Hyper text system and its display method

Abstract: In a display of a hyper text, a hysteresis of an access to a reference file is stored into an access hysteresis file together with attribute information of the reference file. On the basis of the hysteresis of the access stored in the access hysteresis file, the presence or absence of the access to the file on the reference destination side corresponding to each link is judged. With respect to the reference file which was judged such that there was the access, on the basis of the attribute information stored in the access hysteresis file, a variation after the access of the reference file is detected. A link corresponding to the reference file is displayed in a display form according to the detected variation in a manner such that the presence or absence of the access which was judged can be discriminated. Thus, in a hyper text system, the user can recognize the variation after the access of the reference file which was accessed before.

Description: The invention relates to a system and method for handling a hyper text and its display method. It is a general way that a reference to another document, figure, table, or the like is included in one document. In a document file on a computer, a "hyper text" in which a function for retrieving and displaying a reference file by the operation of the user is built in is realized in a portion to refer to another document file or a data file such as figure, table, or the like. Fig. 9 shows an example of a construction of a conventional system for handling such a hyper text. In the diagram, a computer system 110 is constructed by an output device 111, an input device 112, a central processing unit (CPU) 113, a network interface (I/F) device 114, a main memory device 115, a secondary memory device 116, and an internal bus 117, which will be explained hereinbelow. The output device 111 comprises a display device such as CRT, LCD, or the like, a speaker, a printer, and the like. The input device 112 comprises a keyboard, a mouse, a microphone, and the like. The CPU 113 makes the computer 110 operative in accordance with programs stored in the main memory device 115. The network I/F device 114 is connected to a network communication path 118 in the outside of the computer and communicates with another computer 110' which is connected to the communication path 118 and has a construction similar to the computer 110. A program 130 to process the hyper text and a program 140 which is called from the program 130 and is used to display the hyper text have been stored in the main memory device 115. The secondary memory device 116 comprises a hard disk, a magneto-optic disk, or the like. A hyper text file 160 and a history file 170 are stored in the secondary memory device 116. The hyper text file can be stored in not only the own computer 110 but also a memory device of the other computer 110' through a network. The internal bus 117 connects each of the above-mentioned devices 111 to 116 in the computer. In the hyper text, a document file/data file on the reference destination side may be also further a hyper text. Moreover, in many cases, a plurality of hyper texts refer to one document/data file or a plurality of hyper texts refer to one another. As a whole, it is a general case where the hyper text doesn't have a linear construction like a book. Therefore, it is difficult for the user to store information indicating which document/data file he has already read. It is, accordingly, necessary to record information indicating which document/data file the user has read and to present the information to the user. The operations of the hyper text process program 130 and display program 140 will now be described hereinbelow with reference to Figs. 10 and 11. The hyper text process program 130 will now be described. First, The initial hyper text file 160 which is designated by the user is retrieved from the secondary memory device 116 or a secondary memory device of the other computer 110' through the network (step S1010). Subsequently, the history file 170 of each user is opened (if there is no history file, after it was formed, it is opened) and reference destination information of the initial file is recorded to the end of file (step S1020). In step S1030, the hyper text display program 140 is called and the retrieved document/data file is displayed by the output device 111. The display program 140 will be described in detail hereinlater with reference to Fig. 11. Returning from the display program 140, a check is made to see if the user has performed an end procedure of the processes (step S1040). If YES, the processing routine is finished. When the end procedure is not performed, step S1050 follows and the apparatus waits until the user selects a link by the operation of the input device 112 such as keyboard, mouse, or the like. When no link is selected, the processing routine is returned to step S1040. When the link is selected, the processing routine advances to step S1060 of retrieving the file. In step S1060, reference destination information (hereinafter, simply referred to as reference information) indicative of the position of the file which is referred from the link is extracted. On the basis of the reference information, the document data/file is retrieved from the secondary memory device 116 or a secondary memory device of the other computer 110' through the network. In step S1070, further, the reference information of the file which was retrieved in step S1060 is recorded to the end of the history file 170. The processing routine is returned to step S1030, the display program 140 is called, the contents thereof are displayed on the output device 111, and the above processes are subsequently repeated until the end of the processing routine. The information of the link selected by the user, namely, the file read by the user is recorded in steps S1020 and S1070 mentioned above. Subsequently, the program 140 for distinguishing the unread portion and the already read portion of the user on the basis of the history and for displaying the hyper text will now be described with reference to Fig. 11. First, the hyper text file is parsed (step S1110). In step S1120, a check is made to see if a processing position has reached the end of the file. If NO, step S1130 follows. If YES, the processing routine is finished. In step S1130, a check is made to see if the parsed portion is a reference portion (link anchor) to another file. When it is not the link, an ordinary document display is performed (step S1180). For example, characters are displayed by a black font of Ming type and no decoration is performed to the characters. In case of the link, step S1140 follows and the reference information of the link is extracted and a check is made to see if the reference information of the link has been recorded in the history file 170 of the user (step S1150). If NO, since this means that the document/data file designated by the link is not read yet, an unread link display is performed (step S1170). For example, characters are displayed by a blue font of Gothic type and a decoration such that the characters are underlined or the like is performed. In step S1150, when the reference information has been recorded, the file designated by the link has already been read, so that the already read link display is performed (step S1160). For example, characters are displayed by a red font of Gothic type and a decoration such that the characters are underlined by a broken line or the like is performed. After completion of steps S1160, S1170, and S1180, the processing routine is returned to step S1110 and the processing routine is repeated until the end. According to the above processes, the link to the document/data file which has already been read by the user and the link to the document/data file which is not read yet are distinguished. However, in the case where the already read file is renewed after it was read, the contents of the file after it was renewed are not read. Therefore, although such a state is substantially equivalent to the unread state, since this point is not reflected to the history file, the link is uniformly displayed as an already read file. A problem such that the file to be again confirmed and the file which has already been confirmed cannot be distinguished occurs. Communications of the Association for Computing Machinery, Volume 33, No.3, March 1990, New York, US, pages 296 to 310 "The Art of Navigating Hyper text" discloses a prototype system designed to investigate a number of user interface options in hyper text systems. Nodes containing some amount of text or other information are connected by directed links. A smaller part of the node, called an anchor, may be activated to follow an associated link to its destination node. A history list includes all the nodes the user has visited in the sequential order of the time of these visits. Hyper text anchors leading to previously visited nodes are checkmarked. Sigmod Record, Volume 22, No. 4, December 1993, New York, US, Pages 19 to 25 "Experiences with HyperBase: A Hyper text Database Supporting Collaborative Work" discloses a multi-user hyper text system for collaboration which deals with three fundamental issues in simultaneous sharing: Access Contention, Realtime Monitoring and Realtime Communication. A hyper text system is required that allows several people to work on the same document at the same time, preferably using multiple machines connected through a network. This calls for a system where there is a clear separation between the user interface and the storage of nodes and links. An event mechanism enables users to be notified when other users perform important actions in hyperbase or when certain critical events occur on nodes or links of interest to them. In one system, changes made on shared data by one user are immediately visible to all other members of the group. All readers are notified as soon as possible that a data field they are accessing may be changed. It is, therefore, an object of one aspect of the invention to provide a hyper text system and a display method, in which whether an already read file has been renewed after it was read or not can be discriminated. According to one aspect, the present invention provides a hypertext system for controlling the display of hypertext, the system comprising: access history memory means for storing an indication of an access to a reference file corresponding to a link in the displayed hypertext; judging means for judging whether or not the reference file corresponding to a link has been accessed on the basis of the indication of the access stored in said access history memory means; display control means for controlling the display of a link corresponding to said reference file to indicate whether or not the reference file was judged by said judging means to have been accessed, characterised in that said access history memory means is arranged to store attribute information relating to said reference file together with the indication of the access to said reference file; the system further comprises detecting means for detecting a variation in content of the reference file which was judged to have been accessed on the basis of said attribute information stored in said access history memory means; and said display control means is arranged to control the display of the link corresponding to the accessed reference file to provide a display form according to the variation detected by said detecting means. According to another aspect, the present invention provides a method of controlling the display of hypertext the method comprising: a history storing step of storing an indication of an access to a reference file corresponding to a link in the displayed hypertext; a judging step of judging whether or not the reference file corresponding to a link has been accessed on the basis of the stored indication of the access; and a display control step of controlling the display of the link corresponding to said reference file to indicate whether or not the reference file was judged by said judging step to have been accessed, characterised in that: in said history storing step, attribute information of said reference file is stored together with the indication of the access to said reference file; the method further comprises a detecting step of detecting a variation of content of the reference file which was judged to have been accessed on the basis of said stored attribute information; and in said display control step, the display of the link corresponding to the accessed reference file is controlled to provide a display form according to the variation detected in said detecting step. Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a block constructional diagram of a computer system of an embodiment; Fig. 2 is a flowchart for the operation of a hyper text process program according to the first embodiment; Fig. 3 is a flowchart for the operation of a hyper text display program in the first embodiment; Fig. 4 is a flowchart for the operation of an already read link display program in the first embodiment; Fig. 5 is a flowchart for the operation of the hyper text process program in the first embodiment; Fig. 6 is a flowchart for the operation of an already read link display program according to the second embodiment; Fig. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a function which is used in the second embodiment; Fig. 8 is a flowchart for the operation of an already read link display program according to the third embodiment; Fig. 9 is a diagram of a construction of a conventional system; Fig. 10 is a flowchart for the operation of a conventional hyper text process program; and Fig. 11 is a flowchart for the operation of a conventional hyper text display program. [Embodiment 1] Fig. 1 shows an example of a system construction to realize the embodiment. In the diagram, a computer system 10, an output device 11, an input device 12, a central processing unit (CPU) 13, a network interface device 14, a main memory device 15, a secondary memory device 16, an internal bus 17, and a network communication path 18 correspond to the computer system 110, output device 111, input device 112, central processing unit (CPU) 113; network interface device 114, main memory device 115, secondary memory device 116, internal bus 117, and network communication path 118 in the conventional system of Fig. 9, respectively. Forms of a hyper text file 60 and a history file 70 differ from forms of the conventional hyper text file 160 and history file 170. A hyper text process program 30 in the embodiment, a hyper text display program 40 in the embodiment, and an already read link display program 50 in the embodiment have been stored in the main memory device 15. The operation of the hyper text process program 30 will now be described with reference to Figs. 2, 3, and 4. Fig. 2 shows the operation of the hyper text processing program 30. Steps S10 to S70 correspond to steps S1010 to S1070 in the conventional processes in Fig. 10. Further, steps S25 and S75 which don't exist in the conventional hyper text process program 130 are added just after steps S20 and S70, respectively. Steps S25 and S75 are the same process and are steps of recording a time at that time into the history file 70 subsequent to reference information recorded in the history file 70 in the step just before. Thus, the time at which a link was selected is recorded. It is considered that this time is the time at which the user reads a document/data file. Such a time is hereinafter called an access time to the file. Fig. 3 shows the operation of the hyper text display program 40. Steps S110 to S180 correspond to steps S1110 to S1180 of the operation of the conventional hyper text display program 140 in Fig. 11, respectively. In step S160 in Fig. 3, the already read link display program 50 that is peculiar to the embodiment is called in place of calling an already read link display program in already read link display step S1160 in Fig. 11. The operation of the already read link display program 50 will now be described hereinbelow with reference to Fig. 4. First, a newest (final) access time among the access times for the history file is retrieved from the history file (step S210). Subsequently, a final renewal time of the file is retrieved from the secondary memory device 16 or the secondary memory device of the other computer 10' through the network (step S220). The retrieved final renewal time is compared with the final access time (step S230). When the final access time is newer, an already read link display similar to step S1160 is executed (step S250). The processing routine is finished. The case where the final renewal time is newer corresponds to the case where after the file was finally read, its contents have been renewed. Therefore, after completion of the renewal, an unread link display is performed (step S240). The processing routine is finished. In the unread link display after the renewal, characters are displayed in a display form different from those in the unread link display and, further, in the already read link display, for example, the characters are displayed in a green font of gothic type and a decoration such that the characters are underlined by an alternate long and two-short dashes line or the like is performed. In the embodiment, a fact that the document/data file which had already been accessed and read was renewed after that and its contents were changed is clearly shown to the user, so that there is an effect such that a dropout of the file to be confirmed is eliminated. [Embodiment 2] The embodiment relates to the improvement of the display method of the unread link after the renewal in the first embodiment. A system construction to realize the embodiment is also the same as that in Fig. 1 used in the description of the first embodiment. However, the hyper text process program 30, display program 40, and already read link display program 50 in Fig. 1 are replaced to a hyper text process program 31, a hyper text display program 41, and an already read link display program 51 (those programs are not shown) which are peculiar to the embodiment, respectively. The history file 70 is replaced to a history file 71 of a form peculiar to the embodiment. Although the operation of the embodiment is fundamentally similar to the operation of the first embodiment, a function for recording a size of file into a history file and for using in a display process is added. This point will now be described with reference to Figs. 5 and 6 while partially exchanging Fig. 3. The operation of the hyper text process program 31 is shown in Fig. 5. The operation corresponds to the case where steps S27 and S77 are inserted just after steps S25 and S75 in the hyper text process program 30 shown in Fig. 2. Since processing steps other than steps S27 and S77 are substantially the same as those in the first embodiment, their descriptions are omitted. The same process is executed in steps S27 and S77. In these steps, a size (the number of bytes) of the document/data file obtained by the retrieval is recorded into the history file 71 subsequent to the reference information and the access time. Thus, in addition to the time of the selection of the link, the size of file referred at that time point is recorded into the history file 71. The operation of the hyper text display program 41 corresponds to that in the operation of the hyper text display program 40 shown in Fig. 3, step S160 to call the already read link display program 50 is replaced to step S162 (not shown) to call the already read link display program 51 in the embodiment. The operation of the already read link display program 51 will now be described with reference to Fig. 6. First, the final access time and the size of file at that time point are read out from the history file 71 (step S310). Subsequently, the final renewal time of the hyper text file 60 on the reference destination side and the size of file at that time point, namely, at present are retrieved from the secondary memory device 16 or the secondary memory device of the other computer 10' through the network 18 (step S320). The final renewal time and the final access time are compared (step S330). When the final access time is newer, an already read link display similar to step S1160 is executed (step S370). The processing routine is finished. The case where the final renewal time is newer corresponds to the case where after the file had finally been read, its contents were renewed. A variation amount of the files before and after the renewal is calculated (step S340). Although it is an easy way to use an absolute value of a difference between the file size at the time of the final access and the present file size, the variation amount can be also calculated by using an arbitrary function such that a ratio of the sizes is obtained or the like. In step S340, a display form of the unread link display after the renewal is determined on the basis of the calculated variation amount (step S350). For example, the variation amount is mapped to a gradation of the display color of the unread link after the renewal by using a proper function. An example of the function for this purpose is shown in Fig. 7. The invention is not limited to such a function but a magnitude of the variation amount can be expressed by the gradation of the display color by using a monotonous function. The variation amount can be also mapped into a gradation of a painting with a dot pattern to the characters, an interval of the broken line of the underline, or the like instead of the gradation of the display color of the characters. In step S350, the unread link display after the renewal is performed in the determined display form (step S360). The processing routine is finished. In the embodiment, in addition to the effect in the first embodiment such that whether the already read file as a reference destination of the link has been renewed or not can be discriminated, there is an effect such that a degree of the renewal of the already read file which has been renewed can be also discriminated. By displaying such a degree of renewal, there is an effect such that the user can use such a degree as a reference when judging whether he again executes an access to the reference destination or not or when deciding the priority of the re-access. Namely, in the renewal of about a few bytes, a possibility such that it is a renewal of a degree such that erroneous characters or a dropout of characters are corrected is high, and it is possible to judge that the re-access is unnecessary or a necessity to rapidly re-access is small. On the other hand, in case of the renewal of about hundreds of bytes, since a correction on a paragraph unit basis is considered, it is possible to judge that a degree of necessity of the re-access is high. It is useful to decide the priority of the re-access. [Embodiment 3] The embodiment intends to easily realize the function of the first embodiment. A system construction to realize the embodiment is similar to that in Fig. 1 used for the description of the first embodiment. However, the hyper text display program 40 and already read link display program 50 are replaced to a hyper text display program 42 and an already read link display program 52 (these programs are not shown) which are peculiar to the embodiment, respectively. The operation of the embodiment is fundamentally the same as the operation of the first embodiment. Only the operations of the hyper text display program 42 and already read link display program 52 will now be described with reference to Fig. 8 while partially exchanging Fig. 3. As for the operation of the hyper text display program 42, in the operation of the hyper text display program 40 shown in Fig. 3, step S160 of calling the already read link display program 50 is replaced to step S165 (not shown) of calling the already read link display program 52 in the embodiment. The operation of the already read link display program 52 will now be described hereinbelow with reference to Fig. 8. First, the final access time among the access times of the history file is retrieved from the history file 70 (step S410). Subsequently, the final access time obtained in step S410 is subtracted from the present time, thereby obtaining the elapsed time from the final access (step S420). On the basis of the elapsed time, a display form of the already read link display is determined (step S430). For example, the elapsed time is mapped into a gradation of the display color of the already read link by using a proper function in a manner similar to the variation amount of the file size in the second embodiment. In place of the gradation of the display color, the elapsed time can be also mapped into a gradation of a painting with a dot pattern to characters, an interval of the broken lines of the underline, or the like. In step S430, the already read link display is performed in the decided display form (step S440). The processing routine is finished. In the embodiment, in the display of the link, since there is no need to retrieve additional information from the file on the reference destination side, particularly, in the case where the file on the reference destination side is put on another computer connected through the network, a load of the communicating process is reduced and a processing speed is improved. Since a degree of the elapsed time from the final access is shown to the user, there is an effect such that such a degree of the elapsed time becomes a reference when the user decides the priority of the re-access. For example, in case of a file that is periodically renewed, the presence or absence of the renewal of the file can be easily presumed from the elapsed time from the final access. The link display according to the embodiment can be also combined with the link display in the second embodiment. In this case, two expressing methods are enabled to be discriminated in a manner such that a magnitude of the variation amount in the second embodiment is expressed by a gradation of the display color of the characters and a duration of the elapsed time in the embodiment is expressed by a decoration of characters, for example, by dense or coarse of the interval of the broken line of the underline, or the like. In the hyper text system described above, by using the means for retrieving information other than the contents of the file such as a final renewal time or the like of the file on the reference destination side of the link, means for adding the additional information such as time information or the like in addition to the reference information into the history file of each user, and means for changing the display method of the already read link on the basis of the additional information of the history file, a warning indicating that the already read file has been renewed after that or there is a possibility of such a situation can be notified to the user. The invention described above can be applied to a system constructed by a plurality of computers or a specific computer in the system. The invention can be applied to the case where it is accomplished by executing a program by the computer. The program can be also supplied from a memory medium in the outside. The memory medium to store the program is also incorporated in the scope of the invention. Although the present invention has been described in its preferred form with a certain degree of particularity, many apparently widely different embodiments of the invention can be made without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

Claims: A hypertext system for controlling the display of hypertext, the system comprising: access history memory means (70) for storing an indication of an access to a reference file corresponding to a link in the displayed hypertext; judging means (13, 40) for judging whether or not the reference file corresponding to a link has been accessed on the basis of the indication of the access stored in said access history memory means; display control means (13, 40, 50) for controlling the display of a link corresponding to said reference file to indicate whether or not the reference file was judged by said judging means to have been accessed, characterised in that said access history memory means is arranged to store attribute information relating to said reference file together with the indication of the access to said reference file; the system further comprises detecting means (13, 50) for detecting a variation in content of the reference file which was judged to have been accessed on the basis of said attribute information stored in said access history memory means; and said display control means is arranged to control the display of the link corresponding to the accessed reference file to provide a display form according to the variation detected by said detecting means. A system according to claim 1, further comprising reference time memory control means (13, 30) for storing a reference time of a reference when said reference file is referred to into said access history memory means as said attribute information. A system according to claim 2, further comprising a file memory unit (60) for storing the reference file and arranged to store a final renewal time of the reference file, wherein said detecting means is arranged to retrieve the final renewal time from said file memory unit with respect to the reference file which was judged to have been accessed, to compare the retrieved final renewal time with a final reference time of said reference file which was stored in said access history memory means, and to detect a variation after said access of said reference file. A system according to claim 2, wherein said detecting means is arranged to detect a variation amount after said access of said reference file on the basis of a value of a difference between said retrieved final renewal time and a final reference time of said reference file stored in said access memory means, and said display control means is arranged to control the display of the link to provide a display form according to the variation amount detected by said detecting means. A system according to claim 2, wherein said detecting means is arranged to detect the variation of the contents of the reference file by estimating a variation amount after said access to said reference file on the basis of a difference between a final reference time of said reference file stored in said access history memory means and a present time, and said display control means is arranged to control the display of the link to provide a display form according to the variation amount estimated by said detecting means. A system according to claim 1, further comprising file size memory control means (13, 30) for storing a size of the file which is referred to into said access history memory means as said attribute information when said reference file is referred. A system according to claim 6, further comprising a file memory unit for storing the reference file and arranged to store a present file size of said reference file, wherein said detecting means is arranged to retrieve the present file size from said file memory unit with respect to the reference file which was judged to have been accessed, to compare said retrieved present file size with a file size at the time of the reference which was stored in said access history memory means, and to detect a variation after said access of said reference file. A system according to claim 7, wherein said detecting means is arranged to make a predetermined function act on said retrieved present file size and the file size at the time of the reference which was stored in said access history memory means and to detect the variation amount after said access of said reference file, and said display control means is arranged to control the display of the link to provide a display form according to the variation amount detected by said detecting means. A method of controlling the display of hypertext the method comprising: a history storing step (S70, S75) of storing an indication of an access to a reference file corresponding to a link in the displayed hypertext; a judging step (S140, S150) of judging whether or not the reference file corresponding to a link has been accessed on the basis of the stored indication of the access; and a display control step (S160, S170) of controlling the display of the link corresponding to said reference file to indicate whether or not the reference file was judged by said judging step to have been accessed, characterised in that: in said history storing step, attribute information of said reference file is stored together with the indication of the access to said reference file; the method further comprises a detecting step (S210, S220, S230) of detecting a variation of content of the reference file which was judged to have been accessed on the basis of said stored attribute information; and in said display control step (S240, S250), the display of the link corresponding to the accessed reference file is controlled to provide a display form according to the variation detected in said detecting step. A method according to claim 9, further comprising a reference time memory control step (S75) of storing a reference time of a reference when said reference file is referred to as said attribute information. A method according to claim 10, further comprising a step of storing a final renewal time of said reference file, and wherein in said detecting step, with respect to the reference file which was judged to have been accessed, a stored final renewal time is retrieved, said retrieved final renewal time is compared with a stored final reference time of said reference file, and a variation after said access of said reference file is detected. A method according to claim 10, wherein in said detecting step, a variation amount after said access of said reference file is detected on the basis of a value of a difference between said retrieved final renewal time and a final reference time of said reference file stored in said history storing step, and in said display control step, the display of the link is controlled to provide a display in a display form according to the variation amount detected by said detecting step. A method according to claim 10, wherein in said detecting step, the variation of the contents of the reference file is detected by estimating a variation amount after said access of said reference file on the basis of a difference between the final reference time of said reference file stored in said history storing step and a present time, and in said display control step, the display of the link is controlled to provide a display in a display form according to the variation amount estimated by said detecting step. A method according to claim 9, further comprising a file size memory control step (S77) of storing a size of said file which is stored as said attribute information in said history storing step when said reference file is stored. A method according to claim 14, further comprising a step of storing the present file size of the reference file, and wherein in said detecting step, with respect to the reference file which was judged to have been accessed, the stored present file size is retrieved, said retrieved present file size is compared with the stored file size at the time of the reference, and a variation after said access of said reference file is detected. A method according to claim 15, wherein in said detecting step, a predetermined function is made to act on said retrieved present file size and the file size at the time of a reference which was stored in said history storing step and a variation amount after said access of said reference file is detected, and in said display control step, the display of the link is controlled to provide a display in a display form according to the variation amount detected by said detecting step. A computer program for controlling a computer to carry out the method of any one of claims 9 to 16. A carrier medium carrying the computer program according to claim 17.

Inventors: KAMEI YOICHI, KAMEI, YOICHI
Applicants: CANON KK, CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
Application year: 1996
Main classification: G06F17
IPC codes: G06F17, G06F13, G06F12