Abstract:
An embodiment relates generally to a method of filtering for a browser. The method includes providing a browser with a browser history function, the browser history function configured to store each site web page visited and stored in time sequential order as a browser history. The method also includes providing a filter module for the browser; and applying the filter module to the browser history function to eliminate intermediary web pages from entering the browser history.

Description:
FIELD 
       [0001]    This invention relates generally to visual desktops for computer systems, more particularly to systems and methods for a journal page for applications executing on computer systems. 
       DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART 
       [0002]    A Web browser (“browser) is a software program running at a client computer system that displays web pages from the Internet. The browser displays the information by interpreting the markup language (e.g., Hypertext Markup Language, HTML; Wireless Markup Language, WML; Extensible Markup Language, XML; Standard Generalized Markup Language, SGML, etc.) used to build home pages on the Web. The coding in a markup language file tells the browser how to display the text, graphics, links and multimedia files on the home page. If the browser itself is unable to display the file, the browser may utilize a plug-in, such as a multimedia player or audio player, to present the file to the user. The browser also interprets HTML tags within the HTML document as links to other web sites, or to Web resources, such as graphics, multimedia files, news groups, or files to download. 
         [0003]    Using the browser, a user may visit a large number of web sites in various browser sessions. At each web site, a user may also visit multiple web pages during an individual browser session. In some cases, a description and an address (e.g., the Uniform Resource Locator or URL) for a web page visited during a browser session may be saved in a sequential, stack-based “history” list, possibly allowing a user to return to a previously visited web page by selecting its description from the history list. A user can open the history list to select previously viewed resources, which are usually identified by the title or address of the web page. A user can also “bookmark” a currently viewed web page in a Favorites list to facilitate selection of the bookmarked resource from the Favorites list for a later visit. 
         [0004]    Browsers can also be used to traverse a file system, and a history list can be used to return to a previously visited directory or file within the file system. Generally, browsers may be said to browse resources, whether on the Web, in a file system, or in some other type of data storage. 
         [0005]    As users use browsers during these browse sessions, a user can accumulate a greater number of pages in the history list. It can become difficult to find a previously web page since the pages are identified by their respective URLs. This may force a user to guess which page from the history list is the preferred web page. Alternatively, a user may go to the initial page of a web site of the preferred page and recreate the path to the preferred page. This process of relocating a preferred page on a website via their respective URLs is inefficient and time consuming. 
         [0006]    Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a mechanism for users to quickly locate recently viewed websites and/or files without recreating the conditions for a search or browsing. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0007]    Various features of the embodiments can be more fully appreciated, as the same become better understood with reference to the following detailed description of the embodiments when considered in connection with the accompanying figures, in which: 
           [0008]      FIG. 1  depicts an exemplary system in accordance with various embodiments; 
           [0009]      FIG. 2  illustrates an exemplary software environment in accordance with various embodiments; 
           [0010]      FIG. 3  depicts an exemplary filtering module in accordance with various embodiments; 
           [0011]      FIG. 4  shows an exemplary detailed block diagram of a filtering module in accordance with various embodiments; and 
           [0012]      FIG. 5  illustrates an exemplary computing platform in accordance with various embodiment. 
       
    
    
       [0013]    It will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration, elements shown in the drawings have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements are exaggerated relative to each other. Further, where considered appropriate, reference numbers have been repeated among the drawings to indicate corresponding elements and a repetitive explanation thereof will be omitted. 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS 
       [0014]    For simplicity and illustrative purposes, the principles of the present invention are described by referring mainly to exemplary embodiments thereof. However, one of ordinary skill in the art would readily recognize that the same principles are equally applicable to, and can be implemented in, all types computer systems, and that any such variations do not depart from the true spirit and scope of the present invention. Moreover, in the following detailed description, references are made to the accompanying figures, which illustrate specific embodiments. Electrical, mechanical, logical and structural changes may be made to the embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense and the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents. 
         [0015]    Embodiments relate generally to systems and method for filtering module for local and third party searching. More particularly, a filter module can be configured to filter the history of a browser. The filter module can apply heuristic algorithms to generate a filter list. The filter list can then be applied to the browser history in order to remove less useful URLs from the browser history. For instance, as a browser traverses a web site, there can be intermediary pages that are necessary but are not the preferred page by the user. These intermediary pages clutter the file history. As a result, a user may not be able to locate the preferred page again after an elapse of time and additional browsing. With the filter module, the browser history can become more of a high level journal as the intermediary pages are filtered out. Accordingly, the user can then be assured that the history list contains preferred pages. As a result, the user can efficiently and with minimal effort return to a previous web page. 
         [0016]      FIG. 1  illustrates an exemplary system  100  in accordance with various embodiments. It should be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that the system  100  depicted in  FIG. 1  represents a generalized schematic illustration and that other components may be added or existing components may be removed or modified. Moreover, the system  100  may be implemented using software components, hardware components, or combinations thereof. 
         [0017]    As shown in  FIG. 1 , the system  100  can comprise a computer device  105  executing an operating system  110 . The operating system system  110  can be configured to provide application space to a browser  115  and a filtering module  120 . The computer device  105  can be a laptop, a mobile computing device (e.g., PDA, cellular telephone, etc.), a desktop computer. In some embodiments, the computer device  105  can be a client of server  125  over a network (not shown). 
         [0018]    As known to those skilled in the art, the computer device  105  can include a central processor, a keyboard, a pointing device (e.g., mouse, or the like), a display, a main memory, an input/output controller, a network port, and a storage device. The central processor can further include a cache memory for storing frequently accessed information. Cache may be an “on-chip” cache or external cache. System  100  may also be provided with additional input/output devices, such as a printer (not shown). The various components of the computer device  105  communicate through a system bus or similar architecture. 
         [0019]    The computer device  105  can be coupled to the Internet  130  via an intermediary network  135 . The intermediary network  135  can be a local area network (wired or wireless), a wide area network or combinations thereof implementing network protocols such as TCP/IP, ATM, SONET, or other known network protocols The intermediary network  135  can also be part of a network that provides access to the Internet  130 . The intermediary network  135  can be configured to provide am access point for the computer device  105  for data, services, and applications to be exchanged between the computer device  105  and websites on the Internet  130 . The computer device  105  can be coupled to the intermediary network  135  through a network interface (not shown). The network interface can comply with the protocol being used within the intermediary network  135 . 
         [0020]    Similarly, in some embodiments, the computer device  105  can couple with local network  140  through the network interface to communicate with server  125 . For these embodiments, the computer device  105  would not be coupled to intermediary network  135 . The local network  140  can be a local area network implementing a local area network protocol such as Ethernet, X.25 or other similar protocols known to those skilled in the art. The server  125  can be implemented with servers from various manufacturers such as Dell, Sun Microsystems, Fujitsu, Transmeta, Advanced MicroDevices, IBM or other similar OEM providers. 
         [0021]    The computer device  105  can store and execute an operating system  110 . The operating system  10  can be a single user operating system such as Windows, Mac O/S, Linux or multi-user operating system such as Linux, AIX, Unix, etc. The operating system  110  can provide application services for the browser  115  to operate on the computer device such as access to the network port of the computer device  105 . The browser  115  can be a web browser as previously described such as Opera, Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari, etc. 
         [0022]    In some embodiments, the computer device  105  can store and execute a filter module  120 . The history module  120  can be a plug-in module or extension for the browser  115  or can be a separate applet or application. The filter module  120  can be instantiated during the activation of the browser. 
         [0023]    The filter module  120  can be can be configured to filter the history of a browser. The filter module  120  can apply heuristic algorithms to generate a filter list. The filter list can then be applied to the browser history in order to remove less useful URLs from the browser history. For instance, as a browser traverses a web site, there can be intermediary pages that are necessary but are not the preferred page by the user. These intermediary pages clutter the file history. As a result, a user may not be able to locate the preferred page again after an elapse of time and additional browsing. With the filter module  120 , the browser history can become more of a high level journal as the intermediary pages are filtered out. Accordingly, the user can then be assured that the history list contains preferred pages. As a result, the user can efficiently and with minimal effort return to a previous web page. 
         [0024]      FIG. 2  illustrates an exemplary software environment  200  in accordance with various embodiments. It should be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that software environment  200  depicted in  FIG. 2  represents a generalized schematic illustration and that other components may be added or existing components may be removed or modified. 
         [0025]    As shown in  FIG. 2 , software environment  200  can include an operating system  205 . Operating system  120  can be a version of a Linux™, UNIX™, Windows™, Mac or similar operating system. A run-time environment (not shown) can be configured to execute on operating system  120 . The run-time environment can provide a set of software that supports the execution of applications/programs. The run-time environment can also comprise an application program interface (“API”)  210  and a complementary API (not shown) within an application space  215 . API  210  can be configured to provide a set of routines that application space  215  uses to request lower-level services performed by operating system  120 . Operating system  120  can include a kernel (not shown) and device drivers  220 . The kernel can be configured to provide secure access to the underlying hardware of a processor through the device drivers  220 . 
         [0026]    Application space  215  can represent the space where a user can execute applications given the allotted memory space as determined by a system administrator of software environment  200 . Within application space  215 , a user can open and execute a number of applications such as browser  115  and filter module  120 . 
         [0027]      FIG. 3  depicts an exemplary block diagram of the filter module  120  in accordance with various embodiments. It should be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that the filter module  120  depicted in  FIG. 3  represents a generalized schematic illustration and that other components may be added or existing components may be removed or modified. 
         [0028]    As shown in  FIG. 3 , the filter module  120  can comprise a filter manager  305 , a browser interface  310 , and a filter list module  315 . The filter module  120  can be implemented using software components, hardware components or combinations thereof In software embodiments, the filter module  120  can be implemented using computer languages such as C, C++, object oriented programming languages or other programming languages. In hardware embodiments, the filter module  120  can be implemented using a processor, microcontroller, an application specific integrated circuit, EEPROM or other programmable devices. 
         [0029]    The filter manager  305  can provide the functionality of the filter module  120  as previously described and described herein below. The filter manager  305  can manage the interactions between the browser  115  and itself For instance the filter manager  305  can receive a web page from the browser  115  when the user clicks to the next web page through the browser interface  310 . The filter manager  305  can then retrieve the filter list from the filter list module  315  to apply to the received web page. The filter manager  305  can then determine whether to save the web page or discard depending on the results of the application of the filter list on the web page. 
         [0030]    The browser interface  310  can be coupled to the filter manager  305 . The browser interface  310  can provide an interface between the browser  115  and the filter manager  315  to receive and forward web pages. The browser interface  310  can be executed as a function call or other similar programming technique. 
         [0031]    The controller module  405  can also be coupled to the filter list module  315 . The filter list module  315  can be configured to store a list of the types of web pages that are to be excluded by the filter module  120 , i.e., a filter list  320 . The filter list  320  can be generated using heuristics that are based on factors such as time-on-page, type of web page, certain keywords on a web page (e.g., login, password, etc.) or detection of redirects. In some embodiments, the filter list  320  can be built on based sitemaps of web pages as known to those skilled in the art. In other embodiments, the filter list  320  can be built based on a static list of web pages that are to be filtered, which can be updated periodically. 
         [0032]      FIG. 4  illustrates an exemplary flow diagram  400  executed by the filter manager  305  in accordance with various embodiments. It should be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that the flow diagram depicted in  FIG. 4  represent a generalized schematic illustration and that other steps may be added or existing steps may be removed or modified. 
         [0033]    As shown in  FIG. 4 , the filter manager  305  can be configured to receive a web page (or URL) from the browser  115  when the user moves onto the next web page via the browser interface  310 , in step  405 . 
         [0034]    In step  510 , the filter manager  305  can be configured to retrieve the filter list  320  from the filter module  315 . The filter manager manager  305  can then apply the filter list to the received web page. 
         [0035]    In step  515 , the filter manager  305  can then determine whether the received web page is a preferred web page. More particularly, if the application of the filter list  320  to the received web page results in a preferred web page, the filter manager  305  can be configured to store the received web page in the browser history via the browser interface  310 , in step  520 . Otherwise, if the application of the filter list  320  to the receive web page results in a non-preferred web page, the filter manager  305  can be configured to discard the web page. 
         [0036]      FIG. 5  depicts an exemplary block diagram of a computer device  105  where an embodiment may be practiced. The functions of the filter module  120  may be implemented in program code and executed by the computer device  105 . The filter module  120  may be implemented in computer languages such as PASCAL, C, C++, JAVA, etc. 
         [0037]    As shown in  FIG. 5 , the computer device  105  includes one or more processors, such as processor  502  that provide an execution platform for embodiments of the filter module  120 . Commands and data from the processor  502  are communicated over a communication bus  504 . The computer device  105  also includes a main memory  506 , such as a Random Access Memory (RAM), where the j filter module  120  may be executed during runtime, and a secondary memory  508 . The secondary memory  508  includes, for example, a hard disk drive  510  and/or a removable storage drive  512 , representing a floppy diskette drive, a magnetic tape drive, a compact disk drive, flash drive, etc., where a copy of a computer program embodiment for the filter module  120  may be stored. The removable storage drive  512  reads from and/or writes to a removable storage unit  514  in a well-known manner. A user interfaces with the filter module  120  with a keyboard  516 , a mouse  518 , and a display  520 . The display adapter  522  interfaces with the communication bus  504  and the display  520 . The display adapter  522  also receives display data from the processor  502  and converts the display data into display commands for the display  520 . 
         [0038]    Certain embodiments may be performed as a computer program. The computer program may exist in a variety of forms both active and inactive. For example, the computer program can exist as software program(s) comprised of program instructions in source code, object code, executable code or other formats; firmware program(s); or hardware description language (HDL) files. Any of the above can be embodied on a computer readable medium, which include storage devices and signals, in compressed or uncompressed form. Exemplary computer readable storage devices include conventional computer system RAM (random access memory), ROM (read-only memory), EPROM (erasable, programmable ROM), EEPROM (electrically erasable, programmable ROM), and magnetic or optical disks or tapes. Exemplary computer readable signals, whether modulated using a carrier or not, are signals that a computer system hosting or running the present invention can be configured to access, including signals downloaded through the Internet or other networks. Concrete examples of the foregoing include distribution of executable software program(s) of the computer program on a CD-ROM or via Internet download. In a sense, the Internet itself, as an abstract entity, is a computer readable medium. The same is true of computer networks in general. 
         [0039]    While the invention has been described with reference to the exemplary embodiments thereof, those skilled in the art will be able to make various modifications to the described embodiments without departing from the true spirit and scope. The terms and descriptions used herein are set forth by way of illustration only and are not meant as limitations. In particular, although the method has been described by examples, the steps of the method may be performed in a different order than illustrated or simultaneously. Those skilled in the art will recognize that these and other variations are possible within the spirit and scope as defined in the following claims and their equivalents.