Patent ID: 7191447

Claim:
A system for extracting data from sources of network-based information in a communications network comprising a plurality of network servers programmed to transmit network-based information over said network, comprising: a script program, implemented on a computer in said communications network, structured to extract data from network-based information provided by one of said network servers; and an object embedding program, implemented on the computer in said communications network, comprising a link to said network-based information provided by said one of said network servers and a link from which said object embedding program can locate said script program, said object embedding program being structured to apply said script program to said network-based information so as to cause said data to be extracted from said network-based information, and to embed said data within a compound document implemented on a computer in said communications network, wherein said link from which said object embedding program can locate said script program is said link to said network-based information, and wherein said network-based information in turn comprises a link to said script program.