Patent ID: 6154767
Filing Date: 2000-11-28
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
In a system includinga client having:a resource requester,a resource cache storage area,a cache manager for managing the resource cache storage area,a client list storage area for storing a list of resources available for pre-fetching and corresponding attributes of the available resources,an attribute transition probability model storage area, wherein the attribute transition probability model specifies probabilities associated with transitioning between first and second resources specified in the list as a function of the attribute associated with each of said first and second resources, the attribute being associated with and descriptive of a predefined characteristic, associated with the content, of an corresponding resource itself when the corresponding resource is rendered by the client, anda pre-fetcher for generating a pre-fetch resource request based on contents of the list and the attribute transition probability model, anda server having:a resource storage area,a server list storage area, anda resource retriever for servicing requests for resources,a method for pre-fetching resources comprising the steps of:a) sending, in response to a resource request from the resource requester of the client, a list of resources available for pre-fetching and corresponding attributes of said available resources from the server list storage area to the client list storage area;b) determining an attribute of a particular resource from the list to pre-fetch based on the attribute of a resource specified in the resource request and the attribute transition probability model; andc) determining the particular resource to pre-fetch based on the attribute determined in step (b) and the list sent in step (a).