we've been deleting stuff off the head of the string all along. If it is the head, we search until we find something that looks like a full name. If we can't find it, then there's no such pattern in the text entirely and we quit entirely from this pattern. This should eventually return us to the next pattern in MatchPatterns. GetNextWordAfterWhiteSpace Private Function BindAFullName, This function grabs the next word in a test string. It looks (BF.PatternMatch) BindTime, for the next word after white spaces, @ or /. The word is BindCompanyTopicLoc defined to end when we encounter another one of these white spaces or separators. BindTime Private Function MatchMeetingField Get the immediate next word and see if it looks like a time (BF.PatternMatch) pattern. If so we've found a time and so we want to add it to the record. We probably should add more time patterns. But people don't seem to like to enter the time in their titles these days especially since we now have tools like OutLook. BindCompanyTopicLoc Private Function MatchMeetingField This function finds a continuous capitalized string (BF.PatternMatch) and binds it to stMatch which is passed by reference from MatchMeetingField. A continous capitaiized string is a sequence of capitalized words which are not interrupted by things like, . etc. There's probably more stuff we can add to the list of interruptions. LocatePatternHead Private Function MatchAPattern This function tries to locate an element which is an (BF.PatternMatch) indicator. Note that this indicator SHOULD BE AT THE HEAD of the pattern otherwise it would have gone to the function LocateIndicator instead. Therefore, we keep on grabbing the next word until either there's no word for us to grab (quit) or if we find one of the indicators we are looking for. ContainInArray Private Function LocatePatternHead, ′ This function is really simple. It loops through all (BF.PatternMatch) LocateIndicator the elements in the array ′ to find a matching string.

LocateIndicator Private Function MatchAPattern This function tries to locate an element which is an (BF.PatternMatch) indicator. Note that this indicator is NOT at the head of the pattern otherwise it would have gone to LocatePatternHead instead. Because of this, if our pattern is to be satisfied, the next word we grab HAS to be the indicator or else we would have failed. Thus we only grab one word, test to see if it is a valid indicator and then return result. InitializeGuessesRecord Private Sub MatchAPattern This function reinitializes our temporary test structure (BF.PatternMatch) because we have already transferred the info to the permanent structure, we can reinitialize it so they each have one element AddToMeetingRecord Private Sub MatchAPattern This function is only called when we know that the (BF.PatternMatch) information stored in tInCurrGuesses is valid meaning that it represents legitimate guesses of meeting fields ready to be stored in the permanent record, tInMeetingRecord. We check to make sure that we do not store duplicates and we also what to clean up what we want to store so that there's no cluttered crap such as punctuations, etc. The reason why we don't clean up until now is to save time. We don't waste resources calling ParseAndCleanPhrase until we know for sure that we are going to add it permanently. NoDuplicateEntry Private Function AddToMeetingRecord This function loops through each element in the array to (BF.PatternMatch) make sure that the test string aString is not the same as any of the strings already stored in the array. Slightly different from ContainInArray. SearchAltaVista Public Function GoBackGroundFinder This function prepares a query to be submited to (BF.Search) AltaVista Search engine. It submits it and then parses the returning result in the appropriate format containing the title, URL and body/summary of each story retrieved. The number of stories retrieved is specified by the constant NUM_AV_STORIES. Important variables include stURLAltaVista used to store query to submit stResultHTML used to store html from page specified by stURLAltaVista. ConstructAltaVistaURL Private Function SearchAltaVista This function constructs the URL string for the alta vista (BF.Search) search engine using the advanced query search mode. It includes the keywords to be used, the language and how we want to rank the search. Depending on whether we want to use the results of our pattern matching unit, we construct our query differently. ConstructSimpleKeyWord

Private Function ConstructAltaVistaURl, This function marches down the list of keywords stored in (BF.Search) ConstructNewsPageURL the stTitleKW or stBodyKW fields of the input meeting record and links them up into one string with each keyword separated by a connector as determined by the input variable stInConnector. Returns this newly constructed string. ConstructComplexAVKeyword Private Function ConstructAltaVistaURL This function constructs the keywords to be send to the (BF.Search) AltaVista site. Unlike ConstructSimpleKeyWord which simply takes all the keywords from the title to form the query, this function will look at the results of BF's pattern matching process and see if we are able to identify any specific company names or topics for constructing the queries. Query will include company and topic identified and default to simple query if we cannot identify either company or topic. JoinWithConnectors Private Function ConstructComplexAVKeyWord, This function simply replaces the spaces between the (BF.Search) ConstructComplexNPKeyWord, words within the string with a connector which is specified RefineWithRank by the input. RefineWithDate Private Function ConstructAltaVistaURL This function constructs the date portion of the alta vista (NOT CALLED AT query and returns this portion of the URL as a string. It THE MOMENT) makes sure that alta vista searches for articles within (BF.Search) the past PAST_NDAYS. RefineWithRank Private Function ConstructAltaVistaURL This function constructs the string needed to passed to (BF.Search) AltaVista in order to rank an advanced query search. If we are constructing the simple query we will take in all the keywords from the title. For the complex query, we will take in words from company and topic, much the same way we formed the query in ConstructComplexAVKeyWord. IdentifyBlock Public Function SearchAltaVista, This function extracts the block within a string marked (BF.Parse) SearchNewsPage by the beginning and the ending tag given as inputs starting at a certain location(iStart). The block retrieved does not include the tags themselves. If the block cannot be identified with the specified delimiters, we return unsuccessful through the parameter iReturnSuccess passed to use by reference. The return type is the block retrieved. IsOpenURLError Public Function SearchAltaVista, This function determines whether the error (BF.Error) SearchNewsPage encountered is that of a timeout error. It restores the mouse to default arrow and then returns true if it is a time out or false otherwise. SearchNewsPage Public Function

GoBackGroundFinder This function prepares a query to be submited to (BF.Search) NewsPage Search engine. It submits it and then parses the returning result in the appropriate format containing the title, URL and body/summary of each story retrieved. The number of stories retrieved is specified by the constant UM_NP_STORIES ConstructNewsPageURL Private Function SearchNewsPage This function constructs the URL to send to the (BF.Search) NewsPage site. It uses the information contained in the input meeting record to determine what keywords to use. Also depending whether we want simple or complex query, we call different functions to form strings. ConstructComplexNPKeyWord Private Function ConstructNewsPageURL This function constructs the keywords to be send to the (BF.Search) NewsPage site. UnlikeConstructKeyWordString which simply takes all the keywords from the title to form the query, this function will look at the results of BF's pattern matching process and see if we are able to identify any specific company names or topics for constructing the queries. ConstructOverallResult Private Function GoBackGroundFinder This function takes in as input an array of strings (BF.Main) (stInStories) and a MeetingRecord which stores the information for the current meeting. Each element in the array stores the stories retrieved from each information source. The function simply constructs the appropriate output to send to Munin including a return message type to let Munin know that it is the BF responding and also the original user_id and meeting title so Munin knows which meeting BF is talking about. ConnectAndTransferToMunin Public Sub GoBackGroundFinder This function allows Background Finder to connect to Munin (BF.Main) and eventually transport information to Munin. We will be using the UDP protocol instead of the TCP protocol so we have to set up the remote host and port correctly. We use a global string to store gResult Overall because although it is unnecessary with UDP, it is needed with TCP and if we ever switch back don't want to change code. DisconnectFromMuninAndQuit Public Sub (BF.Main)

FIG. 24 shows a flowchart of the actual code utilized to prepare and submit searches to the Alta Vista and NewsPage search engines in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Processing commences at function block 2401 where a command line is utilized to update a calendar entry with specific calendar information. The message is next posted in accordance with function block 2402 and a meeting record is created to store the current meeting information in accordance with function block 2403. Then, in function block 2404 the query is submitted to the Alta Vista search engine and in function block 2405, the query is submitted to the NewsPage search engine. When a message is returned from the search engine, it is stored in a results data structure as shown in function block 2406 and the information is processed and stored in summary form in a file for use in preparation for the meeting as detailed in function block 2407.

FIG. 25 provides more detail on creating the query in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Processing commences at function block 2505 where the meeting record is parsed to obtain potential companies, people, topics, location and a time. Then, in function block 2506, at least one topic is identified and in function block 2507, at least one company name is identified and finally in function block 2508, a decision is made on what material to transmit to the file for ultimate consumption by the user.

FIG. 26 is a variation on the query theme presented in FIG. 25. A meeting record is parsed in function block 2600, a company is identified in function block 2620, a topic is identified in function block 2630 and finally in function block 2640 the topic and or the company is utilized in formulating the query.

Additional embodiments for adding various specific features for specific user requirements are discussed below:

Enhance Target Rate for Pattern Matching:

To increase BF's performance, more patterns/pattern groups are added to the procedure "CreatePatterns." The existing code for declaring patterns can be used as a template for future patterns. Because everything is stored as dynamic arrays, it is convenient to reuse code by cutting and pasting. The functions BindName, BindTime, BindCompanyLocTopic which are responsible for associating a value with a placeholder can be enhanced. The enhancement is realized by increasing the set of criteria for binding a certain meeting field in order to increase the number of binding values. For example, BindTime currently accepts and binds all values in the form of ##:## or #:##. To increase the times we can bind, we may want BindTime to also accept the numbers 1 to 12 followed by the more aesthetic time terminology "o'clock." Vocabulary based recognition algorithms and assigning an accuracy rate to each guess BF makes allowing only guesses which meet a certain threshold to be valid.

Depending on what location the system identifies through pattern matching or alternatively depending on what location the user indicates as the meeting place, a system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention suggests a plurality of fine restaurants whenever it detects the words lunch/dinner/breakfast. We can also use a site like company finder to confirm what we got is indeed a company name or if there is no company name that pattern matching can identify, we can use a company finder web site as a "dictionary" for us to determine whether certain capitalized words represent a company name. We can even display stock prices and breaking news for a company that we have identified.

Wireless Bargain Identification:

FIG. 27 is a flow diagram that depicts the hardware and logical flow of control for a device and a software system designed to allow Web-based comparison shopping in conventional, physical, non-Web retail environments. A wireless phone or similar hand-held wireless device 2720 with Internet Protocol capability is combined with a miniature barcode reader 2710 (installed either inside the phone or on a short cable) and used to scan the Universal Product Code (UPC) bar code on a book or other product 2700. The wireless device 2720 transmits the bar code via an antennae 2730 to the Pocket BargainFinder Service Module (running on a Web server) 2740, which converts it to (in the case of books) its International Standard Book Number or (in the case of other products) whatever identifier is appropriate. The Service Module then contacts the appropriate third-party Web site(s) to find price, shipping and availability information on the product from various Web suppliers 2750. This information is formatted and displayed on the hand-held device's screen. The IP wireless phone or