Patent Publication Number: US-9846749-B2

Title: Maintaining continuous access to web content

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to the field of bookmarked web content, and more particularly to maintaining continuous access to bookmarked web content. 
     The bookmarking of web content is a useful feature employed by most internet web browsers enabling a user to quickly navigate to the web content as needed, saving the user time because they do not have to perform a new search or manually enter a web address every time they need to access the web site they have in mind. Bookmarked content can also be stored in cache memory so that it is more quickly accessed in terms of computer processing time. However, web content, such as a web page, can be modified by a web content provider, moved to a different Uniform Resource Locator (URL) or a different web server, or removed. Accordingly, web browser based applications, known as “plugins,” can be employed to allow a web browser user to maintain continuous access to bookmarked web content in the event normal access has been disrupted. 
     SUMMARY 
     According to one embodiment of the present invention, a computer program product for maintaining bookmarked web content is provided, the computer program product comprising one or more computer readable storage media and program instructions stored on the one or more computer readable storage media, the program instructions comprising program instructions to provide a framework for maintaining continuous access to web content via bookmarks, wherein the framework is installed as a plugin to a web browser and comprises web content storage, change notification and change detection, wherein the change notification comprises at least one of a pop-up notification window, a push notification and an alert icon in a list of bookmarks and the web content storage is a content storing subsystem to store one or more snapshots of the web content in a repository, the repository comprising at least one of local and remote storage; program instructions to store a first snapshot of the web content, associated with a Uniform Resource Locator (URL), in the repository responsive to detecting a bookmark for the URL, wherein the first snapshot is given a version number and is shared across one or more computing devices with one or more authorized users; program instructions to automatically adjust the bookmark to reflect a change to the URL, responsive to determining the change to the URL; program instructions to apply a cache update policy to store a second snapshot of the web content in the repository while maintaining access to previously stored snapshots, responsive to determining a change to the web content associated with the URL, wherein the cache update policy is based on at least one of receiving a content update notification, a comparison of a most recently stored snapshot with the web content and a comparison of metadata associated with the most recently stored snapshot against metadata associated with the web content; program instructions to relocate the web content or provide one or more content recommendations using a public search engine based on search criteria within the most recently stored snapshot responsive to determining a loss of reference to the web content, the search criteria comprising at least one of keywords and a portion of text associated with the most recently stored snapshot, and automatically adjust the bookmark to reflect the change; and program instructions to provide a user interface (UI) allowing a user to control one or more settings for the framework, wherein the one or more settings comprise at least one of storage of the one or more snapshots of the web content, broken link handling, the cache update policy and update notifications. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1A-B  is a functional block diagram illustrating a distributed data processing environment and a functional block diagram depicting components of a web content manager plugin, respectively, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a flowchart depicting operational steps of a content update notification subsystem, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  is a flowchart depicting operational steps of a content storing subsystem, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 4  is a flowchart depicting operational steps of a content reacquiring subsystem, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 5  sets forth a generalized architecture of computing platforms suitable for at least one embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Embodiments of the present invention recognize the need for an integrated solution to maintain continuous access to bookmarked web content that requires minimal user intervention. Web content is bookmarked because the information it provides is valuable and useful to a web user, yet there are a number of circumstances where continuous access to this information can be interrupted. These circumstances can include when a web content provider or author decides to update the content of a bookmarked web page, when a bookmarked web page is relocated to a different URL, when the web content is removed by the content provider or when the provider is experiencing an outage on their host server. These and other similar types of circumstances can cause a web user to temporarily or permanently lose access to content and information they need and can, in some cases, cause disruptions in work productivity and efficacy. It is with this in mind that embodiments of the present invention propose a solution designed to automatically handle these interruptions to normal, continuous access to bookmarked web content with little user intervention. Further, embodiments also provide the feature of being able to save, on local or remote storage, snapshots of multiple versions of web content that has been edited numerous times, which can be highly desirable to web users who need to reference past versions of web content. 
     The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the figures.  FIG. 1A  is a functional block diagram illustrating a distributed data processing environment  100  in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Distributed data processing environment  100  comprises computing device  102 , web server  110  and remote storage  120 , interconnected over network  108 . 
     Computing device  102  can be a laptop computer, tablet computer, netbook computer, personal computer (PC), a desktop computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a smart phone, or any programmable electronic device capable of communicating with web server  110  and remote storage  120  via network  108 . Computing device  102  has web browser  104  installed which comprises web content manager plugin  106 , a framework designed to help a user maintain continuous access to bookmarked web content. Computing device  102  can include internal and external hardware components, as depicted and described in further detail with respect to  FIG. 5 . 
     Web server  110  can be any type of computer having the necessary hardware and software to support a web site and comprises content provider  112 . Content provider  112  creates, manages and updates web content, such as, but not limited to, web sites and/or web pages (and associated content such as, but not limited to, text, images, audio files, video files, etc. . . . ), to be accessed on the internet via web browser  104 . Remote storage  120  can be one or more computer servers, such as, but not limited to, a Cloud service, which store files and data externally to computing device  102 . 
     Network  110  can be, for example, a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN) such as the Internet, or a combination of the two, and can include wired, wireless, or fiber optic connections. In general, network  110  can be any combination of connections and protocols that will support communications between computing device  102 , web server  110  and remote storage  120 . 
       FIG. 1B  is a block diagram of web content manager plugin  106  comprising content update notification subsystem  114 , content storing subsystem  116  and content reacquiring subsystem  118 . Content update notification subsystem  114  can detect if content provider  112  supports or offers a web content update notification service and send any information required such as, but not limited to, an internet protocol (IP) address, to subscribe to that service. In the event a notification of updated web content is received from content provider  112 , content update notification subsystem  114  can alert the browser user by various means (e.g., a pop-up notification window, a “push notification” on a mobile computing platform, an alert icon placed next to the bookmark in the browser, etc. . . . ). It should be understood that this process of alerting the browser user can be referred to as “change notification” and can occur whenever a change to bookmarked web content is detected by web content manager plugin  106 . 
     Content storing subsystem  116  can create and store one or more snapshots of web content, such as, but not limited to, at least a portion of the content of a web page, in a repository on local (i.e., on computing device  102 ) and/or remote storage when the web content is bookmarked by a user or when previously saved bookmarks are detected by web content manager plugin  106 . New snapshots can be created and saved manually, on a predetermined schedule (either default or user configured) or when detected changes have been made to the web content by content provider  112  and the new snapshots will be given a number indicating a version for the repository. It should also be noted that the capability of embodiments to detect changes to bookmarked web content in any manner discussed herein can be referred to as a “change detection” feature of the framework. 
     According to one embodiment of the present invention, a snapshot of web content available from content provider  112  can be stored on local or remote cache memory for rapid access to content that is available even if web server  110  is experiencing an outage. When the web content is updated, the snapshot in cache memory can be replaced by a new snapshot of the web content and the snapshot being replaced can be saved to a more permanent form of storage (i.e., persistent storage, which will be discussed in  FIG. 5 ) to be referenced as needed by the user. Multiple snapshots of web content with version numbers can be saved for reference in the repository as the web content changes over time. It is to be furthermore understood that the repository comprises any storage media (i.e., local and/or remote) used to store the one or more snapshots of web content for a bookmark. 
     Content reacquiring subsystem  118  provides the capability to maintain continuous access to web content in the event of disruptions to normal access, such as, but not limited to, broken web links (when a URL no longer points to a valid web address) or URL redirects (when a user visiting a first URL is forwarded to a second URL). Broken links and URL redirects can be detected either when a user selects a bookmark or during a predetermined scheduled scan of bookmarked content. If a URL redirect is encountered when a bookmark is accessed, content reacquiring subsystem  118  can update the URL for the bookmark to the redirected URL. According to embodiments, if no URL redirect is encountered but the bookmarked web content has a broken URL, content reacquiring subsystem  118  can extract portions of, or keywords from, a most recently stored snapshot of the web content and use it to perform a web search via a public search engine (e.g., Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc. . . . ) to either relocate the web content at a new URL or provide consolidated search results to the user that recommend one or more URLs reflecting similar content. 
     Turning to  FIG. 2 , a flowchart  200  is provided depicting initial operational steps of web content manager plugin  106  when a web page is bookmarked, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. A web browser user creates a new bookmark for a web page, at block  202 , and content update notification subsystem  114  determines, at decision block  204 , if the content provider  112  supports web content update notification. This can be accomplished, for example, by a scan of the metadata contained in an HTTP response header field to determine if content provider&#39;s  112  host server (i.e., web server  110 ) supports update notification functionality (i.e., an update service) and what information needs to be provided to subscribe for update notifications. If the content provider  112  does not provide update notification, web content manager plugin  106  moves to decision block  302  as will be discussed subsequently. If the content provider does support update notification, any information required to subscribe to the update service is sent, at block  206 , to content provider  112 . In the event that content provider  112  publishes an update of the bookmarked web content and the update service is subscribed to, web content manager plugin  106  will update, at block  208 , the bookmark appropriately (such as updating the metadata for the bookmark) and provide a notification and/or indicator to the user to alert them of an update. A notification and/or indicator can include, for example, a pop-up window indicating that web content has been updated by content provider  112 , an alert icon on the updated web content in the list of bookmarks and/or a push notification for a mobile computing platform. Once a bookmark has been updated in this manner and the user has been notified, embodiments proceed to decision block  302 , dealing with storing a version of bookmarked web content. 
     Moving to  FIG. 3 , a flowchart  300  illustrates operational steps associated with content storing subsystem  116 , according to an embodiment of the present invention. If a user decides to manually store a snapshot of bookmarked web content or if content storing subsystem  116  is preconfigured to automatically store web content, at decision block  302 , content storing subsystem  116  determines, at decision block  304 , if the web content is available at the original bookmarked URL. If the web content is not available at the original URL, embodiments move to decision block  402 , as will be described subsequently. If the bookmarked web content is available at the original URL, content storing subsystem  116  determines, at decision block  306 , if the web content has changed since the last time a snapshot of the web content was stored in local or remote memory (i.e., the most recently stored snapshot). This can be done by comparing the content (e.g., text, images, embedded files, etc. . . . ) of the most recently stored snapshot with the web content available from content provider  112  and determining, according to a predetermined and optionally configured user threshold, if the web content has changed enough from the most recently stored snapshot for a new snapshot to be stored in the repository. For example, if the comparison of content shows that the web content has changed by a predetermined threshold of 25% or more compared with the content of the stored snapshot in cache memory, then a new snapshot of the web content will replace the snapshot in cache memory, which will be stored in persistent storage. 
     In another manner of determining, at decision block  306 , if the web content has changed from a most recently stored snapshot, the metadata of the most recently stored snapshot of web content can be compared with the metadata of the web content available from content provider  112  to scan for any changes to a date or time stamp, for example. If it is determined that the bookmarked web content has changed in any manner previously discussed, at decision block  306 , content storing subsystem  116  will determine the storage type in which to store a new snapshot of the web content, at block  308 . It should be understood that the term “cache update policy” can be used for this process of replacing the most recently stored snapshot by detecting that a change has occurred to the web content in any manner discussed herein. 
     The storage type can be a preconfigured choice set by a user of either local or remote storage. Remote storage can be the default option for web users on a mobile computing platform. Remote storage has the advantage of allowing multiple authorized users across a network to access the most recent and previously stored snapshots of stored web content from a plurality of computing devices. Some examples of remote storage and network protocols that can be accessed by multiple authorized users can include, but are not limited to, a cloud service, file transfer protocol (FTP) and Web-based Distributed Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV). 
     Once the choice of storage has been selected, a snapshot of the bookmarked web content is stored, at block  310 , and web content manager plugin  106 , at block  312 , can wait a predetermined time interval before prompting the user to store the web content or automatically storing the web content (starting at decision block  302 ) according to a user configured or default predetermined schedule. If bookmarked web content has not changed according to the predetermined threshold, at decision block  306 , content storing subsystem  116  will wait the predetermined time interval before attempting to store the latest version of bookmarked web content. If the web content is no longer available at the originally bookmarked URL, web content manager plugin  106  proceeds to decision block  402 . 
     It is to be understood that if, at decision block  302 , a user wishes to store a snapshot of web content and none already exist in the repository (i.e., a user is storing the first snapshot for a bookmark), embodiments will proceed to decision block  304  to ensure that the web content is still available at the same URL, skip decision block  306  (since no snapshot exists with which to compare to the web content) and proceed to block  308  to determine the storage type. 
       FIG. 4  depicts a flowchart  400  showing the operational steps of content reacquiring subsystem  118 . If, at decision block  402 , a redirect to a new URL is provided when a bookmark is accessed, content reacquiring subsystem  118  will automatically update the URL of the bookmark to reflect the change and content update notification subsystem  114  will check, at decision block  204 , to determine if content provider  112  provides an update notification service if, for example, content provider  112  has moved to another web server  110 . If an accessed bookmark no longer leads to a valid URL and no URL redirect is provided (i.e., a loss of reference to content), content reacquiring subsystem  118  will extract keywords or portions of text from the most recently stored snapshot and use them in a web search engine, at block  406 , to locate the web content at a new URL. Content reacquiring subsystem  118  can determine, at decision block  408 , if the web content has been located at a new URL if the content of a particular web search result either exactly or very nearly (e.g., within approximately 95% similarity) matches the keywords or portions of text from the stored snapshot used in the web search. If the web content is not located, at decision block  408 , consolidated search results can be presented to the user, at block  412 , to recommend similar content (e.g., other web pages providing similar content) and the user prompted as to whether or not they want the bookmark removed, at decision block  414 , which can also delete any stored snapshots of the web content on local or remote storage, depending on where the versions of the web content are stored. If, at decision block  408 , the web content is located at a new URL, content reacquiring subsystem  118  will update the URL and metadata of the bookmark accordingly, at block  410 , and determine, at decision block  204 , if content provider  112  supports update notifications. This process, wherein content reacquiring subsystem  118  handles a situation where a bookmark is accessed but the URL no longer points to a valid web address and no URL redirect is provided, can be herein referred to as “broken link handling.” 
     It should be noted that at any point in time, though not explicitly shown in the figures, if a bookmark is accessed and a URL redirect is encountered, the URL for the bookmark will be automatically updated by embodiments of the present invention to reflect the change. It is also to be understood that web content manager plugin  106  provides a user interface (UI) which allows the web user to configure the settings for any of the processes discussed herein such as, but not limited to, storage of web content snapshots, broken link handling, the cache update policy and update notifications. 
       FIG. 5  depicts a block diagram  500  of components of computing device  102  in accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the present invention. It should be appreciated that  FIG. 5  provides only an illustration of one implementation and does not imply any limitations with regard to the environments in which different embodiments may be implemented. Many modifications to the depicted environment may be made. 
     Computing device  102  includes communications fabric  502 , which provides communications between cache  516 , memory  506 , persistent storage  508 , communications unit  510 , and input/output (I/O) interface(s)  512 . Communications fabric  502  can be implemented with any architecture designed for passing data and/or control information between processors (such as microprocessors, communications and network processors, etc.), system memory, peripheral devices, and any other hardware components within a system. For example, communications fabric  502  can be implemented with one or more buses or a crossbar switch. 
     Memory  506  and persistent storage  508  are computer readable storage media. In this embodiment, memory  506  includes random access memory (RAM). In general, memory  506  can include any suitable volatile or non-volatile computer readable storage media. Cache  516  is a fast memory that enhances the performance of computer processor(s)  504  by holding recently accessed data, and data near accessed data, from memory  506 . 
     Web content manager plugin  106  may be stored in persistent storage  508  and in memory  506  for execution by one or more of the respective computer processors  504  via cache  516 . In an embodiment, persistent storage  508  includes a magnetic hard disk drive. Alternatively, or in addition to a magnetic hard disk drive, persistent storage  508  can include a solid state hard drive, a semiconductor storage device, read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), flash memory, or any other computer readable storage media that is capable of storing program instructions or digital information. 
     The media used by persistent storage  508  may also be removable. For example, a removable hard drive may be used for persistent storage  508 . Other examples include optical and magnetic disks, thumb drives, and smart cards that are inserted into a drive for transfer onto another computer readable storage medium that is also part of persistent storage  508 . 
     Communications unit  510 , in these examples, provides for communications with other data processing systems or devices. In these examples, communications unit  510  includes one or more network interface cards. Communications unit  510  may provide communications through the use of either or both physical and wireless communications links. Web content manager plugin  106  may be downloaded to persistent storage  508  through communications unit  510 . 
     I/O interface(s)  512  allows for input and output of data with other devices that may be connected to computing device  102 . For example, I/O interface  512  may provide a connection to external devices  518  such as a keyboard, keypad, a touch screen, and/or some other suitable input device. External devices  518  can also include portable computer readable storage media such as, for example, thumb drives, portable optical or magnetic disks, and memory cards. Software and data used to practice embodiments of the present invention, e.g., web content manager plugin  106 , can be stored on such portable computer readable storage media and can be loaded onto persistent storage  508  via I/O interface(s)  512 . I/O interface(s)  512  also connect to a display  520 . 
     Display  520  provides a mechanism to display data to a user and may be, for example, a computer monitor. 
     The programs described herein are identified based upon the application for which they are implemented in a specific embodiment of the invention. However, it should be appreciated that any particular program nomenclature herein is used merely for convenience, and thus the invention should not be limited to use solely in any specific application identified and/or implied by such nomenclature. 
     The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computer program product at any possible technical detail level of integration. The computer program product may include a computer readable storage medium (or media) having computer readable program instructions thereon for causing a processor to carry out aspects of the present invention. 
     The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that can retain and store instructions for use by an instruction execution device. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but is not limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device, an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, a semiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of the computer readable storage medium includes the following: a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD), a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such as punch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructions recorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. A computer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construed as being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freely propagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagating through a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulses passing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmitted through a wire. 
     Computer readable program instructions described herein can be downloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computer readable storage medium or to an external computer or external storage device via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, a wide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprise copper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wireless transmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/or edge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in each computing/processing device receives computer readable program instructions from the network and forwards the computer readable program instructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium within the respective computing/processing device. 
     Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations of the present invention may be assembler instructions, instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions, machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions, state-setting data, or either source code or object code written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including an object oriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C++ or the like, and conventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C” programming language or similar programming languages. The computer readable program instructions may execute entirely on the user&#39;s computer, partly on the user&#39;s computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user&#39;s computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user&#39;s computer through any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider). In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example, programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), or programmable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer readable program instructions by utilizing state information of the computer readable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry, in order to perform aspects of the present invention. 
     Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the invention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer readable program instructions. 
     These computer readable program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructions may also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can direct a computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or other devices to function in a particular manner, such that the computer readable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises an article of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects of the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. 
     The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other device to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computer implemented process, such that the instructions which execute on the computer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. 
     The flowchart and block diagrams in the figures illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems, methods, and computer program products according to various embodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in the flowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portion of instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specified functions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions. 
     The descriptions of the various embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration, but are not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. The terminology used herein was chosen to best explain the principles of the embodiment, the practical application or technical improvement over technologies found in the marketplace, or to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodiments disclosed herein.